The Heartbreak Kid (2007)

A remake of the 1972 film about a shallow man who quickly courts and marries a beautiful woman, then realizes they have nothing in common and falls for another woman on their honeymoon. As always, Ben Stiller excels at playing the hapless sap, but this one has more of a mean streak than other romantic comedies. It's raunchy and offensive, which gets bonus points in my book, but this is not one of the Farrelly brothers' best. The original holds up much better.

2 cures for a jellyfish sting out of 5

The Ninth Configuration (1980)

An abandoned castle is the setting for William Peter Blatty's odd film. Within its walls are a group of Vietnam War-era U.S. soldiers that have been classified as crazy. A new psychiatrist arrives, tasked with finding out if they really are as mad as they appear to be and, if so, to do his best to help them.
The shrink is Stacy Keach and he's amazing in the role, the best I've ever seen him, infinitely more intriguing than many of the colourful patients.
Initially I disliked the film, but the occasional Vonnegut-esque moments kept me seated. Over time I grew more comfortable with the feverish feeling.
A pivotal scene (aprrox 45 mins into the 118 mins vers.) changed everything, thereafter a thematically darker and more theologically complex shadow was cast over all things. I believe a viewer's understanding of the second half will depend greatly on their interpretation of one particular spoken word in said scene, but the differing conclusions that result from it are equally powerful.

3½ second-hand recurrences out of 5

BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON [2006]

Scott Glosserman's comedic-horror mockumentary Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon is set in a world where Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees & Michael Myers are very much real.  

It focuses on aspiring masked serial killer Leslie Vernon as he sets up an old farm house ripe for a group of partying teenagers and a night of murder & mayhem.  It hilariously dissects the teenage slasher flick, in a similar fashion as Scream did a decade before it and takes a deadly serious turn during it's grand finale.  Like Scream, serious horror film fanatics will probably hate their beloved films being torn apart before their very eyes, however anybody who's in it for the pure fun will love the energy and passion put into the violence and humour.

3 virgins out of 5