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Suspense / Thriller

Ocean’s Thirteen

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 31st, 2008

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I remember when Ocean’s Eleven was first announced, and how disappointed I was. Steven Soderbergh was already well-respected by critics and serious film buffs due to his films Sex, Lies & Videotape, Out of Sight, Erin Brockovich and Traffic. He was the last person in Hollywood that needed to sell out to the masses by directing a re-make packed with eye candy. Not only that, but he chose to re-make a fantastic film that starred the Rat Pack. Essentially, Soderbergh decided to go to Vegas and relieve himself on the legacy of Frank Sinatra in the name of the almighty dollar.
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Eastern Promises

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 25th, 2008

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Director David Cronenberg’s masterpiece, A History of Violence catapulted him to the upper-echelon of today’s directors. Until AHOV, he’d previously worked on offbeat films that got mixed reviews, like Crash (1996), eXistenZ, and Spider, with the occasional brush with “commercial” films like The Fly.

Shattered

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 22nd, 2008

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Shattered, whose original (and more original) title was Butterfly on a Wheel, presents us with the household of Gerard Butler and Maria Bello. Life seems idyllic. They have a nice house, a lovely little girl, and the money is flooding in as Butler rises in his career (though his tactics don’t always seem entirely fair). Into their lives erupts Pierce Brosnan, who kidnaps their daughter, then forces the couple to perform one strange act after another, each event destroying their lives further.
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The Invasion (2007)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 22nd, 2008

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I don’t particularly care how many times filmmakers recycle old tales, so long as they produce enjoyable films. The Invasion revisits sci-fi scribe Jack Finney’s “The Body Snatchers” for the fourth time on film, following in the steps of the original 1956 film and the ’78 and ’93 remakes. Dave Kajganich wrote the screenplay, and Oliver Hirschbiegel (The Downfall) directed. Then Warner hired the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix) to rewrite some scenes and inject more action into the film, and James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) to direct the re-shoots.

So is The Invasion a case of too many cooks in the kitchen, or just the right creative balance to bring Finney’s classic horror tale to life in the new millennium?

Crawlspace

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 11th, 2008

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Arthur Kennedy and wife Teresa Wright are an older childless couple who discover a young man (Tom Happer) living in the crawlspace of their basement. Though they are initially alarmed, he seems harmless, and they take him under their wing. What seems to be a nice, if bizarre, solution for everyone becomes tense when Happer, tormented by locals, shows a potential for great violence.
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Zodiac – The Director’s Cut (Two-Disc Special Collector’s Edition)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 8th, 2008

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In the late 1960’s Northern California was being terrorized by the actions of a serial killer. This murderer was not content with his brutal slayings, but taunted the communities with cryptic letters and ciphers. He demanded these codes be published and promised more horrifying violence if his wishes were not carried out. Serial killers were actually quite common during those years. 1968-1980 produced more confirmed serial killers than any other time in our nation’s history. Of course, most of them get caught. What makes the story of The Zodiac killer a far more interesting case is that he was never caught.
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Believers (Unrated Edition)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 5th, 2008

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When warner Brothers decided to start their Raw Feed line of direct-to-DVD horror films, Daniel Myrick was brought in to Produce. The choice of Myrick was a no-brainer, as he (along with his partner Eduardo Sanchez), was the creative force behind the “Blair Witch” phenomenon. While the team Directed the first film, they served as Producers on the second. Admittedly, “Blair Witch 2” was not as well received as its predecessor, but it was exactly the type of film that would be successful as a direct-to-DVD release.

Myrick Produced the first two Raw Feed releases (“Rest Stop” and “Sublime”, which both received high marks on this web site), and he has moved back into the directing chair with the third film in the series, “Believers”. Truth be told, this is really Myrick’s traditional Directorial debut, as the faux documentary style of “Blair Witch” was not a typical feature. I had high expectations for this film, but unfortunately, it looks like Myrick is better wearing the hat of a Producer than that of a Director.

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Election

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 4th, 2008

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Every two years, the Wo Shing Society, an ancient Triad, elects its chairman. The two candidates this year are Lok, an amiable, level-headed, managerial type, and Big D, a flashy hothead cut from the same cloth as Tybalt. Big D throws bribes and around in an effort to win, but to no avail. Refusing to accept defeat, he resorts to violence, threatening to tear the Society apart. The question is whether Lok is made of the necessary stuff to make good his victory.
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I Know Who Killed Me

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 31st, 2007

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In the recent days and weeks since the Lindsay Lohan film I Know Who Killed Me arrived on video, she’s discussed the details behind a car accident in which she may or may not have been under the influence of alcohol. It only seems fitting, since this film is a carwreck of substantial proportions, and we probably have to ask whether or not Michael and Dina’s daughter was on something when she agreed to make the movie.

Paprika

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 27th, 2007

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Sometimes I absolutely adore anime. Great action from the far east that breaks boundaries one could only dream of. Or perhaps to tell an engaging story about a love lost long ago. Once in a while, I hate anime unfortunately. This usually occurs when they break no boundaries, tread over the same story or it plays out like hentai (tentacles in places where they don’t belong). So I receive Paprika to review. Hoping I would like it, I quickly stuffed it in my dvd player and found the following:
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The Initiation of Sarah

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 26th, 2007

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Remakes of movies seem to be common these days. Originality is found almost nowhere and more often than not you get retreads of old ideas. Now it even seems that tv movies are getting remakes like The Initiation of Sarah. The original was made in 1978 and starred Shelly Winters and Morgan Fairchild. The remake produced in late 2006 would also feature Morgan Fairchild in a role. But would it be as good as the 1978 classic or would it simply be a silly excuse for teenage college mayhem with sororities and witchcraft?
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28 Weeks Later

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 3rd, 2007

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A friend that I work with said that if Hollywood ever ran out of creative and original ideas, and that if a studio managed to make a sequel about pirate zombies that lasted three hours long, it would clean up at the box office. But the fact of the matter is that if we survived a nuclear winter, we would be well prepared about what to do when zombies took over the land, because of the prep we had from guys like George Romero. So even though Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later might have presumably sealed the deal when it came to this particular interpretation, someone decided to dredge it up for whatever reason.

Driftwood

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 1st, 2007

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Who says horror can’t be the cinema of personal expression? Director Tim Sullivan follows up his comic horror 2001 Maniacs with this heartfelt ghost story. Raviv Ullman plays David, a teenager whose depression and death-fixation following the demise of his older brother prompts his desperate parents to ship him off to an “Attitude Adjustment Camp.” Basically a brutal cross between boot camp and prison, this is a private institution (inspired by actual places) designed to transform any insipient Columbine-copycats. Once there, David must contend not only with the sadistic Captain Kennedy (Diamond Dallas Page) who runs the place, but also with visions of a ghost who clearly wants a buried truth revealed.
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The Intruder

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 8th, 2007

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Roger Corman is fond of saying that only one of his movies ever lost money. It was this 1962 release (shot in 1961), and it is his bravest film, and still arguably his most powerful. William Shatner plays Adam Cramer, a white supremacist associated with the “Patrick Henry Society” (read: John Birch Society), who arrives in the southern town of Caxton on the eve of racial integration of the school. The demagogue whips up the hatred of the white townspeople, leading to cross-burning, church-bombing, and worse.
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1408 (Collector’s Edition)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 6th, 2007

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Stephen King must be solely responsible for an acre of deforestation a year in legal pads and typewriter pages alone. I have heard it said that he writes at least ten pages a day, including holidays. A quick check of IMDB shows that he is credited for writing 106 television or movie stories, at least in part, since “Carrie” in 1976. While no writer – as I well know – can hit a home run every time they put pen to paper, King’s “good to crap” ratio is far superior to that of the majority of the novelists working today.

Red Road

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 5th, 2007

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A woman scorned is a dangerous thing. They will break you, hurt you and leave you for dead in the most unimaginable ways possible. In fact, it might be best for most men to sleep underneath their covers with a flashlight, a security system and no contact with the outside world. It probably wouldn’t help. So it makes only sense that one would make films that deal with this subject. However, they had to make it believable even if a scorned woman sometimes does the unthinkable.
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Aussie Action

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 5th, 2007

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The name of this double-pack is slightly misleading, but that is not to suggest the film and television mini-series on offer are in any way bad. Quite the contrary, in fact. It’s just that they aren’t exactly “action” films per se. So don’t pick this up hoping for something in the vein of The Road Warrior. Instead, these are brutally intense dramas with strong action elements. Both titles are excellent.
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Hallowed Ground

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 29th, 2007

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OK, brace yourself when I tell you that Hallowed Ground was a straight to video release. I know, you’re stunned, right? You can’t even get up. I was as shocked as you. But I’ve got to hand it to the filmmakers, they’ve got a decent idea by putting a somewhat scary image on their cover and keeping a brother intrigued, so to speak.

The Reaping

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 29th, 2007

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I admit I don’t have the strongest faith. Sure I believe in God, but it pretty much ends at that like any other agnostic. So when I get a movie that is based on the idea of the Ten Plagues; let’s say I’m not that familiar with the subject matter. I know there are locusts attacking and toads dropping involved along with the whole river of blood thing but outside of that I’m a little thin. However, not to say I wasn’t interested. In fact I’m always intrigued by stories in the bible when they are used as methods of literature and peaks into the historical past.
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The Invisible

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 27th, 2007

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The Invisible appears to have been marketed a couple of different ways when it was released in early 2007, but the most used phrase for the film appears to be “Supernatural Thriller”, which might address it to some degree if it was, you know, thrilling.

Christine Roum (Bodyguard II) co-wrote the screenplay, which David Goyer directed. Goyer has been a longtime writer, providing words to such films as Dark City, Blade and Batman Begins. And for all the good work he’s put in as a writer, you’d think he would have learned some things when it comes to directing, but ultimately, he’s just another guy who was talented in one area and needs some work in his new one.

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Bug

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 17th, 2007

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Director Peter Bogdanovich has a theory that you can make almost any movie better by cutting the first 20-minutes off of it. Exposition is intended to set-up the background of the characters for the audience, but it usually just ends up slowing things down until the conflict eventually arises. After watching Bug, I would be willing to accept Bogdanovich’s argument, and double it.

Bug is the story of a down-on-her-luck waitress (Ashley Judd, doing her best impression of Charlize Theron from Monster) who lives in a cheap motel and works as a waitress in a honky tonk bar in Oklahoma.
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Invisible, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 15th, 2007

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The Invisible requires far too much setup before we really get into the major ideas of the film. The first 40 minutes of the film is a complicated series of events that place a heavy burden on our patience. Finally, in an unfortunate series of events that would rattle Lemony Snicket, two lives are placed on a collision course.
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Next

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 24th, 2007

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“Here’s the thing about the future. If you look at it it changes, and every time you look at it it changes again…”

If Nicolas Cage had Chris Johnson’s ability to see into the future, he might have avoided his latest film, Next. At the very least he might have been tempted to monkey with it in order to get a better box office take than it ultimately received. The film was in and out of theatres faster than I could blink, let alone catch it. If Cage had foreseen the film’s demise, it would have been unfortunate for us who got to see this film on DVD for the first time.
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Disturbia

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 6th, 2007

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(Supplemental material portions of this review are culled from Gino Sassani’s review of said film in the Blu-ray format, so enjoy or read elsewhere.)

I’ve always enjoyed Hitchcock’s Rear Window, and I’ve gotta say I was more than a little disgusted when I saw that it was going to be remade and modernized, with no less than Shia fricken’ LaBeouf in the main role. Oddly enough, LaBeouf carries the role pretty well.

Fracture

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 31st, 2007

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Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs) is a successful engineer who recently discovers his wife’s infidelity. He becomes aware that she has been sleeping with a police detective, which pushes Ted to the point of shooting his wife. Initially he confesses to the crime, and it looks to be an easy win for rising star district attorney Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling, The Notebook). This is of course until Ted redacts his confession and engages in a battle of wits with Beachum.
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