Manipulation

All together it's not all that bad of a flick, predictable yes, but still fun to watch to see where its all headed. I thought the talent could have been given a much better script to work with. As most mentioned previously the premise is old and tired,,,,,,some new twists could have been added to make it more interesting! Most probably watched for the eye candy, but again a flick that can be enjoyable if you don't get too serious about it and just kick back and watch.

Careful What You Wish For is a good case study in the failings inherent in the Hollywood star system. The film is essentially star vehicle that is produced well but which fails to deliver anything substantial due to the lackluster performances of its leading actors around whom the film has been structured.

Nick Jonas plays Doug Martin, an adolescent without personality who falls for the gorgeous Lena Harper (Isabel Lucas), a married woman with a dark and devious plan to make big bucks fast. As a leading lady, Lucas does nothing more than showing us her very skinny body as she seduces her way into Jonas' very silly heart.

The film, directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosen, is not essentially a bad product. Rosen's direction is competent, the cinematography is pretty, editing is tight, the script holds up alright, and the production itself is of a good quality. There is a solid story arch that held my interest till the end. And it is a nice star vehicle for Lucas and Jonas. But the supposed stars have a very limited acting ability, even at the hands of a director who has a good grasp of her craft born from a long and stable career in television.

Unfortunately, all the potential of this film is lost through a leading couple who never quite arrive as the stars in the vehicle. Unless you are interested in learning from the mistakes made by Lucas and Jonas, you can safely give it a miss.

Direction: 6||Acting: 2||Cinematography: 7||Concept and delivery: 4|

'Careful What You Wish For' was never going to be an Oscar worthy, genre defining, boundary leaping film however for what it is trying to be, which is an easy going, enjoyable and suspenseful piece of drama, it does very well. The storyline and plot my perhaps leave something to be desired but having said that this viewer was taken for the ride with all the twists and turns that were thrown at the audience. For the most part the acting was strong, especially considering the calibre of the actors and the relatively little previous work they have done in the industry. My main criticism would be that there were moments where the focus seemed to be more on moving the plot forward without first establishing the necessary character development to make us fully care what happens to the characters.

Overall an enjoyable flick so long as you go into it expecting the next big thing, and don't try and analyse every detail but just sit back, relax and don't take it too seriously.

Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum's generically titled 'Careful What You Wish For' is a painfully average erotic thriller that's light on eroticism and even lighter on thrills. The movie wallows in the genre's tropes without escalating them beyond the familiar. The lack of originality and effort ultimately sinks the picture, but not before the reveal of an absurd twist ending that feels more ridiculous than shocking. Both Nick Jonas and Isabel Lucas are decent but the adulterous relationship that's at the heart of the film is never very credible, let alone sizzling, due to there's not much chemistry between them.

This thriller stars Isabel Lucas, Nick Jonas, Dermot Mulroney, Paul Sorvino and Kandyse McClure. In short, this is another "someone's a murderer" movie + a Jonas brother.

I'm not a Jonas brother fan, but Nick did surprise me, he wasn't great but he wasn't as awful as I expected him to be. That being said, it's a good thing that Dermot Mulroney wasn't present in most of the movie because the six time award- winning actor might have out shined his co-star Nick

Isabel Lucas, although stunning, looks a little strange and unnatural with Nick. Regardless of this, she does have the voice, emotionless expression and body language of a classic James Bond girl in the beginning. This works for her as it suits the character she portrays but also might make it look like she cannot act. It would be interesting to see her in something else.

I should also mention that the plot is unfortunately un-original and somewhat predictable through half the movie. The acting of certain co-stars such as Kandyse McClure also leaves much to be desired. Maybe that's why this site and other sites, don't even mention her. That said if you're a Jonas fan you'll like this.