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Movies / On DVD / Haven
Haven

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Haven (2006)

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Reviews Counted:61

Fresh:8

Rotten:53

Average Rating:3.9/10

Consensus: The plot's gratuitously nonlinear structure only ends up confusing viewers of this island thriller.

Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Imagine you just got a fax that the Feds will be at your door in a matter of minutes. The government has remembered the taxes you forgot to pay and it's time to take an extended vacation. No... Imagine you just got a fax that the Feds will be at your door in a matter of minutes. The government has remembered the taxes you forgot to pay and it's time to take an extended vacation. No problem -- you can pack light and still get by with a little extra weight strapped around your midsection - 28 lbs. to be exact -- the weight of a cool million in hundred dollar bills. Such is the case with corrupt businessman Carl Ridley (Bill Paxton). He let his greed get the better of him, and now he's on the run, his daughter Pippa (Agnes Bruckner) reluctantly in tow. Just turned 18, Pippa is not happy to leave her friends and comfortable life in Miami, even if it's for the exotic Cayman Islands, but Dad's in kind of a rush, so there's no time for questions. When they get to the islands, Ridley is preoccupied. Banks are rapidly closing and he's got to find a clean place to store his dirty money. In fact, he doesn't even notice that the bungalow he rented is already occupied -- but his daughter sure does. She finds native Caymanian Fritz (Victor Rasuk) sleeping off a late night in her bed, and when she walks in on him, he flees out the window, leaving his wallet behind. Suddenly Pippa's not so sorry about landing in paradise. She tracks down Fritz and discovers that the local bad boy is a real charmer who's more than willing to show her the island, including its wild parties. But Fritz has a dark side, too. He owes money to island gang leader Ritchie Ritch (Raz Adoti), and when he spies Pippa's dad handling a lot of cash, Fritz suddenly knows how to get Ritchie off his back. Unaware that she's leading her father into even more trouble than he had in the United States, Pippa and her innocence are headed for a rude awakening. Also about to have their innocence destroyed are young lovers Shy and Andrea (Orlando Bloom and Zoë Saldana), who finally consummate their passion, only to be discovered by Andrea's brother, gang wannabe Hammer (Anthony Mackie). Acting on his father's wishes, Hammer is bent on ending the relationship . . . no matter what it takes. Written and directed by native Caymanian Frank E. Flowers, and filmed entirely in the 100-square mile West Indies paradise, Haven is an edgy, suspenseful, viscerally gripping ensemble film in which unconnected lives intersect and ignite a violent chain of events that turns tranquility into chaos. In an instant, greed collides with innocence and passion goes up against those who forbid it, and all at once an idyllic tropical refuge becomes anything but safe. -- © Yari Film Group [More]

Starring: Bill Paxton, Stephen Dillane, Orlando Bloom, Agnes Bruckner

Starring: Bill Paxton, Stephen Dillane, Orlando Bloom, Agnes Bruckner, Victor Rasuk, Razaaq Adoti, Anthony Mackie, Zoe Saldana, Joy Bryant, Bobby Cannavale, Robert Wisdom, Jake Weber, Rachel Miner

Director: Frank E. Flowers

Director: Frank E. Flowers
Screenwriter: Frank E. Flowers
Producer: Kelli Konop, Robert Brenner
Studio: Yari Film Group

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Reviews for Haven

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

A mess. Orlando Bloom had better get those Elves ears back on.

Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment Comment
09/29/06
Victoria Alexander
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

Though it's needlessly opaque and doesn't completely hold together, Haven seldom fails to fascinate.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
09/21/06
Tracy Allerton
Tracy Allerton
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Welcome to the tawdry end of paradise, where no melodrama is too obvious and no conflict too contrived.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
09/21/06
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Orlando Bloom swaps swashbuckling swords and Elvish arrows for crimes of island passion in this murky, confusing thriller.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
09/22/06
Betsy Bozdech
Betsy Bozdech
Hollywood.com

Oversteerage on the editing table takes this mystery-puzzle wannabe out to sea and off course.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
03/09/06
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

Lacking purpose or thoughtful complexity, Flowers' film is an overly ambitious mess.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
09/23/06
Toddy Burton
Toddy Burton
Austin Chronicle

Writer/director Frank E. Flowers is way too occupied with finding throwaway dots to connect within the multi-linear framework of the 6,000 short stories he’s trying to tell.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
11/08/04
Erik Childress
Erik Childress
eFilmCritic.com

A simple and straightforward crime drama that's turned into a needlessly complicated film.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
09/15/06
Kevin Courrier
Kevin Courrier
Boxoffice Magazine

The goal seems to have been to create a multilayered thriller, but the senseless, verbose and convoluted saga never generates simple suspense, let alone tension.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
10/30/06
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Flowers' 'style' suffers from attention deficit disorder, leaving just enough vital information for you to follow the convoluted plot. But just when one story gets rolling, he's off and chasing another.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
09/22/06
Peter Debruge
Peter Debruge
Miami Herald

An extraordinary directorial debut that just may knock your socks off, or at least your flip-flops. ... Though Flowers may be accused of sensationalizing his subject, there's no denying his stunning cinematic flourishes.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
09/26/06
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

A warped guided tour of the Cayman Islands that probably won't do very much to increase tourism.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
09/14/06
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

This end-of-summer screen filler has, despite some blatancy, force of conviction and some sharp, whippet style.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
09/15/06
David Elliott
David Elliott
San Diego Union-Tribune

A film that tries to be sordidly humid, but winds up frustratingly dull.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
09/21/06
Jason Ferguson
Jason Ferguson
Orlando Weekly

An ineffective experiment about ugly things happening in a beautiful place.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
09/22/06
Ted Fry
Ted Fry
Seattle Times

a lackluster and muddled portrayal of island social strife and petty melodramas.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/27/06
Anne Gilbert
Anne Gilbert
Filmcritic.com

What the film lacks in dramatic depth it makes up for in its visuals, which keep viewer attention even when the story drags.

Full Review Source: DVD Review | comment Comment
07/10/07
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
DVD Review

The movie ends up being mostly a haven for actors who want to stretch their tear ducts.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
09/21/06
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

What Haven is selling is cultural vividness. Each detail feels right.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
09/21/06
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post

Convoluted...too many flash-forwards and flashbacks.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
09/08/06
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
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