Prisoners

http://prisonersmovie.warnerbros.com/

I first became aware of Prisoners when my bestie in the US told me she'd seen the trailer for the film, fully expecting me to know what it was. As a long time fan of Mr Gyllenhaal I was both surprised and disappointed that this film could get to the stage where a trailer was in theatres and I was unaware of it's existence. Clearly my dedication is slipping. In my defence, I was expecting Jake's next film to be a movie going by the title of 'Nailed' but apparently that film has long since been shelved.

So onto Prisoners. When two 8 year old girls go missing on Thanksgiving, and the man who is taken into custody is released, the fathers of the girls, Keller Dover (Jackman) and Franklin Birch (Howard), decide to take matters into their own hands. They kidnap the young man, Alex Jones (Dano), and despite his already fragile and child-like mind, they torture him for information. Meanwhile, Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) looks to maintain his track record of solving every case he's ever had, and continues his search for who he believes is responsible for the abduction.

The unfortunate character name of Gyllenhaal's detective aside, Prisoners is actually an incredibly tense, sometimes disturbing, look at what happens to the family left behind when a child goes missing. Jackman gives one of the best performances of his career here. His loyalty to his family making his character unhinged in his pursuit of answers. Howard, Bello, Davis and Leo all impress, but Jackman's main support in the majority of his scenes is Paul Dano, who turns in one of the creepiest performances I have seen in a long time. Then there's Gyllenhaal, who never fails to impress me. His subtle, understated, performance was just what the film needed to set him apart from the other great actors on show.

The direction is tight and the story has more twists than Chubby Checker. But it's not a fun film, and it's not an easy film to watch. At over 2 hours, it's an investment. Having said that, if you want to see great actors in a taught, suspenseful thriller, this is definitely the one for you. 8 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 23rd September 2013

UK Release Date - 27th September 2013

Cast Overview:

Keller Dover ~ Hugh Jackman

Detective Loki ~ Jake Gyllenhaal

Nancy Birch ~ Viola Davis

Grace Dover ~ Maria Bello

Franklin Birch ~ Terrence Howard

Holly Jones ~ Melissa Leo

Alex Jones ~ Paul Dano

Director ~ Denis Villeneuve

Writer ~ Aaron Guzikowski

The Lady K Academy Film Awards Day 11 - Best Lead

The Lady K Academy only has 4 awards left to give out and tonight is going to be another double awarder as we salute the Actor and Actress who literally lead the way in 2011.

Without further ado the award for Best Actor goes to...

Ryan Gosling for Drive* 

(*although he also gave very noteworthy performances in 

Blue Valentine, Crazy, Stupid, Love and The Ides Of March)

Ryan Gosling was on fire last year with 3 very different movies on general release within 3 months of each other. 1 romantic comedy, 1 crime thriller and 1 political drama. He also had romantic drama Blue Valentine out at the start of the year. Even if he's not your favourite actor you have to admit he's hard working! As I saw each of these films I can say without a doubt that he was fantastic in each of them, but the one which made me decide he was worthy of this award was Drive.

This is what my review had to say: "Despite being the main character, the driver not only has no name, he also has very few lines in the film, with most of his feelings being played out through looks in the rear view mirror. Having said that the performances of Gosling and all of the other actors involved are faultless."

To give you a taste of Ryan's performance in the film I have attached a video I found which is set entirely to a song from the film, no dialogue. I thought it was a good demonstration given the lack of dialogue for the driver in the film.

Please note this is a clip from an 18 certificate movie and does show violent scenes. If you haven't seen the film there are some spoilers.

We follow Ryan's stunning performance in Drive with our award for Best Actress.

This goes to... Viola Davis for The Help

I pretty much knew all along that my Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress were going to come from The Help, how could they not with such a wealth of female talent on display. But the confusion came when I had to pick one. Just one. Anyone who read my review of The Help will know that I have a huge girl crush on Emma Stone. Love her. She can do no wrong. But Viola was amazing. And so were Octavia, and Bryce, and Jessica. Hardest decision EVER. But as Viola's role really was the pivotal one, I went with my gut and chose Viola's portrayal of Aibileen Clark as the winner for this category.

For anyone who missed it, this is what my review had to say: "The characters are fantastic, even the ones you hate, you can't help but admire the actors potrayal. And the actors, or rather actresses as this is a predominantly female cast, were faultless. Every single one. I know I already mentioned my girl crush on Emma Stone but she is wonderful. But then so are Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain. And the supporting cast is a dream, from the likes of Allison Janney (who can do no wrong in my eyes, I've loved her for years!) to Sissy Spacek and Mary Steenburgen. Fabulous one and all."

And here is a taster of Viola in The Help.

Much as I love Meryl, can you still tell me after watching that clip that Meryl deserved the Oscar? I don't think so!

Runners Up for Best Actor:

Matt Damon surprised me last year in both Hereafter and The Adjustment Bureau. 

Jake Gyllenhaal for Source Code. Yes he's my favourite actor, yes I've met him and am biased as hell but he was brilliant in Source Code, you know it and I know it.

Runners Up for Best Actress:

While Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine and My Week With Marilyn) and Natalie Portman (Black Swan, No Strings Attached and Your Highness) were both very busy ladies last year I think the two women who surprised me the most after Ms Davis were Kristen Wiig for Bridesmaids and Tilda Swinton for We Need To Talk About Kevin

So there you have it. My winners for Best Actor and Actress. Who were yours?

The Help

http://thehelpmovie.com/us/

As previously mentioned in my Crazy, Stupid, Love review, I am a bit of a fan of Emma Stone. In fact, a bit is a bit of an understatement. Ever since I saw her in Easy A I have had a bit of a girl crush on her. And I also think she's one of the most promising actresses to come out of Hollywood in a long time. She's the only reason I'm even considering going to see the Spiderman re-boot. So when I heard about The Help it was a bit of a no-brainer that I would go and see it.

The Help is based on the best selling novel of the same name by Kathryn Stockett and tells the very different story of two women in Jackson, Mississippi during the early 1960s. Writer Skeeter (Emma Stone) has dreams much bigger than the small town in which she lives. The problem that she has is convincing the even smaller minds of the town's community, from the editor of the paper she works for, to her best friend and even her own mother, of the problems going on under their noses. Skeeter decides she wants to write a book from the perspective of 'the help', the African American maids who work for white families. Skeeter wants the world to know how they're treated, what they witness on a daily basis and how they're made to feel. The bigger problem is getting 'the help' to talk to her.

The more I looked into The Help, the more I read, the more interviews I watched, the more praise that was heaped on the book and in turn the film, the higher my hopes got. When I eventually saw the film however, it smashed all of that to pieces. It actually left me feeling that I'd just watched a really great film. 

The characters are fantastic, even the ones you hate, you can't help but admire the actors potrayal. And the actors, or rather actresses as this is a predominantly female cast, were faultless. Every single one. I know I already mentioned my girl crush on Emma Stone but she is wonderful. But then so are Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain. And the supporting cast is a dream, from the likes of Allison Janney (who can do no wrong in my eyes, I've loved her for years!) to Sissy Spacek and Mary Steenburgen. Fabulous one and all.

This is an eye opening story told with such emotion, had me laughing and crying in equal measure, which was so well executed by all involved. It seemed a story which was very dear to the hearts of everyone who had a hand in it, from the actors to the writers and director. It was a story told with such attention to detail and a lot of love.

I can't recommend this film highly enough. Harrowing in places, unafraid to show the bad with the good, but a film which ultimately proves that humanity can be gracious and kind. But without the schmaltz. As near perfect as a new film has gotten for me this year. 9.5 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 4th November 2011

UK Release Date - 26th October 2011

Cast Overview:

Emma Stone ~ Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan
Viola Davis ~ Aibileen Clark

Bryce Dallas Howard ~ Hilly Holbrook

Octavia Spencer ~ Minny Jackson

Jessica Chastain ~ Celia Foote

Ahna O'Reilly ~ Elizabeth Leefolt

Allison Janney ~ Charlotte Phelan

Chris Lowell ~ Stuart Whitworth

Cicely Tyson ~ Constantine Bates

Mike Vogel ~ Johnny Foote

Sissy Spacek ~ Mrs. Walters

Mary Steenburgen ~ Elain Stein

Director ~ Tate Taylor

Writer(s) ~ Tate Taylor (Screenplay) and Kathryn Stockett (Novel)