Overcast skies and drab blue/gray interiors dominate Roman Polanski’s smart, tense thriller “The Ghost Writer,” setting up a foreboding mood that never lets up, even when it finally seems that all of its mysteries are resolved. (They’re not.) Based on Robert Harris’ 2007 novel “The Ghost,” Polanski’s film is a modern lesson in expertly controlled […]
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Sure, Tim Burton directed this new loose adaptation of the Lewis Carroll novels “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass,” but you know exactly what to expect with him: Gothic art direction and loony characters. What makes a Tim Burton movie something more than just a visual delight is its screenplay. This one was […]
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It makes sense that the man who directed such iconic films as “Clerks” and “Dogma”—which constantly reference movies from the 1980s—would be behind the lens on “Cop Out,” a throwback tribute to the buddy cop movies of the same era. What doesn’t make sense is that “Cop Out” is completely devoid of the inspired and […]
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I’m sure you get as tired of hearing it as I get of writing it: Here is yet another horror remake. At least this new version of “The Crazies” has one thing that the 1973 George Romero original was lacking—a real sense of community among the soon-to-be-afflicted. It may be achieved through mere glimpses and […]
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Up until about a week ago, not much was known about “Shutter Island.” It’s the fourth collaboration between Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, it’s based on a Dennis Lehane novel of the same name and its release date was spontaneously pushed back from October 2009 to February 2010. Add to that, DiCaprio’s relative low profile […]
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You know the kind of thriller that works only at surface value, skirts cliché at every turn, keeps stringing you along, and—in the end—hinges 100 percent on whether you buy the twist ending or not? “Shutter Island” is not that kind of thriller. Directed by Martin Scorsese, “Shutter Island” has enough gothic atmosphere, deep emotional […]
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Not every book deserves to be made into a multi-million dollar movie. “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” attempts to mix Greek mythology with the modern day problems of teens into an epic adventure. The results are mixed. Shortly after learning his son had be diagnosed with both Dyslexia and ADHD, Rick Riordan […]
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While it’s true that perseverance can yield great rewards, such is not the case for Universal’s “The Wolfman.” Originally the movie was to be directed by Mark Romanek, but the music-video maven left shortly after signing because of creative differences. Shortly thereafter, Joe Johnston edged out Brett Ratner, Frank Darabont, James Mangold and Martin Campbell. […]
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The new hyperspeed action movie “From Paris With Love,” starring John Travolta as a bald, goateed, and leather-jacketed U.S. FBI agent named Charlie Wax, is so dumb—so obnoxiously over the top, so asinine—that you have to wonder if Travolta knew what kind of a movie he was in and tailored his performance to match. Well, […]
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The first thing you need to know about When in Rome is it doesn’t take place in Rome (give or take ten minutes). I wanted to like this film. But nothing, not even the talents of Veronica Mars and Tad Hamilton, could save the film from a flurry of romantic comedy clichés and contrivance we […]
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The following is an Instant Messenger conversation between Scene-Stealers contributor Trevan McGee and myself: Eric: So last night we saw Mel Gibson’s big “comeback” movie, “Edge of Darkness.” I was wondering to myself how many familiar cinematic Gibson themes would pop up in this film and it turns out: quite a lot: Revenge, gratuitous violence, […]
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There is a lot of self-awareness going on in “Crazy Heart,” a movie about an alcoholic old-school country singer named Bad Blake (played by a grizzled Jeff Bridges) who’s seen better days. It’s something that most movies of its ilk are missing and its one of the keys to its modest success. Bad isn’t the […]
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Making films about the “afterlife” can be tricky. Director Peter Jackson (“King Kong,” “The Lord of the Rings”) is wrangling with this potentially divisive subject matter and the prospect of adapting a beloved book with his newest film “The Lovely Bones.” The end result is a movie that feels like several disjointed parts rather than […]
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As far as I can tell, Pedro Almodóvar is the most well-known Spanish filmmaker, and has a shot at being the most well-known European one, too. It’s been a lonely three years since his last film, Volver crossed the Atlantic, but now we get Broken Embraces, another story of the consequences and rewards of love. […]
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