The Story: As a police psychologist works to talk down an ex-con who is threatening to jump from a Manhattan hotel rooftop, the biggest diamond heist ever committed is in motion...from imdb.com
Just left the theater and had to tell you guys how much I loved this movie. Why might you ask? It's got everything I love all wrapped up in one film. It's a contained thriller inside a heist film inside a cop drama and it reminded me how much I love Ed Harris.
So if you're going to the theater this weekend watch it, because we've all seen Taken. Everyone already knows that Liam Neeson is a bad ass.
The Story: Burned out after failing to bust a sadistic serial killer in Los Angeles, FBI agent Joel Campbell retires to Chicago. But the killer refuses to leave the lawman alone, and begins furnishing new clues designed to drive him mad. from netflix.com
Before James Spader became the creepy new boss on the Office and before Keanu Reeves started making terrible, awful movies like The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, came The Watcher.
TW had me at the opening sequence. Keanu is dancing and it's sooo creepy. It's a total warning of the craziness your about to see from him. I could go on and on about how good he is in this movie, but you just have to see it for yourself. He does deranged serial killer like no one else, amazing!
Balancing Keanu's insanity is and FBI agent, James Spader. They are an excellent pair for this cat and mouse game. Spader is better known for his comedic roles, but this is definitely his best role. He's dark and self-destructive and somehow still a good guy.
If You Liked: Collateral, Along Came a Spider, The Bone Collector, The Zodiac
The Story: Soon after moving into their seemingly idyllic new home, a family learns of a brutal crime committed against former residents of the dwelling. from imdb.com
A and I hit up the double feature last night because we're just that cool. We caught the eight o'clock showing of The Thing - my selection - and it did not disappoint. But we ended up unknowingly saving the best for last.
Dream House is an uplifting horror movie. Yeah, you read that right. I haven't seen one this good in years. Supernatural horror is not my cup of tea, but movies like this one are the reason I always end up giving in. When done right, there's nothing like it.
For some reason this one hasn't been doing too well at the box office. My guess, it's because of a lack of advertising. If your local theatre is still playing Dream House, go see it now. If not, save it to the queue. You won't be disappointed.
The Story: After several months in a mental institution, Anna still cannot remember what happened the night her mother died. Her therapist sends her home, hoping that the past is behind her, but home is not the same. Her mother's nurse is now her stepmother to be, and this new mommy dearest has a past of her own.
Neither Liz nor I have ever been into the supernatural thriller sub-genre of horror movies. You know, the ones about ghosts and demons and freaky little kids. I mean, a demon possessed girl who's stuck in a well simply cannot crawl out of your TV. She's STUCK IN A WELL!!! When the ghost/monster is too outrageous to be believable, we just don't buy it. Horror movies need to be based in reality for them to truly scare us.
That's why we both hesitated to watch The Uninvited. It seemed to fall into that supernatural horror category. We watched it anyway. We were running out of decent horror movies to recommend to customers at the Buster, and we both like Elizabeth Banks. Anyway, I'm glad we watched it because The Uninvited is one of the best scary movies I've seen in a long time. The freaky-things-jumping-out-at-you parts are subtle but very freaky. The entire movie gives you that whole, bad things are about to happen vibe and just then when the tension builds to the point of exploding...
Oh, I can't tell you, but it's good. The Uninvited is a horror movie with good scary parts and a good story. Who knew they could co-exist so peacefully?
If You Liked: The Others, What Lies Beneath, The Ring, A Perfect Getaway
The Story: FBI Agent Jennifer Marsh thought she had seen it all, until a tech savvy psycho begins to use the internet as a murder weapon.
So, you've probably already realized this, but I like cop movies. Doesn't matter what's going on, as long as the good guys are fighting the bad guys. And no, not all cop movies are the same.
This sounds weird, but I love the killer in this movie. This was the first movie I remember with the "internet can kill you" idea, and I think they play this card the best.
Online or not, this bad guy has the most inventive kills. He is just bat $#*! crazy and creeps me out like no other. I always sleep with a light on after watching this one.
If You Liked: The Watcher, Chaos, Payback, Unthinkable
The Story: An FBI agent is taken to a top secret government location and asked to locate three nuclear bombs that have been hidden in major US cities by a known terrorist, but when the government brings in a black ops interrogation specialist, the agent is forced to find out just how far she’s willing to go to save innocent lives.
Holy moly! Unthinkable is a crazy intense movie. I could not take my eyes away from it. It is so insanely good. It takes good cop/bad cop to a whole new level.
The reason you haven’t heard of this one is because it was never released in theaters. Something about the production company going over. I won’t go into details. Google it if you must know, but you should definitely add it to your must-rent list. The film does an amazing job of maintaining suspense all the way to the end. Samuel L. Jackson and Micheal Sheen give outstanding performances. I would argue its Micheal’s best, and if you’re seen many of his other movies, that’s saying something.
I will give a small disclaimer on this one. The only negative stuff I’ve heard on this one comes from people who are put off by the torture scenes. I’ll admit they’re a little gruesome, so if you’re more tenderhearted than the rest of us, you may want to skip this one. (If you can handle Death Race or any of Rob Zombie’s movies you’re one-hundred percent in the clear.)
Unlike Zombie’s films, Unthinkable isn’t full of violence for the sake of violence. It raises some very important ethical issues about warfare and torture and freedom. That being said, I’m usually not too fond of these types of movies. A regular at the Buster calls them ‘existential’ films, because they are existential. (You can Google that one too.) Anyway, movies like that usually leave me feeling really pissed off. I’m either mad at the world for being such a crapy place or mad at myself for watching such preachy garbage. Unthinkable, on the other hand, is one of those rare treats that raises all the right questions but lets you come up with the answers for yourself.
If you liked: Nothing But The Truth, Untraceable, Rendition, The Kiling Room
The Story: Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.
First let me warn you, this movie is not for the impatient, but if you really like a good thriller it's worth the watch.
Fallen is an excellent game of cat and mouse. The film's supernatural elements help to add tension and depth to it's characters, and they're not over the top like so many of today's movies (like Legion).
Fallen is the movie that made me fall in love with Denzel. It also gave me, my sisters and nieces the wonderful inside joke and car-ride game called "touch you make you ugly." Ten plus years later, it still holds up.
The Story: A young woman witnesses the murder of a van full of illegal immigrants. When the mobster behind the immigration ring murders her to keep her silent, her husband dedicates his life to avenging her death.
Since I work at a video store we get privilege of renting Tuesday’s new releases on Friday. Every now and then I give the films that go straight to DVD a try to see if they are worth anything. Most of the time there’s a reason why these movies didn’t make the big screen. They suck. Fortunately, that’s not always the case. A couple of weeks ago, Liz and I took a chance with Dolan’s Cadillac, and it paid off.
DC is based on a short story written by Stephen King. Stephen’s okay, I'm not a big fan. Science Fiction isn't my thing. Good thing DC is more of a revenge thriller. Christian Slater and Wes Bentley star as opposing forces and both give one of their best performances to date. Slater does evil, super villain so well that it is scary, and Bentley’s wounded soul will make your heart break.
There are some pretty amazing B films out there just waiting for you to give them a shot.
If You Liked...
Law Abiding Citizen, Death Sentence, The Contract
The Story: Newlyweds Cliff and Cydney are honeymooning in beautiful Hawaii, where a pair of murderous psychopaths happen to be on the lose. Suspicious of everyone they meet, they'll have to watch each other's back if they want to make it off the island alive.
"You gotta get the details right or else all you’re making is one big crap-tastic movie." This quote from A Perfect Getaway couldn’t be more right. APG hinges on the details. It’s a great who-done-it story that will leave you guessing until the end.
While it’s not exactly an edge of your seat thriller, stick with this movie until the end. APG does an excellent job of building some major tension in the first hour, and then letting it all explode into some awesome action sequences towards the end.
We give APG a big fat A for casting. The three main actors featured in the movie all play roles that are outside of their norm, which makes for a nice change. This is by far the best role we’ve ever seen Steve Zahn in.
Another plus, you can check out Chris Hemsworth before he was Thor
If You Liked...
The River Wild, Joy Ride, The Hitcher, Unknown, Identity, The Uninvited, Law Abiding Citizen
The Story: Carmen and Wayne, a married couple on the verge of divorce, become the next targets of a mafia hit man and his zealous, but inexperienced, new partner.
We don’t fully understand why this film got a limited release in the United States. It has all of the major elements of a hit film: a great cast, well written story, good set, and cool stunts.
This is one movie that all of you should see.
Mickey Rouke’s performance as the hit man will give you chills. Thomas Jane and Diane Lane should be paired as a couple more often, and Joseph Gordon Levitt does psychopath so well that you almost don’t recognize him at first.
JGL also earns the move a plus for being thrown out of a second story window, onto a Gazebo.
If You Liked...
The Client, Fracture, The Sentinel, The General’s Daughter, Collatoral
The Story: Two high school students plan to commit the perfect murder. Instead, they start a deadly game of cat and mouse with a determined detective.
I'm pretty sure that everyone I know, knows about my love for crime movies. Hey, everyone's got their niche right? Sometimes Liz just doesn't get what I see in these movies. They can be a bit predictable at times, but they all stand out to me for a specific reason.
MBN stands out for one reason, Ryan Gosling. Its not what you think. Yes, he is a sexy, sexy man but he is a total psycho in this movie. Its scary how disturbed his character is in this movie. He should definitely play the bad guy in more movies.
They Story: A Hitman forces a cabbie to spend the night driving him from job to job.
I've never really been a Tom Cruise fan. I'm a product of the late 80s, so I haven' watched must of his earlier work. I just don't bye the hype. However, if any of you kids haven't seen him in this movie I need you to stop what you're doing and go rent it. Now.
This film is dark and gritty and awesome. Tom definitely proves that he has the talent to be amazing. His ability to make you fear and empathize with a monstrous killer shows true skill. I wish he would take more roles like this one.
Credit must also be giving to the rest of the ensemble cast who complete this fast-paced thriller.
Oh Russell Crowe. I've had a few ups and downs with this guy. Gladiator and State of play being the ups, and Robin Hood and Tenderness being just painful.
Robin Hood was so painful that I almost didn't watch The Next Three Days. Luckly, this is an up for Crowe.
The Story: John Brennan's wife has been accused of murder, but he is unwilling to let her spend the rest of her life in jail.
Two reasons to watch TN3D are Elizabeth Banks and Olivia Wilde. I'm a huge fan of both ladies and they are excellent in this movie. Banks gives her best performance to date.
Perhaps the best thing about TN3D is that I felt like I was helping Brennan free his wife. I was right beside him every step of the way.
Check out this clip of Liam Neison emparting his jail breaking expertise to Crowe, and you'll get an idea of what you're in for.
I feel like I've been seeing trailers for this one forever. A and I saw it last night and it was amazing! A great conspiracy/political thriller and a really good love story. You don't see that combo too often. If you're headed to the theater tonight, see this!
