A marriage breaking up and a family staying together.
Excellent and realistic separation drama analyzes the back and forth of a divorce and emphasizes how the legal procedure actually boosts and preys on the split; superb cast throughout, but Laura Dern is absolutely amazing.
After a shootout on a flight transporting
prisoners, a flight attendant must outwit a smooth-talking serial killer
and land the plane herself. Silly and unoriginal exploitation; watchable for Ray Liotta's no holds barred overperformance - if you can take it.
Halliwell (no star): "Ridiculous thriller that adds violence and special effects mayhem to the plot of Airport 1975; it may put you off going to the cinema again."
Maltin**1/2:
"Though undeniably silly (a slasher movie on a plane?), this often
delivers the goods through sheer brassiness, and Liotta has a high old
time as the nutzoid killer."
A talented but troubled 18-year-old aspiring artist befriends a
brilliant elderly alcoholic painter who has turned his back on not only
art but life.
Nicely told autobiographical tale of an artist and his pupil has good cinematography and an excellent cats, but showcases a rather reactionary concept of Art.
Maltin***: "Meuller-Stahl is wonderful, and the youthful Morgan keeps up with him at every turn. Deeply felt autobiographical drama..."
An ex-logger comes to the aid of a woman who returns to her hometown in
the Pacific Northwest and finds herself harassed and stalked by a former
cop turned crime lord.
Well-made adaptation of the Castle Freeman Jr. novel has an excellent cast and beautiful landscape photography, but is told like a slow-paced, but unremarkable modern-day Western abandoning the more complex and ambiguous plot of the book.
A motorcycle stunt rider turns to robbing banks as a way to provide for
his lover and their newborn child, a decision that puts him on a
collision course with an ambitious rookie cop navigating a department
ruled by a corrupt detective.
Ambitiously long-spanned drama offers good direction, cinematography and some good performances, but its intention to say something about guilt and fate doesn't quite convince and the narrative is more episodic than epic.
Maltin***: "Ambitious story of fathers and sons, fate and destiny...Deeply emotional story is played with great feeling by a fine cast.what some might see as a series of coincidences is well wrought by director and cowriter Gianfrance into a cohesive and credible saga. Also makes great use of its locations in Schenectady, N.Y."
The story of Richard Kuklinski, the notorious contract killer and family
man, whose wife and daughters never had
any clue about his real profession.
Unfortunately, this fact-based story gets a quite formulaic treatment, but the movie does offer a good cast, and Michael Shannon's stellar performance saves the day.
Maltin***: "Tough, fact-based character study/crime drama...well made and extremely well acted, though it lacks the depth of Scorsese's GOODFELLAS and such TV series as The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire; not surprisingly, actors from all three...are cast here."
When a Las Vegas performer-turned-snitch decides to
turn state's evidence and testify against the mob, it seems that a whole
lot of people would like to make sure he's no longer breathing.
A Tarantino wannabe thriller lacking his wit and plot consistency; overladen with characters and plot threads, indecisive in its tone and with a unexpected and unconvincing twist ending.
Maltin*1/2: "Good cast can't save this patchwork of farce, action, and drama...Keys is solid in her screen debut as one of the bounty hunters, but the story is a mess and director Carnahan seems to be in love with ludicrous, over-the-top violence."
After he awakens in a hospital, a man tracks down and murders the man
that left him and a bank teller for dead during a robbery, only to end
up having the slain thief's associates come after him in retaliation.
Great cast and good production guarantee for some thriller quality, but the implausible plot and the 'hero's ' psychological conflict are quite dubious.
While investigating a series of murders, a homicide detective becomes
the prime suspect when the FBI uncovers his close personal ties to all
the victims.
OK serial killer thriller in a similar vein as Se7en, but much less surprising or compelling.
