This summer, there's been a wide range of movies opening at the local mutliplex. You've got your action, drama, and comedy, but there has yet to be a good ol' psychological thriller - you know - the kind where the two main characters go head to head in a battle of wits. And while I was pleasantly surprised to see a release of The Glass House, the final product leaves much to be desired. First time movie director, but long time TV director, Daniel Sackheim (X-Files, Law and Order, NYPD Blue), does his best to direct this movie full of plot holes and inconsistencies (certainly not his fault).

The film stars Leelee Sobieski (in the first of her double-offering in theaters) as Ruby Baker, who along with her brother (Trevor Morgan), are orphaned after a freak car wreck taking both their parent's lives. At the funeral, we learn that the Bakers left Ruby and Rhett (Morgan) with more than enough money for them to be well off with, along with directing that their new guardians would be long time friends, Terry and Erin Glass (Stellan Skarsgard and Diane Lane). Terry and Erin live in Malibu on top of a hill, in get this, a glass house - what are the odds? They both live extravagant lifestyles, as Terry is the owner of a firm that rents out high priced vehicles to the stars for premiers and such. Unfortunately, his business is floundering and he's got some debts to pay off. The likely source of his new cash influx? Why the children of course.

While the movie boast fine acting all around, the end result is less than spectacular. As mentioned previously, the plot is full of holes and quite a bit of all-too-convenient encounters. Why isn't it lucky Ruby is in all the right places to overhear juicy bits of information from Terry. Isn't it lucky that everything changes just in time for the social worker's 'surprise' visit. Everything fits together too perfectly, everything happens just as the audience would expect. It's a forgone conclusion from the start what's going to happen at the end, and while the movie might succeed in throwing in a few twists and turns along the way, the final outcome remains the same as we've expected.

It's a shame to see such talent wasted on such an absurd film. Both Stellan Skarsgard and Diane Lane are surprisingly effective as the parents who constantly plot against their newly acquired children. Lane brings a subtle, yet strong performance to the screen as she seems to be debating between helping the children escape, but once she gets doped up again, she realizes that the money would come in handy for more drugs. Stellan is also remarkably good as Terry Glass, as he always seems to know exactly what he wants and how he's going to get it. Sobieski is also cast well as the smart kid who's always there to throw a wrench into the plans of the guardians.

No doubt Hollywood will keep producing these movies as there will always be an audience. Hopefully the next time around, before green-lighting a project with such a talented cast, they'll get the most important element right first - the plot.

Genres: Suspense, Thriller
Rated: PG-13 - For sinister thematic elements, violence, drug content and language.
Runtime: 111 minutes
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