Disturbia

Ah, Shia LaBeouf. This “re-imagining” of Rear Window would not have worked without him.

He is a very talented guy, and much like Transformers, the material here is elevated by his charisma. In the hands of a lesser actor, this would have bombed. It’s through sheer force of personality that lifted this from direct-to-video quality to theatrical success.

Shia plays Kale, a kid reeling from the loss of a family member, who falls into some trouble that leaves him on house arrest. As tedium sets in, he decides to grab some binoculars and spy on the neighbors. He gets more than he bargained for, and with the help of hot neighbor girl, must unravel what is going on at the neighborhood loner’s house. There are a few good scares, but there isn’t enough of a creepy factor. It takes a little too long to get the ball rolling, and then it just jumps from zero to sixty. A more skilled director might have built it up a little more, but there is very little room for doubt about how this will turn out. Still it’s worth a rental.

BrianS


2 1/2 Dead Clowns