Cool News
Quint starts his Sundance catch-up with looks at Brian Cox in the Ketchum adaptation RED and prison break thriller THE ESCAPIST!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with two Brian Cox movies that played at Sundance this year. One is a thriller based on a Jack Ketchum novel and the other is a prison-break movie. Both I have some problems with, but neither is horrible. Flawed is the word I’m looking for.
RED
This one has an interesting history, originating as a Lucky McKee (MAY) movie, but he was replaced by another director (Trygve Allister Diesen). Unlike other director who leave or are removed, Lucky’s name is still on the film as a co-director.
I’m curious as to what the explanation on that is.
At any rate, I was down to see it just based on the fact that it was a Brian Cox starrer. I’ve spoken of my love of his work many times in my time on AICN and was really excited to see the flick.
Maybe I just don’t like Jack Ketchum or the way his stories unfold. I know it’s ignorant to say that since I haven’t read his work, but judging on the three movies I’ve seen based on his novels I’d have to say that if they’re any indication of the pacing and structure of his books then I won’t be a fan.
THE LOST, directed by Chris Silvertson, is a well-made film, but ultimately one that got on my nerves (but kudos for ample Misty Mundae nudity) and my favorite of the three Ketchum books that have been made is THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, but that’s based on a true story and there’s not much you can do to change the structure of what happened.
RED has some strong performances, but I found that while others around me were getting bored with the movie that I was liking it, holding on to the hope that the slow build was leading to something. On the surface it’s a revenge story about a good man whose dog (the last gift from his now dead wife) is brutally killed by a group of punk kids with influential parents.
At first Cox tries to do the right thing. He finds out who these kids are and goes to their parents, wanting nothing more than an apology and a little justice in the form of parental punishment. When that doesn’t work, he goes to the police. When that doesn’t work he goes to his lawyer. When that doesn’t work he goes to the press.
Of course the kids and the rich families don’t appreciate the situation escalates to something that can’t be taken back.
Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Unfortunately the filmmaking is stale. The script is okay, the performances are solid all across the board, but the filmmaking is so stale that it infects the good parts of the movie.
Cox delivers a heartfelt speech explaining just how his wife and son died and plays it for all it’s worth, but the camera just kind stays in a medium shot on his face, adding no energy to his monologue. The big finale is shot so poorly that there’s little to no emotional impact when the shit really goes down and people you’ve been following get hurt.
Cox and young actors Noel Fisher and Kyle Gallner all give great performances, especially Gallner who plays the good kid in the rotten bunch. His brother is the main asshole kid and Gallner is torn between loyalty to his brother and family and the knowledge that they’re doing horrendous shit to this nice guy.
Also in the film (for a few minutes anyway) is Robert Englund as the father of the third asshole kid. Englund rarely gets a chance to flex his dramatic muscles, but he’s a really good actor and it was nice seeing him get a moment to play in the dramatic.
RED doesn’t get a pass from me, but it’s not a horrendous movie. It’s slow, the filmmaking is pretty poor, but the actors do their best to elevate the film.
THE ESCAPIST
In a lot of ways I want to be harder on this movie than it deserves. Unlike RED, the filmmaking is top notch, the production design great, but the script is all over the place… not in a good, fun Terry Gilliam way.
What you have is a prison break flick. Cool, those are fun. It stars Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Liam Cunningham and Dominic Cooper. All good character actors, so there’s another checkmark in the good column.
Somehow the movie just doesn’t work. They start with the end (a device I’m getting really tired of by now), which set off warning flags with me, but when I realized that they were inter-cutting from the planning of the escape to the actual escape I was interested. They’d show them set up something small then cut to the escapees actually using it in their escape.
That was pretty smart, but there is surprisingly little character development outside of Cox’s character. We come to find out that his estranged daughter is in critical care after a drug overdose, so Cox has the drive to break out in order to see his daughter. But we never really are told why his crew want to get out. I’m sure there are good reasons, but I think they only mention a parole being denied to one of the other guys, but that’s it.
That could be forgiven if it wasn’t for the absolutely horrible eye-rolling ending. It’s one of those endings that make you go, “Really? Reallllllyyyyy?” As tacked on and unnecessary as the ending for HAUTE TENSION was, the rest of the movie could survive the shitty ending. Unfortunately the rest of ESCAPIST can’t survive its shitty ending.
Which is sad because the movie looks good, the direction is fine, the acting is fine, but the film felt like it was about 2 drafts away from being the movie it should have been.
At least that was my impression.
I’m in heavy catch-up mode, but look out for a tag-team review with Rav coming soon… the most unique double feature any critic caught at a Sundance theater this year, guaranteed.
I'm a little crazy for jumping right into another film fest, but I left Park City to go immediately to the Santa Barbara Film Fest. Hoping to lock down some good interviews and see some decent flicks, but I still have a ton left over from Sundance, so hopefully my brain doesn't explode in the next week.
Keep 'em pointed here (meaning your eyeballs, not your nipples, but that's okay, too).
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
-
+ Expand All
-
Sorry, but Girl was shot like a TV movie and the altered ending was a dramatic cop-out. The Lost perfectly captured Ketchum. Have my doubts about Red though...Poor Lucky can't get a break.
-
I want to see that really bad. Looks to be sweet.
-
yes a personal best!
-
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2LpME03qyvw
-
Well?
-
Two more duds to avoid ....
ANY GOOD MOVIES COMING OUT ???? -
BUT WHERE THE FUCK ARE ALL THE UPDATES? I'VE READ ON THREE OTHER SITES TODAY ABOUT UPDATES ON THE PUNISHER, HELLBOY 2, SPIDERMAN, THOR, AND GI JOE UPDATES BUT NOTHING HERE.
I EXPECT TO COME HERE AND SEE SHIT NOBODY ELSE CAN DIG UP. I EXPECT THE DIRT AND THE SCOOP NOBODY ELSE CAN GET.
AND DON'T GIVE ME "I HAVE A DAY JOB, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH..."
I WORK 3 JOBS, TWO OF THEM IN ENTERTAINMENT, SO I KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE BUSTING YOUR ASS AND MEETING DEADLINES. MOTHER FUCK OF FUCK!
I need to lay off the caffeine... -
GND was only loosely based on real events so any shortcomings in the story one can probably blame on Ketchum.
-
Saw it at sundance. Agree 100% with your criticism, except that I was even a little disappointed in the story which was a standard revenge story. Also, I thought the character of the reporter was poorly written, ham handed and not very well delivered although I don't know if that was the director or the actor's fault. She was hot though. THe second director was at the Q and A and said the project got shut down for a while when they lost financing. Perhaps the mojo of the movie was lost as well. Felini said he would not talk about his projects because the energy of the film would be used up.
-
Now we will definitely never get an adaptation of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Some producer will sue saying they own the film rights to the title The Escapist. Portman's getting too old for Rosa people. Let's pick up the pace here.
-
God, I think of Chabon everytime I hear about this. I also think of Brian K. Vaughan's excellent Escapists, set in Kavalier and Clay's world. Two potential movies I'd like to see as opposed to this one. (Although I have HUGE doubts either will get made.)
-
sounds interesting, although stephen susco's name, excuse the bad pun, always raises a red flag for me... I'll tell you guys one thing though- Kyle Gallner is one to watch. That kid is everywhere and I've thought he was great in everything I've seen him in, from Law and Order: SVU to The Closer and Big Love. He's a talented young actor. Just needs the right film project and he could be the next Gordon-Levitt or Michael Pitt.
-
Cox's Hannibal Lecter would kick the ass of Hopkins' Lecter with one cerebral hemisphere tied behind his back.
-
all the love it gets is pure posturing. its a nothing performance that he does nothing with. hopkins has tarnished it by replaying but his performance in lambs leaves cox dull version in the dust. and if hopkins version hadn;t have become so iconic and well known no one would ever say anything about cox being better. because it isn't. its fucking boring.
-
I'm quite surprised, most people I know who saw Escapist at Sundance loved the twist but a couple didn't get it... and when they did they wanted to see it again. The bigger the film buff, the more they seem to like this movie. Without making a massive spoiler- did you get the fact that Cox's sacrifice (the glimpses of escape that we're seeing early in the film) is so that the others can go? And that all the things we've seen early on come from his surroundings in those last moments? It was like a puzzle coming together for me, not a messy script! That's like saying Memento's script's all over the place!!
-
but that's not exactly news to any of us.
-
here's why Cox is better than Hopkins:
Hopkins played Lechter like a cartoon character. He was The Joker with less circus makeup. Brian Cox on the other hand, played Lechter as if Lechter was a real person; an actual homicidal madman - he interviewed with experts on psychology. He played the character with all the traits and quirks that the experts told him he would have. He was subdued. He was passive. He was succinct. Sure that doesn't really create a great image for a TV trailer or a movie marquis poster, but what made Brian Cox's portrayal superior is that while watching it, you aren't watching Brian Cox as Hannibal Lechter. You're watching Hannibal Lechter. With Hopkins, it looks like instead of going with the expert profile for this character, he watched old tapes of Batman and decided Hannibal Lechter was Burgess Meredith's Penguin on valium. The movie did do well, but just comparing the two roles side-by-side, I have to go with Brian Cox as the better lechter. His Lechter was the smartest guy in the room, and that made us afraid of him. Hopkins was just moonbat crazy - an elderly Jeffery Dahmer. And nobody is afraid of that.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 273 total posts 271 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 92 total posts 92 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 160 total posts 69 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 151 total posts 63 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 67 total posts 59 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 60 total posts 57 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 484 total posts 49 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 69 total posts 42 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 120 total posts 32 posts
- SPACE 2099!! -- 183 total posts 24 posts