MOVIE REVIEW: BURIED

BURIED (English/18)

Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Release Date: 14 October 2010

Distributor: Lionsgate (US), Nusantara Edaran Filem

Running Time: 95 minutes

Directors: Rodrigo Cortes

Producers: Adrian Guerra, Peter Safran, Samuel Hadida

Writers: Chris Sparling

Casts: Ryan Reynolds, Ivana Mimo, Anne Lockhart

Plot: Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is not ready to die. But when he wakes up 6 feet underground with no idea of who put him there or why, the life for the truck driver and family man instantly becomes a hellish struggle for survival. Buried with only a cell phone and a lighter, his contact with the outside world and ability to piece together clues that could help him discover his location are maddeningly limited. Poor reception, a rapidly draining battery, and a dwindling oxygen supply become his worst enemies in a tightly confined race against time- fighting panic, despair and delirium, Paul has only 90 minutes to be rescued before his worst nightmare comes true.

THE VERDICT

Buried is not exactly your normal entertainment to cut off the boring afternoon. It is unusual and not what it looks like. Buried is a conceptual film that redefines the boundary of one imaginative thrilling story that excepts real time experience and heart-pounding moment that makes one wonder what's next. Unfortunately, there are people who can't accept the idea about a man confined in a small 7" x 2" box buried underground. This explains why some idiots get off the cinema with 15 minutes on the clock.

The Rodrigo Cortes' film revolves around Iraq-based American truck driver Paul Conroy (Reynolds), who, after being attacked by a group of Iraqis (presumably the insurgents), finds himself buried alive in a wooden coffin, with only a Zippo lighter, an Arabian mobile phone that looks like a Blackberry and some basic necessacities to help him escape before the oxygen in the coffin runs out. with the race against the 90 minutes clock, will Paul managed to get himself out of the box in the middle of Iraqi desert?

First, the analysis will look at the story. Like I have said earlier, this is no ordinary mvoie that pictures the thrilling sensation in normal way. The movie concentrates on one scene and that's it. Only Ryan Reynolds is to be seen and the setting remains in the buried coffin (or box or what ever you want to call it) throughout the movie. This perfectly explains why some do get annoyed. What ever the reason they left the cinema, I can assured you that they don't get the essences of the movie.

This movie runs in a diabolical manner, resembling some of the old Hitchcock classics. The story portrays the emotions and the difficulties of the actor alone to work and oh boy, it did! It is engaging at almost every motional fluid of the plot, giving in the constant (almost) intensity at most of the time. It makes sense of the high-rising stacks between life and death and the situation feels real.

It is hard to imagine how this kind of movie can work but thanks to the brilliant Spanish director Rodrigo Cortes and the insanely great performance by Ryan Reynolds alone, Buried is sensational out-of-the-box thriller, fueled with strong narration sense at all time. Buried makes use of the claustrophobia element and turns it into a gripping movie. Kudos but unlikely for any Oscar, but it doesn't matter because the movie sets its own quality.

THE RATING

Story - 4.5 stars

Casts - 4.0 stars

Cinematography - 4.0 stars

Effects - 3.5 stars

OVERALL - 4.0 stars

GREEN-TEA-O-METER: 16.5