Havoc - 7/10
Havoc is a film that runs a bit too short, despite having both style and substance. It would be easy to dismiss a film like this as an R-rated vehicle for Anne Hathaway as a "serious actress" (read: she does nudity now), but that would dismiss all the bite that this dramatic satire has. This is the best skewering of suburban Los Angeles since Malibu's Most Wanted, only with this film comes some actual gravitas. It runs short, yes, but it's a perfectly self-contained story that rises consistently and peaks at the right time. The characters are off the wall without being one dimensional, the direction is consistent without being stagnant and the script is snarky without being preachy. The message is clear: white suburban rich kids should find something better to do than courting desparity. And in all honesty, what the film is is great; there's just not enough of it to be memorable. Thumbs up.