[4] Four teenagers decide to lock themselves in an underground bunker for three days of a good time, but when a mutual acquaintance doesn’t return to let them out, things start to get hairy. The concept is okay, but the twisty script shows its hand too early in the game and there isn’t a relatable or engaging character in the bunch. With Desmond Harrington, Thora …
[3] A super-low budget Australian flick that tries very, very hard to be a heady psychological thriller. From start to finish, there are only five characters and a single beach setting, so the movie ends up feeling claustrophobic in a bad, cheap way. Once the characters have difficulty discerning fantasy from reality and one of them turns out to (maybe?) be the Devil, I lost …
[7] Monica Belluci and Vincent Cassel star in Gaspar Noe’s brutally graphic exploration of rape and revenge told in reverse. The subject matter is worth exploring and the narrative device is interesting, especially toward the end, which carries the full weight of the film’s character development. It makes you look back over everything you just saw and reinterpret it. I just wish the camera weren’t …
[6] Dexter‘s Desmond Harrington stars in this competent psycho-sexual horror flick about a guy who confuses reality and fantasy after falling in love with a lifelike sex doll. After gaining a little sexual confidence through his interaction with the doll, he’s able to start a relationship with a real-life woman (Melissa Sagemiller), but when Harrington’s character believes the sex doll is getting jealous, things start …
[7] Director Chris Terrio tackles a New York City slice of life flick that follows five different characters through the course of 24 hours. There’s a pretentiousness about the way in which the characters end up being related, but it’s a great looking film with a remarkable cast that makes it worth while. James Marsden, Elizabeth Banks, and Glenn Close are especially watchable here, playing …
[6] An prep school teacher tries to set his students on a righteous path in The Emperor’s Club. More like Goodbye, Mr Chips than Dead Poets Society, this flick focuses more on the importance of moral character than inspiration or motivation. (Don’t just seize the day; seize it well?) It’s a low-stakes morality tale, but you find yourself caring because Kevin Kline does. His performance is …
[4] Director Renny Harlin’s cut of this film is more quickly-paced and energetic than Paul Schrader’s (both films feature the same story and most of the same cast), but it has the misfortune of stepping in a big pile of silly toward the end. Is that Beelzebub or Bugs Bunny we’re supposed to be cowering before? Stellan Skarsgard is great as a younger Father Merrin (Max …
[6] Ryan Gosling plays a young prosecutor pitted against slicker-than-snot Anthony Hopkins, representing himself in a trial where he’s accused of murdering his wife. Hopkins is about to get away with everything, but Gosling is determined to poke a hole in Hopkins’ seemingly air-tight alibi. The casting is safe and predictable, but the script is fairly tight and twisty, and kept me engaged to the end. With …
[8] Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro give terrific, Oscar-caliber performances in this film about a widowed mother who invites her late husband’s friend, a recovering drug addict, to stay with her. I was moved by the struggle of two deeply wounded people trying to help each other. Berry’s character tries to help Del Toro’s come clean, and he tries to help her bring her family …
[6] Emile Hirsch (Milk, Killer Joe) stars in this sex comedy about a high school boy who falls in love with a porn star who moves in next door. Talk about a movie constructed around wish fulfillment! Things are complicated when the young woman’s porn producer ex-boyfriend comes looking for her and wants to take her back. For a sex comedy, things get a big …
Copyright © 2024 | Theme by MH Themes