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Proof of Life

Proof of Life

List Price: $12.98
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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: So-so
Review: This movie looked really good and it was a good movie, but it could of had more to it. It was good but its a take it or leave it kind of movie.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: This film is more effective than a sleeping pill
Review: Set in a small Latin American country where guerilla activity and drug smuggling is rampant, David Morse, husband of Meg Ryan, employee of Houston-based oil company, is kidnapped and held for ransom. Rescuers are Russell Crowe and his posse which includes David Caruso. Morse is decent guy but his character is overlooked in the rush to emphasize the machismo of Crowe,Caruso, et al, and their daring rescue deeds. Ryan is all nervous gestures, fiddling with cigarettes instead of acting (I think she's turning into a latter-day Diane Keaton),she has brief but hysterical outbursts every so often, and for two people who so famously had an affair, there are no virtually no sparks between Ryan and Crowe. Save your money.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Meg Ryan, I am cryin'...
Review: The movie is for the most part, pretty good. I should know, I have been watching it quite frequently. There are some continuity problems since the Crowe-Ryan love scene was deleted from the film. Worse than that, IT IS NOT ON THE DVD. This is why DVDs have special features, for cut footage, unless of course, Meg Ryan objects. So, just act like there was a love scene right before you see Russell swimming in the pool and you'll be able to follow.

This brings me to the film's other large problem, Meg Ryan. Could they have not gotten a better actress? Ryan spends most of the film with her mouth hanging open or trying to act like she is twenty. The latter which becomes painfully apparent for the viewer when she is running through a plaza. Watch, you'll know what I mean. Seriously, where were the good actresses when they started calling people about this part? What were they doing? Perhaps this inadequacy would not be so bad if the other actors were not so good, namely Mr. Crowe, who probably is just physically incapable of giving a bad performance and Mr. Caruso, who is great in the part of the gung ho hero. All in all, it would have been a great movie, if not for Meg Ryan.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Ryan and Crowe Give Life to This Inspired Drama
Review: What's the big deal with this movie? As most people know, Meg Ryan dumped hubby Dennis Quaid after she fell madly in love with "Proof of Love" co-star Russell Crowe and vica versa. But once the film ended, moody Crowe said "Bye-Bye" to a surprised Ryan. None of this is obvious throughout this fast paced Taylor Hackford drama which casts the Oscar-winning Crowe as an ultracool negotiator commissioned by Ryan to get back her abducted husband (David Morse) back. Soon after the film begins, Morse is kidnapped and held for ransom. What follows is pretty intriguing stuff with Morse nearly flipping out in front of his unruly captors, Ryan brooding for her hubby and Crowe calling all the shots. Anyone planning a vacation in South America might think twice after seeing this film. If only becasue it's based on a real-life story. Ironic, huh?

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: PROOF OF BOREDOM!
Review: There should be a Surgeon General's warning on this ironically titled disc that users will lose two hours of precious life and could even be bored to death as a side effect. Taylor Hackford directs Meg Ryan and Russel Crowe in a trite hostage rescue story that flirts heavily with the "Casablanca" plot and fails miserably. The only reason I watched the DVD was in the hopes that the infamous love scene between Crowe and Ryan would be included in the deleted material. But it is not. Hackford's insipid commentary track is a moronic description of the action on screen. (Or maybe it's meant for the hard-of-seeing?) He modestly admits he omitted the "best love scene ... ever shot" at the request of Ryan. What was he thinking? What about us, the voyeurs?

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: proof that pouty lips go a long way
Review: Didn't like her hair. Didn't like the faux-hippie/earthy duds. God knows I didn't pop this flick in for her acting (which, like prior outings, is laughably poor).

Then again, it had brooding uberactor Russell Crowe to recommend it. He doesn't have much to work with here: the script is lousy (seems to think a provocative relationship = penetrating stares). But he holds the screen hostage as usual when he's on it. Unfortunately for us, that doesn't happen often enough.

Not a good film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Proof of Life - A Taut Thriller
Review: The film opens with an exciting rescue of a man who has been kidnapped by Eastern Europeans seeking a large ransom. It shifts to a couple who have obviously been together long enough for real strains to appear in their relationship. The morning after a bad fight, and before any closure, the husband (an employee of a multinational company in a mythical South American country) is abducted. Due to company politics, the kidnap and ransom insurance policy has lapsed so the expert who was sent to resolve the issue cannot assist. The wife and the sister-in-law with whom she shares a strained relationship suddenly find themselves in the worst possible situation with little or no support from anyone. Of course, the expert has a conscious and does return on his own, but it wasn't the typical super hero coming to the rescue and the raw emotions of all of these people are wonderfully realized. Meg Ryan does her usual fine job of making an ordinary woman quite extraordinary. The way her relationship evolves with her sister-in-law, with herself and her notions of her marriage and of course with the man who has stepped in to save her husband is complex and multilayered. Russell Crowe does his usual brilliant job of creating a totally credible and fascinating hero complete with flaws. David Morse is also wonderful as the husband who does whatever he can to survive. David Caruso is also quite good as a fellow K&R expert who steps in to aid our hero and heroine. The other actors are equally fine from the wives of the other executives to the fellow captives. The scenary is breathtaking and the tension, both romantic and emotional really gives the plot a relentless drive with a lot of suspense. Having chosen to see the film on the basis of the the cast, I was in on way disappointed. I found it far superior to the few reviews I had read. Proof of Life stands up as a drama, as a suspense story and as a believable, if offbeat romance. Everyone behaved as I suspect they really would in such a situation, and not as they typically do in Hollywood films. Everyone gets hurt and nothing is as tidy as it could be. Just like life.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good Entertainment
Review: This movie was a bit slow at the start to build the plot. Once it got into the movie it was worth seeing. I was a bit disappointed with all the action being at the end of the movie. But over all I enjoyed watching it and I would recommend that you see it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Really Good Movie
Review: When it first started, I wasn't for sure I would like it. It takes place in another country. As it went along, I got more interested. It turned out to be a really good movie. I agree that the story could have went deeper, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great movie
Review: what really spoke to me about this movie was that it did not go for the over-wrought sensationalism, which major studio films are so often prone to do. instead it stayed true to (what must be) tense and tedious process of negotiations following a kidnapping such as this. the film convincingly portrays the vulnerability and helplessness of the victim's family, that expose them to be preyed not only by the kidnappers but those who come to their supposed aid. there's an especially suspenseful showdown between Russell Crowe and a shady local security guard who was 'helping' the family.

The film culminates in an armed mission to rescue the hostage. This climactic sequence is the epitome of suspense, and its realistic planning and operation would have put a smile even to Tom Clancy's face. Here, the filmmakers have produced a sensational outcome without resorting to sensationalism, and that has made all the difference.


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