Best movie of this year hands down!

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I don't normally write reviews, but this movie was so bad I felt I had to go and get my ancient account out to say how bad it was. I am glad I did not pay money for the movie as I watched it on Netflix, so it was kind of free. Anyway, this review will contain spoilers, so proceed with caution if you wish to do so.So, let's start off with the beginning of the movie. Everything is going smooth, like way too smooth for an adoption and moving too fast, but meh let's say they are young and dumb. Forgivable, we shall call this Ball 1. They go to leave and ask about the Passport? Oh, that isn't done yet? Hm... OK, Strike 1 movie you have failed to impress me with your amazing skills at pulling me in.They run into a guy, John Cusack, that introduces himself and seems very familiar with the main's characters history though it would seem logically any stranger should not have an idea about your work. Strike 2 Movie After discussing a problem with the hotel they state they moved to another one and inform the adoption office they have moved. Another red flag here that the passport is still not there and these people just accept it. Strike 3 Movie The guy decides to go get a drink after he nearly killed his wife and ruined his chance at having a family naturally. Yeah, sure, especially when everything is going great why not drink the thing that reminds you of nearly killing your wife. Strike 4 Movie The bar fight scene happens and apparently the police ask no witnesses what happened? The police also don't seem to believe the only dude that got the crap beat out of him was the instigator? Strike 5 Movie Apparently it is a law in Puerto Rico you have to have your spouse get you out of jail for nothing, good thing he wasn't some single dude. Strike 6 Movie The girl who was at the fight scene suddenly claims she wants to help, but doesn't want the police involved. Strike 7 Movie The couple manage to escape multiple times from these inept criminal masterminds and have multiple opportunities to kill them or take control of the situation, but instead they just choose to run like scared little children. Strike 8, 9, Switch Sides The ending was by far the dumbest thing, "Let's take you home Nina, since we probably have acquired you through illegal means and have no way to back it in the court of law in the US let alone Puerto Rico." However, at that point, I had so resigned from the movie that the little girl could have turned into a dog and I would not have been shocked or expected any less. Thinking back on it, that would have probably been much easier to have explained.I am not a music, lighting or other type of guy, but these areas definitely needed work and seemed like it was choppily edited and rushed out the door. Seems like this movie suffered from too much producing not enough good movie making.The one positive thing I can say about this movie was despite the horrible writing, John Cusack played a great bad guy, which is why it got 1 star.

Low budget, low grade thriller which cynically pretends it is dealing with the issue of child trafficking.In fact its just a dumb trailer with multiple endings to pad out its short running time and lack of main plot.Steven (Ryan Phillippe) and Shannon (Rachelle Lefevre) are a couple who have received a multi million dollar payout after an automobile accident which also left her unable to have kids.They take part in an adoption process abroad to take care of an Haitian girl which is going to cost them a lot of money. Just before the process is finalized the keep bumping into Benjamin (John Cusack) and then later realise that the girl they were hoping to adopt has disappeared and the whole adoption process was a scam. As the local police tell them, the girl was reclaimed and the scam will move on elsewhere.However the schemers want more as they become aware that our couple have serious money so go for a big payday by kidnapping them.The film has a flimsy plot and flimsier action and just when you thought its all over we get a literal cliffhanger and then some more.The film actually feels longer than its short running time. It is a straight to pay TV film which has bagged a couple of well known names who perform adequately with a poor script and not very good direction. However the actress playing the adopted girl was very stiff and inanimate. If I was adopting her I would had asked for a refund.

While Reclaim has a good intention of showcasing human trafficking issue, the absolute mess that is its production will not reach out to anyone. Practically any element of the movie suffers, from the shabby acting, poorly constructed action scenes, choppy editing to cheap plot devices. It even goes to the realm of implausibility at times, making it a below average movie, even by the standard of B-movie.Story follows a couple who tries to adopt a little girl, strangely in an exotic place. Steven (Ryan Phillippe) and Rachel (Rachelle Lefevre) have no idea that the adoption process is a scam. From there they fall deeper into tourist trap and have to face Benjamin (John Cusack) for their money and possible survival. Acting is flimsy even though the leads have pretty respectable resumes. The husband and wife are probably the less awful personalities to watch, it's supposed to be easy to root for them, but they rehearse the same sad story and make incredibly dubious decisions.Ryan Phillippe and Rachelle Lefevre perform decently, although the script doesn't really support them. At least they are believable enough as the couple. John Cusack doesn't deliver a stellar performance. He seems more disgruntled than menacing here. All the other characters are simply too detached, but the worst is the cast of Briana Roy as Nina. The film relies on relationships between the new parents and the child, and she's just not capable to exhibit that kind of chemistry yet.Most of the time Nina would just stand rigidly, and it's partially the mishap of the directing effort. Scenes are not put in smooth fashion, it almost seems like the actors are confused mid-scene. The movie already starts slow, but as it progresses it becomes silly, using poor plot devices for dramatic effect. As though fooled by online scam isn't precarious enough, the characters often dive to one inconceivably bad situation to the next.After a while the camera work degrades significantly. It's wobbly on the action, especially a couple of chase scenes which are confusing at best. Towards the end it awkwardly implements CGI from last decade instead of actual action choreography. This looks very plastic and unconvincing, the practical effect doesn't fare better with ridiculous fake blood. It also fails to utilize the exotic scenery as it goes into random abandoned building, alleyway or forest when it needs to deliver the climax.Whatever message and decent premise Reclaim might have, they are utterly squandered by the abysmal production value. If you want a better experience of the premise, Nat Geo or even Youtube documentary will provide that for you.

Steven (Ryan Phillippe) and wife Shannon (Rachelle Lefevre) get caught up in a child trafficking scam when they go to Puerto Rico to adopt a young girl.The above is all you really need to know. If you take the language out this would be a tepid made-for-TV movie. The script is lame, the acting is okay but there is no pull here. In other words no real reason to continue watching. There are no twists. What you see is what you get and that is not saying much. If you are not familiar with human trafficking then this is a primer for you: Human Trafficking 101.Very disappointing. It should have had more impact, importance that would have showcased a very big worldwide problem: human trafficking. Didn't happen. Normally, I run to a John Cusack movie. Now I have to rethink that. Like I said: disappointing. (3/10)Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Yes.