Trespass

This straight to DVD, "paint by numbers" thriller staring Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman was one hell of a disappointment. The home invasion sub-genre while popular continually devours itself by its own lack of originality. There were a few moments in Trespass where the story could have taken a much more substantial route but rather then strive for something original the story falls back into the safe "paint by numbers" genre style. So in short - once you've seen one you've seen them all.

I have no idea where it went wrong but there was once a time when Nicolas Cage was hailed as being a great talent of cinema. During the past 10 years I can only count two films that feature the quality of acting he was once known for - 2009's doomsday epic Knowing & 2011's fantastic Drive Angry. There were scenes in Trespass that were obviously meant to be tense & on the edge but they were stripped of that feeling by the sub-par performance of Nicolas Cage as Kyle Miller. I found myself laughing several times when I should have been rooting for his character. He was just that bad. Played by someone else the character of Kyle Miller could have helped anchor this movie a little more and allow it to regain the intensity that it lacked.

The supporting cast (Nicole Kidman included) worked with what they had but I just wasn't able to invest in caring whether they lived or died. Nicole Kidman who is still such a great talent was reduced to spending the majority of this film sobbing and crawling along the ground. There was no need for the character of Sarah Miller (Nicole Kidman) to be played by someone of Kidmans stature. This character could have been played by anyone. The character Avery Miller (Liana Liberato) has a couple of great scenes towards the end of this film.

Trespass had the chance to go down a different route but sadly it went the safe, predictable path that we've all seen before.

I've never written a review before but felt compelled in this case due to the overwhelming number of positive reviews for a film that I felt was somewhat surprising in it's mediocrity considering its cast. Nic Cage does a fine job of subduing his performance and avoiding the tics that make him so Nicholas Cagey, but at some points it seems like a detriment. Coupled with the home invaders failure to produce much of a 'menacing' feel, Nic's performance doesn't do much to stem the movie from it's ultimate failure: a lack of intensity. In fairness, it seemed like more of a script issue; his character didn't seem very realistic.

Kidman's hyperventilating hysteria and sobbing pleas almost seem out of place in such a setting and I couldn't help but wish someone would just slap the bajeesus out of her already to quiet her down. She came close to seeming like a cliché but then it dawns on you that her acting would be right on target were the scenes and script properly conveying the direness of the situation she was responding to.

The bad guys were somewhat typical bad guys and although Ben Mendelsohn stood out with some great acting, in some scenes it could do little to conceal the sense that he was just doing his best to negotiate through some awkward dialogue.

The movie wasn't bad, it was just a bit predictable and boring, and watching it plod along, I kept waiting for it to be over so I could do something else. It's not transfixing, so would make for a great background movie while you do crosswords or something.

I was curious to watch "Trespass" because of the interesting casting of Nic Cage and Nic Kidman. I was a bit wary about Nic Cage, as his films lately have been a bit on the hammy side. Despite his leery reputation though, it is a wonder that he continues to get a lot of work, but good for him. Another curiosity about this film was the name of Joel Schumacher as director. His was a big name in directing box-office hits in the 80s and 90s. The last of film of his I had seen was when he directed Gerard Butler as "Phantom of the Opera."

"Trespass" turned out to be a film about a family whose beautiful suburban house was intruded upon by a gang of desperate amateur robbers. The robbers were quite violent and brutal the way they treated diamond trader Kyle Miller (Nic Cage), his glamorous wife Sarah (Nic Kidman) and their rebellious young daughter Avery (Liana Liberato). Things got a little more complicated when it was revealed that one of the robbers Jonah (Cam Gigandet) had a psychotic crush on Sarah.

The performances were over the top and unconvincing, both of the victims and the intruders. Nicole Kidman reminded me of her debut performance in "Dead Calm" as the victim of a psycho guy in love with her. However, she definitely loses her subtlety as well as any sexual tension as a victim here. Nicolas Cage was typically florid in his acting. You don't know where from his business background he got his extreme gung-ho bravado in facing these robbers! It was good to see Liana Liberato again after her memorably disturbing debut film "Trust." She had her good moments here. Cam Gigandet was appropriately creepy as the deluded Romeo. Jonah's brother and gang ringleader Elias was well-played by Ben Mendelsohn, whom I just realized was one of the sons in another crime family in "Animal Kingdom."

This was probably one of the noisiest movies set in a single house that I have seen. Everyone was always hysterically screaming and shouting at the top of their lungs. Despite the brutality of the robbers, it was a wonder how the victims also had the guts to stand up to them. The Millers were daringly answering and fighting back in spite of the guns brandished by the bad men in their faces! I must say this whole thing was highly improbable and unrealistic. Watch this at your own risk. Strictly for fans of the two Nics.

When I heard about the new movie "Trespass" the actors were what reeled me in at first. Between Nicole Kidman, Nicolas Cage and Cam Gigandet, I had my hopes set pretty high for a well acted movie; and I was not disappointed in the least. The movie starts off with your typical wealthy family with an angst filled teenage daughter. The marriage of the characters Kyle and Sarah, Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman respectively, seems strained at first, with Sarah's needs not being met because of Kyle's being preoccupied with work. When 2 "police officers" come to the house however, terror ensues. A violent hostage situation grips the family and shows how far a father will go for his wife and his daughter. Not only does Nicolas Cage shine as a man with a tortured secret, he embodies how strong a person should be in such a situation. The shocking realism of this movie is bloody, but not too gory, and really thrills you to the last scene. All in all Trespass delivers tenfold and leaves the audience with a final thought: get out, or die trying.

As is usually the case when a movie gets bad press, I felt compelled to see it for myself. As a fan of Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman, I was also interested to see just how terrible they were.

In actual fact I think the critics have been a little cruel. As other reviewers have commented, this is no groundbreaking piece of work; it's a home invasion story and highlights the lengths people will go to for money (see Panic Room for more details....!). Yes there is a lot of screaming from Nicole and a lot of people saying "run" and no one runs anywhere, but to be fair if I was in their position, I would likely be in a corner papping myself with fear.

It seems that they follow a similar formula to Panic Room, in that the burglars are pretty brutal and one or two of them seem slightly unhinged, but this is clearly a device used to work up tension as they become more panicked and more unpredictable. In a sense I liked this element, which showed something more of the invaders' humanity; their fears and failings.

All in all this is not an amazing film, but nor is it that terrible. It also isn't half as violent as people make out - there is a fair amount of threat but I have seen a lot worse and I am not a fan of violent movies. So 6/10 seems a fair score, although personally I quite enjoyed it - it was easy enough to watch and I was interested enough to keep watching to the end. But maybe that's just me.