BORDER RUN: ANOTHER CAUSE

It truly is sad when a star begins to age and can't seem to accept it. I understand that Hollywood has an obsession with young actors but there are roles out there that should be played by actors and actresses that require them to be themselves and in their age bracket. When they don't they appear foolish and out of touch with reality. Proof of that lies in the number of botched plastic surgeries we fans have to witness that leave them looking nothing like the starts we once knew.

That being said I was truly saddened seeing Sharon Stone insisting on playing a character far younger than her years. She remains an attractive woman but apparently thinks she needs to play younger roles. I'm sorry, it doesn't work and that becomes the focus for some viewers like myself rather than the story unfolding. Make it a weak story that uses cliché and seems more politically motivated than anything and it doesn't help.

Stone stars as Sofie, a female reporter who is the center of the newsroom, the star journalist. She's an investigative bulldog who wants to discover the bad things in the world and shed journalistic light on them to make things better, a crusader searching for the next big thing. That story is dropped into her lap when her brother goes missing.

Her brother (Billy Zane) was working with relief efforts along the US/Mexican border and involved in the smuggling of Mexicans across that border. Now Sofie insists on going across the border in an attempt to save her brother, story be damned. But as is always the case the story does end up catching her eye as well.

Soon we find Sofie captured by the bad guys and held captive. She's subjected to the poor treatment that the workers who want to cross the border are exposed to. She also discovers that they're not only being smuggled across as workers but as drug mules too. Can she escape and save both the poor people she's imprisoned with as well as her brother? And just who is behind all of the things going on at the crossing?

Before these things could be answered I found myself not caring. This story has been done before and portrayed better. The acting seems run of the mill and not much higher than Lifetime movie quality (sorry Lifetime). I never found myself engaged with anyone involved on screen, cared only about a few characters none of which were leads and in general thought the movie was more motivated by the politics of Hollywood around the immigration issue than in a story about people. News to Hollywood: tell stories about people and stay out of politics. It never comes out well.

For me the worst was as I said from the start, seeing Stone playing a role that should have been played by someone no older than her 30s. Yes, Stone remains an attractive woman but I found it completely hard to believe her as a reporter in the position she was in. At 55 (her real age) the character should have been an anchor by now not doing tough investigative journalism. I'll suspend belief for most films but this was too much.

On the whole the movie wasn't enjoyable, wasn't entertaining and brought nothing new to the table. Thus I wouldn't recommend this film for anyone with the exception of die hard Stone fans who insist on seeing her in anything at all.

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