Jailbait (2000) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Let me just say that I absolutely LOVED this movie. And let me also say that have left my teen years some 20 years ago. I am 33 and usually hate to have to suffer through any teen-oriented comedy like "American Pie" I saw recently which I found hopelessly unfunny, boring and stupid. And most of the time, I don't even bother to try watching any other recent films dealing with young people's awakening about sex issues.
This said, I happened to catch "Jailbait" on cable recently and was instantly sucked into the deeply effective editing and camera work involved, along with the very satirical directing and performances. Even though the subject of statuary rape is a serious one, here it is treated in such a way that there is an awareness of the fact that this is high camp cinema and nothing depicted should be treated seriously.
I was particularly impressed with the two young leads which have been brilliantly directed into delivering performances that are in total harmony with the whole tone of the movie. This is a movie making fun of the whole "teen-movies phenomenon" all the while being totally aware of the fact that it is itself a "teen movie" but destined towards a more mature audience.
Many potentially offensive subjects here treated as jokes but the director was brilliant enough to let us the audience see that this is a movie who doesn't take itself seriously. Everything is so farfetched (with often hilarious results) that it tells us that the filmmaker expected nothing else than entertaining its audience with outrageous but finely tuned acting parodies and well-crafted camera work.
I have seen many teen movies such as "Scary Movie" I and II, "American Pie" I and II and none of them compares to the wit and cleverness "Jailbait" displays. A satire is probably the most difficult thing to achieve in cinema. It has to contain a balance between outrageous stunts and self awareness. Most teen movies pile up the gross factor, hoping to make audiences laugh. But here, even though no joke cliché is left unturned, it is done in a constant parody mode which I truly enjoyed.
I don't know why the reviews here were so negative regarding this little jem. Perhaps as I said before, this is probably a movie adult would enjoy more than teenagers. I for one, who is a very harsh critic concerning movies, found this one able to do what most films can't: entertain the hell out of me...

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Human Trafficking (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Human Trafficking is a bold and ambitious project; Lifetime is to be congratulated for exposing a part of society most people would prefer to ignore, and doing so in a mature, serious fashion. Originally designed as a mini-series, it is presented here in its entirety, with convenient breaks. This is helpful, at three hours it may be too much for the average viewer to assimilate all at once. Even the jaded appetite will find Human Trafficking upsetting.
One must wonder about those who claim ignorance of sexual slavery as it is practiced around the world. This appalling behavior is more than merely time-honored; it is codified and woven into the fabric of society itself. What is surprising, and what Human Trafficking gets right, is that sexual slavery is alive, well, and lucrative. Like drugs and weapons, a filthy business like this can only exist where there is powerful market demand, and that demand is chillingly close to home.
Human Trafficking benefits from good directing, (Christian Duguay), and some splendid performances. Leading the way is the lovable Scot from The Full Monty, (Robert Carlyle), who plays the Eastern block criminal mastermind behind the sophisticated sexual gulag. His accent is impeccable, and his character well realized. Sergei Karpovich is no Cold War ham-fisted brute. He is smart, computer-savvy, and thoroughly ruthless. (Like so many inner-city drug dealers, under different circumstances he probably would have been a captain of legitimate industry.)
After Carlyle, the showcase performance here belongs to Isabella Blais, (Helena), one of the women whose decent into sexual slavery is tracked. Helena is certainly not stupid, but she is vulnerable, and we watch in horror as one bad decision lures her into an unimaginable nightmare. We also see some of the ingenious techniques used to ensure cooperation. This is where Human Trafficking really shines. It's never sensational, licentious, or titillating. On the contrary, it exposes the complete banality of evil, the disturbing ordinariness of it in flat details that do not manipulate emotions.
There are two problems with Human Trafficking. At times it gets preachy, explaining the story rather than telling it. (With subject matter this explosive, that is completely unnecessary.) The other is the casting of Mira Sorvino. Sorvino is a fine actress, (her performance here is fine), but she is simply too pretty and adorable for the part. One scene attempts to show why she would take on the hideous assignment of catching these vermin, but it's not enough. Making her character female was an interesting decision, but to work, it should have been someone with more edge and less curve. Donald Sutherland, as her boss, excels.
We imagine our society to be advanced, sophisticated, refined. Thanks to the folks at Lifetime for shedding some light on the difficult truth.

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Nominated for Two Golden Globes - Best Actress and Best Actor in a TV Miniseries; Lifetime Television's most-watched miniseries of 2005. Featuring Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Donald Sutherland (The Italian Job), Academy Award and Golden Globe Award winner Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite) and Trainspotting's Robert Carlyle, Human Trafficking is at once a gripping thriller, a cautionary tale, and one of the most fundamentally important stories of our time. DVD Features include: Interviews with Mira Sorvino and Robert Carlyle, Behind the Scenes with the cast and crew, and A "Take Action" Guide to shop human trafficking now!

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