"Prisoners" on BLU RAY – A Review Of The 2013 Film…

Here is a link to Amazon UK to get this BLU RAY at the best price:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00GBZVOEY

“…He Knows Where They Are!” – Prisoners on BLU RAY

Young parents Keller and Grace Dover walk over to the suburban home of Franklin and Nancy Birch in the November cold for a Thanksgiving Dinner involving neighbours, laughter and bad trumpet playing (Hugh Jackman, Maria Bello, Terence Howard and Viola Davis). Their respective daughters of 7 and 6 Anna and Eliza happily play upstairs with a pet while the adults below drink and reminisce. That is until both children go outside to play - and unaccompanied - addle up to the back of a muddied RV parked suspiciously by the kerb in broad daylight...

Although I thoroughly despise material that uses children being hurt as entertainment - "Prisoners" beats the pants off so many supposed thrillers because it reeks of intelligence (a fantastic and clever script) and has a cast that emotionally rivets you to the screen every second they're up there. It's also prepared to be silent - ordinary even - thereby making some scenes disturbingly close to how real life actually is. It's unnerving, creepy and stomach churning in places too (there are monsters out there).

In order for this to work you need major league actors - and lots of them - and right down to a repentant Paedophile Priest - even the small parts are perfectly cast. Hugh Jackman plays Keller Dover - a redecorator/builder and a 'prepare for the worst' deer-shooting survivalist - while his wife Grace believes she'll and her family will be 'safe' with him. Mild-mannered neighbours and friends Franklin and Nancy Birch have the opposite dynamic - the wife is the boss while her husband is more reflective.  But when a local simpleton Alex Jones is found singing in the front seat of the squalid RV and arrested but won't talk - both sets of parents have their patience and nerves tested. Frustrated by the cops lack of progress and working to the letter of the law - and with the days passing and time running out for their abducted daughters - Alpha Male Keller decides to take matters into his own hands...

Into this emotional cauldron comes Detective Loki who’s solved every case he's ever been given. He may at times seem too detached from the parent's pain and rage - but he's a man who spots things and sees through the lies in people (a mesmerizing Jake Gyllenhaal). Obsessive yet law-abiding - he instinctively feels that spaced out Alex Jones who can't say much but can still drive an RV easily - is lying - sickly concealing the whereabouts of the girls and enjoying the cat and mouse game too (an Oscar performance yet again from Paul Dano - the preacher in "There Will Be Blood"). But is he? And what about his heart-broken mother (subtle brilliance from Melissa Leo) who has defended this social outcast all her life - despite her religion-obsessed husband leaving years back and abandoning them both. Keller even goes after her. In the meantime Grace Dover (a ragged looking Maria Bello) simply breaks at the enormity of her child being lost - while the stoical Nancy folds her arms, grits her teeth and reconciles herself to what both fathers must do - go over demarcation lines you really shouldn't cross...

The genius of Aaron Guzikowski's script and Dennis Villeneuve's Direction is that one whole hour in - and you're absolutely none the wiser as to who is the bad guy and who isn't. And it has to be said that some of the violence is horrible and cringing. But what keeps you watching is the sheer visceral power of the actors. The dance between Jackman and Gyllenhaal is fantastic cinema - both men barely holding on to any humanity or faith as the frustration mounts and suspicions arise (exactly the sick kind of mental torture the abductor wants to inflict on them). And you also sit there questioning just how far a determined parent would go to get their child back (abusing a man who may or may not be an innocent).

Special mention has to be made of the picture quality of the BLU RAY. Defaulted to Full Aspect (which fills up the whole screen) - "Prisoners" is starkly gorgeous and truly beautiful throughout. Often without any music - the blunt and stainless steel cold angles ratchet up the tension to unbearable levels (fear of what is happening to the children). It's the Cinematography genius of ROGER DEAKINS ("The Shawshank Redemption" and "True Grit"). Scene after scene is filled with it: casing a house in the pouring rain at night - Jones walking his dog as Keller spies on him from a nearby truck - the decaying body tied to a chair in the basement of a suspect's house - Detective Loki interviewing a sex offender you can't see behind a filthy pane of glass - Loki's tired bulging eyes and unkempt stubble (hasn't slept for days) as he leans forward into a computer monitor scouring the screen for any detail that will help - closing in on the jagged bark of a tree... The framing of everything is the unsung hero of the movie - adding unbelievable depth and genuine unease that serves right up until the superb and clever ending.

There are two Extras - the short "Every Moment Counts" and the more extensive "Powerful Performers" which features enthusiastic interviews with all the principal actors, Director Dennis Villeneuve and Producers Kara Davis and Broderick Johnson. But don't watch "Powerful Performers" before you watch the movie - it rather clumsily gives away far too much in terms of the twisting plot.

The brilliant and unsettling "Prisoners" had my wife and I on the edge of our seats unable to press the pause button to desperately go to the loo. Now that's how you put the 'thrill' in thriller.

Job done I'd say...

"The Jane Austen Book Club" on BLU RAY - A Review Of The 2007 Film Reissued And Remastered Onto A 'European' BLU RAY...

                                                  

                                                     The Jane Austen Book Club on BLU RAY

It was November 2007 in London and I'd just come back from an early evening showing of JACB in our nearby multiplex on a wet and windy Saturday night. My mate Franklin and I were looking for something uplifting and light and decided on this. No one else did. We were the lone two in the cinema - literally.

The Jane Austen Book Club had received 3-star reviews almost everywhere in the Austen-is-ours UK and condescendingly labelled a mere chick-flick because of the mostly female cast and JA themes - the most famous and adored female writer in history (it was released on DVD 17 March 2008 and on BLU RAY, 5 February 2008). Which is a damn shame because The Jane Austen Book Club was/is much better than that and we both thought so too. And in the two decades that have passed since its release, this film has gained a cult audience worldwide. Rewatching it in September 2026 on this gorgeous All Regions Denmark BLU RAY I bought years ago to own a copy – it still holds up, looks fabulous and is frankly a little bit of an uplifting nugget…

Based on the book by Karen Joy Fowler and adapted by first-time Director Robin Swicord with amazing skill - here's the basic story: Six women of different ages and sexual persuasions form a book club to discuss something that unites and excites them all - Jane Austen's six period-piece novels. One will be tackled and talked about every month in a different location whilst life and love and fucked up city madness intermingle. There's "Pride & Prejudice", "Sense & Sensibility", "Emma", "Northanger Abbey", " Mansfield Park" and "Persuasion". The original book author planned each to be loosely based on Austen heroes – so you get Kathy Baker's Bernadette representing Mrs. Gardiner in Pride And Prejudice, Amy Brennaman's mother-hen in the kitchen character based on Fanny Price in Mansfield Park, pooch-worshipping Jocelyn (Maria Bello) reflecting the title character in the least-liked Austen novel, Emma, and so on.

The actresses/actors are Amy Brennaman playing the adoring and faithful Jocelyn who is married to and having trouble with her mid-life crisis husband Daniel played by Jimmy Smits (sweet turns from both). In an early breakout role, Emily Blunt is the wound-tighter-than-a-drum Prudie, a school teacher lusting after an 18-year hunky student played by the handsome Kevin Zegers. Prudie is getting nothing mentally or physically from her basic guy of a husband Dean (a superbly assured part for Marc Blucas that grows as the movie progresses). Running in an out of her chaos and French-spoken tears is Prudie's mad hippy mum played with gusto by a make-up be-damned Lynn Redgrave. Prudie doesn't know who her Dad is – her Mum can't be trusted even in older age (oven fires, joints in cars) while everything Prudie wears and does reflects a damaged woman screaming for order and constancy – a French teacher who feels she's a fraud because she's never been to France. 

Next up is the free spirit of the bunch - Kathy Baker playing Bernadette, the oldest, who has been married six times and is happily looking for husband number seven. The gorgeous and vivacious sky-diving love-missile fireball Maggie Grace plays Amy Brennaman and Jimmy Smits' daughter Allegra who is a hot young lesbian in love with a manipulative writer she meets in hospital having tumbled off a rock-climbing face (the beautiful Parisa Fitz-Henry plays Corrine). And finally, Maria Bello is Jocelyn who loves dogs more than almost anything - including men. Throw in a male love interest for Maria Bello's character in the shape of a charming and funny Hugh Dancy playing bicycling Star Wars nerd boy Grigg and the stage is set for each book to be devoured and discussed. Much like their gadget strewn Californian lives. 

 

The Writer/Director Robin Swicord has sculpted their lives to mirror Austen's plots and as some reviewers have pointed out, these bits are a little too pat for comfort. But that doesn't stop the dialogue from being repeatedly touching and amazingly on the pulse on how love is in the complicated and confusing 2000s. There are rare insights here and beautifully observed snippets of life too (taking a tip from a device Austen uses in her books - dialogue by Kathy Baker's character titles this review).

The actresses as you can imagine (given great material) are uniformly superb, especially Emily Blunt who looks ravishing every time the camera is pointed at her - and I commented back in 2008 that she was a huge star in the making if ever there was one. Maria Bello is her usual classy self, bringing real gravitas and warmth to her character, who must do the most 'growing' and Amy Brennaman adds a real earthiness to what would have been a little too frothy a crew. Maggie Grace is both lovely and sexy as the passionate and headstrong daughter. The warmth and sheer class of Kathy Baker combined with a brilliantly nutty fruitcake turn by Lynn Redgrave only add icing to an already fantastic ensemble cake. As Jimmy Smits says in a Making Of interview, the cast liked each other and the material, and the 30-day Indie-type gotta-get-it-done shoot permeated into the performances – he says you'll see it on screen and he's right – there's fun and warmth here and I think that positivity has been picked up by audiences ever since its modest earnings in 2007 and 2008.

Then come the men who are excellent choices both as actors and eye-candy. The hugely likeable Hugh Dancy plays the hapless Grigg who fancies Maria Bello's character Jocelyn - but she only wants to pair him off with Amy Brennaman's character Sylvia. Sylvia is too much in love with/and hurt by her now parted/cheating husband Jimmy Smits to notice anyone. Jimmy Smits is excellent and so likeable - it's easy to see why Robin Swicord wanted to work with him. Emily Blunt's prim and proper Prudie is driven by her need to be neat, ordered and have everything just so, but she is wild inside for forbidden fruit - licking her rather delicious lips at the heartthrob that is Trey played by Kevin Zegers ("...he looks at me like he's the spoon...and I'm a dish of ice cream..."). But the unfolding surprise is Marc Blucas as Blunt's husband Dean - his performance is clever - he seems like a sap at first trapped in a marriage he no longer understands, but his growth back to his wife is beautifully handled and convincing. And then of course there's that writer - the gorgeous Jane Austen - who generation-after-generation takes every heart by storm. Hearing each of Austen's novels discussed and critiqued and then hearing extracts from some of them only makes you want to run out and instantly buy all six - then go on a Jane-bender yourself.

I played the British DVD before the Euro BLU RAY on my 4K BLU RAY player with an 8K interconnect and the picture clarity was startling. The DVD is lovely but the Remastered Hi-Def Danish BLU RAY improves things considerably – clarity is everywhere. Close-up scenes are clear – even in the rapid-fire opening montages of Californians stressed and frustrated by modernity – it’s all good. Aspect Ratio is 2:40:1 (Full Screen), Audio is English and Italian True HD 5.1 while Subtitles are Danish, Finnish, Nordic, Swedish, English and Italian. 

The Jane Austen Book Club is not quite a rom-com nor a full-on girly fest - it's much better than that. Like Austen's writing, it's properly romantic and wordy-delicious and you will want to return to it like an illicit ice-cream tub in a fridge with your name on it. More importantly, you can't help but feel that real heart, belief and joy went into the making of this little film and all concerned had a total blast doing it. Crack the spine (if you haven’t already) on this literary/filmic peach…

BLU RAY Specifications:

REGIONS: A, B and C (all regions)
ASPECT: High Definition Widescreen 2.40:1 (1.78:1 and 16.9)
AUDIO: English TrueHD 5.1 and Italian TrueHD 5.1
SUBTITLES: Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Italian, English and English for the Hard Of Hearing

BONUS Material:
Cast And Crew Commentary (Subtitles in English and Italian)
Behind-The-Scenes of The Jane Austen Book Club
The Life Of Jane Austen
The Book Club: Deconstructed
Walking The Red Carpet Los Angeles Premier (DVD-only feature)
Deleted Scenes
Trailers

Barcode for Danish disc is 5051159223470 – they're using it for UK releases too

PS: The Jane Austen Book Club BLU RAY was reissued/repackaged 25 August 2026 in the USA but even though it has extra audio and subtitles (French, Spanish, Portuguese etc) - unfortunately it comes with little else changed or added to its preceding 2008 issue…

“The Jane Austen Book Club” on DVD. A Review Of The 2007 Movie Now Released On DVD.

"…Never Underestimate The Power Of A Well-Written Letter…"

It's November 2007 (released on DVD 17 March 2008) and I've just come back from an early evening showing of this film in our nearby multiplex on a wet and windy Saturday night in London. My mate and I were looking for something uplifting and light and decided on this. No one else did. We were the lone two in the cinema - literally. I suspect that's because "The Jane Austen Book Club" has received 3-star reviews almost everywhere - which is a damn shame - because it's so much better than that - and we both thought so.

Here's the basic story: Six women of different ages and sexual persuasions form a book club to discuss something that unites and excites them all - Jane Austen's six period-piece novels. One will be tackled and talked about every month in the club in a different location. There's "Pride & Prejudice", "Sense & Sensibility", "Emma", "Northanger Abbey", " Mansfield Park" and "Persuasion". The actresses are Amy Brennaman (who is married to and having trouble with Jimmy Smits), Emily Blunt (who is a married teacher lusting after an 18-year hunky student, while she gets nothing mentally or physically from her basic guy of a husband and mad hippy mum), Kathy Baker (the oldest in the group, who has been married six times and is happily looking for husband number seven), Maggie Grace who's Amy Brennaman's daughter and a lesbian in love with a manipulative writer - and finally Maria Bello - who loves dogs more than almost anything - including men.

The Writer/Director Robin Swicord has sculpted their lives to mirror Austen's plots and as some reviewers have pointed out, these bits are a little too pat for comfort. But that doesn't stop the dialogue from being repeatedly touching and amazingly on the pulse of how love is in the complicated and confusing 2000s. There are rare insights here and beautifully observed snippets of life too (taking a tip from a device Austen uses in her books - dialogue by Kathy Baker's character titles this review).

The actresses as you can imagine (given great material) are uniformly superb also - especially Emily Blunt - who looks ravishing every time the camera is pointed at her - a huge star in the making if ever there was one. Maria Bello is her usual classy self, bringing real gravitas and warmth to her character, who has to do the most 'growing' and Amy Brennaman adds a real earthiness to what would have been a little too frothy a crew. Maggie Grace is both lovely and sexy as the passionate and headstrong daughter. The warmth and sheer class of Kathy Baker combined with a brilliantly nutty fruitcake turn by Lynn Redgrave only add icing to an already fantastic ensemble cake.

Then come the men who are excellent choices both as actors and eye-candy. The hugely likeable Hugh Dancy plays the hapless Grigg who fancies Maria Bello's character Jocelyn - but she only wants to pair him off with Amy Brennaman's character Sylvia. Sylvia is too much in love with/and hurt by her now parted/cheating husband Jimmy Smits to notice anyone. Jimmy Smits is excellent and so likeable - it's easy to see why Robin Swicord wanted to work with him. Emily Blunt's prim and proper Prudie is driven by her need to be neat, ordered and have everything just so - but she is wild inside for forbidden fruit - licking her rather delicious lips at the heartthrob that is Trey played by Kevin Zegers ("...he looks at me like he's the spoon...and I'm a dish of ice cream..."). But the unfolding surprise is Marc Blucas as Blunt's husband Dean - his performance is clever - he seems like a sap at first trapped in a marriage he no longer understands - but his growth back to his wife is beautifully handled and convincing.

And then of course there's 'that' writer - the gorgeous Jane Austen - who generation-after-generation takes every heart by storm. Hearing each of Austen's novels discussed and critiqued and then hearing extracts from some of them only makes you want to run out and instantly buy all six - then go on a Jane-bender yourself.

"The Jane Austen Book Club" is not quite a rom-com - nor a full-on girly fest - it's much better than that. Like Austen's writing - it's properly romantic and wordy-delicious - and you want to return to it again and again. More importantly - you can't help but feel that real heart, belief and joy went into the making of this 'little film' and all concerned had a total blast doing it.

"The Jane Austen Book Club" is that rarest of things in Hollywood these days - a movie that gives you both romance and heart - and doesn't get cloying on either. Personally I think it's a bit of an unsung masterpiece. Ignore the so-so reviews and give it a whirl...

PS: There now follows extracts from my all new 2007 in-the-real-world kickass street version of "Pride & Prejudice" - coming to a multiplex near you - just in time for Oscars 2008 next year.
Mister Darcy (played by a bald Bruce Willis) has just emerged from the lake all clingy and wet and unable to control his ardor no more.
He pulls Miss Bennett (played by Sharon Stone in a ludicrously tight rubber bodice) to his chest in a saucy-fellow Errol Flynn kind of way.
There is a longing in his visage and it isn't for English tea and muffins.
There is something in his eye and it isn't engine-oil or grit.

MISTER DARCY
(Looking down at her heaving bosoms)
Oh Miss Bennett!

ELIZABETH BENNETT
(Looking down at something else that's heaving)
Oh Mister Darcy! What is ‘that' in your soggy breaches?
(She now looks away to Pemberley's six hundred bedrooms - suddenly acquires a glint in her eye)
Let's go back to your place!!