Los Próximos Tres Días

This has to be one of the best films I have watched of late. Everything you would wish it to be. Very tense at times and keeps you on edge. Great acting from Russell Crowe and the story is very smart and gripping. Not as predictable as some films seem to be when using a similar storyline to this. Very entertaining all the way through from start to finish with no gaps which is always good for a film that exceeds 2 hours in duration. A very different performance from Crowe which we don't offer see, but be played it very well, and very powerful. Definitely a must watch. Don't wait around for this one, I would strive to watch it straight away for those that haven't done so yet.

Russell Crowe is desperate to break his wife (Elizabeth Banks) out of jail in "The Next Three Days," a 2010 film directed by Paul Haggis.

Crowe and Banks play John and Lara Brennan, a happily married couple with one child. Lara is arrested and convicted to life in prison for murdering her boss, though she claims she didn't do it. A woman brushed by her as she was entering the parking lot where her boss was found dead. However, because her prints were on the murder weapon and blood was on her coat, the jury votes guilty.

A few years pass and John and Lara hold onto hope that she will win her appeal, but she doesn't. John realizes that he has no choice but to break her out of jail. His timeline is shattered when he learns that she's being transferred to prison soon, giving him only three days.

Wonderful, action-packed and gut-wrenching story of a normal man who is so desperate he nearly goes insane. Crowe is remarkable as John,a teacher who talks about Don Quixote living in a world of his own reality. He soon must practice what he preaches as he walks the mean streets in order to work out a careful plan, even as he cares for his young son Luke (Ty Simpkins) who has become more and more withdrawn and angry since his mother's imprisonment.

Beautifully directed by Paul Haggis, The Next Three Days keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout -- you're never sure what's going to happen or how far John will go. There is a wordless scene between John and his father (Brian Dennehy) that will break your heart.

Besides Crowe, Banks, and Dennehy, the excellent cast also includes Liam Neeson, Olivia Wilde, and Jason Beghe. Don't miss this.

All I can say is... Big Wow. Boy did I enjoy this film. The story-line is a cross between The Fugitive and a human heist plot movie. There were moments where I genuinely really didn't know which way the story would end. Has to be one of the best, if not the best film I've seen this year.

I just had to watch right through to the end. The only down side, were the roles of the 2 main cops. I'm not sure if 2 real cops would be as persistent. But I guess if they weren't, then the film would be a fair bit shorter.

I can't think of any other bad things about it, as it does what it is supposed to do, make you care about the characters and keep you gripped till the end. All in all very entertaining.

Definitely worth watching.

Another noir French thriller is converted into a 'noir-ish' American thriller. Russell Crowe's slightly thuggish looks make him more convincing as the desperado of the second half than the mild-mannered schoolteacher of the first half. Elizabeth Banks's role as the imprisoned wife is slightly under-written; their cute toddler son steals most of her scenes and even some of Russell's.

The plot takes too long to set up, so the first half of the film is a slow haul. But the last half has almost the cracking pace of a DIE HARD romp. Writer/director Paul Haggis elects to deceive the audience as well as the police who are in close pursuit of the fugitives, which puts this in the tradition of 'classics' like TO CATCH A THIEF and CHARADE. Gritty and enjoyable.

Just saw this at a London preview screening.

I have not seen the original that this is apparently a remake of so I cannot compare. What I can say is that this movie was deftly directed with a perfect pacing that smoothly shifts through each gear from 1 to full throttle. It starts off with the necessary slow exposition, transitioning to a heartfelt family crisis drama and crime thriller with the tension slowly cranking up to a breakneck speed when I was literally holding my breath in the compelling edge of the seat finale.

What I admire most about this film is the smooth kinetic flow from scene to scene. There didn't seem to be any implausible leap in logic apart from maybe towards the end but everything just connects together so well. All of the actors were superb in their roles. As for Russel Crowe, well I can't think of many actors who expresses wordless undying love better than he can. He is simply a master of it and you just cant help root for him even if he makes or contemplates morally wrong decisions. His character is beautifully played with all the invulnerability, weaknesses and stubborn obsession he possesses.

The supporting actors were all excellent in the little screen time that they each get. And there is even a brilliant cameo by a well known Irish actor (shant spoil who it is for you) that sparked up the screen briefly in an instrumental role to the plot. The great Brian Denhhey also has a few minutes on screen time as Crowes father, hardly uttering a word but you just know exactly what is going on in his mind and it is absolutely touching.

So in summary, this is a top thriller with an exhilarating edge of the seat 3rd act, enriched by beautifully touching moments and thick underlying subtext of undying love.