Ameriatch
One of the best films i have seen
mraculeated
The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
Keeley Coleman
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Brennan Camacho
Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
djderka
"Houdini....who showed us that all chains that bind us are but an illusion." Quote from a documentary about Houdini really applies to this movie.I caught this thriller on Lifetime, where it was titled DYING TO ESCAPE...a more appropriate title.Brody plays such a weasel, that I wanted to choke him.The movie, like a fine wine. has a really great surprise finish and really takes off when Brody gets caught! Shouldn't getting caught be the climax...nope. Watch this movie and you will be very surprised at the twists and turns. Nicely done. Way better than average Lifetime movies shot in Canada, with the trademark sultry saxophone in the background to indicate a sexy scene.The energy between Tieman an Brody is great.I taped it off Lifetime and missed the first 5 minutes, now I'll have to buy the DVD when I see it in the video bins.Enjoy! Enjoy!
Paul Andrews
Oxygen starts one sunny afternoon in New York City as Frances Hannon (Laila Robins) is walking her pet dog around the block, a man (Adrien Brody) approaches her a begins to chat to her, at first he seems a pleasant & charming young man but he soon changes as he becomes aggressive, he threatens her & makes her get into a nearby car. He, & his accomplice (Michael Henderson), drive off to a wood where they bury Frances alive in a wooden coffin, she has about 24 hours worth of air left & the clock is ticking... Detective Madeline Foster (Maura Tierney) & her partner Jesse (Paul Calderon) are called onto the task force to find Frances & apprehend her kidnappers. They are both briefed, Frances rich husband Clarke (James Naughton) has received a videotape that demands he pay a $1,000,000 ransom or Frances will be left to suffocate & die an agonising & terrifying death. The money drop off goes OK until the kidnapper figures out the police are watching him, Foster has no choice but to arrest him without the knowledge of where Frances is & once in custody he refuses to say anything, will Frances be found in time before she runs out of air & why does her young kidnapper seem so clam, almost as if he is enjoying himself or maybe there are other less clear motives behind the events of the previous day...Written, co-produced & directed by Richard Shepard I thought Oxygen was a nice tight, taut little thriller that isn't the sort of thing I usually like but it has a certain something about it. The script at it's most basic is pretty gripping & absorbing as time runs out for Frances while Harry the kidnapper toys with the police & FBI, although I have to say once Harry is arrested & stuck in that room the pace slackens considerably. I would say that what Oxygen deals with is what many would consider their worst nightmare, being buried alive & slowly running out of air & perhaps more could have been done with this concept as it concentrates a little too much on the games played by Harry with the authorities. One more thing, Harry's precise & exact plans rely far too much on luck & things he simply has no control over to make me convinced that he could have come up with such an elaborate & implausible scheme. I mean his whole plan is based on the fact that he would be placed in one room, in that they would handcuff him in a certain way & that he would definitely be able to pick the locks, that they would agree with his demands to the absolute letter & that there is a air conditioning vent in the room just big enough to crawl through & that he could actually reach it as well as being able to keep total control over a hostage so they don't raise the alarm. That's an awful lot of coincidences & a whole lot of luck as well. The character's are well developed & fleshed out, they have a little bit more depth than usual I loved the monologue about the lethal injection from the FBI agent who was meant to be intimidating.Director Shepard does an OK job without being particularly outstanding, as a whole Oxygen is a little bland & forgettable but the solid story should paper over the lacklustre visuals. The film lacks any real tension or excitement but it does retain ones interest throughout, again thanks to the story. There isn't any violence to speak of except a gory gunshot wound at the end.Technically Oxygen is OK, it's competently made, there are a few nice New York shots & a couple of minor car chases although there isn't much action as it's a dialogue & storyline driven film. The acting is good especially from the two leads, Tierney as the cop & the effective Brody as the cold, calculating villain.Oxygen is a good thriller, it's short on action or violence but it has a good strong story to compensate. Personally I think it's well worth a watch.
sarcastic_bitch
Where to begin, I guess I'll start with saying that Adrien Brody was awesome! This is one on my favorite films! If you haven't seen it yet you need to because it is just wonderful. Anyways Adrien Brody plays a psychotic murder named Harry, who kidnaps a woman and buries her alive. He does this as an attempt to get ransom money from her husband. Harry gets a tape to the husband which explains that if he wants to know where his wife is buried he must not contact the police and pay him the amount of money he asks for, or Harry will never tell where she is. Well of course like in every movie the husband goes to the police. In a wicked awesome chase scene Harry is captured, but keeps to his word of never telling the woman's where abouts. Maura Tierney is the only person Harry says he will talk to. As soon as she sits down the police are taken on a wild goose chase by the brilliant young killer. As the police say,"He's the brains in the operation." or something like that. With wonderful acting on both Maura and Adriens parts Oxygen is a fast paced thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Joeromeo-2
Warning this is an awful review so if you want to watch the movie skip to some one who wrote a good review or who liked the movie. Still reading? Here is how I would get through this piece of junk. What I did was get some work out and leave the pig rolling on in the background. I worried that the my work on my laptop might have suffered but I watched the pig and answered emails even with this diversion I still hated it. It was a study in futility. Bad Characters. Lifeless and unbelievable acting I mean truly awful. I feel bad for the folks who saw it in the theaters.OK so it had some great stars I liked looking at the film faces so I blame the director on this pig--Cut together like a story that never made sense to the director and if the editor convinced him to run it backwards maybe they could have saved the pig. The story line is a wanna be "Seven" With Brad Pitt. this so called female cop is boring.Again Don't blame the actors blame the director--He stunk this one up but good. In the end the stupid thing ends with the woman being saved and who cares. Watch it while your doing something else like waxing your car.