The Hole

I am always on the lookout for those little movies that people did before they were famous. The ones that sometimes don't get released until someone in the cast does become famous. I love those movies because they are generally done before someone really worries too much about the projects they pick. When they are still just doing stuff because it's fun.

I found one of those little gems recently starring Kiera Knightly. It also stars Thora Birch. And to top it off it was a horror film. It's a right of passage in the industry doing a horror film. Very few people (especially these days) get away with not doing one. So I got it from netflix and watched it last night.

Thora Birch is the real star of the movie. It is about her character. While I am not one of those people who loves Ghost World I still enjoy Thora Birch. She's a fine actress. In fact I found myself wondering while watching The Hole why her career is so small. Is it because she doesn't fit the mold that Hollywood is always looking for? Or is it because she just doesn't care to work that much? I guess we'll never know. She does have the talent to play leading characters but, I truly think should she ever thrive big time in the industry it'll be as a character actress. She's destined to play some of those amazingly unforgettable supporting roles.

Anyway, the movie is quite different than I thought it would be from the discription. It's more of a phsycological horror as opposed to a standard horror film. That's really if you want to classify it as a horror film. I suppose it is because horror films are about fear and this one does feed upon some of peoples biggest fears.

There was only on actor of the main 4 that I wasn't familiar with. He was quite good though. In fact it was the other guy who I am most familiar with from the movie Wrong Turn that seemed out of place in this cast. It seemed he never quite figured out exactly how to play his spoiled rich son of a rock star character. It's almost like he wanted to make it seem like he actually had a heart and was a nice sensitive guy once you got to know him. Only problem was there wasn't any room in the script for that. And he's not a good enough actor to pull it off just because he wanted too.

Thora and Kiera were good as always. Kiera wasn't given a lot to do. But, she did exactly what was needed for the role. She didn't try to over play the popular, slutty, rich girl or turn her into something she wasn't. She played the character that was needed for the movie. Thora was spot on as the outcast of the group. Driven by her own desires and not letting what anyone else wanted or needed get in her way.

There is a scene in the movie where they do this sort of impromtu skit thing hoping it will get them out of the bunker they are trapped in. Watching them deliberately doing bad acting is quite fun.

It's a decent movie but, probably not one you want to rush out and see unless you like the someone whose in it. I'm not sure most people would enjoy it just for the story.

Into The Wild

A few weeks ago my boyfriend and I rented Into The Wild. It was a decent movie and a good story. However, it was a bit boring and long. The length of it wouldn't have been such a problem if it had a little better pacing. A lot of the problem was needless scenes that may not have been that long themselves but, once you start adding them all up it's a decent chunk of time. It was beautifully shot and it was some of those scenes that drug down the pace.

On the whole the acting was good. Sean Penn got exactly what he needed out of his cast. Aside from the unnecessary scenes his directing was good. I really don't think Hal Holbrook deserved his Oscar nomination. As an ensemble the cast definitely deserved attention. Broken down into individual performances though there wasn't any one that really stood out.

It's not really a movie I would recommend right off the top of my head if someone asked what they should rent. But, at the sametime I wouldn't tell them not to rent it either.