The Next Three Days (2010)

An intelligent thriller directed by Paul Haggis. 

Russell Crowe stars as a man who wants to spring his wife (Elizabeth Banks) out of prison after she’s wrongly convicted of murder. It’s fascinating because he’s a school teacher – not your standard film action hero – and he makes mistakes.

It’s tense and exciting. To the film’s credit, there are sufficiently imaginative twists that I could never guess where the plot was going. 

Crowe has an elaborate chart on his wall revealing all of his illegal plans and I found that slightly ridiculous, but the fate of this chart is cleverly worked into the story in such a way that makes you appreciate it. 

Liam Neeson has a curious cameo as an expert at escaping from prisons. I thought he would return to the film at some point but he only features in that one scene.

Definitely, Maybe (2008)

A sweet and tender romantic drama directed by Adam Brooks. 

A young girl (Abigail Brealin) quizzes her political consultant father (Ryan Reynolds) about his love life prior to her birth and his subsequent divorce. In flashback, we see three interconnected romance stories – his relationships with his college sweetheart (Elizabeth Banks), a friend she had a brief fling with (Rachel Weisz) and a fellow worker on the Bill Clinton political campaign (Isla Fisher). 

Structurally, it’s reminiscent of a Woody Allen film and could even be seen as a sort of homage. In lesser hands it could have been formulaic, but it’s actually very touching. I found it romantic and hugely enjoyable. 

The closing theme, Badly Drawn Boy’s ‘The Time of Times’, strikes exactly the right note of reflection and poignancy.