aaronyoo Tagged Articles at Cinematical

They nearly did it. The first 20-25 minutes of the new Friday the 13th threatened to tear the roof off my lowered expectations for a reboot of a devalued franchise that began nearly 30 years ago. After a tentative flashback, the set-up in the present day was classically simple, the action flared up in mean and bloody outbursts, and Jason's appearance was note-perfect. I was starting to tense up, feeling the weight of gut-level dread in the pit of my stomach.

Then came a narrative pause, after which the movie never quite regains its footing.

Oh, Friday the 13th delivers the goods, in the same sense that Domino's delivers pizza. By now, anyone who goes to see "a Jason movie" knows what to expect. Before the screening began, in fact, audience members were betting how the first victim would be dispatched: In the bathroom! Swimming! Having sex! Wandering alone in the forest! We expect a high body count, creative 'kill scenes,' some nudity, some tasteless jokes, dumb behavior by good-looking teenagers, and a plucky yet tough heroine as the 'final girl.' Jason must wear a hockey mask, wield multiple weapons of mass destruction (including a machete), and appear suddenly behind his victims, looming out of the shadows, just before he strikes.

Director Marcus Nispel, producer Michael Bay, and their numerous writing, producing, and behind-the-scenes colloborators provide all that's expected, as well as some changes (which I won't spoil). For all their apparent willingness to try out new ingredients, though, they don't tamper too much with the recipe. While the film maintains a serious edge -- with the expected and welcome comic relief -- it never delves too deeply into darker territories.

He's not just a painfully loyal sidekick any more!

After helping Shia LaBeouf solve crimes while the dude was house-bound, Aaron Yoo got wacky, and then bet on some 21. And now, he has scored himself an even bigger gig -- Lindsay Lohan's boyfriend! The Hollywood Reporter posts that he has joined the cast of Labor Pains, which is currently in production. However, he's still not getting the nice end of the stick, because he gets to play fake dad.

As Erik told us earlier this month when La Lohan signed on, Labor Pains follows a young woman who fakes a pregnancy to keep her nasty, publishing house boss from canning her. So, poor Yoo gets to become a faux inseminator. I wonder what that entails. Will he have to run out to the store for fake cravings? IMDb's summary says that she gets special treatment from everyone, so I wonder just how everyone buys this, and how she pulls it off. It's not so easy to fake a sonogram, but even more -- wouldn't her man at least notice that her stomach wasn't growing? Unless she vows that pregnancy has made her supremely modest as she wears head-to-toe ensembles to cover her fake belly, I can't see how he wouldn't find out. Oh, but I'm sure the magic of movies will figure something out.

Just when we thought we knew who would be battling Jason Voorhees, along comes a new female foe for the hockey-masked serial killer. Recently we reported that Amanda Righetti was in "final negotations" to star in the new version of Friday the 13th, to be directed by Marcus Nispel. Well, something went awry in those negotiations, because The Hollywood Reporter now says that Danielle Panabaker has been cast as the female lead.

Your first reaction might be, "Who is Danielle Panabaker?" (OK, that's what I said.) She's been appearing on the TV show Shark opposite James Woods and has also been featured in several movies that I haven't seen (Mr. Brooks, Yours, Mine and Ours, Sky High). Have you seen her? Does she have the right stuff to go toe to toe with Jason?

Jared Padalecki is still set to play a leading role as someone who investigates the murderous activities at Crystal Lake. THR adds that Jonathan Sadowski, Travis van Winkle and Aaron Yoo have also been cast, and notes that Panabaker "is playing the adventurous, athletic girlfriend of van Winkle, who plays a rich alpha male type that gathers everyone together. Yoo, who was Shia's buddy in Disturbia and is one of the college card sharks in 21, will play a "quirky" guy. Sadowski plays "a techie who knows the horrific history of Camp Crystal Lake," which means, I guess, that's he's seen the other movies? Filming is scheduled to start very soon in Austin, Texas.

For this, the week before Christmas, Variety has a whole slew of little casting nibbles:

• He got to play Shia LaBeouf's adventuresome sidekick in Disturbia, and now Aaron Yoo has nabbed himself a lead role in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist as Thom. You might remember the project from our recent coverage here and here. The film is about some bridge-and-tunnel kids who have a sleepless, love-filled night in New York City. He was pretty amusing in Disturbia, so I imagine this will be the start of much more work for the actor. The film also got even more competition for it's opening slot, as Patrick Walsh recently blogged -- now the film is up against Valkyrie as well as RockNRolla... but something tells me the Playlist crowd won't be swayed by a German Tom Cruise.
• Marty Papazian, who guest stars on a whole slew of television shows and last popped up on the big screen in Jarhead, has gotten a part in Charlize Theron's The Burning Plain -- the flick that also happens to be written and directed by Guillermo Arriaga. It's not a bad score for the actor, but unfortunately, he doesn't have a huge part -- his role is that of a "Young Man."
• Jesse Johnson, who has recently popped up in the indie flicks Redline and Prey, has scored the lead role in the upcoming indie My Life: Untitled. He'll star as Bobby in the project, which is based on the true story of a kid who struggles with drug addiction. The cast also includes W.I.T.C.H. star Kelly Stables and a certain ex-model Rachel Hunter.
• Not only is she co-starring in the upcoming thriller The Box Collector, but new actress Lyne Renee has scored the co-lead spot in the upcoming drama, The Hessen Affair, which puts her opposite the ever-loved Billy Zane. She'll play Lt. Kathleen Nash, who works with Zane's Durant to fence the Crown Jewels of Germany in New York City. According to the IMDb synopsis: "With double-crossing gangland figures trying to control the gems and the army closing in on them, will Kathy Nash and Jack Durant stay true to one other and their plan? Or will one sell the other out?" Now I ask you: is this tacky in a fun way, or a bad way?
• Finally, there's Marisol Nichols, who you might know from Big Momma's House 2, a stunning cinematic achievement, or her role on 24. Like Renee, she's nabbed a part that places her opposite two pretty well-known actors. This time around, it's Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorff. She's gotten herself the co-lead in Felon, a film about a man who is convicted of killing an intruder and has to face "the violent penal system." She's playing Laura Porter, which I assume is Wade Porter's (Dorff) wife. Not a bad gig, I must say.

The good kid Kale (Shia LaBeouf) loves his ma and pops. After a terrible, grisly tragedy, the kid becomes an unstable and volatile jerk -- punching teachers and being a spoiled brat to his struggling mom. He gets 3 months of house arrest for the teacher assault, and after ma (Carrie Anne Moss) gets tough, taking away all of his expensive toys, Kale starts spying on his neighbors. He falls for the cute, new neighbor Ashley (Sarah Roemer) -- who looks like Ellen Pompeo and spends much of the movie showing off her assets. But not all of Kale's window entertainment is fun. He starts to think that his other neighbor, Mr. Turner (David Morse), might be a serial killer on the loose. Getting the help of Ashley and his best friend, Ronnie (Aaron Yoo), Kale decides to spy.

While it all sounds like it could make for a fun flick, Disturbia is only disturbing in how not scary it is, and how many simple changes could've been made to make the thriller palatable. Sure, the film has good parts -- I particularly loved his party payback that involved reorganizing his stereo and turning up the iPod as a nice, romantic song played. But beyond that, the film is a sloppy movie trying to be Rear Window, Cherish and Say Anything.

I can suspend a lot of disbelief for a film, but sometimes, you just shouldn't have to. When watching a film about voyeurs, you should at least get the basics -- a kid who knows how to spy. Time after time, Kale and his friends spy during the evening, all the lights on and not one curtain drawn. He learns nothing each and every time someone catches him spying -- he doesn't pull the curtains; he doesn't turn off the lights. Instead, he stands in his window, illuminated by a number of lamps, openly spying on people. And this is the same kid who later re-wires a camcorder. Right.