Horas Desesperadas

In August 2005, in New Orleans, Nolan Hayes (Paul Walker) brings his pregnant wife Abigail (Genesis Rodriguez) with Eclampsia to the Saint Mary Hospital. Abigail delivers a premature baby and dies and the baby needs to be kept in a ventilator. A few hours later, the Hurricane Katrina hits the hospital, cutting the power and the hospital is evacuated. Nolan stays with his daughter since the equipment is not portable and soon he finds that the battery is in the end of its life and only can hold three minutes of charge. He finds a battery charge and has initially to crank every three minutes. As long as time goes by, the battery holds less charge. But the situation gets worse when marauders invade the hospital.

"Hours" is a dramatic and tense movie with Paul Walker that has magnificent performance in the role of a father that struggles to keep his baby alive during the tragedy of the Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The screenplay is filled with his recollections of his beloved wife that breaks the tension. Despite the story is almost theatrical in one location, it never disappoints. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Contagem Regressiva" ("Countdown")

This film in a sentence: What a father will do to keep his premature daughter alive, when the world is falling down around him.

Why this film isn't receiving a better rating I won't know. This is the best acting from Paul Walker I think anyone will have seen. Just watch it (especially if you thought 'The Impossible' was a great piece of film)

One of the core roles a man feels he needs to provide for his family is protection and to provide; this film shows this by putting Nolan (Walker) in scenarios where you feel his struggle to keep the only thing he has safe.

It is a feeling I have not experienced before. This feeling of reviewing a movie of an actor who has been one of my favorites and knowing that this is one his last productions his fans would ever have the privilege of enjoying. If you are a fan of the late star Paul Walker indeed HOURS is a must watch and what's more it's a setting that we are not accustomed to seeing him in vs. the adrenaline pumping action movies that has made him a household name that would be remembered forever.

Decently directed unfortunately quite poorly written by Eric Heisser, this script offers Paul Walker a herculean Hollywood challenge. I have to admit a fan wouldn't see that Paul Walker is capable of pulling HOURS off as well as he does since it is pretty much a one man show much like Tom Hanks in CASTAWAY. Well he took me by surprise when he embraced the role of the father (Nolan) who would go through any ring of fire to save his new born daughters life. Many a critic would compare this movie with the Hanks hit and then arrive to conclusions that Walker didn't quite create the impact his character Nolan was entirely given the responsibility for. Plain and simply I will agree since Walker was milking the best out of the script he was given and the script is obviously half baked. Something to look forward to is to see Nolan fighting for survival. His desperate plea for life at the brink of the deaths one way highway, his determination and perseverance to claw through all layers of difficulty for that additional one minute of breathe of life for his daughter. It is painstakingly beautiful and will draw tears to your eyes and make you swallow back a few times.

For a debut attempt in direction HOURS is decently done. However the tag line of the movie and the actual pace of the movie cannot on any level isn't interrelated. "Every second counts" is what the promotional tag line reads misdirecting one to believe that the drama would be intensely woven tight that the slightest mishap may upset everything. Do not be delusional; do not expect this at all. Instead there is not intensity at all; there is suspense but no intensity. If it wasn't for the acting this script would have been as putrid as SKYLINE. Directed and written by Eric Heisser one would not be astonished of the poor writing if one had watched FINAL DESTINATION 5. Eric Heisser has the tendency of attempting intense scripts. He is good at setting the tone but is still working through on his follow through. But still for just only the 5th script he has ever written this one needs ample credit. The only reason I am harping on the plot is because the movie is based on the aftermath of Katrina and I keep looking back at the Tsunami after math movie THE IMPOSSIBLE. I guess if you are brave enough to take a jab at the challenge of writing a movie around a true disaster you need to be ready to take certain hits.

To be released on the 13th December HOURS is the story of Nolan who loses his wife Abigail to the birth of their own daughter on the night of the devastating typhoon Katrina. Moments after his daughter is born Nolan finds out that he has lost his wife and his daughter requires the support of an incubator until her first cry. The patients are evacuated to another location which is more suitably equipped to handle the typhoon, however does not have the equipment to move baby Abigail and her incubator. How far will a father go for her daughter? Nolan's character is portrayed as if its gold. Every nook and cranny is accounted for in his battle for survival. The ranges of emotions from denial to acceptance each played well within the limited script provided. It's surprising to see Walkers diverse acting capabilities that have been over shadowed by his own success in the Furious franchise. Paul Walker sends us one last message and it's beautiful.

A must watch movie for the fans.

RIP Paul Walker. 1973/09/12 -2013/11/30

TITLE: HOURS DIRECTED BY: ERIC HEISSER STARRING: PAUL WALKER RATED : PG-13 RATING: 07/10 RUNTIME: 97 MINUTES

Paul Walker in a dramatic role that proved his ability to shine in a challenging role. A totally underrated and under-appreciated film. Walker deserved more recognition for this movie. It was intense, thrilling and well acted.

I will admit that I would probably not watched this movie if Paul Walker had not tragically passed away last Sunday. Prior to this, I only knew about Walker from the "Fast and Furious" films. This quiet little film certainly introduced me to a whole new and better Paul Walker.

"Hours" is about Nolan Hayes. His wife Abby was rushed into a hospital because of premature labor minutes before Hurricane Katrina hit their city. Difficulties pile up on Nolan as the hospital is evacuated, but he could not leave because his newborn daughter is hooked on a ventilator while in an incubator. Nolan had to deal the power outage, malfunctioning battery, food shortage, violent looters, and abject loneliness as he is trapped in desperate isolation.

The production values of this film are obviously low budget and the supporting cast may be mediocre. But there is no denying "Hours" is an incredible one-man show for Paul Walker, the actor. Very few actors have attempted this sort of project where basically there is only one character. Tom Hanks did it in "Cast Away" and Sandra Bullock did it in "Gravity", and now this project for Paul Walker.

I have to say that Walker surpassed my expectations and actually pulled it off very well with a very memorable performance. You can feel his frustration and his desperation as the hours pass hopelessly and endlessly. The tears that rolled down his face all look like they came from very deep emotions welling within him. The final scene was a thing of absolute beauty which alone elevates the entire film to a higher level.

With this film, we will see the breadth and depth of Walker's true acting talent, now lost in that horrific car crash. Fortunately, he was still able to release this one special film to forever remind us of his abilities which we will now be missing.