The Glass House 2001

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The Glass House ★½ 2001 (PG-13)

With a brittle plot you can see right through, this flick is aptly named. After their parents are killed in a car accident, 16yearold Ruby (Sobieski) and her little brother Rhett (Morgan) are sent to live with their former neighbors Erin and Terry Glass (Lane and Skarsgaard). The Glasses live in a swanky glass mansion with all the charm of a Windex bottle. Although they lavish the kids with clothes and gadgets, Ruby begins to suspect what we already know: evil stepparents! Ruby then tries to tell all the adults in her life that the Glasses have ugly streaks, but no one believes her or even suggests a rinsing agent. Obvious plot devices and cliched techniques (including the ever-popular “tinkling danger piano music”) shatter what could have been a great thriller given the cast and concept. 111m/C VHS, DVD . US Leelee Sobieski, Stellan Skarsgard, Diane Lane, Trevor Morgan, Bruce Dern, Kathy Baker, Christopher Noth, Rita Wilson, Michael O'Keefe, Vyto Ruginis; D: Daniel Sackheim; W: Wesley Strick; C: Alar Kivilo; M: Christopher Young.

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