Nicholas Van Orton is a troubled investment banker. He’s haunted by the thought that he’s just turned 48 years old and that’s the age his father was when he committed suicide. Possibly as a result of seeing his dad kill himself, he’s now a cold, almost emotionless businessman. When peopleContinue Reading
The tagline for this film is, “They’re dying to play with you.” I assume that’s supposed to mean the characters in the film, who are all played by attractive people. It also includes the screenwriter and director, who prove that this film can also play with your expectations. Wild ThingsContinue Reading
Bobby Cooper (Sean Penn) is not having a good day. He’s on his way to pay off some bookie-type thugs when his classic Ford Mustang blows a radiator hose and traps him in the small town of Superior, Arizona. He manages to steer the car to a mechanic (Billy BobContinue Reading
Reese Witherspoon, veteran of Fear and S.F.W., plays Vanessa Lutz, a white trash teenager with a penchant for criminal activity, in this surprisingly well done retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood.” Vanessa’s life has just hit rock bottom. Her prostitute mom (Amanda Plummer) and her drug addict stepfather (Michael T. Weiss) have bothContinue Reading
The idea behind Fear is a good one. In fact, it’s so good that it’s been used many times before. Cape Fear, Fatal Attraction, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, and Single White Female are all variations on the same theme. All of these movies revolve around the principle of introducing a charming, seemingly normal, but soon-to-be-revealed-as-psychoticContinue Reading
To label Jacob’s Ladder as a horror film does it an immense disservice. It’s a psychological/philosophical thriller/drama. How’s that for a label? Actually, it still doesn’t do the film justice. The film takes place in the early 1970’s and tells the story of Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins), who was wounded in Vietnam. RecentlyContinue Reading