Sucker Punch

(Guest Review by Russ)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When an evil step-father institutionalizes his daughter (Emily Browning) to cover up a murder he committed, she meets four other girls (Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, & Jamie Chung) who are presumably not crazy like her and together they come up with a plan to escape the mental asylum by navigating three levels of reality.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Carla Gugino, Oscar Isaac, Jon Hamm, Scott Glenn

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed With Caution. Fans of computer games will probably like it, with the caution that you don't get to actually be any of the characters. Every one else – you know, the average person who goes to a movie to be entertained by a well-told visual story? Well if that's you, your mileage may vary.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: It's a downer thanks to its subject matter. I can't remember a single time I laughed, or even cracked a smile. But my mouth was agape a few times over the shots this director pulled off.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Even without much of a story, the ending is kind of touching thanks to the talent of Abbie Cornish. So if you wind up crying, don't say you haven't been warned.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I think the executives responsible for 'greenlighting' this project should be given awards. Pink ones. Made out of paper.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: After you get past the fact that this film mainly exists to dress up hot young girls in slutty school girl outfits fabricated to make them appear as whoreish as possible, you might vaguely recall that all of these actresses did good work in the past. The acting talent shines through a little at a time, like sunlight through a bullet-ridden wall, but they can only do so much with the cardboard cutout characters the script provided them with. Maybe because she's older, Carla Gugino fares better. I didn't even know it was her until the end credits, but she's a definite highlight here.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: : I will confess that after the back-to-back awesomeness of Dawn of the Dead and 300, Zack Snyder became one of my favorite directors. With this film he continues to show what a talented visual stylist he is, like the one long continuous take of two actors sitting at mirrors that is so amazing it should be featured on one of those shows where that masked magician reveals how the trick was actually done. But he's also in charge of telling a cohesive and engaging story, and on that side of the spectrum, I'm afraid he grades out to an F this time.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: There's a good conceit in which the film gets into the main character's head by using three levels of 'reality' to tell the story. Considering it's set in a mental institution, the idea is a logical one. Beyond that though, the heroine's journey becomes repetitive, boring and a bit non-sensical, and then just when you think it can't get any more depressing, it does. Maybe the Sucker Punch of the title refers to how most people will feel after paying money to see this.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Sucker Punch Trailer

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