Bringing Down the House (2003)

Bringing Down the House (2003)

[7] Steve Martin and Queen Latifah star in this farcical comedy about a prison escapee who elbows her way into an uptight lawyer's life so he can help her overturn her wrongful conviction. Most of the laughs in Bringing Down…
Reign of Fire (2002)

Reign of Fire (2002)

[6] Frequent X-Files director Rob Bowman helms this action-packed monster movie about the last remaining humans on Earth battling dragons in post-apocalyptic England. Christian Bale plays the cautious leader of a colony of survivors who have taken up residence beneath…
The Caveman’s Valentine (2001)

The Caveman’s Valentine (2001)

[4] Samuel L. Jackson stars as a homeless man trying to solve the murder of a young gay man who was the muse for a famous New York City photographer. Jackson's character has a hard time getting anyone to take…
Poster Boy (2004)

Poster Boy (2004)

[6] A selfish senator forces his closeted gay son to be the poster boy for his re-election campaign. Meanwhile, an AIDS activist plans to publicly 'out' the son during a college campaign stop. Trouble is, the senator's son and the…
Mulholland Dr. (2001)

Mulholland Dr. (2001)

[8] Naomi Watts and Laura Harring star in this dreamy David Lynch film that almost defies summary, but I'll do my best. Watts plays a young actress fresh in Hollywood who meets Harring, a woman who just escaped a car…
The Shortcut (2009)

The Shortcut (2009)

[5] After his little brother discovers a dead dog and a scary old man on a wooded shortcut, a new-teen-in-town (Drew Seeley) invites his friends to investigate the trail and the legend behind the mysterious old man who patrols it.…
Taken (2008)

Taken (2008)

[6] Liam Neeson stars as an ex-CIA operative who pursues sex traffickers in Paris to rescue his kidnapped daughter. Taken opens with twenty minutes of clunky, expository screenwriting before Neeson is allowed to kick things into high gear. He single-handedly…
The Nines (2007)

The Nines (2007)

[6] Screenwriter John August (Titan AE, Big Fish) makes his directorial debut in this headtrippy movie about an actor, a TV showrunner, and a video game designer whose lives interconnect in a mysterious way. Ryan Reynolds plays all three characters…
Notes on a Scandal (2006)

Notes on a Scandal (2006)

[7] Judi Dench plays a cranky old teacher who befriends a new, younger teacher played by Cate Blanchett. Blanchett quickly confides in the older woman and thinks she's made a new friend. But Dench's aims are more sinister than that.…
Thumbsucker (2005)

Thumbsucker (2005)

[4] Lou Taylor Pucci stars in writer/director Mike Mills' adaptation of Walter Kirn's novel about a nervous high school student afflicted with thumbsucking. Once he's prescribed ritalin, Pucci's character starts to feel more confident. Unfortunately, the drug also turns him…