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 »

Sayra (Gaitan), a Honduran teenager, and Willy (Flores), a recent recruit in the Mara Salvatrucha gang, both dream of better lives for themselves, and a fateful event will find the two strangers united on a freight train bound for the U.S., where the hope for new lives await.

Cary Fukunaga’s feature debut won two Sundance awards, and now the director has an equal number of deals in place at Focus Features/Universal Pictures. Next up, however, looks to be his adaptation of the African-child soldier novel Beasts of No Nation. I admire Fukunaga’s multinational aspirations; he is perhaps the new Fernando Meirelles.

Rated R for violence, language and some sexual content.

Director: Cary Fukunaga
Stars: Paulina Gaitan
Studio: Focus Features
Genre: Thriller

A pair of corporate spies (Owen and Roberts) who share a steamy past hook up to pull off the ultimate con job on their respective bosses — but can they learn to truly love and trust one another?

Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) is back to write, direct, and confuse with another crime/suspense story, but this time there’s some lovemaking to be had. I’m all phew for many reasons: Tom Wilkinson’s has reunited with Gilroy for another supporting role; Paul Giamatti replaced Billy Bob Thornton as one of the warring CEOs; we finally get to see what Ocean’s 11 could have been like if Tess were allowed to be more than wallpaper; Clive Owen takes a break from dark/stressful thrillers to deliver some mystery and cheer. But what this project could really use? A title change.

Rated PG-13 for language and some sexual content.

Director: Tony Gilroy
Stars: Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Tom Wilkinson
Studio: Universal Pictures
Release Date: 20 March 2009 (USA)
Genre: Crime | Thriller

A teacher (Cage) opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son’s elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions — some that have already occurred and others that are about to — that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.

Great premise, but what’s with the numbers game, didn’t The Number 23 make such a story device a dicey proposition for a while? Not that I’m deplaned from Alex Proyas’s sci-fi trips, but even he seemed disinterested in his new movie when he presented a first look at Comic-Con this year (sans Nic Cage, who lately seems as disinterested in promoting any of his movies). I’m still giving this one a shot, however, since the trailer is effective, please it’s cool to see what Proyas can do with a budget much smaller than, say, I, Robot’s.

Rated PG-13 for disaster sequences, disturbing images and brief strong language.

Director: Alex Proyas
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Chandler Canterbury, Rose Byrne
Studio: Summit Entertainment
Release Date: 20 March 2009 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Mystery | Thriller