Red wire? They're all red wires!

Man on a Ledge

(2012)

An enjoyably far-fetched premise that delivers surprisingly effective thrills for the first two-thirds. But then it turns so bat-shit dumb and reliant on such utterly implausible circumstances for plans to succeed that any lingering suspension of disbelief is destroyed. Disgraced cop Sam Worthington (surprisingly okay, but he can't disguise his Oz accent) climbs out on a ledge and threatens to jump while his brother (Jamie Bell) begins a robbery just a little way down the street.

The scenes on the ledge are well-sustained, and Worthington and negotiator Elizabeth Banks spark off each other. The heist sequences are also quite fun, even if the banter between Bell and buxom Genesis Rodriguez is fairly puerile.

There is also a solid supporting cast on hand, including Titus Welliver, Ed Harris and William Sadler. In the end, though, director Asger Leth's delivery is superior to his material, and the last half hour piles daft development upon daft development until we reach a hilariously cartoonish showdown scene with the villain.

***

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She writes Twilight fan fiction.

Vampire Academy (2014)
My willingness to give writer Daniel Waters some slack on the grounds of early glories sometimes pays off (Sex and Death 101) and sometimes, as with this messy and indistinct Young Adult adaptation, it doesn’t. If Vampire Academy plods along as a less than innovative smart-mouthed Buffy rip-off that might be because, if you added vampires to Heathers, you would probably get something not so far from the world of Joss Whedon. Unfortunately inspiration is a low ebb throughout, not helped any by tepid direction from Daniel’s sometimes-reliable brother Mark and a couple of hopelessly plankish leads who do their best to dampen down any wit that occasionally attempts to surface.

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My name is Dr. King Schultz, this is my valet, Django, and these are our horses, Fritz, and Tony.

Django Unchained (2012)
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You look like an angry lizard!

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It seemed as if I had missed something.

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Part of the problem is simply one of production values. The audio tra…

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Believe me, Mr Bond, I could shoot you from Stuttgart und still create ze proper effect.

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Yes sir, that is how it is happening, all times.

The Owl Service
Episode Two
Huw tells the story of the Mabinogion (“Yes sir, that is how it is happening, all times”). Roger takes on both an investigatory position and a reluctant one (he conceals Alison’s scratch with a plaster, perhaps embarrassed by the carnal passions it implies). And no one seems all that concerned about the vanishing plate designs (although the others think Alison must have done it).

The tensions between the trio have started to mount up. Most effective is the scene where Gwyn confronts Alison. Clad in a bikini, she lies on a sun lounger reading the Mabinogion. As Gwyn angrily sends the book flying, we see quick cuts of her painted face (“You shouldn’t have done that!”) and the sound of fluttering pages/birds as he flees, apparently pursued by something. And then they make up, as if all is fine and it was just a lover’s tiff. Now Roger, wearing, Alison’s sunglasses and with an impassive expression suggesting subdued jealousy, observes them. Roger gets many of the …

Now In Full Color, with a Happier Ending

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