Taken took first place this past weekend for a reason

New action adventure film Taken has wrestled the number one spot at the U.S. box office from Kevin James' comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop, taking in $24.6 million in its opening weekend (31Jan/01Feb09). The thriller, starring Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace, nabbed the prize after James scored two weeks at the top spot with his role as an overzealous security guard, with takings of $14 million in his film's third week.


20th Century Fox’s “Taken” posted the second best Superbowl weekend debut behind only “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour” with an estimated $24.6 million from 3,183 theatres. Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace, Xander Berkeley, Jon Gries and Katie Cassidy star in the Pierre Morel (“District B13,” “From Paris with Love”) helmed film based on the writing by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen (“Transporter” series and “The Fifth Element”).

This is a realistically brutal film about a father hunting down those who kidnapped his daughter for sale in a white slavery ring. Liam Neeson shows both his character's past as a spy and concealed rage at the same time. Liam Neeson does a very solid job, having been trained by a former member of the SAS, at handling the physicality of the role. Taken is by far the most adrenaline pumping, action packed thriller I've seen in awhile. Taken stars Liam Neeson as Brian Mills an ex-black op's agent who while trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter allows her to go to Paris for some fun and relaxation away from home. But as soon as they get there she is kidnapped by a group of men who are involved in human trafficking. Now Brian has less than 48 hours to find her or she's gone forever. Taken is one of the most well made movies to come out this year, it's an amazing thrill ride that you cant miss. I very highly recommend this movie.


Maggie Grace, played Neeson's daughter in the film and she did an outstanding job. She plays a very sheltered 17 year old who is wanting to have that freedom that most teenage girls want to have. She is extremely naive and doesn't realize that bad things can in fact happen to young women in our world. In my opinion she is a vastly underrated talent!! She became more widely known while she stared on ABC's hit show LOST while playing the role of Shannon Rutherford.


The direction is solid on this film. The flash and spin of a car chase is handled, almost mimicked, like Paul Greengrass handled the Bourne films. This film is steeped in realism and the visuals kept in that framework.


Make no mistake, there is a point to this film other than "the end justifies the means" or "a father needs to save his little girl". It also sheds light on the very real threat of young women traveling overseas who get taken for white slavery rings. Do the research on this topic and you may find jarring reports and articles on the subject. This is a very telling and appropriate film for a topic such as this.


This is definitely a must see movie! We, as people in the US, need to see this film to help vent our frustrations on where things are with this country. Call it sympathetic aggression relief if you will. The need to exult at someone doing all that is necessary to save someone they love, someone they would die for, is great right now.


My final review: While I admit to getting in at a discount rate due to using my student ID at the theater I saw the film at, I would pay full price to see this film. A matinee showing is an exceptional deal for this movie. This is not a "must wait for the dollar theater to see it" type of film unless you are financially strapped. I would definitely go and see this movie again and pay full price, that's how good it really was!


The critics:

I am still trying to figure out how critics get hired? This movie is another reason why I don't listen to critics because if I did, I probably wouldn't see it. The average grade for this movie by the critics is a C which is outrageous. This movie has a little bit of everything from action to drama. The acting is great as well. I think a lot of people take for granted how good of an actor Neeson is. I wish these "critics" would give good movies good grades. Don't take my word for it, go see Taken.

Seven Pounds.....Two Thumbs Up!!

The holiday box office season is generally a time for light-hearted, star-driven films that keep audiences engaged. After all, it is tough in this economic climate and with so few days before Christmas to take two hours out of your day to sit in a theater and really become involved in the characters on screen, even if the dialogue is upbeat and the main squeeze is totally that one guy from that one movie. The new Will Smith film Seven Pounds does an wonderful job of two of these key elements, avoiding the easy-to-swallow storyline in favor of meatier pieces for the audience to chew on.


In Seven Pounds, Academy Award nominee Will Smith reunites with the directors and producers of The Pursuit of Happyness. Will Smith stars as Ben Thomas, a suicidal IRS agent. Smith described the reason he took on the role:“Usually with the films that I make there are ideas that I connect to, but lately I've been dealing with the bittersweet in life because it feels more natural. You don't ever get it really the way you want in life. That really fascinates me. As an actor, there are certain parts of a character that you create, and you train yourself to have those reactions and then it becomes hard to stop them when the role is over. You have to retrain yourself. My character in this film is like hot grits. You know you can't shake them off and when you do, it hurts.”

Smith felt that the character needed to be a quiet and rather introverted person who doesn't burn himself out at every possible instance. The character was a contrast to Smith's previous characters, and Smith felt that director Gabriele Muccino's trust in him helped him relax and avoid overextending himself. Smith acknowledged Seven Pounds as a drama film, but he saw it as more of a love story.

Also in the film are Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Barry Pepper, Robinne Lee and Michael Ealy. Will Smith handpicked Ealy for the role of the main character's brother. Connor Cruise, the 13-year-old son of actor Tom Cruise and actress Nicole Kidman, was cast in his first role as a younger version of Ben Thomas. Smith's potrayal of Ben Thomas , an IRS agent with a definite (if undisclosed) agenda was outstanding. Through cuts and jumps, we begin to piece together the back story of what exactly has brought Ben to such a place in his life, where his surroundings are in shambles and he relies on the crispness of a single suit and some IRS paperwork to get by. We also come to quickly see that Ben’s actions are very specific, and mitigated on a single element of atonement. For what, it’s unclear. But not unclear in that smokey art-house way where details are relegated to the second string while general themes duke it out on screen. Here the information is never lost, it is simply withheld, to be stored away like weight. And it is precisely when the action and plot (and Smith himself) truly begin to run that we see the energy of these previous scenes play out so beautifully.


While Seven Pounds is not a mystery, nor does it rely too heavily on the final smoke-and-mirrors conceit of typical ‘gotcha’ film making, there is a certain level of secrecy that should be maintained in order to keep the film as fresh as it deserves to be. With that being said, it is abundantly clear that Ben’s specific actions are directed from the outset at seven total strangers, all of whom are experiencing some type of major personal failure. Ben, as the philanthropic quiet type, knows (and shows) that it is well within his abilities to help these people in life-changing ways; provided they are truly deserving. As the list becomes finalized and his relationship with one of the seven - the heart-afflicted Emily, played superbly by Rosario Dawson - grows to exceed his expectations and his guidelines, Ben must work to find a solution that will release him from the emotional hell he lives in, and will affect these seven forever.

The greatest successes of Seven Pounds come from both the writing and acting, which is to say the best thing about cereal is the milk and the cereal. In this case, newcomer Grant Nieporte delivers a script that is bold enough to buck the traditional holiday sensibilities, but not so much as to alienate its audiences either. There are many archetypes to be relied on (but not overused), including the concerned best friend, the troublesome love interest, and that one looming moment of ultimate decision making. Most noticeably, Nieporte and director Gabriele Muccino have combined to create a visual story line that is as important as the plot itself. Because of the quick visual transitions in time and the swift-but-limited interaction with all of the major players so early on in the film, Seven Pounds is able to dedicate itself to stronger setups that pay absolute dividends by the end.


The second strong element, acting, should almost be considered as expected at this point. By rejoining with the crew behind The Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith really gives himself the chance to carry on the troubled-but-motivated role he is able to work so successfully. And as a producer of the film, you can bet your bottom dollar he had a real stake in using every second of screen time to make the film so prosperous. With a supporting cast superbly mastered by Rosario Dawson and the under-utilized Woody Harrelson, the pieces really begin to fall into place for Seven Pounds.

Some early criticisms of the film have claimed that it is too self-centered and dreary to survive as a holiday piece, but the argument can and should be made that there is all the more reason to show the film the weekend before Christmas. When the box office line up gets filled with animated animals and folks wait in line for three hours to get an XBox, maybe it is the perfect time to release Seven Pounds. In this time, and in this season, a tale about redemption and sacrifice sounds like exactly what we need. If you haven't taken the time to go see the movie Seven Pounds you won't want to miss this opportunity and I personally don't think you will be disappointed by this film either. This is the type of movie that I could watch more than once and still probably notice something that I didn't before. I give this movie two thumbs up and on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest this movie gets a 10+ from me!