Children of Men

Children of Men (2006) may be set in 2027 but it is a film for our times. It imagines a world where women are infertile and this has plunged society as we know it into chaos, plagued by environmental collapse. England has become a police state with armed... 

The Prestige

In the cinematic duel between two films about 19th century magicians, The Prestige (2006) certainly had the advantage over The Illusionist (2006) with big name stars, a large budget and a major studio backing it. The film was directed by Christopher Nolan... 

The Weather Man

Gore Verbinski is a throwback to filmmakers from the classic Hollywood era in the sense that he’s a journeyman director working in a variety of genres: the romantic comedy (The Mexican), horror (The Ring) and action/adventure (Pirates of the Caribbean).... 

Blood and Wine

Director Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson had a number of memorable collaborations in the 1970s (Five Easy Pieces and The King of Marvin Gardens) and worked once together during the 1980s (The Postman Always Rings Twice) and again during the 1990s (Man... 

Bewitched

The big screen version of Bewitched (2005) has had a checked past, mostly spent in development hell as many screenwriters and filmmakers took a stab at trying to get it made. Nora Ephron and her sister Delia finally got it off the ground with their self-reflexive... 

Batman Begins

The fact that it took eight years for a new Batman film to be released illustrates how freaked out the studio was over the commercial and critical failure of Batman and Robin (1997). Warner Brothers gave the franchise a much needed rest while they quietly... 

Around the Bend

Around the Bend (2004) is one of those character-driven, independent films that desperately wants to evoke the hey-day of American cinema in the ‘70s but comes up too short because it fails to transcend its contrived premise. It’s a shame because...