The Curve

Rating:
Summary: Waste of talent, bi-polar writing
Review: Waste of an extremely talented cast. Kerri Russell is beautiful, Michael Vartan has depth, but neither of these fine actors are given the opportunity to show their wares. The director tries some slick camera moves with disastrous results. He has a poor eye and lousy voice for story telling. There script was apparently touched up by someone other than the director. There are moments of real depth, but the majority of the film is less than lackluster, trite, simply mean-spirited with no redemptive flaws or vulnerabilities. The sound track was over produced, souless, and the composer track is uninspiring. This director needs to be directed.

Rating:
Summary: DANGEROUS CURVES
Review: Without rehasing the plot which can be found in the other good reviews, THE CURVE is a disturbing film and mainly because the bad guys seem to have no moral foundation at all. Matthew Lillard in a devilishly demonic performance, finds it easy to just roll Randall Batinkoff off the cliff. As the movie progresses, his deliciously psychotic character does everything he can to be obnoxious, manipulative and heartless. Rarely has a character seemed so heartless and malicious as his buddy, Randall Batinkoff. He treats his girlfriend so badly you want him to be dead. Keri Russell becomes a chameleon, one never knows what to expect from this girl. And Michael Vartan as the focal "hero," Chris, seems to be innocently oblivious to the deadly mechanisms Lillard is orchestrating. Add Dana Delany as a psychiatrist trapped by her knowledge of how these vicious minds are working and you have a cast of unusually non-empathic characters.
What makes it work though are the several unexpected twists that come in the movie. Subtle hints are given throughout the film, but they still pack a wallop at the end.
THE CURVE is a sophisticated and tidy little thriller that should have received a little more notice, but it is a Hitchcockian tribute well done.