Visitors Review

piverba (2012-05-24 09:03)

Rationality is overrated - then what?

This feature is shameless remake of the french version "ANYTHING FORHER" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1217637/ of 2008, as was noted byother posts, however I prefer this, later version. What escapes myunderstanding is why there was a need to plagiarize the french version? This is engaging and manipulative film bursting with platitudes, likealcohol or a cigarette, it will relax you with cathartic ending. It isabout unconditional love, family and individual against state andsociety. It could had been done better, but it is wasn't. Crowe'spleasing, as always and Banks looks pretty.To make the discussion more serious several themes / issues can beconsidered. (a) Law and its violation - can it be avoided to condemninnocent? How do we know if someone's innocent? Obviously, through thelogical deduction (hopefully sound). Can we afford to have one innocentcondemned person in prison? Would it rather be better to free 100guilty instead? Crowe as a teacher questions his students' value oflogic in Don Quixote. His standing by his wife is an expression ofsupra-logical belief in her innocence. (b) What is true love thatcompels the husband to risk his own life in order to free his wife. Isit right what he did, or wrong? What is the basis for our moraljudgment? I found germs of interesting ideas to be pondered but verylittle in their development. The ending, no matter how cute, presentedquestions: what's now? What if the same thing will happen to them intheir new country? How long they will hide? What the meaning of theirlife and how they will re-embed into society? The low score reflectsthe lack for development and shameless copying of previous frenchversion.

(2012-05-23 22:20)

Movie purchase.

This review is from: The Next Three Days (DVD) This recent purchase adds more action to my library. The movie itself is intense and the purchase price made it more intense.

(2012-05-19 09:25)

Well paced and genuinely intense...

To say that I wanted `The Next Three Days' to be better isn't meant in any way shape or form to diminish it's quality or your preconceived idea of it. The film is a tightly woven thriller that engages our `suspension of disbelief' without abusing it, remaining for the most part intelligently thought out and compulsively watchable. Still, I can't help but notice aspects of this film that could have been better. As with nearly every film made (very few, if any, are perfect), there is usually something that could have been tweaked for a better result, and so one may wonder why bother addressing them all. It could prove to be tiresome. The reason I mention this with this particular film is that, with the themes presented here this film could have been OUTSTANDING. By failing to completely flesh out certain aspects of the film it remains `a good film', but the potential for utter greatness is glaring back at you with beady eyes.Alas, this film is quite good indeed.The film's focus is John Brennan, a good looking middle aged schoolteacher married to a beautiful young woman who has bore him a sweet young son. John's world is flipped on its head when his wife is accused of murdering her boss and sentenced to life in prison. When the years trickle by without any real hope of her being exonerated, John either has to accept the harsh reality that his homelife will never be back to normal, or he'll have to take matters into his own hands.While I'm not as `head over heals' for this film as the sites reviewer Bret Fetzer is (to call the supporting cast `outstanding' feels like a total stretch) I must admit that he covers some sound points in his review. The film is exciting and compelling from start to finish, and it is aided vastly by Crowe's remarkable acting chops. He digs deep, even deeper than the films script initially allows him to. He is always adding layers to the character, even when he isn't speaking. You can feel that this is no longer Russell Crowe but that he is, without doubt, John Brennan.The film's plot has a few holes, especially with the scenes that show John testing out his plans in broad daylight in front of passersby's and never being caught (well there is the one `scare' that goes by under-punished). Like I said, the film asks you to suspend disbelief, but it also makes sure to lather John's action with enough sound judgment and caution to cause you to believe he can pull this off.But, for me, the film should have slowed things down a tad. This definitely shows my personal preference when it comes to my movie viewing, but I've always preferred a film that was more `character driven' as apposed to `action driven', and while `The Next Three Days' certainly has the emotional core present, it doesn't explore it as richly as it could have had it elongated it's running time and fleshed out the in-between; filling in those spots between all the planning and executing of this `escape'. It flirts with this concept by introducing us to a single mother who takes a liking to John, but it shoots it down almost immediately, reducing her presence to a mere prop for John's plans.Alas, the film, for what it sets out to be, is very good. It is intriguing and exciting and moving. I'd certainly watch it again, and I have no reservations in recommending this to any and all who are fans of the genre or the star.

Mike (2012-05-18 13:06)

Academy Award Possibility

Outstanding movie. Starts off slow and confusing and just keeps getting better. Both Russell and Elizabeth Banks are my favorite actors. Russell does need to shed some pounds, however.

(2012-05-17 21:39)

Crowe does crow

Russell Crowe has a definite style and it comes through in this movie. Excellent from start to finish, it's the kind of movie that keeps you glued to the screen,

(2012-05-17 12:46)

Wonderful for an adult audience (under 20? don't bother)

This review is from: The Next Three Days (Amazon Instant Video) This is a well done story that has our hero realistically come up with several ideas to free his wife from jail or make money to finance their escape that don't work, but is so determined that he keeps at it until he hits on ideas that do. This makes his successes more sweet, and you can feel how close he is to missing his chance, messing up or running out of time, or getting caught by the police who get several lucky breaks and are close on his tail. The process he goes through is interesting and builds the story, but is very much not for the younger among us who demand hot action every three minutes or else! Liam N. and Brian D. are both excellent in small roles. This movie is powerful if you can put yourself in the situation, and I found it smart and inspiring.

(2012-05-16 18:24)

Solid unusual thriller focuses less on the escape and more on the challenges-distinctive European feel to thriller

In the unusual thriller "The Next Three Days" we follow a community college professor John Brennan(Russell Crowe)who is trying to break his innocent wife Lara (Elizabeth Banks) out of the county jail before she is transferred to a maximum security prison. It appears from all the evidence that Lara who had a fight with her boss before going out to dinner with her husband, killed her boss. Based on the French film "Pour Elle" (titled "Anything for Her" in the United States), the script has the pacing and structure of what one would expect from a French thriller which compliments the material. By the conclusion however it shifts into an American thriller in overdrive. That's not necessarily a bad thing but the script is awkwardly structured at times with underdeveloped characters. Made for a surprisingly low budget (about $35 million), the film has a distinctive European thriller feel until the last 30 minutes where it becomes a more conventional American style thriller. I don't believe trimming it down to 90 minutes as some critics have suggested would have helped the film since the film would lose so many elements of the subplots as to make it more conventional and almost incoherent.SPOILERS:The film is unusual in that it focuses mostly on the efforts of Crowe's character in learning (from a former prisoner who has written a book about escapes played by Liam Neeson in a marvelous cameo)the nuts and bolts of how to escape, obtaining the money to escape, passports, etc. and his frustration has he comes up against both dead ends and potential leads that could help him without exposing his plan. We learn very little about whether or not Lara did it until much later in the movie. What's also unique about the film is that his character never tells his wife what he is planning for fear that she'll say no or that her knowledge might make her look suspicious and alter her behavior in jail.The film written and directed by Paul Haggis is far from perfect though as the subplot involving Detective Quinn (Jason Beghe a marvelous character actor who bring as much depth as he can to an underdeveloped character)the man that arrested Lara and his suspicions that John is up to something involving his wife are not very well developed and seem almost like an after thought. Likewise when Detective Collero (the marvelous and under used Aisha Hinds)is called in on a robbery of a meth house that seems to point to John the subplot again seems clumsy and doesn't fit with the carefully constructed story. END OF SPOILERS:The last half hour of the film rolls along at a breathtaking pace but, again, there are some details that are unbelievable and unless you totally buy into the film and are swept away by the plot you may not buy it.What sells the film are the performances by Crowe, Banks, Beghe, Hinds (introduced late in the film)in performances much better than the script itself. The terrific Brian Dennehy is wasted in a small role as John's father. The DVD looks quite nice although the dark, moody lighting suggests that this would probably look better with sharper detail on Blu-ray.

benicio-vargas-85 (2012-05-16 12:46)

Breathtaking!

I can't say enough about this film! I haven't had an emotional rollercoaster like this in years. I haven't cared about characters on screenin years. And I'm not even necessarily the biggest Crowe fan. Butplease believe me, he is flawless in this. And you just year and yearnfor him and his wife to pull through. I won't mess up the ending foranyone because if you haven't seen it yet, I would be doing you a hugedisservice by even mentioning anything. But let me just say that thismovie fires on all pistons! Every moment is well planned and well shotand well acted. And Banks is both adorable and empathetic. Actuallyeveryone in the cast is truthful. I wasn't in love with Crash, but Ican respect that Haggis understands how to get great acting fromeveryone. The Midas touch. And he knows how to milk the turmoil onscreen. Best movie I've seen in two years!

Claudio Carvalho (2012-05-14 02:17)

A Popcorn Remake of the French Thriller "Pour Elle" (2008)

In Pittsburgh, the family man and community college teacher JohnBrennan (Russell Crowe) has his life turned upside down when hisbeloved wife Lara Brennan (Elizabeth Banks) is arrested, accused formurdering her boss, and sent to the Allegheny County Jail. Along threeyears, John raises their son Luke (Ty Simpkins) alone and appeals tothe court; however, the evidences against Lara are solid – the motive,since she had and argument with her boss; her fingerprints in themurder weapon, a fire extinguisher; blood stain in her coat; and awitness that saw her leaving the parking lot - and her lawyer exhaustsall the possible resources in justice. John believes in the innocenceof his wife and interviews a former escapee from prison to learn how toplan a prison break. Then he plots a scheme to release Lara and travelabroad with Luke and her. However, he needs documents for the family;an escape plan; and lots of money. When John is informed that Lara willbe transferred to the state prison within the next three days, he needsto raise a large amount and anticipate his strategy before thetransference.A couple of days ago I wrote:quote "The Next Three Days" is a good thriller that could have beenexcellent with minor modifications in the screenplay. The story of afamily man that loves and believes that his imprisoned wife is innocentand plans to rescue her from prison is engaging. But the correctguesses and the serendipity of Lieutenant Nabulsi (Lennie James) areirritating and Lara's reckless attitude on the road is so stupid thatalmost destroy the plot of this good blockbuster film. I enjoyed a lotseeing Brian Dennehy again after a long period. Last but not the least,the mesmerizing beauty of Olivia Wilde is awesome. My vote is seven.unquoteHowever, I have just watched the great French thriller "Pour Elle",which has the original story without the absurd modifications of thepopcorn American remake. It is amazing the lack of creation of thisformer successful American industry that insists in the remake of greatfilms. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "72 Horas" ("72 Hours")

EskimoChain (2012-05-13 20:11)

Acting out the Grind.. More People Need to See this Movie!

Coming in at Little more than two hours. "The next three days", movesfast and tough. My Hat is off to Mr.Crowe especially.He carries thismovie very well. His depiction of John Brennan is very good. A man inthe middle of a real mess of a life, The movie moves fast so before you know it, the nitty gritty reality ofthe situation is in effect very soon. It doesn't lag at all. Showing ata little over 2 hours, The Next three Days doesn't rest in showing thefull blown restlessness of the Two main character's development. Whichshows the talent from Crowe and actually more so in Elizabeth Banks.Who really stole the movie. Her scenes are short and sweet. Yet therange of emotion you see from her generates real mystery and sincerity.Sitting front row center I never really miss much in a Picture. I satpatiently grinding my teeth with eyes bulging from the strong realmagnetic draw I felt in this movie. Sipping the bitter sweet HI-c Pinklemonade which was how the Movie felt as well.I never like to give anything away in any of my reviews. Just thereactions I had felt watching it. It's hard to concentrate when let'ssay someone won't stop coughing, is on their cell phone, or better yethas a digital watch going off every 15 minutes clockwork. In the end Idon't feel I really missed anything watching this. It is hard for ashort attention span to really waver from this one. If I had it my way the Surroud sound would be as loud as possible, butHey .. you can't win them all. Anyway I come to understand that Paul Haggis (The writer and Director)Sure knows how to Create a honest, true to life motion picture. Gettingolder I can now sympathize more so with the plot and true to lifesituation. I don't know why the people who work for the LionsGate orwhoever is responsible for the release date, chose to put it out thesame day as the new "Harry Potter" was released. Unless yourChristopher Nolan, Spielbeg or maybe James Cameron you just can't matchup. Nonetheless it is a extremely tense and thrilling movie on it's own.Liam Neleson was fantastic as usual It would have been nice to give hima couple extra scenes, since his part of this film is a real strongspark which get's the film on the ground and running. Olivia Wilde Madeher mark as a good friend and model neighbor, so she was quiteimportant in this one. Lastly Ty Simpkins he did well too, as the Sonwho naive to world was yet very favorable to what he wants and knows isright. Once again I extract these things from the film as I see themtrying not to give anything away.All in all highly recommended. "See it twice and call me in themorning." Good work all around I don't what it takes out of RussellCrowe to make a movie like this and be in a real honest form, seeminglyon the verge of a nervous break the entire time. I really felt for theman. And I think you will too. So go out and see this movie. I guessafter Harry Potter, but I had seen it before.

quinnox-1 (2012-05-11 21:34)

Russell Crowe shines in crime thriller

I think this is Crowe's best movie that I have seen him in since thegreat "3:10 to Yuma" western.He does a brilliant job as an average middle class successful man whoslowly is driven to the edge because of his wife being in prison for acrime he thinks she did not commit. I think Crowe is one of the lastfew "real" movie stars around today and this movie just reinforces myopinion.The plan to get his wife out of prison is very clever, and he ismeticulous in planning every small detail of his ingenious plan. But ofcourse reality does not always go the way we expect, and itsfascinating to watch how he deals with unforeseen obstacles that arisein his path.I thought this movie was really gripping and had a suspenseful storythat you couldn't wait to see what would happen next, and RussellCrowe's amazing acting is the cement at the center of this fine movie.After a few disappointing movies in the recent past (Robin Hood is oneexample) Russell Crowe shows in this film he is one of the best andmost interesting actors in movies today, and I am glad to see him getback to this point.

Ringaile Radojevic (2012-05-11 07:44)

Not bad, but still not too good

I admit, me and my husband just chosen to watch this movie, because weare fans of Russel Crow. Remember - Gladiator, Wonderful mind and etc.Lots of nice and a must see movies with good script and good acting.So with our expectations this movie, was quite disappointing - justanother movie - not less, but not much. Just another story about theman loving a woman, that was wrongly accused of murder and finding away to be together again, when it seems that all hopes fail. A smallbunch of special effects at the second half of the movie, some chasingscenes and that is almost all.On the overall - not bad for the evening, but don't expect too much andit will be OK. It is just another movie, that you will forget after aweek or two.

tedg (2012-05-11 00:37)

Pregnant

I don't like Paul Haggis as a man. His work does nothing for me; I amnot altered or improved by experiencing his shapes.But I have to admit that the man knows how to tell a story. He engages,and those working with him — primarily Crowe — know how to collaboratewith his techniques. I first noticed this trait in Crowe in Gladiator.He is profoundly aware of the director's intent, and the filmmakingtechniques that support that intent but which are outside the usualscope of an actor's mission.This is essentially a film about fatherhood, though framed asaddressing justice (itself the father of revenge movies). Crowe seemsto ingest this intent as if every element of his work is addressed as achild. He is remarkable, with a remarkable ability to understand andcommunicate that knowledge. It is made explicit in a scene where hesits by the side of the highway with his wife after a near catastrophe,while we are out of breath. He and she are silent but a deepcommunication is made that recenters the film. I imagine this was thefirst scene written. Haggis is readable that way.It is also a film which engages by having every scene tell us lessinformation that we are used to, with just barely enough left out forus after a while to place our narrative listener not in the scene, butin the scene following. I have remarked that this is something Russelland Ridley seem to have invented and Haggis would have noticed. Crowesupports that here. I imagine the script girl being driven crazy.Haggis takes this "just enough omitted" technique beyond the slowlyunfolding parts of the film into the hectic chase at the end. We hardlynotice, but this editing of the exciting part is the by now common"Transformers" technique. What makes it seem more masterful is how thetechnique is integrated into the soul of the thing and not just adevice which originated in Michael Bay trying to save money on effects.If you are a parent or near being one, this will likely engage. Itwon't matter much. It won't transform you. But it may remind you a bitabout yourself.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

(2012-05-10 11:05)

Brilliant Movie

This is a brilliant thriller very emotional full of twists and turns with a great plot and a timely ending (it was clear and justified).Russel Crowe, Elizabeth Banks and Brian Dennehy are amazing in their roles.Read the other reviews.

(2012-05-09 06:25)

No Paint-by-Numbers Thriller

Watching the trailers for this film, I was sure it would be a hit. Then, it came and went without much fuss, and I didn't catch it till it showed up in our $1.50 theater. To my pleasant surprise, it is a strong film, with a good plot and some great acting. Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, and Olivia Wilde more than make up for Liam Neeson's laughably short cameo--laughable, since his name got a top billing."The Next Three Days" revolves around the murder indictment of John Brennan's (Crowe's) wife, played by Banks. All evidence points to her guilt in the death of her female boss, and she gets put away in the county jail, set in the middle of Pittsburgh. The Steel City is a great setting for a film. Director Paul Haggis uses it nicely, making the numerous bridges a part of the film's plot when Brennan, a normally meek-mannered community-college teacher, decides to help get his wife out of prison. Meanwhile, his wife is not fully on-board with his plans, and his son is still grieving the absence of his mother.In the theater, audience members gasped at a few of the surprises--one of which was psychologically believable, but still felt like a bait-and-switch tactic. The audience also gasped at one or two scenes that did not play out in the typical Americanized cinema fashion. Crowe's character is not the slick, former spy, superhero that we saw in Liam Neeson's "Taken." Instead, he uses his brain to make his plans, and when brawn comes into the picture he tends to bumble things. The audience seemed to want him to kick butt.Personally, I was thankful for an intelligent thriller that built slowly around characters and plot, unfolded logically but in unique ways, and ended with some emotional satisfaction. But this satisfaction does not come in the typical cinematic last-minute wrap-up, in which everyone gets their due and the good guys lay all their emotions on the table for us understand. There are some understated moments that leave us somewhat unsettled, even as things are tied together. Like Haggis's other films, this is not a paint-by-numbers genre flick. I, for one, appreciated that.

(2012-05-08 17:36)

La Fugitiva: A Bildungsmovie

Decent on suspense, somewhat shaky on probability.A woman gets mistaken for a killer (like good old Richard Kimble in the ancient TV series and later remake with Harrison Ford) and sentenced away for life (due to a combination of bad luck and bad police work). Unlike Kimble, she can't escape on her own, but needs her husband to get her out the illegal way, after all legal steps have failed. While with Kimble the main story was the near permanency of the flight, here it is the near endlessness of the preparation.Her husband is a teacher, and a decent man. He is as far away from crime and violence as he could have been. He is so innocent that he blames himself for his little boy's problems at school, rather than putting it on the deplorable fact that the mother is a convicted killer. So for him to learn how to free his wife from prison is a major learning process. It is also a project that requires considerable financial resources, and as the housing market is not looking so good just now, and he can't sell his house, he needs to figure out how to come by money in a shorter way.Escapism in its clearest double meaning.P.S. I would have given 4 stars due to good entertainment value, but I can't quite get over the plot sloppiness of the blood spatter on the back of the innocent woman's jacket. Any CSI afficionado can see at first glance that there is no way how such a spot could have been in that place, innocent or guilty.

Franks_Revenge (2012-05-07 21:17)

A fairly decent thriller.

This is quite possibly not the most realistic story you might belooking for, albeit it tries to be one ever since it's start untilalmost the middle. That's where it cracks up. The problem is so not theplot of the film, it's actually a rather believable situation. It'sabout a couple who just recently had a son who's 4 years old, they livehappily, until one day an unexpected event turns up. The mother, playedeffortlessly by Elizabeth Banks, is accused of murder. Fast forward 2years later, and we have a lone dad, played by Russel Crowe, living amiserable life with his only son, who is barely even capable of hugginghis mom after so much time of visiting her in prison. And that is that.Everyone, except the law, of course, believe she isn't guilty, and thefather has apparently been fighting in court for all this time. But,the moment comes where she isn't given the chance to appeal anymore,which means that she might as well spend the rest of her life in jail.This makes the father start crafting a plan. We, at first, think he'sbeing rational, and just trying to get his family back where itbelongs. Later, we realize this isn't true at all, unfortunately. Hecould be going insane, although the movie leaves that for us to decide,it never makes it clear. His actions are entirely questionable, to thepoint where we even doubt if he cares for his kid at all.Liam Neeson should have gotten a bigger role, if anything. He is castas an ex-convict who managed to escape 7 prisons some time before. Hehas no more than 5 minutes of screen time. Impressive, isn't it? Well,he basically gives out all the information the father needs to get hiswife out of prison, for a not-too-exorbitant amount of money. But do wehonestly believe a math teacher is capable of evading the police in asealed building such as a hospital while holding a gun? Do we evenbelieve he's capable of shooting one? The movie playfully rubs it inour faces at the end of the film, when one of the detectives asks:''You said this guy was a math teacher?'' It at least has a certainamount of unpredictability to it, and the characters break throughtheir shells showing a good number of layers to them.The most touching relationship would have to be the one of the fatherwith his own father, they barely spoke to each other before, yet attimes like this the only thing that's left is nothing but regret. BrianDennehy gives a good, subtle performance. Overall it's a formidableeffort at a crime drama, but it commits the sin of trying to end at waytoo high of a note, and dragging at times, with a little bit of paceproblems here and there. At least we can say it's not emotionallymanipulative, and doesn't touch upon morality more than it should.

steven-136-579716 (2012-05-07 08:20)

Great movie that went unnoticed for too long

This isn't a life changing movie. It's not an emotional roller-coasteror a big actioner. It is, however, a solid drama/thriller that finds away to forgo the sex and violence of today's films to tell a gripping,if not a bit rehashed, story. The characters are believable andsympathetic and the story is well written. I won't give them majorpoints for the pacing. At one point I put the movie on pause and wasshocked… and I mean shocked that there was still an hour left in thefilm. The film is 122 minutes long so it's neither short nor too long,but due to the pacing of the film it can feel a little longer at times.Let me just say that the time is needed. You cannot get vested in thesecharacters without the time to see the pain they are going through. Bythe end you will be happy with the way the story was handled and that 2hours which at points seemed long, will in hindsight, be well worth it.I write more about this film athttp://www.reddwarfmedia.com/review-of-the-next-three-days You can alsofind other reviews by me at http://www.reddwarfmedia.com

pappyro (2012-05-07 03:11)

Excitement turned out to be a deception

OK so let let me explain why I gave 1( awful). The movie is great. Isaw it it yesterday at the cinema and I was excited about it. But I wasvery deceived to find out later that it's a COPY-PASTE withinsignificant adds of the not so known and underrated french movie:POUR ELLE (For her) - 2008 !!!!! Unfortunately the French movie didn'thave much publicity and the success went to the American movie becauseof the famous actors like Russell Crowe and Elisabeth Banks. No offenseMr. Crowe and Mrs. Banks. You are my favorites anyway. Missing scenesin the French movie (I mentioned before as "insignificant adds"): -thefight with the sister in law at the beginning of the movie -the kid'spockets when passing the airport security were not filled with coins

(2012-05-06 10:49)

WHERE'S THE MONEY??

Starts out promisingly, but gradually gets more and more implausible. I was even willing to swallow the school teacher turned Rambo, but how did he get the enormous piles of cash he stole from the druggies to Venezuela? Thru airport security x-rays and baggage searches? Not bloody likely! Maybe he FedEx'd it on ahead!