Haute Tension

"I played by the rules. I wanted to play by the rules, but that's the big lie. It's not enough anymore so maybe, just once, you gotta break them...right?" After Paul (Zegers) gets turned down for a job and his sick mom gets a foreclosure notice on the house he becomes desperate. His plan is to kidnap three kids of rich families and hold them for a million each. When the plan goes wrong he must find a way to stay clean and get the money. This is a very surprising movie. This is the type of movie where you put it because of the cast and end up really enjoying it. I'm not saying this is an Oscar type movie, but it is very entertaining and fun to watch. This movie also had an ending that fit the movie and is one that is hard to totally figure out before the reveal, which makes it that much better. A realistic look at what a kid on the edge can do if he is pushed. Very much worth watching. Overall, a very entertaining thriller that leaves you wondering who to pull for. I liked it a lot. I give it a B+.

Would I watch again? - I think I would, to catch clues about the ending.

*Also try - Endure & Hostage

"Are you kidding me" ? Ray L. in top form and overall superb acting by every one else too. I could sit through entire movie, and that is something. The character development was laid out very nicely. With the opening statements from the lead character, I could see without much effort, that perhaps This movie is a "real" down to earth film with the kind of depth most folks can easily consume. Also delivered in a language that is easily understood. Somewhat organized dialog but needed be for the act of justice, in a growing unjust world. Plot- Take your dream up a notch and chance it. The well thought out plan has a much better chance of coming through because , well your worth it. Expect the unexpected too, and also factor it in. As Ray put well in his business ethics talk in mid movie. We are all getting squeezed anyway. Some Great Flick here! Thanks.

A group of under-privileged kids starving for money and attention; a group of over-privileged kids starving for action and attention; a group of over-privileged adults trying to be content with their current state of life. That's "The Entitled." One group wants what the others have and the others just plain want. If you want an intelligent, thought-out thriller, you've got it.

The film starts out a little pedestrian and juvenile with pointless scenes and then a few scenes continuously pointing out that our main hero was poor. But as it turns out, those scenes weren't pointless or over-done, you just had to wait until the end to figure it out. Everything contributes to the final result.

Our main hero is Paul Dynan (Kevin Zegers) — broke, jobless, defeated, and almost option-less. A last ditch effort to save his mother and their house, he abducts three local rich kids, uses two misfit friends to torture them, and tries to get money out of their fathers.

The brilliant aspects of this film which they did so well were the different relationship dynamics. The group of rich, entitled kids consisted of two males and one female. One couple but all three were friends. The group of poor, angry kids was exactly the same (just minus the money). The three fathers had the same relationships that their kids had, just a taller, older version.

Continuing in the vein of brilliant relationship dynamics, the plot of the kidnapping was propelled forward by how everybody acted within their own group. Apparently the key to a successful crime (or not successful) is knowing how all the individuals will act. The key to a successful crime thriller is making sure that your characters act in interesting ways.

The lead acting was very impressive, just as I was frequently in awe of how impressively smart the turns were in this thriller, I was amazed by how natural and creepy Zegers could be. Ray Liotta and the two other actors playing the fathers were equally as arresting.

The minor actors couldn't overcome the sometimes awkward and painful dialogue. Now don't get me wrong, the screenplay by William Morrisey is actually pretty good story-wise, he just doesn't give a good voice to the over-privileged, entitled rich kids. But then again, who does? I still think the opening sequences could have been tightened up to help me realize how important they actually are to the story. But above all else, "The Entitled" made me think and I like watching films about some characters who do think and some characters who don't think. And I'll let you figure out which groups they belong to.

That was a pretty decent movie. What makes it decent is a combination of usual Hollywood film that brings you the amusement by the amount of shock applied and good old drama school. The shocking atmosphere is mostly preserved by certain amount of brutality and twist. As for drama, I really loved the way the director used the theater stage in the house were fathers were gathered to imply tension and very involving plot development. Balanced and interacted with the core plot in the movie, it made a very watchable feature film. Also, the movie does not bring the usual American picture of good and bad guys, but leaving you think about that yourself. It might be just my impression, but I think that the senior actors were better than junior. I do not say that the young actors were bad, just acting of the fathers was more superb!

Paul, Jenna and unstable Dean are busy in conjuring up a devious plan to make some fast cash. Paul, Jenna and Dean who are not even close to being rich as Jeff, Nick and Hailey manage to kidnap the latter mentioned trio and hold them up for ransom at Nick's dads holiday home in the countryside. Richard, Clifford and Bob the rich business tycoon dads of the victims are taken by surprise when they receive a ransom call about their abducted teenage kids. Richard and Clifford are the only ones around when Paul call them up and make demands for 3 millions USD for the safety of their children. Bob is never punctual. Today his bad habit results in Jenna shooting down his son Jeff. The money transfer would be a walk in the park we think since the families are rich; however this does not turn out to be so. Richard runs short and is unable to fund the cash and neither is Clifford able to help since he uses his cash reserves for his part of the payment of the ransom. Their only hope is Bob who turns up late. Bobs son is already dead; how will he handle this news? Will he help his long time friends? Or will the children suffer the ill fate of death?

Canadian director Aaron Woodley does a great job with this script. Although a common plot, a movie that is thoroughly enjoyable if you appreciate the newbie cast with the exception of Ray Liotta and Victor Gaber. Newbie does not necessarily imply that the cast is in their debut production. However it implies that they are not Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet. My passion for Ray Liottas work made me stumble upon this limited budget Canadian production; THE ENTITLED. I am hoping that my piece along with many others who have written on this movie aid her to reach out to viewers who don't watch movies without a star cast. In fact I just did watch a movie with a star cast that was not as entertaining as THE ENTITLED; however she is more widely accepted. What if the cast of THE ENTITLED is interchanged with CONTAGION? Both movies would have made the news. Instead only one does.

Woodley's direction and the resources he uses work for him at times and on the other hand do not work at all. The areal angled footage of the drive to the woods, the pleasant scenery and the gloomy lake house sets the perfect tone for the perfect thriller. Kevin Zegers convincing and precision performance that is supported by Devon Bostick all gels in alarmingly well for quite new faces. The veterans across on the end of the forest are equally doing well with Ray Liotta, Victor Gaber & Stephen McHatttie. What Woodley misses is what goes on in between the 2 locations. No pun intended but what Woodleys misses and loses points are the moments in the woods. This sudden drop of the thrills kind of makes one wonder if they should continue with the movie any longer. As much as the finale is a surprising treat the climax to it does need more tweaking and fine tuning. A commercial soundtrack most certainly would win more points in the right direction.

Nothing More Nothing Less

Title: The Entitled Directed by: Aaron Woodley Starring: Kevin Zegers, Devon Bostick, Tatiana Maslany, Stephen McHattie, VIctor Gaber & Ray Liotta. Rated: R for language some violence and brief drug use. Rating: 6.5/10