8 Movie Collection: Star-Studded Drama
February 6, 2013
With All the Pretty Horses (2000), director Billy Bob Thornton set out to make a Heaven’s Gate (1980) for the new millennium by adapting Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name. However, movie studio executives took the film away from him and recut...
Zodiac: Director’s Cut
January 18, 2008
After the technically accomplished but ultimately hollow thriller Panic Room (2002), director David Fincher returns to familiar subject matter with Zodiac (2007), a dramatization of the murders perpetuated by the infamous serial killer known as Zodiac...
Manhunter
September 20, 2007
I think I’ve lost count how many different DVD incarnations there of Michael Mann’s film, Manhunter (1986). Anchor Bay released a superb Limited Edition Director’s Cut and then one without many of the extras. Then, they released a Michael Mann’s...
Running with Scissors
February 2, 2007
Running with Scissors (2006) is the latest entry in the dysfunctional, eccentric family genre alongside the likes of recent additions, The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and The Family Stone (2005). It’s a genre that allows actors to grunge themselves down,...
25th Hour
May 1, 2006
Set in a post 9/11 New York, Spike Lee’s latest ensemble drama converges around a convicted drug dealer’s last day of freedom before being hauled off to serve seven years in jail. Based on a book and screenplay by David Benioff, the writer...
Red Eye
February 10, 2006
Wes Craven’s 20th film as a director is a calculated attempt to move away from his usual slasher fare and produce a real-time, psychological thriller. Red Eye is perfectly perfunctory featuring some above average performances but, ultimately, absurd...
The Bourne Supremacy
July 27, 2005
Reading about The Bourne Supremacy, or indeed its predecessor The Bourne Identity, chances are you’ll hear the phrase ‘better than Bond’ any number of times and after the lacklustre outings of Pierce Brosnan (after Goldeneye anyway)...
Troy
July 19, 2005
Since the surprise success of Gladiator (2000) there have been several sword and sandal epics that have tried to replicate its glory. None have come close. One of Hollywood’s most recent attempts has been Troy (2004), a fast and loose adaptation of...
The Bourne Identity (Special Edition)
June 6, 2004
We open with a common hook, someone who has lost their memory and doesn’t know who they are. This time it’s Matt Damon as Jason Bourne. He is found floating unconscious in the rough Mediterranean Sea, when picked up by a boat and nursed back to health...
The Glimmer Man
November 30, 2003
Ahh, Steven Seagal, aka, ‘The Portly One’, how I love you! How much pleasure have I derived from your films over the years? Oh trembling hand let me respond! Too much! Thou art a God! On the other hand… How much of my life have I wasted...
