filmland / By Charlie Myers

Beyond Craven

Go for the cute kiddie flick. Stay far away from the despicable Last House

(March 19, 2009) Note to a Reader: Fred Hummel’s letter in the March 12 Journal makes the valuable point that the Sabra and Shatila massacres during the 1982 Lebanese War resulted from the Israeli Army’s enlisting of the Christian militia to purge the camps of “terrorists.” Waltz with Bashir does allude to this fact, so I don’t want Mr. Hummel to think badly of it due to my omission. My thanks to him for bringing this information into the public forum.

Previews

Opening Friday, March 20, is Knowing, which stars Nicolas Cage as a teacher who opens a time capsule at an elementary school his son attends. Unfortunately, this capsule seems to include predictions about the future that aren’t particularly good. Co-starring Rose Byrne (Damages). Rated PG-13 for disaster sequences, disturbing images and brief strong language. 122m. At the Broadway, Mill Creek, Fortuna and Minor.

Julia Roberts and Clive Owen reunite in the corporate thriller Duplicity. Roberts is former CIA agent Claire and Owen former MI6 agent Ray who team up to make a killing by playing two corporations off each other. It seems that an intimate relationship doesn’t breed trust, though. Rated PG-13 for language and some sexual content. 125m. At the Broadway and Mill Creek.

The latest in an endless series of romantic comedies, I Love You Man stars Paul Rudd as a guy who has no male friends. What is he to do for a Best Man? Go on “guy dates,” of course, but when he bonds with one guy (Jason Segel) his fiancée (Rashida Jones) gets a little upset. Did he consider having a Best Woman? Rated R for pervasive language, including crude and sexual references. 110m. At the Broadway and Mill Creek.

Reviews

THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT: While I have been going to the movies for almost as long as I can remember, it was the 1960s that caused me to look at films in a different way. Much of the reason for this change was due to the films of Ingmar Bergman. In particular, the images in his beautifully stark and intense 1960 film The Virgin Spring are forever burned in my brain.

Subsequently, Bergman’s tale of rape, murder and revenge, based on an old Swedish ballad, was appropriated by Wes Craven for his 1972 horror film The Last House on the Left and now remade again in 2009. Like analog copies, each iteration has become more pallid. I have no idea, other than appealing to hardcore splatter fans, why this remake was worth the effort. Lacking even the slight heft of Craven’s film, this version offers nothing interesting but still a lot to offend, particularly in the graphic and brutal rape scene.

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