Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena play LAPD officers with an undying friendship and loyalty that comes from being partners. The actors are so endearing in their chemistry that the film could forget about its plot about a drug cartel and just give us two hours of the characters teasing each other. I\u2019d say the film has an excellent script, but the dialogue sounds so spontaneous that I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if much of it was ad-libbed and not scripted. That kind of natural feel is what makes \u201cEnd of Watch\u201d such a standout of the \u201cfound footage\u201d genre.<\/p>\n Three Stars out of Five.<\/p>\n \u201cEnd of Watch\u201d is rated R for strong violence, disturbing images, pervasive language including sexual references, and some drug use. Its running time is 109 minutes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHouse at the End of the Street\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n The film is your typical haunted house horror movie. Elissa (Lawrence) keeps finding reasons to poke around the home of her disturbed neighbor (Max Thieriot). The house has a violent past, a violent present, and if Elissa isn\u2019t careful, a violent future. The script actually has some pretty clever misdirection involving the villain, but it\u2019s not enough to save \u201cHouse at the End of the Street\u201d from being an utterly forgettable horror entry.<\/p>\n Two Stars Out of Five.<\/p>\n \u201cHouse at the End of the Street\u201d is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and terror, thematic elements, language, some teen partying, and brief drug material. Its running time is 101 minutes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/end-watch.jpg\" "\\"end")
<\/a>This has been a good year for the \u201cfound footage\u201d movie. Once relegated to horror films, this year has seen the genre expand to include comedy (\u201cProject X\u201d), superheroes (\u201cChronicle\u201d, still my favorite wide release of the year), and now a cop movie in \u201cEnd of Watch\u201d. The style gives the film a gritty, realistic texture. The downside is that the action sequences are filmed with such shakiness that they\u2019re likely to make viewers motion sick. Also, there\u2019s the constant question of who exactly is doing the filming, especially in the film\u2019s climactic scenes.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/House-at-the-end-of-the-street-banner-150x150.jpg\" "\\"House")
<\/a>\u00a0The ads for \u201cHouse at the End of the Street\u201d promise that the film stars \u201cThe Hungers Games\u201d\u2019 Jennifer Lawrence, which in fairness it does. The ads do not promise that the film is actually exciting or scary, which it isn\u2019t. I can only conclude that the film was thrown together without much thought simply because the studio wanted a vehicle for Lawrence and not because anybody was particularly interested in the story.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Trouble_with_the_Curve_Poster-150x150.jpg\" "\\"Trouble_with_the_Curve_Poster\\"")
<\/a>The logic behind \u201cTrouble with the Curve\u201d seems to be that a film that combines things that everybody likes should automatically result in a film that everybody likes. The film takes the iconic Clint Eastwood, pairs him with the adorable Amy Adams, throws in the way cool Justin Timberlake, and puts them all in a story centered on the beloved national pastime of baseball. On paper this movie should be a home run, and perhaps that mindset led to a complacency that makes the film seem like a weak effort.<\/p>\n