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James Wan is among the best horror directors working today. His filmography reads like a “best of” modern scary movies, and The Conjuring 2 is a worthy addition to the list. Although the successful box office performance of The Conjuring ...
U.S. Release Date: 2016-06-10
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Intense Horror)
Genre: Horror
Director: James Wan
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Madison Wolfe, ...
The Conjuring represents a member of an increasingly endangered species: the R-rated horror movie that relies more on suspense and scares than blood and gore. That's not to say there are no instances of horrific, stomach-churning visuals in The Con...
U.S. Release Date: 2013-07-19
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence)
Genre: HORROR
Director: James Wan
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Lili Taylor, ...
Beware the third installment of any series. For even some of the best-conceived and executed franchises, the third time is often not the charm. It’s when things start to fall apart. It’s when ideas dry up. It’s when the creators, writers...
U.S. Release Date: 2021-06-04
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Disturbing Images)
Genre: Horror
Director: Michael Chaves
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ruairi O’Connor, ...
For his follow-up to City of God, Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles has elected to adapt John Le Carré's The Constant Gardener into movie form. A slow-burn thriller simmering with international intrigue, the book would at first seem too long ...
U.S. Release Date: 2005-08-31
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity, Sexual Situations, Nudity)
Genre: THRILLER
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Danny Huston, ...
Perhaps the biggest surprise with Coriolanus is the non-involvement of Kenneth Branagh who, for the better part of the last 20 years, has been engaged in seemingly every screen adaptation of a Shakespeare play (an exaggeration, but still...). At th...
U.S. Release Date: 2012-01-20
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence)
Genre: DRAMA
Director: Ralph Fiennes
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox, ...
Note: I suppose the official title of the movie is Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, presumably to distinguish it from William Shakepeare's Corpse Bride or Jane Austen's Corpse Bride. The wordiness seems silly so, for the purposes of this review, the fil...
U.S. Release Date: 2005-09-16
MPAA Rating: "PG" (Nothing Objectionable)
Genre: ANIMATED
Director: Tim Burton, Mike Johnson
Cast: (voices) Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter, Emily Watson, ...
If one was to judge Country Strong based solely on its misleading trailer, one might assume this to be a cliché-riddled Crazy Heart wannabe. And, although I will not argue that the whole cloth from which the story has been cut contains its fair sh...
U.S. Release Date: 2011-01-07
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Sexual Content, Drugs)
Genre: DRAMA/MUSICAL
Director: Shana Feste
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Garrett Hedlund, Tim McGraw, ...
The setting of Cracks - an elite British all-girls boarding school during the 1930s - is a classic exploitation film locale. For her feature debut, however, Jordan Scott (daughter of Ridley, who co-executive produced the film along with his brother...
U.S. Release Date: 2011-03-18
MPAA Rating: "NR" (Sexual Content, Nudity, Violence)
Genre: DRAMA/THRILLER
Director: Jordan Scott
Cast: Eva Green, Juno Temple, Maria Valverde, ...
Crazy, Stupid, Love. tries to rise above the unremarkable level of the generic romantic comedy. In almost every way, from structure to tone to the nature of the love stories, it strives to be more. And, while all its gambits are not successful, the...
U.S. Release Date: 2011-07-29
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity, Sexual Content)
Genre: ROMANCE/COMEDY
Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Cast: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, ...