Prisoners (2013)

Year: 2013
Running Time: 153 minutes
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writer: Aaron Guzikowski
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Viola Davis, Paul Dano, Melissa Leo, Terrence Howard

Prisoners will open in Australia on the 17th October 2013 and is distributed by Roadshow Films. Now showing in the UK and USA.

What would you do if the thing you love more than life itself went missing without a trace?

While Prisoners is a story about the search for two young girls who have gone missing in extremely suspicious circumstances, it delves deep into the psychological states of those who are most affected by the situation. As well as being suspenseful, confronting, intriguing and giving way to some wonderful performances, Prisoners leaves you pondering who you would be in this film and how you would react if you were faced with the same situation.

On Thanksgiving, two little girls go missing and the only clue the police have is the suspicious RV which the two girls were playing on during the day. When Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) tracks down the suspected RV, it's driver, Alex Jones (Paul Dano) is ruled out as a suspect due to his mental capacities. However, one of the girls fathers, Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) does not believe for a moment that Jones does not have a role in his daughter's disappearance and takes matters into his own hands.

Prisoners is a wonderful piece of work. The screenplay by Aaron Guzikowski is near flawless, as it is never for one moment dull and it is a very clever thriller. The connections made throughout the film and the twists and turns are all well done. It is great to see a thriller which is not always predictable and has several layers to reveal. However, the subject matter and violent images in the film may be a little too much for some people to completely enjoy the film. It can be quite confronting and disturbing in its delivery, particularly in the scenes with Keller and Alex and towards the end of the film.

As Prisoners deals with child abduction, this will not be an easy watch for many parents. It is impossible to watch this as a parent and not be moved as you start to see yourself as one of the four parents who are dealing with the disappearance of their daughter. Whilst you feel you are forced into seeing the wrong that Hugh Jackman's Keller Dover is doing, you are also faced with the question of what would you do if you were in his position. What would you do if you felt that the police were not doing their job and that they do not believe what you have found out? Prisoners does well in encouraging you to contemplate these questions. Also, putting aside the information which Keller Dover is aware of, how would you handle the situation if it was you in the parents place? The four parents of the two girls all demonstrate different behaviours in their grief. While Keller is being proactive and trying to find his daughter himself, his wife, Grace (played by Maria Bello) is consumed by her grief. She cannot perform daily tasks as all she can do is just sleep and wait for her daughter to come home. The other mother and father pair, played by Terrence Howard and Viola Davis' are not as extreme in their emotions (that we see). Franklin Birch (Howard) is in a state of confusion as to the situation and although he is clearly distressed, he is at a lost as to what he should do. His wife, Nancy (Davis), seems like the strongest of the parents. She does show her vulnerability at times, but believes in doing the right thing. All four of these characters are dealing with something so tragic in a different way to each other. It is a great thing to be able to delve so much into character and get people to try and put themselves in their shoes whilst maintaining the suspense and intrigue of the story.

The cinematography works wonders for the film. The decision for the majority of the film to take place during the pouring rain adds to the eerie and sinister feel of the film. The photography in the rain is not particularly polished, but this works as it makes you feel as though you are really there with the characters.

All performances in Prisoners need to be as perfect as they can be in order for the film to really have an emotional impact on the audience. With perfect casting, this has all been made possible. Hugh Jackman gives a performance unlike any other he has ever done. He is completely terrifying in his madness, but is also heartbreaking as the father who has lost the apple of his eye. His first scene with Gyllenhaal is incredible in the way he portrays the man who is trying his hardest to fight back tears and stay strong for his wife while trying to get across the importance of his words to the detective.

Maria Bello is also heartbreaking in portraying a broken woman. She falls apart bit by bit throughout the film and is completely convincing as the grieving mother. Jake Gyllenhaal is also fantastic. His Detective Loki doesn't say much about his private life, but from what he does say and do, you can see how much this case is effecting him and there is something deep and dark that has happened to him in his past. Terrence Howard and Viola Davis also do well in their roles, as do Melissa Leo and Paul Dano.

Prisoners is one of the best thrillers which deal with family to be released in years. It's psychological edge makes it disturbing yet a wonderful piece of cinema.

8.5/10


You may have also seen Hugh Jackman in....
The Wolverine as Logan/Wolverine
Les Miserables as Jean Valjean

You may have also seen Jake Gyllenhaal in.....
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time as Dastan
Source Code as Colter Stevens

You may have also seen Viola Davis in.....
The Help as Aibileen

You may have also seen Melissa Leo in....
The Fighter as Alice Ward

Oblivion (2013)

Year:  2013
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Cast: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Melissa Leo

Review
There isn't much wrong with Oblivion. 

In saying that, it isn't the best movie of the year but it is entertaining, well done and a great, unpredictable story. It is great when Hollywood turns out a sci-fi blockbuster which isn't completely corny and has some real substance to it.

The film opens in 2077 with Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) informing us how Earth went to war with the alien race, the Scavs and although we won, we lost the planet. He and his partner and lover, Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) live on a station in the skies while on a mission to extract Earth of vital resources before they retreat and leave Earth for good. However, Jack has many questions about who he is and where he has come from that he has been told not to ask. When he rescues Julia (Olga Kurylenko), some of his questions are answered but all of a sudden, he has a whole new set of questions.

You are drawn into Oblivion right from the word go. The opening sequence is fantastic. It is informative as it lets us all know exactly what happened to the world, who everyone is and what is going to happen. The visuals and score to accompany it just works brilliantly to draw everyone in.

Oblivion is one sci-fi action film that is wonderfully directed by Joseph Kosinski. Everything in the film just works so well together. The screenplay, written by Kosinski, Michael Arndt and Karl Gajdusek is played out very well on screen. What is great is that it is completely unpredictable in parts. Some parts are a bit predictable, but it is a case of when you think you have it all figured out, something you didn't see happening happens because you weren't looking in that direction. Admittedly, around the middle of the film it loses momentum a tad, but picks it back up with a bang.

The special effects are breath taking. The Empire State Building is just eerie as well as being so interesting to behold, as are other landmarks affected by Earth's war. The sound of the whole film is incredible. The sound effects for the drones are particularly good. The musical score is also great for the love scenes.

If you after something particularly action packed, just be prepared because it doesn't click into action mode until halfway through. The action scenes are well worth waiting for though.

Tom Cruise can do action. There is no doubt about that. It's what he seems to love to do these days, which there is nothing wrong with because he is obviously very good at it and people love seeing him do them. He also seems to love playing Jack's, as this is his third film doing so (the other two films being Jack Reacher and Legend). Action man or not, Cruise does still have his dramatic work shining through in various parts through the film. He does pensive and romantic very well.

Olga Kurylenko is fine, but does spend the majority of the film with the same terrified expression on her face and doesn't stray very far from that. Andrea Riseborough is the best of the girls covering all bases. She is particularly good when Jack returns to the station.

Oblivion is fantastic entertainment. A wonderful sci-fi screenplay paired with amazing cinematography and directorial choices makes this film a winner.

8/10



On a side note....
Love him or hate him, think he's crazy or completely sane, you can't deny Tom Cruise's star power.

He is a major box office draw and has been so for well over 20 years now. He was perhaps the first film star's name I actually knew when I was a little one back in the 1980's. My mum was always swooning over him as was my drama teacher. I must say, he is aging very well as to me he has barely changed in appearance since I first remember him.

My first "grown-up" favourite film was Rain Man so at 13 years old, you can imagine my amazement when my father rang me when I was away with my mum to inform me that he had just met Cruise (he was married to Nicole Kidman at the time and in Australia at Christmas time to see her family) through mutual friends at a party! I will never forget (as won't my Dad) how I was told how much of a gentleman he is and how he was so happy just to relax and talk about his kids and also about how he wanted to understand Australian sport now.

It is great to know that today he is still that person and no matter what you hear in the tabloids, one thing is for sure. This man loves his fans and loves to have a chat no matter who you are. Just last week at the Oblivion premiere in Hollywood, Cruise arrived hours early to sign autographs and chat to his fans. I love that, there's not many stars who would do something like that.

(image Kevin Winter/ Getty Images on New York Daily News)

You may have also seen Tom Cruise in....
Knight and Day as Roy Miller
Rock Of Ages as Stacee Jaxx

The Fighter

Year: 2010
Director: David O. Russell
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, Amy Adams

In My Own Words
I know, I know, but better late than never! I wanted to see "The Fighter" as soon as it was released. It just made it a tad difficult that it was released when I was overseas in a country where it hadn't been released yet, and was going to be released after Ieft. It would have made a lot more sense if I had reviewed this film before the Oscars...but better late than never! It's always hard trying to judge whether someone will win an Oscar for their acting talents in a particluar film when you haven't seen the film. However, these days you can pretty much telll whether they are going to win or not based on how many awards they win before the Oscars. Now, having finally seen "The Fighters", I can say that Christian Bale and Melissa Leo are deserved of their Oscars. Leo has redeemed herself slightly in my eyes now that I have since the film she won the award for, as I was really not impressed with her dropping the "F bomb" onstage upon recieving her award. There are some places that that word is just not appropriate for, and the most prestigious film event of the year is one of those places. She does have...interesting fashion sense as well as she showed at the Independent Spirit Awards. But she was given the Oscar based on her performance in "The Fighter" so let's just focus on that.

On that subject, the Best Supporting Actress category at the Oscars this year was probably the most competitive I have seen in years and any one of the five actresses nominated could have walked home with it.  Amy Adams was brilliant in this film, just as Melissa Leo was. Adams is another star who has come so close scooping up an Oscar and still hasn't taken the gold man home. This was her third nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category, with her first two being for her roles in "Junebug" and "Doubt". Adams is one of those rare actresses who is completely versatile. She can do the sugar and spice roles and make everyone fall in love, and she can also do the dramatic roles which will, more often than not, land her an Oscar nomination. I have no doubt she will eventually scoop one up. You never know what her playing Janis Joplin in the upcoming film "Janis Joplin: Get It While You Can" will do for her!

On another note, we all know what is going on in Japan at the moment with the earthquake and the tsunami. It is completely heartbreaking and terrifying to watch. There have been several world events in the past few months like this such as the floods in Queensland in Australia and the eartquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, which are horrifying to watch and can make you feel pretty horrible. In times like this when watching the news gets us down, we can be thankful for film. Film provides you an escape from reality, if only for an hour or two. They're not going to fix the world, but they can take you away from the terror for a few hours and depending on the film, can help you to remember that there is so much beauty in this world and many things we can be thankful for. Say a prayer for those in Japan, we're thinking of you.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review

David O. Russell's masterpiece, "The Fighter" is one of the best sports films to come out in years. Whether boxing is your thing or not, this film completely captures you from beginning to end. "The Fighter" isn't so much about boxing than it is about the character in it and the relationships they form. It is a perfect character cased film, and how many awards and nominations it had for the stars during awards season is perfect proof of this. The film is based on the true story of boxer, Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his brother and trainer, Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale). Dicky, once a boxer himself, has plummeted into cocaine addiction and eventually lands himself in prison. "The Fighter" looks at the relationship between the brothers and the whole Ward family and the lingering question is, does Micky stand a better chance of taking the world welterweight championship with out or without Dicky and his family's influence?

The best part about this film is indeed the acting. Mark Wahlberg gives a splendid performance as Micky Ward. However, it does feel as though he is constantly overshadowed by his supporting actors. Wahlberg's Micky is perhaps the easiest role to play in the movie. He does it well, but it isn't too much of a change from Wahlberg's other roles and he isn't taking any great risks in his role. However, Wahlberg is one of the producers of "The Fighter" so credit must be given to him in his achievement of the film overall. Christian Bale gives a career best performance as Dicky, the older brother with the addictive and slight offbeat personality. Bale completely becomes his character in every way and you completely forget that you are watching Christian Bale and truly believe that you are seeing the real Dicky Eklund on the screen. He is definately deserving of his Oscar and every other award he has taken home for this role. Melissa Leo also gives a superb performance as Alice Ward, Micky and Dicky's obsessive mother. Like Bale, she completley transforms herself into the character, both in mannerisms and in appearence. She isn't a likable character, but great to watch and captivating in every scene she is in. One tends to back Mickey's girlfriend, Charlene Fleming, played by Amy Adams over Alice. Adams plays smart mouthed Charlene perfectly. Although she can be quite crass at times, she is generally likable and the audience identifies with her as the one who stands by her man through thick and thin. She captures just the right amount of emotion for every scenario in every scene and is completely relatable.

The acting isn't the only thing about this film that is brilliant about this film. The construction of these characters and the way they are portrayed on screen is the result of a great achievement in direction by David O. Russell. He knows the ins and outs of all of the characters and passes on all his knowledge to his actors. The film is tightly knit and absolutely captivating from beginning to end. The script is very well written and every scene is meaningful. The cinematography is also brilliant. One of the great moments of cinematography is the way which Russell focuses in on Micky's fighting hand and the way which his hand shows the way he feels about each of the charcaters he forms a relationship with. Unlike the majority of other sports related films, this film isn't as feel good as the others. Yet it does make you feel good. It is another one of those amazing films which make you happy just by watching it and witnessing something fantastic.

"The Fighter" is a masterpiece by David O. Russell. He has brought to the big screen a story of tragedy and triumph with colourful characters and beautiful film making. This film will always be remembered for the amazing performances by the amazing actors who took part and shined.
9/10