Poppy Montgomery & Dylan Walsh
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The Stepfather (2009)
2009’s The Stepfather is the dead-beat, absentee dad’s equivalent of horror thrillers: it does the bare minimum. Even if that were enough, its utter lack of thrills and creativity means it scores low. If you’re young and you’ve seen no other films of this kind, it might entertain you. Anyone else will be calling out every single development a half hour before it occurs.
Michael Harding (Penn Badgley) is suspicious of his soon-to-be stepfather. His mom (Sela Ward) just met him six months ago and certain things just don’t seem to add up. The teen is right to be suspicious. David Harris (Dylan Walsh) is actually a serial killer named Grady Edwards.
You know every one of this movie’s tricks from the title. Michael is a formerly troubled teen who thinks his mother is moving too fast. To his mom, Grady seems like the nicest man on Earth - the total antithesis to her ex-husband, Jay (Jon Tenney). Michael's girlfriend, Kelly (Amber Heard) also thinks he's over-reacting. Cue the mysterious incident in the neighborhood. Maybe it’s a dead cat or a nosy neighbor that turns up dead. Either way, isn’t it convenient for Grady that the one thing he was complaining about not so long ago has suddenly been solved through violence? Cue the failed attempts to gather clues as Grady leaves the house but suddenly has to turn around because he forgot something. Do I need to say more?
Once you begin watching The Stepfather, you will develop precognitive abilities and foresee everything long before it happens. Even if you don't, this still isn’t an effective thriller. There’s no subtlety, sense of humor, ironic twist or any commentary in its 101 minutes. All you can think of is how much smarter you are than Susan Harding. I don’t know if it’s a US thing, but her house has a lock on the door in the basement. Is it to prevent someone from sneaking ice cream? One must assume it was there before the stepfather moved in because otherwise, what kind of irresponsible woman would let someone install latches willy-nilly in her home? Anyone with half a brain should be able to tell the man’s as dodgy as a locked cellphone sold without its charging cable. The Stepfather can’t even keep his own lies straight and his attempts to cover up his fake identity are as weak as a kitten. In his defense, this film is set in the late 2000s, when it should obviously take place in the 80s, like the original. You’ll be yelling at the screen in frustration as characters’ phones constantly fall on the ground, are left unattended or run out of battery to prevent the story from ending prematurely.
If there's one good thing to say about this picture by Nelson McCormick, it's that the performances are fine. Dylan Walsh is quite good at flipping the switch between charming and menacing. Penn Badgley and Amber Heard are believable as a couple of teenage sleuths and while Sela Ward is too beautiful to completely sell her role as a single woman desperate for love, she does a fine job with the material.
The Stepfather does not fall into the usual pitfalls of bad slasher films. Its killer may be unusually quiet when sneaking around but he’s not invincible or capable of teleporting. It’s well made enough to be described as “basic”, which I suppose is better than “terrible” but far less memorable and by no means an acceptable substitute for “good”. This remake is destined to be forgotten and no one will care. (On DVD, October 24, 2021)
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Last Scene of Jordan with General Lane
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Superman & Lois S3 (Season premiere) | Easing Us Back In
#SupermanAndLois is back and S3 started let's hope that Gunn leaves this show alone, it's good.
S3 Premiere Review: I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this show since day one, there’s still a nice balance between the grounded and sci-fi aspects of the show. Every character still has time to shine, the visual effects remain solid, and the cast is killing it. The switch between Jordan Elsass and Michael Bishop – who we didn’t see too much of – was pretty smooth and Bishop is great in the role.
The…
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Poppy Montgomery As Carrie Wells And Dylan Walsh As Al Butns In Tv Show Unforgettble!!
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