Review: Prisoners

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writer: Aaron Guzikowski
Main Cast: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Terence Howard, Paul Dano
Certificate: 15 (UK)
(source: IMDB)

Prisoners is a tense thriller that sees the families of Keller Dover (Jackman) and Franklin Birch (Howard) have their lives turned upside down when their daughters are kidnapped during a Thanksgiving party.  All fingers point towards Alex Jones (Dano), whose RV was parked outside during the time of the abduction, and it is up to Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) to get a confession out of him.

Except, he can't... and Dover takes matters into his own hands, resulting in some horrifying consequences.

The plot twists and turns throughout the movie, with the camera always lurking ominously around the corner, with the anticipation that danger is always round the corner, and someone is always watching.

The questions that the film makes the audience asks itself veers on a slightly political edge - what lengths would you go to, if you thought you could rescue a loved one?  As a result, some of the scenes make for very uncomfortable viewing - not because of any particular gratuitous violence, but because of what is implied and the discomfort of the situation makes us question our own morality and the choices we would make.  We are also constantly aware of the "race against time", to find the girls and to save the girls, and this nervous apprehension only adds to the menacing tone of the film.  

Both Jackman and Gyllenhaal give brilliant, believable and distressing performances, but attention must also be given to both Dano, whose silence portrays a thousand words, and also Howard, whose anguish is completely heartbreaking.

You will be on the edge of your seats with your hands clamped over your mouth until the very end, and beyond and, if anything else, this film will perpetuate the notion to never buy a house with a basement...

Future Film Friday: The Bone Season

I've been itching to write about The Bone Season for ages, and after the news this week that it has been acquired by 20th Century Fox and Chernin Entertainment, now feels like a better time than ever to indulge my excitement.



TBS is set in Scion London, a futuristic citadel, where 19-year-old Paige is working as a dreamwalker, amongst the criminal underworld. After losing control of her power, she is kidnapped and taken to Oxford (now known as Sheol I) and held captive by the mysterious Arcturus Warden, part of the Rephaim (all these words will make sense if you go read the book - I urge you to!), who is an intriguing character all of his own, and she learns how to hone her rare talent and use it to her advantage. My synopsis doesn't do the story half the justice that it deserves but it is a truly fascinating journey into a new world, and I can't remember being this excited by a fantasy novel since the Harry Potter series, which many critics have indeed been drawing comparisons to. Other than the fact that it will be a 7-part series, that's really where the similarities end, and it's an injustice to both to say they are similar.  The Bone Season is a stand-out story all of its own.

Just to give a little further background to this, the author, Samantha Shannon, is ridiculously young at 21 (I know, she makes me feel like a failure too), and the film rights were snapped up almost immediately by Andy Serkis's The Imaginarium.

There is so much that I am looking forward to about this film, but cannot list without giving away too many big plot points, however even just to see how they interpret the mythical land of Sheol I, and the casting choices for the various characters is keeping me going - I am mostly intrigued to see who they pick for Warden, who, despite finding him wildly attractive, I cannot for the life of me conjure up what I imagine him to look like. I have a worried feeling that they'll pick someone like Cumberbatch for it, and (IMO) he wouldn't be right at all, but ultimately the decision lies with Shannon, and it is her vision that I am so excited to see come to life.

NB. I recommend following the author herself for any further info - http://www.twitter.com/say_shannon

Lloydy's round-up: Awkward Grimm Merchant in Avatar Land

Notable things this week...

Hello Ladies
I went to see Stephen Merchant's first stand-up show a couple of years ago and I can honestly say it was the most fun I've ever had at a comedy gig (and I always enjoy stand-up).  I spent the evening caught up in that kind of laughter when you know you look like a wailing hyena but you're laughing too much to care.  The first episode of the sitcom of the same name premiered this week (AFTER the US, grumble grumble) and and I was both excited and intrigued to watch it - intrigued because I just wasn't sure how it would translate into a script, but so far so good!

A Tale Dark & Grimm

Henry Selick is the master of films that both creep you out whilst making you feel warm and safe all in one.  The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach were both staples of my childhood (although I've never gotten over that evil rhino cloud).  He is currently working on two wonderful sounding films - A Tale Dark & Grimm - Hansel and Gretel stumbling into other Grimm fairy-tales and The Shadow King  - a stop motion film that tells the story of Hap, an orphan with unusually long fingers who learns to utilize them to make shadows that eventually go into battle with shadow monsters.  Sounds like the most magical film I will ever see, quite frankly.

That Awkward Moment



After the success of Hairspray and 17 Again, I had high hopes for the career of Zac Efron. They may have still been light-hearted, fun films but he proved he was an actor worth his salt, and not just a pretty teen idol with nothing behind the eyes.
He's certainly picked varied and sometimes controversial roles since then, but none have really lit the Oscars alight, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it just means that therefore many of them haven't even made any waves this side of the Atlantic.
His newest choice interests me however, because it's so simple.  The Awkward Moment seems very laddy.  In fact, it looks to me to be the male equivalent of He's Just Not That Into You.  All that taken into consideration, I think this is a good step for Efron. He does comedy very well and whilst probably a bit predictable, it looks fun and I definitely want to watch it (nothing to do with the nudity, what... I didn't even know there was nudity!)

Avatar Land - Animal Kingdom

http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/avatar/news/12oct2013-photos---disney-release-new-avatar-land-details-with-impressive-new-concept-art.htm

It looks beautiful!

Lloydy's round-up

Couple of things that have caught my attention this week...

New American Hustle trailer

The teaser trailer did the rounds a while back and now the full official trailer for the much-anticipated American Hustle has arrived. A reunion for the Silver Linings Playbook dream team of David O. Russell, Bradley Cooper, J-Law and De Niro, along with the addition of Christian Bale and Amy Adams, makes for what could likely be a worthy Oscar-contender. And even if all else fails, it's still the most impressive array of hairstyles that I've seen for a while.

Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge

Syfy announced earlier in the week that they have given the go-ahead to a new Muppet reality show - surely no greater type of show -which will oversee competitors vying for a job in Jim Henson's Creature Shop, participating in challenges ranging from creating "everything from hand puppets to large-scale theatrical creatures".  This sounds AWESOME, I love Syfy and I LOVE The Muppets (Beaker ftw). I honestly cannot wait for this to start, WHY HASN'T IT ALREADY STARTED??

The Mean Girls Musical Update

According to Tina Fey's husband (he is scoring the musical) there are currently five songs in development, including an "October 3rd" song and a "Fetch" song, but they are struggling with how to portray the Christmas scene (Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock... it is an iconic scene after all). Otherwise it sounds like it's coming along nicely, which I am very pleased about.

Earlier in the week I saw Prisoners, so expect a review in the next couple of days.  I'm also really looking forward to Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity and the LFF opener Captain Phillips opening over the next couple of weeks. Watch this space!

Future Film Friday: Battle of the Biopics

It's been a while since I've watched a good biopic, and it's a genre that is so hard to get right.  However there's a few in the pipeline that I can't help getting excited for...

The Musician One

I've been a huge fan Elton John since I was very young, having grown up listening to my parent's albums and falling in love with his songs such as Sacrifice and I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues, the latter has stayed a firm favourite my whole life. Therefore, this is the one I am MOST excited about, indeed I'm probably more excited about this than any other biopic in history.

'Rocketman' is still in the very early stages of pre-production but the film will follow Elton's life, from Reginald Dwight's childhood, through to the icon that we know today. Tom Hardy is currently touted for the lead , and whilst I am sure that the role is more than safe in his hands, I can't help but have my own favourite...



The Author One

Much of Theodor Geisel's work are already familiar to cinema-goers, but much less is known about the life of Dr Seuss.  The author, poet and cartoonist had a rich story of his own, interweaving with his work as a political cartoonist during WWII. Johnny Depp is producing the film and will likely take the lead in this. No release date is known as of yet, but it will be truly fascinating to see the man behind all those stories that we know and love.

The Athlete One
I'll be honest, with Bradley Cooper in the lead role, I would be excited about this film regardless of the content.  However, this is one film that I know I am not alone in eagerly anticipating.

The whole world was stunned when Lance Armstrong was charged with doping offences and stripped of his many titles.  Armstrong had been an inspiration to so many, battling testicular cancer and coming out the other side a hero.  Red Blooded American is certainly going to be one emotional movie.

Future Film Friday: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

July 21st 2007, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows hardback novel went on sale worldwide.  Almost exactly 4 years later, the final film was released, and a whole generation went into mourning.  For 10 years we followed the boy wizard's every move, devouring each of the seven novels and booking advance tickets for the release date of each of the eight films. I read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone when I was eight years old, eighteen when the final book came out, and I was a loyal devotee through till the end.  As much as I still adore reading and finding new, unknown stories to tell everyone about, I don't think anything (or anyone) will ever capture my imagination quite as much as those seven books, because I grew up with them and with him, and I won't ever experience that again.  I both eagerly anticipated and dreaded both the final book and then again the film, because whilst I was dying to know what happened, I couldn't bear it all ending and having to face the realities of being all grown up.  So I was thrilled yesterday when I heard the news yesterday.

Anyone who may have missed it, J.K. Rowling has confirmed that she will be penning the screenplay for a new Harry Potter spin-off - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Fans will already be familiar with this as the title of one of Harry's Hogwarts textbooks, but the film will focus on the book's author Newt Scamander and Rowling has noted that the film is neither a prequel or a sequel and will be set in New York, seventy years before Harry's story begins.

I truly think this is best choice she could have made regarding carrying on the wizarding world tastefully.  As much as I would have loved a series based on the tales of the Marauders, there are now so many fanfics whizzing around the internet that whatever she scripted would have either been cliché and expected or would have disappointed a lot of budding authors who had their hearts set on how they thought it should have been.  This way, she is continuing the magic, but with a character that has remained largely untouched by fans... that said, I am secretly hoping there is maybe a cheeky cameo from a known character, or even just a nod to the future story.

Here's a reminder of some classic HP screen moments: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/at-the-movies/a515150/harry-potter-series-top-10-moments-dementors-millennium-bridge-more.html [source: Digital Spy]

Let the countdown begin!

I wrote a while ago about the promotion for the first Hunger Games film (http://lelloyd.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/ya-genre-marketing-and-fan-engagement.html) but it seems Lionsgate has really kicked it up a notch for the second installment - Catching Fire - released towards the tail-end of 2013.

The official soundtrack song has been doing the rounds across various radio stations and the internet alike. It's called Atlas and it's the first cinematic offering from Coldplay, and generally their first anything in quite a while.



I like it! I like the way it slowly builds up, and then explodes, very much echoing the [SPOILER ALERT] plot.

Second juicy bit of enticement - Lionsgate, costume designer Trish Summerville and Net-A-Porter are all getting together to release 'Capital Couture' - a Hunger Games inspired fashion line.

Franchise fans will know how much importance is placed upon fashion in the books, so I think this is a really smart move and I cannot wait to see the range - however I must keep in mind that nothing I buy will make me look anything like Jennifer Lawrence.

More information can be found here - http://capitolcouture.pn/

Moving on at a slight tangent, but still sticking to the kick-ass-girls-in-dystopian-films theme, I want to talk a bit about Divergent.



I reread the book recently just to remind myself of the story, ahead of the film's release next year (the first time I read it, I read Delirium by Lauren Oliver straight after and then devised some kind of hybrid plot for both and got myself very confused). I'm glad I've read it again though because it's reminded me just how brilliant it is and now I cannot WAIT for the release!

There's a lot of scenes that I'm looking forward to, I won't say which ones for fear of ruining any surprises but there's a lot of pressure on the writers to keep all the good stuff in. I'd forgotten just how dark it was, more so than Hunger Games in my opinion (which is a big claim against a film about kids murdering each other) and a lot of really interesting locations (I'm thinking most about the chasm in Dauntless headquarters). I absolutely love the way Veronica Roth writes, she really knows how to write for her market, which is probably because she is so young (she was younger than I am now when she wrote the first book which means I have totally failed at life!)

I have mixed feelings on some of the casting, some characters are exactly as I imagined - Zoe Kravitz as Christina and Ashley Judd as Mummy Prior - YES, and I think Kate Winslet will be great as Jeanine. I'm reserving my judgement on Theo James as Four - he's certainly hot and tough enough, but looks a little old for his 18 year old character? I'm sure he will prove me wrong, which I sincerely hope as I don't want anything to alter how awesome this film has the potential to be!