More DVD Reviews

17 AGAIN

***

Starring Zac Efron, Leslie Mann, Matthew Perry, Thomas Lennon, Michelle Trachtenberg, Melora Hardin and Hunter Parrish.
Directed by Burr Steers.

I was hoping this movie would be better than the atrocious 18 Again, which failed to make a star out of Charlie Schlatter in 1988, and it was. I was pleasantly surprised. It was Zac Efron's first movie not relying on his singing, and he has legitimate screen presense. He's a likeable lead, and funny enough as a thirtysomething trapped in a high-schooler's body. Stealing the show though is Thomas Lennon (Reno 911!) as his geeky best friend who poses as his father.

And this is the only movie I can think in the past few years with a non-preachy pro-abstinence message. It felt refreshing.

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SUNSHINE CLEANING

**1/2

Starring Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Steve Zahn, Jason Spevack and Clifton Collins Jr.
Directed by Christine Jeffs.

Chick flick.

Yes, the plot is about two sisters who run their own crime-scene clean-up business, but it hits a lot of familiar notes. In fact, I think Practical Magic followed the same arch, except with witches. Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are two actresses who can make anything watchable, but I was disappointed how predictable and inconsequential it wound up being.

It gained a half-star for giving Mary Lynn Rajskub (24's Chloe) a role where she isn't scowling and barking her lines into a headset.

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ADVENTURELAND

***1/2

Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Starr, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Margarita Leviera, Wendie Malick and Jack Gilpin.
Directed by Greg Mottola.

Hey, a teen movie that John Hughes would be proud of. I guess it helps that it's set in 1987.

Jesse Eisenberg plays a rich kid whose parents suddenly don't have the money to support him. He has to get a job for the first time, and the only place he can find is the local amusement park. There he befriends the Weird Kid (Martin Starr) and falls for the Girl with Issues (Kristen Stewart).

Plenty of laughs are scored from the supporting players, and the very Eightiesness of it all. Greg Mottola (Superbad) tells his story with heart, though, and in the end, that's what matters.

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THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT

*1/2

Starring Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter, Garrett Dillahunt, Sara Paxton, Aaron Paul, Spencer Treat Clark, Riki Lindhome and Martha MacIsaac.
Directed by Dennis Iliadis.

Nothing much to say about this grisly revenge flick except that everyone involved is capable of better, and it really bugs me when the preview for a movie includes a scene that doesn't happen until the last thirty seconds of the actual movie.