The Constant Gardener (2005)
DIRECTOR: Fernando Meirelles
CAST:
Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Danny Huston, Bill Nighy, Pete Postlethwaite, Hubert Koundé, Gerard McSorley, Richard McCabe
REVIEW:
John le Carre’s densely plotted thrillers, blending the usual cloak-and-dagger international intrigue with labrynthine plots which unravel bits and pieces at a time, have a reputation for being difficult to adapt to the screen with their essence and fundamental story and message intact. But Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles and screenwriter Jeffrey Caine have condensed the essence of le Carre’s novel into a slow-burn, unconventional thriller which combines the saga of a man’s search for truth with a simmering indictment of government and business corruption in Africa. Continue reading
Red Eye (2005)
DIRECTOR: Wes Craven
CAST: Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, Brian Cox, Jayma Mays, Jack Scalia
REVIEW:
Red Eye belongs to that specific subgenre of thriller that takes place (mostly) in one confined setting, and also to that of the “Fridge Movie”, where the filmmakers try to keep the level of tension and engagement high enough to distract from plot holes and the underlying flimsiness of the screenplay. Alfred Hitchcock is perhaps the most iconic filmmaker to color within these lines, and widely-regarded as the most masterful at it; Hitchcock was not above working with scripts riddled with plot holes, but overcame them at least in the moment through sheer directorial prowess. Wes Craven’s Red Eye does a serviceable, if not superlative job at this; running a breezy hour and twenty-five minutes, it’s a brisk, economical battle of wits and wills between two characters, but while there are times when the tension is sufficient to distract us, there’s other times when the seams in the storytelling are too evident. Nonetheless, for those who aren’t too critical, it’s nothing particularly ambitious or original, but a tense little thriller that serves its purpose as a breezy diversion.
Continue readingTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
DIRECTOR: Jonathan Mostow
CAST:
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, Kristanna Loken, David Andrews
REVIEW:
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was probably the best summer action movie of 2003. As action flicks go, it’s above average. But it’s not up to the level of either the original Terminator or Terminator 2: Judgment Day . Terminator 3 lacks the vision and depth of its predecessors, and coming next in line after Terminator 2, one of the best sci-fi/action films ever made, it’s a clear step down. This does not mean it is a bad movie. In fact, it is a thoroughly entertaining, sometimes spectacular action movie, a skillful and immensely enjoyable piece of summertime entertainment. But the first two installments were more than that. Continue reading
28 Days Later (2003)
DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle
CAST:
Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, Christopher Eccleston, Noah Huntley
REVIEW:
Hailed as one of the most frightening movies ever made, 28 Days Later is one in a long series of films addressing mankind’s fear of and fascination with the end- a catastrophic apocalypse that nearly wipes out the human race, but in a different vein than most. Director Danny Boyle’s and screenwriter Alex Garland’s vision of the end isn’t nuclear war or environmental disaster, but disease, specifically a genetically engineered virus known as rage. One drop of infected blood and the victim is almost instantly driven into a berserk frenzy by uncontrollable rage. This leads to it generally being considered a zombie movie, but this isn’t your daddy’s zombie movie, where the decaying walking dead somehow manage to get the petrified victims despite moving like molasses. The zombies here are fast, vicious predators, the characters are three-dimensional individuals rather than cardboard zombie food, and the filmmakers supply a little depth alongside scaring the living crap out of the audience. The result is that rare breed, a film that is both smart and scary. Continue reading
Red Dragon (2002)
DIRECTOR: Brett Ratner
CAST:
Edward Norton, Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson, Mary-Louise Parker, Harvey Keitel, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Anthony Heald, Bill Duke
REVIEW:
Following in the footsteps of 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs and 2001’s Hannibal, 2002’s Red Dragon was purported to complete the Hannibal Lecter ‘trilogy’ (but then came the ill-conceived flop Hannibal Rising, detailing Hannibal’s childhood and thus removing the last shred of the character’s enigma- and whose bright idea was it to try to make a Hannibal Lecter movie without Anthony Hopkins?). Actually, Red Dragon is a remake of 1986’s Manhunter, which was itself an adaptation of author Thomas Harris’ book Red Dragon, the first to feature the character of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, meaning although it was the last made, Red Dragon is chronologically the first in the series.
Signs (2002)
DIRECTOR: M. Night Shyamalan
CAST: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin, Cherry Jones
REVIEW:
For his latest venture, The Sixth Sense helmer and thinly-veiled Hitchcock wannabe M. Night Shyamalan has crafted a sparse, low-key thriller using an alien/home invasion scenario as a vehicle for a thinly-veiled parable about faith and predestination.
Continue readingInsomnia (2002)
DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan
CAST: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Martin Donovan, Maura Tierney, Jonathan Jackson
REVIEW:
WARNING: THIS REVIEW WILL REVEAL ASPECTS OF THE PLOT
In hindsight, after such impressive entries on Christopher Nolan’s filmography as The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Inception, and Interstellar, Insomnia feels low-key and even slight, lacking the grandiose ambition the British director would later become known for. Ranked alongside his later efforts (Insomnia was only his third film after little-seen indie Following and the critically acclaimed mind-bender Memento), it’s one of his least memorable films, but a “lesser” Christopher Nolan film is still a taut and intriguing murder mystery/psychological thriller worth viewing. Continue reading
Panic Room (2002)
DIRECTOR: David Fincher
CAST:
Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakam, Patrick Bauchau
REVIEW:
A slickly-crafted thriller that doesn’t quite reach the Hitchcockian levels it obviously aspires towards, but is good for a couple hours of engrossing entertainment nonetheless Continue reading
Along Came A Spider (2001)
DIRECTOR: Lee Tamahori
CAST: Morgan Freeman, Monica Potter, Michael Wincott, Billy Burke, Dylan Baker, Jay O. Sanders, Penelope Ann Miller, Michael Moriarty, Mika Boorem, Anton Yelchin
REVIEW:
1997’s Kiss the Girls was not a great thriller, but even so, this sequel is disappointing. Another adaptation of one of crime novelist James Patterson’s series of page-turning novels following brilliant detective Alex Cross, Along Came A Spider at least brings back Morgan Freeman, but while that’s an ace in the hole, it’s not enough to salvage this hackneyed thriller from the realm of contrived mediocrity it inhabits.
Continue readingHannibal (2001)
DIRECTOR: Ridley Scott
CAST:
Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Giancarlo Giannini, Ray Liotta, Gary Oldman, Frankie Faison, Zeljko Ivanek, David Andrews
REVIEW:
As a follow-up to 1991’s Oscar-winning The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal was one of the most anticipated movies of 2001, but its journey from Thomas Harris’ page to the screen was a tumultuous one. Continue reading