dapplegrey13

If you liked "Mystic River" or "Gone Baby Gone", GO SEE THIS FILM! It was one of the most intense, suspenseful, moving, frightening films I've ever seen (and I'm a 53 year old film buff.) "Prisoners" is not a horror story; not a murder-mystery; but a sort of "kidnapped" thriller genre. It's exquisitely told without modern-day-film tricks like shaky cameras; without an actor saying "the F word" in every other sentence; without a dub-step sound track; and without gratuitous frights or even unnecessary action or car chases. It's a story of a horrible kidnapping and those who are affected. It's told with such compassion and believability. The characters make excruciating choices --choices that make you shake your head in stunned wonder. And the cast! Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman, Maria Bello, Viola Davis, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, and Paul Dano! How much acting chops can one get on a movie set? And the screenplay is superb. I was on the EDGE OF MY SEAT for the entire film. I am simply blown away by this film --blown away. It's a 10 out of 10.

Go see it on the big screen so you'll know why it's nominated for many awards in a few months.

Congratulations to all involved in the making of "Prisoners" for a fine, classic film that will haunt your audience and make us very thoughtful for quite a while.

What can one say about Ryan Gosling's performance in this film? There are just no words -- but I'll try. He is so emotive, so heart-wrenching, and yet as tough as steel. Overall, I was disappointed in the movie as I felt the last half was way, way too slow (my date actually said as the credits rolled "MAN that was a long, long movie!")

I believe, however, the first half of the film was fantastic and I was completely engrossed.

I do NOT like this director's constant extreme close-ups and shaky camera/erratic camera methods.

Eva Mendez was also more beautiful than ever and she really showed her fine acting skills, too, I felt.

Because the film was so slow towards the second half, it's hard for me to give this a strong recommendation -- however, if you're a Ryan Gosling fan, I'd say it's well worth the 2-1/2 hours to enjoy him. Thank you, thank you Ryan for giving it your all.

We laughed our heads off; we got teary-eyed; we held our collective breath(s); we beamed with happiness and pride; we were stunned with surprise a few times, too. These characters are LIKABLE -- a little unpredictable -- but still WONDERFUL. The story was mesmerizing, well-paced, and COMPLETE.

Robert DeNiro was, as always, brilliant. Simply brilliant.

This film is a breath of fresh air in all ways. Although deeply troubled and confused, Bradley Cooper is absolutely lovable here. One just can't help but pull for everyone in this story.

I DO hope this film does well at the Academy Awards. Many of the other films nominated are overly artsy, pretentious, lack story-telling talent, and are DULL. Not this movie! Go see it on the big screen --you will love it.