My First Mister (2001)

Angsty, alienated teen (Leelee Sobieski) finds an unlikely confidante in her middle-aged boss (Albert Brooks) in this well written coming-of-age story. Sobieski's spicy monologues are what truly sucked me in. Read like diary passages, their extreme honesty treads the line of bad taste, but they remain well in-line with the character. Brooks plays many roles, from friend, father-figure and even love interest. The odd couple's dynamic grows ever more engrossing as each influences the other, stepping over societal boundaries in the process. Unfortunately, a sad twist in the latter half slows the pacing down considerably just as things are heating up, leaving the final meaningful moments sluggish and predictable.

3½ auto-eulogies out of 5

WRONG TURN [2003]

Rob Schmidt directs yet another hillbilly inbred serial killers film with Wrong Turn.
It's fairly generic in the storyline and stock characters but manages to supply some tension, well-timed humour and two strong leading characters.  There really aren't any surprises to be had or imaginative kill scenes however there's some entertaining chase scenes and settings which all benefit from it's brisk pace and will to get straight to the point.  It was exactly the type of crap that I wanted at the moment and it pretty much delivered.

2½ tasty mouthfuls of barbed wire out of 5