The Call Review
RYAN: The Call starring Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin is a new thriller, almost action movie. I didn’t have major expectations because these movies can be cheesy but I thought this was actually riveting.
CHUCK: It definitely has good parts. It was somewhat formulaic, which you can expect. But Halle did a fantastic job. She was very believable and understated.
RYAN: She looks incredible and this is really her second best performance since winning the Oscar for Monster’s Ball. She was equally great in Cloud Atlas. She’s back on a roll!
CHUCK: She can show up in a newspaper and look good.
RYAN: It’s the most suspenseful movie I’ve seen recently. I found it suspenseful like the movie Speed. Keanu Reeves, anyone?
CHUCK: [laughs’ Yes I remember.
RYAN: I was literally stressed out watching this movie!
CHUCK: I wouldn’t go that far but it had its moments. I liked the first two-thirds the most. There were some interesting plot inclusions and you don’t know where it will lead.
RYAN: I liked that there’s a twist in this movie and for all that it is formulaic to a point, then it becomes not.
CHUCK: I agree. Not to give anything away but the ending was certainly not expected. I also liked seeing Abigail Breslin doing something out of her element.
RYAN: Yes this is not American Girl, Kit Kittredge. I didn’t even recognize her right away. She looks so different with bright blond hair in this movie.
CHUCK: She is growing up.
RYAN: Halle basically spends the whole movie in one room.
CHUCK: That’s got to be a challenge as an actor – to command the audience when it’s just her on the phone.
RYAN: You could feel what she was feeling because she did such a great job conveying it all.
CHUCK: To create suspense in that setting was really great. And that also speaks to the editing, direction, all of that.
RYAN: And the bad guy in this really reminded me of, like, a cross between the serial killer in Silence of the Lambs and Jeffrey Dahmer.
CHUCK: He does look like a normal, average guy.
RYAN: There were shades of Silence of the Lambs in this.
CHUCK: I found it derivative of that movie, but with an ABC Family twist.
RYAN: There’s nothing ABC family about this film. This is rated R for language, violence and blood!
CHUCK: It wasn’t as disturbing.
RYAN: Oh I thought it was.
CHUCK: I just mean we’re a bit more desensitized to it now, after seeing and knowing, like, Silence of the Lambs.
RYAN: That’s a good point. But it’s certainly still very disturbing.
— BOTTOM LINE —
CHUCK: It’s a serviceable thriller. If you go see this in the theater, you will walk out having had an enjoyable time at the movies.
RYAN: I liked it. It’s not brilliant but it’s a strong, popcorn thriller that’s fun to go in, knowing you’re gonna feel tense and be a little bit scared. It was scarier and grittier than any horror film of 2012. It’s stuff that can actually happen.
