Top

film

Stories

 

Brake

Comments (0) By Michael Atkinson Wednesday, Mar 21 2012

Details

Brake
Directed by Gabe Torres
IFC Films
Opens March 21, IFC Center

Related Content

More About

All right, now it's no longer just a stunt; it's a subgenre—the Lone-Actor-Trapped-in-a-Confined-Space Thriller. Squeezing into the claustro-footsteps of James Franco, Ryan Reynolds, and Adrien Brody, Stephen Dorff wakes up in a tricked-out Plexiglas box inside a car trunk, supplied by his torturers with a CB and a helpfully bright and largely irrelevant timer with big red digits. The surface questions—Who is he? What do they want from him? Is the other kidnappee whining on the CB for real? etc.—are all the film has on its plate, plus a cloud of honeybees injected into the trunk. Espionage pulp in a can, the movie can hardly avoid sensory-deprivation effects, compelling us to speculate on an it's-all-fake twist early on because the story has virtually nowhere else to go. Dorff’s mannered Bruce Willis affect seems as insincere as the script, which helplessly loses credibility as info accrues and the narrative unpeels. Regardless of whether you second-guess the climax or not, it'll thoroughly piss you off.

Related Content

Check out this week's featured ad for Restaurants
More Ads >>
 
My Voice Nation Help
1 comments
  Livefyre
Sort: Newest | Oldest
Dean Searle
Dean Searle

What a terrible review! The movie is spoiled big time. This is a review only to be read after seeing the movie to promote discussion. There was alot of good in the movie and none of your points were built upon.

 
VOICE Daily Deals

Now Showing

Find capsule reviews, showtimes & tickets for all films in town.

Powered By VOICE Places

Slideshows

Join My Voice Nation for free stuff, film info & more!


Box Office

  1. Star Trek Into Darkness, 70.2 mil, 83.7 mil
  2. Iron Man 3, 35.8 mil, 337.7 mil
  3. The Great Gatsby, 23.9 mil, 90.7 mil
  4. Pain & Gain, 3.2 mil, 46.7 mil
  5. The Croods, 3.0 mil, 177.0 mil
  6. 42, 2.8 mil, 88.8 mil
  7. Oblivion, 2.3 mil, 85.6 mil
  8. Mud, 2.2 mil, 11.7 mil
  9. Peeples, 2.2 mil, 7.9 mil
  10. The Big Wedding, 1.2 mil, 20.3 mil
Movie Title, Weekly Earnings, Total Earnings

Movie Trailers

More News Stories >
©2013 Village Voice, LLC, All rights reserved.
Browse Voice Nation
  • Voice Places New York

    Voice Places

    Find everything you're looking for in your city

  • Happy Hour App

    Happy Hour App

    Find the best happy hour deals in your city

  • Daily Deals

    Daily Deals

    Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%

  • Best Of

    Best Of...

    Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city