Chicago – The art of the confinement thriller is tricky to perfect. If it’s done right, the audience will feel trapped within the suffocating confines of a prison, while their heart rate will move at the same pace as that of the onscreen victim. Yet since the world of the film is limited to such a small space, one misstep will cause the entire experience to crumble in an instant.
Rodrigo Cortés’s “Buried” trapped Ryan Reynolds in a coffin for the entirety of its running time, and found multiple ways of opening up the world of its story without ever once cutting to an exterior shot. It played on the audience’s imagination much like the 1943 radio drama, “Sorry, Wrong Number,” while giving Reynolds the opportunity to deliver his best work to date. It wasn’t a masterpiece, per se, but it sure was an ingenious and effective thriller.
Rodrigo Cortés’s “Buried” trapped Ryan Reynolds in a coffin for the entirety of its running time, and found multiple ways of opening up the world of its story without ever once cutting to an exterior shot. It played on the audience’s imagination much like the 1943 radio drama, “Sorry, Wrong Number,” while giving Reynolds the opportunity to deliver his best work to date. It wasn’t a masterpiece, per se, but it sure was an ingenious and effective thriller.
- 7/30/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Jeremy Reins (Stephen Dorff) awakens to find himself locked in the boot of a car with nothing but a mobile phone, radio transmitter, illuminated digital countdown clock and an overwhelming lack of knowledge as to the reasons behind his sudden imprisonment. However, as time passes, it becomes clear that this nightmarish scenario is more than simply a hostage situation. Jeremy is an important target – a Secret Service agent who knows the whereabouts of the President’s secret bunker.
Boasting a conceit eerily similar to Rodrigo Cortés’ Buried, Brake fails to break away from its shaky, see-through narrative and never seems to recover until, without revealing too much, the end, which will either be praised or condemned by viewers who have commendably reached that point. Until then, however, we’re led along on the ride of Jeremy’s life, as he’s forced to face his fears, use his smarts to...
Boasting a conceit eerily similar to Rodrigo Cortés’ Buried, Brake fails to break away from its shaky, see-through narrative and never seems to recover until, without revealing too much, the end, which will either be praised or condemned by viewers who have commendably reached that point. Until then, however, we’re led along on the ride of Jeremy’s life, as he’s forced to face his fears, use his smarts to...
- 6/25/2012
- by Jamie Neish
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Brake
Directed by Gabe Torres
Written by Timothy Mannion
USA, 2012
If nothing else, Gabe Torres’ thriller Brake is an excellent advertisement for movie houses. Seeing it in one’s living room, even with the lights off, just won’t capture the same sort of claustrophobic feeling as seeing it in a theater. That is not to say that Brake is a good movie, but its tightly enclosed, one-location atmosphere covers its flaws for a good long while.
A man played by Stephen Dorff awakens in a coffin-sized box with a timer counting down above him. Viewers who want to go in unspoiled may want to avoid the film’s IMDb page, which reveals considerably more about who this man is and what he’s doing there. The film itself opts to unspool this information slowly, as the camera never leaves Dorff for a minute.
If that sounds like a more...
Directed by Gabe Torres
Written by Timothy Mannion
USA, 2012
If nothing else, Gabe Torres’ thriller Brake is an excellent advertisement for movie houses. Seeing it in one’s living room, even with the lights off, just won’t capture the same sort of claustrophobic feeling as seeing it in a theater. That is not to say that Brake is a good movie, but its tightly enclosed, one-location atmosphere covers its flaws for a good long while.
A man played by Stephen Dorff awakens in a coffin-sized box with a timer counting down above him. Viewers who want to go in unspoiled may want to avoid the film’s IMDb page, which reveals considerably more about who this man is and what he’s doing there. The film itself opts to unspool this information slowly, as the camera never leaves Dorff for a minute.
If that sounds like a more...
- 3/24/2012
- by Mark Young
- SoundOnSight
Rating: 2.5/5.0
Chicago – With obvious comparisons to “24” and “Buried,” Gabe Torres’ “Brake” comes with a bit of referential baggage in its trunk. Also in there is Secret Service Agent Jeremy Reins (Stephen Dorff), a man trapped in a nightmarish kidnapping situation in the trunk of a car. He wakes up there and it’s where the vast majority of “Brake” takes place as he’s tortured physically and mentally by a group of terrorists trying to find the Executive Branch’s secret bunker.
Much like “Buried,” “Brake” is a one-man, real-time, claustrophobic location piece. Instead of “Ryan Reynolds in a trunk,” this one is “Stephen Dorff in a coffin,” although it does carve out enough of its own personality to stand apart from the comparisons and not feel like the rip-off that you might expect from the previews. Dorff is stellar and the film builds some tension but a bit too much required suspension of disbelief,...
Chicago – With obvious comparisons to “24” and “Buried,” Gabe Torres’ “Brake” comes with a bit of referential baggage in its trunk. Also in there is Secret Service Agent Jeremy Reins (Stephen Dorff), a man trapped in a nightmarish kidnapping situation in the trunk of a car. He wakes up there and it’s where the vast majority of “Brake” takes place as he’s tortured physically and mentally by a group of terrorists trying to find the Executive Branch’s secret bunker.
Much like “Buried,” “Brake” is a one-man, real-time, claustrophobic location piece. Instead of “Ryan Reynolds in a trunk,” this one is “Stephen Dorff in a coffin,” although it does carve out enough of its own personality to stand apart from the comparisons and not feel like the rip-off that you might expect from the previews. Dorff is stellar and the film builds some tension but a bit too much required suspension of disbelief,...
- 3/23/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
And here with his audition for a basic cable star vehicle is Stephen Dorff. The diminutive actor has been allowed by Hollywood to attempt to play tough guys repeatedly, despite having the physical composition of Christian Slater’s post-shave whiskers. But his effort as a journeyman actor in both big studio films and art house efforts have paid off, as Dorff, in his later years, has become an actor of uncommon gravity in a series of ill-fitting projects. While he still cannot hold the center in a big starring role, his weathered handsomeness more often than not enriches the emotional plausibility that surrounds him, even if at times it’s close to nil.
He needs every inch of that newfound creditibility for “Brake,” a delirious new film that rests entirely on his shoulders. We know little about Dorff’s badass-named Secret Service agent Jeremy Reins when the film starts, as...
He needs every inch of that newfound creditibility for “Brake,” a delirious new film that rests entirely on his shoulders. We know little about Dorff’s badass-named Secret Service agent Jeremy Reins when the film starts, as...
- 3/23/2012
- by Gabe Toro
- The Playlist
Directed by Gabe Torres
Written by Timothy Mannion
Featuring Stephen Dorff, Chyler Leigh, Jr Bourne, Tom Berenger
Brake answers the question, “What the fuck has Steven Dorff been doing?” in more ways than one.
Secret Service Agent Jeremy Reins (Dorff) is trapped in a weird box! Yes, indeed! When you first meet Reins he is just rudely awakening in a dark, box-like container with smooth, thick, plastic walls. He can’t sit up, he can’t move properly, be can’t do much of anything except futilely pound the sides of his enclosure and yell into the darkness. Who put him there? Why? How will he get out? How much fucking air is in there?
If this sounds like one of those “one dude stuck in one spot” thrillers we’ve been enjoying so goddamned much lately, that’s because it is. Like Wreck, the one with Adrian Brody trapped in a car,...
Written by Timothy Mannion
Featuring Stephen Dorff, Chyler Leigh, Jr Bourne, Tom Berenger
Brake answers the question, “What the fuck has Steven Dorff been doing?” in more ways than one.
Secret Service Agent Jeremy Reins (Dorff) is trapped in a weird box! Yes, indeed! When you first meet Reins he is just rudely awakening in a dark, box-like container with smooth, thick, plastic walls. He can’t sit up, he can’t move properly, be can’t do much of anything except futilely pound the sides of his enclosure and yell into the darkness. Who put him there? Why? How will he get out? How much fucking air is in there?
If this sounds like one of those “one dude stuck in one spot” thrillers we’ve been enjoying so goddamned much lately, that’s because it is. Like Wreck, the one with Adrian Brody trapped in a car,...
- 3/22/2012
- by Superheidi
- Planet Fury
One of the biggest problems with contained horror movies, like "Buried" and "Phone Booth," can be that they're just that: contained. Stephen Dorff's new movie, "Brake," looks to solve that problem with a little help from a speeding car.
In the film, Dorff plays a government agent who finds himself trapped inside a Plexiglas coffin, but unlike "Buried," the box isn't underground. It's in the trunk of a car.
The unique premise meant Dorff leaving his comfort zone on more than one level. "This film was kind of more of an experiment for me. We made the movie in ten and a half days, which I didn't think was possible," he said. "For me, this was kind of my secret film that I didn't announce to anybody — even my agents — that I was making. I told my lawyer, so he made a deal for me."
"Brake" comes from the mind of 19-year-old Timothy Mannion,...
In the film, Dorff plays a government agent who finds himself trapped inside a Plexiglas coffin, but unlike "Buried," the box isn't underground. It's in the trunk of a car.
The unique premise meant Dorff leaving his comfort zone on more than one level. "This film was kind of more of an experiment for me. We made the movie in ten and a half days, which I didn't think was possible," he said. "For me, this was kind of my secret film that I didn't announce to anybody — even my agents — that I was making. I told my lawyer, so he made a deal for me."
"Brake" comes from the mind of 19-year-old Timothy Mannion,...
- 3/20/2012
- by Kevin P. Sullivan
- MTV Movies Blog
Talk about unpredictable. Stephen Dorff, who began acting as child after an agent saw him in a school play, has shown his versatility as actor over the last few years. Best known for his work in thrillers, and particularly as evil vampire Deacon Frost in “Blade” opposite Wesley Snipes, he showed his sincere, dramatic side in Sofia Coppola’s “Somewhere,” played raunchy comedy in Nick Swardson’s “Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star,” and slung a sword as a Greek slave in epic “Immortals.” Now, he’s back to thrillers with “Brake,” but with the added challenge of practically performing a one-man show for the duration of the film. In “Brake,” a Secret Service agent is locked in the trunk of a car with no idea how he got there or why he’s there. Although the screenwriter, Timothy Mannion, was only 19, his idea for having one actor in one space inspired.
- 3/20/2012
- by help@backstage.com (Jessica Gardner)
- backstage.com
Title: Brake IFC Films Reviewed for Shockya by Harvey Karten Grade: C+ Director: Gabe Torres Screenwriter: Timothy Mannion Cast: Stephen Dorff, Chyler Leigh, Jr Bourne, Tom Berenger, Bobby Tomberlin Screened at: Review 2, NYC, 3/19/12 Opens: March 23, 2012 During the Spanish Inquisition, a time that found people tied to the stake and burned as heretics, a hapless victim could bribe the executioner who would guarantee a quick death by strangulation rather than torture by fire. When Spartacus was crucified, slowly dying in agony, his significant other begged for death to take him away. Against, quick death beats torture. As for what type of death might be unimaginably horrific today, [ Read More ]...
- 3/20/2012
- by Brian Corder
- ShockYa
Actor Stephen Dorff used his claustrophobia to heighten tense scenes in new thriller Brake because he really was locked in a plexi-glass box in the trunk of a car.
The Blade star played down his fear of enclosed spaces when he was cast as a captive Secret Service agent in the film and he admits he had to battle his worst phobia throughout the shoot.
However, he insists his claustrophobia helped him portray his terrified character authentically.
He tells BlogTalkRadio.com, "I am claustrophobic so I got to challenge that. Basically, I got locked into this glass torture tank box in the back of this car. The more exasperated I got was kind of what I wanted - the more hoarse my voice, the more sweaty and clammy I got, the better for the part.
"Sometimes it got a little tight on the air, so basically they'd unscrew a piece (of the box), but I fought to be locked in it all the time. A couple of times it actually fogged up as stuff was going on, so they couldn't see me as well. They wanted to make a cheat and take the part off by my feet and I said, 'No man, because when I kick myself out I want to feel it open.'
"So that was the method part of my acting. It was a very brutal 10 days in the trunk. I was very bruised up because there was no padding and I was getting thrown around this plexi-glass (box)."
Dorff admits the new film, which was written by a 19 year old, was a refreshing change for him: "It was more entertaining and interesting than all these silly Predator-type remakes they (agents) were sending me."
He was so impressed with young Timothy Mannion's script he made it his new production company, La Costa Productions' first project.
The Blade star played down his fear of enclosed spaces when he was cast as a captive Secret Service agent in the film and he admits he had to battle his worst phobia throughout the shoot.
However, he insists his claustrophobia helped him portray his terrified character authentically.
He tells BlogTalkRadio.com, "I am claustrophobic so I got to challenge that. Basically, I got locked into this glass torture tank box in the back of this car. The more exasperated I got was kind of what I wanted - the more hoarse my voice, the more sweaty and clammy I got, the better for the part.
"Sometimes it got a little tight on the air, so basically they'd unscrew a piece (of the box), but I fought to be locked in it all the time. A couple of times it actually fogged up as stuff was going on, so they couldn't see me as well. They wanted to make a cheat and take the part off by my feet and I said, 'No man, because when I kick myself out I want to feel it open.'
"So that was the method part of my acting. It was a very brutal 10 days in the trunk. I was very bruised up because there was no padding and I was getting thrown around this plexi-glass (box)."
Dorff admits the new film, which was written by a 19 year old, was a refreshing change for him: "It was more entertaining and interesting than all these silly Predator-type remakes they (agents) were sending me."
He was so impressed with young Timothy Mannion's script he made it his new production company, La Costa Productions' first project.
- 2/14/2012
- WENN
With Sofia Coppola's Somewhere and Tarsem's Immortals, it looked like Stephen Dorff was starting to work his way back into the spotlight after years of bit parts and roles in direct-to-video productions. That being said, he is still continuing to take on roles in some low brow genre stuff that seems like it could go either way. Case in point: Brake, a low budget thriller that doesn't try to hide the fact that it's a direct rip-off of the Ryan Reynolds trapped-in-a-coffin movie Buried. Stephen Dorff plays a Secret Service Agent who wakes up in the back of a trunk with a digital clock slowly counting down. It soon becomes clear that he is being held by a group of terrorists who are trying to extract information from him. The movie is directed by Gabe Torres and written by Timothy Mannion, both of whom come from a TV background with few recognizable credits.
- 1/27/2012
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
I couldn't help but laugh at the trailer for Brake from director Gabe Torres and starring Stephen Dorff. It may end up being a perfectly fine film, but the lack of originality here is alarming, at least based on the newly released trailer. However, before we get to that first let me offer the synopsis: Jeremy Reins (Dorff) is about to have a very bad day. He wakes up in total darkness, confused and disoriented. The only light comes from the blood-red digital numbers ticking away above his head. Jeremy quickly realizes he's in trouble. It's hard to breath. He can barely move. And no one will answer his cries for help. Then, he hears the sound of an engine and it all becomes clear...he's trapped in the trunk of a moving car. As his captors reveal themselves and their motives, Jeremy realizes he won't be set free until...
- 1/26/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
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