Disturbia [HD DVD]
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Sarah Roemer, Carrie-Anne Moss, David Morse, Aaron YooDirector: D.J. Caruso
Studio: Dreamworks Home Entertainment
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Subtitled
Running Time: 104 minutes
DVD Release: August 7th 2007
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DVD Review
Dreamworks Disturbia (HD-DVD)
After his father's accidental death, Kale (Shia LaBeouf) remains withdrawn and troubled. When he lashes out at a well-intentioned but insensitive teacher, he finds himself undera court-ordered house arrest. His mother continues to cope, working extra shifts to support herselfand her son, as she tries in vain to understand the changes in his personality. The walls of his house begin to close in on Kale as he takes chances to extend the boundaries both physical and emotional - of his confinement. His interests turn outside the windows of his suburban home toward those ofhis neighbors, including a mutual attraction to the new girl next door (Sarah Roemer). Together, they begin to suspect that another neighbor is a serial killer. Are their suspicions merely the product of Kale's cabin fever and vivid imagination? Or have they unwittingly stumbled across a crime thatcould cost them their lives?
User Reviews
Have you ever wondered... - Rating: 1/5
Have you ever wondered what a boring hollow version of Rear Window would be like? Well you needn't wonder any longer because this movie is just that.
If you value your time & money, you will stay away ye fool.
A POLISHED TURD - Rating: 1/5
This is just another piece of glamorized, over produced,Hollywood garbage. Uninteresting & boring. I give it 1 star for the T&A.
(3.5 STARS) Entertaining Teenage Verison of "Rear Window" - Rating: 4/5
A troubled teenage boy Kale is under house arrest after hitting a teacher at school. He has to stay in his own house with a special device attached to his leg when Kale discovers that he may or may not be living next door to a notorious serial killer. But how can he prove it when his mother wouldn't listen and the police are unsympathetic? He can trust only his best friend Ronnie and a new girl (and love interest) Ashley.
You will find the basic situation of "Disturbia" is too similar to that of "Rear Window," in which James Stewart's hero is trapped in his room because of his broken leg, but that doesn't mean that "Disturbia" is a worthless clone of Hitchcock's masterpiece. Well, you may call it a rip-off, but "Disturbia" succeeds as thriller (not completely though) and it also has some really funny moments. The main characters, three teenagers in particular, are memorable, thanks to the fine acting from the stars Shia LaBeouf, Sarah Roemer and Aaron Yoo. If you say Shia LaBeouf is on his way to be a big star, yes, I think so too. The film is also shot with stylish camera, but not in the showy way.
Sadly, like Director D. J. Caruso's previous films, "Disturbia" loses its narrative power in the final chapter where things happen in a more conventional way. Another disappointment for me is Carrie-Anne Moss, whose character as Kale's mother becomes a cipher in the film's second half. And at some point some characters behave in a too incredible way - David Morse's character, I think, talks too much - but maybe you find it differently. Please see it for yourself.
"Disturbia" may not be a great thriller, but it is still more entertaining than many of its ilk.
Not your average teen flick - Rating: 4/5
Disturbia is one of those rare suspense movies that I actually enjoyed. I am not one who typically likes Teenager movies, although this year has been the exception. First the Invisible, and now this one.
In essence, it's a remake of an old classic Alfred Hitchcock movie, called the Rear Window.
Both movies have several themes in common - someone essentially trapped inside their home due to circumstances, and out of boredom they begin to spy on their neighbours.
Growing up is difficult for everyone. I remember how tough my teenage years were. You've got pressure from your family to do well in school (that is, if you have a family that cares), you have to deal with peer pressure, bullies, and of course the worst part of growing up - raging hormones.
To make things even worse, throw a tragic loss into the mix and it is nothing more than a recipe for disaster.
That's what happened to the Kale Brecht (portrayed by Shia LaBeouf). In high school when he loses his father right before his eyes in a tragic car accident, he ends up retreating into himself.
His marks in school suffer and after his Spanish Teacher ends up making a comment about his father, he loses his temper and hits the teacher.
That ends up leading to him being charged for assault and placed under 3 months house arrest.
Now, as a parent of a teenager myself, I know how tough things are. The hormones are especially difficult to deal with, and they turn even your best child into a rebellious monster.
Well, not monster, but you get the picture.
I know that when my kid disobeys, I punish him by taking away his privileges. And that's exactly what happened to Kale. His mother (portrayed by Carrie-Anne Moss) cuts off his I-tunes and Xbox live.
And to make a point, she even cut the power cord to his television. Thus increasing the tension between the two of them.
So, boredom sets in and he begins to spy on the neighbours in order to keep himself from going crazy. In a few short weeks he discovers how interesting his neighbours are - trouble makers, obsessive compulsives, even infidelity!
Now, the movie is quite entertaining, with several scenes of laugh out loud humour, and even a little bit of sensuality when new neighbours move in and Kale notices the beautiful and very well built daughter. She does spend a lot of time lounging in the pool, after all.
The suspense begins to build after Kale listens to reports about missing girls and suspects it's because of his one neighbour, after realizing that the car he drives matches the description of the vehicle last seen with one of the victims.
With the help of his best friend Ron and the lovely girl from next door, he ends up setting of a chain of events that culminates in one very intense confrontation.
Oh, and his friend Ron pulls off one hell of a practical joke - something that I'd love to do myself!
So, as a teenage flick goes, I enjoyed it and found it to be worth seeing.
I also took the time to watch several of the bonus features that were included on the disk. It had your typical deleted scenes, of which none really helped progress the plot, so I can see why they ended up on the cutting room floor.
I did enjoy the outtakes, the second one in particular. I was disappointed though that the Serial Pursuit trivia pop up game didn't work on my disk. It kept brining me back to the main menu.
The music video for the song `Don't make me wait' by This World Fair was ok.
Speaking of music, I didn't really care for the soundtrack. Hey, I'm more of a heavy rocker than pop, and the music didn't really catch my interest. But as I've stated many times in the past - this is strictly my opinion, and no one else's.
The DVD is worth checking out.
4 out of 5
The serial killer next door? - Rating: 4/5
A well-done movie featuring the standard troubled youth, the ethnic sidekick, the spunky girlfriend, the longsuffering mother...and that mild-manner next-door neighbor who just might be a cold-blooded serial killer. An interesting mix, with the plot based on the classic "he just did something that makes him look guilty" followed by "he just did something that makes him look innocent" back-and-forth until the climax. No spoilers in this review. Find out for yourself if Mr. Turner is a latter-day Arthur "Boo" Radley, or Hannibal Lector.
