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Note: This review contains spoilers. Those who wish to have a completely "fresh" viewing experience of this movie should return after seeing it. The concept of involving a female mystery writer in a crime is not a new plot device. In fact, fr...
U.S. Release Date: 2003-07-03
MPAA Rating: "R" (Sexual Content, Nudity)
Genre: THRILLER
Director: François Ozon
Cast: Charlotte Rampling, Ludivine Sagnier, Charles Dance, ...
Woodstock - the shining moment in the age of peace and free love, the incredible high that came before the bad trip of the '70s - is often remembered most for the music. This is due in no small part to Michael Wadleigh's definitive documentary. F...
U.S. Release Date: 2009-08-28
MPAA Rating: "R" (Nudity, Profanity, Sexual Situations, Drugs)
Genre: DRAMA
Director: Ang Lee
Cast: Demetri Martin, Imelda Staunton, Henry Goodman, ...
At a time when most movies spoon-feed background and narrative developments to viewers via exposition dumps and flashbacks, Todd Field (making his third overall feature and his first in 16 years) opts for a more ambiguous approach. By trusting t...
U.S. Home Release Date: 2022-12-20
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Nudity)
Genre: Drama
Director: Todd Field
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Noemie Merlant, Nina Hoss, ...
That Awkward Moment exudes an "old school" romantic comedy vibe. (Since it borrows from Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost, the "old" really applies here.) The script has an '80s/'90s sensibility wrapped in a layer of lewd, crude, rude packaging. S...
U.S. Release Date: 2014-01-31
MPAA Rating: "R" (Sexual Content, Profanity)
Genre: ROMANCE/COMEDY
Director: Tom Gormican
Cast: Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, ...
James Marsh's The Theory of Everything is an unremarkable bio-pic about a remarkable man. Its ordinariness is in large part compensated for by an extraordinary performance from lead actor Eddy Redmayne. Those looking for a chronology of the life of...
U.S. Release Date: 2014-11-07
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity, Adult Themes)
Genre: DRAMA
Director: James Marsh
Cast: Eddy Redmayne, Felicity Jones, David Thewlis
Thoroughbreds is a dark comedy/thriller that calls to mind a couple of films from the 1990s: the somewhat obscure Fun and Heavenly Creatures, a title that became a calling card for both director Peter Jackson and actress Kate Winslet. This new...
U.S. Release Date: 2018-03-09
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Thriller
Director: Cory Finley
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Olivia Cooke, Anton Yelchin, ...
For decades, the spy thriller has been dominated by one name: Bond. 007's trappings, which include pyrotechnics, high-octane chases, death-defying stunts, gorgeous women, and the like, have come to define the genre. While it's unquestionable that I...
U.S. Release Date: 2011-12-09
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity, Sexual Content, Nudity)
Genre: THRILLER
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Cast: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, ...
Spoilers! Nothing is explicitly revealed but something is implied. For about a half-hour, Tully is damn near brilliant. An incisive, relentless takedown of the myth of new parenting, Diablo Cody’s screenplay highlights the incessant crying, ...
U.S. Release Date: 2018-05-04
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Sexual Content, Nudity)
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Jason Reitman
Cast: Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Ron Livingstone, ...
This is another one of those entries in which I ramble. I'm not sure whether that's indicative of having too much or too little to write. Or whether I'm procrastinating with the Oscar picks. I can only delay for so long. Of course, if I wait ...
Vengeance tries for something different and succeeds. But, although screenwriter/director B.J. Novak swings for the fences, he doesn’t quite get the ball out of the park. This Blumhouse production marries fish-out-of-water elements with some phi...
U.S. Home Release Date: 2022-09-20
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Violence)
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: B.J. Novak
Cast: B.J. Novak, Boyd Holbrook, Ashton Kutcher, ...