a filmblog

Under discussion:

Taken  (2009)

Hesitant about allowing his teenage daughter to travel to Paris with a friend, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) reluctantly agrees to let her go in a bid to strengthen their limited relationship. Ecstatic, Kim (Maggie Grace) and her friend Amanda arrive in France and are immediately wrangled in by a charming young Frenchmen. Hoping to make the best of their vacation, they make plans to meet up with him later after they have settled in their lush accommodations. However, their simple trip is shattered by a burst through the door and a group of men determined to capture them. Thus begins the whirlwind that is Taken and the fast-paced search for Kim by her ever determined father. Although it is a rather straightforward premise and packed with the usual shoot-outs and bloody fisticuffs, Taken maintains a firm hold of reality and keeps the audiences heart focused on the mission of a father desperately trying to rescue his only daughter. Adequate action packed fun for a humdrum Friday night.

Under discussion:

Humboldt County  (2008)

Inexplicably drawn to an outspoken musician (Fairuza Balk), a faltering medical student (Jeremy Strong) is seemingly guided by the powers that be to escape the world he knows and follow her to an isolated glade in Northern California. Sheepish and straight-laced, Peter soon warms to the community of vagabonds, hippies and other bohemian types that reside in the eccentric modern commune that he now finds himself trapped. Cut off from the life he once knew and the overbearing father he reluctantly obeyed, Peter's perceptions of his own life and future are soon skewed as he becomes tied to his newfound family and embarks on a rigorous adventure helping them harvest an illegal crop of marijuana. A light-hearted, soul searching dramatic comedy laden with enough emotion to make anyone want to plan a trip to Humboldt County.

Under discussion:

Bride Wars  (2009)

When the omniscient wedding planner (Candice Bergen) begins her droll narration of the film, the audience knows they are in for a truly tainted treat. Examining the deprave and ultimately ludicrous nature of modern day weddings, Bride Wars follows two lifelong friends, Liv (Kate Hudson) and Emma (Anne Hathaway), as they find themselves engaged at the same time and competing to one up the other as their nuptials have been accidentally scheduled for the exact same time and place. As the severity of the pranks pulled on one another increases, the hilarity takes heed and vanishes until all that remains is a rather trite attempt at conveying the boring power of true friendship. Has it's moments (all of which were carefully compiled for the film's trailer) but eventually just falls to pieces.