[8] A teenager (C. Thomas Howell) picks up a hitcher (Rutger Hauer) in the middle of a rainy night and barely escapes to tell the tale. Unfortunately, that first night’s escape is only the beginning. The hitcher is relentless, pursuing the boy on the open road, framing him for murder, and forcing him to bare witness to his carnage. Hauer is at his psychopathic best …
[8] Harrison Ford must hide among the Amish after he discovers corruption within his police department. Witness was an opportunity for Ford to show his acting chops, and it remains one of his best performances. This was the first American film made by Australian director Peter Weir (Picnic at Hanging Rock, Fearless). Weir is probably my favorite director. He balances poetic license with elegant restraint …
[6] Lethal tarantulas take over an Arizona town in this remarkably well-paced, well-put-together little B-movie. And William Shatner is the star! How frickin’ cool is that? He actually delivers a decent performance. And Shatner fans will be happy to know that old Shat ain’t afraid of no spiders — to juice up the climax of the movie, it was his own idea to glue a …
[7] Robert Rodriquez and Frank Miller join forces, with a little help from guest director Quentin Tarantino, to bring Miller’s much-loved Sin City to the screen. The result is less a film adaptation than a graphic novel come to life. The color palette is restrained, usually resorting to faithful recreations of Miller’s black and white panel work. The hyper-stylized approach works well for a movie …
[7] Kathryn Bigelow (Strange Days, Near Dark) won the Oscar for directing this suspense thriller about three soldiers who disarm bombs in Iraq. The movie also won Best Picture, maybe just because nothing better came out during the year (except the REAL best picture, District 9, but I digress). It’s far from groundbreaking and surprisingly predictable — but it’s a brisk, entertaining flick that hits …
[6] Franka Potente (Run Lola Run) gets locked in a London subway station overnight and soon discovers she’s not alone. Someone, or something, is after her. Creep is a simple but solid indie horror thriller. It’s not terribly original, but director Christopher Smith (Triangle, Severance) is capable of building tension and conjuring some spooky atmosphere. And when the ‘monster’ is revealed, it’s not a let-down …
[3] Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this flick about a Russian jet that is undetectable by radar. This is probably my least favorite film in Clint Eastwood’s rather large filmography. The first half of the movie is unbearably boring, and when we finally get to the action, it’s too poorly paced and executed to save the movie. Adding insult to injury, Eastwood’s character is …
[5] SPOILER REVIEW: Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a U.S. Marshall sent to a hospital for the mentally insane to investigate the disappearance of one of the patients. But as the hospital tries to obscure the truth, DiCaprio’s character starts to lose his grip on reality. Martin Scorsese certainly knows how to create atmosphere and suspense, but Shutter Island suffers from a bad case of plot-twist …
[7] What appears to be a hackneyed vacation nightmare movie turns out to be a fresh thriller from reliable writer/director David Twohy (Pitch Black, Below). The script takes a cue from Scream, reaching a level of self-reference that allows it to exceed genre expectations. I often criticize movies for indulging in unnecessary plot twists, but not this time. Twohy’s twists are well conceived and executed. …
[7] Viggo Mortensen travels with his young son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) across a post-apocalyptic wasteland in this bleak drama based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy. The premise is intriguing, far more than the movie dares explore, even with an R-rating. The storyline hangs on the intimate relationship between father and son. Viggo is frighteningly open with the boy, explaining how they’re going to have to …
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