Not Forgotten

I love dark, twisted movies, and this is definitely right up there... an awesome thriller!

All of the religious rituals are pretty disturbing (but incredibly fascinating). The idea these people really exist and actually practice these rituals freaked me out!

All in all, I thought it was thought provoking, the performances were great, and the ending was entirely unexpected. I got the feeling there might be a sequel; if that's the case, I would definitely see it too.

Long story short: If you're into thrillers with some brains, then you'll really like Not Forgotten.

I don't care how bad the reviews are, the chance to see Paz Vega (Sex and Lucia, Spanglish, The Other Side of the Bed) means I will watch it.

As a bonus it has Claire Forlani from Meet Joe Black. I like her, too.

We are treated to violent flashbacks, gratuitous nudity from strippers and prostitutes and vaguely supernatural facial distortions in an attempt to distract us from the bad acting and bad script.

Similar to Taken, it also has elements of A History of Violence. Of course, come may recall Eyes Wide Shut at certain points. In other words, there is nothing original as this film is capitalizing on Simon Baker's popularity as The Mentalist.

Jack/Roberto is not the only one with a secret.

This is a great movie. I haven't found any good suspense/mystery thrillers lately, and Not Forgotten has finally relieved that. I personally love a good suspense thriller with mind game twists. The depth of the story was refreshing, and it always kept me guessing as to what was going to happen next. And the ending, well I'll just say I never saw it coming.

Simon Baker's acting was spot on, and Paz Vega was a great compliment. They really worked as an enticing lead pair. Although Cloe Moretz might not get as much screen time as the other main actors in the film, she still maintains a powerful role throughout the film. This movie is definitely worth seeing.

Their website is awesome too.

In Del Rio, in the border of Texas and Mexico, the female teen-soccer coach Jack Bishop (Simon Baker) is very popular and he loves his eleven year-old daughter Toby (Chloe Moretz) and her stepmother Amaya (Paz Vegas). When Toby is kidnapped, Amaya's cousin, the rookie Sheriff Casper Navarro (Michael DeLorenzo), is in charge of the investigation, but sooner the FBI arrives in town to lead the hunt. However, Navarro and Jack travel to Mexico following a lead and the hidden past of Jack returns to haunt him.

"Not Forgotten" is an intriguing thriller that uses the mysticism of the Mexican cult "La Santa Muerte" and has a promising beginning. The cast has names like Paz Vega and Simon Baker in the lead roles and Claire Forlani with a minor participation. Unfortunately the resolution of the original story is simply awful and messy, wasting all the potentiality of the plot with a terrible conclusion. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Regresso do Além" ("Return From Beyond")

I thought Not Forgotten had a very cleverly crafted story. It didn't just rely on scary music to keep you in suspense; rather the story with its dark, creepy rituals (I don't want to give it away!!) made me more nervous and scared than anything. Paz Vega and Simon Baker both gave excellent performances (in addition to being extremely pleasing on the eyes… ladies, there are a couple of scenes with Simon Baker without a shirt—don't say I didn't warn you! And I'm sure the guys would agree with me that Paz Vega has never looked better).

The end has a really surprising twist. If the rumors about a sequel are true, then count me in. I would love to see part II!