Those let down by Joel Edgerton‘s The Gift were probably expecting another movie entirely. While the movie is totally terrifying and will make you leap ten feet off of your seat at least once, this is not the trashy slasher flick the movie’s trailer and marketing would have you believe. It’s much better than that: The Gift is a stalker suspense-thriller with a wicked edge, a thematically rich tale of revenge and domination that engages the mind as it gives you the willies. In short, this movie is legit as hell; pay no mind to the misleading TV spots and ridiculous, punny movie posters.

Edgerton, an Australian screen vet who’s also done his share of screenwriting, makes his directorial debut with The Gift, and it goes swimmingly. In addition to writing and directing, he also stars as Gordo, a socially awkward nerd type who wears ill-fitting pedophile attire. He knows Simon (Jason Bateman) from high school. Simon and his wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall) have just moved back to Simon’s hometown of Los Angeles from Chicago, and Gordo recognizes him at a department store. After a quick bit of uncomfortable small-talk, the couple find they’ve made a new friend as Gordo starts visiting their new home periodically, dropping off little presents for them as housewarming gifts, often when they aren’t home.

Gordo’s infiltration of Simon and Robyn’s life is a slow burn; it starts off as innocuously as Gordo joining them for dinner, but gradually gets out of hand as he starts popping up unexpectedly and peering through their windows. Simon’s creeped out by Gordo’s clingy behavior (though he seems to enjoy making fun of him a little too much), and as his patience grows thin and tensions rise between the old “friends,” Robyn starts to suspect that there’s more to their history than Simon’s letting on. As she slowly uncovers the truth about their past, she begins to realize Simon might not be the man she thought he was. Maybe that’s exactly what Gordo wants. Maybe not.

Like I eluded to before, Edgerton’s film doesn’t rack up a high kill count or even spill much blood. But the danger’s still there; in this story, the truth is sharper than any blade, deadlier than any elaborate Jigsaw contraption. Edgerton keeps the story’s big secret from us for a good long while, and when we finally learn the truth, he blindsides us with an even more devastating blow that’ll make your head spin. Without spoiling too much, I will say that the film bears a strong comparison to Alexandra’s Project, a 2003 psychological thriller from Australia by Rolf de Heer. If you’ve never seen it, give it a go; then you’ll catch my drift.

To talk about the movie’s primary theme would actually spoil a lot, so I’ll just say that Edgerton takes age-old ideas of male ego and explores them elegantly and thoughtfully. Marital trust and honesty colors the story as well, and Bateman and Hall cover all of these themes in one magnificently conceived kitchen scene, a scene that elevates the entire picture above what I could have ever expected. Bateman is brilliantly cast as Simon, a character whose layers get peeled back scene by scene in a steady cascade into madness. Hall and Edgerton are great too, but Bateman gets to flex muscles we rarely get to see in his typical comedic roles, and it’s a pleasant surprise. He’s got an interesting mean streak as an actor that I don’t think has been explored quite as well as Edgerton does here.

The visuals and sound design work in concert to create nail-biting suspense that doesn’t give you room to breathe. The fact that it’s a stalker story actually has an interesting effect on our experience cinematically, as we’re always scanning the frame for Gordo, constantly aware of the characters’ surroundings and the little bumps in the night (and day) that may or may not signal an impending attack. There’s one cheap scare in the whole movie, and it’s delightful. You see it coming from a mile away, but the filmmaking is so good that I guarantee at least a handful of people in the theater will drop their popcorn. This is as solid a debut as a director could hope for, and I eagerly anticipate what Edgerton will cook up next.

Perhaps in an effort to shake his typical “good guy” role, Jason Bateman plays a foul-mouthed asshole in his directorial debut Bad Words. Most comedies can get by with a weak storyline as long as there’s enough laugh-out-loud moments. Unfortunately, Bad Words is neither clever nor funny. While it tries very hard to be funny, the film keeps its ambitions low in the story department, but manages to miss the target in both instances.

The film begins with Guy Trilby (Bateman) explaining how he perpetually makes bad decisions. He demonstrates how much of an understatement that is by taking the stage to compete in an eighth grade spelling-bee. That’s right, this grown man finds a wacky loophole in the rule book that states anyone who hasn’t passed the eighth grade is eligible to compete. Naturally, the parents at the school feel outraged by his decision to exploit the rule.

Not helping his case is that Trilby is a complete asshole to everyone around him. Which includes a journalist named Jenny (Kathryn Hahn) who is strangely attracted to him even though he repeatedly treats her like garbage. Same goes for the ridiculously cute Indian-American Chaitanya Chopra (Rohan Chand), a fellow 10-year-old competitor who desperately wants to befriend Trilby despite constantly being insulted. Instead of just reciting obscenities, Trilby one-ups his own douchery by being racist as well. On a couple of occasions he calls the kid Slumdog, threatens to slaughter his sacred cow, and tell him to “shut his curry hole”. Yes, the film IS called Bad Words, but rather than focus on using derogatory words, the film stoops to adults making racists remarks to kids.

The screenplay ended up on the Black List, a collective list of the “best” un-produced scripts in Hollywood, though it’s so full of contrived situations it’s hard to understand how. For example, Jenny sleeps with Trilby for plot purposes only as she never gets an ounce of respect from him. Also, Chaitanya’s parents make the 10-year-old fly coach while they enjoy first-class and force him stay in his own room on a separate floor in the hotel, making it very convenient for the protagonist and the boy to bond. And it just so happens that this is the first year they’re televising the spelling-bee to millions of people.

Those familiar with Bateman’s character from Arrested Development will see some flashes of Michael Bluth’s sarcastic wit, but without any of the kindness or humor. Other comedies with a bad lead character like Bad Santa and Bad Teacher work because at some point we are given a reason to care. But Bateman’s character is such a jerk that it’s nearly impossible to care about him or why he is even competing in this contest. And while Hahn is adequate in her role as the journalist/love-interest, her character, like most in the film, is completely unnecessary to the story.

It’s hard to think of any good words to describe Bad Words. There are a couple decent scenes in the film that may earn a couple chuckles — namely when the two rivals pull pranks on each other at the hotel — but otherwise it’s mostly filled with cringe-worthy moments. His reasons for entering the contest is kept a mystery the entire time and when it’s finally revealed it’s an eye-roller. To top it all off, the motivations for everything that happens in the film don’t even make sense once all the cards are on the table. Unlike Bad Santa where the jokes are funny and the bad protagonist has some sympathetic qualities, Bad Words is just bad.

Up In The Air has an all-star cast which received three Oscar nominations of the six total for the film, including Best Picture. Often times humorous and other times emotional, it features quick and witty dialogue with a unique storyline. That being said, it also does have its flaws.

Ryan Bingham’s (George Clooney) life is air travel and because of it, it is very orderly and systematic. Ryan’s job is to fly around the country to inform people that they are fired. He is very much alright with flying 270 days a year, in fact, he enjoys traveling in airports and different cities more than being at home.

Ryan meets Alex (Vera Farmiga) in an airport bar and the two first meet by quickly exchanging the differences between car rental companies as an attempt to impress one another. Then the two compare credit card reward cards before admitting they are two people that get turned on by elite status. They agree to meet each other in a couple weeks when they will be traveling closer to each other in another state.

Ryan returns home from his trip and does not forget to remind you that he does not particularly like being home. He is informed the next day at work that the company has decided to no longer fly workers around the country to fire people. Instead, he will be doing his job via video chat, thus grounding him at home and in his mind grounding his life. Not to mention shutting him down from the date he had just lined up.

So to no one’s surprise Ryan speaks out again this to his boss. It quickly involves the person who came up with the new plan, Natalie (Anna Kendrick). Natalie is a newly hired hard worker efficiency expert. She is very set on her way and lives life on deadlines both on and off work hours. She is a go getter and a planner and she blatantly says she does not mind being married to her career. She is not ashamed of it but does not want to settle in life.

Ryan convinces his boss into showing Natalie what he does on the road and tries to make his case that it cannot be done over the internet. She then travels with him to see what he does in person. He is trying to save what he believes his life is while at the same time she is trying to save the company’s efficiency.

Up In The Air finally reaches its most important part of the film when he is at his sister’s wedding. The groom gets cold feet and he is sent to deal with it. He talks people out of commitment and now has the task of talking the groom into commitment. Which is something he knows little about and you could say he is being a hypocrite because he has not subscribed to that way of thinking.

It was right about then he realizes that commitment is not as daunting and he thought. He has such a way with words; he more or less talks himself into it. Ryan realizes that perhaps he is ready to settle down with Alex after all. The only question left is has Alex turned over a new leaf as well?

Interestingly, the majority of the people we see getting fired at the beginning of Up In The Air are not actors (but obviously Zach Galifianakis is) but actual people who were recently laid off. The filmmakers put ads out and instructed people to treat the camera as if were like the person who fired them. I think that is a nice and creative touch to make it seem more believable.

After watching the film, I began to wonder if Natalie’s storyline even mattered. I believe they could have without her part. Although Anna Kendrick does a good job with this role, I don’t think it ultimately played any role of importance in the film.

The main idea behind the film is loyalty. The word was frequently in the background on airline advertisements. The airline, credit card and car rental places all have membership clubs that reward loyal customers. Both Ryan and Natalie are loyal to their jobs both have different views on what it means to be loyal in a relationship.

Up In The Air has an unique premise and good dialogue with acting that is beyond average but ultimately the storyline is a little bumpy. I am not sure if it is some ironic play on Ryan’s philosophy of empty backpacks and pointlessness but nearly every other character in the film besides himself is pointless. It was a well done film that should have been tied in together a little more.