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One Of Our First Reviews For Neil Jordan’s THE BRAVE ONE! Should We Give Jodie Foster Back Her Dog Or Not?!

Published at:  Jul 13, 2007 2:42:18 PM CDT

Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.

This might turn out to be a great little character thriller, but that doesn’t change the fact that the end of this trailer sets off a laughing fit for me every time I see it. It’s just so very, very serious, and the line doesn’t really work. Maybe it’s different in context.

Anyway, here’s the first reader reaction we’ve gotten, sent in from what must have been one of the first screenings anywhere for it:



Hi Harry

long time reader first time contributor yadda yadda yadda

Excuse the stream of consciousness etc

Last night I went to a preview screening of Neil Jordan's new film " The Brave One" starring Jodie Foster and Terence Howard and thought you might be interested in my thoughts.

Going to see this I have to admit I had pretty low expectations. I was given a flyer by someone a couple of days before and since I was on holiday I thought what the heck. Not having seen the trailer I thought this was going to be a run of the mill thriller ala flight plan/ panic room and was fully prepared to walk out half way through if was too awful.

I wasn't aware that Neil Jordan was attached to this, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw his name in the starting credits.
There are probably a couple of spoilers in this report but if you see the trailer you'll probably have a pretty good sense of where the film is headed.
Without giving too much away the film is set in NYC and stars Jodie Foster as Erica Bane, a radio DJ. Erica has a show where she captures sounds of the city and interweaves it with her thoughts, so far so Radio Four (UK Radio Channel).

Erica is engaged to Naveen Andrews(Saeed from Lost) and they have lead a pretty wonderful life in their apartment off Central Park attending exhibitions of their glamorous friends and ordering orange and vanilla wedding invites.

Long story short they take the dog for a walk one evening in Central Park and are attacked by a gang and left for dead. The attack is pretty brutal and sets the tone for the for the rest of the film, we get a number of flashbacks to reinforce the point.

Erica gets out of hospital and now becomes terrified by the city she has always loved. Too scared to leave her apartment she finally does, and then by hook or by crook ends up with an illegal gun which she wants to protect herself with . Erica ends up in a minimarket and becomes embroiled in a violent domestic dispute which acts a tipping point for her to fight back against the city which has a hold over her. This leads to her becoming involved in a number of tense standoffs with individuals throughout the city, guess if she backs down or not? (Rocket scientists need not apply)

Terence Howard stars as Mercer, a cop who is on the case of the NY vigilante and becomes more and more involved with Erica and ultimately suspicious of her. It all comes together in a decent finale, the details of which it wouldn't be fair to spoil.

Strong performances from both Foster, who reprises the brittleness of her performance in the Accused and balances it with the increasing confidence of Linda Hamilton becoming a bad ass in Terminator 2, a woman on a mission. Howard( Crash) also turns in some good work and is very convincing as the cop tormented by his love for the law and it's inability to mete out justice when slick lawyers and process get in the way.

It came in at about 2 hours long and to be fair I didn't find myself looking at my watch during that time, this was engaging stuff.

Visually it reminded me of the New York of Spike Lee's Inside Man, post-Giuliani clean but grimy if that makes sense. The night time scenes reminded me of Taxi Driver and certainly some of the scenes were pretty visceral though without the seventies scarlet arterial spray. It paints New York as a pretty menacing place at night and should cause the NY Transit PR group a few headaches

It is a pretty intense experience and pretty brutal at time, kind of a mix of taxi driver and death wish I guess. The audience (about 250) seemed pretty engaged and there was cheering during certain scenes when people got their come uppance. I think people liked this although there is a part of me that found the cheering a little disturbing, too much like mob rule for my liking but maybe that is the question which Neil Jordan is asking of us.

There was the obligatory survey at the end and focus groups which I would have liked to contribute to but the pub was calling, man cannot live on nachos alone. Overall this was a good film and if I had paid for the ticket I would have been happy that I had got a good nights entertainment. My friend who is a not a big cinema person really liked it and was pleased he went.

I can't quite put my finger on why I didn't love this film, it looked great, had a decentish plot and strong performances. This is certainly not a meek film but maybe I'm just not ready for a death wish for the noughties.

You can call me Bonzo and it's nearly time for my bedtime


    + Expand All

    Readers Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 2:44:14 PM CDT

    Second!!!!!!

    by lost.rules

    Fuck you.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 2:48:04 PM CDT

    Trailer looks awful

    by ozliiifter

    I'm not too excited about this one. They really need to revamp the trailer.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 2:48:34 PM CDT

    i'd rather see

    by bloodstaind

    Death Sentence.


    don't fuck with kevin bacon.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 3:03:32 PM CDT

    Looks like "Falling Down."

    by christopher3

    Nerd gets a taste of the ol ultraviolence and then can't stop.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 3:12:40 PM CDT

    Jodie Foster as Eric Bana?!

    by stuntcock mike

    "I want my dog back"

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 3:16:13 PM CDT

    I get it now...

    by doctorsweetscience

    If Charles Bronson does it in "Death Wish" it is exploitation. But, for Foster it is empowerment.

    Although, how come the same rules don't apply for Abel Ferrarra's "Ms.45"?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 3:31:24 PM CDT

    Saeed from Lost?

    by fount of useless info

    Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!

    That is all.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 3:39:55 PM CDT

    TOO SOON!!

    by pageiv

    Honestly, why is this coming out over 2 months before Halloween?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 3:59:43 PM CDT

    SoylentMean

    by stuntcock mike

    The end of Taxi Driver is still pretty potent. Gotta love the scuzzy 70's New York look.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 4:01:38 PM CDT

    They couldn't have come up with a better title?

    by skimn

    The Brave One sounds like a 50's B picture.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 4:06:03 PM CDT

    So I saw this trailer and said Death Wish Remake aloud

    by fracturejonze

    And my friends were like "What the hell do you mean?! It's nothing like Death Wish!" I don't know, I think it practically looks like a re-make to me. Looks interesting though.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 4:13:27 PM CDT

    Read the review and said Death Wish out loud.

    by skimn

    Peacenik gets traumatized, then handgun, becomes NY viglante...ummmm.. Death Wish?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 4:32:12 PM CDT

    Watch this become...

    by mosquito march

    ...yet another vigilante movie that's better than the fucking PUNISHER.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 4:35:14 PM CDT

    looks awesome

    by the real mirajeff

    consider me very excited for this one
    that mogwai music secured my ticket
    i agree, it looks like falling down meets taxi driver with a dash of irreversible, but foster looks bad-ass
    i hope she goes sayid on her attackers asses

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 4:49:33 PM CDT

    Vern. Must. Review.

    by mc vamp

    That is all.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 4:56:01 PM CDT

    I'm so glad

    by bloo

    I'm not the only one that read "Erica Bane" and read "Eric Bana"

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 5:00:04 PM CDT

    I WANT MY DOG BACK!

    by jonquixote

    I had the same hysterical reaction. I was with the trailer the whole way and then BAM the laughter!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 5:28:12 PM CDT

    does she have a skull on her chest?

    by killianxx

    because this is like the female Punisher movie!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 5:33:22 PM CDT

    The Death Sentence trailer kicks ass!

    by neo zeed

    It looks better than this flick..see it over at JoBlo.com.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 5:33:34 PM CDT

    Gus Van Rant ; That's not remotely funny...

    by mossad77

    So fuck yourself, and don't act entitled.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 5:47:58 PM CDT

    Saeed

    by alwaysthere

    Ha. It's "Sayid."

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 5:58:03 PM CDT

    Another Liberal movie...

    by idahomer

    about someone who hates guns, but obtains one illegally and starts killing people. How about a movie about someone with a CCW permit that gets attacked by some punks?
    Never mind. That would be a pretty short movie.

    But I guess moving to another city or state, taking classes in firearms, going through the process of obtaining a permit, and realizing you now have the ability to protect yourself and others isn't as sexy. And who the hell takes walks in Central Park at night by tunnels anyway?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 6:22:54 PM CDT

    SoylentMean

    by stuntcock mike

    Funny Games? I'll check it out.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 6:53:11 PM CDT

    Death Sentence

    by stuntcock mike

    Ahhh yes, I'll be seeing that as well.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 7:19:53 PM CDT

    re:www.01-18-08.com

    by stvnhthr

    This is what the website gives; not exactly life changing...

    Error 404--Not Found
    From RFC 2068 Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1:
    10.4.5 404 Not Found

    The server has not found anything matching the Request-URI. No indication is given of whether the condition is temporary or permanent.

    If the server does not wish to make this information available to the client, the status code 403 (Forbidden) can be used instead. The 410 (Gone) status code SHOULD be used if the server knows, through some internally configurable mechanism, that an old resource is permanently unavailable and has no forwarding address.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 7:23:26 PM CDT

    death wish

    by the real mirajeff

    unfortunately i've never seen it. i realize its not every day someone at aicn admits to NOT seeing a movie, but there you have it. i'll put it on my netflix. love motherfuckin' charlie bronson

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 7:49:39 PM CDT

    death sentence

    by supersize

    Kick ass!! http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809765379/video/3328662/

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 8:03:42 PM CDT

    Give the dog 7 Slushos....

    by pennsy

    then return it to Jodie.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 8:05:04 PM CDT

    I want my DOG BACK!!

    by person 246

    That's the funniest thing I've seen from any movie trailer in a long time.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 8:15:46 PM CDT

    Chicatee

    by dataset

    I want my Chicahay na pa innatay chicatee back!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 10:20:05 PM CDT

    This movie looks idiotic.

    by bronx cheer

  • Jul 13, 2007 10:22:14 PM CDT

    Death Wish: the New Remake

    by shub-wankalot

    The Brave One? Shit...just call it Death Wish VI, and Jodie Foster could even be the granddaughter of Bronson's Paul Kersey, taking up the family tradition of vigilante rage and fun. Let the bullets do the talking.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 13, 2007 10:50:34 PM CDT

    Mori, if some killed you daughter and left you for dead

    by stormwatcher

    and also happened to take your dog while they were at it. (basically the plot to this movie but put into your life perspective) and you finally had the chance to get revenge and oh gee your dog too who represents the last vestige of the life you had what would you say? Something clever maybe like hit him with a surfboard and say 'Surf's Up!" To me the line works perfectly, made me want to see it anyways.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 14, 2007 2:02:44 AM CDT

    Ms. 45

    by dominic-vobiscum

    Does she end up dressing like a nun and shooting an arab sheik in his cock?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 14, 2007 5:56:40 AM CDT

    Wilding: the Movie

    by thebloop

    Remember when gangs of youthful thugs went out at to do "wildings"? The term was used to describe a gang attacking and beating a single person for no other reason than to have "fun", ala the 'central park jogger". Luckly for us non-thugs, they have new ways to get their kicks, like "Ghost Riding".Love those clips on you tube when the car they are standing on top of crashes into a tree. Now that is comedy gold my friends!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 14, 2007 6:03:31 AM CDT

    Charles Bronson

    by thebloop

    As much as a like the original "death wish", I thing old chuck's best movie was "the great white buffalo". I heard they are remaking that now with a CGI giant buffalo, and it will star Josh Harnett as Wild Bill, and that Omar goes to White Castle dude as the Indian called "Worm". Can't wait!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 14, 2007 7:15:39 AM CDT

    Death Sentence

    by thebloop

    Sorry for the multiple posting is a row, but I guess none of you geeks get up early. Just watch the "Death Sentence" Trailer. Is Kelly Preston one hot bit'ol ass for a 40+ year old or what. God the things I will do to her if I.....Oh, and the movie looks good too.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 14, 2007 7:57:56 AM CDT

    Death Sentence

    by stuntcock mike

    Looks good. Shaved head whacko Kevin Bacon never fails.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 14, 2007 10:27:55 AM CDT

    already seen deathwish

    by palewook

    and it didnt need a remake.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 14, 2007 10:39:37 AM CDT

    Link to Death Sentence trailer

    by neo zeed

    http://tinyurl.com/25ymcg

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 14, 2007 11:48:11 AM CDT

    death sentence

    by the real mirajeff

    looks equally awesome
    like running scared meets an eye for an eye

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 14, 2007 3:59:24 PM CDT

    death sentence

    by palewook

    looks damned good

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 15, 2007 1:42:41 AM CDT

    RUNNING SCARED (1986) is quality

    by harry weinstein

    Nice, gritty low-tech buddy cop comedy from Peter Hyams. Crystal and Hines are a good team. Definitely above average for the genre.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 15, 2007 5:59:54 AM CDT

    The line about the dog...

    by palimpsest

    ...is the funniest thing in cinema since Nic Cage pulled a gun on a cultist and told her to step away from the bike in Neil LaBute's comedy remake of THE WICKER MAN.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 15, 2007 4:06:42 PM CDT

    Death Sentence looks better?

    by thevisitor

    Please. "Death Sentence" looks like a cheap Die Hard wannabe. The action and the stunts pulled off in the trailer appear over the top and ridiculous. It has the premise and feel of a Steven Segal or Jean Claude Van Damme motion picture from the late 80s. Something tells me the folks here prefer that trailer to "The Brave One" because a man is at the center of the action rather than some vengeful female. I however put my faith in the superior talent in front of and behind the camera for "The Brave One".

    Reply to Talkback

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