100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 137: Abduction

Director: John Singleton

Genre: Drama/ Action

Runtime: 100 minutes

Year: 2011

Starring: Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina, Sigourney Weaver, Maria Bello, Jason Isaacs

Description: A thriller centered on a young man who sets out to uncover the truth about his life after finding his baby photo on a missing persons website.

Review: Taylor Lautner is known for his role as Jacob in the “Twilight” series. His fans get it all with “Abduction”, where we see Lautner shirtless, driving a motorcycle and joyrides on front of a car. Lautner’s character Nathan is a bit of a bad boy, but he also gets nervous whenever he’s around the pretty Karen.

While working on a project for school, Nathan finds a picture of a missing boy who looks like him. When he eventually finds evidence of that boy actually being him, him confronts his parents with it. From that moment on his life is flipped upside down, when he and Karen have to run from the CIA.

“Abduction” is directed by John Singleton, the man who also gave us “Boyz ‘n the Hood”. This movie never reaches that same standard, but the audience he’s targeting might like it. Youngsters who don’t really know that there are hundreds of movies in the genre that are way better than this. The plot is somewhat okay and not always predictable, but the dialogues are just awful.

The acting is just average and sometimes just really bad. Sigourney Weaver, Alfred Molina, Jason Isaacs and Maria Bello do a solid job, but their roles are minor. Taylor Lautner has to carry this film and he is just too inexperienced for that. And Lily Collins, as Karen, is just terrible.

For fans of Taylor Lautner “Abduction” is a treat, but for the real movie fans it’s another bad action movie. The plot could have given us more and it simply isn’t exciting enough.

Rating: 1,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 34: Prisoners

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Crime
Runtime: 146 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Terrence Howard, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Paul Dano, Melissa Leo

Description: When Keller Dover's (Hugh Jackman) 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?

Review: On Thanksgiving the young daughters of the Dover and Birch family go missing. Fathers Keller and Franklin go looking for them, but can’t find them. Around the time the girls went missing, a mysterious RV was spotted and Detective Loki goes to the owner. Alex Jones is arrested, but eventually the cops let him go. Keller is sure Alex is responsible.
Fans of feel-good movies should be warned, because this film has a grim atmosphere. Just when you think you figured it out, the film comes with some masterful twists. This makes “Prisoners” everything but predictable and you never see the actual ending coming.
The cast of “Prisoners” did a tremendous job. Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal stand out. Jackman is known for his friendly character, which makes his performance even more impressive. Jake Gyllenhaal has a more introvert way of acting, which fits his character of detective Loki perfectly. Paul Dano was also cast very well as Alex Jones.
Director Denis Villeneuve did a perfect job and this is definitely one of the best films of 2013. If you like darker movies, this is just what you need. “Prisoners” will make you gasp for air and leave you breathless in the end. But no worries, this film is worth that.

Rating: 5/ 5

In the Picture: The Characters from "The Jane Austen Book Club"

I read the book and I saw the movie and I love them equally as much. Especially because of the characters. Here they are.

Jocelyn
Played by: Maria Bello
Jocelyn is an indepedent dog breeder. She is a matchmaker but Jocelyn has been single for a long time. She doesn’t have the need to be with a man. After Sylvia breaks with her husband, Jocelyn is the one who wants to get her back on her feet by introducing her to Grigg.

Prudie
Played by: Emily Blunt
Prudie is a young French teacher for the local high school. She loves her husband Dean, but she gets confused about her relationship when she meets one of her students. Prudie has a certain attraction to him and she doesn’t know if she should give in to those feelings.

Bernadette
Played by: Kathy Baker
Bernadette is an enthusiastic woman and the most talkative of all the members. It was her idea to form a book club, especially for her friend Sylvia. Bernadette has been married multiple times, but she is happy with her lifestyle.

Grigg
Played by: Hugh Dancy
Grigg is the only male member of the club. Jocelyn invited him to join the club with the intention of distracting Sylvia. Grigg, on the other hand, is more interested in Jocelyn. Grigg is an avid reader and prefers science-fiction, but for Jocelyn he’s willing to read the entire work of Jane Austen.

Sylvia
Played by: Amy Brenneman
Sylvia has been friends with Jocelyn for a very long time and she’s in a struggeling situation. Her husband Daniël cheated on her and she divorced him. The book club was started for her and it really seems to distract her from all the misery in her life.

Alegra
Played by: Maggie Grace
Alegra is Sylvia’s daughter. She’s artistic, because she makes her own jewelry. Alegra is also known as a thrillseeker. She likes rock climbing and skydiving. She’s a lesbian and was betrayed by her partner Corinne, who is a writer and stole her most personal stories for her own succces.

Favorite Character: Jocelyn

Movie Tip #2 - The Jane Austen Book Club

Director: Robert Swicord

Starring: Maria Bello, Amy Brenneman, Hugh Dancy, Maggie Grace, Emily Blunt, Jimmy Smits, Kathy Baker, Mark Blucas, Kevin Zeegers

Description: Five women and a man decide to start a book club. Each one of them is responsible for one Jane Austen book. After reading the book they come together and talk about it. In the meanwhile they all have to deal with their own relationship problems and they will all ask the same question: What would Jane do?

Review: If you like Jane Austen, you like this movie. Every member of the club can identify himself/ herself with Austens books and so will you. You will find a character to identify yourself with. Especially Jocelyn (Maria Bello) and Grigg (Hugh Dancy) are great and they have perfect chemistry.
The reason why I like this romantic comedy is because it's not one of those soppy chick-flicks. This movie isn't as predictable as most films in this genre. Just give this movie a shot... maybe you'll like it.