Prisoners

Prisoners (2013)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

Screenplay by Aaron Guzikowski

Stars: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Melissa Leo, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Paul Dano, Wayne Duvall, David Dastmalchian, Kyla-Drew Simmons, and Erin Gerasimovich

This is the first English language movie from Denis Villeneuve. It is highly rated on IMDb. I can see why.

During the Thanksgiving holiday, two girls; Anna and Joy (Gerasimovich, Simmons) go missing. Keller, Grace, Franklin and Nancy (Jackman, Bello, Howard, Davis) try to find the girls. Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) is tasked to find the girls. When a person of interest in the case, Alex (Dano) is let go, Keller decides to put matters in his own hands.

I love a good crime thriller. This one is very solid. If I was in the same situation that the parents were, I would do the same thing to find my child. Not the lengths that Keller does, but I was try anything. The parents were going through it. I can understand. Gyllenhaal, Jackman, and Dano were very good in the movie. I wish this movie got more love when it was released.

The thing that bothered me was the pacing of the film. The movie was too long. I understand that Villeneuve wanted to have the tension build over time. I get that. If the movie could have been trimmed twenty to thirty minutes-- a tight two hours-- I would have loved it more.

I knew the ending of the movie a good hour into it. I was waiting for the characters to catch up. It felt frustrating that the film meandered along I wanted to scream that "X" did this with the help of "Y", because you found "Z".

Rating: 9/10

The Help

The Help (2011)

Written and directed by Tate Taylor

Based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett

Stars: Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, Alison Janney, Mike Vogel, Sissy Spacek and Cicely Tyson

I have heard great things about the Tate Taylor's debut film, The Help, since it was released last summer. It was a sleeper hit as some people called it. I know that people were surprised that the black driven movie could make money.

I have this unwritten rule that I usually shy away from the black movies, because these movies reflect on me. I cannot support a movie where people, especially black are the butt of jokes at people's expense. This movie I wanted to see, but I didn't get the chance to see until the movie premiered on Showtime a couple of days ago. Is it as good as people say it is? Yes and then some.

This time is 1963. A spunky journalist who recently graduated from Ole Miss, Skeeter (Roberts) has a hard time adjusting to the crusty society of Jackson, Mississippi. Skeeter's quietly observed the way that her childhood friends treat the maids working for them. Skeeter wants to be a serious writer instead of doing a cleaning advice column. She tries to enlist the help of Aibileen Clark (Davis) and her sassy friend, Minny (Spenser) to write a book about the lives of the help. Tentative at first, they decided to try to make a difference and instill some change for generations to come.

This movie is beautiful beyond words. I could not believe that this white women would treated people like they were a dog. I know that I did not live during that time. My mom, late dad, aunties and uncles lived through that time where everything was separate but equal. Colored people did not have many opportunities in those days. People criticized the movie for the language that they speak. It's not correct English. People need to understand that the black people were not allowed to be educated. Some had to drop out of school to support the family. If this is the kind of movie that gets made, there is something wrong with Hollywood not giving black writers and filmmakers many chances. I was not offended with the movie. It made me proud that a movie like this exists.

I have to talk about the performances. I know that the movie movie was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress and two Supporting Actress nods. I love the cast, but I thought to myself, "Why was Jessica Chastain nominated for this movie?" I felt like it was a bit part like the other ladies. She didn't have that much to do. Octavia Spencer who won the Oscar for role of Minny is likable, but I didn't think it warranted an Oscar. The other performances must have been really weak. I am not knocking on Spencer's talent. I think it was wasn't Oscar worthy in my opinion. I thought Viola Davis really deserved her nomination. She made me laugh and cry at the same thing. I wanted hear to be okay and pulled through.

It is a great example of how a newcomer can make a movie that no one else would make. Thank you, Tate Taylor.

My Rating