[7]

In the final film from Stanley Kubrick, a socialite couple (Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman) get in over their heads when they decide to follow their adulterous impulses. This movie gets a bad rep, but I think it’s primarily because the casting of two superstars led to more commercial audience expectations. It’s a more intimate portrait than that, and beautifully made. I really love the weed-smoking scene, especially for the sinister undertone in Kidman’s performance. She outshines Cruise in this movie. Thematically, I enjoyed the exploration of infidelity — men’s, women’s, real, imagined.Â I find it interesting that the female character needs her husband to acknowledge her desires, while he seems uncomfortable acknowledging his own. (Ironic casting of Cruise?Â I think so.) And of course, it’s also fun to see the posh, clandestine orgy scene of Kubrick’s dreams (with the full-frontal shots restored to the most recent DVD and blu-ray releases).

The Number 23 (2007)

August 27, 2013

[6]

Jim Carrey stars as a man who discovers a book that he believes is about him, sinking him further and further into a murder mystery that proposes the killer is, quite literally, the number 23. Carrey is good and director Joel Schumacher’s (A Time to Kill, Flatliners) direction is taut, if a little too hyper-stylized for the material. I don’t put stock in numerology, so the first half of the film strains my suspension of disbelief. Fortunately, Fernley Phillips’ script makes a one-eighty after the mid-point and I found the last half much more engaging than the first. (I won’t give any direct spoilers, but it’s a lot like A Beautiful Mind in its narrative structure.) Cinematographer Matthew Libatique (Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan) serves up high-contrast lighting and a palette of deep colors to reinforce Schumacher’s melancholy tone, while Harry Gregson-Williams’ score plays counterpoint, adding a sense of wonder and urgency.

Thunder Rock (1942)

August 15, 2013

[6] Part ghost story, part wartime propaganda flick, this heady British production is truly an unusual find. Michael Redgrave plays an American lighthouse keeper who has withdrawn from the world. Having lost all faith in humanity, especially in light of…

The Other (1972)

July 19, 2013

[7]

In The Other, To Kill a Mockingbird director Robert Mulligan does a great job engendering sympathy for a schizophrenic child who is channeling the spirit of his deceased twin. Chris and Martin Udvarnoky do a commendable job playing the boy and his ‘other,’ and famed acting teacher Uta Hagen is good as the Russian aunt who begins to put two and two together after a series of tragic ‘accidents’ happen on the family farm.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

July 11, 2013

[8]

Three girls and a teacher mysteriously disappear during a 1900 school picnic at a strange rock formation in this Australian film from director Peter Weir (Witness, Master and Commander). Weir uses his trademark poetic license to suggest a supernatural cause, but don’t look for a firm answers — the film is based on a true story that was never solved.

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

May 15, 1999

[10] Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) adapts the Patricia Highsmith novel for the big screen, casts it perfectly, andÂ delivers a superb character study and psychological thriller. Matt Damon anchors the film in the best performance of his career, playing the…