In Mark Forster’s World War Z (C-), a ham-fisted and improbable zombie adventure, Brad Pitt turns in a vacant-eyed performance to match the sleepwalking screenplay. There are three nice action sequences, one of which will probably not screen on an airplane any time soon.
Tag Archives: Thriller
Soderbergh’s “Side Effects” Takes on Big Pharma
Steven Soderbergh’s Side Effects (B+) is both a twisty psychological thriller and a cunning examination of the pharmaceutical industry with an all-star cast including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum and Jude Law. Soderbergh uses his trademark ability to showcase characters in shades of gray to leave viewers guessing about a death and who is to blame. It’s a smart and sometimes wickedly on the mark indictment of medicine’s role in modern day relationships.
Steven Soderbergh’s Sprawling “Contagion” Twisty and Topical
NOTE: 2016 marks the 70th anniversary of the Centers for Disease Control. Many believe this film is a very accurate depiction of the CDC in action. The show “On Second Thought” on Georgia Public Broadcasting’s NPR radio will examine the role of CDC in popular culture in July 2016, featuring interviews with Silver Screen Capture.
Pandemics, public health, punditry and political cronyism collide in Steven Soderbergh’s excellent medical thriller Contagion (A-). The director employs a sprawling, star-studded cast and a multi-narrative approach to help tell an ultra-realistic story about how a virus spreads globally into the lives of its characters. More of a worldwide mosaic than intimate character drama, the film is highly effective in showing the science behind the spread of disease and the ramifications and ripple effects on people from a variety of walks of live. Kate Winslet is superb as an epidemic intelligence officer. Matt Damon is also strong as an everyman whose life becomes consumed by something much larger than himself. Jude Law also gets to do some unexpected work with a snarky character. The film is well-shot and well-researched and is a standout in its genre without employing sensationalism.
David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive” a Mindbender of a Masterpiece
Brace yourself for David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (B+), a wild ride into the illusions of Hollywood where nothing is what it seems; or if it is, it won’t be for long. Naomi Watts is wonderful as a classic Lynch protagonist in a film that may or may not involve souls switching bodies, color-coded lights that may or may not involve parallel universes and just enough weirdness to keep you hooked.
“Unbreakable” Twists and Turns
Bruce Willis plays a security guard who discovers he has supernatural powers after a traumatic accident in M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable (B). Willis is charismatic and emotive opposite a mesmerizing Samuel L. Jackson as a mysterious mentor. The writer/director’s trademark twists and turns are not quite as revelatory as his Sixth Sense, but he vanquishes himself nicely with judiciously paced thrills and intrigue.
Christopher Nolan Imprints Short-Term Memory Thriller “Memento” with Panic and Panache
Telling its story backwards, Christopher Nolan’s Memento (A) may be the only logical way to get to the central mystery of a man with short-term memory who knows his wife is dead but doesn’t know who killed her. As played by Guy Pearce, the lead character is a fascinating enigma. Nolan shows his penchant for a puzzle with a spectacular through-line of storytelling and a most excellent payoff.
M. Night Shyamalan Makes Mighty Mark with “Sixth Sense”
M. Night Shyamalan’s supernatural thriller The Sixth Sense (A-) pairs Bruce Willis and child actor Haley Joel Osment for a tender and suspenseful look at the afterlife. As a psychologist helping a boy who believes he sees and talks to people who have died, Willis is absorbing and effective. Newcomer Osment is very good in his role. Shyamalan turns the screws with great suspense, leading to a stunning showdown with fate.
Cunning “Talented Mr. Ripley” a Sun-Baked Identity Thriller
Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley (A-) is a chilling psychological thriller with Matt Damon playing an American sociopath and scam artist in Italy who covets the life of a couple (Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow) and devises a plan to make their life his own. Picturesque settings and mystery twists and turns mark this beguiling film. Damon is spectacular in the lead role.
Terry Gilliam’s “Twelve Monkeys” is Bizarre and Brilliant
Visionary director Terry Gilliam comes back from the future in Twelve Monkeys (B+), an imaginative time travel fantasy with Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt. Inventive and moody, the film tames the eccentric filmmaker’s most savage instincts and sustains a very suspenseful and engaging thriller throughout.
“Seven” is a Masterful Action Thriller
David Fincher’s Seven (A-) is relentless in its sustained somber tone as two detectives – Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman – track down a serial killer inspired by the “Seven Deadly Sins.” Unlike typical buddy cop movies, there’s no room for levity or comic relief as the central duo plumbs the depths of depravity and faces their own demons in a grim, rainy, unnamed metropolis. It is handsomely crafted, extremely suspenseful and disturbing.
“Crimson Tide” is Exciting Thriller
Tony Scott’s Crimson Tide (B+) is a fascinating look at the shades of gray that sometimes collide with a tightly regimented world. The movie’s conflict revolves around the mixed interpretation of an emergency signal and how two officers on a U.S. military submarine – Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman – clash in how to lead their men to handle their pressure-cooker situation. It’s a taut, well-written and action-packed thriller, all the more impressive in its tight space.
In “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,” Lynch Returns to the Scene
A prequel of sorts to his eponymous cult television series detailing the final days of the slain Laura Palmer’s life, director David Lynch fashions a tonally off-kilter slow-burn drama in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (C-). Replacing the sometimes giddy, carefree world of log ladies and damn fine cups of coffee with a generally oppressive sense of dread and sorrow, Twin Peaks The Movie never finds its distinctive voice. Viewers are left at a distance, voyeurs to a world where a dwarf speaks backwards and in subtitles and where additions to the seedy pop-mythology don’t serve to enrich as much as disturb. Lynch has built more artfully on his vision of the underbelly of small-town Americana in Blue Velvet and his Twin may have peaked in serialized form rather than this celluloid format. Kyle MachLachlan is pretty vacant as the central detective, and Sheryl Lee brings very little to the mysterious Laura Palmer whose mystery doesn’t seem much solved by this puzzling film.