Here we go again

With what? What, you may ask, are we doing again? Well, I'm writing about a movie (again) and you're still reading. We're off to a fine start.

Just watched Running Scared and this is another one of those movies that I just have to say something about. I am for sure a Paul Walker fan. I enjoyed the crap out of the first two Fast and Furious movies (and I'm a fan of Lucas Black, too, meaning I'll inevitably see the third), but he really earned my respect in Noel, which is another one I recommend. Anyhoo, I missed this one in theaters, so I was quite excited to pick it up on DVD today. The movie is absolutely wonderful, it starts off with a bang and never really stops. The story winds in and out of some of the most elaborate twists I've seen in quite a while, and the climax (well, one of them anyway) is perhaps the most intense since Saw. I mean, this isn't just white-knuckle-intense, this gets into there's-no-more-armrest-because-I've-shredded-it-intense territory. Seriously, the hockey rink, pure cinematic genius.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the movie was Cameron Bright. I've noticed him popping up more and more recently. I first saw him in Godsend, which is great. If you saw Hide and Seek, regardless of your opinion, you should see Godsend. Shame on de Niro, but these are the exact same movie just with a different cast. It's just that the Godsend pulls it off so much better. Anyway, back on track here, he's also been in Ultraviolet and X-Men: The Last Stand (ooh, ooh, another good one!) that I've seen. He's good in 'em all, but he takes the cake in this movie. Simply incredible. He's got this quiet intensity that's hard to describe but that helped drive the movie along (he was one of the reasons Godsend was so much better than that other movie). I hope this kid makes it big.

Also, Vera Farmiga turns in a powerful performance. One of the nifty things about this movie, one which Roger Ebert picked up on, is the fact that even the smaller characters have some long scenes. Without spoiling anything, her character makes one of the best saves of the movie in what has to be one of the most disturbing scenes in recent memory.

Somewhere along in my rant, I lost track of the fact that I originally picked up this movie because I'm a Paul Walker fan. Granted, there was not much time for 'acting' on his part in the movie. As Ebert puts it, he more or less "behaves". But, all things considered, he "behaves" rather well (and by "rather well" i mean "phenomenally"). The liberal use of the f-bomb aside, he's got the super-intense guy running for his life thing nailed. Wonderful stuff here.

And again going back to the hockey rink scene, I'm just not going to be able to stop talking about that one for quite some time, I think.

Did I mention that the way the movie was shot, the nifty camera angles, and some of the terribly poignant imagery might be some of the best I've seen? It's artsy and unique without the pinkie-in-the-air pretension that goes along with most independent films that attempt to be different. The difference may be that the style this movie is shot in not only add to the intensity, but they further the storyline and the characters as well.

Again, I'd like to encourage everybody to just go out and buy this movie. Go. Shoo. Now.