BEIRUT Tells a Deeper Story

Jeri Jacquin

In theatres from director Brad Anderson and Bleeker Street Media is a story with twists that lead to truth while in BEIRUT.

Mason Skiles (Jon Hamm) is a diplomat in Beirut keeping his finger on the pulse of what is happening around him, or so he thought. During a party, Cal Riley (Mark Pellegrino) comes to warn him that the young boy Karim, who the family has practically adopted, is going to be taken in for questioning. His older brother Abu Rajal (Hicham Ouraqa) is a Palestinian terrorist involved in the massacre at the Munich Olympics

Before that can happen, the party is terrorized as bullets fly and Karim is grabbed. In the midst of the firefight, Skiles wife Nadia (Leila Bekhti) is killed. Fast forward a few years and Skiles has reached rock bottom as a labor negotiator job he barely cares about and swimming in alcohol.

Sitting at a bar with his favorite drink, Skiles is approached to take money and a plane ticket back to Beirut to lecture at the university. Never wanting to return to Beirut again, something tells him to get aboard the plane. Once there he is met by Sandy Crowder (Rosamund Pike), Donald Gaines (Dean Norris), and Gary Ruzak (Shea Whigham) who finally tell him why he’s really there – Cal Riley has been taken and the kidnappers only want to negotiate with Skiles.

Discovering it is a grown Karim (Idir Chender) who is calling the shots and only trusts Skiles to make the exchange happen. An exchange is demanded, Riley for Karim’s brother who seems to have disappeared. Believing that it is the Israeli’s who have him, Skiles investigates and also discovers the PLO minister is keeping secrets as well.

In the middle of this is a war in a war torn country that is getting more and more out of hand by the minute. No one can be trusted and deception seems to be the order of the minute.

Crowder is trying to keep up with Skiles as he slips through the city discovering that there is more at play here than just Riley’s kidnapping. There are others in the governments involved and their seedy agenda becomes clear.

Both Skiles and Crowder are going to make the exchange happen but on their terms.

Hamm as Skiles begins as a man who seems to have the charming ability to move in a crowd and do what needs doing. Once the world he thought he knew was shattered, there didn’t seem to be any purpose to anything Skiles does. That is until Riley is taken does he slowly come out of the daze and snaps back into discovering he is the absolute right person to get the job done. Hamm’s performance is intense yet his character takes a moment to remember in the middle of rubble how all of the events came to be.

Pike as Crowder wants to believe that Skiles is right for the job and that’s the dilemma. Knowing someone is right for a job and seeing the state they are currently in means never being quite sure if they can be trusted. Pike shines as a woman who not only takes her job seriously but knows that playing the international game of cat and mouse puts her right in the middle of danger.

Chender as Karim is caught up in the what is happening in Beirut. Finding a life with Skiles as a young boy he enjoyed being with them. The moment he is taken it is clear that studying and being part of the family will quickly become a distant memory. When the time comes to trust someone, that may be the one thing Karim knows to be true about Skiles. Chender gives his character such complexity in a situation none of us could possibly understand. This is the life mixed with what was and what became of a young life.

Other cast include Dean Norris as Donald Gaines, Shea Whigham as Gary Ruzak, Douglas Hodge as Sully, Jonny Coyne as Bernard Teppler, Leila Bekhti as Nadia, Kate Fleetwood as Alice, Alon Aboutboul as Roni Niv, Sonia Okacha as Sondrine and Mohamed Zouaoui as Fahmi.

BEIRUT is a film that is a reminder of the fragile peace and intense wars in the Middle East that are waged with others calling the shots. Their agendas may seem up front but for everyone to get what they want, deals are made and deals are brokered in 1982.

The cast are quick with a storyline that is constantly in flux and never once give away which way the chase will go or how it will end. The cinematography is flawless and adds another depth to the very intense story being told.

In the end – Beirut of 1982 and the Paris of the Middle East is burning!

Where MONEY is Involved Who Do You Trust?

Jeri Jacquin

On DVD and Digital HD this week from director Martin Rosete and 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the quandary and intensity of dealing with MONEY.

Mark (Kellan Lutz) and Sean (Jesse Williams) are two businessmen who live an expensive lifestyle. Mark lives with wife Sylvia (Jess Weixler) and they are enjoying the success. Sean brings Christina (Lucia Guerrero) to have dinner with Mark and Sylvia as the four enjoy their evening.

A knock comes at the door and Sylvia meets John (Jamie Bamber), a charming man who introduces himself as a new neighbor. Inviting him to meet everyone else, John sits himself at the table and they begin chatting it up.

That is until John begins to get serious, he makes the four at the table very uncomfortable. Finally the stranger makes it clear that he isn’t there for entertainment – John is there for money.

He tells Sylvia and Christina that the two men they are dining with have taken millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical company they work for. Mark and Sean both claim to have no idea what John is talking about and that is the beginning of their mistakes.

A night of terror, realizations, truths and consequences begin that is about to last longer than John had anticipated. Mark tries to talk his way out of giving any of the money away and Sean pokes at John until he pokes back! Sylvia watches as she learns more and more about the husband she thought she knew.

Money can be a powerful truth serum!

Lutz as Mark seems a confident businessman who isn’t about to let a stranger come into his home and take what he thinks is rightfully his. Putting his wife and friend in danger isn’t about to change that either. Lutz comes off self assured until John gives him reason not to be so.

Williams as Sean also isn’t going to give up easily the money he believes is rightfully his. When he constantly irritates their captors, Williams’ fear is more based on losing the cash than losing his life.

Weixler as Sylvia is a classy wife who fits right into their expensive home wearing her equally expensive clothing. When the question of ‘why?’ comes up, hubby Mark makes it clear that her need for the good life comes with a price tag and someone has to pay the bill. Guerro as Christina is disgusted by what is happening but stays in the background more so than the other characters. She doesn’t understand what has pushed Sean to steal but she isn’t about to confront him with John doing most of that already.

The crazy winner here is Bamber as John, seriously! From the moment Sylvia opens the door and he flashes his big grin it is clear he is trouble. His dialogue is smooth and filled with threat yet his demeanor is disarming (which is the point really). I found myself laughing at some of his threats in a nervous way and even when Mark and Sean think they have the upper hand, all I could think was “yea, keep thinking that guys!”

Other cast include Fredric Lehne as Carl, Joe Lanza as a Detective, Gonzalo Bouza as Officer Vitale, Illya Konstatin as David, and Denia Brache as Maria.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment brings award-winning global product and new entertainment to DVD, Bluray, and Digital HD. There amazing collection offers fans an opportunity to expand their own home libraries with the best films. To discover what other titles they have please visit www.fox.com.

The DVD of MONEY also includes the Special Feature of MONEY: Behind the Scenes.

That’s what makes MONEY riveting to watch. The cast of five are the story and there is nothing else in the way of the plot. Having the entire cast responsible for most of the 85 minutes, it is the ending that will have shaking your head in disbelief. Have to love plot twists.

Loyalties are tested and motives are revealed in an all night stand off with this high-stakes thriller.

In the end – there are only two things wrong with money being too much or too little of it!

Who Can You Trust Out of the THREE on Bluray!

Jeri Jacquin

On Bluray this week from master director Johnnie To and Well Go USA Entertainment is the cat and mouse and the fine line of good and evil between the THREE.

Dr. Ton Qian (Vicki Zhao) is studying to be a neurosurgeon and isn’t making friends doing it. Trying to focus on her work, Ton might be pushing herself to hard. Her day doesn’t have a moment as Chief Inspector Ken (Louis Koo) is about to bring in a murder suspect.

Shun (Wallace Chung) is a gangster with a bullet in his head. Immediately Dr. Qian wants to go straight to surgery while Inspector Ken keeps a gun loaded and Shun cuffed to the bed. Right before Shun is put under the knife; he wakes up and shows his hostility towards everyone.

Ken wants to know where Shun’s cohorts are and what they next step of their plan is. The gangster is all about making everything a game and doesn’t seem to care about anyone – let alone himself with a bullet still lodged in his skull.

Dr. Qian tries to be empathetic to Shun’s plight, she tries to help which gets her nothing but trouble and on Inspector Ken’s bad side. Giving the doctor and the police clues that something else is coming, it quickly becomes clear they have no time left to stop it.

In a blink the tables are turned and the three chose their fates!

Zhou as Dr. Qian is a character who clearly is unsure about herself in so many ways which causes her to make hasty decisions. I was never sure what she was going to do next or why she seemed intent on making matters worse but still cheered for her at ever turn!

Koo as Inspector Ken has serious problems to deal with. Trying to convince his staff and boss that what happened to Shun was brought on by his own behavior, it becomes clear that he isn’t quite telling the whole story. This is where the line is stretched as to what is right and what is legal. Koo gives us a hardened cop character who isn’t going to let Shun win.

Chung as Shun is a bad guy who doesn’t take anything seriously – not even a bullet to the brain. He talks but doesn’t really say anything that Inspector Ken wants to hear and that just makes the game even more intense. Keeping an eye on everything going in the halls of the hospital means he temporarily has the upper hand.

Other cast include Lo Hoi-pang as Chung, Cheung Siu-fai as Dr. Fok, Lam Suet as Constable Fatty, Stephen Au as Tong and Timmy Hung as Chak.

Well Go USA Entertainment is an amazing company that brings the best of Action and Independent films from around the world. There format includes theatres, digital, cable and VOD along with Bluray. For more of what they have to offer go to www.wellgousa.com.

THREE is a fast paced film filled with twists and turns and things you don’t see coming until it is too late. That’s what makes this cat and mouse plot so much fun to watch. The action sequences are brilliantly done and amazingly done in a very small space. Yet every move is deliberate!

I found myself head smacking when I didn’t catch things but then again that’s the point. Keeping us side tracked constantly, the cast delivers performances that are so well done that I applauded when the film was over. Yes, that’s how much I enjoyed THREE.

Director To has had the biggest international films with DRUG WAR, MAD DETECTIVE and EXILED in the last few years. A native of Hong Kong, To began in television making his way to film being recognized for his work by the Palme D’Or in 2009, the Berlin and Venice International Film Festivals and the Toronto International Film Festival with many more to follow.

The Bluray includes the Special Features of The Making of from Master Director Johnnie To, Three Complex Characters and the trailers for the film.

In the end – they each must choose!