sarcasm_for_free

When your mother looks like one of the Nolan sisters, and your dad's a complete wet-wipe, you know you've got problems. And when 17-year old Isabelle (same name as the actress who plays her, natch) finds out her new activist friends are about to blow up a nuclear power plant, her life is about to get a whole lot more complicated. Who said teenage years were easy?

Unfinished Business is a pretty obscure find I watched on YouTube, featuring the Cold War paranoia that stretched as far as Canada back in the Reagan-era days of 1984. None (as far as I'm aware) of the Canuck cast went onto achieve great things in international cinema, and the whole predictable plot has a distinct whiff of 'Back To School Special' about it (Don't run away from home on a whim, Always listen to your parents, Don't do drugs, Eat your greens etc.).

Still, it has mostly good performances, and an amiable 80's charm that perseveres throughout. Even if it's over-earnestness can be grating sometimes, you can always play 'check out that bad hairdo or fashion choice'. Or just kick back and listen to that rocking soundtrack... in fact, that might be asking too much. *Puts earplugs in lugholes*. 5/10.

In this year's nominee for 'Most Original Concept', we have a misfit Girl Scout troupe (a fat one, a loner, a boy-crazy one etc) taken over temporarily(?) by a hard-nosed realtor bribed into this position by hopes of a promotion from her ex-scout boss. Obviously the two disparate parties can't stand each other at first, but what do you know... give them a bit of time and they might even beat their all-powerful all-conquering main rivals, preside over by a snotty club leader who's performance is by no way inspired by Sue Sylvester of Glee fame!

Yeah, so everything about this Made-For-TV is predictable and contrived, from the tacked-on love interest thrown in just for the sake of it (remember kids:NEVER let your career get in the way of a Good Man) to the treacly 'life lessons' learnt at the end tossed around like cheap cookies. Despite all this though, it still manages to be somewhat entertaining, thanks in no small part to some spirited performances from the youngsters and some surprisingly moving moments (A lot of schmaltz too, but it comes with the territory).

So while this one ain't gonna win any awards, considering its limited ambition & scope I'd say it just about does the job it sets out for. Put it this way: there are FAR worse ways to pass a boring Sunday morning... I would list them here, but I'm too bored. 5/10.

I've got a friend who would've loved Genevieve. It's a warm-hearted, simple comedy where the worst that happens is the occasional petty argument which quickly gets resolved, or a few loose ends falling off an ancient jalopy that can easily be picked up. This is a bygone era where you can leave your door unlocked overnight, perfect strangers stop you in the street to ask how-do-you-do and even the police won't write you a speeding ticket if you have a pretty wife who'll bat her doeish eyes at them.

Sadly though, I am not my friend so this charming yet unsubstantial ramble about two couple's race from London to Brighton and back again in their old automobiles left me a little cold. I'm sure fans of these antique machines would appreciate it more, as would those who would perhaps find Carry On movies a bit much. But aside from the odd smile, and a show-stopping scene involving a dame's exuberant rendition on a trumpet, I can't really recommend this film.

In other words, it needed to go a bit more full throttle instead of being stuck on auto-drive (you didn't expect me to last the entire review without making at least one car joke, do you)?