Unknown Review

                                                       2 1/2 Nuts!

                                                   

Director: Juame Collet-Serra

After Liam Neeson’s last action/thriller “Taken”, I came into this movie expecting to see another practice in Liam’s “badassery”. What I got was not quite what I was expecting however what it turned out to be did not necessarily disappoint.   The movie is about Dr. Martin Harris played by (you guessed it) Liam Neeson.  He has taken a trip to Berlin with his wife to go to a major biotechnical summit and give a speech.  When he realizes he has forgotten one of his bags at the airport, he jumps back in a taxi to retrieve it.  Unfortunately for him, the taxi crashes into the river and he goes into a coma for four days.  Once he wakes up he finds that no one, not even his wife knows who he is and someone else has taken his place as Dr. Martin Harris. 

This is not Liam going around busting heads trying to get to the bottom of it all.  The movie turned out to have a lot less action scenes then I had previously anticipated.  For the first act, Liam is mostly wandering aimlessly, trying to get some grasp on his situation.  The car chase scenes in the movie are quite engaging and a good deal of suspense is created through the use of quick editing.  By the end we do get to see Liam kick ass which is what we were pretty much waiting for the whole time.

The movie has some twists and turns that are not incredibly surprising but are decent enough to be intriguing.  There are some scenes that seemed forced to move the story along, but it doesn’t need to be perfect. 

There is an incredible amount of closure by the end, almost to a fault.  The story leaves no questions unanswered and no real room for debate about what’s going on.   It’s not a bad thing, however by the third act what you have is a pretty generic action movie, with all its’ mystery gone.

In a peaNut Shell:  This is worth seeing but not worth going out of you way for.  Don’t read too much into the holes in the movies, or you will just become frustrated.  Take it for what it is. 

2011 Oscar Predictions

Actor in a Leading Role: This year it will go to Colin Firth for his adaptation as King George IV in The King's Speech.  He was up last year for A Single Man and lost to Jeff Bridges. This year the two will be up in the same category again, but the award goes to Colin Firth.

Actor in a Supporting Role: This will most likely go to Christian Bale for his convincing role as Dicky in The Fighter.  Personally I would like to see Geoffrey Rush win, but, if the previous award shows are any indication this will likely not be the case.

Actress in a Leading Role: Natalie Portman is the front runner for this category and her performance is Oscar worthy.  However, I would rather see Annette Benning win for The Kids are Alright.  She is way overdue for an Oscar and in the film she delivered a solid performance.

Actress in a Supporting Role: Melissa Leo seems to be the favorite, and yet this year I think Halie Steinfeld from True Grit will walk away with it. Personally I felt Melissa Leo was good in The Fighter but her performance didn’t stick out as anything special to me.  Steinfeld on the other hand is terrific and absolutely deserves the win.

Cinematography: This will probably go to Roger Deakins for True Grit which looks amazing. 

Best Animated Film: I will be completely shocked if Toy Story 3 doesn’t win because it’s the clear favorite.

Directing:  This category is going to be tough this year.  If The Social Network wins best picture David Fincher will definitely take it, however the same applies to Tom Hooper if The King's Speech wins.  I think this will go to Tom Hooper.

Best Picture:  If you would have asked me this question a month ago I would have said The Social Network no question. However things have changed, as the momentum from this award season has shifted toward The King's Speech.  I would very much like to see it win.

Original Screen Play:  This seems pretty straight forward, The King's Speech.

Adapted Screen Play:  No doubt, this one goes to The Social Network.

Documentary: This was a good year for documentaries.  I have not seen all of them but from what I have read Inside Job seems to be the favorite. I can’t say if I agree but I did see Exit through the Gift Shop and Restrepo and they both are worthy of an Oscar.