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

Knight And Day

Knight And Day
Year: 2010
Director: James Mangold
Cast: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Viola Davis, Paul Dano

In My Own Words
Some actors can just create box office magic out of anything they touch. I’ve decided to coin the term “box office magic” as there was a term in the Golden Hollywood days of “box office poison”. Katharine Hepburn was at one point in time, as were many other old time stars. Though some stars just make everything they touch turn to gold, such as, in this case, Tom Cruise. The man could be in anything and it would generate millions just from people seeing him on the posters and reacting by going and purchasing a ticket to the film. These actors who generate box office magic don’t have to be in more than one movie a year or two years, but when they do, they don’t need to work for more than those few months that they are filming and promoting because of the money the studio pays them for being box office magic. Other actors in this category besides Mr Cruise are John Travolta, Brad Pitt and his squeeze, Angelina Jolie. Being box office magic doesn’t mean that your most recent movie is a particularly good one, but nevertheless it will still bring in the millions just with their billing. So needless to say “Knight And Day” was extremely highly anticipated, has generated $161 million worldwide so far and it’s not that great a movie. Box office magic! Spread the word!

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
“Knight And Day” is Tom Cruise’s long-awaited return to the action film. If you are going to see this film purely to see Cruise complete amazing stunts and kill all the bad guys, then you will love this movie. If you are expecting anything else, chances are you will be disappointed. The first thing that strikes you about “Knight And Day” is that it seems extremely dated. The film would have been a hit if it was released at the most the early nineties, but now almost every aspect of it seems old and dated. June (Cameron Diaz) boards a plane to Boston with a handsome stranger, Roy Miller (Cruise), whom she is immediately attracted to. Little does she know, she has now become involved in a dangerous game of cat and mouse between Roy and his ex-partner, Fitzgerald (Peter Sarsgaard). Once Roy lands the plane by himself, June tries to go on living her life, but she is about to be taken on the adventure of her lifetime by this fugitive that she has just met.

For a mindless action film, “Knight And Day” isn’t too bad, but from a critical point of view, it is a miserable failure. The majority of the special effects and even the scene backdrops look terribly fake to the point that they can just look ridiculous. The film seems completely amateurish compared to some of the other action films that have come out in recent days. As said before, the story, musical score and the special effects resemble that of a 1980’s/1990’s action film. Harsh, but true. There is nothing worst then watching an action movie and the only thing you can think of is how fake the crashes look and how you can tell that they really aren’t underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. A film is supposed to suck you in and make you believe that what you are seeing on the big screen is the real thing. However, “Knight And Day” is an extremely unrealistic film. The plot is very unrealistic, not that this matters in an action film like this the majority of the time. However, the unrealistic nature of the script is also transformed to being that of pure fun on the screen. Many viewers will enjoy the continuously changing location of the film and seeing the beautiful cities featured, while others will just scoff at the silly antics and how far from the truth everything is. On the other hand, it really is quite comical in parts and there are quite a few giggles to be had throughout the film.

However, Cruise is worth going to see this movie for. He is still likable and is definitely the hero of the story, in both the story and in the mind of the movie viewer. As he is the reason for people going to see this film, he will be the reason many people will also enjoy it. The role he plays isn’t very emotionally challenging, but he still plays the part well. Cameron Diaz is just fine. There is nothing amazing about her performance and, again, it isn’t a very hard role. However, she can be very funny at times. Peter Sarsgaard and Viola Davis are both good in their roles. They bring to the table everything they can in the roles they have been given.

“Knight And Day” will be a delight for Tom Cruise fans as they will enjoy seeing him in his return to action. However, it will be one of the more forgettable films of the year and is really just a load of silliness.
4.5/10

Where The Wild Things Are

Where The Wild Things Are

Year: 2009
Director: Spike Jonze
Cast: Max Records, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Forest Whitaker

In My Own Words
This is one of the movies that I was really looking forward to, but I came out of it feeling confused. I’m completely confused whether I should be liking it or not. However, one reason for liking it outweighs all the reasons I have for not liking it. I loved the feeling of seeing things through the eyes of a child again. It made me recall how I had been as a child. I was continuously making the most of my imagination by writing stories and, even though I looked extremely freaking doing so, acting them out in my lounge room by myself. I also would like to play in the garden outside and make little cardboard cut outs of people and pretend they lived in the garden. Very few adults still have an imagination like that. I doubt any grown ups really use their imagination like this anymore, and if they did, they would be considered crazy. That’s what makes the child’s imagination and their way of using it so special. You can only take advantage of it in that way for a certain amount of time. From that time on, the only way to use your imagination the way a child does is in story-telling and writing.

I never really thought about this that much until I saw this movie. I saw “Where The Wild Things Are” as being a metaphor for this. The tagline “There’s one in all of us” I believe is a representation of how the imagination of a child still exists in all of us, but we can’t express it the way a child can anymore. “Where The Wild Things Are” reminded me so much of my childhood imagination, and for that I am thankful. It brought back some memories of a time when I was oblivious to the real world and lived in my own world where everything was made by me, and therefore perfect. In this movie, all is not perfect for very long, which I interpreted as being the point where he grows up and accepts that things may not always be perfect in the real world, but there are always people who will love you no matter how imperfect you or your world may be. This was my interpretation anyway. Maybe I am reading too much into it.

There are my own words and here is my review.

Review
Who would have ever thought that the 338 page book, “Where The Wild Things Are” could be made into a 101 minute film? Spike Jonze is the man to do it. Obviously, quite a bit is added into the film that is not in the book in order to make it appropriate for a feature length film. The long awaited film will be appreciated by adults as long as they go into the film ready to see the world through the imagination of a child. In saying this, children will see this film and enjoy it as it is imaginative and a story with big friendly (and other times not so friendly) and fluffy monsters.

Max (Max Records) is a young boy who is full of imagination. He spends his days creating new worlds for himself to escape the troubles he experiences with his older sister and her friends, and his single mother (Catherine Keener). One day after getting himself into trouble, he runs away from home and sails to a new land, which is inhabited by large and unusual creatures. Max tells the creatures that he is a king, and he immediately becomes the flavour of the month, especially with Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini). Max tries to make life happier for all the creatures, but ends up finding out that it is impossible to make everyone happy all the time.

“Where The Wild Things Are” is the story of a child’s imagination. The visuals of the land where the wild things live are perfect for this theme, as they are both imaginative, as they are abstract, unreal, large and full of detail. The visuals are unlike any other seen in a recent film and the recreation of Carol and his friends is fantastic. The cast that lends their voices to these wild things does a great job in bringing to life these characters from the book. The soundtrack is also commendable, as it reflects the childlike behaviour and emotions presented in the film.

However, the film can be dull at times. There are some scenes that seem slow and quite tedious, as it seems as though the film is not going anywhere. The conflict in the film is not strong, which is where the film loses its strength. The moral of the film and visuals are there, however at times they just do not seem to work. It is first and foremost a children’s book and ultimately is seen as a children’s movie, but this is no excuse for lack of strength in a movie. Records gives a good performance as Max, but he can come across as forced. His best performance is as happy Max, but sad Max is not convincing. Yet, he is a very young actor so he can be forgiven. Still, the film almost feels too basic, even for a children’s film.

The moral of the film is fantastic, that there is a world like the one in the movie inside all of us. Most people are not aware of this world or have forgotten it, as it is evident mainly in children but not in adults. Therefore, children will love this movie as it will tap into their imagination. For adults, it will only do this if they are aware of the morals and themes of the film and are willing to go into viewing it with the mind of a child. A child’s imagination is far greater than the average adult as it knows no limits, yet there does come a time in everyone’s life when reality becomes greater than the imagination and this is what “Where The Wild Things Are” presents.
7/10