Derailed, The Brave One

DVD reviews from guest reviewer The Borg Queen

Derailed. D-.

I hated this movie. Generally, it is about Charles Schine (Clive Owen) meetingLucinda Harris (Jennifer Aniston) in a chance encounter on a train. Although both of them are married and each has a daughter, there is an immediate attraction between the two of them. Before you know it, they end up at a back-alley hotel to consummate their affair. But, they get interrupted when a stranger breaks into the room to rob them. The stranger, LaRoche, ends up essentially haunting Schine, threatening to expose the affair to his wife, threatening his family, and extorting considerable amounts of money out of him. Although the concept was semi-interesting, the execution was awful. Schine acted completely contrary to human nature throughout the movie. Then again, if his character responded the way a person would be expected to respond, the movie would have ended pretty quickly. Granted, there are some unexpected developments, but the annoyance of the rest of the movie makes the whole thing an utter disaster. I really like Jennifer Aniston, but I have to say don't waste your time on this movie - you'll just end up skipping scenes to get to the end like I did. Also, be forewarned there is a rape scene.

The Brave One. B.

I went into this movie with extremely low expectations. In fact, I didn't want to see if for a long time because I'm not one for violent movies. Suprisingly, I really enjoyed this movie. It is about a radio journalist, Erica Bain (Jodie Foster) who, along with her fiance (Naveen Andrews) are brutally attacked in Central Park by a gang of thugs. Bain survives, the fiance doesn't. The remainder of the movie is about what happens to her and her struggle following the attack. I can understand why this movie is characterized as one about revenge. But what I found enthralling was how the film portrayed the transformation of a person after a sudden, unprovoked, and violent attack; the loss of innocence, and the "death" of the person that was and the involuntary creation of a new person filled with rage attempting to regain a sense of control and justice. Jodie Foster gave an excellent performance filled with raw, honest emotion. Although I had my suspicions, I never really knew where the story was going to end up or what was going to happen next. This certainly is not an uplifting movie. It is very dark, and one to watch more if you're a student of human nature.