Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Burning Bright

Peeking Tiger

Plot: A young woman and her younger brother get trapped in a house with a bengal tiger.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s2l4JGdPm8

Starring: Briana Evigan (Sorority Row), Garret Dillahunt (One Night Only), Meat Loaf ("Monk"), Charlie Tahan (Charlie St. Cloud)

Written by: Christine Coyle Johnson (An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong (V)), Julie Prendiville Roux (An American Girl...)

Directed by: Carlos Brooks (Quid Pro Quo)

Review: Inspired by the William Blake poem (read here if you're not familiar with it http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~keith/poems/tyger.html), the preposterous premise actually ends up panning out to a fast-paced, tension filled movie with some depth. There was character development here that serviced the story and made the plot work. Where this movie failed was in casting Evigan as the lead. She just doesn't have enough expression in her face, which is particularly important in movies like this without a lot of dialogue. She had her moments. She connected well with Tahan, and the laundry chute seen was my favorite scene in the film, but her face was so disconnected from her voice. She should really stick to dancing. Tahan, however, stole the show as her autistic little brother. A lot of love went into this film. It's scary, surprisingly well-written, and well directed. If a different leading lady had been cast, like Leighton Meester for instance, this film could've been a theatrical release.

Fun facts: Features an introduction by Evigan reading the William Blake poem. There was no CGI used in this movie for the tiger. The tiger (three were used in filming) was completely real. Fantastic. One saliva shot was the only CGI shot even remotely used with the tiger. The tiger itself was real. Fantastic! The laundry chute scene was done with a harnass and a pulley. They would pull Evigan up and randomly drop her without notice. That’s the only reason her acting is good here. It’s because it’s real.

Rating:

Writing-B

Acting-C

Directing-A

Music-A-I love the song at the credits.

Cinematography-A

Editing-B

Costumes-C

Art Direction-A

Hair-B

Makeup-B

Visual Effects-B

** Stars-because Evigan can't act

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