Search for 2004

The Chorus is one of those feel-good stories that Miramax Films has become expert in importing. This one is the French equivalent of Mr. Holland's Opus - the inspiring story of how a teacher comes to change the lives of his headstrong students. A...

With a title like The Chronicles of Riddick, one can assume that David Twohy's movie comes with lofty aspirations. Indeed, there are hints of a complex, involving story here. Unfortunately, too many of the nuances are drowned out by incessant, re...

If you pay attention to Hollywood's romantic comedies, the interaction between men and women is all about love and companionship. If you instead rely upon the philosophy of Closer, it's all about power. Closer starts like a nice romantic drama, w...

Collateral is a classic example of how casting against type can sometimes result in a remarkable success. Here we have Tom Cruise, who has spent the majority of his career playing the good-looking, likeable, action/romantic lead, placed into the r...

Ensemble features can be daunting, yet some filmmakers embrace the challenge, and their results reward an audience. A lot of characters are woven into the tapestry of Crash, the feature directing debut of TV veteran Paul Haggis. (Haggis was also O...

Criminal is an English-language remake of the little-known (at least in these parts) Nine Queens, a 2000 film from Fabian Bielinsky. First-time director Gregory Jacobs and his co-writer, "Sam Lowry" (actually a pseudonym for Steven Soderbergh), ha...

Cursed is a good title for this film, which has been beset by problems from the outset. The version finally reaching theaters in February of 2005 likely bears little resemblance to what producer/writer Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven init...

It takes guts to remake a movie that is commonly considered a classic. Of course, that hasn't stopped filmmakers in the past - attempts have been made to modernize such "untouchables" as Casablanca and It's a Wonderful Life, with predictably unfor...

Roland Emmerich must dislike New York City. After all, this is the third time he has destroyed it. The Day After Tomorrow, an ode to an apocalyptic endgame of global warming, is an old-fashioned disaster film with modern-day special effects. It'...

As a bio-pic, De-Lovely is pretty standard, run-of-the-mill stuff (albeit with an interesting framing device). However, as a "best hits" collection of Cole Porter's music, it is unparalleled. With approximately two-dozen of his tunes performed by...