Straw Dogs
In a remake of Sam Peckinpahs 1971 film (starring Dustin Hoffman) David Sumner (James Marsden) heads to Blackwater, Miss., his wife Amys (Kate Bosworth) hometown. The couple is there to clean up her daddys estate after his death and a hurricane, a journey fraught with emotion. It wont be all bad, however: the break from L.A. will give screenwriter David time to work on his new screenplay. (The script is about Stalingrad, which provides a nice parallel to the siege that will take place in the Sumner home.)
The cleanup crew consists of Charlie (Alexander Skarsgard), Amys old boyfriend, a man who has never quite got over high school, nor Amy. The sense of foreboding builds as Davids manhood is whittled away one redneck comment, one leer at a time.
But we get it, already. Putting David in a Jag, having him wear sneakers with no laces and a Harvard tee, playing classical music and ordering lite beer more than thuds the point of Davids metrosexuality home. Plot devices elsewhere are equally unsubtle, including the weapons used in the ultimate showdown.
Or maybe its because Marsden looks too chiselled, with muscles lurking just beneath that chambray shirt, that we dont buy him as the nebbish weakling he is supposed to be.
The film is rated R for strong brutal violence including a sexual attack and menace. But more work on the slow-burning erosion between husband and wife wouldve done more to heighten the sense of panic.
Special features include commentary with director Rod Lurie, who talks about the pressure of remaking a classic. Theres a bit on assembling the ensemble cast, as well as a dissection of the final siege on the house, and on the production design of the house itself.
I Dont Know How She Does It
I Dont Know How She Does It is tailor-made for those who miss Carrie from Sex and the City, but dont particularly miss the sassy, irreverent script for which the TV series was known. Douglas McGraths film features some of the signature bits from Carries old life (voiceovers delineating the heroines state of mind, way too much hair) minus most of the humour and all of the originality.
Kate (Sarah Jessica Parker) is a full-time working mom who feels guilty that she doesnt spend enough time with her kids, and about everything else. Her exchanges with husband Richard (Greg Kinnear) are limited to logistics, not conversation and despite the fact that hes the worlds most understanding spouse, Kate considers cheating on him with a dashing client (Pierce Brosnan).
Parker excels at the type of broad comedy that involves adjusting ones Spanx at the conference table or tackling the overachieving momsters head-on, but Kate too often crosses into ridiculous territory (the lice episode). If she was a little less frenetic and a little more relatable, we might have the patience to sit and watch while Kate scratches herself silly, but such lame gags fall flat here. Theres no resolution at the end of the film, just the sunny belief that it will all work out.
Special features include a conversation with author Allison Pearson, whose perfectly decipherable English accent comes complete with subtitles.
