Monday, October 5, 2009

Surveillance [2008]


Although you won't find me mooing "nepotism!" like the pretentious and ego-maniacal beef reviewers out there, but the distaste in my summation of Surveillance will be quite alike. Daughter Lynch and Surveillance has had a lot of buzz...but for me, too big a hangover to repeat the taste test.  Think Kalifornia, meets Saw, with a surprise visit from Super Troopers. 

Here we go...two FBI agents arrive at a remote police station, after a brutal car accident and multiple homicides, to help investigate and interrogate three survivors including one police officer. The officer is questioned by the police chief (Michael Ironside), a 20-something drug addict gets the two remaining on-duty officers, and a young child is consoled and questioned by the female agent (Julia Ormond), all while the male agent (Bill Pullman) looks on over three video monitors.

Surveillance steps onto the right foot right off the bat...a brutal slice and dice goriffic double murder attempt in a bedroom...we're then rudely interrupted as Surveillance comes down with a bad case of the "bloodied and injured woman escapee running and screaming down a road" syndrome. **And I thought only the drug addict had the sniffles.**

From then on Jennifer Lynch force feeds us an awkward, yet workable structured angle to the horrific events...each victims tells a self-serving account, while the audience receives the actual events...most of it's boring, idiotic, and unreal. Once we're all up to speed, the twist is airplaned into our tight lipped mouths and shoved down our throat...but if you didn't fall asleep you already knew what the secret shitty ingredient was.

Other dribs and drabs...Julia Ormond is still ever-sexy, Bill Pullman has the trademark Pullmanian squinty mcgrin performance dialed up to "dangerously high", French Stewart of 3rd Rock fame and co-writer Kent Harper are ridiculous and idiotic, Ryan Simpkins gets the 2008 Dakota Fanning Award, and David Lynch can chalk this up as pro-bono work.

5/10


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