Proof of Life

We're out of miracles. Russell Crowe would of course come to be better known elsewhere (filmicly) in this year, but what of his other release in 2000? Proof of Life is a blender, a picture that is in part thriller, part romance, part drama and part observation on a very real life problem - that of kidnapping for ransom. So many genres to tackle means that invariably Taylor Hackford's film feels over stuffed, pushing the running time to two hours and fifteen minutes, it is this that hurts it. A shame because if trimmed of the pointless filler and drawn out sequences then there is a very efficient (ok, maybe routine is a better word here) and well acted piece on show. The drama and tension (sexual and perilous threat) is all building towards the action packed finale, which, while well mounted, doesn't seem an adequate pay off for the number of extended chatty scenes we have had to tolerate to get there. Nice tip of the hat to a classic at the end, though. 6/10

"We're out of miracles." Whatever that means -- moving on, this movie *rips*! It has the premise of a B-movie action flick but the pizazz of a top shelf blockbuster, not to mention it has completely been removed from the zeitgeist so it feels uncanny and insane that it even exists. The dad from Contact gets kidnapped for being a rich white man in South America, and only Russell Crowe has the grit and wherewithal to retrieve him. But, it gets better -- Meg Ryan (OMG...)! This piece of literal cinema addresses something that should be the bedrock of civilization, but is something that people fundamental have to forget from time to time, which is that possession is 9/10ths of the 'law' -- if you've never been introduced to that concept before, I suggest looking it up! Moral: if you can't handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen. (But maybe work on your tolerance levels, ok?" **9/10**