User Reviews

Now, I do admit that I'm not the biggest fan of claustrophobic movies, as I would call them. The sort of movies that are being almost completely set in a small confinement. Movies like "Phone Booth", "Buried", "Panic Room". It's not like I hate those movie but it's just so that you can only do so much with its concept, before things are starting to feel stretched and worn out or just incredibly far fetched. And boy, is this movie far fetched! To be honest, I really wasn't hating on this movie at first. It was simply fine enough for what it was and I was somewhat entertained by it all. Not that the movie ever becomes truly tense or exciting with its story but it was all really good enough to keep me interested and wanted to see where it was going with its story and mystery. However, the further the movie started to progress, the more ridicules and unlikely things were getting and the more obvious it started to become where the movie was heading at. I still was hopeful and wishing for it that the movie would be doing something different and more clever but unfortunately no. The movie did the worst possible thing it could had done, in its final 15 minutes or so. I don't know what is worse about it; that it actually ended on such a bad note, or that I could see the ending coming from miles away already. I'm serious, the cop out ending almost ruined the complete movie for me and I felt so let down and angry by it all. It gets all the more worse once you start thinking back about the entire movie. All of the things that happened in it suddenly start to seem even more unlikely and just plain ridicules when you do so and it makes you never want to watch this movie again. But I need to be fair. Since I still enjoyed the movie for most part, I just can't rate it as a complete train-wreck, no matter how tempted I am right now. The movie has its moments, especially at its start, when you still have no idea what is going on. But still, I obviously can't recommend this movie to anyone! As a matter of fact, I would urge people to never see it, since chances are you will be just as let down and angered by its lame and just horrible ending, just as I was. 5/10

This is yet another example of a director over extending his movie with a predictable ending. Yes it's always for some outrageous twist, and you're always left saying to yourself why, oh why did they not just end it there.

I would have given this a solid 9/10 stars - for fans of Buried - if they had cut the last 11minutes out of this one.

First off the first portion of this movie was cinematically pleasing, intense and the overall pacing was perfect.

The twist at the end (2/10)... was pointless, looked like a day time soap - the way it was shot and way to predictable. The entire last half I was saying to myself ... I bet this is a .... I won't ruin it for you. Please, please before you release this in a cinema get rid of that horrible excuse for an ending and end it where it should have.

I feel bad giving this movie any lower than a 7 as it was really good... up to that pointless and predictable twist.

I saw this movie for free, but I still want my money back. Or at least the 90 minutes of my life wasted.

This doesn't even qualify as a bad student script. And I guess any time you've got Tom Berenger doing a cameo it's the kiss of death.

I predicted the "surprise" ending 15 minutes into the film and then as soon as it started to unfold, I saw the "double take" coming a mile away.

Stephen Dorff's decent performance is the only redeeming quality of this film. He must have needed the money. Too bad. He's better than this.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie for the most part. I loved the suspense, the intrigue and the twists. I even loved the part where it all turns out to be a training exercise - or so we thought. If the movie had ended as they were getting into the ambulance at the end it would have been close to a perfect thriller, but to spoil it by adding such a lame and unrealistic ending is a travesty of film making. It slowly dawned on me as the film went on that this was all possibly some sort of elaborate setup to test allegiance of a secret service agent to POTUS. Its a little far fetched maybe, but it could happen (in the USA at least). BUT then for him to go through all of that and then let the location he was not only willing to die for but willing to die painfully and slowly for just slip out at the end was completely ridiculous and ruined everything. And from the terrorist's point of view why would they go through all of that just to set him up for the emotional state he was in on the ambulance ride? The only way this movie can be redeemed is if all copies are immediately recalled and re-edited to cut off the ambulance ride at the end. Until that point it was fantastic. Beyond that point it was a ridiculous farce!

"Brake" is an infuriating exercise in cheating. We're led to think the experience will be rewarding, simply because it's packed with excitement and suspense. Alas, all that waits at the end of the line is disillusionment. That's because each thrill, we eventually learn, stems from a profoundly implausible and hopelessly transparent premise. For the filmmakers to have built a plot on it is to assume that audiences possess not a shred of intelligence. Once we navigate through its pulse-pounding scenes, we're punched straight in the gut with not one but two plot twists, which collectively adding up to the single worst ending since that of M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village." To call it an anticlimax would be a massive understatement. I cannot recall the last time a movie has made me feel so swindled.

Jeremy Reins (Stephen Dorff) awakens, confused and disoriented. He has no idea where he is or how he got there. It's totally dark, apart from the red light of a digital clock, which seems to be on countdown mode. He can barely move or breathe. He quickly realizes he's in a clear box made out of either glass or some industrial strength plastic. He now understands he has been kidnapped and imprisoned. Initially, he thinks it might have something to do with some unpaid gambling debts, which is the reason he went to New York in the first place. Is he still in New York? Various sounds and sensations make it clear that he's in the trunk of a car, which is now on the move. The digital clock will count down to zero and reset itself many times throughout the course of the movie.

Reins realizes that there's a CB radio in the box with him. He gets hold of a man who says his name his Henry Shaw (the voice of J.R. Bourne). It seems he too is being held captive in a clear box in the back of some automobile. Through their many exchanges, we learn that both Reins and Shaw are Secret Service agents. Someone pushes a postcard through a tube that connects from the back of the car to the box. It shows the White House. On the back is a handwritten message demanding to know the location of Roulette. That's obviously a code word, although out of decency, I will not reveal what it refers to. I will say that Reins and Shaw are at the mercy of terrorists who are attempting to assassinate the President.

Various voices – some with Middle Eastern accents, others sounding American – eventually make their presence known on the CB radio. If Reins doesn't tell them what they want to know, they will hurt his estranged wife. And wouldn't you know, a speaker phone is taped to the top of the clear box. The terrorists patch Reins through to his wife, Molly (the voice of Chyler Leigh), who will eventually be kidnapped and put into her own clear box. The terrorists go one step further and release a swarm of bees into Reins' box. Somehow, they know that Reins is allergic to bee stings. He's so allergic, in fact, that he immediately goes into anaphylactic shock. He passes out, only to come to with a needle puncture on his side. His captors injected him with the necessary antidote. They obviously need him alive.

Exciting things happen, one right after the other. The car is pulled over by the cops. There's a shootout, leaving a small hole in the clear box. Reins gets hold of a cell phone and calls 911, at which point he learns he's in Maryland. He and the dispatcher (the voice of Kali Rocha) will go through the usual banter; much of hers involves technical lingo about cell phone triangulation. He will also call Molly and his associate Ben Reynolds (the voice of Tom Berenger), who's frantic because it seems all of Washington, D.C. is in chaos following a series of explosions. Indeed, Reins is made to hear news reports through the tube. Henry becomes panicked because he fears for his wife and children. Molly becomes increasingly frightened and weepy as Reins professes his love for her. And all the while, the digital clock keeps on counting down. Can all this be stopped if Reins simply tells his captors what they want to know?

I'll bet you think I've given too much of the plot away. You have no idea the lengths I've gone to keep the real secrets of this movie hidden. I'm obligated to not spoil the ending, and I will stay true to that. You should know, however, that it has nothing to do with keeping you in suspense over a great surprise. The truth is, if you knew the plot twists beforehand, you would avoid this movie like the plague. Both secrets are insultingly stupid. Whereas the first one merely irritated me, the second one made me livid. This is the reward I get sitting through ninety minutes of suspense? What a gyp. The experience of watching "Brake" is not at all unlike the experience of being lifted several stories into the air, only to be dropped without warning. And no, there isn't a safety net there to catch you.

-- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)

First off, if you are claustrophobic you may want to pour yourself a strong drink to numb your senses a little. I'm a claustro, and for the first ten minutes or so I was wanting to run a mile from the image of the man tightly contained in a box in the dark. I felt sick and almost asked my wife if we could choose another film. Thank goodness the effect lessened as the film proceeded. The story starts off as intriguing, and may have made a decent hostage/terrorist thriller IF it hadn't become clear after about 40 minutes that (spoiler) the whole thing was a security test. In my book, this is like a story that turns out to be a dream or the testing of a new mind-altering drug - a cop-out. The extra twist at the end does nothing to improve matters. All in all, good fun as long as you don't mind knowing it's a fix by the half-way point.

Another film where 98% takes place in one spot - guy wakes up in a glass coffin it turns out is in a moving car.

Interesting and holds your attention. Drama plays out and the stuff that happens is watchable. For having your whole movie in one spot, you have to have tension and drama and they manage to pull it off. You wonder the entire time "what would I do in this situation?" Me, who is massively claustrophobic, would probably cave in, in 5 minutes.

But the premise is okay and then it gets to the end. Then it completely falls apart. Believability at the very end goes out the window? That's all it takes? A glance? And you've figured it out? Makes zero sense. You see people here talking about how the ending sucks and it does.

Also, what happened to the bees? Somehow, despite the fact he's now lying on a bunch of dead bees, they have went away.

Where did the bees go?

Overall good but ending is terrible.

I know I've seen this movie it was called buried. I basically wasted 5 dollars on this movie and I won't ever get that back. The movie was some what exciting and it was slow at parts. If you want to see a guy trapped in the truck of the car for a hour and a half this movie is for you. This movie had to much similarities to the movie buried. One trapped in a small space for a hour and a half. Two has a cell phone with him. Three is able to talk to someone on the phone over and over. Four has the movie goes on something bad happens to him in the tight space throughout the movie. The only good thing I would say is that the movie had a little more action than buried and the acting was better.

Brake is a new thriller released on DVD in June starring Stephen Dorff. The plot follows a Secret Service Agent who is held captive in the trunk of a car and endures mental and physical torture as terrorists attempt to extract information for their plot against the President of the United States.

OK so the synopsis makes it sound like a pretty standard "save the president" kind of film, but thankfully looks can be deceiving. The entire film is set in a plastic box 'prison' in the boot of a car where agent Jeremy Reins (Stephen Dorff) is held captive. The film doesn't deviate from this location right up until the last ten minutes of the film, providing the viewer with a feeling of claustrophobia.

The cinematography in the film is awesome, there are only so many shots that you can get in the trunk of a car, but the DOP and director really nailed the camera work, meaning you never get bored of being in the same location for the entirety of the film. Unfortunately I watched the film on DVD, so I didn't get to have the privilege of watching it in full HD; which is saddening because the movie was shot with the RED Digital Cinema cameras, and I would've loved to have seen what the camera was really capable of! The acting by Stephen Dorff is fantastic, whilst considered a "b-grade" actor by many, he really brings his best to the table in Brake and I couldn't think of a better actor for the role.

I really liked Brake. I really did. Right up until the last ten minutes of the film. I won't spoil the ending much, but what I will say is that it was a real let down. The whole film had me on the edge of my seat, and then the last ten minutes was a real anti-climax. He should've saved the president, not have the "It was all a training exercise" excuse for the poor ending! I did like the very end though, very clever twist right before the end credits. Yes I saw it coming from a mile away, but it was quite a clever twist none the less!

As such I'm giving Brake two ratings; one for the majority of the film, the second due to the terrible final ten minutes.

Film: 7.5/10 Film with last ten minutes: 6/10

See the full review at :http://joshwahr.com/?p=169

I don't usually feel compelled to review films for the benefit of others but.........Absolutely terrible American copy of Buried. Full of distasteful sentiments about patriotic duty and cynical, hackneyed tension generating devices which have no relevance to the "plot" of "theme". Some kind of zip-tie was obviously used to attach the cheesy, clichéd double twist at ending.

I don't believe in, nor write plot summation in film reviews which in this case is fortuitous because the the entire plot is:

A CIA guy wakes up in the boot of a car. Terrorists try to get information from him by killing his wife and friends. CIA guy lets them die rather than betray his country. Then they're actually CIA, not terrorists! Then they are actually terrorists, not CIA. The End.

Doesn't deserve verbs needed to describe the waste of hours I could have spent peeling grapes. Try not to watch this waste of storage media if you value your time or intelligence.

Hollywood...Pfft

sorry but how you people vote with 8-9 stars this film?one men inside a box in a car speaking on the phone.how this is mystery or i don't know what.another movie only for the shelf of video club.i was trying to finish the film but it was to hard for me to spend all this time. the good about the movie for me is that i didn't spend even a euro for this stupid.i was trying to watch it in a friend home. so if you don't have to do anything at all,if you don't have any but really any other film to watch,if on your TV is nothing play,if if if if than watch it. in the end,if you can go until the end,you will be ungry with your self for spending about one and half maybe more hour for watching this film

What a colossal piece of crap! Dorff? His name should be "Dork" for making such trite nonsense!!! A training exercise??? REALLY??? This is a poor attempt at suspense playing on the fears of post 9/11 hysteria. My guess is that it was written on a series of cocktail napkins in an airport during a long layover. I am being generous assuming that it was written at all. I am told that its domestic gross was a whopping $4,000 - shame on the 214 people who actually paid to see this movie and did not write insight such as this to warn the rest of us.

Wasn't there an actor named Tom Berenger at one time? He in no way resembled the over bloated card reader who was featured in this fecal swab that they are trying to pass off as a movie...Save your time and money and just slap the top of your head ten or twelve times - it will be far better than wasting your time watching this trash.