Wake Wood (2010)

At a glance:
An emotionally gripping, gory and scary film about a grieving couple who get an opportunity to spend three days with their recently deceased daughter

Our review (with spoilers):
A couple grieving over the loss of their daughter gets an usual opportunity: the chance to be with her again for three days. Such is the way of life in the small towns of horror – the inhabitants often have a deep dark secret that they have agreed to hide. In this town, the locals know a way to extract the life force from a recently deceased corpse and then use that to reanimate another one. Louise (Eva Birthistle) and Patrick (Aidan Gillen) ask that their daughter Alice (Ella Connolly), who died suddenly when she was mauled by a dog, be brought back. There are just a couple of problems: one, as you might imagine, it’s going to be pretty hard for the couple to let her go again when those short period of grace expires. And two, that’s going to be irrelevant, because the couple has not abided by the rules of the ‘game’, and the consequences will be disastrous.

The film combines the heartfelt grief that accompanies the loss of a child with a moody, scary horror/slasher vibe. It’s rare that a film can be so tense in the build-up, yet actually deliver on what it promises – and this one does. Plus, it’s got one of the best finales I’ve seen in some time – scary, funny, calculating, and just self-referential enough to make everything that came before it that much more fun.

Finally, the acting across the board is extremely solid. It’s the full package – a horror movie that will appeal to a wider audience (as long as that audience can handle a bit of gore).

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"With deliberate echoes of classic Hammer horror, this moody and inventive thriller gets under our skin with its deeply personal plot, which pays as much attention to horror as emotion."
- Rich Cline (Shadows on the Wall)

 

The Resident (2010)

At a glance:
Hilary Swank’s class, Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s menace, and Brooklyn Bridge locations slightly lift a typical stalker thriller

Our review (with spoilers):
Juliet (Hilary Swank) breaks up with her cheating boyfriend and moves into an old but luxurious apartment, offered at a discount price by the seemingly sincere and innocent Max (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, a Javier Bardem lookalike). Max’s creepy uncle August (Christopher Lee) lives down the hall. August looks foreboding and Max seems harmless, but you’ve got to watch the quiet ones. Soon, it becomes evident that Max is obsessed with Juliet and moves freely in and out of her apartment, sometimes when she is away, and sometimes while she sleeps.

The Resident is beautifully photographed and underlit to good effect, except for some of the latter stalking scenes in the walls of the old building, where it’s a bit too dark to see anything at times. Shadows cast by the night sky weave sinuous tentacle of darkness into the apartment, helping the early scenes in the film to build tension. Swank is solid, and the rest of the cast is more than competent. Morgan in particular goes from innocent to evil just by changing his expression. Lee is great as always, but his role is little more than a cameo.

I don’t watch a lot of this genre of film, so I always feel at a loss to make any kind of a comparison, nor can I get a feel for what fans of the genre will think. Personally, I liked the early use of the Brooklyn Bridge locations, but I thought the buildup was much better than the payoff, but that’s because the payoff was very typical of this type of film. I felt like it was competently executed (killer stalks woman through dark area) but had little new to offer. The resolution, in particular, has been done many times before, in slightly different variations (Juliet is trapped and feverishly smashes a window, presumably to escape, before the killer catches her. The killer then enters the room and longingly gazes out the window in what is known as the ‘wait to be crept up on’ pose). It must be difficult to create something original when so many of these types of films have already been made. Also, there was a lost opportunity to focus on the killer’s dislike of technology. He mentions that he’s not part of the Twitter crowd, and this becomes evident when he spends hours in Juliet’s apartment and completely ignores the bright message on her computer stating that there are new (security) videos to view. I also must mention a weird use of flashback early on in the film: after 20 minutes, the director rewinds the entire film in fast motion to show us some hidden plot points. It seems too soon for a refresher course, although I’m sure any memory-challenged goldfish in the audience will appreciate it.

I would love to see Swank get a role that flexes her acting muscles next time, rather than just her muscle muscles.

Rating:  2.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Any ambiguity and suspense is frequently stripped by writer/director Antti Jokinen's signposting of every upcoming twist and turn. This is epitomised by a supposedly revelatory and overlong flashback sequence that occurs just half an hour into the movie and contains big snippets of scenes we've already witnessed!"
- Ben Rawson-Jones (Digital Spy)

 

A Perfect Getaway (2009)

Movie quotes:
Nick: [handing her the ring] This is for you.
Gina: Holy crap.
Gina: Did you get it from the store in Honolulu?
Nick: eBay.
Gina: How long have you had it?
Nick: Year and a half.
Gina: A year and a half? Well what were you waitin' for you dumb bastard!
Nick: The right moment...
Gina: Baby, you are a man in full.

At a glance:
Maui locations, clever twists, and a sense of humor elevate this thriller about a newlywed couple threatened by killers on their honeymoon

Our review (with spoilers):
Hawaii is so beautiful that you could enjoy your honeymoon there, even if you were being stalked by a killer couple at the same time.

This is what is happening to Cliff (Steve Zahn) and Cydney (Milla Jovovich). Their jungle overnight hike is populated with weird couples, some friendly, some threatening. Things get tense when news reaches them that a honeymooning couple was murdered in Oahu. Cliff and Cydney seem to suspect eccentric Nick (Timothy Olyphant) and Gina (Kiele Sanchez), but there are others as well who seem to be even more likely suspects. There is some squeamish but cartoonish violence, and it’s obvious that the creators have a kind of morality that is old-fashioned and appealing.

A Perfect Getaway never takes itself too seriously, yet it has plenty of tension and action. The Maui locations are fantastic, the more so for me, as I was just recently in Hawaii and it was great to go back, even under these circumstances. The acting is great, right across the board, which is a sure sign of good direction. Lovely to look at and fun to watch, this is not a great film: just a very good and entertaining one.

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"It works because it's smart, knows it's smart, announces to us that it's smart - then backs off and lets the suspense and dark comedy mix."
- David Cornelius (eFilmCritic.com)

The Resident (2010)

At a glance:
Hilary Swank’s class, Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s menace, and Brooklyn Bridge locations slightly lift a typical stalker thriller

Our review (with spoilers):
Juliet (Hilary Swank) breaks up with her cheating boyfriend and moves into an old but luxurious apartment, offered at a discount price by the seemingly sincere and innocent Max (Jeffrey Deam Morgan, a Javier Bardem lookalike). Max’s creepy uncle August (Christopher Lee) lives down the hall. August looks foreboding and Max seems harmless, but you’ve got to watch the quiet ones. Soon, it becomes evident that Max is obsessed with Juliet and moves freely in and out of her apartment, sometimes when she is away, and sometimes while she sleeps.

The Resident is beautifully photographed and the underlit to good effect, except for some of the latter stalking scenes in the walls of the old building, where it’s a bit too dark to see anything at times. Shadows cast by the night sky weave sinuous tentacle of darkness into the apartment, helping the early scenes in the film to build tension. Swank is solid, and the rest of the cast is more than competent. Morgan in particular goes from innocent to evil just by changing his expression. Lee is great as always, but his role is little more than a cameo.

I don’t watch a lot of this genre of film, so I always feel at a loss to make any kind of a comparison, nor can I get a feel for what fans of the genre will think. Personally, I liked the early use of the Brooklyn Bridge locations, but I thought the buildup was much better than the payoff, but that’s because the payoff was very typical of this type of film. I felt like it was competently executed (killer stalks woman through dark area) but had little new to offer. The resolution, in particular, has been done many times before, in slightly different variations (Juliet is trapped and feverishly smashes a window, presumably to escape, before the killer catches her. The killer then enters the room and longingly gazes out the window in what is known as the ‘wait to be crept up on’ pose). It must be difficult to create something original when so many of these types of films have already been made. Also, there was a lost opportunity to focus on the killer’s dislike of technology. He mentions that he’s not part of the Twitter crowd, and this becomes evident when he spends hours in Juliet’s apartment and completely ignores the bright message on her computer stating that there are new (security) videos to view. I also must mention a weird use of flashback early on in the film: after 20 minutes, the director rewinds the entire film in fast motion to show us some hidden plot points. It seems too soon for a refresher course, although I’m sure any memory-challenged goldfish in the audience will appreciate it.

I would love to see Swank get a role that flexes her acting muscles next time, rather than just her muscle muscles.

Rating:  2.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Any ambiguity and suspense is frequently stripped by writer/director Antti Jokinen's signposting of every upcoming twist and turn. This is epitomised by a supposedly revelatory and overlong flashback sequence that occurs just half an hour into the movie and contains big snippets of scenes we've already witnessed!"
- Ben Rawson-Jones (Digital Spy)

The Town (2010)

Movie quotes:
Doug MacRay: I need your help. I can't tell you what it is, you can never ask me about it later, and we're gonna hurt some people.
James Coughlin: ...Whose car we takin'?

At a glance:
Ben Afflect directs and stars in this effective Boston-based bank robber tale

Our review (with spoilers):
It’s difficult to take an action film about four tough guys from Boston who rob banks and meld it with elements of poetry, beauty, and love, but actor/director/co-writer Ben Affleck accomplishes this. He casts and directs himself as Doug, the gang leader who is all shades of gray. He has no qualms about stealing from banks and vans, but he tries to do it without hurting anyone. At the same time, he tolerates Jim (Jeremy Renner), whose violent fuse seems to erupt every time they pull a job. There are good reasons why Doug tolerates Jim. In fact, the hallmark of this script, where characters sometimes seem to be out of character, is the care in formulating a reason for this. For example, after the first bank job, Doug protects the bank manager, Claire (Rebecca Hall) from the harassment she would endure if Jim is allowed to pursue that loose end. Doug goes much further than that, and soon he and Claire are in a serious relationship.

Pursuing the thieves is a relentless FBI agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm), who is a tough guy in his own right. The script presents a series of mini-battles and conflicts between Adam and Doug, Doung and Jim, Doug and Claire, Doug and Fergus (Pete Postlethwaite, playing a local tough guy), and Doug and his incarcerated father (Chris Cooper, in a small but effective role). This is a stellar cast, circling around a solid performance by Affleck, who proves that his earlier directorial success with Gone Baby Gone was not a fluke.

Rating: 3.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"In lesser hands, the central relationship might not have worked; but Affleck and Hall make it completely believable, adding to the texture of this classy thriller."
- David Stratton (At the Movies)

Four Boxes (2009)

At a glance:
This low-budget film squeezes heaps of suspense and intrigue from live action combined with a voyeuristic website

Our review (with spoilers):
Trevor (Justin Kirk) is a privacy fence salesman during the week. His weekends are spent rummaging through stuff belonging to the recently dead. On this particular weekend, he and his partner Rob (Sam Rosen) rummage through a house that presents mysteries. There are scrawled notes from a depressed soul, intriguing collections of nuts and bolts, and weird line patterns that might be coded clues. Meanwhile, Rob is into this cool website called Four Boxes – four hidden camera views of an apartment that used to belong to a young, often nude girl, and that now seems to be populated by two very suspicious terrorist types. Rob hooks Trevor into watching too, and soon Trevor is starting to formulate his own theories about what is going on in Four Boxes. Meanwhile, complications ensue when Rob brings Amber (Terryn Westbrook) into the house. Amber used to go out with Trevor and the awkward factor ramps up when she is there, along with the sexual tension.

I won’t ruin anything with Four Boxes so that you can enjoy it as much as I did, but let me say that writer/director Wyatt McDill proves that he can make an effective thriller with little more than a one-house setting, a few clues, and a love triangle dynamic – and that’s impressive. The only drawback to such effective tension building is that it is almost impossible for the resolution to avoid being a letdown – and through some careful morality, this is just avoided here.

Rating:  2.75 of 4

Black Kiss (2004)

At a glance:
This Japanese horror/drama has enough style and quirky acting to overcome its convoluted plot

Our review (with spoilers):
My favorable opinion of Black Kiss is far from subjective. It is skewed by my appreciation for unusual, thoughtful films. It is enhanced by my fond memories of my brief visit to Japan in 1999, and for my desire to see more of Tokyo and Shinjuku again. Blessed with strange, occasionally stylistically fast editing, and cursed with an almost fanatical tortoise-like speed in revealing its story, Black Kiss is a study in contrasts. Amid the photogenic doll-like beauty of young Japanese women/models, there is a sickening murder mystery and a series of gruesome murders. A man’s bloody body is shredded and spread like a paper flower. A woman’s still living torso is shipped in a box. A killer commits a murder, then performs a Houdini-esque escape from a locked room. A tormented former model takes a naïve young newcomer under her wing, and either curses her or blesses her. A strange paparazzi stalks the newcomer.

I particularly enjoyed the unusual, understated performance by Shunsuke Matsuoka as junior detective Yusuke Shiraki. He discovers information about the case that often disgusts or confuses him, causing him to shrink into himself, his head retreating into his neck much like the tortoise that prowls Kasumi’s apartment.

On the negative side, this is a long film that ultimately makes no sense. It’s a triumph of style – and good acting – over plot.

Rating: 3 of 4

Frozen (2010)

At a glance:
Frozen takes a great, simple concept (three people stranded on a chair lift) and squanders it with bickering and plot contrivances

Our review (with spoilers):
There’s nothing like a pure concept movie. And here’s the concept: two bratty skiers and one nice girl bribe their way onto the chairlift rather than pay full price for lift tickets. With time and light running out, they negotiate one last lift ride. The ride operator is called away and forgets all about them, the power is shut off, and the ski resort is closed down on Sunday night, to re-open five days later – and the three people are stranded on the chairlift. That’s it.

Despite being stranded and facing death, these three still find the time to argue incessantly before doing dumb things. There’s the usual angst about the girlfriend ruining the lifelong friendship between two guys. The girl (Emma Bell), very sweet before she gets stranded, proves that she was well cast: her scared yelling voice is extremely annoying. Consequently, the guys urge her to stop yelling. Stop yelling? They are stranded on a chairlift! I’d say yelling is one of few decent options they have left!

The other option is to jump. The boyfriend does this, but does so in a way that his fall is not broken at all. The result? He breaks both his legs (with many shots of the bloody bone protruding from one of them), and is soon surrounded by a pack of wolves and eaten. Yes, wolves. This might be funny if the movie weren’t being irresponsible to propagate this gross demonization of wolves. Wolves have never attacked a human – except, of course, in silly movies.

The boyfriend’s friend and the girlfriend argue, then bond, but despite the cold, they do not huddle close together – and huddling is definitely a good option if stranded in cold weather. Instead, after surviving one night, the guy climbs along the cable, shredding his hands, but somehow, unbelievably, continuing anyway, reaches a pole, climbs down, and ski-boards down the hill, pursued by wolves. He is never seen again, so you can assume the worst.

The girl takes advantage of an unraveling cable to reach the ground. She is confronted by bloody-nosed wolves but they spare her. She crawls to the road and is rescued by a passing motorist. I kept thinking the motorist was going to be a serial killer, but he was just a nice guy driving her to the local hospital. The ending feels a little bit like the idea bin was empty, so time to end the movie.

The film is flawed in so many ways (there isn’t really enough there to fill 90 minutes) and could have been much better, but it’s still fun to watch.

Rating: 2 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"A stuck chairlift just doesn't exert the same primal terror as a roiling sea, and to make up the difference, Green would need a better cast and sharper dialogue than he has here."
- Cliff Doerksen (Chicago Reader)

The Wild Hunt (2009)

At a glance:
A role-playing game turns from sincere acting to deadly bloodletting in first time director Alexandre Franchi’s amazing low-budget tale

Our review (with spoilers):
In a universe of cookie cutter genre pics, The Wild Hunt, small budget and all, stands out. It tells a tale of Evelyn (Kaniehtiio Horn), a young woman who breaks up with her boyfriend Eric (Ricky Mabe) and takes part in a LARP (Live Action Role Playing) game with a bunch of guys who seem to be rougher than usual of these sorts of people. She is a Viking queen, the captured wench of Murtagh (Trevor Hayes), a powerful sorcerer. She’s enjoying herself but is also spurning his advances. It’s like a little mini-holiday for her from her more serious, aborted relationship. When Eric goes in search of her and enters the role-playing world in contemporary clothing, he is surrounded by game players and pelted with unending shouts of "decorum!" until he returns to the entrance and dons the proper gear. He’s not exactly an enthusiastic game player still, but he is singularly dedicated to his rescue mission, and he has the help of his enthusiastic LARPer brother, Bjorn (Mark Antony Krupa).

This could have been a light-hearted look at relationships framed within a tame LARP world, but the disruption of the game, combined with a darker side of some of the players, causes the stakes to escalate into life and death. Recited oaths of blood and courage suddenly become real, and the film turns to dark, claustrophobic horror.

I wish I had not known in advance that this film was going to morph from an intense but harmless drama into dark and sporadically violent nightmare. The shock of the change would have been even more intense. As it is, the story at the heart of this tale feels ancient, like a Nordic war fable, and the resolution, though violent, just feels so right. It’s been a long time since pure eye-for-an-eye has made me feel so good inside. The film is far from perfect – Krupa, although good, is sometimes just a bit over the top – but the acting generally is at an extremely high level for a low budget film (partial credit for this must go to director Alexandre Franchi - whenever you see an entire cast of newcomer actors performing at a high level, that usually means someone is helping to ensure this) and this superior acting made the personal stories stay with me long after the credits rolled. Franchi, please do more!

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"First-time feature filmmaker Alexandre Franchi shoots the outdoors amazingly claustrophobically — an almost-oxymoric effect that contributes to the unsettling atmosphere of The Wild Hunt."
- Jim Slotek (Jam! Movies)

Lake Mungo (2008)

Movie quotes:
"Alice kept secrets. She kept the fact that she kept secrets a secret."
 - Alice’s friend Kim

At a glance:
This unusual and original supernatural thriller is both an intriguing mystery and a showcase of acting and directing talent

Our review (with spoilers):
Alice Palmer, an Australian teen, drowns accidentally; her parents and brother explore their grief in different ways. That’s the very short summary of Lake Mungo, an original combination of supernatural thriller and mystery. If you haven’t seen Mungo yet, please stop reading now, as this film is so much better when you can follow the path and have no idea where it’s going.

After Alice’s death, noises in the house indicate that she has returned in spirit form. Her brother (who was there when she drowned and could even be considered a possible suspect) mounts video and still cameras throughout the house and garden; the results show a shadowy, Alice-shaped figure. But this is debunked when the brother admits that he doctored the footage as a way of getting Alice’s supposed body exhumed to ensure that DNA testing could confirm it was indeed her.

But the DNA confirmation is not the end of the story. Director Joel Anderson makes home video, mobile phone footage, and videotaped interviews with a psychic play an important role in this unraveling mystery. Anderson also displays a knack for getting sincere, achingly subtle performances from his actors, whose grief and/or detachment is as real as the real thing.

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"It's not so much scary as spooky (except for one really creepy moment) but this ghost story is less about supernatural hauntings than human secrets and lies."
- Sean Axmaker (Seanax.com)

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call: New Orleans (2009)

Movie quotes:
"Right now, I’m working on about an hour and a half sleep over the past three days, and I’m still trying to remain courteous, but I’m beginning to think that that’s getting in the way of my being effective."
- McDonagh

Chavez: Are you all right?
McDonagh: Sometimes I have bad days.

At a glance:
Werner Herzog is the perfect man to direct Nicolas Cage’s gratuitous bad cop wallow in depravity and excess

Our review (with spoilers):
Nicolas Cage is about as bad a lieutenant as humanly possible. We see him briefly in the opening scene – he talks tough, but at least he is willing to dive into snake-infested water to rescue a drowning convict. But that dive causes a life-long back problem that spirals him into a world of prescription and non-prescription drugs. He has no qualms about using the power of his badge and gun to steal drugs from anyone who is in possession, and have sex with their girlfriend, too. Absolute powe corrupts absolutely, and perhaps he could have gone on with this depraved lifestyle forever, but he makes two mistakes. First, he threatens and harasses an old woman whose son is a senator. And second, he steals drugs from a guy who is close with the mafia. Soon, he is being blackmailed for 50 large, while at the same time, his gun is taken away and he is under investigation. Perhaps worse than that, his girlfriend Frankie (Eva Mendez) has been talking to his father, a reforming alcoholic, and now she has started going to AA meetings with him. Yet despite all his side trips into self-gratification, he’s still a good detective dedicated to solving the murder of a Senegalese immigrant family – even if it means he’s doing drug deals with the guys who did it.

Cage, who has recently been looking increasing haggard as various action heroes with much younger girlfriends, finally gets to play a part that both suits his current look, and allows him to chew scenery, something he does so well. He’s still got a young girlfriend, except this time it makes sense, as they are both addicts and he’s more of her pimp/protector, anyway. And who better to direct Cage in this role than a man who loves to document and live extremes, Werner Herzog?

Rating: 3.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Becomes bizarrely comical as it gets increasingly depraved. But Herzog's deliberately bonkers approach, matched by Cage's hammy performance, is strangely entertaining."
- Rich Cline (Shadows on the Wall)

Strangers on a Train (1951)

Movie quotes:
"How do you do, sir? I'd like to talk with you sometime, sir, and tell you about my idea for harnessing the life force. It'll make atomic power look like the horse and buggy. I'm already developing my faculty for seeing _millions_ of miles. And Senator: can you imagine being able to smell a flower - on the planet Mars? I'd like to have lunch with you someday soon, sir. Tell you more about it."
- Bruno Anthony

At a glance:
This Hitchcock classic features tension and occasional bursts of humor in Robert Walker’s creepily accurate portrayal of a deranged killer who wants to trade murders with a naïve stranger

Our review (with spoilers):
A serially pesky neighbor got me and a friend of mine thinking about some fantasy solutions, and I’m not ashamed to admit that this film came to mind. Could we trade murders and stay above suspicion? Of course, it wouldn’t work in our case, we realized, as we are not strangers, and we weren’t on a train. But it motivated me to watch this classic again. It had been a while, so for the most part, my bad memory meant that the details seemed almost new to me again.

The story: on a train ride, young tennis player Guy Haines (Farley Granger) meets the eccentric Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker). Anthony knows an awful lot about Guy’s private life, including his dying marriage and his affair with Ann (Ruth Roman). Bruno has a lot of crazy ideas, but the craziest is to trade murders – he’ll get rid of Guy’s cheating wife, and Guy will get rid of Bruno’s disapproving father. Trying to back away from this madman and be polite, Guy may have said, vaguely, that this was a good idea. Bruno takes this as a pact and soon dispenses with Guy’s wife Miriam by strangling her in an amusement park. In typical Hitchcock style, we view part of the strangulation reflected on the lens of Miriam’s discarded glasses. Guy now has two big problems: the police suspect him, especially after his alibi falls through; and Bruno expects him to fulfill his part of the bargain. Even though Guy is under surveillance, Bruno still invades his life, pestering him. When Guy continues to refuse, Bruno plays his trump card: he will place Guy’s lighter at the scene and further implicate him.

For such a genteel film by 2010’s standards, Walker still delivers one of the most accurate depictions of sick mind. The murder scene is particularly creepy and intense: for no reason, he flirts with the woman before killing her, as a cat might play with a mouse, or as a way of enforcing her poor character. Despite looking almost like he has a stick figure body hidden inside his loose suit, he is able to bang the gong when showing off for her on the carnival test your strength mallet game.

As in most Hitchcock films, there are highs of tension and great diversions of humor. During a tense final fight on an out of control, racing merry-go-round, there is a quick shot of a distraught mother, being restrained by police, screaming, "My son! My son!" We cut to the boy, unharmed and laughing joyously as his horse careens around the merry go round.

Hitchcock’s fascination with the idea of lookalikes surfaces here, too – Anne’s sister Barbara bears a striking resemblance to the murdered woman, and this coincidence helps to implicate the murderer.

The one slight weak point in the film is Granger’s overly naïve turn as Guy, although some or most of the blame for this goes to the script – and he does get better as the film progresses. But oh, if only Jimmy Stewart had been cast in that role!

Rating: 3.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Walker's creepy performance ranks among the best found in any Hitchcock film."
- Matt Brunson (Creative Loafing)

The Ghost Writer (2010)

Movie quotes:
Ruth: Well, how bad is it?
The Ghost: You haven’t read it?
Ruth: Not all of it.
The Ghost: Well, let’s just say it needs some work.
Ruth: How much work?
The Ghost: Well, all the words are there; they’re just in the wrong order.

Ruth: Are you married?
The Ghost: Certainly not.
Ruth: Gay?
The Ghost: No.
Ruth: Did you have a -
The Ghost: I had a – a – a -
Ruth: What? Girlfriend?
The Ghost: Well a bit more than that.
Ruth: Partner?
The Ghost: A bit less than that. I don’t know, 40 thousand years of English language and there’s no word to describe our relationship. It was doomed.

The Ghost: Did you ever want to be a proper politician in your own right?
Ruth: Of course. Didn’t you want to be a proper writer?

At a glance:
Roman Polanski’s lyrical thriller shows why he is a master at creating beautiful, artistic films, where perhaps the beauty and flow always overshadows the plot

Our review (with spoilers):
A fat paycheck for a month of intense writing is enough to lure a ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) to take a job writing the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). The Ghost (whose real name, by the way, is never revealed throughout the film – a fitting touch) takes the assignment despite the fact that he is replacing Lang’s former ghoster, who committed suicide. But the job gets more complicated almost immediately, as Lang stands accused of facilitating the arrest and torture of four British citizens. The Ghost travels to the USA and tries to work amid the conflicts caused by Lang and his eccentric entourage, including the prime minister’s volatile and complex wife, Ruth (Olivia Williams). Director Roman Polanski gently stamps this film as his own. He graces the film with a lyrical quality not normally seen in thrillers (but for another example of his ability to accomplish this, watch Frantic some time). He also slowly, almost inscrutably builds the tension and rewards patient viewers (although there are some fairly obvious plot holes, and there was a slight derailment for me when I figured out the fairly obvious ‘twist’ with about 20 minutes to go). While McGregor, Williams, and Brosnan anchor the film (especially the byplay between The Ghost and Rush), Polanski also cares about the small details and small but consequential roles; he milks compact and effective performances from Kim Cattrall and Jim Belushi. And of course it is great to see the legendary Eli Wallach, now 95 years old, still working.

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Polanski polishes the lackluster material and his impeccable style creates the illusion of suspense where our steady pulse tells us there is none."
- Damon Smith (Scotsman)

"Polanski's fiendishly clever and extremely subtle touch is in every frame."
- Rich Cline (Shadows on the Wall)

Detour (1945)

Movie quotes:
"As I drove off it was still raining, and the drops streaked down the windshield like tears."
- Al Roberts (Tom Neal)

"She was facing straight ahead, so I couldn't see her eyes. She was young - not more than 24. Man, she looked like she had been thrown off the crummiest freight train in the world! Yet in spite of that, I got the impression of beauty, not the beauty of a movie actress, mind you, or the beauty you dream about with your wife, but a natural beauty, a beauty that's almost homely, because it's so real."
- Al Roberts (Tom Neal)

At a glance:
Detour is seminal American film noir on a ‘B’ movie budget: a dark tale where fate deals a stacked deck to an innocent man

Our review (with spoilers):
A troubled piano player hitchhikes cross country to join the love of his life; bad luck and bad decisions cause him to get involved with murder, crime, and the wrong people.

Al Roberts (Tom Neal) initially believes he is lucky to be picked up by Charles Haskell (Edmund MacDonald), who just happens to be driving all the way to Roberts’ destination, Los Angeles. Although Haskell is a con man, he doesn’t seem to be playing Roberts as a mark. But Haskell brings bad luck. He passes out while resting while Roberts drives. When Roberts opens Haskell’s door, Haskell falls to the ground, hits his head on a rock, and dies. Roberts thinks the cops will not believe the truth, so he hides Haskell’s body and continues driving. His plan is to ditch the car in LA and put the whole incident behind him. But he foolishly picks up a female hitchhiker, Vera (Ann Savage). Haskell has mentioned picking up a woman earlier, and this is that women. She knows that Roberts is not Haskell and gets him to confess about what happened. She then blackmails him, first forcing him to sell the car, and then asking him to get involved deeper and deeper.

Detour is a fascinating gem. When it began, the opening diner scene felt dated and stale. But before long, the film draws you in. It changes tone and becomes something timely, timeless. The danger of circumstance, the perils of bad luck, and the heartbreak of bad decisions are portrayed deeply. None of these basic themes have changed, and the message and mood is still meaningful.

This seminal noir is referenced by film historians as evidence of how to make a great thriller on a shoestring. The notoriety of the movie was strengthened by the unusual circumstances involving the off-screen life of Tom Neal. Years later, Neal murdered his third wife with a bullet to the back of the head and was convicted of manslaughter.
Rating:  3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"It lives on, haunting and creepy, an embodiment of the guilty soul of film noir. No one who has seen it has easily forgotten it."
- Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)

The Betrayed (2008)

Movie quotes:
"Michael Is not meant for this life. Some of us are. Not him, Not you."
- Falco

At a glance:
Tension and twists abound in this highly-charged, low budget captive/torture yarn expertly written and directed by Amanda Gusack

Our review (with spoilers):
Jamie (Melissa George) awakens from a car accident and finds she is lying on the floor of an old warehouse. Her hooded captor Alek (Oded Fehr) says that, unbeknownst to her, her seemingly normal husband Kevin (Christian Campbell) was leading a double life as a hired assassin. Kevin embezzled a large sum of money; Alek has to retrieve it is a few hours or abandon it – not a viable outcome. Alek tasks Jamie to weed through audio surveillance tapes of her home and find the method her double-agent husband was using to send messages to his hidden collaborator. If she can’t find anything in 12 hours, her diabetic son, also a captive, will die. Jamie does not have muscle mass of Lara Croft, so she uses her limitless guile instead. Her time is divided between decoding tapes and using whatever is at her disposal, a la MacGyver, to affect an escape.

Writer/director Amanda Gusack successfully breeds tension from the opening scene. What could have been a mundane investigation of an accident scene becomes something quite edge-of-the-seat. Likewise, Gusack’s POV-style as Jamie scans her environs for items she can use to escape helps to establish the reality of the captivity. George is very good at combining nervous vulnerability with tremendous resolve. It helps, of course, that her character is well written and complex; we’re never sure how much she knows or what she is capable of doing until she does it. And, of course, you never know what the inimitable Alice "Borg Queen" Krige will do.

The Betrayed would be a nifty little light torture thriller on its own, but let’s just say there’s even more intrigue there than you might expect. Whom should Jamie believe? Which answer will save her life? Whom do you believe?

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"...a gripping, downright suspenseful thriller..."
- David Nusair (Reel Film Reviews)

In the Electric Mist (2009)

Movie quotes:
"That’s a beautiful child, Dave. By the time she’s 18 years old, your hair gonna be solid white – if there’s any of it left."
- Batist

"I came to accept that the general, as Bootsie had said, was only a figment of my imagination, there to remind me out of the distant past that the contest is never quite over; the field never quite ours."
- Dave Robicheaux

At a glance:
Local sheriff Dave Robicheaux (Tommy Lee Jones) steadfastly pursues justice in the present and the past as he trudges through his Louisiana backwater attempting to unravel twin mysteries in this moody, deliberate, effective thriller

Our review (with spoilers):
If you lived in a small southern town in Louisiana, you would want Dave Robicheaux  (Tommy Lee Jones) to be your local sheriff. Seasoned, smart, compassionate, incorruptible, and tough as nails, he treats each crime as a personal challenge to get to the truth and find the culprit – no matter who objects. He puts just as much effort into solving the current spate of grisly serial murders of young women as he does into solving the long-standing mystery of why a black man was gunned down in a bayou swamp. You might not want to be this guy’s wife and family, however – long-suffering wife Bootsie (Mary Steenburgen) begins to worry more and more as Dave’s obsession grows, his nights get longer, and the danger he places himself in multiplies.

In this unabashed starring role for Jones, he limps through every scene like a gimpy bloodhound, his sad eyes and sharp nose for crime leading him slowly and deliberately into a deeper swamp of cover-ups and lies. The film is atypically directed by Bernard Tavernier, who brings a welcome, unrushed, non-Hollywood approach to the storytelling. There’s nothing flashy here to distract from Jones’ ultra solid performance, allowing him to carry the film (with help from John Goodman, in another effective supporting role).

Rating:  3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Even though the film meanders a bit, the skilful direction and camerawork combine with strong acting to create an engaging, insinuating thriller"
- Rich Cline (Shadows on the Wall)

Godspeed (2009)

Movie quotes:
"There’s a darkness born of the centuries – born from the pain it takes to live the day…It courses through everybody’s blood – I guess even mine."
- Sarah

At a glance:
The Alaskan wilderness is the setting for this intense, sometimes violent indie thriller about murder, revenge, and how ‘religious’ men use god to further their own agenda

Our review (with spoilers):
A faith healer in Alaska is devastated when his family is murdered. He tucks himself away in the woods and half-lives, still hoping that perhaps someday the case will be solved, but not really doing anything about it. But the event enters back into his life when he is visited by Sarah (Courtney Halverson), the teenage daughter of a sick woman he tried to help.

The original title of Godspeed (Bloody Revenge) more accurately reflects the film’s genre. It is a revenge flick; no doubt about that. However, writer/actors Joseph McKelheer (Charlie) and Cory Knauf (Luke) have shown that they realize that adding layered detail to even the most basic story framework can make for a successful screenplay. While the revenge aspects somewhat overshadow anything else, there is still much thought-provoking interaction. For example, did Charlie’s healing powers stop working because of the presence of Luke in the room? Did that negative energy cancel out his positive energy?

The screenplay, written by Knauf, McKelheer, and director Robert Saitzyk, has moments of beauty. Most of the best contemplative lines are delivered by Sarah. Knauf shows that he has prodigious writing talent – perhaps moreso than his acting talent. Or maybe he just needs to hone the latter. I had the feeling he dragged the movie down a little with the too-slow pacing of his delivery. He needed to vary this occasionally. Still, he does create a character who has evil power, so maybe I’m being too harsh.

 While Knauf and McKelheer show off the writing talents, the acting talents are flashed by Halverson. There is power in a woman’s desire for a man, and perhaps this manifests itself most intensely in a young girl’s first crush. Halverson is tasked with bringing this to the screen. She does so with ease, and she also narrates the beautifully scripted emotions of the film – again with a mix of depth and naivete.

Rating:  2.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Saitzyk’s direction has a way of holding a tight grip on its audience."
- Cinevegas

Red Rock West (1993)

Movie quotes:
[Michael knocks out hired killer]
Suzanne: What should I do?
Michael: If I were you…I’d get a divorce.

Suzanne: Don’t you like me?
Michael: Yeah, I like you.
Suzanne: Then what’s the matter?
Michael: Just try to make a point of staying away from married women.
Suzanne: Why? Marriage is just a state of mind.
Michael: Not in Texas.
Suzanne: We’re not in Texas

At a glance:
Nicolas Cage, Dennis Hopper, Lara Flynn Boyle and J. T. Walsh are shining stars in this dark, entertaining western noir with a twist-laden plot peppered with mistaken identity, hired killers, and con artists

Our review (with spoilers):
A down on his luck roughneck (Nicolas Cage) travels 1200 miles from Texas to Wyoming for a job but is turned down. His money gone, he seaches still further in the small town of Red Rock. There, he is mistaken for someone else by local barmen Wayne (J. T. Walsh). Since this someone is there for a job, Michael goes along with it, then finds out that the job is to murder Wayne’s wife Suzanne (Lara Flynn Boyle). When Michael confronts Suzanne, she offers him double the money to do away with Wayne. For a while, it looks like Michael is going to pick up some easy money for nothing, but before he can escape from Red Rock, things get way more complicated – the real hit man (Dennis Hopper) shows up, and Michael is right in the middle of it all.

As Michael, Nicolas Cage gets to dip his toes into the water of corruptability while remaining pure. He has an affair with a married woman, but is that still wrong when her husband is trying to kill her? He goes along with a plan to steal money from the husband’s office safe, but only because the wife says it belongs to her. He refuses to take any money that was not earned, even when he is down to his last five dollars.

When I first saw Red Rock West in 1993, I was thrilled with director John Dahl, and looked forward to his future efforts. He has thrilled me again with the movies The Last Seduction (1994), Unforgettable (1996), and You Kill Me (2007), and he has moved into television to direct episodes of Battlestar Galactica and Breaking Bad, two of my favorite series.

Rating:  3.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"It's a brilliant noir movie that seems to understand the inner workings of film noir, rather than just paying tribute to it."
- Jeffrey M. Anderson (Combustible Celluloid)

State of Play (2009)

Movie quotes:
"You have your show horses and you have your work horses; I’m sure we can all find a way to get along."
- Rep. George Fergus (Jeff Daniels) to Rep. Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck)

At a glance:
Headed by an understated, effective performance by Russell Crowe, State of Play’s robust, top-shelf cast creates an intriguing political thriller that ultimately fails under the weight of one twist too many

Our review (with spoilers):
Washington-based investigative reporter Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) looks disorganized, and is often late for a deadline, but he’s almost detective-like in his approach to a story. He’s connected with the police and the coroner’s office. His clothes, demeanor, and car are similar to another investigator named Columbo. His college friend Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), who is now a Congressman, is in big trouble. The pretty young staff member that he fell in love with (and neglected his wife for) is dead. Collins heads a congressional committee investigating Pointcore, a multi-billion dollar defense contractor that stands to lose a lot if their business interests are curtailed. Collins asks McCaffrey for help; McCaffrey agrees, although he sees Collins as both a friend and a ‘story’. Competing against McCaffrey is the up and coming blogger, Della Frye (Rachel McAdams). Frye and McCaffrey learn to work together and to pull back the cover on a story that keeps growing and getting more convoluted and interconnected.

State of Play steams along beautifully for two-thirds of its running time, building intersecting emotional relationships and a web of political intrigue. Then, suddenly, the human element is dropped, and the final 30 minutes feature Crowe dashing around, servicing the plot and its multitude of needless twists. Eventually, every single major character either reveals a dark side or has a saint-like epiphany, as can only happen in a Hollywood film. Character development is dropped and a tied-up Hollywood ending is contrived. This film did not build to its conclusion; it built its conclusion.

Before these unfortunate missteps, however, State of Play features a fantastic cast at the top of their game. Crowe is unafraid to share screen time and lines, and to speak softly and carry a big pen. Rachel McAdams is sufficiently beautiful and intriguing until her character is given short shrift toward the end. Helen Mirren turns up her obnoxious factor to play the hard-nosed newspaper editor; Jason Bateman (always a pleasure to see) is a delightfully sleazy PR guy.

Rating:  2.75 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"The film held me a fair way in, because it's well paced and the actors are competent. But finally, the plot took one or two big twists too far."
- Julie Rigg (MovieTime, ABC Radio National)

The Killing Room (2009)

Movie quotes:
"People will do anything to survive, don’t you think?"
- Dr. Phillips (Peter Stormare)

At a glance:
A thoroughly harrowing film, The Killing Room forces the viewer to observe innocent victims trapped in sadistic, government-sanctioned mind control experiments

Our review (with spoilers):
In the 1950s and 60s, the CIA conducted mind-control experiments that involved subjecting private citizens to deprivation, torture, and worse. These programs were officially ended in the 1970s. The Killing Game puts forward the fictional but believable notion that these programs have begun again (or never stopped), this time in response to the events of 911. We watch four innocent people, trapped in a room and subjected to horrific acts of torture and violence. Watching along with us is Emily Reilly (Chloe Sevigny), a rising star at the NSA with a special talent for military psychology. Reilly is there as an observer to prove to sadistic team leader Dr Phillips (Peter Stormare) that she is talented enough – and has a strong enough stomach – to join the team.

Having just watched a similarly themed film, The Chaos Experiment, I can state that Chaos got it wrong and Killing Room got it right. Chaos makes a brief attempt to give us background info about the four steam room inhabitants, in the hopes, perhaps, that we will sympathize. Killing Room makes no such attempt, and merely subjects us to the terror that is imposed upon the prisoners, with Reilly’s emotional reactions mirroring and intensifying our own. This would have been an intense thriller on its own, but it is intensified by the fact that it could be real – there is a sick and twisted logic in the end result of these experiments.

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Unremittingly gripping and unnerving, The Killing Room transforms a simple premise into an almost unbearably tense experience."
- Tim Grierson (Screen International)