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If elements of 1408 seem a little familiar, it shouldn't be a surprise. Here's John Cusack, once again having lodging problems (see also Identity). Here's a supernatural debunker faced with something that refuses to be debunked (see also The Reap...
U.S. Release Date: 2007-06-22
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: HORROR
Director: Mikael Håfström
Cast: John Cusack, Mary McCormack, Samuel L. Jackson
Hollywood loves adult entertainment, whether it's porn, stripping, or some combination of the two. The gold standard for movies of this sort remains Boogie Nights, and it seems unlikely this will change any time soon. The sad fact is that most porn...
U.S. Release Date: 2012-09-21
MPAA Rating: "R" (Sexual Content, Nudity, Profanity, Drugs)
Genre: DRAMA
Director: Stephen Elliott
Cast: Ashley Hinshaw, Dev Patel, Heather Graham, ...
Ali, Michael Mann's attempt to chronicle ten pivotal years in the life of former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammed Ali, suffers from the most common ailment of motion picture biographies – trying to do too much in a limited time. While Al...
U.S. Release Date: 2001-12-25
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity, Sexual Content)
Genre: Drama
Director: Michael Mann
Cast: Will Smith, Michael Michele, Nona M. Gaye, ...
American Assassin is as generic an espionage thriller as you’re likely to find. Leaving no cliché unturned and offering a roster of predictable “twists” and unsurprising “surprises”, the production seems more like it was assembled f...
U.S. Release Date: 2017-09-15
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Torture, Profanity, Sexual Content, Nudity)
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Michael Cuesta
Cast: Dylan O’Brian, Michael Keaton, Taylor Kitsch, ...
Is it possible to satirize something that, in and of itself, often crosses the line into self-parody? That's a question that American Dreamz attempts to address. The objects of Paul Weitz's lampoon are two ripe ones: American Bush and American Id...
U.S. Release Date: 2006-04-21
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity, Sexual Situations)
Genre: COMEDY
Director: Paul Weitz
Cast: Hugh Grant, Shoreh Aghdashloo, Sam Golzari, ...
Finally, there's a legitimate challenge to Disney. And, while it's unlikely that Twentieth Century Fox's Anastasia will break the Mouse's stranglehold on animated films, it's a good place to start. Anastasia is easily the best non-Disney anim...
U.S. Release Date: 1997-11-12
MPAA Rating: "G" (Nothing Objectionable)
Genre: ANIMATED
Director: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman
Cast: (voices) Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, ...
Arizona illustrates that, if a filmmaker intends to make a comedy-thriller, (s)he would be better served by emphasizing either the humor or the suspense, not trying to walk some invisible line down the middle. By choosing the latter option, f...
U.S. Release Date: 2018-08-24
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Thriller/Comedy
Director: Jonathan Watson
Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Danny McBride, Lolli Sorenson, ...
Minimal spoilers. There are some references to things that happen and the usual discussion about plot elements available via trailers and pre-release clips, but I have tried to remain as “spoiler-lite” as possible. As always, however, if y...
U.S. Release Date: 2019-04-26
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Action/Adventure
Director: Joe Russo, Anthony Russo
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, ...
Minimal spoilers. There are some vague references to things that happen and the usual discussion about plot elements available via trailers and pre-release clips, but I have tried to remain as “spoiler-lite” as possible. As always, however...
U.S. Release Date: 2018-04-27
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Action/Adventure
Director: Joe Russo, Anthony Russo
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, ...
Film critics love titles that imply something about the movie in question (either in a straightforward or ironic fashion). Thus, it might seem that The Back-Up Plan offers a perfect opportunity to play with the name; after all, as it applies to a ...
U.S. Release Date: 2010-04-23
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Sexual Content, Profanity, Nudity)
Genre: ROMANCE/COMEDY
Director: Alan Poul
Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Alex O'Loughlin, Michaela Watkins, ...