Pretty good voyeurism thriller. I had to watch it when I saw Sasha Grey was in it (I'm sure that's what the studio had in mind). I do prefer and recommend you check out her other work on redtube.com. Now those are 10 star performances!

Open Windows is a cyber thriller starring Elijah Wood and Sasha Grey. Wood plays Nick, the webmaster of a fan site dedicated to pretty, young actress Jill Goddard (Grey) who finds himself smack dab in the middle of intrigue when, after winning a contest that promises a date with the starlet, he finds that the rendezvous has been summarily canceled. But that ain't all, as they say.So one moment Frodo is watching Goddard and others at a convention, remotely from his hotel room (no invite?), and the next he's learning there is no date – from a mysterious voice in his laptop who's named himself Chord. Chord promises to set things aright, though; he can gain access to Jill's phone, and they can both have some fun – since, Chord claims, she's the one who broke off the dinner.Things kind of spiral out of control, with the twists becoming more ludicrous as they progress. Red herrings abound. But there was just enough intrigue to keep me mildly interested, because the movie is never entirely predictable. Cheesy, yes, but not predictable. I couldn't figure out the end game. Someone was obviously not who they seemed to be. Someone was obviously going to turn on someone. These things happen. So I kept looking for clues and, finding none, went with the flow.Problem #1: The movie is filmed similarly to a found-footage film in that scenes are viewed through webcam (or phone camera) footage. It's the kind of gimmick that one must stick with if it's introduced at the beginning. Which, yeah, this one is, and yeah, it's kept up throughout. But the gimmick just gets old – it's sort of like watching the opening to a complex theme park ride, where the protagonists explain all the things you the rider will experience. In other words, I wasn't immersed in the experienced as much as held at a voyeuristic arm's length.Problem #2: Elijah Wood, who I'm sure is a really nice guy and who made for a great Hobbit, doesn't quite have the gravitas needed for the role. I had trouble shaking the idea that he had somehow gotten a hold of his dad's credit card and booked a nice hotel room for himself and was now going on an adventure that would wind up with him getting bailed out by his older brother. I don't know, he just didn't feel right in the role. Like I said – probably a swell feller, but this is not his movie.Surprisingly, former porn star Sasha Grey is pretty satisfying as Jill Goddard. It's said she took the role because, as a recognizable star (of sorts) she's experienced fanboys. And it's a good role for her; she's pretty and believable as the Next Big Thing among actresses. It helps that she doesn't overact, melodramatically playing a vulnerable young woman. Seems to me that novice actors make that mistake all the time, that they just can't offer a nuanced performance. Grey's performance, although not flawless, definitely contains shades. Of Grey. See what I did there? Ultimately, Open Windows is kind of nonsensical, with an overly complex plot and a lackluster lead performance. Frankly, it's only because of Gray and the minute intrigue that this sucker gets four stars instead of only two.

In yet another case of filmmaking coincidence, "Open Windows" shares the same idea as another movie made around the same time ("Unfriended") - that idea being a "live" (or "real time") movie seen almost entirely through computer screens. This effort goes a step further by eventually getting the characters out and moving around, which I admit does help prevent the movie from getting tedious. There are certainly some creepy and suspenseful moments, though I have to admit I found them mostly in the first half of the movie. Eventually, the movie gets really hard to swallow, with some really unbelievable revelations and actions by the various characters. And when you start to think about the movie after watching it, you'll be able to realize some additional plot holes. Also, the French accents of several characters are so thick that their dialogue is really hard to make up at times. Despite these problems, I admit that I was never bored by the movie, but all the same I felt unsatisfied at its end. "Unfriended" did it better despite being cheaper and less elaborate.

'Open Windows' was not a bad concept. The 'found footage' genre is still alive and kicking (despite what some may say) and little innovations like this are most welcome. But when the script you're doing it with is as poor as this one was, you're doomed before filming even starts. The dialogue is unbearably bad, the plot is far too convoluted for its own good and not one character has an iota of likability about them. Not a good recipe for a successful film.There was potential here somewhere. The plot actually had something going for it I'm pretty sure but the execution simply wasn't there. I hadn't even realised it until just now (I didn't even know he was behind 'Open Windows') but I was actually criticising writer/director Nacho Vigalondo for the exact same thing the other day for his segment 'Parallel Monsters' in 'V/H/S: Viral' - a whole lot of potential with no execution. The man obviously has a creative brain but is lacking the filmmaking skills. A real shame.The acting was pretty feeble. Elijah Wood is incredibly flat and makes the already cringe-worthy dialogue even worse. Pornographic actress Sasha Grey would probably have to be called the stand out performer in this. Don't get me wrong she was nothing great, the rest of the cast was just that bad. She held her own though and I'll be interested to see what she comes out with next. Altogether the film is a complete misfire. The amount of plot holes will give you a headache and for that matter so will every other aspect of the film. Give it a miss.