Frank Perry (Cox, in a role written specifically for him) is a lifer and has long accepted that hell never see the outside again. A solid and phlegmatic character, he holds his own but neither attracts nor creates any trouble. Grief is far more likely to be started by the psychotic and drug-addled Tony (Macintosh), brother to the ruthless head con Rizza (Lewis, who reportedly based his character’s mannerisms on a mixture of Tony Blair and Chris Eubank). However, when Frank receives a rare letter telling him that his cherished daughter is near death following an overdose, he starts to think about escaping, and fast. Hes got a plan and he needs help. Soon a mismatched crew of all the talents comes together, with Lenny Drake (Fiennes), Brodie (Cunningham), Viv Batista (Jorge) and Cox’s new cellmate James Lacey (Cooper) each pitching in.

As is customary in the prison break genre, much attention is paid both to the themes of incarceration, freedom and the four Rs – redemption, release, regret and responsibility. Where The Escapist differs from other prison break movies is in its structure. Wyatt splices the preparations with the escape itself, cutting back and forth between the two (often with visually effective jump cuts).

This gives way for a final twist which is inspired by Ambrose Bierce’s story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.

Much of The Escapist was shot in Dublin’s Kilmainham Gaol, where the open terraces and communal staircases give the feeling of a ghoulish horseshoe-shaped cathedral overpopulated by human animals. A scene near the end is shot in the bascule chamber beneath Tower Bridge in London; coincidentally, exactly the same location where Wyatt’s brother-in-law Boris Starling set the climax of his 2006 novel Visibility.

Instant classic or genre retread? That’s the debate being waged (albeit quietly) by reviewers who first caught Rupert Wyatt’s feature debut at Sundance in 2008. IFC Films has been sheepish with their release, opting for a NYC-only opening this weekend, but we could be reading about the film’s box-office heist come Monday, April 6th.

Director: Rupert Wyatt
Stars: Brian Cox, Damian Lewis, Joseph Fiennes
Studio: IFC Films
Genre: Thriller

It was a summer night in 1957 in the quiet California desert town of Mojave. Local astronomer Ted Lewis (Eric McCormack) is making a special anniversary dinner for his wife Lana (Jody Thompson). A local diner waitress, Tammy (Jenni Baird) is in her trailer painting a horse scene while Dick (Andrew Dunbar) and Penny (Sarah Smyth) are necking at lovers lane. All are watching the light show from the annual August Perseid meteor showers when suddenly there is a blinding light and crash into the butte just outside of town. Ted attempts to investigate but Lana prevails in keeping him home at least until she falls asleep and he can sneak out to the crash site. In the meantime we see a gruesome alien creature (The Ghota) leaving the spaceship to slip away into the night. Soon after, a tall alien in a silvery metallic suit (Urp) appears from the ship. When Ted arrives at the butte he does not discover a smoking red-hot meteorite but rather a flying saucer imbedded in the hillside with its ramp down. He cautiously enters the saucer and is snatched up by the mysterious silver alien.

Townspeople soon start disappearing everywhere and the only remnant at the scene is a puddle of gurgling mud. Ted Lewis, having been body snatched by Urp, is now on the trail of the murderous Ghota. Urp, is actually a galactic Federal Marshal from another planet who was transporting the Ghota when his saucer crashed landed and the Ghota escaped. He needs to find and recapture the creature before it begins to divide or it will multiply exponentially until all life is consumed on planet Earth. After unsuccessfully trying to convince Lana to help him find the Ghota, Urp meets Tammy on the highway when she offers him a lift. Urp tries his best to convince Tammy of his plight and to help him track down the Ghota. But when they stop at an old derelicts cabin and find only a mud puddle of human remains, Tammy can take no more of the crazy talk and circumstances and leaves him in a huff.

The teens, Dick & Penny, are on their own track encountering first the Ghota and then the saucer, trying to convince anyone to believe them. Finally they tell their story in the diner to Tammy who now realizes that Urp was telling her the truth. She tries to convey this to the temporary police chief (Dan Lauria) who still refuses to believe there is any real threat, much less from outer space. That is until later when his senior deputy (Robert Patrick) is also dissolved by the Ghota.

The Ghota is now rampaging through the town dissolving people, cops (and even children) at will. Tammy encounters the Ghota herself while she is closing the diner and makes a narrow escape. Then comes the big scene in the local movie theater where Dick, Penny and Cody (Aaron Brooks) are watching the original 1950s version of The Blob. The Ghota appears at the rear of the theater and begins picking off its prey. All the patrons flee the theater except the teens who are trapped and now stalked by the Ghota. All seems hopeless until Tammy arrives and tries to help, only to become trapped herself with the teens when the Ghotas divided twin suddenly materializes.

Alien Trespass … read more »

In the spring of 1936, three residents of “the Faubourg,” a working class neighborhood north of Paris, look to produce a musical that will bring back to life their cherished local theater.

Christophe Barratier was last seen in U.S. theaters with the Oscar-nominated The Chorus, and he returns with another musical in a time when Stateside audiences have demonstrated their hunger for all things French. (Isn’t it time to ramp up the marketing for this one, though?) Chorus members Kad Merad and Gérard Jugnot star alongside Clovis Cornillac, but I hear Nora Arnezeder nearly outshines their collective talent.

Rated PG-13 for some sexuality and nudity, violence and brief language.

Director: Christophe Barratier
Stars: Gérard Jugnot, Clovis Cornillac, Kad Merad
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Release Date: 24 September 2008 (Belgium)
Genre: Drama

Mattress salesman Brian Weathersby (Dano) finds his plan to adopt a Chinese baby augmented by the arrival of a young woman, Happy (Deschanel), who comes into his workplaces, falls asleep on one of the beds, and starts to affect his life upon waking up.

“Wait, why haven’t I heard about this movie?” If you are asking yourself this question, which I was about six weeks before its release, perhaps you’ll want to read this review from Gigantic’s premiere at the Toronto Film Festival last year. Still, despite the number of so-so reviews, most people indicate the story picks up speed in its second act, and the chemistry between Dano (who also produces here) and Deschanel is undeniable — though perhaps Zooey might want to pick up on the fact that she’s becoming known as “the It Girl who can save a bad film”? Not to be a jerk, but I think it’s a bit shady to release this film right before the better-received (500) Days of Summer.

Rated R for language, some sexual content and violence.

Director: Matt Aselton
Stars: Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman
Studio: First Independent Pictures
Release Date: 26 June 2009 (UK)
Genre: Comedy, Romance

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker reteam for the ultimate chapter of the franchise built on speed — “Fast and Furious.” Heading back to the streets where it all began, they rejoin Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster to blast muscle, tuner and exotic cars across Los Angeles and floor through the Mexican desert in the new high-octane action-thriller.

When a crime brings them back to L.A., fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto (Diesel) reignites his feud with agent Brian O’Conner (Walker). But as they are forced to confront a shared enemy, Dom and Brian must give in to an uncertain new trust if they hope to out manuever him. And from convoy heists to precision tunnel crawls across international lines, two men will find the best way to get revenge: push the limits of what’s possible behind the wheel.

No doubt that Justin Lin was eager to return to the director’s chair after shaking the dust off of this franchise back in ‘06, and we can only imagine that Diesel, Walker, Rodriguez, and Brewster caused zero problems during their respective negotiations to reprise the characters that first brought them true fame (or something like it). One great thing: Lin has delivered a teaser trailer (located above) that is better than most full-fledged action sequences in recent memory. Too bad this one was detoured off the summer release calendar, though …

Rated PG-13 for for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual content, language and drug references.

Director: Justin Lin
Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez
Studio: Universal Pictures
Release Date: 3 April 2009 (USA)
Genre: Action