Radio Lady's Movie Discussion: "Rendition" reviewed by Kimberly Gadette on 10/26/07

Hello to all. My husband and I were not here for the press preview of the new film "Rendition," which screened while we were on vacation. I also missed "Dan in Real Life" due to other appointments. Nevertheless, we're going to see "Dan in Real Life" today and will pick up on that review later. Meanwhile, here's a great review on "Rendition" from friend and ace-writer Kimberly Gadette posted this week at www.livepdx.com Great job, Kimberly! This films sounds like a winner on all counts!


Reese Witherspoon in Rendition

Screen Savor Movie Review: Rendition

By Kimberly Gadette
October 24, 2007

Unlike a census count, or the number of attendees at the last University of Oregon football game, there is no publicly-published record of how many suspects are, or were, detained in foreign prisons for crimes they may or may not have committed. Because, see, it's a secret. Secret countries' prisons with secret torturers doing God-knows-what to secret victims.

Due process? Don't be silly. Though at times heavy-handed, Rendition flashes a light down into the dungeons of this very real problem. And for that, these filmmakers are to be congratulated.

Working within a multi-storied plot, pregnant wife Isabella (Reese Witherspoon) pounds the Washington, D.C. pavement in order to locate her missing, Egyptian-national husband Anwar (Omar Metwally). Anwar's main torturer, a man named Abasi, is also looking for a loved one. In his case, it's his daughter, who's taken up with a group bent on destroying him. CIA analyst Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal) is assigned as a replacement for the American representative scheduled to observe Anwar's torture by Abasi.

Director Gavin Hood (Tsotsi) and screenwriter Kelley Sane succeed in juggling the threads fairly seamlessly, all shot against teeming Moroccan and polished Washingtonian backdrops.

Some of the best scenes belong to Terrorism Unit head Corrinne Whitman, expertly rendered by Meryl Streep. In her pure white outfits, like an avenging angel, she blithely decides the fate of a suspect by simply stating to her underling, "Put him on the plane."

(snipped)

Final verdict: It may be one-sided, but give it the courage of its convictions. Gyllenhaal, Streep and the hot-button issue makes this film worth seeing.

Directed by: Gavin Hood

Screenplay by: Kelley Sane

MPAA Rating: R

Runtime: 120 minutes
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More of Kimberly Gadette's fine work at Live PDX review site:

http://www.livepdx.com/Articles/Movie-Articles/?launch_pg=AritclePage&launch_sel=1005606&launch_pg_sp=true

Happy Moviegoing to everyone this weekend.

Radio Lady Ellen Kimball is a pioneer talk show host – one of the first women in the United States to present her own daily AM radio call-in talk shows in both Miami and Boston. Ellen and her husband, new DU member Audio Al, software engineer, storyteller, photographer extraordinaire, and travel guru, are now actively retired in Oregon where they have resided since 1998. Ellen contributes her reviews on film, DVDs, theater, and books to Oregon Public Broadcasting's Accessible Information Network, which is heard locally in Oregon, and southern Washington, as well as on the Internet. You can read her complete journal here.

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Shawn is one of the leading reviewers at the Portland Oregonian, our daily newspaper.

Here's the link to his review. I can't wait to see this film again.

http://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/119318192163480.xml&coll=7

The film is playing at Cinema 21 in Portland, OR now through November 8th prior to its DVD release.

Cinema 21 with rainbow!


See the schedule at:

www.cinema21.com

the World Series game tonight.

Here's the film poster:



CU@theDU Sunday morning