Welcome to Reel People. It’s a place where, you guessed it, real people like yourselves spout off on new movie releases. It works best if you - yes, we mean you - jump into the forum link below and tell us what you think of the movie, too.

This week, we’re watching The Brave One.

What I Liked: Jodie Foster returns to the big screen in the kind of role she has mastered, in The Brave One.  She plays the suffering victim to an emotional realism, and the audience will feel her pain.  She feeds you the heartache of losing someone close and the aftermath of a life of fear by the spoonful.  And you take it in awe.  And although Jodie Foster shows off that familiar acting talent once again, it is Terrence Howard who will steal the spotlight.  Playing officer Mercer he does an excellent job of playing a cop that really cares , and always wants to do the right thing for the victims.  He feels their pain, maybe too much.  Nicky Katt is also good as he plays Detective Vitale, partner to officer Mercer, and a comic relief when the movie calls for a moment to lighten up. It doesn’t happen often as The Brave One is a very dark film.

What I Disliked: There may be moments to the audience that seem to drag while the characters go through their emotions.  And it would have been nice to see more of the happiness between Jodie Foster’s character and the finace played by Naveen Andrews, known from television’s Lost, before they are torn apart by violence.  We should be shown how great of a person he was, and let us know how much he meant to Jodie Foster’s character.  We got what his loss meant, but what did his life with her mean?

Would I Recommend?: The Brave One is a very emotional movie, and the acting is superb. But you have to have the right mindset to see this film.  Be prepared to ride that emotional roller coaster and don’t expect to feel great when it ends.  It is worth seeing if you are prepared for it, otherwise wait to watch it in your own home, where no one will see you if you have to grab a tissue.

Score: 7 out of 10

- John T. McMillin

What I Liked: The truth and sadness behind serious violence problems that plague New York City (and really all of America). Being from NY, there were scenes in this film that really hit home-the feeling of being uncomfortable alone on a subway at night, coming across an argument and trying to ignore it, etc. It is a hard truth that random acts of violence do occur all over the country and this movie shows one woman’s view of how she coped with it and acted on her instincts. Even though Jodie Foster’s character was taking the law into her own hands, you felt impowered that she was getting the scum off of the streets any way that she could.

What I Disliked: There were parts of the film that were obviously trying to be serious, but the audience was hysterically laughing. Why? It started to become over the top towards the middle of the film with Foster’s revenge getting to be an every night event.

Would I Recommend?: Yes and No. There is some real street violence in this film that I think kids (and very immature adults) should not see. The importance of this film, though, is that violent crimes with no just cause is a harsh reality that people need to open their eyes to instead of turning the other cheek. As they quoted in the film, “Once something like this happens to you, you become a different person”.

Score: 7 out of 10

- Michelle Schenck

What I Liked: I really enjoyed the beginning of “The Brave One,” up until Jodie Foster’s character, Erica, commits her first crime. The beating and subsequent death of Erica’s boyfriend is brutal and hard to watch, but essential to understanding the severity of the event that haunts her. I thought the montage after the beating was brilliant. Flashes of Erica’s body in her most intimate moments with her boyfriend, alternating with flashes of her lifeless, bloody body being handled by the emergency workers, really made me feel the frailty of human life and how jarring Erica’s loss is. Upon awakening from a coma, Jodie Foster’s initial reaction to the trauma is convincing enough, and made me feel very sad with her.

What I Disliked: After Erica goes off the deep end and starts shooting people, the movie really lost me. I was unsettled by the premise that a certain amount of violence can fill the void of losing a loved one – Erica basically says this at one point, talking aloud to her dead boyfriend. For me, the key question isn’t whether or not Erica’s “victims” deserve death or not, something that is debated in the movie, but are these deaths really going to aid in her (or anyone’s) healing? Is revenge the same as recovery? This movie seemed to say so. Countless movies promote violence and revenge, but “The Brave One” seemed to aim to be more emotional and taken more seriously than your run of the mill revenge story. I felt the emotional potential of this movie was ruined by forced acting, particularly a lack of closeness between Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard, who plays an important role as a detective investigating Erica. “The Brave One” also seemed to be an inappropriate title to me. Eric a’s bravery was shown in her leaving her apartment to walk the streets of New York City, in her trying to keep working, and in her trying to go on living. The focus of the movie was on Erica’s murders, where we see Erica falling apart emotionally, considering turning herself in, and sometimes feeling guilty. I saw a confused, grief stricken woman struggling with the aftermath of tragedy, not “a brave one” on a clear mission at all. I also had a big problem with the emotional climax of the movie where Erica is hovering over a cell phone (yes, a cell phone with maybe a 3 inch screen), hysterical as she watches a video message of the beating. Is it just me or are technological references killing our movies? Overall I was disappointed that “The Brave One” had a lot of potential to be a very moving, dramatic movie but it seemed to get derailed in its effort to please audiences with lots of “tough woman” scenes and a happy ending. “The Brave One” ended up being your average reveng e movie that we’ve seen a million times.

Would I Recommend?: I’d recommend this movie if you liked the recently released “Death Sentence,” starring Kevin Bacon as the male equivalent of Jodie Foster. If you’re looking for something more dramatic or philosophical I’d rent “21 Grams,” a lesser known movie which explores the themes of loss and revenge a lot more convincingly and creatively.

Score: 3 out of 10

- Jessica Conrad