Turbulence

What makes a good survivalist thriller work? Simply put, you find youself rooting for the main characters, you invest in them, you want them to live, against the odds stacked against them. What if the main characters, are horrible, dysfunctional people? Well, there's the exact problem, with "Turbulence". The husband and wife characters are damaged, homicidally awful types, as is the female blackmailer, who hitches a ride. Kelsey Grammer's, "Harry" is the only likable, person in this tawdry bunch but he quickly reaches his "expiry date", leaving the new cast "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" to try and do each other in, high in the wind, rain and clouds. In summary, in spite of some decent thrills, the lack of likability of the key protagonists, combined with their generally cruel and ruthless behaviour, robs this film of its potential. A mediocre watch, at best.

Mostly empty, with a lack of tension This is not Fall. Let's just start there. There is a lot less here than Fall has. And this has twice the cast. It builds its tension, but not very soundly, and does some strange character reveals later on that seem a bit jarring. The protagonists are unlikable, the antagonist nonsensical, and Kelsey is just wooden. Luckily some parts are smaller than others. It is not just hot air, or vacuous, which would be appropriate for a movie about a balloon, but it isn't very substantial.