| News Items: |
| Headlines |
| News Briefs |
| Stories |
| Movies |
| Word To Life |
| Special Items: |
| Vatican |
| Election 2004 |
| Africa |
| Charter update |
| John Jay study |
| Other Items: |
| Client Area |
| Links |
| Archives: |
| Origins |
| Movie Review |
|
Hostage By Harry Forbes Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) --"Hostage" (Miramax) is a taut -- if frequently violent -- thriller about a former hostage negotiator, Jeff Talley (Bruce Willis), who relocates to a small town and becomes police chief after a rescue attempt goes tragically awry in the movie's opening scenes. But Talley soon finds himself back in action when the affluent Walter Smith (Kevin Pollak) and his children are taken captive by three teenage hoodlums. The interesting twist here is that Smith himself turns out to have criminal ties. (There's a sly industry inside joke here in that Smith appears to be trafficking in pirated DVDs.) Though Talley tries to extricate himself from the action as the memories of his past failures are too painful, he finds he must remain on the case as his own wife and daughter are suddenly taken hostage by unknown forces out to get their hands on something valuable from Smith's residence. Director Florent Siri keeps up the unrelenting tension, which helps obscure some plot improbabilities (of which there are several). Willis gives a convincingly anguished performance, and Ben Foster -- best known as Claire's once-boyfriend on HBO's "Six Feet Under" -- is scarily effective as the worst of the teens, with a scarily sadistic edge. Alexandre Desplat has supplied a pulsating background score that adds much to mood, as does the clever opening credit sequence. The sharp photography and interesting production design are further pluses. The film contains much rough and crude language, gunfire, violence with attendant blood, a raging fire and flaming bodies, a sadistic villain, some suggestive gestures and drug use. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. - - - Forbes is director of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. END Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed. CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250 |
| FIND A MOVIE |
|
Looking for a movie review? |