The Hole (2001)
[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…
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
[7] Sidney Poitier plays a black Northern detective who reluctantly aides a white Southern sheriff (Rod Steiger) in solving a murder case. The mystery itself is a bit thin, but it's bolstered by good performances from the leads and a…
Lost Things (2003)
[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…
True Crime (1999)
[6] Clint Eastwood tackles one of the most hackneyed of all movie subgenres, the race-the-clock death row rescue thriller, and breathes at least enough life into it to keep you engaged. Isaiah Washington puts in a good performance as the…
Irreversible (2002)
[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…
Hereafter (2010)
[6] Moderately entertaining supernatural drama from director Clint Eastwood. The film follows three separate story lines that come together in the end. Matt Damon plays a reluctant psychic who can commune with the dead; Cecile de France plays a news…
Five Million Years to Earth (1967)
[4] Also known as Quartermass and the Pit, this subdued sci-fi flick centers around a famous scientist, Bernard Quartermass (Andrew Keir), who is called to London to investigate a mysterious object and the strange effect it has on anyone who…
Fracture (2007)
[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…
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
[6] Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara star in the second adaptation of the Stieg Larsson novel about a journalist and a computer hacker who work to solve the mystery of a missing woman. Is there perhaps something wrong with the fact…
Contagion (2011)
[6] Steven Soderbergh directs what is probably the most believable, realistic approach to a deadly epidemic movie that I've ever seen, but that doesn't necessarily make it the best movie. The building action is the film's strong point, and primarily…