Film Review: CASE 39 (2009)

Director: Christian Alvart
Running time: 109 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Horror/Mystery/Thriller
UK release date 5th March 2010

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 20th February 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I remember when this one came out I didn’t know much about it, but I had a feeling it was going to be an interesting film. Well, since then I had heard a few more bits and pieces, but not too much. So primed with a little knowledge and a glass of red wine I settled down to the scariest film I’ve seen this year (OK, it’s only February & it is only the 36th film I’ve seen this year). I will give you my thoughts after a very brief summary (summary haters and those who don’t wish to know anything about the plot please help Emily with those big bolts for the inside of her door while I write the next paragraph).

Emily Jenkins is a social worker who specialises in cases of child abuse, she lives alone, but has a boyfriend (of sorts), Doug, a psychologist. She’s already overworked when her boss, Wayne, gives her her 39th case file. It concerns a young girl, Lilith Sullivan, whose grades are dropping at school and she keeps falling asleep in class. Emily visits the family and the parents’ behaviour gives her cause for concern but there is no evidence of abuse. She tries to get a friend of hers, Mike Barron, a cop to look into the case, but again, there is no evidence. Having struck up a friendship with Lilith, Emily is more determined to get her away from her parents. She receives a phone call from Lilith late one night and, concerned, she gets Mike to meet her at the Sullivan house. There they find the parents attempting to kill Lilith (I won’t say how) and they are arrested after a struggle. Emily now applies for, and gets, custody of Lilith. At first things go well, but then… Well, that’s where I’ll leave it, but I will say it’s about to get very interesting to Emily.

I guess the plot is not entirely original, but the film is very well made with a decent cast to keep the audience interested. Now I’ll admit I’m not a huge fan of horror films and so I don’t watch many of them, but did like this one. The main reason being the performance of Jodelle Ferland as Lilith Sullivan, she was truly creepy when required and it really added to my enjoyment of the piece. It was nice to see Renée Zellweger in a genre I never thought I see her in as Emily Jenkins and Ian McShane put in a decent shift as Det. Mike Barron. I guess I should also give an honourable mention to Bradley Cooper as Doug, although he wasn’t really stretched.

I quite enjoyed this film; it made a nice change to see a horror film that was actually a bit creepy for a change. It’s not perfect, there’s quite a slow pace that’s used to build the tension and the final scenes are slightly predictable. Having said that, I think it’s worth a watch, it’s certainly better than some of the scores I’ve seen it given around the internet (you know who you are Rotten Tomatoes).

My score: 6.1/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0795351/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/case_39/
Official Site: http://www.case39movie.com/mainsite/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi4192142873/

Film Review: JERRY MAGUIRE (1996)

Writer/Director: Cameron Crowe
Running time: 132 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 15

Watched on Sky+ Friday 2nd October 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Set against the sleazy world of sports promotion, this is a love story that, for me, didn’t quite work. It may surprise you to know that, although it’s been out for over twelve years, this is the very first time I’ve seen it. The film has been sitting on my Sky+ hard drive for about a week and I finally found a spare two and quarter hours to watch it. It wasn’t all bad, it was, for the most part, very enjoyable, but I just thought there was no chemistry between Jerry and Dorothy. I could see what Writer/Director Cameron Crowe was trying to convey, but what I saw on the screen just didn’t seem to work. Anyway, here’s a bit about the plot and then I’ll continue.

Jerry Maguire is a very successful sports agent; he represents the interests of many top stars from all kinds of sports. One night, while at a convention, he decides to write down everything he thinks is wrong with the business, he calls it his ‘Mission Statement’. Not only does he write it down, but he has it printed and distributed to everyone at the convention. Here we are introduced to Dorothy Boyd, a single mum and an accountant at the same firm as Jerry, who is moved by his statement (and also looking for the right man for her). The consequences of his ‘Mission Statement’ are dire for Jerry, not only does he lose his job and, eventually, his fiancée, but also all of his clients, except one, Rod Tidwell, a footballer (of the American variety). When Jerry leaves the firm, the only one to go with him was Dorothy, because she believed in him. They work together and eventually a deeper relationship grows between them. If you want to know more, I guess you’ll have to watch it for yourself; it’s far too long for me to give you the whole plot!

As I said at the beginning, I wasn’t entirely convinced by the romantic element of this film. There is, however, a lot of comedy in it which is really well written and very well executed by the cast. Speaking of the cast, an excellent performance from Cuba Gooding Jr. as Rod Tidwell, he really threw himself into the role, and it showed. Good performances from Tom Cruise as Jerry Maguire and Renée Zellweger as Dorothy Boyd. Honourable mentions go to Kelly Preston as Avery Bishop, Jerry O'Connell as Frank Cushman, Jay Mohr as Bob Sugar and Bonnie Hunt as Laurel, Dorothy’s sister. Over all, an entertaining comedy with a romantic twist that didn’t quite work… for me.

My score: 6.5/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0814022/