Prisioner

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Listen to this cast.   Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Melissa Leo, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, and Viola Davis  Most of these are Oscar nominees and Leo is an Oscar winner.  So this is all lines up to be a very good movie.  And overall it is.  But, this is certainly not for everyone.

Prisoners is exceptionally dark, bleak, and heavy.  It deals with young child abduction which sadly, is too much a part of the world today.  As skillfully as this movie is crafted, this may in some cases be simply too much harsh and real subject matter for some to see. Especially if you have young children and young daughters specifically.  So be advised going in.

This is the story of two families in lower-middle class Pennsylvania who live in a very average neighborhood who share Thanksgiving dinner together.   After the dinner, the two young girls (about 10), one from each family, leave the house under very average circumstances. They then disappear in broad daylight by someone driving an old beat up RV.  No one sees them and no one has any idea where they are.  Panic sets in.

The police are notified and they send out a lone wolf, dedicated detective (Gyllenhaal) to investigate the case.  He is determined to bring the girls home.   So the search begins, and frustration sets in with the two families over the slowness, and the bureaucracy of the system.  After a few days, the two fathers from each family  (Jackman and Howard) decide to take a vigilante approach to this. They kidnap the young man who was caught driving the said RV, who has the IQ of a 10 year old.  And begin torturing him after the police release him for no real evidence.  Will the find the girls alive?  And what will this event do to all of them?  That is Prisoners.

Yes, this is very harsh.  You have to deal with child abduction and all the feelings that go with that.  You have to witness torture of this young man, and you have to deal with two and half hours of immense mental anguish these families go through.  Plus the pain that the detective feels, as time seems to be slipping away.  Who kidnapped these girls and where are they?  Rough stuff.

But with all of that said, and accepting it if you can, this is a very well done movie that is daring enough to look at this all to often reported crime and make it real.  This movie does not sugar coat one thing.  It also makes you feel the terrible anguish all are feeling.  And it doesn't error in turning this into Taken, which is a completely different kind of movie with a very different vibe and feel.

Jackman is sensational in this huge role as a conservative, God fearing. hard working laborer who does the only thing he knows to do to try to find his young girl.  But Gyllenhaal may give the best performance of his career as the solitary detective who is only on this earth to do his job.  I thought he was strength of this movie as he is amazingly believable in this role.  The supporting cast is great, but may be a bit over-casted as there wasn't enough movie to go around at times.   As tough as this is for many, this is a pretty good and bold movie.

Prisoners.  Not for everyone, but quite good.

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TFS is a very bold and daring movie that has the gumption to deal with real addictions.  But hold on, this time we're dealing with sex addicts.  Should be noted at this stage, this is a real adult movie that deals with super grown up subject matter.  Plus this is a "film".   A movie goers movie, meaning the once or twice a year movie goer, should see something else.

TFS is the story of 4 very different adults that live in New York City.  They are all relatively successful, and all are very different. The only thing they have in common, is they are all sex addicts. This movie deals with all of their stories collectively and individually as they strive every day to overcome the disease that has overcome them and their lives.   It is dealt with a certain amount of drama, timely humor, a strong sense of real, and terrific character development.   It is honest and sincere, and pulls no punches.  It is very direct at times, and for me scores tons of originality points as I have never seen this subject dealt with on screen like this.   I have heard this called a romantic comedy, but it's not. It's just a good movie.

As original as this story is, the real strength of this movie is the script.  Hollywood here resists the normal temptation to glorify or sugar coat this kind of story.   All of our characters are real, and have real problems.  They are not made out to be victims, but real people who have a condition that has consumed their existence.   They are all fallible, and remain that way throughout and that is a great decision.   This movie takes us to a place we have never been, and leaves us thinking we've learned something.

This stars Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins, Gwenyth Paltrow, Josh Gad and Alecia Moore or you know her better as Pink.   I thought she was simply terrific.   Her performance in this movie was really grounding.  This movie could have easily shot way over the fans heads, and been some high brow flick that would have been too uppity for many.  But as good as the starring cast is, she is the most important character in this movie.  This has a real nice feel to it, and well designed soundtrack and filmed wonderfully. You feel like you are really there.

Runner Runner

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Runner, Runner starring Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake is the shear definition of "swing and a miss."  

This movie is a behind the scenes look at the online gambling industry that has become huge business world wide.  Sounds like it could be interesting, but it's really not.  In fact, this movie looks bored with itself and has the look of being made a long time ago, and is just now finding itself in theaters.

It's the story of Richie (Timberlake) who is a graduate student at Princeton.  He is paying his college tuition by playing online poker.  He is about 60 grand in the hole to the university, and then loses all of this money online.  He and his brainy friends find out that they in fact, have been cheated by the online company (what a shock).   So Richie decides to go to Costa Rica where the company is based and confront the owner, a huge gangster type named Ivan Black (Affeck).  Sound ridiculous already?  It is.

He then befriends Ivan and they become partners to a degree, and Richie bags going back to the states to finish school so he can lead a life of being a big wig in the online gambling business. Trouble is Ivan is playing him, and then all the backstabbing begins and so on and so forth.  Guess what?  Ivan is really a terrible guy, and Richie is really a smart guy, and the FBI is involved, and then there is some form of a silly romance where Ivan and Richie are sharing a woman....please make this stop!

This movie could not be any less interesting if they tried. It looks like a million other forgettable movies and goes nowhere.  Right up front, do you or anyone else really care that some privileged Ivy League kid is having a hard time paying for college?  Yeah, me either.  This is one of the cardinal flaws of this flick.  No one cares one bit about our "hero."  Game over.  And Affleck is simply going through the motions here, the whole time asking, "When do I get paid so I can go home?"

You don't care about the principles, and the whole thing is just so....uninteresting.   What a waste of time and money.  And what a horrible flop its opening weekend with two big stars in the lead.

Runner, Runner.  Run...the other way!