Shia LaBeouf as Kale, with Carrie-Ann Moss as his mother, is tiffany and co under house arrest and seeing creepy doings through his binoculars.
About the movie
Disturbia
Genre:Drama; Suspense, Thriller
MPAA rating:
PG-13for sequences of terror and violence, and some sensuality
Running time:01:44
Release date:2007
Rating:
Cast:Aaron Yoo; Brandon Caruso; Matt Craven; Viola Davis; David Morse money clips; Shia LaBeouf; Sarah Roemer; Carrie-Anne Moss; Luciano Caruso; Jose Pablo Cantillo
Directed by:D.J. Caruso
On the web:* Disturbia Official Site
check theaters for showtimesNOW SHOWING
* Regal Downingtown 16* AMC 309 Cinema 9* Regal Edgemont Square 10* AMC Marple 10* UA Oxford Valley Stadium 14* Regal Richland Crossing 12* AMC Orleans 8* UA Moorestown* The Pearl Theatre at Avenue North* UA King of Prussia Stadium 16* AMC Woodhaven 10* UA Movies at 69th Street* Cinemark Movies 16 — Somerdale* Regal Peoples Plaza Cinema 17* AMC Painter’s Crossing 9* Atco Multiplex Cinemas* UA East Whiteland Stadium 9* Regal Barn Plaza 14* AMC Marlton 8* UA Grant Plaza* pendants Regal Brandywine Town Center 16* UA Riverview Stadium 17* AMC Franklin Mills Mall 14* AMC Neshaminy 24* AMC Granite Run 8* Regal Warrington Crossing 22* AMC Deptford 8* Regal Plymouth Meeting 10
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Rear Window gets YouTubed in Disturbia, a mostly clever, jump- and-scream thriller about voyeurism, murder, and the stuff going on behind closed (garage) doors in suburban America.
Inventively updating the Jimmy Stewart shut-in in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 classic, director D.J. Caruso and screenwriters Christopher B. Landon and Carl Ellsworth have made their protagonist housebound not because of a broken leg, but because of the gizmo strapped to his leg: After surviving a horrendous car accident that kills his father, high schooler Kale Brecht (Shia LaBeouf) becomes an emotional wreck and slugs one of his teachers. Sentenced to house arrest, Kale has to wear an electronic ankle bracelet — if he leaves the parameters of his home, an alarm goes off and the police come.
So Kale passes his time playing video games, scarfing (and sculpting) junk food, scanning the neighborhood through binoculars: a married guy getting it on with his maid, some little kids sneaking cable porn, the dishy teenage daughter of a couple just moved in from the city, and a guy with a vintage Ford Mustang that matches the description of a vintage Ford Mustang spotted when a young woman was abducted.
The woman is missing and presumed dead.
And so Kale, aided by his goof-off pal Ronnie (Aaron Yoo) and that beautiful new neighbor, Ashley (Sarah Roemer), start sleuthing around, deploying cell phones, laptops and videocams to determine whether the creepy Mustang owner, Mr. Turner (Philadelphia’s own David Morse, once again playing the nut job), has an inventory of body bags in his garage.
Caruso orchestrates all this in swift, efficient strokes, mixing the jolts with some jokes, and building measurable suspense with a minimum of blood and gore. LaBeouf projects an intelligence and an Everyguy attitude that’s remindful of a younger John Cusack, while Roemer has a younger Gwyneth Paltrow thing going, if Gwyneth Paltrow had been a cast member of The O.C.
Disturbia, like a lot of high-concept thrillers, lets a few balls drop as the climax comes around: Kale’s mom, played by Carrie-Ann Moss, does some truly dopey things, Roemer’s character virtually disappears from view at an especially vital moment, and audience members will be yelling “Call for backup!” at the guy earrings playing Officer Gutierrez (Jose Pablo Cantillo).
But at a certain point, movies like Disturbia require suspension of belief. To its credit, that moment comes much later in the game than usual. Up until then, like Rear Window before it, Disturbia is sly and suspenseful and full of mounting dread.
——
Disturbia *** (out of four stars)
Directed by D.J. Caruso, written by Christopher B. Landon and Carl Ellsworth, photography by Rogier Stoffers. Distributed by Paramount/DreamWorks.
Like ‘Rear Window’ with ankle bracelet
Shia LaBeouf as Kale, with Carrie-Ann Moss as his mother, is tiffany and co under house arrest and seeing creepy doings through his binoculars.
About the movie
Disturbia
Genre:Drama; Suspense, Thriller
MPAA rating:
PG-13for sequences of terror and violence, and some sensuality
Running time:01:44
Release date:2007
Rating:
Cast:Aaron Yoo; Brandon Caruso; Matt Craven; Viola Davis; David Morse money clips; Shia LaBeouf; Sarah Roemer; Carrie-Anne Moss; Luciano Caruso; Jose Pablo Cantillo
Directed by:D.J. Caruso
On the web:* Disturbia Official Site
check theaters for showtimesNOW SHOWING
* Regal Downingtown 16* AMC 309 Cinema 9* Regal Edgemont Square 10* AMC Marple 10* UA Oxford Valley Stadium 14* Regal Richland Crossing 12* AMC Orleans 8* UA Moorestown* The Pearl Theatre at Avenue North* UA King of Prussia Stadium 16* AMC Woodhaven 10* UA Movies at 69th Street* Cinemark Movies 16 — Somerdale* Regal Peoples Plaza Cinema 17* AMC Painter’s Crossing 9* Atco Multiplex Cinemas* UA East Whiteland Stadium 9* Regal Barn Plaza 14* AMC Marlton 8* UA Grant Plaza* pendants Regal Brandywine Town Center 16* UA Riverview Stadium 17* AMC Franklin Mills Mall 14* AMC Neshaminy 24* AMC Granite Run 8* Regal Warrington Crossing 22* AMC Deptford 8* Regal Plymouth Meeting 10
Philly.com Movies
* Movies A-Z* Find a theater* Go to Movies
Rear Window gets YouTubed in Disturbia, a mostly clever, jump- and-scream thriller about voyeurism, murder, and the stuff going on behind closed (garage) doors in suburban America.
Inventively updating the Jimmy Stewart shut-in in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 classic, director D.J. Caruso and screenwriters Christopher B. Landon and Carl Ellsworth have made their protagonist housebound not because of a broken leg, but because of the gizmo strapped to his leg: After surviving a horrendous car accident that kills his father, high schooler Kale Brecht (Shia LaBeouf) becomes an emotional wreck and slugs one of his teachers. Sentenced to house arrest, Kale has to wear an electronic ankle bracelet — if he leaves the parameters of his home, an alarm goes off and the police come.
So Kale passes his time playing video games, scarfing (and sculpting) junk food, scanning the neighborhood through binoculars: a married guy getting it on with his maid, some little kids sneaking cable porn, the dishy teenage daughter of a couple just moved in from the city, and a guy with a vintage Ford Mustang that matches the description of a vintage Ford Mustang spotted when a young woman was abducted.
The woman is missing and presumed dead.
And so Kale, aided by his goof-off pal Ronnie (Aaron Yoo) and that beautiful new neighbor, Ashley (Sarah Roemer), start sleuthing around, deploying cell phones, laptops and videocams to determine whether the creepy Mustang owner, Mr. Turner (Philadelphia’s own David Morse, once again playing the nut job), has an inventory of body bags in his garage.
Caruso orchestrates all this in swift, efficient strokes, mixing the jolts with some jokes, and building measurable suspense with a minimum of blood and gore. LaBeouf projects an intelligence and an Everyguy attitude that’s remindful of a younger John Cusack, while Roemer has a younger Gwyneth Paltrow thing going, if Gwyneth Paltrow had been a cast member of The O.C.
Disturbia, like a lot of high-concept thrillers, lets a few balls drop as the climax comes around: Kale’s mom, played by Carrie-Ann Moss, does some truly dopey things, Roemer’s character virtually disappears from view at an especially vital moment, and audience members will be yelling “Call for backup!” at the guy earrings playing Officer Gutierrez (Jose Pablo Cantillo).
But at a certain point, movies like Disturbia require suspension of belief. To its credit, that moment comes much later in the game than usual. Up until then, like Rear Window before it, Disturbia is sly and suspenseful and full of mounting dread.
——
Disturbia *** (out of four stars)
Directed by D.J. Caruso, written by Christopher B. Landon and Carl Ellsworth, photography by Rogier Stoffers. Distributed by Paramount/DreamWorks.
Running time: 1 hour, 44 mins.
Kale Brecht. . . Shia LaBeouf
Ashley. . . Sarah Roemer
Mr. Turner. . . David Morse
Julie Brecht. . . Carrie-Ann Moss
Ronnie. . . Aaron Yoo
Parent’s guide: PG-13 (violence, sex, profanity, adult themes)
Playing at: area theaters
Contact movie critic Steven Rea at 215-854-5629 or srea@phillynews.com. Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/ stevenrea.