Well, I waited long enough for this one--there's something about 'minimalist' cinema that appeals to me, and I wanted to see if it was true that ninety minutes of Ryan Reynolds in a box would hold my attention as much as people said it would.
It did.
You know the premise--Reynolds is Paul Conroy, an American truck driver (not a soldier) in Iraq 2006 who awakens from an ambush to find himself buried alive, with only a cellphone for company. The entire film consists of his various communications with the outside world as he attempts to obtain either rescue or the ransom demanded by his abductor.
There's barely enough room to maneuver around, but between the cellphone conversations and some incoming videos, there's constant dialogue and "action" as such... the camerawork is appropriately stifling and the tension is maintained throughout. Meantime, you experience not only suspense but utter, cynical disgust as it becomes clear what the string pullers do and do NOT want from this situation.
I won't tell you how it turns out. Sure, you can find the spoilers on line if you really want them, but you really ought to try and subject yourself to BURIED in its undiluted form... preferably in a dark, tiny screening room...
Meantime, this gives me an excuse to dress down an item I caught on-demand a while back... after glowing genre press praise for AFTER.LIFE (well, from some sources, anyway), I was curious enough to see what this "is Christina Ricci dead or alive?" item was really all about.
Christina Ricci endures an auto accident after an argument with her boyfriend (Justin Long). She wakes up on the slab of mortician Liam Neeson. He says that she's already dead--he has the rare gift of communication, etc. But he might also be a psycho who takes it upon himself who should be allowed to live and who ought to be dead. In either case, he's 'dead' set on burying her.
Here's the thing. Remember when I saw THE SIXTH SENSE and guessed the ending in the first ten minutes? It didn't bother me a bit--the film was still compelling and didn't hinge on the final revelation. Here, I took the opposite tactic--I took for granted that Neeson was a psycho and that Ricci was still alive... because virtually the ENTIRE movie consists of Ricci trying to contact people from the living world (or people trying to see HER) and Neeson stopping her (or them) at the last second--every time. On and on and ON like this. Oh, there are plenty of surreal 'dream' sequences and hallucinations which are apparently supposed to make you wonder... but none of them worked. As for Neeson's motivation? I don't remember where I SAW something similar recently... yeah, it's "well acted," but so WHAT?
Look. Some people are still determined to debate this one. I don't see the point. If you want to take it that she's dead, then it's nothing we haven't seen a million times since CARNIVAL OF SOULS. And if you want to take it that she's alive, then it's a cliche-fest that STILL give syou nothing you haven't seen a million times. Oh, and if it's strictly the anatomy of Ms. Ricci that tempts you, just watch BLACK SNAKE MOAN again. At least that one's a GOOD movie.
Buried... After.Life
Moderator: Chris Slack
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Chris Slack
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Re: Buried... After.Life
Thanks Remo. I thought that "Buried" seemed like an interesting enough concept but was wondering if a full length film could keep up it's pace in the limited confines of the "set." Definitely going to check it out.
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Chris Slack
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Re: Buried... After.Life
"Buried" was pretty darn good, thanks for the heads up. Easily the best performance I have seen from Ryan Reynolds.
Re: Buried... After.Life
Especially after the way I despised him in BLADE: TRINITY... now I think he deserves an Oscar!Chris Slack wrote:"Buried" was pretty darn good, thanks for the heads up. Easily the best performance I have seen from Ryan Reynolds.
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Chris Slack
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Re: Buried... After.Life
Hahah. Well, that movie was an abomination as a whole, Reynolds only made it worse...Remo D wrote:Especially after the way I despised him in BLADE: TRINITY... now I think he deserves an Oscar!Chris Slack wrote:"Buried" was pretty darn good, thanks for the heads up. Easily the best performance I have seen from Ryan Reynolds.
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Darth Tanner
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Re: Buried... After.Life
Chris Slack wrote:Hahah. Well, that movie was an abomination as a whole, Reynolds only made it worse...Remo D wrote:Especially after the way I despised him in BLADE: TRINITY... now I think he deserves an Oscar!Chris Slack wrote:"Buried" was pretty darn good, thanks for the heads up. Easily the best performance I have seen from Ryan Reynolds.
Oh man...I watched BLADE: TRINITY recently for the first time since I saw it in theatre and it was even worse than I remembered. It actually made JAWS: THE REVENGE look like a masterpiece:) I'm not the biggest Reynolds fan either, but I thought he was at least halfway decent in WOLVERINE and THE AMITYVILLE HORROR remake. I just hope he doesn't screw it up as the GREEN LANTERN.
As for BURIED, I'll definitely see it on DVD when it comes out (which shouldn't be too much longer).