Catch Hell

Ryan Phillippe's directorial debut 'Catch Hell' is a strange little movie. It's an interesting story that never really goes anywhere. The plot never really advances. And Phillippe in the lead role is never really given any opportunity to shine. He co-wrote the story as well so this surprised me. Surely when you write a character that you know you're going to play you give yourself every opportunity to be the star of the show, but this was never really the case. The kidnappers had the most interesting characters of the lot.

It's not an overly bad movie, it's just simply pretty forgettable. There's no element to it that separates it from the bunch. Does Phillippe have a future behind the camera? I don't see why not. This film would have been about as straight forward as they come to direct, but I still didn't see any glaring mistakes he made. The choice of the scene over the credits was a bizarre one for me. I'm not sure exactly what he was going for with that and I'd love to hear his explanation. Give it a look if you're short of something to watch but otherwise you're not missing a whole lot.

An amazing thing about Catch Hell is how unexpectedly *watchable* it is. I really figured it wouldn't have staying power, yet it coaxed me in.

Others have commented on the film's modest strengths, which are; decent writing, good acting, good pacing (the scenes that seek to capture the long waiting of a hostage situation like this don't feel interminable), good (if elemental) character development, good editing, interesting scenario.

And, amazingly, the final scene (which ingeniously plays over the end credits) struck me as a profound redemption tour-de-force. Rarely have I seen such a cosmic message writ so bizarrely. I can think of one other example, off the top of my head, that comes close. And, when I say "redemption", I don't mean the redemption of a person. I really mean the redemption of this film from being a mere low-rent action/horror snack. I'm sincere about this: It says an important thing about the nature of grace; that you might encounter some at the very bottom of a very deep, very dark pit.

Worth watching, even if only because you're fascinated by the promise of smart low-budget stylizing.

Based on the negative reviews, I almost didn't get this movie. But after renting it from Redbox and figuring that besides losing my time, it wouldn't hurt to lose a $1.50 so I took the "risk". I'm glad I did. Not only was it entertaining all the way throughout the movie, it was really good to be Ryan Phillippe's first crack at directing. Don't forget that he also wrote AND starred in it!

Despite the majority of the movie only revolving around three characters, there were some funny parts associated with the typical stereotypes of people in the Louisiana bayou but I would definitely recommend you see this movie and not just out of boredom. Go rent it.

I wasn't too sure what to make of this when I first read up on it however, after watching it I was really surprised.

The story line was really good, so was the acting. Maybe my expectations of the film were quite low as I hadn't heard much talk about it. So when I actually watched it, it exceeded the low expectations I had.

This movie keeps you gripped all the way through and has some twists and turns you weren't expecting which is great in any movie!

I'm no movie critic but in my opinion, this film is well worth a watch. Not the best kidnap film ever made, equally, it's still a good film with a strong story line and one I would recommend.

Greetings again from the darkness. Ryan Phillippe has hit the big Four-O, so it makes sense that he would want to explore the other side of the camera with writing, directing, and producing. He's had a pretty successful acting career given what could be termed a minimal lack of range and a quiet screen presence. His feature film directorial debut utilizes a script he co-wrote with Joe Gossett, capitalizing on Phillippe's lot in Hollywood right now ... the once promising star looking to recapture the magic with a "game-changer".

The film opens with a dramatic shot of actor Reagan Pearce's (RP ... get it?) stunning mansion. We see him catch a flight to Shreveport, Louisiana and take a meeting with a slightly spastic director and blow-hard producer. He decides to stick with the project in an effort to re-establish his career ... he's just out of rehab (of course). The next morning, things go really badly as Reagan is kidnapped by a couple of Louisiana hillbillies and locked up in a swamp cabin.

Brutal torture scenes follow and we soon enough learn that one of his captors (Ian Barford) is seeking revenge for Reagan's dalliance with his wife on the set of a movie. The plan is to destroy his reputation and then kill him once he is hated by all. The script attempts some Hollywood satire and makes some obvious commentary on the whole tabloid and celebrity world, but mostly it comes off as a bit self-indulgent for Mr. Phillippe.

There are some flashes of interesting moments, mostly involving Stephen Grush as the second hillbilly with homosexual overtures towards Reagan. Unfortunately, the film does not take advantage of the colorful swamp setting and instead takes place almost entirely within the run down cabin. You will note dashes of Deliverance, Black Snake Moan, and Misery, but this one isn't at that level. Instead it comes off like a bucket list item for Phillippe ... director/writer/producer/star of his own film.