Derailed

At first I thought wow, Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston, 2 big names. Might be good. I was a bit disappointed. Aniston's character is very flat and one-dimensional in the movie - very forgettable. Clive's acting is convincing, but the plot sucks. The villain (Vincent Cassel) looked pathetic and hardly scary. Even though he commits lots of violent acts in the movie, he really doesn't inspire fear in me. He actually looked more convincing dressed up as an office colleague of Clive Owen's in one particular scene, than when he's dressed as a street thug. Perhaps its because he's a bit too skinny and his skin is too good, perhaps its because his facial features looking more like a 17th century European aristocrat than some Chicago street thug. I think he'd probably do better acting as a psycho-killer rather than a professional thug.

By the end of the movie, I was really unimpressed. Yes the plot didn't really turn out like anyone had suspected, but its more of a "oh right, so what?" feeling I had, rather than a "oh my god. I can't believe it" feeling. By then I was just waiting, sitting there, hoping that something good - something really good - better come along soon, because I've not even gotten excited yet. But it never happened - and I never got excited or scared once throughout the whole movie.

I really wouldn't pay to watch this at the cinema - it would be like when I watched SWAT at the movies a few years ago. It feels like my money would be better spent elsewhere. Probably okay to watch this at home if you didn't have to pay like full price to rent this - if this movie was in the bargain bins somewhere in the video store.

I was avoiding the film because of the lower ratings it had received but after several recommendations, I went and saw it and was surprisingly pleased with the whole film from start to finish. In my opinion, this could be very well one of the best thrillers of the year. The trailer for it really doesn't do it justice for what the movie really is; a dark, suspenseful, edge of your seat thriller. Jennifer Aniston does a great job breaking out of her Friends character that everyone associates her with and that so few sitcom actors have been able to do. Don't wait for this one to come out on DVD. You definitely want to catch this one in the theater.

I saw a sneak preview of this film yesterday in Toronto (Younge & Eglington Theatre) There are some "cheesy" moments but I'm happy to say that they are far and few between.

The acting is not academy-award winning but you will be pleased with the performances.

It is an engaging film that brings you into a dark and gritty underworld that actually can feel quite real at times. You feel for the lead character.

One of the strengths of this film is character development.

It also has some twists that may actually surprise you in a good way.

I think the real downfall of this film is that it has a "Hollywood" ending. For me the film loses points for this.

One final note: the climax, although still good, was pieced together in such a way that it did not hold the tension enough for the theater audience. There was laughter and some heckling in my theater.

I wouldn't walk into this film expecting a ground-breaking film that will change the genre forever, but it is does have some good pacing and the story moved along quite nicely. It is an enjoyable film that I recommend.

PRE Oscars REVIEW: I just saw a pre-screening of the film "Derailed" starring the great Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston. What that means is that it wasn't a final version but very close to it. Well I must say I was eager to place Owen into contention for an Oscar nomination after last year popular "Closer." I'm sorry to say that he is out and it's due to the poor, predictable script.

The story was very underdeveloped and a bit unrealistic but the performances of Owen, Aniston, and Vincent Cassel kept the film moving. This movie was Unfaithful meets Matchstick Men meets Reindeer Games. I would recommend the film for a good popcorn flick but in terms of Oscar I would take it out of the game. Owen captures the nature of his character but flops in terms of staying in the location meaning his American accent. Although he is truly the hero of the story and you love the character. He got a couple of "claps" during the film. Aniston gives a very different performance than what we're used to but it works. She's very talented and I would love to see her nominated in the next coming years.

The standout of the cast is Vincent Cassel who's villainous, dark performance will go down in the books as one of the greatest villainous performances in the past years. He truly makes you hate him and you leave with a feeling in your stomach from him on screen. The worst part of the entire film was the terrible musical score which is very distracting and annoying but hopefully with better editing they'll get rid of it and hire someone new. So-so script and good performances make a pretty decent flick.

I'm surprised to see some low ratings for this movie because I found it to be really good. I didn't find a boring moment thru out the whole movie and the ending was so twisted... it just brought everything together. I wasn't sure of what the movie was about so I was definitely caught off guard with the whole plot. It sort of starts out like a love story, then next thing you know the guns come flying. Its different from any other movie I've seen with realistic outcomes and life situations. At times I wasn't sure if I was on the good guy's or bad guy's side because in a way, the main character deserved some of what he got. And I also understood why the bad guys chose their targets without remorse. If I wasn't given a background of the main character, I don't think i would've felt bad for him. Anyway, its a good movie and I'd definitely recommend checking it out.