The mythically nostalgic allure of the adolescent summer spent at the lake crosses paths with the trashy, twisty nastiness of the psychosexual thriller in Careful What You Wish For, an entertaining, though highly derivative jaunt through the usual genre motions. For some reason, the protagonist is played by a Jonas brother, but Nick proves capable…
A common criticism of modern filmmaking is a lack of originality. And in a medium of formulaic genre styles that thrive on remakes, reboots, sequels and extended cinematic universes, it’s perhaps a valid point to make. Yet there is one main advantage to movies that carry a sense of familiarity — consistency. Whether it is…
Every Secret Thing begins with a birthday party — a pool party. 11-year-old Alice is thrilled to have been invited, but she’s really annoyed that her mother makes her bring Ronnie along. Ronnie is weird, quiet, and awkward, and she’s stalling Alice’s plans to be a popular girl. Also, Alice really doesn’t like that her…
