A man who specialises in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into
the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he
confronts genuine terror.
Above-average Stephen King adaptation delivers the scary goods with a good John Cusack performance, but after a genuinely doom-laden introduction slowly goes over the top and adds an ambiguous ending.
Maltin***: "Genuinely scary chiller, nicely paced with clever touches, brings new meaning to the Carpenters' song "We've Only Just Begun.""
After three years of fighting in the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker
concludes his journey towards the Dark Side of the Force, putting his
friendship with Obi Wan Kenobi and his marriage at risk.
The birth of Darth Vader concludes the trilogy as a bombastic interstellar opera.
On renewed viewing I still think that Anakin Skywalker's metamorphosis to Darth Vader a bit unconvincing; much of the fun comes from the supporting characters and diverse aliens.
Maltin***: "Long, uneven, but meticulously crafted entry...has some of the same faults as its immediate predecessors, but delivers an emotional wallop as it brings the prequel trilogy" to a conclusion. Yoda dominates every scene he is in - and gives the best performance in the film!"
A spy organization recruits an unrefined, but promising street kid into
the agency's ultra-competitive training program, just as a global threat
emerges from a twisted tech genius.
Entertaining homage/parody of the James Bond spy spectacles is very well produced, but definitely a bit too long.
A LAPD officer will stop at nothing to force out the interracial couple who just moved in next door.
Basically a bad neighbor thriller, there's a subtext of racial tension that irritates; Samuel Jackson L. Jackson as the villain easily steals the show.
Maltin**1/2: "Provocative and well-acted, but film's constantly shifting sympathies make it difficult to know what the point is supposed to be."
A black-ops interrogator and an FBI agent press a suspect terrorist
into divulging the location of three nuclear weapons set to detonate in
the U.S.
Highly dubious test arrangement about torture is unnerving with its contrived plot, stilted dialogues - and it's feigned message (in the extended version).
Maltin*1/2: "Attempts to make Jackson's character appear normal only succeed in making him seem even more psychotic. Other than Sheen's chameleon-like performance, there is no upside here. In fact, the whole movie is unthinkable."
A rejected military soldier transforms into Captain America after taking a
dose of a "Super-Soldier serum", but being Captain America comes at a
price as he attempts to take down a war monger and a terrorist
organization.
Fairly entertaining comic-book adaptation with some good period detail; thankfully, the original's unflattering patriotism is toned down, and the villain is not the Third Reich itself, but a renegade madman Über-Nazi.
Maltin**1/2: "First half of this period piece is good fun, but story loses its thrust and doesn't even provide an honest ending. Evans is quite good in the title role; visual effects turn him into a puny version of himself for the early scenes."
Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House.
Congenial visualization of an ambitious and complex literary concept seems true to James Baldwin's intended message and also manages to emphasize its relevance today.
In 2028 Detroit, when a man - a loving husband, father and good
cop - is critically injured in the line of duty, the multinational
conglomerate OmniCorp sees their chance for a part-man, part-robot
police officer.
Not bad as a well-made sci-fi actioner, but lacking any of the original's biting satire and humor.
Maltin**: "Slick but hollow remake...Brazilian director Padilha's U.S. debut confirms that he can stage action scenes, but someone should have improved the superficial and humorless screenplay."
In the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find
shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious
characters.
More closed-room mystery drama than a Western, this movie is slow-paced, talkative and very violent, but as usual Tarantino keeps the tension throughout helped by a great cast, excellent cinematography and a score by Ennio Morricone.
Over the course of a long, hot Louisiana summer, a 10-year-old
black girl discovers that her family's
affluent existence is merely a facade.
Grand and fascinating Southern family drama that successfully studies the opalescent layers of truth and guilt behind situations; the wonderful cast gives the complex story credibilty and the excellent cinematography creates a realism steeped in a Southern Gothic atmosphere.
Halliwell**: "A family saga seen through the distacing eyes of a child; it is an itriguing story of shifting memories and blame, as the truth of situations change."
Maltin***: "Absorbing tale...Exeptional cast, led by young Smollett, give credence to the often fanciful story, which is drenched in Southern gothic atmosphere. Impressive writing and directing debut for Lemmons."
The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of
diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
Arguably Quentin Tarantino's best movie, a stroke of genius concerning several intertwined plots swinging back and forth in time, a treasure trove of cinematic allusions, tongue-in-cheek humour and a very carefully and accurately selected cast; all his subsequent movies have been more or less variations of what you can find here.
Halliwell***: "Clever, witty, violent celebration of junk culture, drawing rather too heavily on past thrillers but blessed with some excellent performances which crackle with menace."
Maltin***1/2: "Audacious, outrageous look at honors among lowlifes, told in a soemwhat radical style overlapping a handful of separate stories. Jackson and Travolta are magnetic as a pair of hit men who have philosophical debates on a regular basis; Willis is compelling as a crooked boxer whose plan to take it on the lam hits a few detours. (In fact, there are no slackersin this cast.) This voluble, violent, pumped-up movie isn't for every taste - certainly not for the squeamish - but it's got morevitality than almost any other film of 1994."
A District Attorney has his life turned upside down when he's involved
in a hit and run and another man is arrested for his crime and charged
with murder.
Fairly suspenseful thriller with an unconvincing plot and some unpleasant characters; once again, Samuel L. Jackson is worth the watch.
Maltin**: "Strictly by-the-numbers thriller is poorly scripted and filled with surprises that aren't very surprising."
A DEA agent investigates the disappearance of a legendary Army ranger
drill sergeant and several of his cadets during a training exercise gone
severely awry.
Well-made thriller with a good cast disappoints with an unexpected twist ending turning the whole plot topsy-turvy.
Halliwell (no star): "Ludicrous military thriller, set in murky jungle and heavy rain so that it is often difficult to see what is happening; nor is it possible to understand, since sense and logic are thr first casualities of its twisting narrative."
Maltin**: "Essentially a whodunit, this film keeps adding layers of confusion so that it becomes less interesting as it goes along! The final "twist" seems to negate the entire story, like a bad shaggy-dog joke. Travolta is in great form, however."
