The Hunted

[JonathanLB]

Well I had to post a thread on this because it was mostly filmed here in Portland, Oregon!

The Oregonian had a big special on it, too. I remember when several of these roads were closed for filming the movie and it was a huge deal here because we don't get many films shooting here.

It was incredibly odd though because I almost knew every location where they were in the city so it seemed so odd to be familiar with the locations to such an extent. Actually it reminded me a lot of the start of Rat Race and several other movies filmed in Vegas because I've been there a number of times and know my locations fairly well. We (my friend and I) actually saw Rat Race in Las Vegas! We were able to spot several flaws, actually, but most audiences probably didn't notice (character walking out a door and ending up, well, where he wouldn't end up if you really walked out that door...).

I think The Hunted gives a pretty good picture of Portland -- dark and gloomy and rainy and cloudy. Pretty much sums it up.

I really liked the movie. The critics are crazy this weekend. Willard SUCKED hard and it got good reviews, and The Hunted was very well done by an excellent director (William Friedkin, who did The Exorcist and The French Connection).

Also, I just realized this while reading The Oregonian yesterday because there is a Gus Van Sant film festival going on here. Well, I didn't even know he was a Portland filmmaker, but this is where he started out and he's filmed almost half of his movies in Oregon. Also, he went to the same tiny private school as I did originally! Catlin Gabel. So I went to the same grade school as Gus Van Sant, lol. Now that's trippy. I think he stayed there for high school, though, and I did not (hated it).

That would really annoy me if I'm making some significant films and I have to hear something stupid like, "Wow Catlin must be a great school to have produced two significant directors from a small state and small classes." I'd be like, "Shutup, that school blows, it's pure coincidence."

[Jedi Master Carr]

I haven't seen the hunted but the movies seems to have been done before, it may not be a bad movie just a repative film, especially since Jones has played that type of role (US agent after somebody) too much.

[JonathanLB]

He is not a U.S. agent, for one, and two, it is William Friedkin directing, so don't judge it before you see it.

Ebert gave it what I did -- 3.5 stars. It's a very good action film.

To say something has been done before, well, what does that mean? Who cares?

The Magnificent Seven is not just NOT original, but it's entirely an American remake of Seven Samurai, yet it is also one of the greatest American Westerns. So does it matter that it's not original? No.

Last Man Standing is, again, a remake of Kurosawa's Yojimbo (I love both, actually), but is very enjoyable.

Star Wars has elements lifted right from a number of other films to such a degree that if you've seen those movies, Star Wars could be assembled almost literally from scenes in other films. It doesn't matter, though, because it's still the best film ever made. Originality often comes from taking elements already done before and incorporating them into something slightly different.

A lot of people might say, "Eh, you see one action film, you seen 'em all." That isn't really true, but in some cases it can feel that way, yet it doesn't mean you shouldn't see lots of action movies.

I'm just saying, give it a chance. I think audiences will like it, even though the critics are acting like morons as usual. But as usual, I agree with Ebert (4 movies in the last 2 weeks that I have seen, 3 of them I gave the exact same star rating as he did; Willard I gave 1 star, he gave 2.5).

Here is what I said of the Portland filming of The Hunted in my review:

"Friedkin filmed most of The Hunted in Oregon, much of it in Portland, the state’s largest city. The shooting for the film lasted more than a year in Oregon, injecting $30 million into the state’s sagging economy. The small state has enjoyed a number of mentions or appearances lately in films such as Bandits (2001) with Billy Bob Thornton and Bruce Willis, Changing Lanes (2002) with Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson, and also a dramatic finale on I-5 in Trapped (2002). Portlanders might notice a few odd geographic discrepancies in the film, such as a MAX line on the Hawthorne Bridge (MAX does not run through the Hawthorne), but seeing the rarely shot city in a major feature film is fun nonetheless.

"Oregon moviegoers will also notice the Dekum Building, Fox Tower (which has a theater that is, oddly enough, not playing The Hunted), City Hall, the Riverplace Marina, the Burnside Bridge, the Keller Fountain, and other various streets and locations. Also, British Columbia in the film is not British Columbia, but Mount Hood in Oregon, which is incredibly ironic because normally locations in British Columbia stand in for other areas that filmmakers can save money by not shooting directly. Oregon, with both wilderness like Silver Falls and modernity embodied in the towering buildings of Portland, seems the perfect location for a chase film about two trackers, one who chooses not to live in populated society, the other who must not exist in society at all."

[sirdizzy]

i gave it 4 stars out of 5, i really liked it

The Hunted (2003)


Action/Adventure 1 hr. 34 min
MPAA Rating: R for (for strong bloody violence and some language).
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio Del Toro, Connie Nielsen, Jenna Boyd, Leslie Stefanson
Directed by: William Friedkin

L.T. Bonham is a civilian employee of the U.S. Army who trains elite forces to stalk, track, hunt and kill. His men learn how to make weapons out of shards of rock, and forge knives from scrap metal. But he has grown disenchanted with the game of teaching people how to kill so he has quit the service and moved to Canada. There he lives in relative peace and works for the forest service as a ranger. But when a series of murders happens to some hunters in Oregon the FBI is desperate for his skills to track the killer. The killer is a cool professional who left little trace of his crime gutting his victims with a knife while they were armed with high power weapons. Soon Bonham learns that he might have trained this particular killer. The student is Aaron Hallam who fought in Kosovo in 1999 and had experiences there that warped him. He has become so battle stressed he can no longer tell real from the war and duty to his country that has made him a killer. So once he gets back home to Oregon, he becomes offended by hunters using telescopic sights, as they have taken all the honor out of hunting. So now it is up to Bonham to track this madman that he trained to kill and try and stop him before he can strike again.

Tommy Lee Jones seems to be made for these type of movies as this is third movie that he has been involved in a movie about him in a one on one hunt with a fugitive from justice. But this time the movie takes a turn from The Fugitive and U.S. Marshals where the fugitives are innocent as the movie makes it a point from the beginning that Aaron is guilty and may even be a monster. Jones is once again perfect in his ability to play the obsessed hunter that always gets his man. He hunts Aaron with a persistence that he pulls off so well that you are right there beside him tracking the hunter as well. If there was any lack in Jones’ abilities it was in the fight scenes that just didn’t seem right, as they were a little slow and Jones just does not come off as the fighter type. Benicio Del Toro also puts in a masterful performance as the truly haunted madman that the armed forces used for special operation missions. His performance at times is so real you almost get goose bumps watching him as you can feel this madman almost breathing down your neck and stalking you like prey. The movie does a masterful job of bantering between its two main characters as they play a game of cat and mouse and while the ending was exactly what you expected it did not deter from the film instead almost being like a warm blanket of familiarity. The movie is slightly violent at times and may not be suited for young viewers but if you truly enjoy two actors sparring with each other mentally and physically in an exceptional drama this is the movie for you
4 stars out of 5
http://www.sirdizzy.com

[JMK]

The fact is Carr is right. He may not be a special agent or U.S. Marshal in The Hunted, but he IS one old authority figure trying to track another dangerous man (or woman if you count Double Jeopardy) down. How many times do we need to see him do that?

[JonathanLB]

As many times as it still works, JMK. That's the simple fact.

How many times do we need to see the chick flick formula? It's going to be done until the end of time, sometimes very well (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), sometimes very poorly (Sweet Home Alabama).

[JMK]

Granted, but there's a difference between the same formula being put onscreen and the same person being casted over and over for the same type of role. The same actress isn't casted for every chick flick, while it seems Lee Jones is casted for the same role.

[JediBoricua]

And what about Meg Ryan!!!

Sorry, had nothing intelligent to add to the discussion, carry on.

[JonathanLB]

That's what I was going to say.

"The same actress isn't casted for every chick flick"

Julia Roberts... :)

[JMK]

Sandra Bullock
Reese Witherspoon
Ashley Judd
Julia Roberts
Meg Ryan

Just to name a few. :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well to me those movies are just as bad, I don't like seeing the same actor doing the exact same thing in several films, Jones has done this now in at least 3 films (I think there is another one can't think of it off hand). Maybe if it was a different actor I would have less problems with it. I still might rent the movie, just not interested in it to see it in theaters.

[sirdizzy]

well maybe we can forgive and forget guy films like women seem to forgive and forget chick flicks that follow the same formula

[Lilaena De'Ville]

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days:

The best 'chick flick' I've ever seen. I think its great. And it has none of those actresses.

I have yet to see The Hunted. Too many other movies on my list.

[JonathanLB]

Maybe so, but you gotta see it! Come on, you're an Oregonian, and plus, it's very good ;)

How to Lose A Guy in Ten Days is your favorite chick flick?! Wow... Well it was good, not great. Lost some steam at the end. A strong effort, solid B, but Serendipity, Clueless, and Legally Blonde are a few of my favorite chick flicks so far, hehe. I haven't seen enough to make a fair judgment I suppose (i used to avoid them understandably, haha).

[sirdizzy]

i still avoid them