Taking Lives (review)

Plausibility, alas, is not a central feature of *Taking Lives,* even as FBI-agent-versus-serial-killer movies go. The scoffing cop, Paquette, one Montreal’s supposed finest, is played by Gallic supermodel-esque hunk of manliness Olivier Martinez — if you like that kind of thing — in designer clothes, even though we all know real cops all look and dress like Wojciehowicz from *Barney Miller.*

Dawn of the Dead movie review: dead again

So the lights go down and the movie starts and it’s like an assault. And my new friend Brian, who had been assuring me that I couldn’t possibly be more psyched to see this film than he was, he who had obviously made something of a hobby of zombie movies at some vulnerable point during his formative years — and it’s true; I had only seen the original Romero flick for the first time the day before — turns to me and asks plaintively, ‘I *wanted* to see this?’

Secret Window (review)

It’s all about the Depp. And hats. He pulled off the pirate tricorn smashingly, but that’s not as big a challenge as the knit ski cap he dons here, which isn’t the kind of chapeau that flatters anyone. Add nerd glasses, a ratty bathrobe, and a scruffy unshavenness, and Depp is in his glory as … more…

Broken Wings (review)

How refreshing is it to see a movie about Israel that isn’t about terrorism or religion? So refreshing that this cozy little film about domestic strife, motherly exasperation, and sibling warfare feels fresher than the much-explored ground it covers. Dafna Ulman (Orly Silbersatz Banai) struggles alone to raise her four children in a small Haifa … more…

The Reckoning (review)

It’s kinda like a medieval episode of Law & Order, and I always feel that one simply cannot get too much of Law & Order. Here, the role of the nice Catholic cop Chris Noth played in the series will be performed by Paul Bettany (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World), as … more…

Hidalgo (review)

Two words: Veee-go! If there was any doubt — not that there seems to have been — that Viggo Mortensen could pull off this movie-star thing without cute hobbits and magic rings to prop him up, well, check out *Hidalgo.* This is a spectacular film, as grand as old Hollywood and as fun and as breath-taking and as touching as anything you’ll see at the movies today, and while it’s not all down to Viggo, none of it would have worked without him.

Starsky & Hutch (review)

It’s probably a good thing that there isn’t, cuz the culties would be disappointed in this new *Starsky & Hutch.* The only thing that’s even remotely ‘Starsky & Hutch’ about this goofy adaptation is the red and white Ford Gran Torino.