Thursday, August 20, 2009

A Perfect Getaway (2009)



I've been experimenting with my schedule some this week. Trying to find more time to read, manage projects, and do other important things. Clearly though - in regards to this blog anyway - it's been a failure, so I'm going to keep working on it.

My brother-in-law and I meant to go see District 9 tonight - all the stellar reviews finally wore me down - but it was sold out. Not sure where all the movie crowds came from on a Thursday night, but we had to pick another movie and I'm so glad we did. I'd been on the fence about A Perfect Getaway and might not have seen it otherwise.

What I said about it at the end of last month was, "This could go a couple of different ways: cool, island thriller or lame, stalker horror flick. Either one's going to have Milla Jovovich doing a little butt kicking in the tropics though, so yeah, I'm interested." And it did have Milla doing some fighting, though not as much as I hoped. More importantly, it was a cool island thriller. Beyond cool. Maybe my favorite movie of the year so far, and definitely in the top three.

I don't want too say much about it for fear of giving something away, but the premise is that Milla Jovovich and Steve Zahn are on their honeymoon in Hawaii and hear that there's a serial-killing couple on the loose. Two couples in particular are the main suspects, but they aren't the only ones.

What I love about the movie is that we don't find out who the killers are right away and then spend the rest of the time watching Jovovich and Zahn try to escape them. That's what I was afraid the movie might be like. Instead, the tension from the film comes from Jovovich and Zahn's trying to figure out who the bad guys are before they become the next victims. And the incredibly smart, unbelievably entertaining script keeps you guessing - It's them! No wait, it's them! - right up until it decides that it's time for you to know.

Also... I can't say enough good things about Timothy Olyphant's performance in this thing. I won't tell you if he's a killer, but I will say that - as I was trying to figure it out - I decided that I didn't care if he was or not. I still was going to like the hell out of him.

Also also? Didn't realize until I got home that the other main suspect was played by Chris (Captain Kirk's dad; Thor) Hemsworth. Holy crap, can that guy act. Totally didn't recognize him. I can now that I'm looking at his picture...



...but he completely disappears into his role in this movie.

My only gripe about the film is that there was a slightly grainy look to it that interfered with the beauty of the scenery. There were some excellent shots, but whether they were made with cheap film or the graininess was an intentional choice, they fell short of breathtaking.

Still, the story and the performances more than made up for that minor complaint.

Five out of five island paradises.

4 comments:

Cal's Canadian Cave of Coolness said...

Sweet. I am so glad to read your review. I was kinda iffy on this one too. I love Milla in anything so I didn't want to be disappointed if this was your standard serial killers in paradise thriller. I also avoid those torture films that seem to be the direction of most 'beutiful people in danger' films and I got that vibe from the trailer. I think I will have to give my Milla the benefit of the doubt.

Michael May said...

You won't be sorry, dude. Sounds like we've got similar tastes in horror movies and thrillers.

Darius Whiteplume said...

I have been hoping to see this. May be out of theaters in my burg by now. Glad it isn't some Eli Roth clone :-)

Michael May said...

Yeah, I don't think it's doing very well, so it may not be in theaters much longer. It'll still be great on DVD though. Nothing you HAVE to see on the big screen, just so long as you do see it. :)

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