Jack loved this sci-fi thriller about a woman held captive by a survivalist who claims there has been a chemical attack. I can't deny that it's good, but I had to make myself stay in my seat for the first act. Due to first rate acting, tight editing, and exciting music, though, I wanted to stay after about a half hour.
The Thrill List calls this a horror movie but a ticket taker at the multiplex said it isn't, so I agreed to go. It kind of is (and pushes some buttons for me, hence my discomfort). Mary Elizabeth Winstead (last blogged for The Spectacular Now and just wrapping up Mercy Street on PBS) gives a great deal of depth to the heroine Michelle, not to mention being beautiful with expressive eyes. We expect John Goodman (most recently in The Monuments Men) to be fabulous as the crazy captor Howard, and he is. John Gallagher Jr. (the younger brother in Pieces of April (2003), Jim Harper on The Newsroom, and Christopher Kittredge in Olive Kittredge) is very good as another cast member, Emmet, also as expected from his resumé. The recognizable voice on Michelle's phone is Bradley Cooper.
Dan Trachtenberg makes his feature debut as director and so does one of the co-writers, Matthew Stuecken. For former assistant editor Josh Campbell this is his second script (also co-) and then there's co-writer Damien Chazelle, who was Oscar-nominated for writing Whiplash (which he directed).
You can stream the aforementioned soundtrack from this link. It's by Bear McCreary, who has scored a ton of TV shows, more than a few other features, and worked with alumni of the band Oingo Boingo in LA in the 1990s when he wasn't yet 20. The movie also has a few fun hits of the 1960s, including I Think We're Alone Now, Tell Him, and Venus.
Definitely watch out for occasional MPMS (motion picture motion sickness) and sit in the back.
Highly rated on Rotten Tomatoes, this has critics at 90% and audiences at 83 (the trailer can be found on that link) and the estimated DVD release is June. It's a good movie but may be hard for some to watch.
No comments:
Post a Comment