The Happening

In retrospect, M. Night Shyamalan peaked with The Sixth Sense (1999), a film that was a massive critical and commercial success. Naturally, it would be the yardstick that every subsequent film he made would be judged by. To Shyamalan’s credit, he tried... 

Casualties of War: Extended Cut

Casualties of War (1989) came out towards the end of the trend of Vietnam War movies in the 1980s after the likes of Oliver Stone, Stanley Rubric and others had tried their hand at it. By the time Brian De Palma’s film came out the public had grown... 

Land of the Dead

There’s a certain irony that after all the recent homages (Shaun of the Dead) and remakes (Dawn of the Dead) of George Romero’s iconic zombie movies, the man himself was inspired to get back in the director’s chair once again for Land... 

Land of the Dead: Unrated Director’s Cut

Recent years have seen a resurgence in the zombie film with the good (28 Days Later), the bad (Resident Evil) and the funny (Shaun of the Dead), but all of them pale in comparison to George A. Romero’s trilogy of zombie films. The first two have been... 

Carlito’s Way: Ultimate Edition

There was a lot of anticipation when Carlito’s Way was released in 1993. Director Brian De Palma had just come off a lukewarm reception for yet another Hitchcock homage, Raising Cain (1992) and was in need of a hit to appease the studios. And so, a... 

Assault on Precinct 13

Assault on Precinct 13 (2004) is a remake of John Carpenter’s no frills cult classic (which was a remake of Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo) but with a name cast and a CGI facelift. The results are a mixed bag. While competently filmed and ably acted by the...