Category Archives: Thriller

The Counselor review

Directed by Ridley ScottWritten by Cormac McCarthyThis is the first screenplay written directly for the big screen by Pulitzer Prize-winning McCarthy, whose dusty, western novels often concern themselves with the darkness in men's hearts—adapted in movies like No Country For Old Men and All The Pretty Horses, as well as the post-apocalyptic The Road. This,…Read More

Captain Phillips review

Directed by Paul GreengrassWritten by Billy Ray, based on the book A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips and Stephan TaltyGreengrass is the king of docu-dramatic liberal action cinema. I realize that's a bit of a mouthful, and that if I'm right about the association, the UK filmmaker…Read More

Rush review

Directed by Ron HowardWritten by Peter MorganThere aren't a lot of great motor racing movies. Um, scratch that. There aren't any. Grand Prix? It's over-long and hasn't aged well. Le Mans? Other than Steve McQueen, it doesn't have much to recommend it. Days of Thunder? They tried to redo Top Gun in NASCAR and the best…Read More

Metallica: Through The Never review

Directed by Nimród AntalWritten by Antal, Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, Robert Trujillo, and Lars UlrichNine years ago Metallica starred in Some Kind of Monster, which, in the history of rock music, gets my vote for the most revealing look inside a band dynamic. Whatever mystique they might have had, it was demolished by the metal godfathers' display of…Read More

Shadow Dancer review

Colette (Andrea Riseborough) was born into a family tied to the IRA. It’s 1993 and she’s caught carrying a bomb onto the London Underground. Mac (Clive Owen), the British intelligence’s man in Northern Ireland, gives Colette one chance to avoid life in prison away from her young son: report to the Brits on what her…Read More

2 Guns review

Directed by Baltasar Kormákur Written by Blake Masters, adapting the Steven Grant graphic novels When I saw the generic poster and trailer, looking like another boilerplate action thriller from Denzel Washington, this time with Mark Wahlberg along for the ride, there wasn't much about it that grabbed me. The director has 101 Reykjavik and Contraband on…Read More

The East review

Directed by Zal BatmanglijWritten by Batmanglij and Brit MarlingThough it has a rising star in the lead (Marling) and an Oscar-nominee in support (Ellen Page), this eco-thriller is an underdog in the landscape of summer releases, and well worth seeking out.Marling has made waves in recent years, as an actor, writer and producer, on films…Read More

Trance review

Directed by Danny Boyle Written by Joe Ahearne and John Hodge Like Steven Soderbergh, Danny Boyle is that rare filmmaker who can be called an auteur without really being a screenwriter. And just like Soderbergh, Boyle is so friggin' talented and confident in his camerawork, editing, and general cinematic verve that he can make the…Read More

Olympus Has Fallen review

Directed by Antoine FuquaWritten by Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin BenediktIt's been awhile since I've seen such an egregiously lunkheaded movie as Olympus Has Fallen. Happy to let its talented cast deliver recycled, leaden dialogue and go through the motions of a recycled, leaden plot, its real failing goes beyond that, because a movie can be…Read More