The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002)

The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002)

[7] Emile Hirsch and Kieran Culkin put in great performances in this odd coming-of-age film about best friends who are constantly rebelling against their Catholic school teacher, a one-legged nun played by Jodie Foster. I like that the characters, even…
Dark Country (2009)

Dark Country (2009)

[5] While traveling through the desert, newlyweds pick up a car-wreck survivor who plunges them into a night of suspicion and suspense. Thomas Jane (The Mist, Hung) makes his directorial debut with Dark Country. On one hand, I admire his…
Red Dragon (2002)

Red Dragon (2002)

[7] While it lacks the pervasive chill that runs through The Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon is a well-made thriller that engages from beginning to end, thanks to a briskly-paced script adaptation by Ted Tally (who won an Oscar…
The House of Sand and Fog (2003)

The House of Sand and Fog (2003)

[6] Jennifer Connelly plays a woman wrongfully evicted from her home. Before she can go through the proper channels to get it back, Ben Kingsley and his family have already moved in. That's when The House of Sand and Fog…
Gangs of New York (2002)

Gangs of New York (2002)

[8] Martin Scorsese unleashes this epic tale of 1860s New York City street battles, with Leonardo DiCaprio starring as a young man with a vendetta against the near legendary Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis). See, DiCaprio's character saw Day-Lewis's character…
Hard Candy (2006)

Hard Candy (2006)

[8] A 14-year-old goes home with a guy in his 30s. What follows is a nightmarish power struggle. Hard Candy is an intense character-driven thriller that succeeds primarily for the incredible performances of Patrick Wilson (Watchmen) and Ellen Page (Juno).…
The Mist (2007)

The Mist (2007)

[8] Frank Darabont dives back into the Stephen King well and comes out with a winner. The Mist is about a disparate group of people who end up trapped together in the local grocery store when a strange, scary mist…
Cloverfield (2008)

Cloverfield (2008)

[8] This monster movie from the creators of Lost and Felicity combines low-budget ingenuity with high-budget production values for a thrilling movie going experience. The whole film is hand-held 'found footage' documenting a group of friends' attempted escape from Manhattan…
Inside (2007)

Inside (2007)

[8] A pregnant woman waiting for the ambulance to pick her up from home must suddenly fight for her life when a scissor-wielding mad-woman invades her house with the aim of cutting her unborn baby from the womb. The concept…
Blood Creek (2009)

Blood Creek (2009)

[7] Joel Schumacher (The Lost Boys, Flatliners) directs this weird, gloriously convoluted horror flick involving Nazis, the occult, and zombies -- all on a farm in New England, beginning during World War II and ending today. As usual, Schumacher casts…