Rodent's Reviews

Trust me.

0% for Superman 4.
0% for Alien Hunter.

And now 0% for House Of The Dead.

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New York teenager Dave is a regular kid. He hangs out with friends, loves his comic books and wonders why nobody has ever actually donned a suit and done it for real.
Until the day he buys himself what resembles a wetsuit and some batons off the internet and heads out into the city.

After some teething problems and an incident that leaves him with damaged nerve-endings meaning his pain threshold is higher than most other people… Dave finds himself drawn back onto the streets and ends up defending a man who is being beaten by a gang of thugs.

Dave then labels himself as “Kick-Ass” to a by passer with a cell-phone who recorded the whole thing…

… and Kick-Ass becomes an immediate internet sensation.

But his new found fame draws the attention of a pretty disturbing Father-Daughter team who have been planning their own little superhero adventure with their own motives… and together, the three head out into the city and make enemies with a rather dangerous Crime-Lord.


Absolutely brilliant.
Based on the comic of the same name, Kick-Ass gives all the thrills and spills of a genuine comic book movie and manages to throw in some real world blood and guts, bad language and some border-ultraviolent action crossed with some more fantastical action too.

For a start, there are some genuine laughs to be had throughout the running time. It’s all reality based too and keeps within a situational humour most of the time.

The second thing that makes an impact is the huge connection the audience gets to the characters. They’re all extremely well fleshed out and well written.
The other thing is the likeability, or un-likeability, of the characters… the overall writing is spot on and makes for some memorable roles and even the bad guys have you laughing from time to time.


What really makes the biggest mark though, for me, is the screenplay and scripting. The sequence of events is pretty polished and believable and draws the audience into the story.
Some of the dialogue is also really funny, especially when Hit Girl appears.

One thing missing though, is that the film never really has any defining moment. No moment of realisation as such. It tends to rely more on plot devices that push the screenplay along… but one thing, the exposition is spot on which makes all the smaller moments work well.


The acting is also bang on.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is the perfect choice for Kick-Ass. His naïve and out-of-his-depth persona works wonderfully for the weedy geek in a suit. As the story progresses though and Kick-Ass comes out of his shell, ATJ really nails the role and actually seems to grow with the plot.

Mark Strong also makes an impression as head baddie Frank D’Amico. He’s pretty close to the role he played in Robin Hood just with a bit extra comedy thrown in, but the dry bad guy role works brilliantly.

Christopher Mintz-Plasse as the nerdy and slightly unhinged Chris D’Amico (aka; Red Mist), Frank’s son, also makes a decent show. He’s more of a backup role to start that ends up play a huge part in getting Kick-Ass into trouble and simply wants to be like his crime lord Father.

Standout roles though… Nicolas Cage and Chloë Grace Moretz as Father-Daughter team Big Daddy and Hit Girl.
Cage’s take on the slightly nerdy yet incredibly tough ex-Cop with a motive is most definitely my favourite role of Cage’s. He also portrays a sense of disturbing psychopathy too.
Moretz though, of the two, makes the biggest impression. What we’re talking here is a 5ft tall, 7 stone powerhouse who swears like a builder, smashes heads together like a seasoned wrestler and spins around the bad guys like Yoda in the Prequel Trilogy. Her more sombre and quieter scenes, and especially the occasional emotional scenes, are held brilliantly by Moretz.

Backup comes from Morris Chestnut, Clark Duke, Evan Peters, Michael Rispoli, Lyndsy Fonesca and Yancy Butler.

Now, the action and effects.
Fast, brutal, bloody, occasionally funny and definitely what the film revels in when they get going.
The choreography is top drawer too. Along with the fantastical side of the action toward the end of the film, there’s a pretty realistic build up during the running time. It basically starts out in reality before going more into the comic book style.

The soundtrack throughout backs up every scene, whether action or more quieter settings, perfectly too.



Years after the first film, Dave has given up crime fighting and has grown bored with his humdrum life. His love life has suffered as well.
Mindy (Hit Girl) however, is still sneaking out at night and skiving school so she can bash heads together in the name of Justice.

Dave decides to make a change and talks to Mindy about training and getting back into the business… and Mindy takes him up on the offer and trains him extensively.
But when Mindy’s adopted Father figure Detective Marcus Williams tells Mindy that she must give up the Cape, Mindy reluctantly agrees, leaving Dave alone on the streets.

But more adventure is around the corner when Chris D’Amico (Red Mist in the first film) has now reinvented himself as the ultimate bad guy, known as The Motherf*cker… and incredibly wealthy villain who simply pays the worst of the worst to do his dirty work for him, and D’Amico has but one mission; to kill Kick-Ass, or, destroy everything Kick-Ass loves.

But Kick-Ass has backup coming in the form of a vigilante group headed by Colonel Stars And Stripes…

“When the cops can no longer Protect And Serve,
Be warned, Mugger, heads up, Perv,
We got the strength, we got the nerve,
To give those in need, what they deserve!
Justice Forever!”


Just like real time, the films have 3 years between them and the story has progressed with it too.
The audience is treated to a slightly expanded story when it comes to the lives of the characters and manages to add some more realistic touches to the proceedings that were seen in the first film.
Especially when it comes to Chris D’Amico.
This film shows his progression from frustrated and angry kid to a genuinely twisted and almost perverted spoiled brat with an agenda. Definitely a good move for this film, it makes for a more personal battle between him and Kick-Ass as we see D’Amico’s well written development.

We’re also treated to Hit Girl and her character expansion from what is essentially a lost, confused and damaged young girl into a strong woman who has to find her place in the world.

Gradually though, like with the original, the filmmakers make things get bigger as the movie goes on and eventually we get a well pieced together progressive story around the characters we all met and learned about in the first film.

There’s also the same recognisable humour that was seen in the first film laced throughout this one too.


The acting again is bang on.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is improved as Dave/Kick-Ass. His slightly expanded character is a nice touch but ATJ hasn’t changed our Hero so much that he becomes something too different. There is an incident toward the end that makes for a new twist on the character development and it adds a new depth to our green/yellow Hero.
ATJ has also beefed up substantially for the role, and his fight scenes are a hell of a lot better. Aaron really put the work in.

Christopher Mintz-Plasse is much better this time round. You get the impression he’s been given more free reign with the script too and the longer screen time is good to see.

Moretz returns as Mindy/Hit Girl and she’s definitely the most improved of the 3 main returning cast members in both writing and acting. Her role has been given more of an arc too and it makes her character even more likeable. Moretz alos nails the role.

Additions are our Superteam Justice Forever… Donald Faison as Doctor Gravity (funny role), Lindy Booth as Night-Bitch, Robert Emms as Insect Man and…

… Jim Carrey is completely unrecognisable as Colonel Stars And Stripes.
Carrey absolutely makes this film when he’s on screen. It’s just a shame that he’s not on screen for the entire running time. He’s absolutely brilliant and definitely the best of the background actors.


Backup comes from Morris Chestnut again, with John Leguizamo, Olga Kurkulina (brilliant role) and a cameo from Iain Glen.
Glen in particular I can see making a showing if they ever make Kick-Ass 3. His cameo is memorable.


The action this time round is about the same as the first… starting relatively small and then getting larger…

We’re treated to some great choreography again though and a lot of the action and fighting has the story to back it up this time too.
It’s definitely more personal in this film.

Again though, the soundtrack backs it all up brilliantly.

Update... been a while since the last...

PAGE 1

1 - Young Guns 90%
2 - A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010 Remake) 2%
3 – 2012 15%
4 - Cowboys And Aliens 85%
5 – Cloverfield 80%
6 – Leon 75%
7 – Dreamcatcher 30%
8 - Alien 3 Definitive Version Vs Theatrical Release 90%
9 - The 'Burbs 85%
10 - Starship Troopers 90% [11]


PAGE 2

11 – Predator 99%
12 – Robocop 100%
13 - John Carpenter's The Thing 95%
14 - Alien Vs Predator and Aliens Vs Predator Requiem 25% & 70%
15 - Terminator Foursome (1-4) 90%, 95%, 10% & 75%
16 - The Fourth Kind 35%
17 - Jurassic Park 80%
18 - Pirates Of The Caribbean Original Trilogy (1-3) 95%, 97% & 96%
19 - The Dark Crystal 65%
20 – Tremors 90% [27]


PAGE 3

21 – Paul 30%
22 - Full Metal Jacket 85%
23 - Demolition Man 70%
24 - Dumb And Dumber 95%
25 - Ridley Scott's Robin Hood 15%
26 - Christopher Reeve Superman Foursome (1-4) And Superman Returns 97%, 99%, 70%, 0% & 50%
27 - Batman Begins 90%
28 - The Dark Knight 95%
29 – Ghostbusters 98%
30 - Star Wars Franchise (1-6) 100%, 100%, 98%, 20%, 5% & 55% [46]


PAGE 4

31 – Critters 89%
32 - The Matrix Trilogy (1-3) 90%, 75% & 75%
33 – Arachnophobia 65%
34 - Super 8 45%
35 - The Shawshank Redemption 100%
36 - The Abyss 98%
37 - Troll Hunter 10%
38 - John Carpenter's The Fog 95%
39 - Dog Soldiers 95%
40 - The Shining 99% [58]


PAGE 5

41 - Indiana Jones Foursome (1-4) 100%, 99%, 100% & 1%
42 - Robert Rodriguez' Predators 85%
43 - Sam Raimi's Spider Man Trilogy (1-3) 85%, 95% & 45% [66]
44 - Rocky Franchise (1-6) 95%, 93%, 75%, 80%, 50% & 94%
45 - The Lost Boys 95%
46 – Evolution 90%
47 - Alien Foursome (1-4 Includes A Rerun Of Review #8) 100%, 100%, 90% & 40%
48 - Jurassic Park Trilogy (1-3 Includes A Rerun Of Review #17) 80%, 65% & 10%
49 - Gremlins Duo (1 & 2) 85% & 65%
50 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Original Movie) 90%
51 - 30 Days Of Night 80% [83]

PAGE 6

52 - From Dusk Till Dawn 96%
53 - I, Robot 60%
54 - Steven Spielberg's War Of The Worlds 50%
55 – Blade Runner 100%
56 – Armageddon 70%
57 – Signs 80% [89]

PAGE 7

58 - The Quick And The Dead 90%
59 – Ransom 100%
60 - The Big Lebowski 100%
61 - Ghostbusters Duo (1 & 2 Includes A Rerun Of Review #29) 98% & 70% [93]

PAGE 8

62 - Pitch Black 85%
63 - The Day After Tomorrow 65%
64 - Independence Day 88%
65 - Cat's Eye 89%
66 – Equilibrium 80%
67 - Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes 100%
68 - The Karate Kid (Original Movie) 95% [68th Review 100th Movie]
69 - Die Hard Franchise (1-4) 95%, 40%, 85% & 87%
70 – Poltergeist 90%


PAGE 9

71 - The Passion Of The Christ 100%
72 - Paranormal Activity 5%
73 - Paranormal Activity 2 15%
74 - Pulp Fiction 98%
75 - Critters Foursome (1-4 Includes A Rerun Of Review #31) 89%, 15%, 55% & 30%
76 – Unforgiven 100%
77 - Black Hawk Down 95%
78 - The Fly (1986 Remake) 94%
79 - Lake Placid 65% [116]

PAGE 10

80 - Back To The Future Trilogy (1-3) 98%, 85% & 80%
81 - Lethal Weapon Foursome (1-4) 97%, 98%, 90% & 93%
82 - Star Trek Franchise (1-11) 85%, 95%, 87%, 83%, 86%, 89%, 78%, 32%, 80%, 84% & 98%
83 - Of Mice And Men 96%
84 - An American Werewolf In London 94% [136]

PAGE 11

85 - Predator 2 (Includes A Rerun of Reviews #11 & #42) 99%, 99%, 85%
86 – Jaws 100%
87 - American Pie Original Trilogy (1-3) 95%, 85% & 85%
88 – Godzilla 86%
89 - The Negotiator 92%
90 - The Green Mile 101% [144]


PAGE 12

91 - The Mist 98%
92 - Silent Hill 58%
93 – Highlander 86%
94 - The Goonies 97%
95 – Batman 93%
96 - Batman Returns 94% [150]

PAGE 13

97 - I Am Legend 83%
98 – Titanic 97%
99 - Saving Private Ryan 101%
100 – Avatar 96% [100th Review, 154th Movie]


PAGE 14

101 - The Simpsons Movie 70%
102 - District 9 84%
103 – Slither 88%
104 – Wanted 68% [158]

PAGE 15

105 – Casino 100%
106 - No Country For Old Men 94%
107 - Blown Away 50%
108 - The Cowboys 87%
109 - K-PAX 83%
110 - The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy (1-3) 95%, 96% & 97%
111 - Edward Scissorhands 93% [167]

PAGE 16

112 - The Expendables 90%
113 - Little Shop 100%
114 - 3:10 To Yuma 74% [170]

PAGE 17

115 – Trainspotting 98%
116 - A Bug's Life (Part Of Rodent's 5 Review Pixar Marathon) 91%
117 - Cars (Part Of Rodent's 5 Review Pixar Marathon) 38%
118 - Monsters Inc. (Part Of Rodent's 5 Review Pixar Marathon) 100%
119 - WALL-E(Part Of Rodent's 5 Review Pixar Marathon)101%[175]

PAGE 18

120 - The Incredibles (Part Of Rodent's 5 Review Pixar Marathon) 97%
121 – Gladiator 98%
122 - The Dark Knight Rises (Includes A Rerun Of Reviews #27 & #28) 90%, 95% & 98%
123 - King Kong 87%
124 - Mortal Kombat 65% [180]

PAGE 19

125 – Appaloosa 38%
126 – Legend 91%
127 - Dead Calm 92%
128 - The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button 83%
129 - Top Gun 71%
130 - Mission: Impossible Foursome (1-4) [130th Review, 189 Movies In Total] 89%, 91%, 96% & 96%
131 – Twins 87%

PAGE 20

132 - Pearl Harbor 12%
133 - Tremors Trilogy (1-3 Includes A Rerun Of Review #20) 90%, 23% & 11%
134 – Paulie 86%
135 - Hard Target 78%
136 - Universal Soldier 88%
137 - Sudden Death 83% [197]

PAGE 21

138 – Timecop 92%
139 - The Crow 88%
140 - American History X 100% [140th Review, 200th Movie]
141 - Gone Baby Gone 83%

PAGE 22

142 – Waterworld 91%
143 - The Fifth Element 93%
144 - Cop Land 94%
145 - Mississippi Burning 100%
146 - Beverly Hills Cop Trilogy (1-3) (Part Of Rodent's 15 Review 1980s Marathon) [208] 97%, 82% & 27%

PAGE 23

147 - Field Of Dreams (Part Of Rodent's 15 Review 1980s Marathon) 90%
148 - Stand By Me (Part Of Rodent's 15 Review 1980s Marathon) 97%
149 - Rain Man (Part Of Rodent's 15 Review 1980s Marathon) 100%
150 - Big Trouble In Little China (Part Of Rodent's 15 Review 1980s Marathon) 86%
151 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (Part Of Rodent's 15 Review 1980s Marathon) 100%
152 - Innerspace (Part Of Rodent's 15 Review 1980s Marathon) 90% [214]

PAGE 24

153 - Short Circuit Duo (1 & 2) (Part Of Rodent's 15 Review 1980s Marathon) 89% & 63%
154 - Commando (Part Of Rodent's 15 Review 1980s Marathon) 68%
155 - Explorers (Part Of Rodent's 15 Review 1980s Marathon) 88% [218]

PAGE 25

156 - The Untouchables (Part Of Rodent's 15 Review 1980s Marathon) 92%
157 - Flight Of The Navigator (Part Of Rodent's 15 Review 1980s Marathon) 96%
158 - Platoon (Part Of Rodent's 15 Review 1980s Marathon) 98%
159 - Uncle Buck (Part Of Rodent's 15 Review 1980s Marathon) 90%
160 - Weird Science (Part Of Rodent's 15 Review 1980s Marathon) 79%
161 - The 40 Year Old Virgin 81% [224]

PAGE 26

162 - The A Team 82%
163 - Dante's Peak 91%
164 – Volcano 84%
165 – Hancock 54%
166 - True Grit Vs True Grit 96% & 96% [230]

PAGE 27

167 – Watchmen 94%
168 - John Carpenter's The Thing And The Thing (Includes A Rerun And Small Edit Of Review #13) 95% & 42%
169 – Scrooged (Part Of Rodent’s 5 Christmas Movie Marathon) 93%
170 – Bad Santa (Part Of Rodent’s 5 Christmas Movie Marathon) 83% [234]

PAGE 28

171 – Home Alone (Part Of Rodent’s 5 Christmas Movie Marathon) 87%
172 – Elf (Part Of Rodent’s 5 Christmas Movie Marathon) 91%
173 – The Grinch (Part Of Rodent’s 5 Christmas Movie Marathon) 78%
174 – Ghost 98% [238]

PAGE 29

175 – Prometheus 89%
176 – Willow 92% [240]

PAGE 30

177 – The Expendables 2 (Includes A Rerun Of Review #112) 90% & 92%
178 – Dredd 96%
179 – Repo Man 98%
180 – Alien Hunter 0%
181 – Two Of The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy 97% & 98% [246]

PAGE 31

182 – Reign Of Fire 23%
183 – Porky’s 87%
184 – Fly Away Home 95%
185 – Rear Window 99% [185th Review 250th Movie]

PAGE 32… The Start Of The New Look Reviews

186 – Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves 94%
187 – Speed And Speed 2: Cruise Control 93% & 4%
188 – Deep Blue Sea 72%
189 – The War Of The Worlds 76%
190 – The Amazing Spider-Man 95%
191 – This Boy’s Life 94% [257]

PAGE 33

192 – Skyline 7%
193 – X-Men The Franchise So Far 84%, 87%, 89%, 81% (Wolverine) & 82% (First Class) [263]

PAGE 34

194 – Vertical Limit 28%
195 – Street Fighter 3%
196 – Eraser 82%
197 – Man On Fire 84%
198 – Jeepers Creepers 87%
199 – Man Of Steel 91%

PAGE 35

200 – Judgment Night 93% [200th Review, 270th Movie]

PAGE 36

201 - Close Encounters Of The Third Kind 101%

PAGE 37

202 - The Bone Collector 68%

PAGE 38

203 - The Star Trek Franchise - 2 Part Rodent’s Revisited and Star Trek Into Darkness 97%

PAGE 39

204 - Chopper 93% [274]

PAGE 40

205 - Pan’s Labyrinth 101%
206 - House Of The Dead 0%

PAGE 41

207 - Kick-Ass Duo 92% & 92%

Wow, great work Mouse

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Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

Sy, the "Photo Guy"... is an ordinary, if slightly awkward man who has spent the past 20 years of his life working in SavMart's photo lab. Every day people bring in their films for processing.

Sy takes great care with people's photos, even treating them as if they were his own to get the best results within the One Hour Processing that his kiosk offers.

But Sy has a secret... Sy The Photo Guy is more disturbed than anyone could imagine.



This underrated thriller brings a depth of story and a lead character so memorable, it's hard to deny Robin Williams' brilliance.

For a start, it's very simple... nice guy with a darker side, takes a fancy to other people's lives.
The screenplay is also pretty simple yet the storytelling is so well put together, you actually get to care for Sy and for the other people in the story that he inevitably has dealings with.

What's good about the film, is that there is a very subtly undertone of psychology.
What made Sy this way? Is he simply lonely? Or has 20 years of being alone with nothing other than other people's photos as company twisted his sense of right and wrong?

And... was he actually in the right after all, with what he does?

It's a very thought provoking story.


The acting is also bang on.
Michael Vartan and Connie Nielsen as married couple Will and Nina are pretty apt... they play the long term married couple with problems really well.
As too does Dylan Smith, the son of Nina and Will. His natural innocence, especially when it comes to Sy is lovely to see in a film of this type.

Robin Williams however... wow.
Excessively normal. Extremely quiet and subdued but when the screenplay comes into it's own and Sy is... unleashed... Robin Williams becomes something immensely upsetting.
Combining that with the fact that Williams himself was holding back his own flashy side, it makes his acting even more potent.
There are some scenes early on that show Sy's darker side, but Williams' natural screen presence to be likeable, it makes for an incredibly in-depth character.
Williams also studied photography and photo development to make the role more believable.

Back up comes from Eriq La Salle as a Detective and Gary Cole as Sy's manager.


There's little to no action really. Apart from some pretty highly emotionally charged scenes but the, erm, photography is absolutely tip top and some of the more quieter scenes mixed with a relatively haunting soundtrack make for some engaging cinema.

I saw that in a theater when it came out and used to own it on DVD. Liked it back then, but haven't seen it in a long time.

Underrated film. Robin Williams shocked me when I first saw it.

I agree that One Hour Photo was a pretty great film. I've only actually seen it once, and it must be more than 10 years ago now. Despite that however there are a number of scenes and moments which still stick in my mind; obviously a sign that it made quite the impact. And Williams I thought was excellent. It's that thing of having comedy actors play against type that when it works, it can be extraordinary. The likes of Bill Murray and Jim Carrey being prime examples. And that performance from Williams is certainly one of the most effective.

Also nice job with the Kick-Ass reviews. Or review actually. I only read the first one in case there happened to be any spoilers for the sequel. Big fan of the first film and looking forward to catching the sequel sometime soon.

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Nah, there's no spoilers in my review bud... it's safe to read Kick Ass 2.

The Bondurant Brothers, 3 completely different men.

The eldest, Howard (Clarke), is a bit of a loose cannon and doesn't hesitate in getting involved in a fight, even if it's with the local law.

The middle Brother, Forrest (Hardy), is more even tempered, highly intelligent and just as lethal in a brawl as his older Brother. Forrest leads the family.

The youngest, Jack (LaBeouf), is smaller, weaker, more afraid... but still looks up to his Brothers and wants to be like them.
Jack wants to be a Moonshiner... a Franklin County Bootlegger.

The Brothers however will be thrown into a battle of wits, fistfights and bullets... and all three of them will have their disparate personalities tested when a new Lawman arrives from Chicago... who appears to be more twisted and perverted than anyone could imagine.


---


Awesome.

Brutality, blood soaked fights and hard edged action backed up by rousing performances from all involved and backed up with some incredible feel-good cinema and giggles to boot(leg)... sorry, couldn't resist.


Lawless starts out quiet. It allows for the character development to build gently over the first 25 minutes or so, mixed in with a few fistfights of course, but it allows you to get to know the people involved.

Secondly, from then on in it's all plot. All of it.
And it's all written brilliantly real. Seeing as it was based on a true story, that might seem obvious, but Lawless never ever shies away from reality.
The character traits mixed with the sequence of events and how the sequences play on the mind-sets of the characters adds a huge likability factor to the proceedings.

You get to care about the people involved, and can get to caring how they progress with the story.
The they throw in the slimy antagonist, which again, you get the chance to know him before the filmmakers start getting him to do horrible things which adds more depth to him and makes you hate him more.

The main thing though, is how solid everything in the story is... the writing, acting, screenplay, soundtrack... it's a solid film across the board and draws the viewer into believing everything that's going on.



Which brings me to the acting.

Shia LaBeouf seriously knocked me back with this one. I'm not a fan of his work to be completely honest, but here he's down to earth, full of naïve wonder and excitement and always impresses when the going gets tough. Whether fighting, crying, making funny or wooing his ladyfriend, Shia impresses with every turn.

Backing Shia up is Mia Wasikowska as Bertha Minnix... in real life, Mia was stalked by Shia as part of his role, kinda like a method actor, so it made their connection much more realistic... Mia seems to be genuinely playing with Shia's emotions on screen too. They've very good together and Mia makes for a beautiful love interest.

Jason Clarke isn't seen a massive amount though. It adds a mystery to his character though, I'd have liked to have seen more of the older, more unhinged Brother. Clarke is good when seen though.

Jessica Chastain is awesome too as Forrest's (middle Brother) love interest. She has more to do than just a damsel in distress or some sort of redemption role for Forrest. Chastain also carries the aftermath of a particularly upsetting scene exceptionally well.

Tom Hardy as middle Brother Forrest though, absolutely makes this film. The middle but leader of the Brothers and Hardy's natural talent for having something behind his eyes when he goes quiet, is a masterful stroke for the character. Even though he can be rather disturbing to watch at times, he still makes you want to know him. Exceptional acting across the board. He even wore weights on his legs to give himself an appearance of being an out of shape, old-before-his-time character.

Guy Pearce also makes a huge impact... his slimy, disgusting and violent Lawman with little to no emotion apart from anger and OCD, makes for an exceptional bad guy.
Pearce also, it appears, shaved most of his eyebrows off to give himself even more of an inhuman appearance.
Pearce really makes your toes curl.

Back up comes from Gary Oldman (wanted to see more of him), Dane DeHaan (great role), Noah Taylor and Lew Temple.



The action, though good, is used sparingly.
The trailers give an impression of action, gunfights, almost old west style in tone...

However there's only a few scenes of more highly charged action and gunplay.
There are many scenes with fisticuffs going on, and more than a few scenes of brutal violence...
... but it's all toned back into reality rather than some sort of action heavy bash-em-up like maybe Bruce Willis' Last Man Standing.

The choreography is tip top though, and the fights never shy away from blood, bone and guts, and occasionally there's a scene that really makes you cringe while watching due to the nature of the violence.

Put it this way, the film is 18 rated in Britain, which is one of the reasons I bought it without watching it first... and I wasn't disappointed.

Great review(s) Rodent. I really enjoyed Lawless too.

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Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

During Thanksgiving, Keller Dover, his Wife Grace and their children Ralph and Anna, attend the home of their neighbour’s, Franklin and Nancy Birch and their children Eliza and Joy…

Anna is good friends with Joy as they’re relatively the same age.

But during the celebrations, the two families become aware of the fact that Anna and Joy have seemingly vanished without a trace after a strange RV was parked outside…

… and a desperate attempt is launched at finding the two missing girls.

But it won’t be easy when it transpires that the only suspect is a young male with the mind of a child… and the Police, especially the hot tempered but highly intelligent Detective David Loki, who is in charge of the case, find themselves completely powerless in the search for Anna and Joy.

So Keller Dover, Anna’s rage fuelled survival nut Father, takes matters into his own hands to get to the truth.




I am so glad I bought this on DVD.
I hadn’t seen it, only heard a few good things about it and took the chance…
Next to my last review of Lawless, this is one of the best films of the 2010s.


Immensely gritty take on the olde kidnapped child plot, Prisoners is a tightly wound nest of boxes that unravels not just the plot and twists along the running time… it unravels characters, character traits, character histories and adds new characters to the mix as it progresses.
Then it throws in some extremely clever plot devices that throw the audience into a state of confusion along with the well acted characters.

Even though there is an incredible amount of detail in every aspect of the film, whether the plot, dialogue, character writing etc, it’s still easy to follow.
The film is a progressive story, an in depth journey of loss and frustration, anger and tears that the audience is swept up in as the film runs along at a comfortable pace.


I’ll get straight to the acting I think… this is what the film really brings to the foreground to make the exceptional writing work so well.

Paul Dano as the mentally handicapped suspect Alex Jones is completely unrecognisable. His take as the disturbed, possibly innocent, possibly guilty, well, weirdo, is perfect for a film of this kind. It throws the audience and keeps the mystery ramped up and Dano carries it extremely well.
We also have Melissa Leo playing Holly Jones, Alex Jones’ Aunt… her role within the film, as with everyone else, is unravelled slowly and her history is revealed perfectly. Leo plays it coolly too.

The Birches are played by Terrence Howard and Viola Davis… they’re not really seen a great deal during the overall running time, but their roles when seen are also used well. They’re stuck in the middle basically. They’re more reliant on searching nearby woods and Police intervention but actually back Keller (Jackman) up when he goes off the rails and even support his cause.
Viola in particular is exceptional in the more emotional scenes.

Hugh Jackman however, we’re treated to a guy whose rage and frustration is seconded only to his sheer will at finding out where his child is.
It’s when Keller is unleashed though that Jackman really comes into his own.The pain you see in the acting is genuinely real.
Jackman absolutely nails this role to the wall.

We’re also treated to Jake Gyllenhaal in possibly the finest acting I’ve ever seen from him.
His Detective that is completely unbending in his task to find Anna and Joy is backed up by what I can only describe as an untold history within the character’s traits and mannerisms… all of this comes through in Jake’s acting.
This is another case of taking a very well written character and tearing up the rule book.

Back up comes from Maria Bello as Grace Dover, who spends most of the film drugged up to the eyeballs, and Dylan Minnette as Ralph Dover.


There’s little actual action as such.
It’s all based around the highly strung scenes between Keller, Loki, The Birches and Alex Jones.

It’s all written perfectly too and the actors involved, as I said, all give 101% to get the audience on the edge of their seat.
Even the more gruesome and heavier scenes, you can’t help but get behind Keller and support him.
There is though, the question of whether he has the right man or not as well that comes from the well developed scripting… going through the journey with the characters the audience is thrown into the mind set of whether Keller’s right or not, and technically, the “action” scenes actually have a massive impact on the mystery aspect of the story.

It’s all very cleverly pieced together.

Two very good reviews of two movies I like but don't love.

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Letterboxd

“Except for markf, you’re all a disgrace to cinema.”

At first I thought you were talking about one of the missing little girls, but then I realized that's Hugh Jackman's wife character.

Great review. I thought this was a really good movie.

I know your a big Gyllenhall fan Sexy. Have you seen the directv exclusive movie he is in?

No... I don't even know of it. What's it called?

Enemy. Hard to figure out what its about. Directv was much more interested in letting the viewer know it was exclusive.

Great reviews Rodent; I also loved both of these films. Lawless seems to be underrated IMO.

Oh, I know that movie. I don't have Directv, though.

Yeah I just checked online... RT gave Lawless 67%... and only 3.5 stars, 7.3/10 on IMDb.

I think it's an excellent film. Well, that's obvious.