Enemigo en casa

This was a decent thriller with good-guy "Frank Morrison" (John Travolta) trying to save his former family from the dangerous new husband. That's not a new theme in Hollywood movies (the dangerous husband) but this is acted well and presented without heavy-handedness. They were smart to keep the story relatively-short, too, at 89 minutes. As a consequence, nothing dragged.

To me, the film would have been more enjoyable had the 12-year-old boy been a nicer kid, but he's an annoying brat. The mother (Teri Polo) is not that endearing, either. Definitely a movie that will entertain but a one-look film and nothing more, especially with the ending being as predictable as it turned out.

There's nothing that pisses me off more in a movie than when someone fails to put up an adequate argument on their behalf when they're being accused of something.

It's like they either have the character act like a total maniac by flying off the handle when denying what they're being accused of (so obviously the other party will of course not believe them now), or they say the completely wrong things and understate their case, and it is extremely frustrating to watch because you're just sitting there screaming, "WHY DON'T YOU JUST SAY THIS!!"

When that kid was in the interrogation room, his best method of convincing people that a murder took place was by weakly repeating: "look, I know what I saw OK.." Yeah that's gonna convince people. I don't care if you're 12, that's not the way you argue with people, and it's unrealistic.

The other thing that was silly was how the kid and the mother was STILL in the car by the time the father called her cell phone. They should've been gone by then, there was no logical reason why they would've still been in that garage, other than the fact the movie called for them to be there so the stepfather could catch them.

Come on be intelligent when you write, justify your damn script.

This movie was exactly what I expected, a typical thriller with some solid acting and a fun, though not very unpredictable, story. John Travolta is good as the hero, but it is Vince Vaughn who is especially impressive as the villain. You will find that you hate Vaughn and are really rooting for Travolta to give him what's coming to him. Steve Buscemi is excellent in his role, however short it is.

Many people have commented that they did not like the ending of the movie. I didn't think it was too bad, but it did seem to be a little quick and it certainly could have been better. There were plenty of other well done and fairly intense parts in the movie, mostly because of the evilness that is Vince Vaughn.

The worst part of DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE is that it is predictable, just as many thrillers of this kind are. It didn't ruin the overall experience of the movie for me, though. It obviously wasn't a great movie, but it was an enjoyable way to spend and hour and a half. It was sure better than DON'T SAY A WORD (4/10), that's for sure. Worth checking out, especially when it is available for rent.

7/10

'Domestic Disturbance' is pretty much another typical Hollywood thriller. The thing with these movies is that they are very easy to predict. We already know what will happen in the end. So why watch it? Well, the plot might be interesting. In this case, it isn't bad but it gives the deja-vu impression. It isn't anything intricate enough to create suspense but what kept me entertained were the characters and actors. I liked Travolta's Frank. A hardworking down-to-earth boatmaker who's going through a slump in business because people prefer plastic over wood. But through it all he remains a good father and a kind person at heart. It was fun to watch Vince Vaughn play a sociopath. He does not overact and brilliantly maintains Rick's deceitful gentleman mask behind which hides someone dangerous. The child actor is clueless. Teri Polo is pretty much given a clichéd role but I liked her, especially in the scene where she discovers that Rick was the one who set fire. 'Domestic Disturbance' doesn't have much (or anything?) to offer in terms of novelty but it was not exactly boring for me so one can give it a go if there is nothing else better on offer.

To start off, I enjoyed "Domestic Disturbance". I found it kept me shaking and on the edge of my seat through-out the entire film (which was rather short, by the way).

ACTING: As you probably already know, this film has some of the best-in-the-biz. Including such stars as John Travolta and Vince Vaughn, alongside newcomer Daniel O'Leary. Travolta decently played the good-guy divorced father, trying to protect his teenage son from an apparent murderer.

The murderer/stepfather was played typically by Vaugh who's portrayed serial killer roles in other movies such as "Clay Pigeons" and the remake of Hitchcock's classic thriller, "Psycho". And on to the young victim of mayhem...

Daniel O'Leary. A relatively good child actor who convincingly plays a stressed, frightened teen boy seems the perfect choice, with his convicingly frightened facial expressions.

All in all good acting. Mainly on Vaughn and Travolta's part.

STORY/WRITING: The movie flails mainly in this category. Thrilling, edge-of-your seat thriller until un-eventful ending. I'll try not to give it away, but it's a tad rushed.

The story isn't all-to origional, nor is anything else in this film. The dialogue is mediocre. Basically the entire script is pretty mediocre...

DIRECTING: Very nice direction. The director's dark, creepy style carries the movie along swiftly. If this director had been given a better script, with the same actors, "Domestic Disturbance" could've achieved brilliance.

Once again, direction is a high-point in this film.

BOTTOM LINE: A good thriller. 7 out of 10 stars.