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Review: Panic Room
To be fair, this is a smart, high-end movie in some ways. The camera shots are especially skillful, the film moves like a rocket, Jodie Foster is her intense, tough and vulnerable self. Foster plays a newly-divorced (her husband was loaded) mom with an angst-ridden teen-aged daughter Sarah (Kristin Stewart). She's still in shock at his sudden affair. The kid is appropriately sullen and adorable. The townhouse they have just purchased has a secret "panic room" shrouded in steel with its own vault-like door, life support systems specifically built by the rich and paranoid previous owner to give him shelter against thieves and home invaders. The room has three-inch steel all around it, and supplies of food and drink. It also has its own tele-communications system and a video monitors to scan the house. Unbeknownst to the new occupants, it also has millions of dollars hidden away in the floor, something known to three thieves -- Forest Whitaker (the bad guy with a big heart); Jared Leto (the hyper and incompetent jerk); and Dwight Yoakum (the vicious psycopath who kills and tortures for the hell of it.
The thieves know there's money hidden away. They enter the house thinking it's still vacant. But the movie never explains why they don't just leave and come back another time once they found out there are people inside.
In the movie's best and early creepy moments, Foster puts her kid to bed, then gets up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Glancing at her video monitors she becomes aware that people are in her house. She grabs her daughter and hauls her into their retreat just a step ahead of the onrushing bad guys. But once inside, nothing seems to go right. It seems that the room is highly vulnerable to being disabled (Whitaker is a "panic room" designer); the super-secret phone doesn't work, the ventilation system is hardly self-contained, and -- here is where Hollywood movies just can't contain themselves -- Foster's daughter starts slipping into a diabetic seizure almost instantly. They gotta get out or the kid will die. This is the best plotting in the film, the growing tension and confusion over who really is trapped and who isn't.
Techies will be instantly frustrated at the pretzel-like turns the movie has to take to make its premise fly. In technological terms, there is no question the world can design a steel reinforced room that will hold off three men armed with nothing more than a pistol and some drills for one night. And no safe room would fail to have a Net connection (this one doesn't); a working cell phone or some secure means of communicating with the outside world. Like, say a silent alarm? (Duh). This "panic room" seems to have been conceived for the 50's, not the 21st century. Barring any of those things, how about an old-fashioned weapon. Sure, it gets tense in there, but mostly you think about the swell lawsuit Foster will have against the dummies who built the room once she gets out.
Panic Room is a nice idea, and it has some genuinely creepy moments. The premise (especially these days) of an absolutely safe retreat within a home is interesting. Director David Fincher does some remarkable camerawork. Near the beginning of the movie, there's an astonishing camera shot that goes down through the house, through the kitchen and out into the front door keyhole.
But the plot isn't plausible or disciplined. There are way too many improbable twists and turns. The bad guys are all stereotypes. Whitaker's thief is heroic. It doesn't make sense to like the villain more than the edgy heroine. Yoakum's psycho sparks all sorts of gore and mayhem that makes no sense, distracts from the movie's taut opening and style, and leads to a loopy and irritating ending.
Yes, technology is never fail-safe and those of us who are Americans tend to believe too often that it is, but this isn't a social science lecture, it's a thriller. It ought to make some sense, and this movie doesn't and that gets in the way. The best thing about Panic Room are a handful of creepy moments and Fincher's directing skills, which are richly showcased. If only the writers had kept up.
As allways - check the filthy critic for a second opinion.
Hank! White!
Hrm up here in CT and I think the rest of the country they no longer dissconnect phones because they can just remove the number and only allow them to call for new service and the police. Same goes for cell phones 911 must allways go through if you own them 10k or found it on the street good battery and reception = 911 getting through.
:) Radio backup is allways a good one it's way to easy to dissconnect the phones the external CPE is ripe for doing such things the telephone company makes it just easy.
As for security systems closed contacts for panic buttons have been around for years (can run DSL over them in town to
Secure ventilation her need to have a vent somewhere normal ventilation and a supply of gas masks would make more sence.
Now as for meds wouldent you have a goodly supply of any medications in the safe room and something on par with a ships first aid kit except the radio phone to call a surgen to walk you through an operations (ok maybe not dependant on how much you distrust the local PD from doing there job)
And finaly physical structure steel or for cost reinforced concreat would seem to the the wall of choice nice and thick anything over 8-12 inches and there isnt a man portable wet saw that could get through it with access to only one side. The ONLY place that this would make much sence to be would be sharing at least one wall with the foundation as it's to heavy to be remodled into a house for load (thats a lot of contreat or steel)
Even the only bomb shelters of the 50's would have been at least brick and have a nice heavy steel door and protected ventilation enough to protect you from the house buring down around you.
This is all with me not seeing the movie about a house with obviously outdated and origionaly inaquit security I'd love to know what the security camras were for at least some motion detection on those feeds or something being able to see people isn't very usefull while sleeping unless you want to pay a guard to watch them.
Why do you insist that the gas in that tank was propane? It could have been natural gas (http://www.newsearching.com/barbecue/Weber_Genesi s_Silver_A_Natural_Gas_BBQ_Grill__BLACK_.html). Natural Gas has a molecular weight of 16 g/mmol, which is lighter than air (29 g/mmol, btw propane is 44 g/mmol).
So, if it was natural gas in that tank, then it would have risen.
Grip
Failure is not an option. It comes automatically enabled in every Microsoft product.
Try this: hold a gun by its grip in your right hand. Place your left hand over the top of it, with your thumb behind the hammer. Pull the trigger. Scream in pain, as the motion of the slide breaks your thumb, and the ejecting shell casing burns your palm
Actually..... :-)
I do a bit of practical pistol shooting (and no I'm not a redneck nutter)
In practical pistol shooting the more power the ammunition has (Called making "Major"), the more marks you score when hitting the target. (This allows for the fact that more powerful recoil is harder to controal... hence deserves more points).
The power of your ammunition is measured at the start of the contest. .38 Super ....look up this calibre!) holding the slide closed with both thumbs.
During the 'power factor measuring' at World Shoot 10 (held in the UK) members of the South African team would hold the pistol in two hands and brace both thumbs on the slide.
They would then fire there test round (usually 10mm or
Because the slide dosn't open, gas/propellant isn't wasted out of the ejection port and your bullet leaves the gun with even more power. (Course, you then have to work the slide manually to chamber a new carterage).
Don't try this at home though kiddies!
Anyone quoted by a reporter knows how little they understand
Don't believe what you read is the truth.