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Given the screenplay for The Tourist, Alfred Hitchcock would have hired Cary Grant (or Jimmy Stewart) and Grace Kelly. Then he would have applied his particular brand of magic - the one that allowed him to sell the improbable - and an engaging rom...

The Trigger Effect, a psychological thriller from David Koepp, opens with an image of coyotes tearing at a dead carcass. An electrical power plant stands in the background. It's a visceral, unsettling scene, and you'd have to be more than a littl...

The line between epic spectacle and overblown bore is often as unclear as it is easily crossed. So it's no surprise that Wolfgang Petersen's Troy navigates that demarcation like a drunk driver on a twisty two-lane highway. There are times when T...

A few months ago, when speculation was rampant about who would be the next actor to nab the role of James Bond, Arnold Schwarzenegger's name was bandied about as one of the "long shots." Well, Pierce got the job, not Arnold, but for those who wond...

When considering a title like Two Girls and a Guy, one can be forgiven for expecting something a little risqué. (In fact, a friend of mine quipped, "I didn't think you reviewed movies like that.") Add to that the swirl of controversy regarding t...

With Two Lovers, director James Gray has remained geographically within his comfort zone (New York City), but has moved textually away from the crime and corruption-laced stories that have marked his previous efforts. This is strictly a character-...

During the latter years of the 20th century, no sports figure was more compelling and controversial than Mike Tyson, who scaled the heights of unifying boxing's heavyweight championships and descended into the hell of scandal and crime. With Tyson...

As a snapshot of the U.S. cultural scene during the late 1960s and early 1970s, The U.S. Versus John Lennon is a success. As an opportunity to hear some of Lennon's solo songs within a political context, the movie works. Unfortunately, as a piece...

For a while, The Unborn unfolds like a nice little PG-13 horror film should: a dash of atmosphere, a heroine who spends lots of time in her underwear, a general sense of enhanced creepiness, and an effective "boo!" moment or two. Then it commits a...

I’m a sucker for movies that question the sanity of the main character and thereby cause the viewer to wonder about the reliability of the narrative. Such films, if made right, can offer a wild ride. Unsane, Steven Soderbergh’s second post...