Last night I saw Beirut, starring Jon Hamm and Rosamund Pike.
Mason (Hamm) is an alcoholic former diplomat who previously made a life in Beirut. It's been ten years since he lost his love in a night of gunfire. He returned to America shortly thereafter and has never looked back.
Unfortunately, his country needs him and summons him to return to the "scene of the crime" because his closest colleague/friend has been taken hostage and the kidnappers only want Mason to negotiate. Reluctantly he returns to the horrors he left and thus begins a game of cat and mouse between the Americans (amongst each other) and the terrorists.
Really, it's a pretty straightforward story, with good guys and bad guys and damaged guys who fall somewhere in between. Though Mason and his chauffeur Sandy (Pike) spend a lot of time together, sparks never fly for them, which seems like a missed opportunity for an otherwise one-dimensional plot.
The reason to see this is Hamm, who looks more like Don Draper than his real self, and melts comfortably back into the drunken/angry/smart hero role. He's great.
As for the story, well, if you lived during the 1980s, it will conjure up bad flashbacks of depressing evening news broadcasts showing violence and death that seemed to have no end.
If only we'd come farther since then, this would be easier to stomach.
~~~
Showing posts with label kidnapping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kidnapping. Show all posts
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Thursday, December 28, 2017
All the Money in the World
Yesterday I saw All the Money in the World, starring Christopher Plummer and Michelle Williams.
The film is based on the true story of Paul Getty's kidnapping in 1973. Getty (Charlie Plummer) was of course the grandson of JP Getty (Christopher Plummer), the billionaire oil tycoon.
Gail Getty (Michelle Williams) receives a call one day that her son Paul has been abducted and the kidnappers are demanding a ransom of $17 million. Though she's not in contact with her drug-addicted ex-husband, she does appeal to his wealthy father for the money, which he flatly refuses, suspecting Paul staged the kidnapping himself to extort cash from him.
As the weeks go on, it's evident the abduction is real, but Getty still can't be convinced and getting tired of waiting, the captors sell him to another group of criminals who aren't as nice (the first group let him listen to the radio, fed him relatively well, etc.)—everything escalates and a violent action is taken to prove they're serious.
It's only then that the victim's grandfather considers the situation 'real' and decides to help ... with conditions.
The film is heart-pounding suspenseful, even if you know the outcome. To say the acting is good would be an understatement, especially considering that this film was "in the can" so to speak when Kevin Spacey's controversy emerged and director Ridley Scott decided to replace him with Christopher Plummer.
How they seamlessly re-shot all of the senior Getty's scenes and edited them into the final print in time for their original release date is baffling to me, but they did. And they did it well.
No one would ever know that Plummer came in on the fly or that any of the scenes were filmed out of sync with the rest. It's flawless and the story is so strong, you forget about the "replacement" about 5 minutes in.
I loved this movie because it's a good movie, but I recommend it with twice as much emphasis because of the circumstance.
~~~
The film is based on the true story of Paul Getty's kidnapping in 1973. Getty (Charlie Plummer) was of course the grandson of JP Getty (Christopher Plummer), the billionaire oil tycoon.
Gail Getty (Michelle Williams) receives a call one day that her son Paul has been abducted and the kidnappers are demanding a ransom of $17 million. Though she's not in contact with her drug-addicted ex-husband, she does appeal to his wealthy father for the money, which he flatly refuses, suspecting Paul staged the kidnapping himself to extort cash from him.
As the weeks go on, it's evident the abduction is real, but Getty still can't be convinced and getting tired of waiting, the captors sell him to another group of criminals who aren't as nice (the first group let him listen to the radio, fed him relatively well, etc.)—everything escalates and a violent action is taken to prove they're serious.
It's only then that the victim's grandfather considers the situation 'real' and decides to help ... with conditions.
The film is heart-pounding suspenseful, even if you know the outcome. To say the acting is good would be an understatement, especially considering that this film was "in the can" so to speak when Kevin Spacey's controversy emerged and director Ridley Scott decided to replace him with Christopher Plummer.
How they seamlessly re-shot all of the senior Getty's scenes and edited them into the final print in time for their original release date is baffling to me, but they did. And they did it well.
No one would ever know that Plummer came in on the fly or that any of the scenes were filmed out of sync with the rest. It's flawless and the story is so strong, you forget about the "replacement" about 5 minutes in.
I loved this movie because it's a good movie, but I recommend it with twice as much emphasis because of the circumstance.
~~~
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
The Light Between Oceans
Last night I saw The Light Between Oceans, starring Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander.
The year is 1923. Tom (Fassbender) and Isabel (Vikander) are a young couple in love, living a peaceful, isolated life in a lighthouse, where Tom is the sole caretaker. Devastated by recent losses, they're snapped out of their own grief when a dinghy washes up on the shore near their home. It contains a dead man and a very alive baby girl.
Though Tom's instinct is to log the discovery and immediately alert the authorities, Isabel thinks the "right" thing to do is to care for the baby as if she were their own and give the man a proper burial. So, that's what they do.
And they become the best parents the baby could ask for—doting on her endlessly; showering her with attention and love at every turn.
Life is undeniably good until they return to town to visit family and Tom discovers the woman who may be their new daughter's biological mother. He's immediately torn on what to do. Should he stay silent and continue his idyllic life, knowing this stranger is in unimaginable pain? Or should he do the "right thing" and confess to their crime, giving the child back to her rightful family, destroying every ounce of happiness that he and his family possess.
What should be a simple decision becomes a dreadful one, not only for the characters in this story, but for the audience having to choose sides. I fully admit: I was 100% on the fence.
Life's decisions aren't easy. And what the handbooks say (whether based on religion, ethics or society's moral code) may seem completely true on paper but totally backwards when coupled with the human experience.
Sometimes there aren't easy answers and sometimes unfavorable actions are truly motivated by purity or grief or love. It is possible.
Here, the pursuit of happiness wasn't even selfish; everyone involved cared most about the young girl. There were no bad people or villains in sight.
I can't share the decision that Tom made, for that would spoil the movie, but I can say that this film was so well-acted and real that everyone was left sobbing in their seats at the end.
All of us, crying together, about love.
~~~
The year is 1923. Tom (Fassbender) and Isabel (Vikander) are a young couple in love, living a peaceful, isolated life in a lighthouse, where Tom is the sole caretaker. Devastated by recent losses, they're snapped out of their own grief when a dinghy washes up on the shore near their home. It contains a dead man and a very alive baby girl.
Though Tom's instinct is to log the discovery and immediately alert the authorities, Isabel thinks the "right" thing to do is to care for the baby as if she were their own and give the man a proper burial. So, that's what they do.
And they become the best parents the baby could ask for—doting on her endlessly; showering her with attention and love at every turn.
Life is undeniably good until they return to town to visit family and Tom discovers the woman who may be their new daughter's biological mother. He's immediately torn on what to do. Should he stay silent and continue his idyllic life, knowing this stranger is in unimaginable pain? Or should he do the "right thing" and confess to their crime, giving the child back to her rightful family, destroying every ounce of happiness that he and his family possess.
What should be a simple decision becomes a dreadful one, not only for the characters in this story, but for the audience having to choose sides. I fully admit: I was 100% on the fence.
Life's decisions aren't easy. And what the handbooks say (whether based on religion, ethics or society's moral code) may seem completely true on paper but totally backwards when coupled with the human experience.
Sometimes there aren't easy answers and sometimes unfavorable actions are truly motivated by purity or grief or love. It is possible.
Here, the pursuit of happiness wasn't even selfish; everyone involved cared most about the young girl. There were no bad people or villains in sight.
I can't share the decision that Tom made, for that would spoil the movie, but I can say that this film was so well-acted and real that everyone was left sobbing in their seats at the end.
All of us, crying together, about love.
~~~
Tuesday, December 01, 2015
Room
Tonight I saw Room, starring Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay.
Joy (Larson) was a victim of a kidnapping when she was a teenager. She's been kept prisoner by her captor ever since, and produced a son, Jack (Tremblay), with him.
When we meet Joy and Jack, it's Jack's 5th birthday and the pair are celebrating by baking a cake from scratch. Jack is disappointed there are no candles to blow out, but his mother explains that she can only ask for so much.
After a series of "visits" from the captor, Joy decides it's time to try to make a move to escape, and Jack will have to be her ticket out. That's as much as I can tell you without spoiling the film. So, instead, I'll talk about the brilliant performances from Brie Larson, who is a certain bet for an Oscar nod, and Jacob Tremblay, who may just score a nomination of his own.
Brie as Joy perfectly exemplifies a tortured soul, though she doesn't let her son see it. She compartmentalizes like anyone who has been traumatized and saves her grief for the future, when she's emotionally allowed to show it.
The young Jacob Tremblay displays an equal mix of innocence and anger about his situation as Jack. The moment Joy tells him that there is indeed a world like the one they see on their television is something sure to be studied by future child actors.
The supporting characters are minimal but impactful—Joan Allen as Grandma and William H. Macy as Grandpa. The guilty parents who couldn't protect their own.
The screenplay is also to credit for such a realistic, awful sequence of events. Anyone who has watched television interviews with real-life survivors of such horrors only gets a glimpse of the layers of emotion they're working through when the bright interview lights are shining upon them. Here the writer peels back those layers and lets us experience each one.
I'm not ashamed to say that I sobbed uncontrollably more than once during this film. I hope it gets the recognition it deserves come awards season.
~~~
Joy (Larson) was a victim of a kidnapping when she was a teenager. She's been kept prisoner by her captor ever since, and produced a son, Jack (Tremblay), with him.
When we meet Joy and Jack, it's Jack's 5th birthday and the pair are celebrating by baking a cake from scratch. Jack is disappointed there are no candles to blow out, but his mother explains that she can only ask for so much.
After a series of "visits" from the captor, Joy decides it's time to try to make a move to escape, and Jack will have to be her ticket out. That's as much as I can tell you without spoiling the film. So, instead, I'll talk about the brilliant performances from Brie Larson, who is a certain bet for an Oscar nod, and Jacob Tremblay, who may just score a nomination of his own.
Brie as Joy perfectly exemplifies a tortured soul, though she doesn't let her son see it. She compartmentalizes like anyone who has been traumatized and saves her grief for the future, when she's emotionally allowed to show it.
The young Jacob Tremblay displays an equal mix of innocence and anger about his situation as Jack. The moment Joy tells him that there is indeed a world like the one they see on their television is something sure to be studied by future child actors.
The supporting characters are minimal but impactful—Joan Allen as Grandma and William H. Macy as Grandpa. The guilty parents who couldn't protect their own.
The screenplay is also to credit for such a realistic, awful sequence of events. Anyone who has watched television interviews with real-life survivors of such horrors only gets a glimpse of the layers of emotion they're working through when the bright interview lights are shining upon them. Here the writer peels back those layers and lets us experience each one.
I'm not ashamed to say that I sobbed uncontrollably more than once during this film. I hope it gets the recognition it deserves come awards season.
~~~
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Prisoners
Today I saw Prisoners, starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Keller (Jackman) and Grace (Maria Bello), have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with their neighbors Franklin (Terrence Howard) and Nancy (Viola Davis).
Each couple has a young daughter and the girls leave together after the meal to go play. The adults don't realize they are missing until much later. They report a suspected abduction and soon are on the trail of the owner of an RV who was parked on their street.
Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) has solved every case to which he's been assigned, so the families are grateful when he takes on the challenge of finding their girls.
That same night he apprehends the RV owner, a mentally slow man named Alex (Paul Dano) who doesn't have any trace of the girls on his belongings. They hold him for 48 hours and release him to his aunt's custody.
Because Keller is convinced that Alex is guilty, he kidnaps him at gunpoint and takes him as a prisoner at an empty property he owns. He begins torturing him to get information from him, but gets no results.
Soon, he involves Franklin and Nancy, who don't feel right about what he's doing, but also choose not to stop him.
Meanwhile, at a candlelight vigil for the girls, a man's odd behavior catches the eye of Detective Loki and he gives chase. This is where, of course, the plot thickens.
From Hugh Jackman's desperation to the numbness of Maria Bello, each actor lives their role with frightful realism. The pain of the families is tangible, as is the frustration of the detective who is unable to decode the puzzle that may lead them all to the girls.
I was on the edge of my seat for the duration of this lengthy film, and with every twist and turn I held my breath, hoping for resolution.
Aside from a few key gruesome scenes, I never looked away.
I'm glad I didn't—a solid thriller is always a great way to get the adrenaline going.
~~~
Keller (Jackman) and Grace (Maria Bello), have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with their neighbors Franklin (Terrence Howard) and Nancy (Viola Davis).
Each couple has a young daughter and the girls leave together after the meal to go play. The adults don't realize they are missing until much later. They report a suspected abduction and soon are on the trail of the owner of an RV who was parked on their street.
Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) has solved every case to which he's been assigned, so the families are grateful when he takes on the challenge of finding their girls.
That same night he apprehends the RV owner, a mentally slow man named Alex (Paul Dano) who doesn't have any trace of the girls on his belongings. They hold him for 48 hours and release him to his aunt's custody.
Because Keller is convinced that Alex is guilty, he kidnaps him at gunpoint and takes him as a prisoner at an empty property he owns. He begins torturing him to get information from him, but gets no results.
Soon, he involves Franklin and Nancy, who don't feel right about what he's doing, but also choose not to stop him.
Meanwhile, at a candlelight vigil for the girls, a man's odd behavior catches the eye of Detective Loki and he gives chase. This is where, of course, the plot thickens.
From Hugh Jackman's desperation to the numbness of Maria Bello, each actor lives their role with frightful realism. The pain of the families is tangible, as is the frustration of the detective who is unable to decode the puzzle that may lead them all to the girls.
I was on the edge of my seat for the duration of this lengthy film, and with every twist and turn I held my breath, hoping for resolution.
Aside from a few key gruesome scenes, I never looked away.
I'm glad I didn't—a solid thriller is always a great way to get the adrenaline going.
~~~
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Changeling
Today I saw Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich.
It was the topic of Cinebanter #63, which is available here.
It was the topic of Cinebanter #63, which is available here.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
The Tonto Woman
Today I saw The Tonto Woman, which is an Oscar® nominee in the Live Action Short Film Category.
For a short film, this sure went on for a long time.
The story is based on an Elmore Leonard work about a woman who is kidnapped by the Apaches and traded to the Mojaves, then returned 'tainted' to her husband. A friendly Mexican happens upon her bathing topless in the desert one day and becomes her confidant. He convinces her of her worth (which her husband seems to be ignoring), then something happens at the end which I won't spoil here.
I couldn't help but think that the only nominee in this category that is spoken in English would hold my attention more than the others, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Aside from the gratuitous (and non-sensual) nudity, I felt that what could've been a shocking story became very stale in this delivery. I wanted to care about the characters, but really didn't, and the ending was quite predictable.
It wouldn't get my vote if I were a member of the Academy.
For a short film, this sure went on for a long time.
The story is based on an Elmore Leonard work about a woman who is kidnapped by the Apaches and traded to the Mojaves, then returned 'tainted' to her husband. A friendly Mexican happens upon her bathing topless in the desert one day and becomes her confidant. He convinces her of her worth (which her husband seems to be ignoring), then something happens at the end which I won't spoil here.
I couldn't help but think that the only nominee in this category that is spoken in English would hold my attention more than the others, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Aside from the gratuitous (and non-sensual) nudity, I felt that what could've been a shocking story became very stale in this delivery. I wanted to care about the characters, but really didn't, and the ending was quite predictable.
It wouldn't get my vote if I were a member of the Academy.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Gone Baby Gone
Tonight I screened Gone Baby Gone, starring Casey Affleck and Ed Harris.
I love it when movies make me think.
There are those that say they simply go to the movies to be entertained, and while that's important, if a movie forces me to calculate decisions as I'm watching, or question my morals when I've left the theater, I have to rank it a little higher on the list than the fluff. And this one did.
The story tells of two young 'private investigator' types (Affleck and Michelle Monaghan) who get caught up in a missing children case with the Boston PD only to arrive at disastrous results. But that's merely the beginning.
What unfolds is a story of deceit, vigilante justice, moral integrity, betrayal and heartbreak. And I'm still making up my mind about the characters.
Affleck gives a terrific performance as the quintessential good guy and Harris is equally good as the tried-and-true tough cop.
But the twists in the writing and the exciting camera work are really what make this a thrilling Departed-like ride.
Proof positive that the other Affleck (who directed and co-wrote this) is at his best behind the scenes.
I love it when movies make me think.
There are those that say they simply go to the movies to be entertained, and while that's important, if a movie forces me to calculate decisions as I'm watching, or question my morals when I've left the theater, I have to rank it a little higher on the list than the fluff. And this one did.
The story tells of two young 'private investigator' types (Affleck and Michelle Monaghan) who get caught up in a missing children case with the Boston PD only to arrive at disastrous results. But that's merely the beginning.
What unfolds is a story of deceit, vigilante justice, moral integrity, betrayal and heartbreak. And I'm still making up my mind about the characters.
Affleck gives a terrific performance as the quintessential good guy and Harris is equally good as the tried-and-true tough cop.
But the twists in the writing and the exciting camera work are really what make this a thrilling Departed-like ride.
Proof positive that the other Affleck (who directed and co-wrote this) is at his best behind the scenes.
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