Into the Wild

Too many handheld cameras and quick cuts make this film a dizzying experience, literally. Grab an airsickness bag beforehand. Combining that with a selfish, inconsiderate, spoiled protagonist makes this a laborious 140 minutes. Not entirely bankrupt since there are a few "aha" moments, "Into the Wild" has the veneer of a very expensive student film, albeit one directed by Sean Penn and featuring standout performances by Catherine Keener (does she ever fail to be excellent?) and Hal Holbrook.

I don't mean to sound mean, but in the context of movie going, I could not wait for Alexander Supertramp to finally die in the end. I'm not spoiling anything, since everyone who sees this presumably knows the true back story. And even the final sequence seemed to go on forever.

I'll save you a few bucks and 2+ hours by telling you the theme is "be careful what you wish for".