Buried [DVD]

Buried features Ryan Reynolds (The Nines) as Paul Conroy, a man who wakes up in coffin with little idea how he got there other than a vague recollection of his supply convoy being attacked by insurgents. Buried in the desert with no way out, he resorts to the contents of his pockets for a life line and chance of escape.

Buried is an excellent concept, faced with the option of certain death, how far would you go to get out? Ryan Reynolds plays the role fantastically as he goes through the full range of emotions, from the initial terror, rage at being put on hold whilst in a life or death situation or even the joyful release when he finally gets in touch with his wife. He should be commended for carrying this entire film on his shoulders and making it a plausible and dramatic experience to boot, really inspiring empathy for his character.

Whilst one might find it strange to praise the cinematic direction of a film shot entirely inside of a coffin; the limited space and claustrophobic environ is used to absolute perfection. The film has marked themes signified by the colour of the light inside the coffin changing, moving from the yellow of a lighter flame to the screen-glow blue of the blackberry to the green of the glowsticks and finally the red of the signal-filter on a flashlight. Each motif is fitting with the pacing of the scene and resultantly I felt that Rodrigo Cortés' direction was truly impeccable.

Extra content: There is a making of featurette called "Unearthing Buried" which was pretty entertaining seeing how they managed the swooping shots inside of the coffin over the actor. There is also an interview with Ryan Reynolds on why he wanted to do Buried called "What attracted you to the film Buried" and finally there is the cinematic trailer. Nothing overly special, but wrapped up in a neat menu system.

All in all, a tense and claustrophobic thriller with excellent production values and a brilliant performance from Reynolds. Highly recommended!!

If you're even vaguely claustrophobic, you will experience one of the most relentless and nerve shredding 95 minutes of your life. Even worse for me was the frustration, panic and anger with the people Paul deals with on the phone; this movie is not only incredibly intense, but has a resounding political message on how different departments and institutions deal with situations like these.

The directing and writing is absolutely excellent, which is two of the main aspects which make this film a success; I've been a Ryan Reynolds fan for a few years, and I've watched and loved him in various comic and romantic movies, but this really proves what a fantastic actor he is.

I very much enjoyed this film. However ALL the 'action' taked place inside a coffin and so I'd advise NOT to buy this one IF you're looking for a film to demonstrate blu-ray, visually. It's realistic so as you can immagine the lighting throughout the film is very low even absent, briefly, at times. For this reason I suspect that you'd not notice much diference viewing it on dvd, either. Don't get me wrong: it's as it should be but as stated don't buy if you're looking for a demonstration of blu-ray.