TimothyP

While the concept has been done before, there was reason to hope going into this movie. A movie that promises to stretch out the opening scene of Scream to feature length could be done well, given the right care and feeding (so to speak). After all, Ready or Not was a great movie, but at its core, it was just a new take on The Most Dangerous Game.

Alas, it was not to be.

Shook made me sad.

While there are some nice twists and turns as the plot unfolds, Shook is woefully underwritten. At no point do we feel anything resembling empathy for our main character, her friends are nothing more than by-the-numbers stereotypes, and the pacing is off. I don't know if the director was trying to do a slow burn in some scenes, but if so, she didn't execute well at all.

And to add a little insult to the viewer's injury, there are continuity issues all over the place, the most egregious happening in the opening minutes of the film.

I give it a 4/10 because there's a good movie hiding in here. As I said, there are some nice, effective twists and turns. But underdeveloped characters and bad pacing doom this one to the bargain bin, if those still exist.

Written by the tandem of Tom McGuane and Jim Harrison, this movie had fun written all over it from the start. Listen: Keith Carridine, Tom Waits, and Sally Kirkland hide some emeralds in a horse. The plot is to smuggle the emeralds into the US, kill the horse, and fence the emeralds.

Of course Carridine is the no-good brother of Bill Pullman, who ranches in Montana. And of course he doesn't want to kill the horse. And of course he double-crosses his partners.

That's it, really. Waits and Kirkland chase after him, and hijinks ensue.

Waits is particularly fun as Kenny, a sociopathic killer who thinks he's smarter than anyone else, and Carridine is just enough of a likable rogue that you can follow him through the movie without getting too angry with him. Add in Pullman (who appeared in just about every movie shot in Montana in the late '80s...my understanding is that he was teaching in either Bozeman or Missoula), and Rip Torn as the local sheriff, and you've got a fun, goofy movie that's harmless and has a truly inspired moment or three.

Worth a rent. Worth owning if you're a Tom Waits fan, as this is one of his more prominent roles.

Seven of ten.

I have no doubt that Rachael Ray is a fine cook, but she's just too damned perky. I can't stand watching that ever cheery mug grinning like a maniac at the camera. If I flip the channel and unexpectedly see her face, I'm put off my feed for a week, which is exactly the opposite of what the food network is supposed to do, isn't it? I honestly don't see her appeal. Not to mention the fact that I don't have anyone to keep my fridge stocked with just the perfect ingredients and fresh herbs that she seems to chop and use constantly.

Again, I'm sure she's a wonderful cook, and might be just fine in private, but her public persona annoys the expletive deleted out of me.