Search for 2007

The Condemned is the latest action film from director Scott Wiper. It is also a noun describing those poor viewers who end up stuck in a theater showing this film. In principle, I'm all for balls-to-the-wall action films that serve up a fifth of ...

In essence, Control is a standard order biopic of a tormented artist. What makes the film interesting, if not unique, is the style in which director Anton Corbijn has elected to present it. Rather than approaching the picture with the vivid psych...

Despite a title that makes it sound like a heist movie, The Counterfeiters is actually a World War II tale. It is not, however, a traditional war film. Instead, it takes a hard look at one of the most controversial and ethically dubious activities...

Most romantic comedies follow conventional formulas that, when they work, can result in a frothy, enjoyable end product - admittedly, not something to challenge the intellect but enough to cause the heart to skip a beat or two. When those formulas...

My reaction to The Darjeeling Limited is much the same as for most of Wes Anderson's previous efforts: it's an easy movie to admire but more difficult to like. Technically and thematically, there's a lot in The Darjeeling Limited to arrest the atte...

Despite being directed by a Yank, Death at a Funeral has a very British flavour. In fact, at times it reminded me of nothing less than an extended episode of Fawlty Towers, minus the manic genius of John Cleese. The film begins slowly, with occas...

Death Sentence is Death Wish for the 2000s. However, in place of the slow-burn intensity of Charles Bronson, we have the guilt-riddled stylings of Kevin Bacon. It's easy enough to guess at what director James Wan was trying for with Death Sentenc...

Disturbia is a nice little mystery thriller that takes a wrong turn on the way to its climax and morphs into a slasher movie. This abrupt change in tone is as jarring as it is unwelcome and transforms what could have been an effectively tense conc...

For many people, there is no hell more unimaginable than having a healthy, active mind trapped in a paralyzed husk of a body. Some of those in this situation seek a quick end to their misery (as was the case with Ramon Sampedro, whose tale was dra...

In recent years, I have complained about the inability of movies to close strongly. Numerous films with promising beginnings and middles have fallen apart at the end. Thankfully, that's not the case with The Dukes, where a satisfying final half-h...