News for today's 2018

Captain Phillips: Take-charge thriller

6:00 PM Tukiyooo 0

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><b><i>Captain Phillips</i> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span><b>(2013) • <a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/captainphillips/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">View trailer</a></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><b> </b><br /><b>4.5 stars. Rating: PG-13, for dramatic intensity, violence and substance abuse</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>By <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/12885694730612878577" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">Derrick Bang</a> • </b></span>Originally published in <i><a href="http://www.davisenterprise.com/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">The Davis Enterprise</a></i>, 10.11.13</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>            <br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some stories are so astonishing, they could only be true; you’d never believe them as plots in a novel.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpyRHnZMkOY8CoPDwJM3nd2GggU65QB3WT_0QQamnn5kMKDzu1drIHa0-kUuhrj2FSybD9mRdmEtjFLjf51jhxaaFhBIzvoBot6APOM1cLvWA-3xrfcnhkgXYCF4K7oYNODLyOyZ3cQE/s1600/Captain+Phillips+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpyRHnZMkOY8CoPDwJM3nd2GggU65QB3WT_0QQamnn5kMKDzu1drIHa0-kUuhrj2FSybD9mRdmEtjFLjf51jhxaaFhBIzvoBot6APOM1cLvWA-3xrfcnhkgXYCF4K7oYNODLyOyZ3cQE/s400/Captain+Phillips+blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Utterly helpless at the hands of four heavily armed Somali pirates, Rich PHillips (Tom<br />Hanks, center) nonetheless weighs every option, primarily concerned about the safety<br />of his crew, but also — at all times — seeking a psychological edge that might allow<br />him to outwit his captors.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The credibility-stretching 2009 saga of Captain Richard Phillips and the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama is just such a narrative, and it has become a taut, tension-laden drama in the capable hands of documentarian-turned-filmmaker Paul Greengrass. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thriller fans know Greengrass for his superlative entries in the Jason Bourne series, most notably 2004’s <i>The Bourne Supremacy</i>, by far the best of the bunch. But Greengrass also is the writer/director who uncorked <i>United 93</i> five short years after 9/11, constructing a tense, deeply unsettling real-time depiction of what likely happened that horrible day.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As with <i>United 93</i>, Greengrass’ new film is ripped from disturbing headlines, with screenwriter Billy Ray (<i>Shattered Glass</i>, <i>Breach</i>) adapting the 2010 memoir <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Captains-Duty-Somali-Pirates-Dangerous/dp/1401310443/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381429248&sr=1-1&keywords=a+captain%27s+duty+somali+pirates+navy+seals+and+dangerous+days+at+sea">A Captain’s Duty:Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS and Dangerous Days at Sea</a></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That book is written by Phillips, with an assist from Stephan Talty ... which does, by definition, dilute some of this film’s suspense. But that hardly matters; to a great degree, Phillips’ ordeal is well known by Americans who sat glued to their TV sets during five days in April 2009. The key point here is that Greengrass depicts this saga with a degree of verisimilitude, and an attention to detail, that border on documentary realism.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add superlative performances from Tom Hanks and the actors playing his Somali captors, and the result is can’t-miss cinema: You literally won’t take your eyes off the screen.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The film opens quietly, as veteran merchant mariner Rich Phillips (Hanks) packs in anticipation of another routine assignment; we get brief face-time with his wife, Andrea (Catherine Keener), but then she’s never seen again. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Which, just in passing, might be a missed bet: Just as much drama unfolded in Vermont, as media crews bird-dogged an agonized Andrea Phillips, while she followed these events ... and I’d love to have seen the impressively talented Keener play that role. Then again, Greengrass may have felt that her end of the saga would have diluted the drama.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><a name='more'></a><br />  <div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Elsewhere, along the Somali coast, gun-toting thugs in the employ of a local warlord descend on the impoverished fishing village of Eyl and demand that its able-bodied inhabitants take to the sea in order to hijack another foreign vessel, the goal — maddeningly successful too many previous times — being to ransom it for millions of dollars. The none-too-subtle point is that these dirt-poor fishermen are caught between a rock and a hard place: mount the piracy expedition, or be shot for refusing.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The faces blend in chaos; it will be awhile before the key Somali players distinguish themselves ... although Barkhad Abdi’s feral, cunning and unexpectedly intelligent gaze makes an immediate impression.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once underway on the heavily laden Maersk Alabama, fully aware that they’ll be traveling through the pirate-infested waters of the Somali basin, a cautious Phillips orders first mate Shane Murphy (Michael Chermus) to put the men through safety drills. The captain/crew dynamic is intriguing, in these early scenes; some of the men clearly respect and smartly obey protocol and the chain of command, while others behave like union-coddled jerks who resent not being able to stretch their coffee breaks.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everybody snaps to attention, however, when their ship’s radar detects the approach of two rapidly moving blips.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What happens next can be divided into three distinct chapters, each guaranteed to surprise viewers not intimately acquainted with this saga. The assault on the Maersk Alabama is riveting, as is Phillips’ crafty response to the crisis; he doesn’t miss a trick, despite having very little with which to work. We quickly come to admire the calm, calculating depth of Hanks’ performance; his portrayal of Phillips — by all accounts, an accurate reflection of the actual mariner — is equal parts unremarkable Everyman and quick-witted master of psychology.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also can’t help being dismayed by the fact that Phillips and his crew are unarmed, and without at least a few trained soldiers; Somali piracy had been a well-established concern for several years by 2009, with every ship’s crew unwittingly involved in a ghastly, ocean-bound lottery. International shipping conglomerates clearly preferred to play the numbers, and risk the odds, rather than spend the money to protect individual ships. The mind doth boggle ... and although Ray’s script doesn’t blatantly name-check this heinous mind-set, the implication is clear.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actually, Ray’s entire script is a masterpiece of nuanced subtlety, taking its cue from the way Phillips described the pirates in his book (and I’m quoting a <i>Booklist</i> review here) as “alternately conciliatory, vicious and simply not all there.” The latter results from the fact that these pirates are in a constant state of amped-up euphoria/anxiety, thanks to the amphetamine-like khat that they chew in lieu of eating.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To say the least, it makes their behavior unpredictable ... which Phillips recognizes all too quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eventually, the various pirates sort themselves out and only four become involved in the action. They’re led by Muse (the intense Abdi), who regards himself as a fellow captain and playfully insists on calling Phillips “Irish.” Muse is all business: He expects Phillips to call the shipping company, which will contact its insurance carrier, send along a ransom, and allow ship and crew to move along. We sense that it has gone down just this way, at least a few times, in the recent past ... but not this time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks to Phillips’ cagy machinations — the American captain, at all times, deeply concerned about his crew — the situation quickly escalates out of Muse’s control. Meanwhile, imminent loss of life is a very real possibility, thanks to the instability of Muse’s three companions: the imposing Najee (Faysal Ahmed), with his hair-trigger temper; the taciturn Elmi (Mahat M. Ali), unexpectedly handy as a mechanic; and the youthful Bilal (Barkhad Abdirahman), wholly out of his depth.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All four — Abdi, Ahmed, Ali and Abdirahman — are first-time actors, selected from among more than 1,000 candidates living in the States’ largest Somali-American community, in Minneapolis, Minn. Their performances are authentic — and subtly complex — to an astonishing degree. We simultaneously loathe and pity these four men, and in a way almost admire their utterly insane courage, as they attempt to take command of this huge ship — and, later, defy what seems like the entire U.S. Navy — all by themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But make no mistake: Greengrass and Ray do not sugar-coat these pirates. They’re dangerously ruthless, unexpectedly violent and prone to irrational, drug-hazed behavior; they obviously wouldn’t lose any sleep after killing an American or three. (Well ... Bilal might grieve a little.) But it would be wrong to call them evil; that label more accurately applies to the much-feared Somali warlord Garaad, who orders the assault.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The closest Ray’s script comes to moralizing occurs during a brief exchange between Phillips and Muse, late in game. “There must be more than fishing and kidnapping,” Phillips desperately insists, subtly referencing the fact that Somali piracy grew in response to illegal over-fishing and the dumping of toxic waste in Somali waters, which deprived coastal villagers of their livelihoods.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Maybe in America,” Muse replies, the bitterness evident in his voice.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Max Martini is appropriately crisp and commanding as the SEAL officer who enters the final round of what eventually becomes an ocean-bound circus; Yul Vazquez is quietly efficient as Frank Castellano, commander of the USS Bainbridge, the Navy destroyer initially sent to negotiate a peaceful solution to the mounting crisis.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just in passing — between this film and last year’s <i><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2013/01/zero-dark-thirty-ultimate-manhunt.html">Zero Dark Thirty</a></i> — Navy SEALS never have looked so good. I fully expect recruitment to take an upward bump.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As always, Greengrass surrounds himself with equally accomplished technicians, starting with cinematographer Barry Ackroyd — Oscar-nominated for <i><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2009/07/hurt-locker-explosive-drama.html">The Hurt Locker</a></i> — who works impressive magic during difficult night shoots and the confined, narrow hallways of the container ship. The result is solid <i>cinema verité</i> and intensely real.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Academy Award-winning editor Christopher Rouse (for <i>The Bourne Ultimatum</i>) similarly tightens the screws, deftly shifting between the varying perspectives of Phillips and Muse, each a casualty of circumstances. Eventually, this cross-cutting grows to include various Navy personnel, but the narrative landscape never gets cluttered, and the tension never flags.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hollywood often gets rapped, justifiably, for the way factual events are distorted on the big screen. Although Greengrass takes a few dramatic liberties here, he nonetheless distills a significant bit of recent history into a socio-political document that analyzes cultural disenfranchisement, in 134 minutes, far better than any lengthy textbook is likely to do, in years to come. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On top of which, Greengrass also delivers a rousing, suspenseful and thoroughly engaging drama that is certain to garner numerous Oscar nominations, starting with Hanks.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When cynics insists that movies are too commercial to be regarded as art, <i>Captain Phillips</i> is a great way to prove them wrong.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>

Captain Phillips (2013) • View trailer 4.5 stars. Rating: PG-13, for dramatic intensity, violence and substance abuseBy Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 10.11.13 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false fals…

Prisoners: We cannot escape our nature

6:00 PM Tukiyooo 0

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><b><i>Prisoners</i> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span><b>(2013) • <a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/prisoners/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">View trailer</a></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><b> </b><br /><b>Four stars. Rating: R, for profanity, torture and disturbing violent content</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>By <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/12885694730612878577" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">Derrick Bang</a> • </b></span>Originally published in <i><a href="http://www.davisenterprise.com/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">The Davis Enterprise</a></i>, 9.20.13</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>            <br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Revenge thrillers have become a violent — often tawdry — Hollywood staple.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not this one.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1V-43GzrMCo6-CbCeQ0U3cuY0VB8BzZJcDt1JGArXfhyWzjJRrKGedLKpK64RxFQN2DWRcTiD2BzzWi-fQ5Gc5niVHkkjYUElQxYM5WU-B3tQRYqunFYmuxiAXY7-j2YRac7ljonG2Tg/s1600/Prisoners+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1V-43GzrMCo6-CbCeQ0U3cuY0VB8BzZJcDt1JGArXfhyWzjJRrKGedLKpK64RxFQN2DWRcTiD2BzzWi-fQ5Gc5niVHkkjYUElQxYM5WU-B3tQRYqunFYmuxiAXY7-j2YRac7ljonG2Tg/s400/Prisoners+blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">When Alex (Paul Dano, on his back) is released for lack of evidence, Keller (Hugh<br />Jackman) angrily confronts the younger man, convinced that he knows more than he's<br />telling about the disappearance of two little girls. Given time to think and plan, Keller<br />will continue this "conversation" in a less public setting, and with a decidedly more<br />dangerous intensity.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Prisoners</i> is a brooding, atmospheric slow burn: part character drama, part mystery, part thriller ... and all-consuming. It has a distinctly European feel despite the small-town Americana setting: very much in the unsettling mode of French director George Sluizer’s 1988 chiller, <i>Spoorloos</i>, which he remade five years later with an American cast, as <i>The Vanishing</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Prisoners</i> comes from the capable hands of Québec-born director Denis Villeneuve, whose résumé includes tension-laden dramas such as <i>Maelstrom</i> and <i>Polytechnique</i>, and who garnered an Oscar nomination for 2010’s <i>Incendies</i>. Point being, Villeneuve has a superb sense of atmosphere and a knack for making the most innocent scene feel enshrouded by a blanket of malevolence.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He also has a gift for drawing persuasively authentic performances from his actors, and that’s certainly the case here. While the entire cast is compelling, stars Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal are sensational. Both are gifted actors; both have been fine before. Under Villeneuve’s capable guidance, they’re even better.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The story opens on a cold, overcast Thanksgiving Day in a working-class Pennsylvania suburb: the kind of town where kids set up lemonade stands. The homes and yards are tidy but looking a bit distressed: fading paint and weather-beaten vehicles a testament to folks barely hanging on during the tough economy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Out in the nearby woods, Keller Dover (Jackman) offers a solemn prayer to God before encouraging teenage son Ralph (Dylan Minnette) to squeeze the trigger and claim his first deer. It’s a clean shot; as they drive the carcass home, Keller — a survivalist by nature — explains that they must be prepared at all times, must be their own strongest advocates, must expect to take charge when others inevitably fail.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Keller collects his wife, Grace (Maria Bello), and their 6-year-old daughter, Anna (Erin Gerasimovich); the family strolls up the street to celebrate the holiday with best friends Franklin and Nancy Birch (Terrence Howard, Viola Davis). Ralph pairs off with teenage Eliza (Zoë Soul), who disapproves of the elder Dover’s fondness for hunting; Anna and 7-year-old Joy (Kyla Drew Simmons) play together with the exuberance of small children.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cinematographer Roger Deakins’ camera ... hovers. We feel nervous: can’t explain why. Even as the adults relax after the huge meal, Franklin sharing his lamentable trumpet skills, the utter normality of this staunchly American ritual — playing out, we know, in similar homes across the entire country — is pregnant with building tension.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yet it’s simply an ordinary celebratory tableau. All is right with the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Until, suddenly, it isn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><a name='more'></a><br />  <div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Keller notices first: The little girls haven’t been seen for awhile. Everybody searches — initially calm, increasingly frantic — to no avail. Anna and Joy are simply <i>gone</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Police are summoned; the case falls to Loki (Gyllenhaal), a loner detective whom Keller instinctively mistrusts for his youth, his (supposed) inexperience and his failure to have a family of his own, thereby branding him as somebody who Simply Doesn’t Understand. Ralph remembers an odd, dilapidated RV that had seemed out of place when he and Eliza had taken the little girls for a walk earlier.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The vehicle is found; police arrest its driver, a quiet, withdrawn and deeply frightened twentysomething named Alex Jones (Paul Dano). Much as Loki wants this to be The Guy, there’s nothing on which to build a case. The RV contains no physical evidence; more to the point, the developmentally disabled Alex has the mind and social awareness of a child.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yet ... he was driving the RV. By himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Keller seizes on this little detail, can’t let go of it; to him, this indicates proof. Then, when the police are forced to release this suspect for lack of evidence, Keller is present when Alex looks him straight in the eye and says something that nobody else hears: something possibly innocuous, but Keller thinks otherwise.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, so, he takes matters into his own hands.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On this level, Aaron Guzikowski’s enormously taut and clever script is ripped from contemporary headlines and ceaseless discussions of post-9/11 morality. If “society” — in this case, the local police — seems ineffectual or unqualified, is individual action appropriate? How far should it go? Do the stakes justify <i>any</i> approach, no matter how cruel or heinous? And, God forbid, what if you’re wrong?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Villeneuve subsequently cross-cuts between three simultaneous storylines: Keller’s determined effort to wrest Truth from Alex, with the reluctant participation of Franklin; the agonizing, engulfing stasis that smothers the wives and elder children left back in their homes, as every minute stretches into an eternity of self-recrimination; and Loki’s dogged pursuit of stray threads that offer the tantalizing hope of a lead, but inevitably go nowhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still, something’s definitely not right; the vibes are off. Keller has badly misjudged Loki; truth be told, this young detective will move heaven and earth in order to solve this case. Nothing else matters, particularly the dubious glances coming from colleagues and his ineffectual oaf of a precinct captain (Wayne Duvall, everybody’s nightmare bureaucrat come to life).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pay close attention, because details matter; Guzikowski has orchestrated a wickedly fiendish puzzle. I haven’t seen a thriller this carefully layered, this meticulously crafted — one that builds to a slick payoff that puts all the pieces together — since M. Night Shyamalan’s <i>The Sixth Sense</i>, back in 1999 (when that fellow still knew how to make a good movie).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember how knocked out you were, during that film’s climax? How ingenious you thought it was, at the moment of revelation? Guzikowski delivers the same sort of emotional wallop here.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jackman unerringly navigates a tremendously difficult role, as Keller’s apparently facile personality — impatience, snap judgment, anger-management issues — yields to an unexpectedly complex and badly damaged soul. Keller sees himself as the ultimate father figure: the provider and protector, the White Knight. When he cannot fulfill that role, his notion of self disintegrates: Jackman’s very being — his commanding aura — seems to wither away, as if the bones supporting his frame are crumbling, turning every motion into a herculean effort.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the fury never vanishes; if anything, that particular fire sucks an increasingly proportion of Keller’s life force, leaving him less able to think, feel or question the wisdom of his actions. On top of which, Keller never loses his perceptive edge: He may be stubborn and rash, but he’s not stupid.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s quite a portrait, and we can’t take our eyes off Jackman. We wince time and again, wondering how Keller can make this already frightful situation even worse.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gyllenhaal has the quieter, less florid role; Loki is procedure personified, a methodical investigator who believes that slow and steady <i>always</i> wins the race. That said, his need to remain calm, to resist the same vengeful impulse that governs Keller, has taken its toll; Loki’s uncontrollably twitching eyes betray his own bottled-up rage, his fear of impotence. When that fury does erupt — quite memorably, in one unexpected moment — the result is shocking.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Otherwise, Loki is deceptively restrained, Gyllenhaal’s misleading smile a truly dangerous thing. I love Loki’s interviews with persons of interest, either in the station house or out in the world; despite his scruffy, sleepless bearing, Gyllenhaal is almost charming. Until he isn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dano, with plenty of misfit characters in his past, is perfectly cast as the helpless, overwhelmed Alex. He radiates the frightened vulnerability and fragility of an injured sparrow; Alex simply is no match for the raw ferocity of a man such as Keller, who — in Dano’s terrified expression — looms as a monster from the worst possible nightmare. Terrified, yet also uncomprehending; the Alex/Keller dynamic is like watching a deaf/mute being tortured by a sadist who doesn’t realize that his victim cannot speak.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or is it all a sham, and is Dano playing us, the way Edward Norton did so memorably, back in 1996’s <i>Primal Fear</i>? Keller certainly thinks as much; if we share that sentiment, do we become complicit in what comes next?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Howard is achingly raw as the conflicted Franklin, who wants no part of Keller’s “plan” but, at the same time, places far too much value on how he measures up in his best friend’s eyes. No matter what Franklin does, as a result, he’ll betray either himself or Keller; the misery of this Hobson’s Choice radiates from Howard’s agonized gaze.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bello has the most tragic role, because Grace simply shuts down as the catastrophe continues through and beyond the second, third, fourth day. She has bought into her husband’s role as family protector, and cannot cope with his inability to bring their little girl home. Grace’s life force simply drains away.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Davis, alternatively, moves Nancy Birch in unexpected directions, suggesting that even the most civilized individual can be pushed too far. Thanks to the intensity of Davis’ performance, we’re not surprised by any of this.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Villeneuve and editors Joel Cox and Gary Roach tighten the screws with ruthless efficiency; despite clocking in at a generous 153 minutes, the tension never flags. Indeed, the intensity simply mounts, much like the long-form TV thrillers that the British deliver so well.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Prisoners</i> — great title, by the way — is quite a ride. See it quickly, before the many layers of Guzikowski’s deliciously twisty narrative are exposed by Internet spoilers and jerkwad TV personalities.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>

2013 drama Dylan Minnette Four Star Films Hugh Jackman Jake Gyllenhaal Len Cariou Maria Bello Melissa Leo Paul Dano Terrence Howard thriller Viola Davis Prisoners: We cannot escape our nature

Prisoners (2013) • View trailer Four stars. Rating: R, for profanity, torture and disturbing violent contentBy Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 9.20.13 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false …

Closed Circuit: They're watching us!

12:35 PM Tukiyooo 0

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>Closed Circuit</i> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>(2013) • <a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/closedcircuit/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">View trailer</a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b> </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>Four stars. Rating: R, for profanity and brief violence</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>By <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/12885694730612878577" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">Derrick Bang</a></b></span></b></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>            <br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nobody does an edgy, paranoid espionage thriller better than the British.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No doubt it comes from living under the unblinking eyes of all those surveillance cameras. (Big Brother, indeed!)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3l0KsHUsvdx2v4u6oKIX0sB77dkHGduMU20Oyl0Gj0nEOuibVP50jbV0ndxMIxjZG9sE1J9Lbwoaq0kwujQZ0vDmRZdZTQo1UjycBkAY1ZO9XJ42AM1nnejMC5ZG8_SIEPDPxOYu9mec/s1600/Closed+Circuit+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3l0KsHUsvdx2v4u6oKIX0sB77dkHGduMU20Oyl0Gj0nEOuibVP50jbV0ndxMIxjZG9sE1J9Lbwoaq0kwujQZ0vDmRZdZTQo1UjycBkAY1ZO9XJ42AM1nnejMC5ZG8_SIEPDPxOYu9mec/s400/Closed+Circuit+blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">With their supposedly slam-dunk case having gone increasingly pear-shaped, Martin<br />(Eric Bana) and Claudia (Rebecca Hall) wonder about their next step. Trouble is,<br />they shouldn't even be a "they"; because of the nature of this terrorism trial, Martin<br />and Claudia aren't supposed to communicate ... even when each begins to worry<br />about pernicious surveillance.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Way back in the day, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Closed Circuit</i> would have been a tidy little B-entry, designated as the bottom-of-the-bill companion to some prestige A production. The irony is that many of those so-called B-films were far more entertaining than their big-budget cousins.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The same can be said for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Closed Circuit</i>, which outshines several of this summer’s disappointing blockbusters: better acting and directing, and a vastly superior script.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yet, sadly, it probably won’t make a dime. Getting released immediately prior to the Labor Day weekend is akin to television’s Saturday evening kiss-of-death timeslot: Nobody will notice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s a shame, because scripter Steven Knight definitely knows his way around this genre, having previously dazzled us with his twisty plots for 2002’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dirty Pretty Things</i> and 2007’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eastern Promises</i>. This guy can write; he has a gift for putting ordinary people into extraordinary situations, while avoiding the burst of brilliant resourcefulness that turn American action stars into invulnerable, lone wolf superheroes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the two protagonists in this narrative eye each other bleakly, during a calm between storms, and acknowledge that there’s no way to put this particular Humpty Dumpty together again — no successful exit to the catastrophe — we know they’re right. The situation is beyond salvation, beyond their control.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, maddeningly, it always has been.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Closed Circuit</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> — marvelous triple-entendre title, by the way — opens its ripped-from-the-headlines story with a terrorist attack at a busy London market. With 120 civilians dead and the British public screaming for justice, an anonymous tip leads police to one surviving member of the suspected terrorist cell: Farroukh Erdogan (Denis Moschitto).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Preparations begin for what promises to be the trial of the century.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><a name='more'></a><br />  <div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Six months pass, as attorneys and government officials get all their procedural ducks in a row. Then, on the eve of the trial — apparently succumbing to stress — Erdogan’s defense barrister commits suicide. The assignment then falls to Martin Rose (Eric Bana), a tenacious legal warrior with sharp observational skills and near photographic recall. Right away, Martin finds flaws in what he fears is to be little more than a scripted show trial, and his unwillingness to “play along” draws a cautionary rebuke from the Attorney General (Jim Broadbent).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Broadbent is perfect for this role, projecting hail-fellow-well-met good cheer while delivering a seemingly innocuous line ... and then, seconds later, we register the latent menace lurking beneath his deceptively bland comments, and realize that the twinkle in his eye isn’t the slightest bit friendly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The disapproving Attorney General is the least of Martin’s problems. Because of the nature of this case, the government intends to prosecute Erdogan with classified evidence: details so secret that neither he nor his attorneys will be allowed to see or hear them. Enter a government-appointed Special Advocate, Claudia Simmons-Howe (Rebecca Hall), who will have clearance to view this evidence, and then — if she so chooses — can argue for its full disclosure during a closed session in court.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, once she takes possession of this eyes-only material — as crisply explained by a natty government spook (Riz Ahmed, as Sharma) — Claudia cannot communicate <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">at all</i> with the defendant or the rest of his defense team.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve no idea if justice would proceed in such a fashion across the pond, given such a case, or indeed if a “Special Advocate” even exists in the British legal system. But that’s the beauty of Knight’s script: It’s a fascinating premise, and if he made it up, he sure did a great job. It sounds plausible, and everything building from that intriguing foundation is equally persuasive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Needless to say, the situation grows increasingly complex, giving both Martin and Claudia ample reason to jump at shadows, and wonder about the possibility that eyes are on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">them</i>. If so, why?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Martin’s growing unease is fueled further by a British-based New York Times journalist (Julia Stiles) with her own suspicions ... but no proof.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, oh yes, Martin and Claudia are compromised going in, by virtue of an affair they had some time back: a detail both absolutely should have acknowledged before agreeing to work together, and which both concealed. One little lie of omission, and now they’re compromised.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The result: a crackling, tautly paced drama.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bana rarely gets credit for solidly anchoring projects that range from the gritty drama of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Munich</i> to the poignant fantasy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2009/08/time-travelers-wife-it-flies.html">The Time Traveler’s Wife</a></i>. He’s often better than his material — as with his performance as Hector, in the overcooked <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Troy</i>, or his grim portrayal of the title character’s father, in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2011/04/hanna-revenge-served-hot.html">Hanna</a></i> — and he’s every inch the dedicated defender of justice required by this story.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bana projects disappointment superbly. We sense that Martin’s ideals have been shattered in the past, and that he’s determined not to let it happen again. Certainly his personal life is a shambles: details deftly sketched by Knight via a few quick scenes, and even quicker comments.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s something else I admire about British cinema: It’s economical. At a crisp 96 minutes, director John Crowley doesn’t waste a scene. Nothing feels superfluous, with every incident, large or small, building to an eventual payoff.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hall is a lot of fun to watch, her Claudia the epitome of a smart, accomplished woman who could cut a man dead with a few sharp retorts. Her mocking gaze is delicious, her eyes flashing an unmistakable warning: Don’t even <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">try</i> to pull anything on me. Claudia’s initial encounter with Sharma is a stand-out scene in a film laden with memorable verbal skirmishes: She all but chases him into a corner, not at all impressed by his air of superiority.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But then, just as quickly, we wonder: Did he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">let</i> her believe she prevailed, during this first meeting?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The always engaging Ciårán Hinds plays Devlin, the congenial, unflappable solicitor who works alongside Martin. Devlin has been around the block a few times, and his rumpled deportment suggests a long-ago decision to let chips fall where they may. But some fire remains in this aging dog, and he can’t help sharing Martin’s nervous excitement, as their seemingly “scripted” case goes off-book.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kenneth Cranham is marvelous as the crusty judge who oversees this unusual trial.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although Knight’s script delivers what we expect from a suspense thriller, he also injects a telling note of real-world concern that is equally applicable on this side of the Atlantic: What price, protection? As graphic novelist Alan Moore asked so presciently in his career-making graphic novel, who watches the Watchmen? Who gets to decide when — indeed, if — the law should be subverted, in the cause of actual justice?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crowley has quietly built a résumé of respectable films, starting with 2003’s ensemble dramedy, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Intermission</i>, and continuing with 2007’s crime drama, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Boy A</i>, and then a whimsical 2008 charmer with Michael Caine, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Is Anybody There?</i> Near as I can tell, the latter got no more than a hiccup release here in the States, after a screening at the 2009 Phoenix Film Festival, which explains why Crowley continues to remain unknown on our shores. Sadly, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Closed Circuit</i> is unlikely to help.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s no justice in that. Yes, this is a “little” film, perhaps the sort of thing one would expect to find in a movie slot on PBS or BBC America. But that’s hardly an indictment; the British film industry long ago ceased to view any distinction between the tube and the big screen, believing instead that a good cast, slick writing and solid production values succeed either way.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Closed Circuit</span></span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> definitely is worth time and attention, particularly for viewers who enjoy twisty thrillers. So if it doesn’t hang around long enough to be seen on the big screen — and I’m sure its stay there will be brief — then be sure to catch up with the eventual video release.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>

2013 Ciaran Hinds Denis Moschitto Eric Bana Four Star Films Jim Broadbent Julia Stiles Kenneth Cranham Rebecca Hall Riz Ahmed thriller Closed Circuit: They're watching us!

Closed Circuit (2013) • View trailer Four stars. Rating: R, for profanity and brief violenceBy Derrick Bang 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-st…

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