Movies starring Pat

In the Heat of the Night was the first film – and not the last – to capture the Academy’s attention with its clear-eyed but hopeful examination of race relations in the South during the 1960s. Based on John Ball’s 1965 novel of the sam...

The last scene of In the Valley of Elah may be the most ridiculously ham-fisted and over-the-top moment in all of 2007’s supposed prestige cinema. This image is so blatant and cheesy that it makes one wonder whether director Paul Haggis’ succes...

It’s apparent that writer/director Brandon Cronenberg has a fascination with what constitutes identity. That question, posed existentially without the involvement of religion or spirituality, lies at the core of both Cronenberg’s dark, trippy ...

Roughly 20 minutes into Inheritance, I was hooked. Despite the overzealousness of director Vaughn Stein’s intercutting when attempting to ratchet up the suspense during an early sequence, the film exhibits a fast pace and the story offers an...

Sometimes with horror movies, it's all about tone. The apprehension and dread one feels while watching a good horror film cannot easily be manufactured and some filmmakers incorrectly believe that gore and special effects pave the path. The Innkeep...

If there's a complaint to be made about Insidious, it's that the film's second half is unable to live up to the impossibly high standards set by the first half. This isn't unusual when it comes to films that include a "reveal"; even Jaws lost a sha...

Insidious: Chapter 2 illustrates that, regardless of his past success in the horror movie field, James Wan is not infallible when it comes to the genre. The second installment of what is likely to become a franchise is disappointing precisely becau...

“I wouldn't bet the mortgage on there being a Jack Reacher 2.” - James Berardinelli, December 2012 Shows how much I know. Even though Tom Cruise’s tarnished star is burning up in the atmosphere and it would be an exaggeration...

Janet Planet explores the mother/daughter relationship between single mom Janet (Julianne Nicholson) and her strong-willed, socially awkward child, 11-year old Lacy (Zoe Ziegler). Although characterized by strong performances across-the-board, the...

The Journey of August King is as close to a flawless motion picture as is likely to be produced by the film industry (independent or mainstream). Featuring strong acting, realistic set and costume design, an intelligent script, solid directing, an...