The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[jvince]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I'll try and see if it's still there tomorrow, but I doubt it

Yeah, that thing sold out fast. I was very glad to get one. Cross your fingers!

[tanujdua]

Here is my Cars 2 review, it's definitely not one of my better reviews (I think - lol).

[Show spoiler]Review: Cars 2 (3D).

When first announced many people simply thought that Cars 2 would firstly simply be a quick and easy way for Disney/Pixar to make a quick buck and delay any new original ideas for another year. Many reviews did indeed state this and gave it an unfairly low score. However, after seeing the film I am going to say that I believe many of these reviews are just plain wrong.

Based on the estimated budget for Cars 2 alone (supposedly around $200, 000, 000) they aren’t doing this cheaply. What we got is a finely made sequel that I believe matches up to the one that came before it. Many people immediately ignore Cars because they believe it is Pixar’s ‘worst’ film, and to a certain extend I agree. However the original was by no means a bad film, in fact it was (and still is) quite a lot better than the vast majority of animated films that come out today!

I will say this though, Cars 2 to Cars is not what Toy Story 2 was to Toy Story. It’s a very good sequel to a very good film (as opposed to being a great sequel to a great film). The story this time around is actually heavily based around Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) with McQueen (Owen Wilson) actually taking a sort of side roll to him. The duo head off to the Grand Prix that’s taking place over 3 races, first in Japan then Italy then England (London - which looks fantastic!). However, along the way McQueen falls out with Mater and Mater ends up leaving to go home. New additions this time around include Sir Michael Caine who voices the British spy Finn McMissile and the lovely Emily Mortimer who voices (the also British) Holley Shiftwell. Neither of these Cars take a back seat in this film either. McMissile (British intelligence) believes he is onto something big, a massive oil-related case and needs to get to the bottom of it. Mater (average intelligence) is mistakenly believed to be his American contact in Japan and somehow Mater falls into the role of spy leading him onto an explosive and hysterical mission to discover the truth.

The story this time around is very different to that of the first Cars film. For example if you’re expecting a lot of racing this time (like in the first one) then you may be disappointed. While there is the World Grand Prix going on each race is given minimal screen time (maybe 10-15 minutes for each of the 2 major races). The story definitely revolves around Mater’s accidental spy job. Even though the trailer shows us that this may be the case I didn’t realise how much it would be until I had seen the movie (I was a big fan of the racing from the first you see). Once I accepted it I believe this to be a better spy film than a lot of actual spy films out there. Also the fact that much of the film is based around oil and biofuels really drives home the fact that the film has a much bigger and deeper message under the ever so colourful surface. I actually don’t think many children will fully understand what this film may be about and even though I believe that to be the case with most Pixar films I think this one is especially ‘grown up’ so to speak. While it is more grown up it’s definitely full of the usual Pixar laughs! The trailers thankfully only contained a small fraction of the total laughs that were there to be had.

Visually the film is what you’d expect from Pixar, stunning. I feel that’s all I really need to say about them. There’s just something Pixar does that somehow gives them the edge over other studios when it comes to animation. Even though 3D seems to be shrinking in places it’s films like Cars 2 that truly shows us how good it is. It simply looked amazing. The depth was always there and it had a minimal amount of gimmicky things.

Overall John Lasseter has provided us with a highly enjoyable film, though it may not be as good as Pixar’s recent years (Up, Wall-e and Toy Story 3) I believe this to be the fact that I think it’s harder for people to connect with the Cars concept. I’m sure you’ll already have an idea of whether you’ll see this or not but I will leave you with this, if you were planning on seeing it and then the bad reviews put you off I would definitely recommend you to go and watch it. It’s well worth your time.

4/5

and my The Tree of Life review (very short):

[Show spoiler]All I can say is that parts of this film are simply stunning, like nothing I've ever seen before, mesmerising even - 5/5. However at other points I feel as though it just doesn't feel right, especially for the first 25-30 minutes. These bits are anywhere between a 0/5 - 3/5 (for me). Overall it was something very different to the average film, something that to me doesn't feel right. It's the very long beginning of the film that lets it down. Even though I know this goes against a lot of reviews by professional critics and many many people I ultimately would give it a 2/5.

[iam1bearcat]

Amelie

Year: 2001
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Writer: Guillaume Pierre & Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Dominique Pinon & Serge Merlin

Steve, you'll be happy to know that this, for me, was an outstanding blind buy

is it possible to not like Amelie? i mean, i'm as cold, pessimistic, bitter, angry and hostile as they can almost possibly come and Amelie still stole my heart and made me smile like a goofy little kid discovering odd insects and things out back with his buddies in the dead heat of summer.

pretty much the entire film i was like this not "in love" but just smiling constantly and giddy at the next quirky scene that was going to be shown to me.

let's sum this up with some quick basics before i dive in completely...

• exquisite directing by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
• a wonderful array of warm colors and beautifully designed sets
• Audrey Tautou OWNS, absolutely OWNS this role, hands down
• the music! nothing i would listen to on my own time, but the music is charming, quirky, fun, light and inspiring
• the atmosphere and cinematography were outstanding!
• the writing. i was amazed at how consistently funny and witty it was

the opening 20 minutes were nothing short of masterful filmmaking. i'm a sucker for voice overs and a sucker for quirky, odd ball writing of voice overs, so instantly i was engaged, amused and overwhelmed with awesomeness

little bits reminded me of Magnolia (the narration and quirky humor / writing), some Wes Anderson films - Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Royal Tenenbaums (writing and style of shooting scenes and subtle actions) along with a mix of some other stuff i forgot to make note of and now forgot

there simply is no other film like Amelie. it is its own genre and own classification. there really isn't a sad moment to be had. so, take like, the best moments of (500) Days of Summer - without the sad, real downer parts and that's kind of what Amelie is like atmosphere wise, but still... nothing can explain it. just have to watch it

a film that could certainly lift your spirits if you're down or moody, and while i'm not a huge fan of gooey love stories (not that Amelie plays out like one) and heartwarming tales, Amelie snuck up on me and gently kicked me upside the head into its peaceful, warm little world.

only issue that i'm sure will be cleared up on future viewings is i sometimes forgot who was who (like the old "brittle bones" guy) and what role they had, and at times the film is so visually quirky that i forgot what exactly it had to do with Amelie's story, but really there isn't a complaint to be found.

many moments were easy 5/5 material - early on seeing Amelie skipping stones was just magnificent. oh man... that scene... the lighting, the music, the camerawork... just fantastic

very highly recommended!

PQ: 4/5
AQ: 4/5

The Film: 4.5/5

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

just wait till his super secret cameo in The Avengers gets leaked! then you will HAVE to see a Russell Brand film!
unless you skip your precious Avengers! but noooo way you're doing that! so you'll have to sit through his scenes!

Originally Posted by tanujdua

I also saw The Tree of Life earlier this week.

What do you guys think of it? I know it got rave reviews, but why did it? I didn't think it was that good...

have you seen any of Malick's other work? (Bandlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, The New World) his films tend to be ones that require multiple viewings and you kind of have to let them sink in a bit after watching them. you may not even find yourself doing that (thinking about them), but it just happens and makes you appreciate the film more later on.

i know for me, with The Thin Red Line, i was like, "okay, it was solid, liked some parts more than others, but wasn't anything too special" but i found myself thinking about it and replaying scenes in my head a few weeks later. then i went back, watched it again and enjoyed it much more. now, i own the blu and i eagerly look forward to my third viewing of it.

although, even if you do like his work, you still may not like The Tree of Life, sometimes that just happens

EDIT: ick! i almost started to sound like jhiggy for a second

[tanujdua]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

have you seen any of Malick's other work? (Bandlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, The New World) his films tend to be ones that require multiple viewings and you kind of have to let them sink in a bit after watching them. you may not even find yourself doing that (thinking about them), but it just happens and makes you appreciate the film more later on.

i know for me, with The Thin Red Line, i was like, "okay, it was solid, liked some parts more than others, but wasn't anything too special" but i found myself thinking about it and replaying scenes in my head a few weeks later. then i went back, watched it again and enjoyed it much more. now, i own the blu and i eagerly look forward to my third viewing of it.

although, even if you do like his work, you still may not like The Tree of Life, sometimes that just happens

EDIT: ick! i almost started to sound like jhiggy for a second

Nope I haven't seen any of his other films, although I do want to now, see what they are like (maybe it'll be the other way around for me, I might not find Tree of Life much good but find his other stuff great - who knows ). And I have been thinking about it (without realising!). I'll see how I feel after a few more days. Also I'm reading more reviews (as I hadn't read any before I went in).

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by killowertz

It's a shame that this was never released on Blu-ray anywhere but in the UK. After talking to you about it and seeing the cast, this would definitely be something that could work as a blind buy for me at some point since I am much more into these kinds of movies than you, but the UK release is completely barebones. It is pretty cheap though, so maybe someday if I end up importing anything else.

I was really surprised it didn't have a blu-ray release as well, especially since it's from 2008.

I think that you will really enjoy it once you see it.

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

just wait till his super secret cameo in The Avengers gets leaked! then you will HAVE to see a Russell Brand film!
unless you skip your precious Avengers! but noooo way you're doing that! so you'll have to sit through his scenes!

My score for Despicable Me automatically went down when I found out he was in it

[Show spoiler]Okay, not really, but when I rewatched it, it DID go down a lot

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Amelie

Year: 2001
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Writer: Guillaume Pierre & Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Dominique Pinon & Serge Merlin

Steve, you'll be happy to know that this, for me, was an outstanding blind buy

is it possible to not like Amelie? i mean, i'm as cold, pessimistic, bitter, angry and hostile as they can almost possibly come and Amelie still stole my heart and made me smile like a goofy little kid discovering odd insects and things out back with his buddies in the dead heat of summer.

pretty much the entire film i was like this not "in love" but just smiling constantly and giddy at the next quirky scene that was going to be shown to me.

let's sum this up with some quick basics before i dive in completely...

• exquisite directing by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
• a wonderful array of warm colors and beautifully designed sets
• Audrey Tautou OWNS, absolutely OWNS this role, hands down
• the music! nothing i would listen to on my own time, but the music is charming, quirky, fun, light and inspiring
• the atmosphere and cinematography were outstanding!
• the writing. i was amazed at how consistently funny and witty it was

the opening 20 minutes were nothing short of masterful filmmaking. i'm a sucker for voice overs and a sucker for quirky, odd ball writing of voice overs, so instantly i was engaged, amused and overwhelmed with awesomeness

little bits reminded me of Magnolia (the narration and quirky humor / writing), some Wes Anderson films - Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Royal Tenenbaums (writing and style of shooting scenes and subtle actions) along with a mix of some other stuff i forgot to make note of and now forgot

there simply is no other film like Amelie. it is its own genre and own classification. there really isn't a sad moment to be had. so, take like, the best moments of (500) Days of Summer - without the sad, real downer parts and that's kind of what Amelie is like atmosphere wise, but still... nothing can explain it. just have to watch it

a film that could certainly lift your spirits if you're down or moody, and while i'm not a huge fan of gooey love stories (not that Amelie plays out like one) and heartwarming tales, Amelie snuck up on me and gently kicked me upside the head into its peaceful, warm little world.

only issue that i'm sure will be cleared up on future viewings is i sometimes forgot who was who (like the old "brittle bones" guy) and what role they had, and at times the film is so visually quirky that i forgot what exactly it had to do with Amelie's story, but really there isn't a complaint to be found.

many moments were easy 5/5 material - early on seeing Amelie skipping stones was just magnificent. oh man... that scene... the lighting, the music, the camerawork... just fantastic

very highly recommended!

PQ: 4/5
AQ: 4/5

The Film: 4.5/5

That's pretty much how I feel about Amelie. Grinning all the way through.

I think you would probably like A Very Long Engagement if you ever get the chance to see it. Jeunet directs, Tautou stars (as do some of the other Amelie cast).

Glad you liked it as much as you did

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Steve46

That's pretty much how I feel about Amelie. Grinning all the way through.

I think you would probably like A Very Long Engagement if you ever get the chance to see it. Jeunet directs, Tautou stars (as do some of the other Amelie cast).

Glad you liked it as much as you did

i think the best word to sum it all up is "charming" or "delightful" ironically i didn't mention either word in my review
very glad i own it and i'm looking to Jeunet's other work. Amelie seems like an odd, uplifting choice given what he'd made

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

My score for Despicable Me automatically went down when I found out he was in it

[Show spoiler]Okay, not really, but when I rewatched it, it DID go down a lot

i'm not kidding about The Avengers cameo lol. i'll try and find the link for ya.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i think the best word to sum it all up is "charming" or "delightful" ironically i didn't mention either word in my review
very glad i own it and i'm looking to Jeunet's other work. Amelie seems like an odd, uplifting choice given what he'd made

That quirky humor is in all his work.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Steve46

That quirky humor is in all his work.

really? hmm... looking at what Delicatessen is about (and not just the creepy cover) that makes sense. however, The City of Lost Children still looks incredibly creepy!

but i guess his quirky humor shouldn't surprise me. i mean, look what his IMDb picture is!

[Show spoiler]

obviously not someone who is super serious or anything

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

really? hmm... looking at what Delicatessen is about (and not just the creepy cover) that makes sense. however, The City of Lost Children still looks incredibly creepy!

but i guess his quirky humor shouldn't surprise me. i mean, look what his IMDb picture is!

[Show spoiler]

obviously not someone who is super serious or anything

I love that humor and the structure of his films.

I'd say 95% chance you would like A Very Long Engagement (Tautou shines) but Delicatessen and Micmacs always make me laugh.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Battle Royale

[Show spoiler]
Ok, so HOW THE HELL HAVE I NOT SEEN THIS FILM TILL NOW?

First of all, Children, on an island, with weapons, brutally killing each other, already an 8.5/10 only in Japan

But it's so much more than that

I was kinda expecting some over the top zany Japanese action film with gore flying out of each corner of the screen, just done more tastefully than something like Tokyo Gore Police. So when the film starts, I was like, what a downer, I hope this gets silly soon.

And then it progresses, and we get the the scene with the instructional video, and it suddenly dawned on me that I got the entire wrong end of the stick of this film. Throughout the scene we see a comedic kidified instruction guide telling the children what weapons they will receive, however, every time it cuts back to the panicking students, some of them getting killed. The film is directly telling the audience that these are scared kids but in a horrific incident and no one gets it, not even the adult figures within the film get how bad this situation is, well for the next 2 hours, prepare to be shown!

Following this, it shows the students receiving there packs to survive on for the next 3 days, and as each one leaves, they don't say much, if anything, but through there bodily contact with others, the people they look at and the way they exit the room, you see there personality. And it hit me that the writers or director sat down and created these individual 42 characters, all gave them detailed personalities, and translated as much as that into their either limited or lengthy screen time.

And this is why I think Battle Royale might just be one of the greatest films I will ever watch.

You see characters pushed to the very edge, and all react differently as you expect, so decide to naturally become a hunter, and some plain refuse to fight and commit suicide. There are very few characters who come up with a rational plan, which wouldn't work out anyway because they are children, at the end of the day, there is always going to be some detail overlooked by them. But the shocking thing is, I never once predicted any of the twist coming, everything took me by surprise.

This is a film that had me in the palm of it's hand straight of the bat, and just plain refused to let go. Every single set piece, whether an intense confrontation scene, or a fully blown action scene had my gasping for air and sitting right on the edge of my seat

And the strange thing about it, you always are aware it's just a film you're watching, whether it's because of the subtitles, or the constant on screen updates and quotes. You feel you could be watching something so detailed and real, yet reminded on a regular basis that it's just a construction. And somehow the film even pulls it off to make it somehow even more effective

I don't over exaggerate when I say Battle Royale could be the greatest film I've ever seen, as far as my teenage mind goes obviously. But it's just got everything to make it an entertaining film, while making a pretty darn perfect movie, while bragging about how movie-ish it is. I loved it, obviously!

11/10

Originally Posted by tanujdua

Tell me about it, absolutely fantastic film. Did you watch it on blu-ray? What's the quality like if you did? I've had it for a while on blu-ray but have not got around to watching it yet .

I remember thinking it looked pretty darn good. Maybe not perfect, but I didn't think it was as bad as the official review on this site claimed.

[jvince]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

I remember thinking it looked pretty darn good. Maybe not perfect, but I didn't think it was as bad as the official review on this site claimed.

Yeah, the blu-ray is the best Battle Royale has ever looked, and the UK Limited Edition box is surprisingly quite sturdy and comes with a ton of awesome goodies. It's well worth the price, especially for fans of the film. Now, you guys are making me want to watch it again (for the umpteenth time).

[Foggy]

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Not overly impressed with this one, very entertaining I guess, but I don't really see most the fuss

Like any Guy Ritchie film, it's more style over substance, and like Snatch, it features a wide cast playing very kooky characters, violent, disturbed and sharp witted. What I found didn't work that did work in that film is that the characters didn't feel very real. They were violent because they where in a gangster film, not they're violent so they should be in a gangster film. We'll have them throw a tone of cockney slang because they're in a gangster film set in London. It isn't a Gangster film with great characters, it's a gangster film with gangster characters.

Obviously, it feels like a minor complaint, but that small detail completely detaches you from the entire film, you really struggle to sink your teeth into the characters and you always have a reaction of "So What" throughout.

Everything else is pretty good, obviously Guy Ritchie always has a kinetic direction style which is always swiftly moving things along, and always direct things so that they look cool. The story is twisty and multi-branched like a lot of Guy Ritchie work, although I do think it is better pulled off in Snatch as each character has their own motives in that film and you struggle to see how they will all connect in the end, Lock, Stock always has the motives pretty clear and straight forward, which isn't bad, I just think Snatch is the far more entertaining film to watch.

And I don't like sepia tones the film opts for within it's style

Ok film that I enjoyed more than I let on, but nothing special by any means

7/10

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

[Show spoiler]
Not overly impressed with this one, very entertaining I guess, but I don't really see most the fuss

Like any Guy Ritchie film, it's more style over substance, and like Snatch, it features a wide cast playing very kooky characters, violent, disturbed and sharp witted. What I found didn't work that did work in that film is that the characters didn't feel very real. They were violent because they where in a gangster film, not they're violent so they should be in a gangster film. We'll have them throw a tone of cockney slang because they're in a gangster film set in London. It isn't a Gangster film with great characters, it's a gangster film with gangster characters.

Obviously, it feels like a minor complaint, but that small detail completely detaches you from the entire film, you really struggle to sink your teeth into the characters and you always have a reaction of "So What" throughout.

Everything else is pretty good, obviously Guy Ritchie always has a kinetic direction style which is always swiftly moving things along, and always direct things so that they look cool. The story is twisty and multi-branched like a lot of Guy Ritchie work, although I do think it is better pulled off in Snatch as each character has their own motives in that film and you struggle to see how they will all connect in the end, Lock, Stock always has the motives pretty clear and straight forward, which isn't bad, I just think Snatch is the far more entertaining film to watch.

And I don't like sepia tones the film opts for within it's style

Ok film that I enjoyed more than I let on, but nothing special by any means

7/10

Dialogue was interestng, but I also felt very about it too.

[Steve46]

Today's blog entry:

Trust (Drama, Thriller)
Directed by David Schwimmer
Starring Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, Liana Liberato and Viola Davis

Millennium Media | 2010 | 106 min | Rated R | Released Jul 26, 2011



Video:
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Audio:
English TrueHD 5.1
English Dolby Digital 2.0
French TrueHD 5.1
French Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles:
English, French

Disc:
Single Blu-ray Disc

The Film 4/5

Director David Schwimmer is best known for his portrayal of Ross on Friends, but Trust shows that he's also a talented director. The film deals with rape and it's a subject close to Schwimmer's heart. He's on the board of directors of the Rape Foundation for the Rape Treatment Center of Santa Monica. His passion for the subject shows in the sympathetic way he handles some potentially awkward scenes.

The story focuses on a 14-year-old girl named Annie (Liberato). She's a typical teen on the surface, worrying about how she is perceived at school and hoping to be popular. Like most children in today's world, she spends a lot of time on the Internet and using her phone. We are frequently shown her text messages on the screen and the replies she gets. Her closest online friend is Charlie, who claims to be two years older than her. He gives her good advice and she trusts him.

As the story progresses, Charlie reveals that he's 20 years old; then he amends that to 25. When he shows up without warning to meet her in the mall, she can see that he's closer to 40 than 25. Although she's initially dismayed, Charlie manages to gain her confidence. She gets in his car and the pair end up in a hotel room. The inevitable sexual encounter follows.

When Annie tells her friend what happened, her friend feels compelled to tell the school principal the story. The police and FBI are called in and investigate the sexual assault. Annie doesn't see it that way and thinks that she's in love with Charlie and that he understands her. Annie's parents, Will (Owen) and Lynn (Keener), are shocked that their daughter has been raped by a sexual predator. Will starts doing some research of his own and finds out that several sexual offenders live close to his family and he's appalled.

The film deals with the reactions of Annie's family and her friends at school. The situation is affecting her relationships with everyone and tearing her parents apart. Will is consumed by the knowledge and it affects his marriage, work, and his relationship with Annie. Clive Owen is at his best and shows that he has considerable range. Keener is always good and she's also convincing.

Annie's character is the most important role and Liberato pulls it off superbly. She shows her vulnerability and innocence, but also her determination, and she's convinced that she knows better than those trying to protect her. We see her in therapy with Gail (Davis), and the two are utterly convincing. Schwimmer has assembled a cast that is more than up to the task of handling the controversial subject matter.

I have gone into a lot of detail, but I'm leaving a lot of things out as I don't want to reveal all of the film's secrets.

This isn't a typical Hollywood story where everything is wrapped up neatly. The issues are real and some characters and relationships suffer permanent damage. What matters is that this story is told. The Internet is a wonderful resource, but there will always be those who seek to use it to exploit other people. Hopefully, some parents and teens will see the film and increase their awareness of potential dangers.

When I watch Trust, I'm reminded of Stanley Kubrick's Lolita. The two films were shot fifty years apart and the world is a very different place today, but there are similarities. An Education also deals with similar issues and was set in the same time period as Lolita, but Trust provides a timely update in a world in which technology has advanced dramatically.

Put yourself in Will's position and think about what you would do. Trust is a gripping emotional drama with an important message. I found myself captured by the story after a few minutes and I couldn't look away from the screen. Fans of emotional dramas set in the real world will probably appreciate Schwimmer's thought-provoking cautionary tale.

Video Quality 3.5/5
Trust looks a little disappointing on Blu-ray. The colors appear accurate and the image is clean and bright, but detail isn't up to the standard expected of a modern release. Facial details are lacking and the entire image looks soft for most of the running time. It's not exactly bad, and likely won't be distracting, but there's certainly room for improvement.

Audio Quality 4/5
Trust is a story that's driven by dialogue and it comes across clearly. The English TrueHD 5.1 mix delivers a competent track that is suitable for the mood of the film.

Special Features 2/5

The additional features appear in HD.

The Story of Trust (16:44) - The cast and crew talk about the film.

Interviews with Cast and Crew (13:43) - Repeats much of what was said in the opening feature.

Behind the Scenes (3:19) - Showing a few scenes being filmed.

Trust does a lot of things well. Schwimmer makes some good choices and draws good performances from the excellent cast. The pacing feels right and the importance of the story gives the film additional weight. Liberato's performance is well worth seeing and seems incredibly real. Fans of Clive Owen's action roles might not enjoy this as it's a totally different type of film. If you like emotional drama, Trust is worth your time. The Blu-ray presentation is a little disappointing, but doesn't detract from the story.

At the time of writing, Amazon.com's price is just $13.99.

Overall score 4/5

[jvince]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Today's blog entry:

Trust (Drama, Thriller)
Directed by David Schwimmer
Starring Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, Liana Liberato and Viola Davis

[Show spoiler]Millennium Media | 2010 | 106 min | Rated R | Released Jul 26, 2011



Video:
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Audio:
English TrueHD 5.1
English Dolby Digital 2.0
French TrueHD 5.1
French Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles:
English, French

Disc:
Single Blu-ray Disc

The Film 4/5

Director David Schwimmer is best known for his portrayal of Ross on Friends, but Trust shows that he's also a talented director. The film deals with rape and it's a subject close to Schwimmer's heart. He's on the board of directors of the Rape Foundation for the Rape Treatment Center of Santa Monica. His passion for the subject shows in the sympathetic way he handles some potentially awkward scenes.

The story focuses on a 14-year-old girl named Annie (Liberato). She's a typical teen on the surface, worrying about how she is perceived at school and hoping to be popular. Like most children in today's world, she spends a lot of time on the Internet and using her phone. We are frequently shown her text messages on the screen and the replies she gets. Her closest online friend is Charlie, who claims to be two years older than her. He gives her good advice and she trusts him.

As the story progresses, Charlie reveals that he's 20 years old; then he amends that to 25. When he shows up without warning to meet her in the mall, she can see that he's closer to 40 than 25. Although she's initially dismayed, Charlie manages to gain her confidence. She gets in his car and the pair end up in a hotel room. The inevitable sexual encounter follows.

When Annie tells her friend what happened, her friend feels compelled to tell the school principal the story. The police and FBI are called in and investigate the sexual assault. Annie doesn't see it that way and thinks that she's in love with Charlie and that he understands her. Annie's parents, Will (Owen) and Lynn (Keener), are shocked that their daughter has been raped by a sexual predator. Will starts doing some research of his own and finds out that several sexual offenders live close to his family and he's appalled.

The film deals with the reactions of Annie's family and her friends at school. The situation is affecting her relationships with everyone and tearing her parents apart. Will is consumed by the knowledge and it affects his marriage, work, and his relationship with Annie. Clive Owen is at his best and shows that he has considerable range. Keener is always good and she's also convincing.

Annie's character is the most important role and Liberato pulls it off superbly. She shows her vulnerability and innocence, but also her determination, and she's convinced that she knows better than those trying to protect her. We see her in therapy with Gail (Davis), and the two are utterly convincing. Schwimmer has assembled a cast that is more than up to the task of handling the controversial subject matter.

I have gone into a lot of detail, but I'm leaving a lot of things out as I don't want to reveal all of the film's secrets.

This isn't a typical Hollywood story where everything is wrapped up neatly. The issues are real and some characters and relationships suffer permanent damage. What matters is that this story is told. The Internet is a wonderful resource, but there will always be those who seek to use it to exploit other people. Hopefully, some parents and teens will see the film and increase their awareness of potential dangers.

When I watch Trust, I'm reminded of Stanley Kubrick's Lolita. The two films were shot fifty years apart and the world is a very different place today, but there are similarities. An Education also deals with similar issues and was set in the same time period as Lolita, but Trust provides a timely update in a world in which technology has advanced dramatically.

Put yourself in Will's position and think about what you would do. Trust is a gripping emotional drama with an important message. I found myself captured by the story after a few minutes and I couldn't look away from the screen. Fans of emotional dramas set in the real world will probably appreciate Schwimmer's thought-provoking cautionary tale.

Video Quality 3.5/5
Trust looks a little disappointing on Blu-ray. The colors appear accurate and the image is clean and bright, but detail isn't up to the standard expected of a modern release. Facial details are lacking and the entire image looks soft for most of the running time. It's not exactly bad, and likely won't be distracting, but there's certainly room for improvement.

Audio Quality 4/5
Trust is a story that's driven by dialogue and it comes across clearly. The English TrueHD 5.1 mix delivers a competent track that is suitable for the mood of the film.

Special Features 2/5

The additional features appear in HD.

The Story of Trust (16:44) - The cast and crew talk about the film.

Interviews with Cast and Crew (13:43) - Repeats much of what was said in the opening feature.

Behind the Scenes (3:19) - Showing a few scenes being filmed.

Trust does a lot of things well. Schwimmer makes some good choices and draws good performances from the excellent cast. The pacing feels right and the importance of the story gives the film additional weight. Liberato's performance is well worth seeing and seems incredibly real. Fans of Clive Owen's action roles might not enjoy this as it's a totally different type of film. If you like emotional drama, Trust is worth your time. The Blu-ray presentation is a little disappointing, but doesn't detract from the story.

At the time of writing, Amazon.com's price is just $13.99.

Overall score 4/5

The best thing about this was Liana Liberato, who delivered a breakthrough performance worthy of an Oscar. It's too bad Trust came across as a Lifetime movie (albeit a good one) a bit too often.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by jvince

The best thing about this was Liana Liberato, who delivered a breakthrough performance worthy of an Oscar. It's too bad Trust came across as a Lifetime movie (albeit a good one) a bit too often.

Yep, it wouldn't have worked if she had given a weak performance.

[Diesel]

My copy of Source Code showed up a day early!

My previous review from opening day stands:

Originally Posted by Diesel

Source Code


Saw this this morning and really enjoyed it.

The basic premise, for those who don't know, is

[Show spoiler]they have this program that allows them to send a person into the body of someone else during an event that has already happened for 8 minutes. Jake G's character is placed inside a man who was on a train that explodes. His job: find the bomb and the bomber to stop him from attacking again.

I don't think that's anything more than what was in the trailer, but I tagged it just in case to make sure those who DON'T want to know anything won't get angry


The story, to me, was VERY interesting. I was waiting to see what would happen

[Show spoiler]different each time he went into the guy.

There was a thing or two that I really didn't see coming too, which is always nice
The ending may have been a bit surprising for some people, but I thought it was suspecting that

[Show spoiler]he was going to get a 'second chance' after she turned him off and he would be permanently in that other world.

But I didn't know for sure, there was still doubt on it until the end at least a little, so that's no points off for it

I was thinking throughout the movie, "Who the hell is it?" And never even considered who it actually was because the movie succeeded in

[Show spoiler]making me forget who he was.

Jake G. did really well. I like him a lot in his movies and this one was no exception. I felt bad for him because

[Show spoiler]of the situation he was in and the situation with his father

and was when he

[Show spoiler]went in for his last 'mission'.

Monaghan was good in her supporting role. I've only seen her in one other movie (Eagle Eye), so I'm not too familiar with her, but I like her. (She's gorgeous too )


The movie really felt a LOT longer than it is. But in a great way. When I looked at the time at the end, I was shocked that it was only an hour and a half I thought for sure it had been a two hour movie.


There is an issue with something the people say in the movie.

[Show spoiler]They say the bomber would have to see both trains to time it perfectly to hit both trains...but the guy CLEARLY could not see the trains where he was at when he detonated.

Of course, that could just be the characters guessing and being incorrect.


Take that away (or look at it as the characters being mistaken) and it's fine though and I didn't have any other issues with the movie that I noticed this time through.

I will definitely be buying this when it comes out.


Rating - 4.5/5

Things to note though...after that review I did realize I had seen her in a number of other movies

And that part where I said it could be the characters guessing and being incorrect...well this time around I noticed that is exactly what the case is. The first time around I completely missed

[Show spoiler]the the bit of dialog where the guy tells Stevens, "You messed up my timing..." and we here the trains passing.

I enjoyed it every bit as much as I did in the theater. Very much worth the $17.99 I paid