Shia LaBeouf and Carrie-Anne Moss in "Disturbia."
courtesy DreamWorks Pictures
"Shia LaBeouf Is Today's Hot Star"

Shia LaBeouf just landed the role of Harrison Ford's son in the new "Indiana Jones" movie. He also is the star of the major summer hit "Transformers." Add to that his speaking role as the voice of the surfer penguin in "Surf's Up." This kid is everywhere, and he is only twenty-one years old. If you haven't had a chance to see him in any of these roles, you can get him on DVD in the film "Disturbia."

Decades ago director Alfred Hitchcock hit pay dirt with a neat little thriller titled "Rear Window." It featured Hollywood's guy next door Jimmy Stewart as a man with a broken leg who watched his neighbors through binoculars. He spied what he thought was a murder and used his pals Grace Kelly and Thelma Ritter to check it out. Hollywood has recycled "Rear Window" into a modern day mystery and is calling it "Disturbia."

In this updated version a teenager named Kale Brecht (LaBeouf) is under house arrest because he slugged his Spanish teacher. His father (Matt Craven) was killed in an automobile accident and Kale has anger issues. His mother Julie (Carrie-Anne Moss) is just glad he didn't get put in jail.

After a while Kale gets bored with his restrictive life and looks for diversions. He finds them by spying on the people in his neighborhood via a telescope, binoculars, etc. A bright spot occurs when he notices a new family moving in next door and they have an attractive daughter. He later learns her name is Ashley (Sarah Roemer).

Of course he eventually comes to think his neighbor (David Morse) is a murderer. The guy is creepy looking and acts suspicious as all get out. Ashley and Kale's friend Ronnie (Aaron Yoo) believe him and try to help him get the goods on the guy. The suspicious guy learns of their observations and then ups the ante by dating Kale's mother.

All of this is played out in a simple and straightforward way that is completely chilling and totally suspenseful. It isn't quite up to Hitchcock standards but it is fun to watch just the same. 

LaBeouf is solid as Kale. He makes this teenager edgy enough to be interesting but nice enough to be heroic. He also is believable in all of the things that he does and in the way he acts in this confined situation. Roemer and Yoo create good cohorts for LaBeouf. They have energy and enthusiasm. Plus Roemer and LaBeouf have good chemistry together. Carrie-Ann is attractive and mature as Kale's mother.

The weak spot in the film is Morse. His "neighbor" is suspicious looking and acting, but so bizarre that you wonder why any woman would be attracted to him. You'd think they would take one look at him and run.

As a suspense film "Disturbia" proves to be a DVD worth watching. Take the time to enjoy it and meet the new star Shia LeBeouf.

Another DVD of interest is "Perfume." This movie stars Dustin Hoffman, Ben Wishaw and Alan Rickman and tells the story of a man obsessed with scents. It could be subtitled "Scent Of A Woman, Part Two" since it deals with this obsessed man and his pursuit of women and his murder of them.

The movie takes place in eighteenth century France and is a moody and dark film. It is disturbing since it deals with the murder of young girls, still it is worth watching because of the completeness of the story. It is based on the novel by Patrick Suskind.

New to DVD, "Are We Done Yet?" is not a remake but is a sequel of sorts to the movie "Are We There Yet?" It is also a remake of the Cary Grant film of the forties "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House." This combination of styles makes for a disjointed movie - for adults. For kids, it is a clean movie with enough laughs to keep them entertained.

In the film Ice Cube plays Nick Persons. He is happily married to Suzanne (Nia Long) and stepfather to her kids, Lindsey and Kevin (Aleisha Allen and Phillip Bolden). When Suzanne announces she is pregnant Nick decides it is time to move the family to the suburbs and a bigger house.

They find a suitable home and decide to buy it even though it is a "fixer upper." Their real estate agent is a man named Charles Mitchell (John C McGinley). Later he returns as their repairman, and a city councilman. He does a little bit of everything and nothing too good.

The comedy in the movie comes about by all the things that go wrong with the house. There is dry rot, bats, bad plumbing and a pesky raccoon. Nick get exasperated time and time again. Then there is the fun of seeing the kids have a great time at their stepfather's expense.

Ice Cube is a fairly good actor and was actually funny in "Are We There Yet?" But in this movie he is lifeless and lackadaisical. He has no energy and his chemistry with his co-stars is below par. Long also doesn't add much to the film as Suzanne, but both kids make a valiant effort to introduce some humor into the goings on. McGinley overacts and gets tiresome fast.

There is some entertainment in the film but not a lot. But you can watch it with your family and that is a plus.

Nora Roberts is one of the most successful writers of romantic fiction working today. ANGELS FALL was one of her biggest successes. This movie was made into a movie starring Heather Mills and showed on the Lifetime Channel. Now it is available on DVD.

Locklear stars as Reese Gilmore, a young woman whose car breaks down on the outskirts of the Wyoming town called Angels Fall. While her car is being fixed Reese gets a job as a cook at the local diner. While working there she meets a mystery writer named Brody (Jonathan Schaech). 

One day when Reese is hiking in the mountains she looks down and observes an argument going on between a man and a woman. She sees this through her binoculars and can not get a clear image of the man. She does see him kill the woman. When she reports it to the local sheriff he doesn't seem to believe her. Only Brody stands by her. That is a good thing because soon the killer comes after her.

The Lifetime Channel also showed a movie version of another of Roberts' novels, "Montana Sky." This one is also out on DVD and stars Ashley Williams, Charlotte Ross and John Corbett. It is another romantic mystery and this one is dead on target. "Angels Fall" was an okay film, but this new presentation is a perfect fit for Roberts' story and the cast.

Willams plays Willa Mercy, one of three daughters belonging to Jack Mercy. Each daughter has a different mother and the three women do not know each other. Then Jack Mercy dies and the women meet at his funeral. They are not very civil to each other and the two new sisters, Lily (Lauren Mennel) and Tess (Ross) plan to leave as soon as the funeral is over.

However after the funeral Jack Mercy's will is read and it requires the three women to live on Mercy Ranch for one year. If they do not live by the terms then the ranch in its entirety will go to a Native American institution. The ranch is worth many millions so the women agree to stay.

Willa has been the one working at the ranch so she resents the other two women being there. Tess is from Hollywood and longs for the day she can return to the sun and California way of life. Lily feels she has found a refuge. She has been running from an abusive ex-husband so the ranch is perfect for her.

Shortly after the women agree to live together certain animals turn up dead on the ranch, and later there is a human who is murdered. Suspicion runs rampant and no one is home free. Willa thinks she trusts her neighbor Ben (Corbett) but she has a few lingering doubts.

If you are a fan of Nora Roberts' writing then you will want both of these DVD's. "Montana Sky" is the better of the two but both are worth watching.
 

 

 

 

 

©2007 Jackie K. Cooper

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