PRISONERS

Hollywood thrives on the action movie where someone takes the law into their own hands to do what the authorities can't -- especially if the vigilante is protecting their family.  But what if that happened in the real world?  What if doing what you thought was necessary turned the would-be hero into a monster?  This is the dilemma of Prisoners, a drama where the lines between right and wrong are very blurry.

Kelly Dover (Hugh Jackman) is a family man, religious person, and survivalist who believes the best lesson from his father is "be ready."  Unfortunately, he can't be prepared what happens on Thanksgiving: During a dinner with their friends the Birches, the families' young daughters Anna and Hope walk back to the Dover house -- and vanish.  Suspicion falls on Alex Jones (Paul Dano), a weird man whose RV had been parked outside and which the kids had been playing on earlier.  But Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhall) thinks Alex is innocent, since he has the I.Q. of a ten year old, and since his RV has no evidence the girls were in there.

That's not good enough for Kelly.  When he confronts Alex as the police are releasing him, Kelly thinks Alex says something incriminating.  So while his wife Grace (Maria Bello) convinced herself Anna will come back any minute and Franklin and Nancy Birch (Terrence Howard and Viola Davis) put their faith in the police, Kelly kidnaps Alex, torturing him until he gives up Anna's location.  Meanwhile Detective Loki follows a bizarre string of clues, from a mysterious maze symbol to a priest with an adult's dead body in his basement.

Prisoners is a relentless, grim combination of mystery, thriller, and examination of whether the ends justify the means.  Instead of a hero, Hugh Jackman turns Kelly into a desperate man, someone so desperate to get his daughter back he may be deceiving himself just to believe he knowing who's responsible.  He rationalizes his brutality by telling Alex "You did this to yourself" while turning him into a  bloody horror of a human.  Jackman is terrific, transforming what would normally be a one-note hero into a determined, desperate man willing to abandon his humanity (and ignore his family) to do what he thinks is right.  Howard and Davis are excellent as the parents torn between wanting to support Kelly in finding out what happened to their daughter, and still being able to ask "What if you're wrong?"  Gyllenhall is good as the relentless detective, and Dano is effectively creepy as Alex, someone who seems pathetic and small, but with enough flashes of cruelty and violence to make it seem plausible he is involved in the kids' disappearance.

Prisoners manages to elevate the discussion about torture by melding it with a police procedural and some very strong performances.  This isn't an easy movie to sit through (especially when we see the results of torture) but it is very powerful and very well done.

Overall grade: A
Reviewed by James Lynch

Rendition (2007)

Rendition is a drama that looks at the unfair, and questionably legal, practices involving the detainees at Guatanamo Bay. It stars Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Omar Metwally.

Isabella (Witherspoon) and Anwar (Metwally) are the typical American family with one child. One day, Anwar doesn't return from his business trip in "North Africa" (more on that in a bit). Next thing we know, Anwar is unofficially "lost," the U.S. Government knows nothing of his whereabouts, and his wife figures out that he got on the plane, but never off (sounds like some luggage). She turns to some government contacts for help. In the meantime, much of the film shows the torture tactics that undoubtedly go on at Gitmo, much of it performed by a junior agent, Douglas Freeman (Gyllenhaal).

At least to this reviewer, Rendition had much potential but really just fizzles like last year's pop rocks. Rather than an intelligent thriller that asks the question of why does our government treat people like this, and could this not happen to any of us, we end up with a front row seat for too much torture and not enough thought. While any good horror director knows that the suggestion of the monster has far more impact than some guy running around with fake blood and a rubber knife, this lesson could have been learned here: We simply see too much of the torture, and it starts to lose its impact. On top of that, I felt like it was being dumbed down every time they flashed "North Africa" as a setting on the bottom of the screen like it was the sister country to South Africa. Seriously, were we in Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia or Morocco? Or were we more interested in international ticket sales than making a good film for American audiences?

On top of all of this, we end on a flat, and less than settled, note. It's never completely clear if Anwar is a terrorist or not, and therefore the film loses its impact. If the point of the film is that there are many atrocities inflicted on innocent folks at Gitmo (which I think it is), then we should have made it clear that the guy is not a terrorist rather than having us wonder if maybe with just a little more "encouragement" he would have cracked and given us the phone number to Osama Bin Laden's condo cave. As it stands, I just didn't enjoy this rendition of Rendition, despite a more mature role for Reese Witherspoon.

Overall Grade: C

Reviewed by Jonas

Zodiac (2007)

With Halloween this week, I turned my armchair towards the really creepy movie, Zodiac. This is the film that tells the story of the Zodiac Killer who had a string of serial murders starting in the late 60's and continuing into the 70's. He taunted investigators with his letters to the newspapers often containing ciphers and other cryptic messages. Zodiac stars Jake Gyllenhall, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Edwards.

The film opens in 1968, at what became to be known as the Lake Herman killing. Zodiac shoots two high school students who are at a desolate lover's lane. He then calls the police to tell them where to find the bodies. After his next murder, he sends letters to the local papers and describes details that only the killer would know, along with a substitution cipher. Creepy.

As the film develops, it is mostly formulaic. One seriously creepy murder after another, although this killer, unlike some other serial murders doesn't follow a strict pattern as he uses different methods, and age groups.

Somewhat predictably, as is par for the course in such films, the police are seen as rather inept, and several steps behind the Zodiac Killer as the spree develops, and the bodies pile up. Hampering their efforts is that the murders took place in different counties, and they're not doing a good job of sharing the leads and information that develops. Ruffalo and Edwards ably play two of the detectives on the case.

As this story develops, Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhall), a political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper becomes rather obsessed with this story. He eventually quits his job to investigate the Zodiac murders full time. His efforts culminate in a published book, Zodiac.

This was a good choice for a creepy Halloween thriller, but it really was only slightly above average. For starters, it's over two and half hours, and it definitely needed some nip and tuck to keep the pace tighter. Maybe we didn't need to portray every murder in such detail? In addition, while there is plenty of tension, it doesn't build like it could have as the story progresses; at times it feels like we're going nowhere fast, and we are. Also, while it is well acted, there is no standout performance here. Finally, Zodiac is kind of a downer, as these folks become obsessed with the killer, and it ruins their lives as they pursue him. Therefore, if you really want a crime thriller then this is a reasonable choice, but I would say that it is good, and not excellent.

Of note, the Zodiac case is still open, and while there was one suspect that seemed likely, forensic evidence using modern DNA analysis did not support him being the killer.

Overall Grade: B

Reviewed by Jonas

Proof

Proof is a film that stars two Hollywood heavyweights: Anthony Hopkins and Gwyneth Paltrow.

The film is a character driven story that was adapted from a play. The theatrical roots of the screenplay come through as most of the movie takes place in the family home.

Anthony Hopkins plays Paltrow's father. He is a genius mathematician and former college professor. Unfortunately, he did his major work at the young age of 23. His later years are plagued by disabling mental illness.

Gwyneth Paltrow is the dutiful daughter that has put her life on hold to take care of her father. She is also bound to her father by her ability and interest in math.

The plot then focuses on a lost notebook that just may represent some holy grail of numbers. Since we are not college professors, we are never really told what was discovered. I suppose they didn't want us to feel lost in some graduate evel calculus class, but I ended up feeling in the dark about the whole thing.

On one level, Proof explores family dynamics between a father and two daughters. Through a series of dream sequences and flashbacks, the details are carefully metered out. Like in many families, what appears to be almost normal emerges as dysfunctional with a capital "D."

On a deeper level, this movie delves into the fine line between crazy and genius. As Proof develops, it is elucidated that Hopkins has blurred this line for years, and skirted along both sides of it.

If either of those themes appeal to you, check out Proof. This well acted film will appeal to you.

Overall Grade: B

Jarhead

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of movies and novels that involve the military. However, Jarhead falls quite short of the mark on all counts.

This film stars Jamie Foxx as the Staff Sergeant charged with training a squad of Marine scout snipers. Predictably, he is the wise man that yells in the recruit's faces and orders the pushups. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Anthony Swofford, the new recruit to the squad.

After the boot camp scenes, we find ourselves in Kuwait. It is the opening days of the first Gulf War. We see the difficulties of operations in a 112 degree desert.

Jarhead simultaneously takes up the themes of Marine camraderie, the senselessness of war, fighting for a cause you not only don't believe in, but you don't understand, and losing your mind on the battlefield. Superimposed on top of this is the theme of even though you leave the war and the killing, it doesn't leave you.

Somewhere in the over two hours of film might have been a film worth watching. Unfortunately, it was quite elusive. The long extended desert scenes, with no dialogue, only prolong the boringness of the whole affair. OK, I get that they're marching along, we don't need to show every sand dune on the Arabian peninsula!

The constant grittiness of the film does nothing to enhance it either. Most of it is there for shock value anyway, and does little to advance the plot or characters.

The film doesn't even come together at the end. Were they trying to carry through the war is senseless theme? It leaves me feeling that Jarhead is equally senseless too.

In case you're wondering, a jarhead refers to a Marine's head with their very close hair cut. It also implies an empty head without a brain. I'll use it in a sentence: you'd have to be a jarhead to think that this was a good film.

Overall Grade: D-

Brokeback Mountain

Reviewed by James Lynch

Many films have been made about the collision of passion and society, when the heart and the world are in conflict, but few have been done with the beauty and depth of Brokeback Mountain. This is not due to the controversial content – calling it a “gay cowboy movie” is a vast oversimplification – but due to the strong performances, excellent direction, and beautiful cinematography.

Cowboys Ennis del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) first meet in Wyoming in 1963, taking a job living on Brokeback Mountain while watching over a herd of sheep and getting occasional supplies brought from town. At first the men are indifferent to each other – Ennis is largely quiet and focused on the job, while Jack chats, plays harmonica, and talks about the rodeo – but soon they start getting along. They do more than that, as a sudden, almost violent physical passion takes hold of them both. The two men assure each other that they “ain’t queer” and that their “thing” is only during the job.

After the job ends, the two men pursue their separate lives. Ennis stays in Wyoming, marries his fiancée Alma (Michelle Williams), and gets by doing small jobs and taking care of his family. Jack moves to Texas, tries and fails at bull riding, marries beautiful rodeo star Lureen (Anne Hathaway), and makes a living working for his father-in-law. But when Ennis and Jack meet again, their passion flares anew. Soon the men are sneaking off on “fishing trips” a few times a year. Alma (who knows this hidden side of Ennis) worries about her man, Jack wants Ennis to leave his life and join him on a two-man ranch, and Ennis refuses to leave his “normal” life, claiming his duties as a family man but also fearing what could happen if people found out about them.

Brokeback Mountain is an extraordinary look at these two characters and the choices that they make and the rules they consider. Jake Gyllenhaal makes Jack Twist an appealing character, someone whose desire to go after what he wants is both appealing (he’s more willing to commit to his partner) and a weakness (as he pursues other men when Ennis keeps resisting him). Heath Ledger offers a wonderfully nuanced performance: His character is largely quiet, but for all his strength he is dominated by fear and lashes out at any thought others could find out. Director Ang Lee, recovering nicely from the debacle of Hulk, does a wonderful job of making the characters fully realized – with strength, weakness, beauty, desire, and conflict. And the cinematography reflects the worlds of the characters. Brokeback Mountain first appears to be a bad place to work (cold, rainy) but soon appears to be a paradise, especially in contrast to the stifling drabness of the “normal” world the men live in. These elements combine to make Brokeback Mountain that rare gem: a beautiful, powerful, flawless movie. Brokeback Mountain is the best movie I’ve seen in 2005, and it is a true classic.

Overall Grade: A+