Ten Inch Hero
I just watched Ten Inch Hero
I really wanted to like this movie, but I'm left feeling pretty blah about the whole thing. I love Clea DuVall, and I adore Jensen Ackles, so I figured it would be a shoe-in. While I enjoyed their performances, I can't really recommend the movie. All of the characters fell more under the heading of caricature/neurosis type/stereotype than actual full-blown character. None of them really felt connected, to the real world or to each other. The movie felt like a disjointed collection of contrived vignettes. The worst of the characters was actually Priestly. Several times I felt like Jensen was acting from a script from another movie, entirely. That's not a criticism of Jensen, but rather of the movie itself. The character of Priestly was pretty much the only one that displayed any sort of momentum and energy, that was acted with any type of verve. Being the "comedic" character helped, but again, I think that Jensen simply took what was in the script, and did the best possible job with what he had been given. And even though I'm a sucker for a happy ending, I can't say I like where that particular character ended up, not only because is seemed a complete turnaround from everything the character said, did and stood for during the first three-quarters of the movie, but because, for me, I never felt any connection between Tish and Priestly. I mean, it was totally obvious what was (supposed to be) going on and what would happen, but the connection wasn't made through the script, or the performances. In that respect, Trucker and Zo were handled (and performed) much better, excluding the silliness of the wrap-up.
Everything that happened to the characters was totally obvious, the script was rather obvious in the worst possible way, the direction wasn't anything to write home about, and the only good performance, unfortunately, unbalanced the entire film. Some of the cinematography was nice, and the scenery was beautiful, but that's not enough to recommend a movie.
I really wanted to like this movie, but I'm left feeling pretty blah about the whole thing. I love Clea DuVall, and I adore Jensen Ackles, so I figured it would be a shoe-in. While I enjoyed their performances, I can't really recommend the movie. All of the characters fell more under the heading of caricature/neurosis type/stereotype than actual full-blown character. None of them really felt connected, to the real world or to each other. The movie felt like a disjointed collection of contrived vignettes. The worst of the characters was actually Priestly. Several times I felt like Jensen was acting from a script from another movie, entirely. That's not a criticism of Jensen, but rather of the movie itself. The character of Priestly was pretty much the only one that displayed any sort of momentum and energy, that was acted with any type of verve. Being the "comedic" character helped, but again, I think that Jensen simply took what was in the script, and did the best possible job with what he had been given. And even though I'm a sucker for a happy ending, I can't say I like where that particular character ended up, not only because is seemed a complete turnaround from everything the character said, did and stood for during the first three-quarters of the movie, but because, for me, I never felt any connection between Tish and Priestly. I mean, it was totally obvious what was (supposed to be) going on and what would happen, but the connection wasn't made through the script, or the performances. In that respect, Trucker and Zo were handled (and performed) much better, excluding the silliness of the wrap-up.
Everything that happened to the characters was totally obvious, the script was rather obvious in the worst possible way, the direction wasn't anything to write home about, and the only good performance, unfortunately, unbalanced the entire film. Some of the cinematography was nice, and the scenery was beautiful, but that's not enough to recommend a movie.