Child abduction is a common theme in Hollywood fare. Prisoners (2013), which I viewed last night courtesy of Netflix, captures a parent's ultimate nightmare effectively. In this instance, the children of two families are kidnapped together. The leads, Hugh Jackman, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard and Viola Davis are first rate, as are Jake Gyllenhaal as the detective and Amy Ryan as the mother of the prime suspect. Jackman's character, and his intense portrayal, is the most distinguishing feature of the film. I was riveted, despite its long running time of 2:33. Unfortunately, it wasn't close captioned, so several plot points escaped me. In reading the contributors comments at IMDb, one man cited at least 15 flaws, some in logic, others in police procedure, which indicates he may have experience in law enforcement. Several had occurred to me, but only one hurt the film. It would be a spoiler to mention it, and it is not reason enough to avoid this fine drama. A consensus of 454 rate it 8.1 of ten, which is very high at this site. I don't recall any of the movies I've researched there scoring more than 8.5. Although it was not a blockbuster in theaters, it was a commercial success, produced for 46 million, earning 61 in the U.S. alone. It was directed by Denis Villeneuve, a Canadian, who also did Incendies (2010), which I really liked. Aaron Guzikowski, whose work I was unfamiliar with, did the screenplay. On a scale of five, I rate Prisoners 3.75. The title refers more to the adults, including the fiends, than the children, whose ordeal is left, thankfully, largely to the imagination. Jackman's character especially, a survivalist and fanatic about protecting his family, is trapped by his traits. The closing scene is awesome.
It was banner day for the floating book shop. Posting my location on Facebook paid off, as I was visited by one of my former charges and his lovely bride. Nicky was a TE on the 1977 team at Lafayette. He also participated in the two-hand touch games we played on Sundays at P.S. 281 for many years. His nickname was Mopar, the Dodge accessories term, which everyone pronounced Moba. At least that's how it sounded to my ear. These days he's in the soft ware business. His daughters are college graduates. He was kind enough to purchase Killing, and to thank me for having coached him back in the day. Thank you, sir, it was my privilege. Thanks also to Sue, to whom I owed a thank you CD for her purchase of Exchanges many months ago. She purchased the rest of the oldies set of five. My thanks also to the others who made music and literature purchases.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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