M. Night Shyamalan has proven himself a master of misdirection.His previous mainstream films, "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable," provided effective shock endings by expertly diverting the audience'sattention. The creepy "Sense" convinced viewers that the solution to its central mystery ...
Every decade gives rise to a great mob movie.The '70s provided the first two "Godfather" masterpieces. Sergio Leone's vast epic "Once Upon a Time in America" dominated the '80s, while the '90s offered Martin Scorsese's much-imitated "Goodfellas."Now the '00s can claim "Road to Perdition," an ...
Adam Sandler's movies can usually be judged based on one criteria: How likable does the star come across?In "Little Nicky" and "The Waterboy," Sandler resorted to speech impediments and zany haircuts to animate his exaggerated simpletons. Although the films were sporadically amusing, the lead ...
There's an axiom in science-fiction that the reader/viewer will accept only one element that is a complete stretch of the imagination, and everything else must seem grounded in reality. If that's how one judges Steven Spielberg's latest futuristic tale, then the film is an unqualified ...
John Woo is the consummate filmmaker when it comes to crafting violent eye-candy. His gloriously mechanical technique provides a perfect fit for the hyper-stylized fury of his Chinese films like "Hard-Boiled" and later Hollywood undertakings "M:I-2" and "Face/Off."Unfortunately, when it comes ...
Ha-kaz dineh-ih be-hay-jahAdo ta aokhek-ash-shenDo ni-din-da-hi ol-yehWashindon be Akalh-bi KhosTranslation from Navajo:From northern landsTo southern tropic scenes,We are known to be tirelessThe United States Marinesa stanza from the Marine HymnIn 1942 the war in the Pacific theater was ...
If movies like "Collateral Damage" and "Big Trouble" were a victim of post-Sept. 11 timing, then "The Sum of All Fears" is a beneficiary of it.It's not that the film offers escapist entertainment from the affairs of terrorists, large scale disasters or Middle East politics, but precisely ...
"Insomnia" may be the first gritty crime drama to take place completely during daylight. Of course, that's because it's set in Alaska during the prolonged season when night never comes.This condition proves somewhat of a nuisance for Will Dormer (Al Pacino). An honored LAPD detective, Dormer ...
If "Phantom Menace" resulted in mindless boredom, then "Attack of the Clones" at least offers mindless entertainment.Despite the teen-age girl-aimed trailers that marketed this installment like a galactic "Dawson's Creek," "Episode II" features more edge-of-your-landspeeder moments of ...
Since appearing on the cover of Time magazine at the age of 14 under the heading "Hollywood Whiz Kids," Diane Lane has enjoyed a steady film career. Steady but not outstanding.She's found leading parts in major films that didn't live up to commercial expectations ("The Cotton Club," "The ...