Suspense / Thriller

Notes on a Scandal is an unsettling film, uncomfortable to watch because it highlights some of the darkest aspects of the human condition. It’s a film about loneliness, secrecy and obsession, and thanks to incredible performances by its leading ladies, it succeeds as a thriller.

Barbara Covett (Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents) is an aging schoolteacher and a voracious diarist. When young, beautiful Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett, The Aviator) shows up as the high school’s new art teache...

Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) believes in all that America stands for and will do whatever he must to protect what his country stands for. As one of the founder members of the CIA in 1939, Wilson is also one of the most trusted members of this group of secrecy. When the idea that a mole may be working within the CIA is found, Wilson is told to find out which member is the mole. The path Wilson must take to discover this mole will lead him to question not only the CIA as a group, but also his personal life.

Misery (Awards Series) is the 2000 DVD version re-released with a cardboard slipcover. (Cover art pictured is the 2000 edition)

Of the many films based on books by prolific writer Stephen King, Misery ranks near the top. Falling somewhere between the horror and thriller genres, this film about a twisted obsession is frightening because the premise seems very real.

He's one of the most compelling villains of modern fiction. Disturbing, disgusting and absolutely captivating at the same time, Hannibal Lecter can really get inside your head.

You may not have read the novels by Thomas Harris, or even seen all of the films, but I'm willing to bet you're familiar with The Silence of the Lambs. One of the greatest thrillers in film history, the film in which Sir Anthony Hopkins became Dr. Lecter is the cornerstone of this three-movie set.

The first Open Water film was one of those underdog stories that keep the filmmaking industry alive and vibrant today. I was pleased with the simplicity of it all and the emotional effect that kind of storytelling could have. The film provided hope that an Indie film shot on weekends and vacations on an almost nonexcistant budget could have something important to say. While this sequel attempts to reproduce all of these elements, it only further demonstrates how sadly they are missing. There's no small production feel to the process.

Posted in Disc Reviews by Joshua Noyes

Lady in the Water is the latest film offered from M. Night Shyamalan. In its opening weekend (21-23 July 2006), the film grossed a total of $18.2 million, placing third in the United States box office results for that weekend. It was M. Night's lowest opening for any of his five major films. Due to negative reviews and poor word-of-mouth, its second week fell sharply to $7.1 million, pushing its total to only $32.2 million. Its third weekend was no better, falling another 62.1% to $2.7 million. As of September...

The Prestige surprised me like no other film has since The Usual Suspects. The entire film plays out like a good bit of misdirection, slight of hand and illusion, with some pseudo-science thrown in for good measure.

Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman, X-Men) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale, Batman Begins) are rival magicians, both inspiring to be the best the world has ever seen. They began as partners, working together as assistants to an established magician, but when a trick goes terribly wrong, their relationship is forever changed.

Synopsis

The filming world seems to be full of un-original ideas. Everything from endless sequels to the same types of films repeated and repeated until one falls into a deep dark slumber. The Quiet staring Elisha Cuthbert(24, Girl Next Door) as Nina Deer & Camilla Belle(When A Stranger Calls) as Dot from the cover and box description appears to be another teenage high school drama about some new girl and sexual tension sans Cruel Intentions. How...

These are the other four films featuring Peter Lorre as the mysterious detective Mr. Moto. All but the first are from 1939.

1938's Mr. Moto’s Gamble began life as a Charlie Chan film, but difficulties with that franchise’s star (Warner Oland) led to Fox putting the Chan films on hiatus. Keye Luke, Chan’s Number One Son, is here anyway, as is plenty of footage shot for the Chan film. Luke and comic relief ex-boxer Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom do their best to help Moto solve a case of murder in a boxing ring.

Five men wake up in a middle-of-the-desert chemical warehouse. Some of them are tied, some are wounded, and all have no memory of who they are or how they came to be here. They soon discover that they are part of a kidnapping plot, but who is victim and who is kidnapper remains a mystery. What they do know is that the rest of the criminals are on their way back, and if they don’t escape the warehouse, someone is going to die.

Though the opening had me worried this was going to be Saw II with a prestige cast (Jim Caviezel, Greg Kinnear, Joe Pantoliano, etc.), it quickly developed into a tight thriller whose premise made up in niftiness what it lacked in plausibility.

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