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The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

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Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

Careless Love

Sidestepping a more extreme take on prostitution, this is a quietly impressive portrait of a young woman caught in a tragic situation.

Empire Of Silver

Its backdrop is a rich and fascinating one, but the film is let down by a screenplay and direction that fails to register on a personal level.

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Abduction (Film)

by Catherine Brown | September 20, 2011 11:34 | Edited September 22, 2011 13:51

There are plenty of fast thrills, but they can’t overcome the poor screenplay or Taylor Lautner’s acting chops, which aren’t quite up to leading man status yet.

Taylor Lautner's first foray into leading man territory is somewhat of a disappointment. With a stellar supporting cast, potentially exciting premise and a veteran action director at its helm, it is a shame that embarrassingly schmaltzy dialogue and a flat lead turn from Lautner prohibits the film from coming across as anything more than mediocre action schlock.

 

Nathan (Lautner) is leading an average teenage existence: thrill seeking, attending wild parties, pining for the girl across the road (Collins), and bucking against the controls of his strict but well meaning parents (the criminally underused Maria Bello and Jason Isaacs).  Nathan's life is turned upside down however when, while researching a school project, he randomly stumbles upon his baby picture on a website for missing persons. What follows is a dangerous web of deceit and intrigue where nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted...

 

Taking into account the film's poor screenplay, one is compelled to question how the likes of Sigourney Weaver, Mario Bello, Alfred Molina and Swedish export Michael Nyqvist, fresh from The Millennium Trilogy fame, were roped into languishing away in thankless, poorly fleshed out supporting roles that not even this esteemed company could rescue from the doldrums.

 

That said, the film's action sequences do serve up plenty of thrills. Director John Singleton (Shaft, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Four Brothers), proves most at ease whenever explosions and bloodying up bad guys are required. What is glaringly apparent, however, is that Singleton is poorly equipped to handle teenage angst, a fact made far worse by cringe-worthy dialogue and a wooden leading man who proves that he has not yet developed the skills required to carry a film.