The Brave One Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD DVD with Terrence Howard (R) +Movie Reviews

Vengeance is Mine...but Who am I?

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 02/09/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Trauma, severe trauma, can unleash aspects of the human personality that may appear as a stranger within. Such is the premise for this well-constructed film by Neil Jordan (screenplay by Roderick Taylor and Bruce Taylor), and while the neither concept of trauma-altered personality or revenge tales is new, THE BRAVE ONE alters the vengeance idea just enough to make it credible and to even draw the viewer into believing that what the character is doing is justified and right! And that is perhaps the most frightening aspect of this terrifying film.

Erica Bain (Jodie Foster) is a night radio talk show performer, a woman who walks the city of New York gathering sounds and observing the mysteries of the 'safest big city' and relates her observations poetically to a large radio audience. Erica is engaged to young physician David (Naveen Andrews) and the couple are very much in love. One night on an evening stroll with their dog they are attacked by thugs, beaten with pipes, and David is killed while Erica narrowly survives. Upon awakening from her coma she is devastated by her loss of David and becomes a strangely haunted woman, unable to sleep, unable to get immediate help from the police, and turns to purchasing a gun in an attempt to right the wrongs she has suffered. This new 'person' or 'stranger within' happens to witness a murder in a little store and to her amazement she responds by killing the murderer. A similar situation happens on the subway where two thugs threaten people, threaten Erica, and Erica again responds by killing the thugs. She feels driven to avenge the death of her David, but at the same time fears her own inner stranger. Erica returns to her radio show, under changing instructions form her boss Carol (Mary Steenburgen), and finds the changes in her psyche result in bracing her listeners about fear on the streets. In her audience is Detective Mercer (Terrence Howard) who has personal problems related to the fact that he has been unable to arrest a known killer. Mercer connects with Erica in various ways, she interviews him for her show, and the two bond. Erica trusts Mercer, wants to share what she is doing, yet hears his frustration about not being able to seek his own brand of revenge frustration against the oily killer he pursues, and decides to eliminate that trauma for Mercer. As the tension builds, the identity of Erica's assailants is discovered, and how she deals with these thugs (and with Mercer's interaction in the solution) forms the surprising ending for the film.

Too little has been written and said about the quality of performances from both Foster and Howard in this tense thriller. These two actors deliver performances so sensitive in execution that memories of previous similar films evaporate. This is a tough film to watch for all the violence not only on the screen but from within the characterizations by the actors (with the capable direction of Neil Jordan), but it is for this viewer one of the strongest films of the year. Perhaps now that the DVD can be viewed within the safety of the home more people will pay attention to a film that deserves awards. Grady Harp, February 08"

Dark, Entertaining Foster Revenge Film

Terence Allen | Atlanta, GA USA | 01/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Brave One continues Jodie Foster's recent foray into the thriller genre. So far, she's produced some pretty good results. She shouldn't be embarassed by either Panic Room, Flightplan, or The Brave One. The writing, directing, and co-stars (Terrence Howard, Naveen Andrews, etc...) are all excellent and Foster is Foster.

Foster plays Erica Bain, an engaged NPR-type radio show host. One night, she and her fiance are walking in Central Park, and are viciously robbed and attacked. Her fiance is killed, and Erica is basically robbed of her happy existence by being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Deciding that revenge is the only way for her to cope with her loss, she proceeds to buy a gun and go on the prowl for her attackers, while developing a friendship with a cop (played by Howard) working on the cases she creates with her vigilantism.

The Brave One shows how a traumatic event can leave psychological scars that are much worse than those of the physical variety. The movie is well-acted, and even if the ending seems unlikely, it seems fair given what has taken place.

The Brave One is a very enjoyable film about a not-so-enjoyable subject - severe trauma and its aftermath. It comes highly recommended."

Vagaries of Revenge

prisrob | New EnglandUSA | 02/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""The Brave One is an examination of what it might take for a real person to become a vigilante, an examination of what might drive a normal woman to become judge, jury, and executioner." Josh Taylor

Erica Bane played by Jodie Foster is one of those women you want to emulate. She is a free wheeling, honest, liberated woman who loves her job and her man. She works for an NPR like station in the 'safest large city in the world". Her voice is authentic and sexy, intelligent and draws you into her world. She loves her life until...Erica and her fiancee are walking their dog one evening in Central Park when they are both assaulted by a team of thugs. Erica is badly beaten, and her fiancee is beaten to death. One moment in time when your life is unalterably forever changed.

Erica takes three week to recover from her head injury and she goes home, alone to her empty apartment. It takes her days to weeks to obtain the courage to walk out the front door. This tragedy has left her changed, she lives in fear, but she finally determines she will no longer allow the fear to rule her life. Erica buys a gun. She is weak and fearful but she cannot sleep. So, Erica walks the streets at night. She witnesses a convenience store murder and in self defense kills the perpetrator. In this one instance Erica faced her fears and killed them with a gun. As time goes on, Erica faces her fears with her anger spurring her on. What is it that is pushing Erica on? In my mind it is facing her fears and surviving. The film is brilliant in its depiction of Erica facing these fears- her anxiety, her grief. The film gives Erica enough time to explore the confusion, frustration and sadness that envelopes her. This is an extraordinary performance by Jodie Foster, one of her best.

Into the picture comes a police detective played by Terrence Howard. This is one of the most believable performances I have seen. My eyes were opened to this man with his sexy, open, honest performance. He is the only member of the police department who actually listens to Erica. She is torn and tormented by what she is doing but she can't stop.

The grit and determination, the reality of a life living and facing your fears is open for a look within. What this terror, grief, and violence does your life is open for us to view. The clues left and discovered by the police detective is also open for us to view. An extraordinary film that does not gloss over nor trivialize the passion, fears and self loathing that becomes pervasive. I was truly mesmerized by these performances and the film.

Highly Recommended. prisrob 02-07-98

The Accused

Spark

"

It's okay.

Gavis | Chapel Hill, NC USA | 02/09/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Its not a terrible movie but it's nothing to tell your friends about. Its full of cliches as just about any person who's seen the trailers will expect. Terrence Howard, who I consider a very talented actor, doesn't pull off the cop character all that well. His character as well most of the story line is unbelievable and inconsistent. Jodi Foster is okay.

I wanted to see this movie because, it was only 2 bucks and I like the whole vigilante idea. There problem is there were too many themes going on in this movie with no one in particular standing out or appearing original. Still some of the revenge scenes were kinda fun...

A note about the Amazon service.

Downloading was a cinch but the download manager you install seems to take up a lot of memory. The file was huge, but this is probably due to a high frame rate or something. Color looks good too. The resolution is horrendous though. I watched it on my computer screen about 5 feet away and you can see the image divided into tiny little digital blocks. This becomes really apparent when looking at diagonal lines or curves but where its the absolute worse is if there is any sort of text on the screen. It looks pixel-like and is virtually unreadable. They really need to fix that."

Bravely goes where many films have gone before but still man

Andrew Ellington | I'm kind of everywhere | 02/07/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As some have mentioned, this story has been told before. It's been told plenty of times to be more exact. The lack of originality aside though, `The Brave One' still delivers on quite a few levels and manages to leave the audience satisfied. In fact I'm a little stunned at the critical beating this movie took. Some critics made this out to be so terrible that I almost stayed away entirely. I've never been a real fan of Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard just irritates me to no end so really the film had no draw on me to begin with; and then the critics attacked and so I was left with absolutely no reason to give it a chance. Then I found myself alone and bored with nothing to do but watch TV and the only movie on Pay-Per-View I hadn't seen was `The Brave One'.

I will say this first and foremost; both Foster and Howard have never, and I mean NEVER, impressed me more than in this film. They are the beating heart here, the reason upon all reasons to give this movie a chance. Especially Foster, but I'll get to her in a minute. Howard really sunk into his role and pulled up every ounce of his characters vulnerability. I remember back in 2005 when Howard starred in `Crash' and `Hustle & Flow' and everyone was singing his praises as the next big thing. I remember so well because I didn't get it. His performance in `Crash' was choppy and uneven, a little forced even and his performance in `Hustle & Flow' was decent but to me it ended up being 70% hype and 30% delivery. Here I actually saw what everyone had been claiming to see for so long. Here I finally saw him shine.

`The Brave One' tells the tragic story of Erica Bain, a middle-aged woman about to be married to the man of her dreams when she and her fiancé are brutally attacked and their dream is shattered. Her fiancé dies as a result of the attack and she is critically injured. Upon recovery she realizes that she is no longer the person she once was. She is trapped in this shell of fear and pain that engulfs all that she does, every decision she makes and ultimately shapes the person she will soon become. Her first step was buying a gun, a gun she initially purchased to protect herself from the very people she now feared so much but that gun soon led her down a path she didn't know was going to be presented to her.

Jodie Foster has been a critically praised actress for years now. She's won two Academy Awards for her performances in `The Accused' and `The Silence of the Lambs'. She's been considered one of our greatest actresses for quite some time but it wasn't until I saw this film that I understood why. I actually thought that Foster was overrated. She utterly blew me away here. This is by far her finest performance and to me is one of the best performances of this year, period. Her fragility, her vulnerability but most importantly her strength help elevate this character so much. There's a scene where she returns to work for the first time after the attack and she's struggling to talk, struggling to put herself out there and then all of a sudden a clicks. Her voice deepens, her eyes squint, her face tightens and in those few moments I was spellbound by her brilliance. She was captivating.

`The Brave One' is not the best film out there. It suffers from some clichés and a lack of originality but it has two very strong performances in its corner to help it survive. Despite its flaws it never falls apart or loses our interest. Foster commands every scene she embodies and carries this film straight on through to its closing. Put aside the fact that you've seen this plot unravel before and embrace the electric performances that embody the soul of this film."

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