Weekly Review -- Dare to dig deep

The Ruins (2008) -- A strange example of a disturbing, yet instantly forgettable horror film, this offering is mostly a rehashed warning against traveling abroad à la Turistas and Hostel. Contrary to the latter two movies, though, the underlying fatalistic note running through it provides effectiveness and is the source of the movie's true horror. Four American students, tempted by a possibly adventurous last day in Mexico, decide to visit an ancient Mayan temple with another tourist, whose girlfriend is one of the archaeologists working on a dig there. Once they arrive, a banding group of locals will not let them leave and are literally ready to kill to keep them on site. A few injuries, supernatural occurrences and dead bodies later, the predicament becomes all too clear... The main problem I had with this film, apart from its numerous plotholes, were the unsympathetic and chauvinistic characters. Jeff (Jonathan Tucker), whose upcoming medical training seems to have skewered his sense of himself and his self-worth, quickly takes over as leader and starts putting his girlfriend Amy (Jenna Malone) and her best friend Stacy (Laura Ramsey) in danger, while his friend and Stacy's boyfriend Eric (Shawn Ashmore) barely mutters a syllable. As for the girls, they are much too needy and gullible to say no to their boyfriends' demands. Amy is the one who shows some strength and assertiveness, but those traits are too little, too late; besides, the situation would force her to stand up for herself eventually, anyway, so the sudden jolt of independence does not even count as character development. As for the plotholes, let us just say that there are more holes in the movie than in the road that our not-so-clever tourists take to get to the dig.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

A gaping blunder is the obvious one -- when the friends arrive at the site, the locals pop up and start standing guard day and night, preventing the curse from ever leaving its roots. As ludicrous as that entire premise is, I am sure that the site could have been isolated earlier, in a more practical way. Yes, I am aware that there would have been no movie without the initial story, but, had the locals built some sort of barrier in the first place, they would have saved both themselves and foreigners a lot of grief. Use your brains, people, unless you are of the do-it-yourself mentality, which is what we get in The Ruins.

Another goof stems from the fact that, based on the very beginning of the movie, this group was not the first group of people that went missing at the temple. Has anyone -- the police, local or foreign governments, ANYONE -- ever begun to wonder just where these throngs of people are? Apparently, they come from all over the world, so how come there has never been any kind of search put in motion?

**END OF SPOILERS**

All these and other errors contribute to the movie being merely passable. However, it is the deeply unsettling sense of isolation and invisibility that brings potential to the movie. Even though it does not quite manage to balance out the negatives, it does provide the crucial element of claustrophobia that makes the movie worth watching. If you like your horror cinema on the creepy side, this is the movie to see.

5/10

Weekly Review -- A night (not) to remember

Prom Night (2008) -- One of the horror movies tailor-made for the new generation -- text messages, bling, MTV-style quasi-glitz and all -- this flick is an instant chuck in the sale bin. Just like many girls her age, Donna (Brittany Snow) is anxiously awaiting her prom. However, her anxiety is not only of the jewelry-fits-dress variety -- a few years earlier, an obsessive teacher murdered Donna's entire family to get to her, and has been locked up ever since. Of course, just when Donna and her friends arrive at their prom, guess who shows up? Everything about this movie screams mediocre. The cast is barely worth mentioning, although Jessalyn Gilsig manages to elevate her role as Donna's aunt, using unfeigned emotion to show heartfelt worry. The killer is not only stereotypical, he is not even one-dimensional. I kept wondering when he would get bored with spewing out the clichéd 'we'll be together forever'-type lines, fling his hands in the air and walk away. The other characters, murders and all the sneaking and hiding are strictly by the numbers, making one wonder why this movie was even made. You do not need a date for this prom; in fact, you do not even have to waste money on one ticket.

4/10

Weekly Review -- Bliss(less)

What Happens in Vegas (2008) -- A bit of a twist on the standard romantic comedy genre, this acerbic comedy is a fun enough film for one viewing, but offers a forgettable experience overall. Career girl Joy McNally (Cameron Diaz) has just been dumped by her fiancé, while part-time slacker Jack Fuller (Ashton Kutcher) has just lost his job. Following a random encounter in Vegas, they manage to win three million dollars on a slot machine... then split it and go their separate ways, right? Wrong, since somewhere between their arrival and winning the riches, Joy and Jack have succumbed to a drunk-dial impulse and got married, a tiny fact they did not recall until after they have won. After their attempt at a quickie divorce, the traditionally oriented judge (Dennis Miller) sentences them to six months of marriage instead. If they can make it work, they keep the money; if one of them ends the affair, the other one gets the winnings. Of course, each party decides to forcefully make the other one end the marriage, and hijinks ensue. The movie does well when it sticks to its principal story, but falls flat when relying too much on crude humor instead of the leads' chemistry, of which there is plenty. Diaz and Ashton are playfully vibrant and adept at physical comedy; sparks fly between them during assorted scenes teeming with nastiness, spite and innumerable childish actions, and it is their genuine rapport that makes the movie watchable. However, they do not have much room to move, due to the screenwriters' propensity to cram as many clichés and tasteless jokes into the proceedings as humanly possible. The supporting players are mostly wasted, as well, due to sloppy writing and stereotypical characters -- the supportive best girlfriend, clueless best friend and ultra competitive co-worker are all characters we have seen before. What Happens in Vegas could have gone the route of being a unique social commentary on greed and relationships, but, rather than explore its interesting surface ideas, the film gets stuck in pie-throwing, knee-slapping mode, having only the charm of its leads to pull it through.

5/10