Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Review: Getaway

Keep away!

Who'd have thought spending 90 minutes in a car with Selena Gomez could be this stagnant?

A disembodied voice orders a former race car driver (Ethan Hawke) whose wife he holds hostage, and a banker’s daughter (Gomez) to do his nefarious bidding in this extended commercial for the Shelby Super Snake Mustang.

Other than fleeting close ups of eyes and teeth, the identity of the heavily-accented celebrity guest villain is withheld for a big third act reveal. Tucked away in a crowded bar, he stares into his laptop, watching as his ultimatums play out in real time.

Like a hypnotist who gets a volunteer from the audience to bark like a dog, before getting down to business, the mysterious stranger amuses himself by instructing Hawke to plow through a crowded Bulgarian market.

The trailer -- hinting that Gomez is a gang-banger out to jack Hawke’s ride -- is pure bait-and-switch. My anticipatory excitement kicked into overdrive at the thought of the former Mouseketeer showing her range by playing a street thug. Had I known upfront that the wheels belonged to Gomez and the gun pointed at Hawke’s head was her way of playing repo gal, I’d have stayed home and watched the radio.

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/28/52251/

The sight of baby-faced Gomez struggling to blurt simple lines of dialog from her chipmunk-cheeks can only amuse for so long. Too short to model, too shallow to act, the kewpie doll had best stick to her ‘singing’ career before the only ‘acting’ offer that’s put on the table is a girl-on-girl porn with Miley Cyrus.

Since when did Ethan Hawke start picking up Dwayne Johnson and Brendan Frasier’s leftovers? The guy can still act, right? It takes a tremendous amount of talent to keep a straight face while delivering screenwriters Sean Finnegan and Gregg Maxwell Parker’s painfully pedestrian dialog.

At least 70% of the film is an extended car chase, and with a dozen or so cameras affixed to its body, the souped-up sardine can does the lion’s share of the cinematography. As such, the armor-plated roadster deserves to share credit with DP, Yaron Levy.

Apparently cut together during an earthquake by an editor with a seizure disorder and bad case of the hiccups, Courtney Solomon’s Getaway is one of the most haphazardly strewn together films ever to be released by a major studio. It should be shown in every Editing 101 class as an example of what not to do.

Only one moment -- a jagged, unbroken long take that follows a car as it slaloms in and out of traffic -- towards the end of a film purportedly built for speed, left me grabbing at the armrest. Nothing that comes before or after even remotely meshes with the assured style and rock-steady tension contained in this mini 45 second roller coaster ride. Is it an outtake from another Dark Castle production or did Solomon say to Levy after watching the dailies, “Too smooth! I was hoping for something more along the lines of Cash Cab on a minefield.”

Last night, the studio rep greeted me at the door with “Getaway screening?” It was a delivery worthy of Ms. Gomez. The proper line reading would have been, “Get away! Screening!”

Reader Rating: Zero Stars

Click for Showtimes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKSshWWfyfk

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach
Next Article

Could Supplemental Security Income house the homeless?

A board and care resident proposes a possible solution

Who'd have thought spending 90 minutes in a car with Selena Gomez could be this stagnant?

A disembodied voice orders a former race car driver (Ethan Hawke) whose wife he holds hostage, and a banker’s daughter (Gomez) to do his nefarious bidding in this extended commercial for the Shelby Super Snake Mustang.

Other than fleeting close ups of eyes and teeth, the identity of the heavily-accented celebrity guest villain is withheld for a big third act reveal. Tucked away in a crowded bar, he stares into his laptop, watching as his ultimatums play out in real time.

Like a hypnotist who gets a volunteer from the audience to bark like a dog, before getting down to business, the mysterious stranger amuses himself by instructing Hawke to plow through a crowded Bulgarian market.

The trailer -- hinting that Gomez is a gang-banger out to jack Hawke’s ride -- is pure bait-and-switch. My anticipatory excitement kicked into overdrive at the thought of the former Mouseketeer showing her range by playing a street thug. Had I known upfront that the wheels belonged to Gomez and the gun pointed at Hawke’s head was her way of playing repo gal, I’d have stayed home and watched the radio.

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/28/52251/

The sight of baby-faced Gomez struggling to blurt simple lines of dialog from her chipmunk-cheeks can only amuse for so long. Too short to model, too shallow to act, the kewpie doll had best stick to her ‘singing’ career before the only ‘acting’ offer that’s put on the table is a girl-on-girl porn with Miley Cyrus.

Since when did Ethan Hawke start picking up Dwayne Johnson and Brendan Frasier’s leftovers? The guy can still act, right? It takes a tremendous amount of talent to keep a straight face while delivering screenwriters Sean Finnegan and Gregg Maxwell Parker’s painfully pedestrian dialog.

At least 70% of the film is an extended car chase, and with a dozen or so cameras affixed to its body, the souped-up sardine can does the lion’s share of the cinematography. As such, the armor-plated roadster deserves to share credit with DP, Yaron Levy.

Apparently cut together during an earthquake by an editor with a seizure disorder and bad case of the hiccups, Courtney Solomon’s Getaway is one of the most haphazardly strewn together films ever to be released by a major studio. It should be shown in every Editing 101 class as an example of what not to do.

Only one moment -- a jagged, unbroken long take that follows a car as it slaloms in and out of traffic -- towards the end of a film purportedly built for speed, left me grabbing at the armrest. Nothing that comes before or after even remotely meshes with the assured style and rock-steady tension contained in this mini 45 second roller coaster ride. Is it an outtake from another Dark Castle production or did Solomon say to Levy after watching the dailies, “Too smooth! I was hoping for something more along the lines of Cash Cab on a minefield.”

Last night, the studio rep greeted me at the door with “Getaway screening?” It was a delivery worthy of Ms. Gomez. The proper line reading would have been, “Get away! Screening!”

Reader Rating: Zero Stars

Click for Showtimes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKSshWWfyfk

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Human Rights Watch Film Festival Returns to MoPA

Next Article

Overheard at AMC Mission Valley

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader