Buried -A Review-
Have you seen Buried yet? No? You should! I gotta say I was intrigued by the premise but I wasn't sure there could be enough to keep it moving and frankly, as much as I love and admire Ryan Reynolds' abs, I wasn't convinced he was the guy to pull it off. I was wrong, and I was wrong.
The story moves forward at a decent pace and Ryan has chops never seen before!
This movie had me sitting stock still for an hour and a half fascinated by what might happen next; no small praise for a film which takes place entirely in a coffin six feet underground. Literally. No cuts to the outside world, no flashbacks; everything you see happens in the small coffin. You might think this limiting. You'd be WRONG.
Here's the poop:
Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) The Green Lantern)) is a supply trucker in Iraq. He wakes up at the start of the film in a box. He has a lighter and a cell phone, plus a few other trinkets to help him get by until he pays a ransom demanded by a caller who tells him he has 2 hours to pay "Five million money" or he's left to die six feet under.
What ensues is beyond imagination! Afterwards I thought, "could I possibly think about what would happen if I was buried alive? What I would do?"
Spanish director Rodrigo Cortes and writer Chris Sparling explore and exploit every plausible option given the protagonists limited means. It would be too easy to spoil this movie with specifics, so I'll just say that you'll be surprised what dramatic tension can be wrought from a box. I was rivited most of the time, and the other times I was sharing Paul's moments of solace when he was thinking... what... what could he have been thinking in those moments? He's buried alive! Maybe I was feeling his hope, or his loss of hope. The film shifts back and forth between the two right until the end. And what an ending!
I won't say anything other than I was completely engrossed the entire time, and I was completely engrossed by the final act. It was just great storytelling. Period.
This is why you go to see thrillers; to be thrilled. This is a simple idea that reminds you that good ideas can be enough, that special effects and explosions aren't always necessary. Those movies can be fun too, but every once in awhile a movie comes along that lets you just enjoy the extended moment of discomfort and identify with the protagonist. You and he are there. What's gonna happen?
See this film because it's well written, it's more than well directed, and because it's a great performance from Ryan Reynolds, who soon might consider this his breakout role despite his having toiled in Hollywood for years. I think he'll get better offers after this.
DVD is currently available.
See rottentomatoes.com for confirmation if you aren't sure.
The story moves forward at a decent pace and Ryan has chops never seen before!
This movie had me sitting stock still for an hour and a half fascinated by what might happen next; no small praise for a film which takes place entirely in a coffin six feet underground. Literally. No cuts to the outside world, no flashbacks; everything you see happens in the small coffin. You might think this limiting. You'd be WRONG.
Here's the poop:
Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) The Green Lantern)) is a supply trucker in Iraq. He wakes up at the start of the film in a box. He has a lighter and a cell phone, plus a few other trinkets to help him get by until he pays a ransom demanded by a caller who tells him he has 2 hours to pay "Five million money" or he's left to die six feet under.
What ensues is beyond imagination! Afterwards I thought, "could I possibly think about what would happen if I was buried alive? What I would do?"
Spanish director Rodrigo Cortes and writer Chris Sparling explore and exploit every plausible option given the protagonists limited means. It would be too easy to spoil this movie with specifics, so I'll just say that you'll be surprised what dramatic tension can be wrought from a box. I was rivited most of the time, and the other times I was sharing Paul's moments of solace when he was thinking... what... what could he have been thinking in those moments? He's buried alive! Maybe I was feeling his hope, or his loss of hope. The film shifts back and forth between the two right until the end. And what an ending!
I won't say anything other than I was completely engrossed the entire time, and I was completely engrossed by the final act. It was just great storytelling. Period.
This is why you go to see thrillers; to be thrilled. This is a simple idea that reminds you that good ideas can be enough, that special effects and explosions aren't always necessary. Those movies can be fun too, but every once in awhile a movie comes along that lets you just enjoy the extended moment of discomfort and identify with the protagonist. You and he are there. What's gonna happen?
See this film because it's well written, it's more than well directed, and because it's a great performance from Ryan Reynolds, who soon might consider this his breakout role despite his having toiled in Hollywood for years. I think he'll get better offers after this.
DVD is currently available.
See rottentomatoes.com for confirmation if you aren't sure.
posted by johnnykocktail at 3:58 am
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