thekyles99

(2012-04-29 08:08:34)

Hey I'd do it for my wife!

Wow! Yet another Russell Crowe movie i really liked! Another actor whomuch like everything done by George Clooney i classify boring! Sinceseeing Cinderella Man, A Beautiful Mind and a few others I have reallybeen taking a liking to Russell. Director Paul Haggis who has broughtus such greats such as Million Dollar Baby (writer) Casino Royale(screenplay) and last but not least In The Valley Of Elah(director,writer) brings us a tale of one man's roller coaster of aride to keep his family intact. Crowe plays John Brennan a universityteacher who lives with his wife Lara (played brilliantly by ElizabethBanks) and only son Luke (Tobey and Tyler Green)After being wrongfully accused of murdering her boss, Lara is sent toprison leaving young Luke and John to fend for themselves, 3 yearslater after exhausting every appeal to prove her innocence and tappingall their resources and financial crutches leaving them scrambling forideas, John decides to get in touch with an author who actually escapedout of prison once (Liam Neeson ) for some much needed help in aproject that will be the most dangerous thing John will everattempt...busting his wife out! If you like on the edge of your seattype thrillers then this is a must see with loads of twists and turnsrevolving around the plot. To top it all off it is backed with anenergetic soundtrack that Only adds the icing on the cake! This will beadded to our collection once its available for video release!

Bruce L. Jones

(2012-04-28 15:10:51)

A Hold Your Breath Experience ...

At least you may want to while watching this fine thriller. This is anexcellent entry into that genre by director Paul Haggis. The pacing andaction are just right and the performances turned in by the whole castis remarkably good.As one would expect from an actor with his credentials, Russell Crowedoes a superb job with his part as John Brennan, the lost, forlorn andincreasingly desperate husband of a woman he deeply believes isinnocent of a crime she has been convicted of. Here Crowe is definitelyliving up to the expectations people have for him. His fans will not bedisappointed.I found the performance of Elizabeth Banks more satisfying. I couldfeel her anguish and wanted to root for something to happen to helpher. Stripped of makeup and other salon services for the majority ofthe film she reveals what a remarkably naturally beautiful woman sheis. But her presence on screen definitely doesn't stop there. Shebrings just the right of emotion to a difficult role and helps us wantto help her character. But there is more than just a stunning pathosthere, she also allows us to see that there is a smolderingintelligence behind those baby-blues. There is an errant Oscar waitingsomewhere with her name on it.Two old pros, Liam Neeson and Brian Dennehy, add solid support to thecomplex story. Dennehy even manages to deliver just the right note in acouple of scenes sans dialog. Neeson, especially, gives a fine turn asan ex-con giving realistic, hard-core advice to Crowe's character.Rounding out the ensemble are Lennie James as a bright and determinedPolice Lieutenant. Is it possible to root for him and the people he'schasing? His role is complimented by Aisha Hinds and Jason Beghe astired but dedicated detectives. A mention should go to another fine ifshort performance by Daniel Stern as Banks' sincere but unsuccessfullawyer.On the flip side were Jonathan Tucker in a fine job as a hapless crookand Kevin Corrigan as a just as unlucky drug dealer. There is anothersmall but good performance by Tyrone Giordano whom I remember fromanother good performance in "The Family Stone".Lastly, Olivia Wilde does a fine job with a small part as a woman whobegins to show interest in the abandoned Crowe. I could go on-and-on asthere are many other good performances, not a sour note in the lot.The rest of the film's elements fit the time and place so there is noincongruity. But the fine script and the resultant great acting isclearly what it's all about. If you're looking for a night ofentertainment you can't go wrong here.By Bruce L. Jones http://webpages.charter.net/bruce.jones1/

(2012-04-25 21:01:39)

Good Thriller

This is an above action thriller. It could have cut about a half hour from the beginning, but once it gets going it's a lot of fun. Underrated for sure. I recommend.

doclee32

(2012-04-25 04:02:43)

Enjoy the movie but.... (spoiler)

This is a well acted movie with an interesting unusual story. RussellCrowe did a good job acting as a very resourceful husband in the movie.However, I enjoyed watching it until it reached the part when hisselfish suicidal wife nearly caused him everything by trying to jumpout of the car. Very annoying part of the movie played by ElizabethBanks. If she wanted to commit suicide again she should do it withoutinvolving her husband after all his efforts to save her. My rating ofthe movie drops from top rating to rather low after seeing this part ofthe movie! I believed the French version did not include thisirritating part which really insult the intelligence of the audience. Istill recommend this movies to those who like action thriller but justignore that particular part of the movie.

(2012-04-19 06:52:18)

best movie i've seen in a long time!

It is hard to come across a real good movie lately...but this one was not a disapointment...very good and VERY intense. It is a movie the guys and gals will really enjoy. A action, suspensful, yet a tear jerker.

(2012-04-19 01:01:22)

Edge of your Seat

This review is from: The Next Three Days (Amazon Instant Video) I passed this up because the description seemed just BORING. Fortunately it was recommended to me and I took a chance on it. I am really glad I watched it. Great acting (except maybe by the wife), the cast was wonderful and it had lots of plot twists. Best movie I have seen in a long time.

(2012-04-17 14:12:16)

How Movies Should Be Made

Let's face it: in today's Hollywood, far too many movies are produced to strictly be cash cows, "popcorn flicks", or strictly vehicles for rising stars. While there is nothing wrong with that formula from a business point of view, it does serve to clutter/bog down the cinemas with largely irreverent fare. Fortunately, "The Next Three Days" is a shining example of how a film SHOULD be made.For a basic plot summary, this film focuses on the Brennan family. When wife Lara (Elizabeth Banks) is imprisoned for 20 years on a murder charge (her guilt/innocence is unknown until later on in the movie), husband John (Russell Crowe) hatches a scheme to break her out and take their son Luke out of the country to start a new life together. Along the way, John Brennan gets advice from a former prison escapee (Liam Neeson), must piece together a plan, and then finally decide if he deems himself capable of pulling it off.This movie will not immediately jump to the top of your "all-time favorites" list. What it will do, however, is entertain you for 2+ hours with intriguing characters, an interesting storyline, and enough plot twists to keep you guessing. It's simple (yet cognitive) entertainment at its finest: sit back, immerse yourself, and stay along for the satisfying ride.Besides the immersive storyline, the acting is also an "added bonus". Crowe and Banks are quite capable of carrying the leading roles, while Neeson, Olivia Wilde, Daniel Stern & even Brian Dennehy have excellent supporting roles, as small as they may be. Very much reminiscent of earlier Crowe films like "The Insider" & "State of Play" where the "surround Crowe with auxiliary talent" formula also paid off big.Thus, "The Next Three Days" is a very entertaining film (though perhaps not an outright classic) that I wish more Hollywood studios would copy. The acting is great, the plot is exciting, and the pacing is excellent. You'll never be looking at the DVD timer to see how much is left, that is for sure.

hjorth-6

(2012-04-17 04:11:26)

The IMDb summary is fine

First a note on the choice of the review that is posted at the bottomof the page. Clearly, this review shouldn't contain spoilers, and Iassume that whoever moderates the site and chooses the review attendsto that matter. In my view, the review posted should be a positive one.If people want critical reviews, they can open the reviews that aren'tposted on the principal page for the movie.In the case of The Next Three Days, there was previously a negativereview, which made me a little disinclined to watch the movie. I amreally glad that I went ahead anyway, because it was a solid thriller.The essence of the complaint was that this movie was not as good as anearlier version of a similar story made, as I recall, in anotherlanguage. God, I get sick of that. "The movie was not as good as thebook". Really? I have read the Gettysburg address, and I think that thespeech was not as good as the war. But that's just me. Come on! Booksand films have a story line in common, and occasionally a trulymemorable character, but that's it. If a filmmaker borrows a storylinefrom a novel, then fine. The filmmaker probably hopes that people wholiked the book will form some kind of a ready-made audience base, butthat should be it. They are different media for Heaven's sake.A remake is only slightly more complicated. People who are routinelycritical of remakes surprise me. Commonly, it would seem, that whatthey are wanting is a remake that is precisely the same in every detailas the original. What a waste of digital space. Just as in theadaptation of a book to the screen, the maker is hoping to bring anaudience by proxy; the maker of a remake is also hoping for the samething. The irony is that the more a film-goer liked the first, the morelikely he or she is to be disappointed by the second. Borrowing a storyfrom an earlier film is just that. If you have seen the earlier film,then you should probably try to forget it while watching the remake.The exception is – and unfortunately it is a pretty common exception –the remake of a classic. In my view, most classics should not beremade. And most of the real classics are not. It is hard to imagineanybody doing Gone With The Breeze. I was sorry to see a remake of 12Angry Men, although it didn't stop me from seeing it, and it was not abad film. But the chances of putting the original from your mind whenthe original is a real classic is pretty slim.Anyway, The Next Three Days is a good, competent thriller, which onlystretches credibility at a few points. It is currently rated 7.4 whichI think is about right.

Hyper Escape

(2012-04-14 15:05:52)

Inspired to the extent of exact copying....

Since I had seen the original one, even a good cast like Russell Crowewas not able to glue my interest throughout the (roughly) 2 hours.The start, end and everything in between was known to me with a littleadded spice. Some scenes were dragged with added sequences and somewere curtailed. So cannot say that it was inspired by, if you are able to see, then youwould know it was quite a close copy from the french thriller "PourElle" (1008), with only the fact that Diane Kruger was looking betterthan Elizabeth Banks. but again that's a matter of personal choice.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1217637/ (Pour Elle).Enjoyable thriller for the first time viewers. My rating is onlydependent on the fact mentioned above.

(2012-04-13 17:09:46)

WHERE'S THE MONEY??

Starts out promisingly, but gradually gets more and more implausible. I was even willing to swallow the school teacher turned Rambo, but how did he get the enormous piles of cash he stole from the druggies to Venezuela? Thru airport security x-rays and baggage searches? Not bloody likely! Maybe he FedEx'd it on ahead!

arief_spekta

(2012-04-05 20:27:54)

Great crime movies, and strategy is very good!

From the plot, quite interesting. The struggle of a husband to a wifeis very good. To free his wife in custody, a husband willing to doanything. The strategy used by the husband is very good, hard to guessbut easy to understand, unlike other crime movies.Acting and taking pictures is also very good. Plus the sound effectsare enough to make me nervous when watching it.Although the audience will be taken at a happy ending, but there arefew things less fun. One was when the police are still imagine how theincidence of murder. This is enough to still make a question to theaudience.My rate is 9 / 10!

priyantha-bandara

(2012-04-05 11:30:49)

Not the typical Jail break movie

Russell Crowe is a promising actor. Coming from a great history likeGladiator and Master & Commander he is not a person to mess aroundwith. But I have my doubts if his potential is completely used in 'TheNext 3 Days'.The story goes like this. Russell portrays a community college teacherJohn Brennan. Having a perfect loving life with his wife and son itcomes to a sudden halt when his wife Lara (played by Elizabeth Banks)is convicted for murder. With hard evidence to back the case she endsup in jail and John left helpless and heartbroken with his kid.Believing that his wife is not guilty he tries his level best to gothrough proper legal channels in order to get her free. After yearstrying every option and hitting a dead end he decides that it's time toplay dirty. With that the calm dramatic movie suddenly starts to smelllike Prison Break.'The Next 3 Days' is a long movie. It runs for good 15 mts more thantwo hours. But to my amusement it was not boring. There is lot ofdetails involved and little little bits and pieces gathered from hereand there which ultimately pulls of the master plot. Even though it'sslow the plot manages to keep the attention centered well whileproviding intelligent twists time to time. So the story is quiteunpredictable and its one reason why it's good. The other reason isthat it concentrates on family and drama than being a jail break movieas a whole. Most of the scenes take place outside the prison walls andsurrounding John so there is a vast number of opportunities and spaceto move about.However the script is not perfect. For me there are too manycoincidences. You might call it luck but too much luck is not that goodin a movie. After you watch the whole thing if a single one of thoselucky moments were missing the movie should have ended quite early thanexpected. So depending on luck is not very promising when someone isworking his brains out of a plan like this one.There is good performance from the leading actors but nothingworthwhile mentioning. Script doesn't offer space for good memorablequotes or maybe little weak at following timeliness.Overall 'The Next 3 Days' is a good view. But it will not go down inthe history as one of best movies of Russell or Elizabeth nor will itbe one of the best movies in your movie collection. You will not watchit twice but pretty much will enjoy it in one viewing.

(2012-03-27 18:08:17)

Unexpected to have enjoyed it this much :)

I was not expecting much at all. I found this to be a really good Film. Acting, Directing and just all around well made. I wish Liam Neeson had been in more but it would not have made sense I guess. Anyhow, definitely lots of twists and turns. Cheers :)

socrates99

(2012-03-27 02:09:54)

Very underrated, very well written, acted and directed thriller

This is both my favorite movie of 2010 and the most harrowing 2 hoursI've gone through in a very long time. It's not that it's full ofextreme action scenes, but that it is so realistic that you feel thedread at every turn. The contrast to something like Liam Neeson's lastfilm, Unknown, is like night and day though I should mention thatNeeson has only a cameo here. And I was more than glad I was watchingthis on DVD and not in the theaters because I needed to stop and take abreather every once and a while.The story's a simple one. Man's beloved wife and mother to his son isfound guilty of murder. He doesn't believe she did it and attempts toget her out of jail. Are there improbable events along the way? Yes,but I barely noticed them because I was enjoying the movie too much tostop and criticize. How can you criticize a film that may have made afew leaps into the improbable when for the bulk of the film, everythingcould very well have happened as depicted? Crowe and Banks deliverwhile supported by a cast that clearly believed in this movie. This isthe first time I've understood the hype about Haggis though I lovedCasino Royale.

arjunkaul

(2012-03-19 17:33:14)

Enjoyable movie

The reason that this film probably didn't make as much money as a lotof other films of the time has to do with the fact that the generalfilm going public today has a culturally challenged view of cinema.This film had everything you would want in two hour entertainment:Great story, well acted out characters, crisp narrative, excitement,longing, drama, and a persuasive mood.Apart from the great performances by the leads, the supporting roleswere played very strong. Think memorable.This film is another one I'll want my friends/family to see.Well done.

(2012-03-19 04:58:00)

surprisingly good!

i wasn't expecting a lot seeing this movie. A pleasant surprise. I haven't enjoyed too many of Russell Crowe's movies, but really liked this one. Crowe and the rest of the cast are excellent set amongst the gorgeous surrounding of the Pittsburgh area. A good choice to set the film in....the area is one of the nicest (if not the nicest) big city areas in the country. I used to live in that area and after living in various other places across the country, i really wish i was back there!The film is definitely one that bears "repeat-watchings" so i will be definitely buying the blu-ray disc come release day. Highly recommended.

(2012-03-19 17:28:32)

DVD NEXT THREE DAYS

This review is from: The Next Three Days (DVD) SUPER GREAT MOVIE. GREAT CAST. RUSSELL CROWE WAS SUPERB. ON THE EDGE OF THE SEAT THE WHOLE MOVIE!! HAD TO SEE IT TWICE, THERE WAS SO MUCH ACTION!!

(2012-03-19 02:22:11)

positive depiction of marital/family life

This review is from: The Next Three Days (Amazon Instant Video) I had to rent it twice. It was so slow, it didn't hold my attention long enough to see it in one sitting. That said, it was good enough and intellectual enough for me to rent it again to finish. After seeing it, the only lasting impression I had was that it was a fairly clean film that showed a rare depiction of a happy family and a healthy marital relationship. For that alone, I would recommend it.

(2012-03-11 16:42:18)

Suspense Thriller/Love Story

I enjoyed this movie all the way through. Actually apprecited the action slowing a bit occasionally, so I could relax. The Next Three Days is definitely worth seeing. Mostly shown from the perspective of the husband, played by Russell Crowe, who is completely devoted to his wife and their son. Really look forward to the DVD release and hopefully a Director's Cut.

featheredsun

(2012-03-11 06:58:58)

Yelling at the Screen-Thrilling

I can't remember the last time I was so urgently invested in the plotof a movie to where I'm constantly yelling-willing-urging the characterto do this, do that, no! DON'T DO THAT!!! This film has a deceptivelyslow beginning but builds to a pace that is nail-biting andedge-of-your seat. Something about the characters' actions andreactions (and the amazingly TENSE situations they are in) made this amovie I got intensely emotionally invested in.Crowe absolutely shines. You feel sympathy for his sad situation, youhalf-hate his obsession, and then you hope like hell for his success.Some real swings there, all in one character and one film.Great flick. Just be prepared to grab/hit/throw something whilewatching it, just to relieve the tension!