Three More Mini-Reviews: Hard Candy, The Sentinel and, uh, Stick It

From my big list of 2006 movies, here are the three latest–the good, the bad and the fugly.

Hard Candy – 9/10 – A gripping, closed-room psychological thriller with fantastic acting. Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson offer great performances, making fully-realized, truthful characters out of potential stereotypes. The direction is dead-on, using narrow focus and small rooms to achieve an original, claustrophobic look and feel. Aside from the implausible premise and a couple clunkers, the script is tight and pacey. It’s a hard film to watch, and I’d recommend reading a couple other reviews before seeing this one. Interestingly, there are literally five people in the cast.

The Sentinel – 4/10 – Old-school political thriller, with little tension and a predictable conclusion. Michael Douglas is 62, looks 70, and is about 10 years too old for this role. Are there really 62-year-olds actively protecting the President? Eva Longoria is another charisma-free zone. She doesn’t so much light up the screen as conceal seams in the backdrops.

Stick It – 1.5/10 – I know, I should be ashamed. The wife and I went hoping for some campy fun, a la Bring It On (“it’s already been broughten”). Alas, I’ve seen better acting, writing and direction from an 8th grade improv group. It’s astonishing that they green lighted the script, and more astounding that they didn’t halt production when they saw the dailies. I was convinced that most of the cast were actual gymnasts–thus explaining their incredibly poor acting. As it turns out, most of them weren’t gymnasts, and the actual gymnasts offered the (relatively speaking) best performances. And how big a bet did Jeff Bridges lose? My shame in seeing this film was only increased when I ran into Gillian and Sue in the lobby afterwards, and I had to admit my sin.