matt-thornton.net

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You're reading a really old version of matt-thornton's website. For example, if you're looking at the movie reviews... you'll notice that none of them are of recent films. Indeed, I leave them here for posterity's sake, but I doubt very much that they'll get updated anytime soon. So have a giggle.

You might, if you're lucky, find something recent from Matt at his blog matt's debates. Kernow bys vyken.

Proof Of Life

the one line review:

gritty love flick with guns

the overview

I feel like I start a lot of my reviews with "I love" . I seem to say it a lot. Amy Smart, Jennifer Love Hewitt... and so on. I definitely say it with Meg Ryan. But seriously - if I ever meant it - this time, I mean it. I adore Meg Ryan. God damn. She's amazing. So pretty much any film with her in, is gonna get a thumbs up from me.

the plot:

Meg Ryan lives in Africa with her husband, some tree-hugging wannabe helper who's building a reservoir for the locals which actually happens to enable access for a pipeline. When he gets kidnapped by guerilla forces, the insurance company send in Russell Crowe as the ransom negotiator. Eventually he has to go in and bust the husband out. But not before we've learnt a bit about their respective lives, and they inevitably make that "connection".

the verdict:

The plot summary above makes it sound crap. It's hard to describe. What makes this film is the way it accurately portrays the emotion of the situation. I can only imagine, having never been kidnapped, nor been in a situation where a loved one has. But in a similar feel to Angelina Jolie's Out of Africa, it has a gritty substance to it, the pain, angst and fear is really captured well. You see both sides of the story - Meg and Russ in the house trying to deal with the situation, whilst the hubby is dragged across beautiful (and deadly) African wilderness as the guerilla's prisoner.

The film is fairly inevitable, and the ending is suitable and goes the way it "should" rather than what you might necessarily expect. In principle, I'm against Russell Crowe. I'm not sure why, I jus am. Maybe because of the things I've seen or heard him do or say - he seems like a bit of an arrogant cock. But I have to admit, he's made some good films, and this is no exception.

As a Saturday evening thinker - this is worth a crack.