Unknown Movie Review …

Unknown, based on the novel Out of My Head by author Didier van Cauwelaert, details the mysterious tale of an American botanist on his way to deliver a paper at a biotech conference in Berlin when there is a terrible accident that leaves Dr. Harris in a coma for four long days. Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that all of his documentation and personal belongings are missing.

Worst yet, when he finally finds his wife Elizabeth (January Jones), she suddenly doesn’t recognize him and another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity. Ignored by disbelieving authorities and hunted by mysterious assassins, he finds himself alone, tired, and on the run for his life. Aided by an unlikely ally Gina (Diane Kruger), Martin plunges headlong into a deadly mystery that will force him to question his sanity, his identity, and just how far he’s willing to go to uncover the truth.

Unknown has perhaps one of the most interesting premises I have heard of in a fair bit of time. The idea of suddenly finding yourself uncertain of something as essential as your identity would certainly be nightmarish, and Unknown has moments that exploit the eeriness of the idea. The Twilight Zone-ish premise is compelling, but it isn’t exactly new to the world of cinema.

This isn’t a premise that has been exploited to the extent of others over the years, but this is definitely a concept that has been previously used in television and cinema, like the Michael Douglas film The Game (1997) for example. Although it seemed strange at first, the idea to set the film in Berlin, which the novel was not, was quite a smart idea. This is a city that seems cold and forbidding to outsiders, a city that’s famous for having a split personality, and that would like to forget much of its own past.

There’s even a faint sense of Cold War mystique that adds to the unease inherent in Martin’s situation. The landscape is an easy tool that the filmmakers have used in this case to draw the audience into the film without them even realizing it. With the tension constantly building and with a pace that director Jaume Collet-Serra refuses to slow down, Unknown is a compelling adventure that forces us to question the difference between reality and what our mind believes to be reality.

The problem with the film is that as it progresses past its half way point, the plot begins to get so ridiculous that the genre of the film actually changes. Instead of the mysterious search for the Unknown, the film transforms into a mundane action flick. The explanation for Harris’ predicament is quite brilliant, but when we get the real explanation, we are forced into shrugging our shoulders and moving on. Liam Neeson is magnetic as he always is while playing the lead, even though it’s a role almost identical to his role in Taken (2008), the script itself doesn’t allow Neeson room to do anything more than recite cheesy one liners as the film falls into action mode.

As for the rest of the cast, there really aren’t any performances that stood out aside from Neeson, but I have to admit that Frank Langella, best known for his role in Frost/Nixon (2008), is always perfect for the mysterious roles he has been landing lately. I always get excited because I constantly mistake him for Christopher Lee, but then again, he always proves his worth for me regardless of the film. Even though the film wasn’t terrible, it’s just too bad that Frank Langella’s talents are more-or-less wasted on films like Unknown.

Unknown is a film that will easily pull in audiences with its seemingly unique premise, and for the most part, the film’s viewers will enjoy the experience. The problem resulting with the films lame twist is that most audiences won’t be compelled to revisit the film for a second viewing. So really, it’s the studio that will suffer from insignificant sales, but the way I see it, if you enjoy the film, that is all that really matters. Plus Liam Neeson is on a role lately as he has kept a fairly low profile in Hollywood despite being in some of the biggest films of the past ten years. For whatever reason, it was his film Taken that made me explore more of his career, but after starring in Batman Begins, The Chronicles of Narnia, Star Wars, and much more, one would think that his ego would be huge, but he is rarely in the spotlight. Although Unknown is far from his best film, it is worth a watch, and I’m sure you will enjoy it.

Unknown Movie Trailer

Essential Killing Movie Review …

There were two strikes against Essential Killing before I even sat down to watch it. First, I am always a little skeptical of movies with Vincent Gallo. Not because I don’t like Mr. Gallo but his films are in the hit or miss category most of the time and I often don’t know how I feel after one of his films. But I’m always willing to give anything a try once. Second, its 2010 and quite honestly I am sick of movies about war. Whether it’s one of the World Wars, Vietnam, or any of the other wars…I don’t want to see it. Period.

Yet there I was, sitting in the dark preparing to watch Essential Killing, a film vaguely about war and starring Vincent Gallo.

Essential Killing opens with overhead footage of jagged mountains interrupting the crisp desert landscape in Afghanistan. We see an infantryman along with two American contractors (Cohen & Ophir) executing a secret exploratory mission in the desert region. The unfamiliar terrain causes the contractors to make a wrong turn and they encounter a terrified and fatigued Taliban fighter (Gallo).

With trembling hands the Taliban soldier kills the Americans just as they discover him. Gallo’s character is referred to as “Mohammed” in the film credits but is never named throughout Essential Killing. So filled with fear is the Taliban fighter that he makes the mistake of running away, making himself visible to the helicopters overhead for capture.

Until this moment Essential Killing had me interested. This is a unique story, as unique as any war tale can be these days, and told from the point of view of a Taliban fighter was genius. Then comes the old tried-and-true torture sequence, and I prepared myself for the worst. Essential Killing really stuck with the formula in these scenes: beatings, half-hearted interrogations, waterboardings, and even more half attempts at questioning the man.

Of course the Taliban fighter never answers a question so he’s shuffled off to yet another location clad in an orange prison jumpsuit. On the way to the next “detention” facility the truck carrying the prisoners veers off road and in keeping with the formulaic nature of Essential Killing…’Mohammed’ escapes barefoot in the snow.

Despite the often-formulaic nature of Essential Killing, the film does engage the viewer for periods of time. Watching the escapee maneuver his way through a snowy forest, it seems likely that he will freeze to death, likely that is until you realize he’s the main character and therefore contractually obligated to survive.

Even knowing that Mohammed will overcome every obstacle before him, the viewer can’t help but be engaged as this Taliban fighter fights to stay alive. Essential Killing is a movie and that should be remembered as we see the fighter rebound easily from injuries that would be fatal for mere mortals. Even though that should be remembered, it’s exactly this type of bravado that has me passing on war movies these days.

Essential Killing should be credited however for making this a movie about survival at any cost, rather than war or torture or politics. This omission is what made Essential Killing easy, if tense, to watch. There was so much that could have been said about any and all of these topics, so much that Essential Killing could have gotten bogged down in the details, and yet director Skolimowski artfully stays away from it all.

The movie Essential Killing works because it stays away from the political, religious, and human rights issues that prevent war movies, with few exceptions, from being watchable. By avoiding these issues the viewer gets to see that war isn’t one-sided with clearly defined roles of good and evil. This character isn’t perfect by any means, but very little of that is to do with his being a Taliban fighter. He’s cold and frightened and in pain with survival being his only goal for the moment, the same as any soldier in any war anywhere in the world.

Essential Killing is worth a watch if you live in an urban area with a good independent theater. Vincent Gallo’s performance is so engaging that it’s easy to forget it’s him. Gallo looks the part—ragged, tired, and scared—and plays it beautifully without very much dialogue. The single-minded focus of Gallo’s character is presumably what explains his incredulous antics without any serious physical consequences.

Polish filmmaker Skolimowski keeps the viewer involved by never asking or hinting that they have sympathy for the Taliban fighter. All that Essential Killing requests is that you sit back and witness the shocking and nightmarish things people—all people—will do in an effort to survive and be free. The ability to make Gallo’s character sympathetic should be applauded, for both actor and director.

Essential Killing Movie Trailer

My Soul to Take Movie Review …

My Soul to Take begins with a notorious serial killer using his dying breath to place a deadly curse on a small town in this shocker from legendary horror director Wes Craven. It’s been 16 years since the maniac who terrorized Riverton met his grim demise. Seven children were born on that fateful night, and he vowed that he would return one day to claim them all.

Like clockwork, exactly 16 years later, the children born that terrible night begin vanishing without a trace. Could the killer have somehow cheated death when everyone thought he was killed, or has he perhaps been reincarnated as one of seven teens he swore to kill? Only one person knows the answer to that burning question.

Adam “Bug” Heller (Max Thieriot) never knew how close he came to death the night his father went on that bloody rampage, and despite remaining completely unaware of the atrocities that tarnish his family bloodline, he’s suffered terrifying nightmares from as far back as he can remember. Now, in order to save his friends, Bug will be forced to confront the evil that won’t stop until it accomplishes the awful task it set out to complete on the day Adam was born.

Its hard me not to get giddy at the prospect of watching one of the master’s of horror films come to life before my eyes. Being a fan of Wes Craven since his successful Scream franchise, and later visiting his early films like the 1972 film The Last House on the Left and the 1977 film The Hills have Eyes, I always have high hopes of seeing his next be horror masterpiece.

The problem is that the masterpieces are beginning to be covered in horror film excrement. For every A Nightmare on Elm Street, there is a Vampire in Brooklyn, or for every Scream, there is a Shocker. The fact is that this “Master of Horror” is starting to look like a onetime deal, and that is emphasised with his recent film, My Soul to Take.

In fact, My Soul to Take appears to be nothing more than a combination of his slasher film Scream and his nightmarish film A Nightmare on Elm Street. Basically what we have in My Soul to Take is a serial killer mixed with a ridiculous supernatural twist. It’s really too bad that Wes Craven came out of a 5 year hiatus from directing to produce something as subpar as this mess of a film.

The major problem with My Soul to Take is that the script and dialogue were a laughing stock. It seemed that Craven’s screenplay was so haphazard that many have begun to wonder if he was writing pages minutes before each day’s shooting commence. But when looking at this film, you also have to realize that there are no horror sets worth mentioning, and the selection of high school characters are cringe worthy at best.

The problem for me is that I always want to find some good aspects of a film, and sadly that is almost impossible with this film. The one thing I can give Wes Craven as an honourable mention is that he was able to movie past the fetishist close-ups and elongated death scenes of only women to show each slaying, both male and female, as dully and incompetently as the next.

Although I love Wes Craven and the past works he has done, at least the films that have made him famous, My Soul to Take is a big step in the wrong direction for the “Master of Horror”. There really isn’t that much to say other than that this is an awful movie that even horror lovers with hate with a passion.

It’s actually so bad that the 3D gimmick didn’t even pay off for the studio, director, or cast in the case of My Soul to Take. Even from the movie trailers associated with this film, I knew there was going to be issues when it appeared to be about possessed serial killers murdering young teens. Why is it always 16 year olds anyway? Sure they are annoying, but do we need to exploit them in poor horror films to make people feel better.

Apparently so, as anyone can list off a dozen horror flicks involving high school kids in the last year alone, and I think I can speak for all of us when I say ENOUGH! All we can hope for is that Wes Cravens next film, Scream 4, is a movie worth our time, otherwise we may be viewing the end of the Master of Horror.

My Soul to Take Movie Trailer

American Psycho Movie Trailer

Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is an attractive young businessman, reaching the peak of his late twenties during the 1980’s. His job title is as immaterial to the audience as it is to Bateman himself, who is far more interested in where to be seen, what to be seen in and who to be seen with as he rides the yuppie trend. But Bateman’s obsession with shallow tokens of money and fashion is only rivaled by his bloodlust, which drives him to mutilate, murder and maul without remorse until his crimes begin to catch up with him.

If the introduction, the title and the many screenshots of Christian Bale wielding all kinds of household tools while splattered in blood weren’t enough to warn you: American Psycho is not for the faint hearted. It is originally based on a book of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis, which had to be considerably watered down to be a plausible screenplay for audiences and received criticism for its themes of sexual and physical abuse against women. Whether the Patrick Bateman of the novel had a hatred of women is debatable, but onscreen Bateman is willing to kill anything and everything that stumbles into his path without even a touch of guilt.

Like many psychopaths, Bateman wants to fit in and walk among the rest of the world unnoticed for what he truly is, which is why he becomes so obsessed with the details of the fashion of his particular era. A work colleague with a superior business card to his own has a deeper impact on Bateman than any one of the women and men who meet their sticky end on his lounge floor to the sounds of Genesis or Huey Lewis and the News, and depending on your sense of humor, American Psycho is actually a very black comedy and an excellent and clever satire.

Christian Bale has received more than his fare share of criticism for over dramatic outbursts, but in my opinion this is one of his best performances as charming but demonic Patrick Bateman. There are times when you can sense his hysterical desperation and marvel at the complete glee he takes at some of the murders, but American Psycho never gives in and allows us to believe that there’s something salvageable about Bateman.

He desperately wants to feel something, but not even his beautiful, privileged and ultimately self-centered girlfriend (Reese Witherspoon) or his endearing secretary (Cara Seymour) mean anything to him. Willem Dafoe plays the detective who eventually catches on to the string of horrific deaths surrounding our protagonist and Jared Leto appears as a rival yuppie who keeps besting Bateman in their shallow world of fashionable restaurants and hair products, but there’s no doubt that Christian Bale steals the show.

It’s difficult to say whether I would recommend American Psycho. I find it funny and fascinating, but there’s more unwarranted violence here than most people could stomach, and you obviously have to have a very specific sense of humor to pick out the satire and irony between tramps being kicked to death and chainsaws being taken to prostitutes. The other problem is that American Psycho is the story of Patrick Bateman, who makes for a very interesting subject with a severe mental disorder but is not the kind of man who you could sympathize with.

If you do feel for this relentless murderer, you have bigger problems to deal with then picking your next movie to watch. American Psycho is not a moral story and without saying too much, there aren’t any Disney endings here. Personally I love the honesty of a film that doesn’t shy away from the story it’s telling to please the audience and I’m not the type of person who gets morally outraged faster than you can say “politically correct”.

American Psycho was made to be enjoyed. It’s not a documentary, it’s just entertainment like a film should be, so if you think that you can put aside the blood and guts and watch it for Christian Bale’s wild-eyed performance (apparently based on a TV interview with Tom Cruise) and the creative use of the work of Phil Collins, it’s unmissable.

American Psycho Movie Trailer

The Disappearance of Alice Creed has the ability to draw the viewer in and keep them there never really knowing what to expect around the next corner, you sort of view The Disappearance of Alice Creed with an air of trepidation because you feel that literally anything could happen.

The two men/kidnappers are played by Eddie Marsan and Martin Compston and although they have both carried out the kidnapping their characters and personalities are very different to one another. Vic, Eddie Marsan, comes across as the leader and the more aggressive of the two men; he is very direct and to the point. Danny, played by Martin Compston, is the quieter one and more of a follower, he depends and relies on Vic to instruct him on what to do next and it is almost as though he cannot function without Vic.

Writer and director of The Disappearance of Alice Creed, J.Blakeson, deserves a huge amount of credit and has displayed his outstanding talent with this piece to perfection. There are not many people who could work with only 3 actors and use a handful of location sets and produce such a masterpiece.

Gemma Arterton has the opportunity in The Disappearance of Alice Creed to show her true acting skills and she does so with no airs or graces and no help from glitzy costumes or beautiful make-up. Alice Creed is played with a real conviction and the audience feel her fear and almost live the ordeal with her. The kidnap scene itself is brutal as Alice is gagged, bound and plunged into darkness by the bag thrown over her head; she has no time to react or think and neither does The Disappearance of Alice Creed’s audience. Your head is left reeling from the scene and then you are taken on a ride with more twists and turns than an average rollercoaster.

The plot is not transparent and the twists are not obvious which make The Disappearance of Alice Creed so enjoyable and unpredictable. Vic and Danny have served time together and whilst in prison they devised a plan to make some cash, Danny was not convinced that Vic would actually follow the plan through but obviously he did. Alice Creed was chosen as her father is a rich man and can easily afford the 2 million in ransom money. Vic’s plan is all working like clockwork until the moment Alice decides to take matters into her own hands and fight back, the sheer determination and bravery displayed by Arterton during The Disappearance of Alice Creed is outstanding, you are gritting your teeth and crossing your fingers with her. None of the unexpected twists in the plot are ludicrous, they could all happen and just as you are convinced on the outcome along comes another turn courtesy of J.Blakeson. He has managed to work each of the stars brilliantly and they all play off one another superbly with Eddie Marsan’s black humour and ability to remain polite whilst making demands of Alice, his performance coupled with the gentle portrayal of Danny by Compston and the huge screen presence of Arterton works to absolute perfection in The Disappearance of Alice Creed.

The movie does deliver shocks but then the audience have to believe the kidnapping is for real, they are not going to offer Alice a 3 course banquet and treat her like royalty they are going to be harsh and brutal. The Disappearance of Alice Creed takes it no further than it has to though, Blakeson has shown enough without having to cross the line; the viewer knows Alice is degraded via several scenes without taking them too far.

The plot twists keep coming until the conclusion of The Disappearance of Alice Creed which I think is the perfect end to the movie. There are a few added extras which would have been nice but not necessary, such as a bit of a background story on Alice or perhaps seeing her father but for a movie made on a tight budget The Disappearance of Alice Creed is a professionally made enjoyable thriller.

You can watch a trailer for The Disappearance of Alice Creed below.

Note the unusually short and to the point list of information about this film. It sums up what you can expect to see on the screen for ninety minutes of murky – sometimes pitch black – claustrophobic suspense: Ryan Reynolds. The entire movie is one big scene, filming in real time 90 minutes of one man locked in a box as he gradually discovers a surprising amount of hidden contraband within the four corners of his wooden prison cell and tries desperately to micro manage the people trying to save him. In fact, Reynolds does a brilliant job of navigating the emotions that you would imagine anyone would go through in that situation, and is completely convincing throughout. There’s a lot of pressure on an actor forced to carry the entire weight of a movie on his back and this is definitely a good example of Reynolds at his best. There’s no argument here that if you can keep people watching ninety minutes of just yourself on screen, you have a lot of talent.

The lighting for Buried must have been an absolute nightmare, but I commend Eduard Grau for how he dealt with the problem. There’s no subtle ambient lighting or night vision here; if Conroy doesn’t have a light, the audience is plunged into darkness. He’s forced to juggle his lighter and his cell phone for the first half of Buried, which adds to the claustrophobia and realism by flooding him with yellow or blue light respectively and clever camera positioning to still get a decent shot of him rather than the blurry and shadowed outlines you might get in a bad porn film.

Unfortunately, my favorite part of Buried was the ending, which is a key part of the film that I’m unable to write about without ruining it for you. Towards the last twenty minutes of the film, things really pick up and finish on a high point that you don’t see coming and which produced quite an emotional response from some of my fellow audience. I suspect that if you have claustrophobia or suffer from a very precise fear of being buried alive, this film might have you terrified and on the edge of your seat, because the director Rodrigo Cortes has gone to such great lengths to keep everything (even the camera for the majority of the film) within the wooden boards of Conroy’s coffin.

Before I watched Buried, I had heard nothing but good things about it. Usually I expect this to bring about one of two reactions: either I find myself loving the film just like everyone else promised, or I’m dramatically disappointed and leave hating it. When anyone asked me afterwards whether I like Buried, however, I found myself repeating: “It’s okay… the ending’s good.” The best way I can explain it is that watching Buried is like watching a play. Don’t get me wrong – I love the theatre, but if I wanted to see a play, that’s where I would go. Unless they have funds pouring out of their ears and a budget big enough to bathe in, most theatre productions have to look for a way around being unable to recreate all the special effects, big scenery and huge props you could find in a movie. The scariest thing I’ve ever watched was a play called The Woman in Black, which involved three actors, a hat stand, a small crate and a creative sound engineer. Buried would have been a very creative plot for a play because you find your action, intensity and emotion in the actor rather than his surroundings, but I found it just a little disappointing as a film. It seems as though people are commending the creators of Buried for successfully keeping an audience in their seats for ninety minutes of a man in a box, which is certainly an impressive feat. But that’s like congratulating someone for baking an edible cake without using any flour. I would be impressed that they’ve made it, but I wouldn’t want to eat it again.

Trailer for Buried The Movie

Loving couple Micah and Katie are the primary characters of Paranormal Activity, who begin to film the nightly goings on in their bedroom when the odd occurrences that Katie has suffered since childhood intensify. To clarify, when I say that they begin filming, there’s a large degree of coercion on Micah’s part which predictably does not pay off. Paranormal Activity has all the key ingredients to appeal to even the most rational viewer: Katie and Micah are both disinclined to believe in ghosts and particularly sceptical about filming, the ‘expert’ they bring in seems entirely rational and down to earth, and their house is so utterly modern and warm that it’s difficult to imagine anything gory could happen there. Faced with a scary film, most people tend to rationalise why it couldn’t possibly happen to them and Paranormal Activity flies in the face of that. There’s no explaining this demonic presence away and the film doesn’t make any attempt to offer you any reassurance.

Paranormal Activity is presented as footage that has been ‘found’ by police – which immediately presents an ominous atmosphere – and manages to maintain a sense of realism that truly immerses you in the storyline. Peli emphasised the importance of having two lead characters who had real chemistry together, and Katie Featherston and Micah Float (note the slightly creepy use of their real names) do a flawless job of behaving like a genuine couple together. In only seven days of shooting and with a largely improvised script, their performances are particularly impressive as I imagine there weren’t exactly a lot of second takes during filming.

It has been said a thousand times before, but still film companies continue to produce horror movies that are intended to be scary without realising that once you see the nasty entity that lurks beneath the bed you lose a large degree of the audiences fear. Peli, however, clearly understands that even the best special effects are no match for the human imagination. The handheld camera shooting style in Paranormal Activity balances realism against the nausea inducing shakiness off films like Cloverfield by filming with a camera on a tripod set up by Katie’s well-meaning boyfriend Micah, and the inconsistency of the drama builds suspense beautifully. Never have I been so on edge watching a bedroom in the dead of night, only to find that their demonic presence is absent that night and yet feel more frightened than before.

Curiously, there were three separate endings created for the last couple of minutes of Paranormal Activity, with a different ending shown at each of the first three screenings. Having seen all three (YouTube can help you out if you’re curious), I find it difficult to pick a favourite as all three send a shiver down my spine. Apparently a second Paranormal Activity is on the cards, although I for one won’t be queuing for it. Peli is still intended to be heavily involved in the filming, but the magic of Paranormal Activity is based in the superbly convincing performances of Micah and Katie and the brilliance of the directing and Todd Williams is replacing Peli as director.

Paranormal Activity is a film that you will enjoy if you’re in the right mood, and view as a complete waste of time if you’re not. When it was first screened, members of the audience were walking out purely because they were too scared to stay, and Steven Spielberg was rumoured to have watched the first copy of the film and then refused to let the offending DVD remain in his house any longer after he found that his door was locked from the outside. The latter could be a rumour started as a manufactured selling technique, but there’s no denying that if you let your imagination run away with you, you can easily terrify yourself. Unfortunately, if you sit down to watch Paranormal Activity and only give it half your attention or if using your imagination isn’t exactly your strong point, this probably isn’t the best choice for you.

Frozen has been written and directed by Adam Green, the guy who also wrote Hatchet one and two, incidentally for all you trivia fans out there virtual newcomer to the world of movies Emma Bell also starred in the second Hatchet. In Frozen Emma Bell plays the role of Parker O’Neil a twenty something who is trying to master the art of snowboarding with the assistance and encouragement of her boyfriend Dan Walker played by Kevin Zegers. Dan’s best mate, Joe played by Shawn Ashmore is with them and feeling like a spare part.

The trip is generally made annually just by Dan and Joe and now Dan has invited Parker along and due to her lack of snowboarding ability they remain on the nursery slopes for the day.

Frozen is filmed in Utah in Ogden at a resort called Snowbasin and the scenery is breathtakingly stunning. Catch a trailer of Frozen below. There is humour at the beginning of movie when Parker is seen trying to convince the lift operator, Jason played by Ed Ackerman to allow them a cheaper ticket to ride and watching Parker trying to snowboard is entertaining, there is even time for a little romance for Joe when he meets Rileah Vanderbilt’s character Shannon.

Basically Frozen follows the trio as they plead with Jason to let them go back up and have a last run prior to the centre being shut, there is bad weather on the way but Jason relents and lets them ride. He is called away and informs a colleague to close up when the last three have ridden down the mountain, a misunderstanding occurs and it is assumed the trio have come down. Viewers have already witnessed the lift stopping but eventually starting up again but now it stops once more and to begin with the three riders simply assume it will go again. The camera shots in Frozen are impressive one of the best being when the audience can see the lights going off one by one behind the trio’s chair, suddenly they are plunged into darkness and the snow starts to fall heavily.

Frozen takes a simple idea and really explores it well, there are just the three main stars in most of the movie and viewers begin to like them as their world’s open up. Along with the trio the audience begin to realise that help is not coming but the very real prospect of facing death is on its way. The obvious way to go will be perishing with the sub-zero temperatures and frostbite but it is the not so obvious methods which are alarming, the circling wolves below for instance. Some critics have mentioned that this would not happen well I beg to differ, Frozen explores the fact that a hungry pack of wolves will basically take what they can find in a cold and bleak wilderness and they will work together as a pack to achieve their ultimate aim of gaining a meal.

Another aspect which I like in Frozen is the fact that Parker begins to think about things back home, such as her new puppy, how will the puppy survive when she is not there to feed her? Adam Green has taken the plot away from the main storyline of being stuck on a chairlift to the reality of the situation and those left behind at home waiting. If you are seeking a thrill a minute movie then Frozen is not for you but if you wish to watch a suspenseful and often harrowing tale then give Frozen a go.

The acting is realistic and moving especially from Emma Bell and Shawn Ashmore as they really occupy the two main roles with Kevin Zegers taking a smaller but still well acted role. Do they jump? Do they just sit it out? With no way of communicating with the outside world and the weather closing in their options are running out, so viewer what would you do?

Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) is a Harvard Law School graduate looking for a job. He’s being “courted” by many law firms, each offering him money and all kinds of perks to join them. By far the best offer comes from “The Firm”, a company throwing so much money and benefits their offer just can’t be refused. Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn), his young wife “smells” something and tries to convince him to find another employer, but he doesn’t listen to her and takes the job.

Soon he realizes the firm is connected to the Mafia and his work is far from being legal. When two associates are murdered and he’s being approached by the FBI, Mitch finally decides he needs to get out of this mess.

Overall the movie has a strong plot, based mainly on John Grisham‘s novel. Some of the scenes lack originality and even logic (he’s having an “affair” in the Cayman Islands, being seduced by a woman, as if he’s an innocent girl), his “mentor” in the firm (played by Gene Hackman) suddenly turns good, after being one of the pillars in all the ill-doings of the firm etc.

We’ve got Ed Harris as the FBI agent, completing a quality acting team who make the 2 hours and a half more enjoyable. The movie had received mixed reviews, but it’s a good one and shouldn’t be missed by any movie buff.

C.J. Nicholas (Jesse Metcalfe) is a reporter who’s always looking for the next amazing story. For some months he’d been observing the district attorney, Mark Hunter (Michael Douglas), who seems to win too many lawsuits based on DNA evidence. C.J. is almost convinced Hunter is tampering with the evidence, but cannot prove this to anyone.

So, in order to secure a very successful story, and also get the proof about Hunter’s misdeeds, he’s setting himself as a suspect in a crime.

The plan goes from simple to complicated when Mark Hunter “smells” something is wrong and kills C.J.’s partner and friend, leaving the “suspect” with no proof of his innocence.

It’s the moment Ella Crystal, his lover and also Hunter’s employee, has to put her trust in C.J. and try help him get off the death row.

Let’s say the movie is filled with plot “holes”, the entire screenplay lacks logic in many aspects. We’ve been going “come, on” for many times, when the story seemed too far fetched for us. The entire story is not new, the movie is a remake of the 1956 film noir film “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt“, and it’s far from being perfect.

Still, what makes me recommend it, it’s the ending. Even if we were able to predict most of the ‘moves’ in this film, the end really awed us. A not so bright movie, saved by its final 5 minutes.