PG 13 rating takes bite out of Shark
Post on: 2011-09-05 By: admin
Considering how much delirious fun was found in last year’s “Piranha 3D,” Alexandre Aja’s shameless homage to Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster-defining “Jaws,” a 3-D film featuring nubile co-eds being snacked on by hungry sharks seems a logical progression of the saw-toothed terror strain.
Alas, David R. Ellis’ “Shark Night 3D,” despite actually being filmed in three dimensions (Aja’s film suffered a bit from a cheapie post-process conversion), lacks the perverse thrill of R-rated carnage, since its producers apparently decided to make a fast buck from targeting the teen demographic with a genre-stifling PG-13 rating.
No doubt, an unrated director’s cut will be available on DVD in a few months, but it will lack the 3-D effects that actually look halfway decent for a change. Sigh.
As it stands, the film strains to fill its 90 minutes, resorting to pointless time-lapse street scenes as the students travel by car from Tulane University to spend a weekend at an island lake house, where they become part of the region’s food chain.
The home belongs to Sara (Sara Paxton, “The Last House on the Left”), the beautiful, but chaste heroine. She’s joined by Nick (Dustin Milligan, “Final Destination 3”), a shy medical student (that’ll come in handy!) who emerges as both the hero and Sara’s love interest; Nick’s Halo-playing (product placement alert!) roommate Gordon (Joel David Moore, “Avatar”); bronzed boy Blake (Chris Zylka, the upcoming “Piranha 3DD”); Blake’s one-time hook-up Beth (“American Idol” runner-up Katharine McPhee); and childhood sweethearts Maya (Alyssa Diaz, TV’s “The Nine Lives of Chloe King”) and football star Malik (Sinqua Walls, TV’s “Friday Night Lights”). Guess who loses an arm?
Of the 350 different species of shark, 46 of them are swimming freely through this Louisiana lake, which I suppose makes sense, since it’s made up of salt water. Uh-huh.
Still, as bad as these man-eaters are, the locals are even worse. Take Red (Joshua Leonard, “The Blair Witch Project”), whose teeth are chiseled into shark-like choppers. When he tosses Sara’s dog into the drink, you just know the despicable yokel’s about to become chum, living up to his name as the waters turn crimson around him.
(“Shark Night 3D” contains some flesh and some blood, but not enough of either. Pity.)
Rated PG-13. At AMC Loews Boston Common, Regal Fenway Stadium and suburban theaters.
(0) Comments|Post / Read Comments
Next Article in Movie Reviews:
Comfortably dumb: Fall films light fare
NO TEETH: ‘Shark Night 3D’ doesn’t live up to the thrills of films such as ‘Piranha 3D.’
Here’s a quick guide to fall’s movie lineup:
Today: “Shark Night...
Top articles in Entertainment
Joe Jonas psyched for ‘intimate’ House of Blues show
Fall schedule features strong women
‘El Shaddai’ ascends to almighty levels
Ted Danson welcomes ‘CSI’ challenge
Women´s Business
$ave on Boston Herald Home Delivery
For back copy and collectible issue information please call 617-426-3000 Ext. 7714.Click here for Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox, and Bruins back copies
© Copyright by the Boston Herald and Herald Media.No portion of BostonHerald.com or its content may be reproduced without the owner's written permission. Privacy Commitment
0.017072 : cached : owl.heraldinteractive.commrev1363351_2011-09-04 11:39:30__1_0_0
Article original from: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/movies/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1363351&srvc=rss
