Unknown (DVD/Blu-Ray) - Dir. Jaume Collet-Serra. Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones.
Above-average thriller with a tantalizing premise and speedy pacing.
An American man (Liam Neeson) awakens from a coma after an accident in Berlin to find that no one remembers or recognizes him, including his wife.
Neeson runs around screaming for the next two hours while still remaining classy, as he always manages to do.
I can only imagine the challenge it must have been coming up with a satisfactory conclusion to the "impossible" premise this story was built upon. That's why the mystery's solution, which uses a bit of Hollywood psychology but nothing patently absurd or supernatural, is so impressive. It's a little convoluted, and not without its share of minor plot holes, but it wraps things up in a surprisingly tidy manner.
Perhaps more importantly, Unknown pays its dues as a thriller long before the answers start coming. It's equally engrossing during a chase sequence or a quiet chat across a desk, and it ups the ante at all the right moments.
January Jones (Mad Men) is a weak spot. As the wife of Neeson's character, she has the dead-eyed expression of a ground squirrel permanently etched on her face.
I've never quite been able to buy Liam Neeson with an American accent, but at least he looks like he's trying.
The action hero theatrics of the third act are a little out of place in what feels more like a psychological thriller, but the transition is made fairly smoothly.
If the film is trying to ape the success of Taken, it comes close enough.
Rated PG-13 for sensible, economical car chases.
4 out of 5
Cedar Rapids (DVD/Blu-Ray) - Dir. Miguel Arteta. Starring Ed Helms, John C. Reilly. Anne Heche.
Dull but well-meaning comedy that's a little too down-to-earth for its own good.
A sheltered small-town insurance salesman (Ed Helms) is exposed to a world of drinking and debauchery on his first trip to an annual insurance convention in Cedar Rapids.
Helms (The Office, The Hangover) is backed up by a high-quality trio of comic actors in John C. Reilly, Isiah Whitlock Jr., and Anne Heche, who play three fellow salesmen at the convention.
Together, they drag Helms' character out of his shell using (respectively) shenanigans, hijinx, and tomfoolery.
The sleep-inducing description above should be a sign that Cedar Rapids does not live on the strength of its plot. This is a character film, and though it takes a while, it does eventually deliver.
The four lead characters have layers of depth beyond what's typical for the genre, and once we learn to like them, the movie improves considerably.
Cedar Rapids leans closer to the "realistic" side of the comedy scale, even flirting occasionally with drama. The "R" rating is given for some relatively tame drug and sexual content, not the gross-out jokes that are more typical of comedies with this pedigree.
The humor works, but is spread thin, and the more serious patches of development for Helms' character are not particularly profound or original. From start to finish, the story simply isn't very interesting.
Most of the laughs come from John C. Reilly, whose character is loud, obnoxious, and - it turns out - the most sincere and believable of anyone in the film.
Well-executed for what it is, but no one is missing out by giving this one a pass.
Rated R for a hooker with a heart of crack.
3 out of 5
