Crime

Blade 2 film review

The original Blade was a demonstration of frenzied visual effects, a technological vampire bloodbath with no meaning or direction. Although the series is still very physical, emphasizing battle sequences and special effects over story and characters, Blade II knows where the first film went awry and does not repeat those mistakes. Instead of creating a ….

Cocaine Cowboys film review

Year: 2006 Billy Corben’s exuberant documentary Cocaine Cowboys not only refrains from the type of overly preachy commentary that we usually see in drug-related documentaries, but it almost comically recounts the bloodbath that was Miami’s cocaine heyday, while delivering more solid reporting and facts than most of its predecessors. Part of the nirvana of the ….

The Glass Shield film review

At least it sounded like a good idea. Unfortunately, the execution of the new Miramax film, The Glass Shield, a drama set in an L.A. sheriff’s station, leaves the viewer with little more than the perception that he’s just seen a movie that could have been something, but didn’t quite make it. The Glass Shield’s ….

Kill Bill: Volume 2 film review

Editor’s Note: Last year Sean O’Connell and Jeremiah Kipp went at it — Tarantino style — over the merits of Kill Bill: Volume 1. The results were classic: O’Connell loved it, Kipp despised it. With the second installment of the highly-anticipated flick, the tables are turned. Now O’Connell’s got his blade sharpened, and while Kipp ….

Mad Max film review

"They say people don’t believe in heroes anymore. Well, damn them! You and me, Max, we’re gonna give ’em back their heroes!" Those empty words come from the chief of police (Roger Ward) to his top dog on the force. Mad Max, read as a fairy tale horror film, follows the logic of a Jacobean ….

THE DEPARTED

Genre: CRIME / ACTION / THRILLER / DRAMA Release Dates: October 6, 2006 Trailers: Quicktime Trailer Trailer on Yahoo Official Websites: thedeparted.warnerbros.com warnerbrothers.com Taglines: Cops or Criminals, when you’re facing a loaded gun what’s the difference? Lies. Betrayal. Sacrifice. How far will you take it? Production Company: Vertigo / Plan B / Initial Entertainment / ….

Sling Blade film review

www.filmfetish.com/images/starf.gif”> Unlike most critics, I’ve been largely unimpressed with Billy Bob Thornton’s work in the past. From One False Move to A Family Thing, I’ve always found his writing to lack depth and miss a true focus. But then there’s Sling Blade, and with Thornton in complete control as the writer, director, and star of ….

Rear Window film review

Not only is Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window one of his best pictures, it’s one of the best films ever made altogether. The master craftsmanship on display (placing virtually the entire film within the confines of the apartment of hobbled photographer L.B. Jeffries — the inimitable James Stewart — referred to as “J.B. Jeffries” on the ….

Serpico film review

Damn dirty cops! It’s gonna take Frank Serpico to clean up this town!!! Based on a true story of rampant corruption and internal affairs in New York City (where else?), Serpico stands as the consummate cop movie, right up there with The French Connection. But while The French Connection is a standard cops-and-robbers movie, Serpico ….

Showtime film review

Rodney Dangerfield knew it. You can’t get respect being funny. Nobody gets anywhere unless you’re taken seriously. At least that’s the company line these days in Hollywood, where it seems most of the entertainment industry’s best funnymen are becoming more interested in eliciting tears than laughter. It is really quite ironic then that the one ….

BATMAN BEGINS

Studio: Warner Brothers Cast: Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Gary Oldman as Lt. James Gordon, Ken Watanabe as Ra’s Al Ghul, Katie Holmes as Rachel Dodson, Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow, Tom Wilkinson as Carmine Falcone, Rutger Hauer ….

MIAMI VICE

Genre: ACTION / CRIME / DRAMA / THRILLER Release Dates: July 28, 2006 Trailers: Quicktime Teaser hi-res hi-res hi-res French Trailer Quicktime Teaser and Full Trailer Quicktime Flash Trailer Trailer in Various Formats Flash Trailer Official Websites: miamivice.com Taglines: From the director of Collateral and Heat. Production Company: Universal Pictures / Forward Pass / Michael ….

Strangers on a Train film review

Picking Alfred Hitchcock’s best movie is a sucker’s game. His talents stretched across so many eras and worked in too many styles to reduce matters to one choice. But it’s hard to resist thinking of Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) as one of the director’s greatest creations; nobody was better at illuminating the charismatic sort of ….