Prisoners Movie Review

                                         

 Hugh Jackman AND Jake Gyllenhaal in a film? of course i was going to see this film 

Long story short: after a thanksgiving dinner, 2 girls, Anna Dover (Erin Gerasimovich) and Joy Birch (Kyla Drew Simmons) go missing. After no strong leads are found and investigations conducted by Det. Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) proves to be worthless, Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) takes matter into his own hand and is willing to do anything to find his little girl. (see trailer below)

This is possibly Hugh Jackman's best performance. He portrays Keller Dover with such anger and hostility that he holds nothing back and yet never over does it and keeps the realism going throughout. i was surprised, as i have never been much of Jackman fan...'till now. The character of Keller is such a different role to the one we're used to seeing in X-men for example. Lets not forget about Gyllenhaal who, i have always been a fan of since seeing in Brokeback Mountain and Zodiac but i've never seen him quite as epic as with this portrayal of Detective Loki, a man who is so disconnected from his own emotions. TERRENCE HOWARD! i will never forget your name ever again, or refer to you as that 'lightksin guy with the nice eyes that isnt michael ealy', i was unaware how brilliant of an actor he was. Overall, all characters are great and the actors truly make this movie what it is- intense, gripping, gritty & thought provoking.

that being said, the film isnt perfect. It's a bit predictable and includes cliches e.g. the tipping over of the desk & the perfectly timed phone calls

but that's not the worst fault here. Although incredibly paced, i do feel like 2hr 33mins running time for a film like this is unnecessary but amazingly, the film never becomes tedious. The main fault however, is the fact that i was able to figure out the culprit before the characters as this meant that i lost understanding for some of their actions.

Possibly my favourite film of 2013 & in my opinon, the best i've ever seen Jackman and Gyllenhaal.

Frances Rating: 8/10

The Butler Movie Review

Hi guys,

It's been awhile & I know- I am the worlds worst blogger but August was a very busy month for me and sadly, I didn't get to see many movies (booooooo!)

Anyway, I'm back now with a new review for Lee Daniels' The Butler which I had a chance to see whilst I was still in America. Unfortunately, there's no UK release date as of yet.

My anticipation for The Butler began we I saw Oprah’s instagram picture with Terrence Howard. It was epic. I was excited to see what Oprah would bring to the table as an actress.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that."

The film was based on the true story of Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) and the progression of his life - first, as young boy working on a cotton farm, then inside the home, and eventually at a fancy hotel. After being discovered by a White House staffer, Cecil was hired as one of the butlers for the president, beginning with Eisenhower and ending with Reagan (though the story does continue to the present times). The film showed both the prevalence of racism and the many people who fought for equality during the civil rights movement. The casting was spot on and I think all of the actors were excellent in their roles, especially Forest Whitaker (duh!). 

Its not all glitter and gold. I do have some queries with this film. Oprah performance in this film was amazing & if she does get an Oscar it will be well deserved but once again, it plays to stereotype of 'the sassy black woman' which I'm just sick and tired of seeing time and time again (remember when Whoopi Goldberg won an Oscar for her role as Oda Mae Brown in Ghost? when the sole purpose of her character was to support the white couple and entertain the audience with her sass? remember?!). Lastly, structurally, that movie was a mess, like a glorified stage play, or was this just me?

Overall, this story was deeply moving and one that I definitely recommend, and i'm so glad that the story wasn't over sentimentalised like 'The Color Purple'.

So, what do you guys think of the film? Feel  free to leave comments below & I promise to update more.