I recently wrote a review on 'Hostage' for an English assessment. Here's the finished product.
Hostage is a crime thriller released in 2005. The movie is directed by Florent-Emilio Siri and is an adaptation of Robert Crais's novel. The main star is Bruce Willis accompanied by Kevin Pollack, Jimmy Bennett, Michelle Horn, Ben Foster, Jonathan Tucker and Marshall Allman. Each character is so unique and portrayed in a very believable manner, with the coarse language heightening the intensity of the situation. Foreshadowing has been written into the plot and allows for many twists and turns that leave you taken aback.
Los Angeles LAPD negotiator Jeff Talley (Willis), is shattered by an unsuccessful hostage situation which results in him taking a job as Chief of Police in a small town in California with a low crime rate, however the past has come back to haunt him as three delinquent teenagers take a family hostage, only intending to steal their car. What the three young teenagers do not realize is that they are walking into a much larger situation that they definitely have not planned for. The youngest of the three, Kevin(Allman) is the one being dragged into it all; he does not want to take any part in it but his older brother Dennis (Tucker) gets him to do his dirty work while he figures out a plan to get them all out of this situation with a little extra cash on the side. The menacing character that is Mars (Foster) and his unpredictable nature leads to events that quickly spiral out of control. As the hostage situation progresses into the night, things turn for the worse for Chief Talley which is certainly not expected.
The film score for Hostage is created by Alexandre Desplat featuring the London Symphony Orchestra. There is a feeling of eerie suspense which is done by using discordant strings, piano, guitar, recorder, electronic cello and his daughter's haunting vocals which occur throughout the film. Since the majority of the film is shot at night, Florent- Emilio Siri uses backlighting and shadowing which creates very atmospheric scenes. The extreme long shot used when the three teenagers are following the family home emphasizes just how secluded the location is. Close up shots intensify the emotions and reactions of the characters while the full shots allow us viewers to read the characters body language. One of the main special effects they use for this film is flames for the raging fire. Costumes and make-up are made to portray very believable characters. The blood, the bloodied clothes, the sweat and tears and the police uniforms convey a sense of reality.
Since Florent- Emilio Siri has only directed five other projects (one being a video game) which are all in French it is hard to compare Hostage to them, although Doug Richardson who wrote the screenplay for Hostage has worked with Bruce Willis before. Looking at Doug's filmography it clearly shows that he likes to work on Action/Thriller and Action/Comedy movies. Some movies similar to Hostage in the way that the main character/s is held captive are Firewall, The Call, Red Eye and Disturbia. Florent and his team of directors, writers and actors are very successful with this movie; it is extremely difficult to find any fault with it. Thriller fans everywhere must think along the same lines since it has accumulated over $77 million.
Hostage is a dark, intense, edge of your seat thriller that will leave you guessing till the very end. The cast is outstanding, the plot is original and is just downright one of Bruce Willis's best performances. This movie is recommended to movie-goers aged 15 or over, thriller fans or not, who will appreciate what this dark drama has to offer. The rating this movie is going to receive is 5 stars. This is a must see!
Hostage is a crime thriller released in 2005. The movie is directed by Florent-Emilio Siri and is an adaptation of Robert Crais's novel. The main star is Bruce Willis accompanied by Kevin Pollack, Jimmy Bennett, Michelle Horn, Ben Foster, Jonathan Tucker and Marshall Allman. Each character is so unique and portrayed in a very believable manner, with the coarse language heightening the intensity of the situation. Foreshadowing has been written into the plot and allows for many twists and turns that leave you taken aback.
Los Angeles LAPD negotiator Jeff Talley (Willis), is shattered by an unsuccessful hostage situation which results in him taking a job as Chief of Police in a small town in California with a low crime rate, however the past has come back to haunt him as three delinquent teenagers take a family hostage, only intending to steal their car. What the three young teenagers do not realize is that they are walking into a much larger situation that they definitely have not planned for. The youngest of the three, Kevin(Allman) is the one being dragged into it all; he does not want to take any part in it but his older brother Dennis (Tucker) gets him to do his dirty work while he figures out a plan to get them all out of this situation with a little extra cash on the side. The menacing character that is Mars (Foster) and his unpredictable nature leads to events that quickly spiral out of control. As the hostage situation progresses into the night, things turn for the worse for Chief Talley which is certainly not expected.
The film score for Hostage is created by Alexandre Desplat featuring the London Symphony Orchestra. There is a feeling of eerie suspense which is done by using discordant strings, piano, guitar, recorder, electronic cello and his daughter's haunting vocals which occur throughout the film. Since the majority of the film is shot at night, Florent- Emilio Siri uses backlighting and shadowing which creates very atmospheric scenes. The extreme long shot used when the three teenagers are following the family home emphasizes just how secluded the location is. Close up shots intensify the emotions and reactions of the characters while the full shots allow us viewers to read the characters body language. One of the main special effects they use for this film is flames for the raging fire. Costumes and make-up are made to portray very believable characters. The blood, the bloodied clothes, the sweat and tears and the police uniforms convey a sense of reality.
Since Florent- Emilio Siri has only directed five other projects (one being a video game) which are all in French it is hard to compare Hostage to them, although Doug Richardson who wrote the screenplay for Hostage has worked with Bruce Willis before. Looking at Doug's filmography it clearly shows that he likes to work on Action/Thriller and Action/Comedy movies. Some movies similar to Hostage in the way that the main character/s is held captive are Firewall, The Call, Red Eye and Disturbia. Florent and his team of directors, writers and actors are very successful with this movie; it is extremely difficult to find any fault with it. Thriller fans everywhere must think along the same lines since it has accumulated over $77 million.
Hostage is a dark, intense, edge of your seat thriller that will leave you guessing till the very end. The cast is outstanding, the plot is original and is just downright one of Bruce Willis's best performances. This movie is recommended to movie-goers aged 15 or over, thriller fans or not, who will appreciate what this dark drama has to offer. The rating this movie is going to receive is 5 stars. This is a must see!