THE RITE forges boldly into some interesting theological territories without ever quite making the trip as interesting as the ideas behind it. What begins as an intriguing consideration of how evil can insinuate itself upon even the most innocent of souls becomes, in a breathtakingly short period of time, a wordy symposium. Concepts and theories… Read More »
ESCAPE PLAN
And so, as was inevitable, Stallone and Schwarznegger are together again and starring in their trademark (putatively) action flick, ESCAPE PLAN. These titans of trashy genre flicks are not stupid. They know what their fans expect of them, and they are also know what bodies that were in their prime more than two decades ago… Read More »
DERAILED
Clive Owen is an actor of enormous charisma, a tough vulnerability, and a not inconsiderable amount of animal magnetism, none of which are on display in DERAILED, a ridiculously overplotted and underthought exercise in muddled filmmaking. Blame director Mikael Hafstrom for quashing Owen’s appeal along with everything else that threatens to light up his film.… Read More »
1408
1408, based on the short story by Stephen King, is a slick psychological thriller masquerading as a good old-fashioned ghost story. It’s old-fashioned in the sense that it relies on the jump-and-scare technique rather than the slash-and-burn one. It also relies on some fiendishly clever twists and an intelligent script that’s smart not just because… Read More »