Toronto - Honestly, I don’t know why thrillers aren’t made logically anymore. I just finished watching Funny Games and Butterfly on a Wheel. Let me just say this up front before you start to think I’m recommending something - maybe Butterfly, but not Funny Games.

In case you don’t want to imdb these films, they both deal with hostage situations, where the protagonists (family) is held at gun point to the whim of some lunatics. In Funny Games, a family in a Martha Vineyard type summer house gets oppressed by a pair of polite psychopaths. They are forced to play torturous “games” which are designed to break them down to mindless puppets. In Butterfly, a couple is blackmailed into following instructions from their daughter’s kidnapper. Btw, Funny Games is a remake of the 90s German film by the same name. Very original.

Does Hollywood believe that their audience is sheepish? Is it call-to-arms they are singing? Let’s recap: WWII or ‘Nam vetern as head of household, check for one; cocky east coast overachiever, check for the other. If these scenarios were to actually occur, I’d think those hostage takers had better think twice. How these characters failed to become lunatics in their own right when pressured to the point of having nothing to lose is beyond me. Any self-respecting person would think, gee, the bulk of either story would not have occurred if something was done early on in the movie! For example, in one scene of Butterfly, Pierce Brosnan’s (Irish?) kidnapper burns some money in a suitcase. He proceeds to open the Landrover’s door, and throws the case out into a river while standing/leaning outside. What would happen if the driver veers off a little? James Bond, meet cold steel girders; end of story. Except for a nasty cleanup with spoons and dates with lawyers. Same goes for Funny Games. When they went to the dock after discovering the poor dog’s death, you have a 5-on-1 with the killer bent over the water’s edge. It’s almost as if the consequential sick jokes were conceived first and a root cause is found in a hurry. The deranged, disturbing psychological thriller market is so forced now, I think we are better served to watch the news - which churns up ever more disturbing killings/tortures anyway. 10 outta 5 for suckage.