Spies Like Us Al Pacino and Collin Farrell go undercover in The Recruit Somewhere during his long and illustrious career, after The Godfather but before Scent of a Woman, Al Pacino became a parody himself. Once the king of larger-than-life yet vividly real characterizations, he now substitutes bravado for emotional truth. These days, Pacino tends … Continue reading
“A straightforward look at a man forced to assume responsibility for a lifetime of selfish actions.” At the screening of The Operator I attended, two of the film’s reels were accidentally shown out of sequence, resulting in an unintentional Memento-like effect. While the two thrillers do share certain qualities, The Operator doesn’t utilize tricky cinematic … Continue reading
Solo Effort Roman Polanski’s latest strikes a perfect chord There’s a pivotal moment in The Pianist when its protagonist, celebrated composer and pianist and real-life Holocaust survivor Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody), is called upon to give a singularly crucial command performance. Discovered hiding in the parlor of an abandoned house by a Nazi soldier (Thomas … Continue reading
Recruited into the CIA by an assiduous special agent (Al Pacino), computer whiz James (Colin Farrell) proves himself a natural at the Agency’s secret training camp. There, he rises to the top of his class while falling for Layla (Bridget Moynahan), a fellow trainee. But when he’s tapped for a top secret operation to root … Continue reading
Duped Thriller about a deadly videotape is a pale copy of the original A remake of the most popular Japanese horror flick of all time, The Ring centers around a mysterious videotape that causes viewers to die precisely seven days after watching it. After exposing the tape’s contents (a hysterical mixture of surrealist imagery and … Continue reading
After unwittingly exposing herself and her loved ones to a mysterious videotape that kills viewers precisely seven days after watching it, an investigative reporter (Naomi Watts) has only a week to track down its origins and, hopefully, avert death. This occasionally frightening remake of a popular Japanese thriller begins, naturally, on a dark and stormy … Continue reading
Many people proclaimed director Wes Anderson a genius after 1998’s Rushmore. I, however, felt it premature to bestow such a title to a filmmaker with only two films to his name. Now, with The Royal Tenenbaums, I find myself enthusiastically joining the throng. At the risk of sounding like a latecomer to the party: Wes … Continue reading
Extracurricular Activity It’s an interesting paradox that the demographic to which The Rules of Attraction will perhaps hold the most appeal – Generation X-ers who grew up reading the novels of Brett Easton Ellis – will probably be the audience most turned off by the film. That’s due, in large part, to the fact that … Continue reading
Grade: B+ Kinsey Scale: 4 (In addition to endlessly pining for Sean, Paul has a few other near-sexual encounters. Gay icon Faye Dunaway plays Paul’s own Mommie Dearest. Countless gratuitous shots of hot college boys prancing around in their underwear, along with a few full-frontal glimpses of Victor (Kip Pardue), the totally gorgeous European traveller). Continue reading
Nobody manufactures pre-packaged, synthetic cheer quite like Disney, as proven by this relentlessly merry sequel. Tim Allen returns as Santa, who discovers his employment contract has a “Mrs.” clause, requiring him to marry or forfeit the job. With the “de-Santafication” process already underway, he hurries back to the suburbs to find a bride, and to … Continue reading
Mike Rucker Writes 