Prisoners (2013)

Dark dramas about child kidnapping do not make for Hollywood fare. “Prisoners” breaks that mold with its unsettling story one that remains gripping –- for the most part -- to the end, with a cast that digs deep. It centers on a Pennsylvania family (an excellent Hugh Jackman as father and Mario Bello as mother) that believes in God, guns, and “be ready” survivalist skills. Their all-American spirit shatters when their young daughter disappears on Thanksgiving Day, along with the child of an African-American family (Terrence Howard and Viola Davis). Jackman’s father who demands self-control loses himself to rage and takes hostage and savagely tortures a suspect (Paul Dano) cut loose by police for lack of evidence. What would Jesus do? Does it matter? Meanwhile, a detective (Jake Gyllenhaal) searches for the girls, hitting roadblocks and errors: He causes a jailhouse death, a move that shatters not his confidence, but the story’s logic flow. Ugly move: Director Denis Villeneuve marginalizes the mothers as they play to weeping clichés as the men do Manly Things. I fumed. But I also loved many details: The turkey and pie leftovers sitting uncollected for days and the sheer dullness of next-door evil in our America. B

A History of Violence (2005)

David Cronenberg returns to his seemingly favorite theme of fraternal rivalry in “A History of Violence.” Here, a small-town diner owner Tom (Viggo Mortensen) kills with scary precision two psychotic murderers – possibly father and son -- who mean harm. Tom, injured in the melee, becomes a national hero. TV news crews visit. So does a black car with a grisly-scarred face thug (Ed Harris, never creepier) in the backseat. Creepy Ed says Tom ain’t Tom, he’s Philly mob man Joey, and brother Richie (William Hurt) wants him back in -- irony alert -- The City of Brotherly Love. Shockingly violent, critics hailed this as some mirror of American values. That’s a bit too deep. This is about family, brothers and fathers and sons, and the cold stone fact that if one is bred in violence, he will never, ever, escape it. History always repeats itself. Where ever you are. The wife’s (Mario Bella) horror and then carnal desire of her violent hubby is raw, as is the son, who learns that a fist and a gun will get you further than a book and a joke. Fascinating throughout, the final silent scene is a beaut. A

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)

I can see why Universal Studios wanted to make a third film in "The Mummy" series for summer 2008. After all, the entire franchise is stylized after the 1980s "Indiana Jones" films, focusing on an archeologist adventurer who repeatedly gets sucked into supernatural shenanigans against historical backdrops. Never mind that the great wit and action of the early "Jones" films didn't transfer, or that Brandon Fraser lacks the unbeatable screen charisma and toughness of Harrison Ford. A rising tide lifts all boats, right? Not so.

Whereas summer 2008's just-OK "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls' was skunked by surprisingly bad VFX and grossly over-the-top everything, "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" is a flat-out dud thanks to zip chemistry from the leads, a consistently inconsistent script and lifeless action sequences. Now in post-World War II England, Rick (Fraser) and Evelyn (Mario Bella) O'Connell are living in bored retirement whilst grown son Alex (Luke Ford) plays adventurer. Before you can say here we go again, Alex strikes a huge archeological find -- the resting place of a not-quite-dead Chinese emperor (Jet Li) long ago cursed into the next world.

This "Mummy" is full of plagiarisms: The action-stud torch passing from father to son is ripped from "Kingdom," but Luke Ford surely is no relation to Harrison. He's a blank cipher, while Fraser neither looks the part of a middle-aged father nor has the energy to play the central hero. Subbing for take-no-crap, smart-as-hell Rachel Weisz. Bello ("A History of Violence") logs around a come-and-go fake Brit accent like an iron ball and chain, and she acts happy but looks miserable. The producers hired the great Li, only to sub him out for three-quarters of the film as his power-mad warlord morphs from one CGI effect to another. Michelle Yeoh, another of China's great stars, fairs slightly better as a 2,000-year-old witch.

But how, pray tell, can a woman hiding in a Chinese cavern for two millennia learn perfect English? And how can the long-buried victims of Li's ruler learn the same? None of the nonsensical plotting is worth caring about, or even questioning. This joyless joyride, directed by Rob Cohen ("Stealth"), has had it's brains, and joy, ripped out its nose. D