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BURIED

"Suspense in a Box"

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BURIED is an intense, yet disturbing, suspense thriller about a man who is buried alive by terrorists inside a coffin in Iraq. Paul Conroy, a civilian American worker in Iraq wakes up to find himself in darkness. An Iraqi terrorist calls Paul on his cell phone and demands $5 million to let him go. Armed with his cell phone, Paul must race against time to deal with the terrorist and his ransom demands. Making things even harder, Paul also has to weave through the bureaucratic nightmare of an international rescue operation before his cell phone battery and his are run out.

BURIED is a taut thriller. Other than the voices on the other end of Paul’s phone, the story and the cameras never venture outside Paul’s wooden coffin. The screenwriter and the director skillfully craft the tension and the emotional highs and lows of Paul’s character journey inside the box. Ryan Reynolds deftly captures all his character’s ups and downs. Sadly, Reynolds uses a lot of foul language to depict that inner turmoil. BURIED also has some strong violence. Extreme caution is warranted. Go to Movieguide.org for the complete review.

HEADLINE: ** Suspense in a Box **

Title: BURIED

Quality: * * * Acceptability: -2

SUBTITLES: None

WARNING CODES:

Language: LLL

Violence: VV

Sex: None

Nudity: None

RATING: R

RELEASE: September 24, 2010

TIME: 96 minutes

STARRING: Ryan Reynolds

DIRECTOR: Rodrigo Cortes

PRODUCERS: Adrian Guerra, Peter Safran

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Rodrigo Cortes, Alejandro Miranda

WRITER: Chris Sparling

BASED ON THE NOVEL/PLAY BY: N/A

DISTRIBUTOR: Lionsgate Films

CONTENT: (PaPa, B AP, FR, Acap, LLL, VV, A, D, MM) Strong mixed pagan worldview with some moral, theistic elements such as man and his wife on the phone cry out “thank God” several times when rescue is coming, plus some anti-patriotic comments made by villain about soldiers and the US in Iraq, Islamic call to prayer is heard in the background, and anti-capitalist elements as large corporation deals unscrupulously with man in perilous situation; 50 obscenities and two profanities; strong violence includes discussions of truckers being ambushed and shot, man is stuffed inside a coffin and held for ransom, man has blood on his forehead implying earlier beating, snake gets inside coffin and man uses flask of alcohol and lighter to burn the snake, man watches female coworker be executed on video phone, man has knife and considers suicide, explosions from air raid are heard above, man cuts off his own finger and records it on video because the terrorists demand he do so; no sex, although man is accused of having extramarital affair and he denies it vehemently; no nudity; man has flask of alcohol and uses it to burn snake; no smoking but man takes anxiety pills; and, strong miscellaneous immorality includes lying, kidnapping, man is held for ransom and government officials view his life as less important than avoiding an international media incident.

GENRE: Suspense Thriller

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Older teenagers and adults

REVIEWER: Dallas Amsden

REVIEW: BURIED is an intense, yet disturbing, suspense thriller about a man (Ryan Reynolds) who is buried alive by terrorists inside a coffin in Iraq. Armed with his cell phone, he must race against time to deal with the terrorists and their ransom demands. Making things even harder, he also has to weave through the bureaucratic nightmare of an international rescue operation before his cell phone battery and the air in his coffin runs out.

Paul Conroy awakens in pure darkness. The only noise he hears is the sound of his anxious breathing. He spreads his arms out and feels wood on each side and in front of him. He pulls out a lighter and flips it on. The small flicker reveals that he is trapped inside a wooden box – buried alive inside a wooden coffin. His cell phone rings. On the other end of the phone is the voice of his captor, an Iraqi insurgent who wants $5 million from Paul, or he will let Paul suffocate and die inside this coffin.

Paul pleads with the man, saying he is just a truck driver working in Iraq on a civilian contract, not a soldier. The insurgent wants no excuses. He instructs Paul to contact the U.S. embassy and get the $5 million to him before Paul’s air runs out at 9 p.m. local time. When Paul tries to call his wife, she is unavailable. Paul’s hurried quest continues as he makes countless calls to 911 operators, U.S. embassy officials, his company office, even his hateful sister-in-law, all in an attempt to get help before time runs out.

As events six feet above him quickly unfold between the terrorists and the embassy officials, Paul finds himself caught in the middle of an international political game inside a tiny wooden box six feet below the surface of the Iraqi desert.

BURIED is a taut thriller. Other than the voices on the other end of Paul’s phone, the story and the cameras never venture outside Paul’s wooden coffin. The screenwriter and the director skillfully craft the tension and the emotional highs and lows of Paul’s character journey inside the box. Ryan Reynolds deftly captures the character’s journey and the emotional trauma required by Paul’s extreme circumstance.

Surprisingly, the movie is able to sustain strong levels of suspense, even though the scene never cuts away from Paul’s tiny wooden prison. Other than the questionable physics of a cell phone reception seamlessly working from six feet under the ground, the movie also has an implausible plot device as a poisonous desert snake somehow makes its way into the coffin. Other than those two far-fetched plot devices, which are easily forgivable, BURIED is a suspenseful movie with a gripping final act.

The movie’s content requires extreme caution, however. Its worldview is a mixed, pagan one. Even though Paul’s character, along with his wife on the phone, say “thank God” as he hears that rescue workers are one their way, Paul never calls on Jesus for salvation or forgiveness. He never even prays for divine rescue. His character, instead, uses a lot of foul language to depict his inner turmoil.

The movie also contains some anti-American sentiment from Paul’s Iraqi captors as well as an anti-capitalist depiction of Paul’s company, which tries to distance their company from Paul’s situation in order to maintain their corporate image. Also, the movie has some violent contact, including discussions of violence and depicted violence as a woman is seen executed on a video phone and Paul must cut off his pinky to appease the terrorists.

Although BURIED is a suspense-filled thriller and older audiences may enjoy the movie’s intensity, it does contain objectionable content, so media-wise viewers should take caution.

Please address your comments to:

Jon Feltheimer, CEO

Lionsgate Films

AKA Lions Gate Films

2700 Colorado Ave.

Santa Monica, CA 90404

Phone: (310) 449-9200

Fax: (310) 255-3870

Website: www.lionsgatefilms.com

SUMMARY: BURIED is an intense, yet disturbing, suspense thriller about a man who is buried alive by terrorists inside a coffin in Iraq. BURIED is a taut thriller, but it contains plenty of foul language and some strong violence that requires extreme caution.

IN BRIEF:

BURIED is an intense, yet disturbing, suspense thriller about a man who is buried alive by terrorists inside a coffin in Iraq. Paul Conroy, a civilian American worker in Iraq wakes up to find himself in darkness. An Iraqi terrorist calls Paul on his cell phone and demands $5 million to let him go. Armed with his cell phone, Paul must race against time to deal with the terrorist and his ransom demands. Making things even harder, Paul also has to weave through the bureaucratic nightmare of an international rescue operation before his cell phone battery and his are run out.

BURIED is a taut thriller. Other than the voices on the other end of Paul’s phone, the story and the cameras never venture outside Paul’s wooden coffin. The screenwriter and the director skillfully craft the tension and the emotional highs and lows of Paul’s character journey inside the box. Ryan Reynolds deftly captures all his character’s ups and downs. Sadly, Reynolds uses a lot of foul language to depict that inner turmoil. BURIED also has some strong violence. Extreme caution is warranted. Go to Movieguide.org for the complete review.

Content:

(PaPa, B AP, FR, Acap, LLL, VV, A, D, MM) Strong mixed pagan worldview with some moral, theistic elements such as man and his wife on the phone cry out “thank God” several times when rescue is coming, plus some anti-patriotic comments made by villain about soldiers and the US in Iraq, Islamic call to prayer is heard in the background, and anti-capitalist elements as large corporation deals unscrupulously with man in perilous situation; 50 obscenities and two profanities; strong violence includes discussions of truckers being ambushed and shot, man is stuffed inside a coffin and held for ransom, man has blood on his forehead implying earlier beating, snake gets inside coffin and man uses flask of alcohol and lighter to burn the snake, man watches female coworker be executed on video phone, man has knife and considers suicide, explosions from air raid are heard above, man cuts off his own finger and records it on video because the terrorists demand he do so; no sex, although man is accused of having extramarital affair and he denies it vehemently; no nudity; man has flask of alcohol and uses it to burn snake; no smoking but man takes anxiety pills; and, strong miscellaneous immorality includes lying, kidnapping, man is held for ransom and government officials view his life as less important than avoiding an international media incident.

More Detail:

BURIED is an intense, yet disturbing, suspense thriller about a man (Ryan Reynolds) who is buried alive by terrorists inside a coffin in Iraq. Armed with his cell phone, he must race against time to deal with the terrorists and their ransom demands. Making things even harder, he also has to weave through the bureaucratic nightmare of an international rescue operation before his cell phone battery and the air in his coffin runs out.

Paul Conroy awakens in pure darkness. The only noise he hears is the sound of his anxious breathing. He spreads his arms out and feels wood on each side and in front of him. He pulls out a lighter and flips it on. The small flicker reveals that he is trapped inside a wooden box – buried alive inside a wooden coffin. His cell phone rings. On the other end of the phone is the voice of his captor, an Iraqi insurgent who wants $5 million from Paul, or he will let Paul suffocate and die inside this coffin.

Paul pleads with the man, saying he is just a truck driver working in Iraq on a civilian contract, not a soldier. The insurgent wants no excuses. He instructs Paul to contact the U.S. embassy and get the $5 million to him before Paul’s air runs out at 9 p.m. local time. When Paul tries to call his wife, she is unavailable. Paul’s hurried quest continues as he makes countless calls to 911 operators, U.S. embassy officials, his company office, even his hateful sister-in-law, all in an attempt to get help before time runs out.

As events six feet above him quickly unfold between the terrorists and the embassy officials, Paul finds himself caught in the middle of an international political game inside a tiny wooden box six feet below the surface of the Iraqi desert.

BURIED is a taut thriller. Other than the voices on the other end of Paul’s phone, the story and the cameras never venture outside Paul’s wooden coffin. The screenwriter and the director skillfully craft the tension and the emotional highs and lows of Paul’s character journey inside the box. Ryan Reynolds deftly captures the character’s journey and the emotional trauma required by Paul’s extreme circumstance.

Surprisingly, the movie is able to sustain strong levels of suspense, even though the scene never cuts away from Paul’s tiny wooden prison. Other than the questionable physics of a cell phone reception seamlessly working from six feet under the ground, the movie also has an implausible plot device as a poisonous desert snake somehow makes its way into the coffin. Other than those two far-fetched plot devices, which are easily forgivable, BURIED is a suspenseful movie with a gripping final act.

The movie’s content requires extreme caution, however. Its worldview is a mixed, pagan one. Even though Paul’s character, along with his wife on the phone, say “thank God” as he hears that rescue workers are one their way, Paul never calls on Jesus for salvation or forgiveness. He never even prays for divine rescue. His character, instead, uses a lot of foul language to depict his inner turmoil.

The movie also contains some anti-American sentiment from Paul’s Iraqi captors as well as an anti-capitalist depiction of Paul’s company, which tries to distance their company from Paul’s situation in order to maintain their corporate image. Also, the movie has some violent contact, including discussions of violence and depicted violence as a woman is seen executed on a video phone and Paul must cut off his pinky to appease the terrorists.

Although BURIED is a suspense-filled thriller and older audiences may enjoy the movie’s intensity, it does contain objectionable content, so media-wise viewers should take caution.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.