“The Myth of the American Sleepover”Comedy.Not rated. 1 hour, 33 minutes. At the Denver FilmCenter/Colfax.Not a single moment rings false in “The Myth of the American Sleepover,” the quietly observant, gently insightful feature debut from writer-director David Robert Mitchell.
He takes an overly familiar genre — the all-night teen dramedy — and makes it feel refreshing and new. He also makes it look effortless: By assembling a cast of unknowns, he creates a warm aura of authenticity.
Incoming freshman Maggie (standout Claire Sloma) is the movie’s sassy, rebellious flirt; her sidekick is the sweet, shy Beth (Annette DeNoyer). Rob (Marlon Morton) is on the lookout for a beautiful blond he spotted while shopping with his mom at the supermarket. And Scott (Brett Jacobsen) is home from college and at a crossroads.
You can feel the yearning in every frame — the angst, the need to belong, to be understood and loved. Mitchell’s little movie is pretty much perfect in depicting youthful imperfection. (Christy Lemire, The Associated Press)“Fright Night”Horror. PG-13. 1 hour, 52 minutes. At area theaters.If only to witness Colin Farrell languidly wipe thick red blood off his face with the back of his hand, “Fright Night” is worth a few minutes of your time.
What Farrell’s doing slumming it as the vampire-next- door in this intermittently amusing remake of the 1985 cult hit is anybody’s guess. But he certainly has a good time with the part of Jerry Dandridge, a vampire so confident in his sexual magnetism that he barely lifts a finger to lure his prey. He’s the sociopath as food critic.
A shame there’s nothing nearly so original anywhere else in the update, despite likable Anton Yelchin as the teen target Charley and Toni Collette (also mysteriously slumming it) as his mom.
The movie springs to life when Charley visits Peter Vincent (British actor David Tennant), the Las Vegas magician whose ability to kill vampires may be more than just illusion. (Christopher Kelly, McClatchy Newspapers)“Conan the Barbarian” Action. R. 1 hour, 42 minutes. At area theaters.So this it how it ends — with a bang and a whimper.
The last big, special- effects-laden franchise film of summer, “Conan the Barbarian” is as frenetic and violent as could be expected. There’s enough head-bashing and limb-hewing to make an ER doc woozy. But the movie is ultimately so pedestrian it’s hard to work up much enthusiasm as it lurches from one big action set-piece to the next.
The problem is that Conan (Jason Momoa, from HBO’s “Game of Thrones”) may have the required physique to play Conan, but he isn’t particularly compelling as a lead. His sword has more emotional range than he does. And “Conan” could compete for honors as the film of the year with the most unnecessary use of 3-D. (Cary Darling, McClatchy Newspapers)
