Prisoners

When Keller Dover’s daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfRckdHq–c

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Director: Denis Villeneuve

Writer[s]: Aaron Guzikowski

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, Paul Dano

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Prisoners is a cool combination of cast and crew all with recent interesting performances and creations. Jackman coming off arguably his biggest back to back movies ever, Les Miserables and The Wolverine, and now he returns to a real movie role, nothing iconic; Gyllenhaal returning to the screen as a detective after his most extensively studied role as an LA police officer in End of Watch; cinematographer Roger Deakins‘ first film after Skyfall, which changed my movie watching world in terms of camera work, framing, and general cinematography. All in all, I have been waiting to see this movie for a while, and expectations and critics’ reviews are high.

Pain & Gain

A trio of bodybuilders in Florida get caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong.

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Director: Michael Bay

Writer[s]: Christopher Markus [screenplay], Stephen McFeely [screenplay], Pete Collins [articles that provided basis for film]

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie, Tony Shalhoub

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Pain & Gain is a blast to the past, taking us to the vibrant, colorful, muscular times of 90’s California muscle beaches. I’m sure they were great times, I certainly had some good ones as a four/five year old. With steroids all over the place, muscle-heads could be found left and right. And such are our protagonists, each in desperate need of some hard cash: Walhberg’s Daniel Lugo and his desire to be greater and do greater things; Johnson’s Paul Doyle struggling to adapt to life after prison and addiction; Mackie’s Adrian needing surgery for over-use of steroids and the loss of his manhood. They find this source in the shape of a billionaire asshole, Shalhoub’s Victor Kershaw. With their combined knowledge and skills, the trio of muscle men decide to kidnap and rob Kershaw of all he’s worth.

Only God Forgives

Julian, a drug-smuggler thriving in Bangkok’s criminal underworld, sees his life get even more complicated when his mother compels him to find and kill whoever is responsible for his brother’s recent death.

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Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

Writer[s]: Nicolas Winding Refn

Starring: Ryan Golsing, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm

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Drive might have been my favorite movie of 2011. The visual style and colors, the visual story telling and lack of dialogue, the surprising and shocking violence; it all really worked for me, and many others. Globally, audiences were split between love and hate for the film. Now the time has finally come for the follow up to the indie hit, and it features the same lead actor and same stylistic production, but this is undoubtedly not Drive 2.0. This film is it’s own, weird, disturbing, beautiful self.

The Place Beyond the Pines

A motorcycle stunt rider turns to robbing banks as a way to provide for his lover and their newborn child, a decision that puts him on a collision course with an ambitious rookie cop navigating a department ruled by a corrupt detective.

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Director: Derek Cianfrance

Writer[s]: Derek Cianfrance, Ben Coccino, Darius Marder

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, Ben Mendelsohn, Bradley Cooper

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TPBtP opens up with long one-shot take introducing Ryan Gosling as “Handsome” Luke, a dirt-bike cage rider in a carnival. The scene gives you a perfect snap-shot of the film’s cinematic and thematic style, and I could tell right away that I would appreciate the craftsmanship from a technological viewpoint. But there is much more to a film that than look and sound.

Seven Psycopaths

A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster’s beloved Shih Tzu.

Writer/director Martin McDonagh was the creator of the 2008 film In Bruges, which was probably my first and definitely my favorite movie of this style of dark comedy. This production uses a very similar style of comedy, but you can rest easy, for this film isn’t quite as dark and gross, although you still might not want to watch it with the easily offended.