Search for State

Sling Blade, the directorial debut of actor/writer Billy Bob Thornton (who scripted One False Move and A Family Thing), is a fascinating examination of a damaged man's quest to make restitution for his past crimes. To a lesser extent, it also offe...

Let's get this straight from the start: Slither isn't great art, but that doesn't mean it isn't good entertainment. One of a growing number of horror/comedy casseroles, the film provides its share of tasty mouthfuls - at least up to a point. Putt...

On the rebound from a lifeless seven-year marriage and trying to get her personal life back on track, Carly Norris (Sharon Stone) decides on a change in venue and opts to move into an upscale Manhattan high-rise. There she meets a trio of unusual ...

Slumdog Millionaire comes from director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, who fashion what is at heart a romance into a mystery and a thriller with Dickensian undertones. It's tough not to think of David Copperfield when we see the "orph...

Big Hollywood productions aren't the only ones to rely on formula. For his feature debut, director Noam Murro has taken the safe route of enlisting the "redemption of the misanthrope" narrative. Everything one expects from such a tale is found he...

Has the COVID-19 pandemic brought out the best in horror filmmakers? 2022 has not been a good year for cinema, but it has been a very good year for horror. Smile represents the latest in an impressive roster of horror films that have pushed the en...

Smile 2 takes the ideas and aesthetic of the original Smile and doubles down on them. Unlike many horror sequels, which come across as watered-down retreads of their predecessors, Smile 2 uses the first installment as a jumping-off point for a sto...

Smokin' Aces is Tarantino lite - a vague and unsuccessful attempt to bring together a bunch of offbeat, unrelated characters in a situation where a bloody resolution is inescapable. Like an absentminded chef, however, writer/director Joe Carnahan ...

Samuel L. Jackson is on record as saying this movie isn't for critics. He's right about that. The problem is, it's not for many other people, either. Unless they're stoned. Or drunk. Or just enjoy making fun of bad movies (in other words, the M...

As his career develops, it may turn out that British maverick filmmaker Guy Ritchie has only the taste and talent to make one kind of film - but, if every salvo he fires is as snappy, funny, and energized as his initial two movies (Lock, Stock and ...