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Dr. Lecter
You must have big rats
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm Posts: 92093 Location: Bonn, Germany
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Man on a Ledge
Man on a LedgeQuote: Man on a Ledge is a 2012 thriller film directed by Asger Leth, starring Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell and Ed Harris. Filming took place in New York City.
_________________The greatest thing on earth is to love and to be loved in return!
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Wed Jan 25, 2012 10:00 pm |
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Dr. Lecter
You must have big rats
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm Posts: 92093 Location: Bonn, Germany
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Re: Man on a Ledge
B-Quote: In the case of Man on a Ledge the film’s title very accurately describes one half of the film. I am saying one half because the movie is a bizarre mash-up of other (better) movies. Asger Leth’s first feature film (he has previously directed the acclaimed documentary Ghost of Cité Soleil) is equal parts Phone Booth, The Negotiator and Inside Man.
The movie opens with Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington), checking into a fancy room in Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. After having a good meal, he calmly steps out of the window on a ledge, some 200 feet above street level and waits for police to arrive. Once there, he demands to talk to a specific negotiator, Lydia Mercer, played by Elizabeth Banks. Mercer’s reputation has recently been jaded by her most recent operation ending in a suicide afterall. Eventually she and her colleagues find out that Cassidy is, in fact, an ex-cop-turn-convict who has recently escaped from prison. His claim is that he has been set up by the real estate tycoon David Englander (Ed Harris) who blamed an apparent theft of his precious diamond on Cassidy. Now Cassidy has set a plan into motion to prove his innocence and expose Englander’s wrongdoings and him stepping out on a ledge is a crucial part of that plan. Can you follow it so far? So far this heavily sounds like Joel Schumacher’s far superior thriller Phone Booth which saw Colin Farrell trapped by a faceless sniper in the eponymous phone booth for the duration of the film with a little bit of The Negotiator (Samuel L. Jackson plays a professional police negotiator who is set up by his superiors) mixed into it. But as I have mentioned above, this is only one side of the film. Simultaneously to the described events a heist takes place across the street from the Roosevelt Hotel. Nick’s younger brother Joey (Jamie Bell) and his girlfriend (Genesis Rodriguez) orchestrate a break-in into Englander’s vault to find the diamond and thus prove Nick’s innocence. In the meanwhile Nick provides the necessary diversion.
What sounds as a definitely workable premise never really finds a truly solid footing. The individual parts of the film work rather well, but they don’t really gel together. Sam Worthington does a fairly convincing job as he is finally not turning blue or fighting mythological monsters. A lot here rests on his shoulders as about 90% of his role involves him sitting/standing/walking on the ledge. There is not much to play with here and he makes the best out of it. The usually lovable Elizabeth Banks makes the best she can out of her extremely clichéd role as the disgraced negotiator. The two work together well, even though Banks’ character starts to believe Nick Cassidy’s story way too fast. Fortunately the writers decided against trying to inject some romantic motions into this part of the plot. However, even though a good part of the film focuses on Worthington on the building’s ledge, there is barely ever a palpable sense of fear or danger here. Unlike in Phone Booth the constraints of the setting are just not used well enough, especially considering that it is the film’s main selling point (it’s the movie’s title!). There is never a real “will-he-or-won’t-he” kind of feel here which certainly diminishes the suspense, though it doesn’t entirely kill it.
The parallel heist part of the film manages to build up more tension, however one can never get past the plot holes and the logic gaps of it. We’re just supposed to buy into the idea of two amateurs managing to learn (in theory, no less) how to break into a high-security vault within a year. It’s possible to let that slide, though as heist flicks have never been known for being particularly realistic or logical. It does deliver in the thrills department and that is what counts. Jamie Bell is a welcome presence, while Genesis Rodriguez serves purely as eye candy here. It’s Ed Harris’ smarmy villain who delivers the film’s best it of acting, but his screentime is unfortunately rather short. Absolutely lost in the shuffle is Kyra Sedgwick’s overzealous sensationalist TV reporter. If her character was to be cut out of the film, the viewer would never notice. Anthony Mackie appears as Cassidy’s ex-colleague and continues to fail to build on the acting monumentum he out forward with The Hurt Locker. It is a generic and absolutely unmemorable role, not deserving of such a promsing actor.
However, credit is where credit is due. Despite workman-like direction, an average technical execution and a somewhat ridiculous set-up, the movie never fails to keep the audience involved. It moves at a very swift pace, alternating between the heist and Worthington’s scenes on the ledge. There’s a constant been-there seen-that feel during the film, but that still doesn’t detract much from the enjoyment. What does hurt it, though, is that in the final 20 minutes the film’s logic finally steps out on the ledge itself and, without any hesitation, jumps to the ground. Some character’s actions become simply inexplicable, whereas certain resolutions and twists seem way too convenient. It’s as if the screenwriter who hasn’t exactly served up terribly original concepts before, just ran out of ideas and wrapped up things quickly in the most simplistic way. Even though there are still thrills here and there during the finale, one can’t help but chuckle at the ridiculousness of the whole thing. The film is not a bad way to waste 100 minutes, but the main thing it achieves is the longing to watch the superior films it has ripped off. http://www.worldofkj.com/article.php?i=608
_________________The greatest thing on earth is to love and to be loved in return!
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Wed Jan 25, 2012 10:01 pm |
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Jmart
Superman: The Movie
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2004 8:47 am Posts: 21152 Location: Massachusetts
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Re: Man on a Ledge
Aside from ONE GIGANTIC LEAP in logic towards the end (keeping in mind that if you pay any close attention you'll see this is riddled with plotholes) and Kyra Sedgwick, I had a pretty good time watching this. It sets out to be an entertaining fantasy of the little guys getting back at the one percent, and it does exactly that.
_________________My DVD Collection Marty McGee (1989-2005)
If I’m not here, I’m on Letterboxd.
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Sat Jan 28, 2012 4:40 am |
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_axiom
The Wall
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:50 am Posts: 16163 Location: Croatia
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Re: Man on a Ledge
6/10 -> C
A fun movie which slightly overstays its welcome. It features a neat twist on an otherwise cliched plot (innocent cop being set up by dirty cops and a rich guy). I liked the actors in this one. None of them was given much to do, but it seemed like everything clicked just like it should and they did a good job as a result.
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Sat Mar 10, 2012 4:15 pm |
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zingy
College Boy Z
Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 8:40 pm Posts: 36662
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Re: Man on a Ledge
Your standard heist thriller, nothing more. Too many flaws in the plot to make it really good, but it's sufficiently entertaining.
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Sat Apr 07, 2012 4:55 pm |
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jmovies
Let's Call It A Bromance
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 7:22 pm Posts: 12333
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Re: Man on a Ledge
It has some ridiculous turns along the way but this was really entertaining and the cast was very good. ***
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Wed May 30, 2012 10:19 pm |
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Magic Mike
Wallflower
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:53 am Posts: 34876 Location: Minnesota
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Re: Man on a Ledge
I thought this was very enjoyable. A fun and riveting action thriller.
8/10 (B+)
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Sun Jun 10, 2012 9:45 pm |
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: Man on a Ledge
Despite several decent performances, including Ed Harris breathing malevolent life into a rather thinly conceived role, and the interesting title visual (the man on the ledge), this is a super flawed film short on the suspenseful and long on the mediocre.
A major flaw is how absurd the plot is; I tried to suspend my disbelief, but I can only go so far, I am afraid. It is never explained why the protagonist and his brother (and his girlfriend), despite being a pair of earnest and "innocent" blue-collar Irish American lads, have Ocean's Eleven level criminal abilities. And their ultimate plot doesn't ring true either. There is no pleasure as it comes together because the final steps rely far too much on information, events, and decisions they had no way of knowing in advance. And no one seems to care how many other laws are bulldozed through, and indeed innocent people endangered, just so our hero can prove he did not steal a diamond. There are also far too many peripheral characters, undermining the film's Phone Booth style intentions, and the director does not capitalize on the claustrophobic and vertigo-inducing potential of the storyline as well as he could. By the end, I was just rolling my eyes.
Oh, and as much as I dig Jamie Bell, I found his flirtatious, "playful" banter with Genesis Rodriguez during the heist scenes embarrassing. Completely undercut any potential suspense.
C-
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:48 pm |
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Algren
now we know
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:31 pm Posts: 67039
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Re: Man on a Ledge
Man on a Ledge
A pretty generic, under-par thriller, with the terrible Sam Worthington in a role that, while not as bad as his other movies, required more of an acting pedigree to it. The movies' twists and turns were pretty easy to spot. I knew that the room service guy was in on the plot, it was kind of obvious, he was William Sadler for Christ's sake! There would be no good reason to cast him as simply a room attendant. What I didn't see coming was that it was his father. The whole plot, from beginning to end was a set-up. While not an overly shocking twist, it's why I love movies; they can still manage to fool me and give me something entertaining to watch.
Edward Burns is pretty much pointless in the movie, his role could have been played by anyone else. I thought that the role of Lydia Mercer should have also been played by someone with better acting. The best actor was my fellow countryman, Jamie Bell, he played his role well. His girlfriend was pretty damn hot too (who is going to be starring in the upcoming Arnie movie, The Last Stand). Ed Harris, always believeable as the bad guy. Has the man ever played a good guy?
Personally I don't think a man on a ledge, or a "jumper", would have yielded such a response from the public, but whatever, I can get over that. The thing I cannot get over is how easily he was cleared. I thought the law/legal system was a tad more complicated than to prove your innocence by just holding up the "stolen" diamond and be released before dinner on the very same day. The "money shot" at the end when he jumps off was also ludicrous. The film, overall, was just pretty bad, but it kept my interest, which is more than can be said for some movies this year.
It's very similar to Phone Booth, but not as good.
C
_________________STOP UIGHUR GENOCIDE IN XINJIANG FIGHT FOR TAIWAN INDEPENDENCE FREE TIBET LIBERATE HONG KONG BOYCOTT MADE IN CHINA
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Mon Dec 10, 2012 12:23 am |
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: Man on a Ledge
Ed Harris plays a positive, noble character in The Way Back. A film you should definitely see if you haven't. And, yes, it is absurd how he "clears his name." By committing numerous other crimes and misdemeanors.
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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Mon Dec 10, 2012 1:24 am |
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Algren
now we know
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:31 pm Posts: 67039
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Re: Man on a Ledge
I've heard of The Way Back. I think my gran went to see it. I'll ask her when I call her next..if she remembers it.
Just looked it up. Yeah, she definitely did see it. And Colin Farrell again I see, David, do you have a thing for him? I certainly do. I can watch him in anything. He's really appealing.
_________________STOP UIGHUR GENOCIDE IN XINJIANG FIGHT FOR TAIWAN INDEPENDENCE FREE TIBET LIBERATE HONG KONG BOYCOTT MADE IN CHINA
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Mon Dec 10, 2012 2:19 am |
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: Man on a Ledge
Yes, he is one of my favorite actors. I believe he may be the best movie star of his generation.
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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Mon Dec 10, 2012 1:53 pm |
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Algren
now we know
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:31 pm Posts: 67039
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Re: Man on a Ledge
I wouldn't disagree with you. I also like him very much. Out of the current crop, he's definitely one of the greats. But the start of his career goes back into the 1990s, which means he'd be competing with people like Matt Damon, so it's hard for me to say he's the best. I think he's probably one of the last great stars for me. The new ones just don't cut it; Jeremy Renner, Chris Evans, Sam Worthington, Emile Hirsch, Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson, Hemsworth 1 and 2 etc., I can't think of any more.
_________________STOP UIGHUR GENOCIDE IN XINJIANG FIGHT FOR TAIWAN INDEPENDENCE FREE TIBET LIBERATE HONG KONG BOYCOTT MADE IN CHINA
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Mon Dec 10, 2012 9:29 pm |
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