Category: Thriller


Let Me In

September 30th, 2010 — 5:54pm

****

Let Me In- sp You probably don’t want to see this movie unless you like Vampire films with all the blood, gore and death, so they can live another day. But if you like this genre you will get a lot more than just the horror show. It is a very touching story of the coming of age of two 12 years old kids (even if one is 250 years old in a 12 year old’s body) which beautifully shows the innocence of adolescent awakening. There is a very vivid and painful depiction of  bullying by young people which reminds us of the dread that a kid who is the victim of it will feel every day. When there is revenge for this type of treatment, you can imagine what a Vampire. can do. The audience also experiences a palpitating anticipation, which is served up in this type of a movie and greatly helped by a music score with appropriate sound effects which reverberates through your body.  This is all the work of Matt Reeves, who wrote the screenplay based on the novel  Let The Right One In and a Swedish movie by the same name. Reeves who made Cloverfield, was a guest speaker at our screening of this film. He was very clear on what he wanted to achieve, apparently keeping true to parts of the novel, paralleling the European film and writing from some of his own childhood experiences. He used two excellent child actors, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Grace-Moretz and allowed them to teach him what a 12 year old might feel in these  unusual situations (of course this required them to rev up their imaginations to the fullest). They really did an outstanding job as did Richard Jenkins who was put in the role of a most evil person and yet the audience almost wanted him succeed in his grim tasks. Be aware that about 20 % of our screening audience which probably didn’t know what the subject matter was going to be, walked out on the movie during the first 15-20 minutes. There certainly was no one under 40 in those walkers. If they had stayed until the end they might have appreciated the thoughtful writing, excellent acting and a top notch Vampire film.(2010)

Comment » | 4 Stars, Drama, Horror, Romance, Thriller

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

September 9th, 2010 — 7:01am

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - 2010* * * *
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
– nf – This is the Swedish portrayal of the first of the three popular novels by Stieg Larsson. There is an American film of this novel due out in 2011. One of us read the trilogy and the other did not. When you have read the book, you are aware of all the subplots, relationships, twists and turns that are left out and of course you pretty much know how the mystery is solved. With a few exceptions, the movie followed the book fairly closely. The one of us who didn’t read the book was pretty much able to keep track of the somewhat complicated plot and the various Vanger family members which could be a tad confusing. The male lead here is not a crusty or a brilliant detective but rather an investigative journalist by the name of Mikael Bolmkvist (Michael Nyqvist) who has just been convicted of libel with a pending jail sentence and has been asked to investigate the disappearance of a the niece of wealthy Henrik Vanger which occurred about 40 years before. The female lead is not the typical beautiful women you might expect to see in this situation but rather a very unusual 26 year old girl name Lispeth Sallander (Noomi Rapce), boyish, attractive, body piercings, dresses in black, rides a motorcycle. and has the huge dragon tattoo on her back. As a child she has had some type of psychiatric care and requires a guardian to manage her finances but is a brilliant computer hacker and has a photographic memory. There is violence, sex and nudity at times in combination but all in the service of the plot, not overdone, but enough to clearly deserve the R rating. The story will pull you in and the direction by Niels Arden Oplev captures the gamut from the beautiful outdoors in Sweden to the effects of painful violence. Despite it being almost 2 and half hours, the film does not drag at all. If you like this movie and are a fan of the late Stieg Larsson who didn’t get a chance to see the great success of his work, there are two more Swedish movies in the can which complete his trilogy and then there is the American version of the first book which is coming out next year. I also heard that additional stories were found on the author’s computer. The Netflix DVD which we viewed had an interview with Noomi Rapace who was quite impressive as she described how she approached her role and inhabited Lispeth for 1 1/2 years while the three films were being made. 2009

Comment » | 4 Stars, Crime, Drama, Foreign, Mystery, Thriller

Inglourious Basterds

September 7th, 2010 — 1:33am

Inglourious Basterds* * * * *
Inglourious Basterds
– sp – The fact that this movie is written and directed by Quentin Tarantino probably best defines it. There are hints of great movies of the past in it and there is even a key plot theme of a movie being shown within this movie. It is two and a half hours but time flies and the unusual story is sure to hold your attention. The setting is World War II and the character played by Brad Pitt is leading a special group of US soldiers to kill Nazi soldiers. The film is filled with unpredictable twists and turns and you will not figure out who is going to live or die. Each character is well developed and the acting is outstanding by an ensemble of well chosen actors and actresses with a truly great performance by Christophe Waltz as an SS officer.There is a touch of gory violence but even the fiery special effects are quite beautiful. The fact that prior to the preview screening that we attended, we were searched for cameras by men in black suits suggests that Tarantino and company hopes that this film will make a surprise explosion on the summer movie scene. It deserves your attention. To be released mid August. (2009)

Comment » | 5 Stars, Action, Drama, Thriller, War

Casino Jack

September 6th, 2010 — 8:42am

Kevin Spacey* * *
Casino Jack
– sp – Jack Abramoff was a very successful but very greedy Washington lobbyist who now sits in a federal jail serving out his 4 year prison term scheduled to released later this year. Director George Hickenlooper had the idea to tell his story and enlisted writer Norman Snider to put together the screenplay based on the facts of this true story.

Hickenlooper spent 30 hours visiting Abramoff in prison to gather as much information as possible to add to their study of the historical documents upon which this movie was based. Oscar winning actor Kevin Spacey who plays Abramoff participated in one of these five jailhouse visits and he apparently hit it off quite well with the protagonist despite their being at opposite poles of the political spectrum. If you know the widely reported story of how Abramoff took excessive fees from multiple Indian tribes, was involved with shady business deals and paid off congressmen, landing at least one in jail and causing Tom Delay majority leader of Senate to quit this position and his Senate seat, you may be a little bored as the details are played out. On the other hand, many viewers will be getting a great history lesson at the same time that they are seeing a very well done movie. Barry Pepper is sufficiently nefarious in looks and deeds as Michael Scanlon, Abramoff’s partner who deserved more than he got for punishment. Jon Lovitz plays an almost completely serious role as a not so smart and crooked enough to end up in jail, business associate of Abramoff. Political junkies will love this movie. You can’t help coming away from seeing it without wondering how can we let our political system continue to function without reigning in lobbyists. Hickenlooper related an incident, which he touches upon at the end of the film, where while in jail anticipating his release shortly before the upcoming 2010 elections Abramoff has expressed a desire to collaborate with the Democrats and reveal information that he knows about the Republicans in order to hurt them in this and future elections. While this film is scheduled for wide release and distribution prior to the November election, there is also another movie coming out at the same time about Abramoff, which is an actual documentary and may have the same name as this one. Instead of Kevin Spacey that one will star the real Abramoff. (2010)

Comment » | 3 Stars, Biography, Crime, Thriller

Formosa Betrayed

September 6th, 2010 — 8:09am

Formosa Betrayed* * * *
Formosa Betrayed
– sp – An FBI agent in the 1980s is following the clues of a murder of a mid-western university professor in search of the killers. If you didn’t know anything about the history of Taiwan alias Formosa, you would still no doubt find this a very riveting, suspenseful, exciting thriller. However, if you know the history of this embattled country or as you may be able to figure it out from the unfolding story, the intrigue becomes even more meaningful. You may remember that little island off the coast of mainland China was the refuge of Chiang Kai-shek and his followers after the communists took over the mainland of China. It became a very strategic location as the United States made a commitment politically, financially and militarily to protect it from the Communists. What you may not have appreciated is that this government was corrupt and oppressed its people in the worst ways possible in order to keep itself in power. His son continued the martial law after Kai-shek’s death in 1975. It was not until a time frame after this movie that Taiwan became a true thriving democracy. Will Tiamo, a co-star of the film was also one the creative forces behind the movie as one of the writers and the person most responsible for raising enough money to make the film before it was even written or cast. He wanted to tell the story of his parent’s generation and the oppressive environment which existed in the land of their birth. FBI agent Jake Kelly played by James Van Der Beek encounters deception, murder, and torture. He also realizes that his own government, for political reasons, is not keen on exposing these terrible things. This all adds up to a top rate adventure story with conflict and a moral dilemma of the main character. The screenplay was based on various true events and was skillfully directed by Adam Kane. Although the movie has just received a distribution deal with a release date at the end of February, 2010, we suspect that it may not make it to your local theater or hang around there very long. So if you are at all inclined to see an exciting history lesson, be sure to look for it or put it on your Netflix queue. (2010)

Comment » | 4 Stars, Thriller

Transsiberian

September 6th, 2010 — 2:50am

* * * *
Transsiberian
– sp – Shades of the Orient Express. If you like train movies and really good mysteries you will love this film. Woody Harrelson does an excellent job in one of the lead characters. The female leads(Emily Mortimer and Kate Mara) are even better and the story and the director deserves credit for a top notch movie. Ben Kingsley is outstanding as a Russian policeman. No dull moments here. It will hold your interest every minute. 2008

Comment » | 4 Stars, Drama, Thriller

The Bank Job

September 6th, 2010 — 2:36am

* * * *
The Bank Job
– nf – Apparently based on a 1972 true story of a real bank robbery in London. A group of small time crooks led by a character played by Jason Statham gets the opportunity to pull off a big time bank robbery of safe deposit boxes. They had no idea that they would become involved in scandal and corruption at all levels from the police to royalty. The movie gets off to a slow start but you will be drawn into it and as the pace picks up, it becomes quite suspenseful and intriguing. These thieves are an interesting and believable group of characters as are all the people trying to catch them. It is well done and worth seeing. 2008

Comment » | 4 Stars, Drama, Thriller

Tell No One

September 6th, 2010 — 2:30am

* * * * *
Tell No One
– rm – This is French movie in the best Alfred Hitchcock mystery tradition without any humorous touch. The movie takes it’s time in skillfully weaving the web around the murder in question. The lead actor is low key and outstanding. The movie draws you in and keeps you thinking during the movie and after it is over. (French with subtitles but you will not even realize you are reading them) 2006

Comment » | 5 Stars, Drama, Foreign, Thriller

Nothing But the Truth

September 5th, 2010 — 11:50pm

* * * *
Nothing But the Truth
– sp – This movie was clearly inspired by the Judith Miller/Valerie Plume story, but is not that story. It was a very well-crafted film about two strong women, one a journalist with a Pulitzer Prize nominated story which happens to “out” a strong and committed C.I.A. agent. The consequences of all this are dire and difficult on both women and their families and the film provokes much thought about “our right to know”, the “right to not reveal sources” and all the unintended consequences therein. Well worth seeing. 2009

Comment » | 4 Stars, Drama, Thriller

Not Forgotten

September 5th, 2010 — 11:46pm

* * *
Not Forgotten
– sp- Simon Baker, who plays the Mentalist on a popular network TV series, stars in this movie of mystery and intrigue set at the US- Mexican border. Religious cult rituals of an (Santa Muerte) actual fast growing religion in this area set the tone, as does some very graphic violence. Everything and everyone are not always what they seem to be which makes the movie an interesting experience. The acting, photography, lighting and editing are excellent. Screenwriter and Director, Dror Soref, told us that at a test run of the movie, the audience missed too many subtle points so pieces were added and it was recut. We still missed a few points and conclude that the movie didn’t make the top shelf. 2009

Comment » | 3 Stars, Thriller

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