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Director: Gregory Hoblit

Starring: Diane Lane, Billy Burke, Colin Hanks, Joseph Cross, Mary Beth Hurt

Director Gregory Hoblit (Fracture, Primal Fear) has turned out far better projects than this formula cop film about the hunt for yet another serial killer. It aspires to the legacy of Silence of the Lambs and the Saw series, but lacks the intriguing characters and relentless tension of more successful films of this genre. The story shows a little imagination and has a 21st century angle with some kind of message about the dangers of internet voyeurism and media responsibility, the execution of this timely message however, is mediocre.

Diane Lane is FBI agent Jennifer Marsh, who, like every other cop in movies, struggles with balancing the job with her personal life. She has been widowed and is trying to raise her 8 year old daughter with the help of her mother, played by Mary Beth Hurt whose role mostly consists of shaking her head alot. On the job, Jen chases internet criminals and this field gets alot more tense when a ridiculously capable techno villain kidnaps a man and sets up a website where each visit brings the victim closer to death in a grisly manner.

Untraceable is a mix of the tension of the Silence of The Lambs, and the sadism of Saw with some Youtube and Myspace mixed in. The end result however, is a little disappointing and is only likely to be a good choice for easily-pleased fans of the suspense/horror category.

Director: Susanne Bier

Starring: Halle Berry, Benecio Del Toro, David Duchovny, Alexis Llewellyn, Micah Berry, John Carroll Lynch, Alison Lohman, Omar Benson Miller

Things We Lost In The Fire is the first English language feature by Danish director Susanne Bier and is a powerful, but dreary drama about dealing with loss of a loved one and the pain of addiction. There are potent performances, but not a lot of chuckles with this honest Allan Loeb (21) screenplay. The mood, look and subject matter are all dark, but if you are in the mood for an emotional drama, you could do a lot worse, but the whole thing still feels too familiar.

Halle Berry is Audrey Burke, a suburban housewife with a happy marriage and two kids until her husband, Brian (David Duchovny) dies suddenly and tragically. In her efforts to cope, she finds herself leaning on Brian’s best friend, Jerry (Benecio Del Toro) for support, though she hated him previously for his disturbing presence in her husband’s life. Jerry is a recovering addict who is shocked and changed by the death of the one person who never gave up on him. With his honest and soft-spoken manner, Jerry manages to help those dealing with the loss of a special man, while attempting to find himself again, as well.

Things We Lost In The Fire is a cliched drama, but a well-written one, marked by fantastic acting by Oscar winners, Barry and Del Torro, who haven’t seen much of for too long. For whatever the reason, the film was largely ignored by critics and award presentations, though a couple of acting nominations would have been well-deserved.

Director: Calli Khouri

Starring: Diane Keaton, Ted Danson, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes,

Writer/director Calli Khouri (Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood) decided it’s time that women have a light-hearted caper film of their own, and here it is. This story began as the true tale of some British women ripping off the Bank of England, turned into a made for TV film and now this Americanized version. The music and style has a 70s feel to it. Keaton gives an exaggerated, wearisome performance and the script isn’t all that funny, but I’m always up for a decent scam picture.

Diane Keaton is Bridget an upper middle class housewife whose life is turned upside down when her hubby, played by Ted Danson loses his job. Times quickly turn tough and she gets a job at the Federal Reserve Bank. That’s one way to help out. Another is to team up with single mom, Nina (Queen Latifah) and Jackie (Katie Holmes) and steal old cash before it gets destroyed. You don’t have to guess which method they choose, since the film opens with police interviews and flashes back to them throughout.

Imagine The Thomas Crown Affair blended with Thelma and Louise (which Khouri also wrote) and you will have some idea of what to expect from Mad Money. Movies like this have been done better and done worse, but if you enjoy the caper genre then its worth catching on DVD.

“This place is like a Las Vegas casino. No windows. No Privacy and a shit load of money…Only difference is nobody here ever has any fun.”

“It’s like we’re stealing the same money over and over. In fact it’s not like stealing money at all. It’s more like recycling.”

Movie lines from Mad Money

Director: Richard LaGravenese

Starring: Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon, Harry Connick Jr., Kathy Bates, Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Writer/director Richard LaGravenese (Freedom Writers) takes Cecelia Ahern’s novel and re-teams with Hilary Swank to make a formula film that should come with a warning for diabetics and people on sugar-reduced diets. It is overly sentimental (thus, making it on par with the genre) and has unconvincing characters, a few good lines and average performances to create a completely forgettable film.

P.S. I Love You starts with the seemingly mismatched couple of uptight Holly (Hilary Swank, still sporting her Million Dollar Baby abs) and charismatic and saintly Gerry (Gerard Butler from 300) having an argument. After we are shown how perfect he is, we flash to the scene of his wake. Holly is crushed and lapses into a shell, hiding from her friends, Denise and Sharon (Lisa Kudrow and Gina Gershon) and mother (Kathy Bates) until she gets a letter from her deceased loved one. We watch flashbacks of their relationship as Gerry guides Holly back into an even improved life with lots of ‘awwww’ moments and a few laughs.

P.S. I Love You is the kind of movie that raises the performance expectations for us poor real world guys by creating irritatingly perfect male characters. Women love these motion pictures. Comparative films bring The Notebook and all it’s clones to mind. For guys, there are a few funny lines and lots of scenes of Hilary Swank looking good.

Director: Stefan Ruzowitsky

Starring: Karl Markovics, August Diehl, Devid Striesow, Martin Brambach, August Zirner, Veit Stubner, Sebastien Urzendowsky, Andreas Schmidt,

The true story of the largest counterfeiting ring ever is subject of this Austrian sub-titled feature and believe if or not, it wasn’t the mob, the KGB or Danny Ocean and his pack of cool conmen. Nope, it was Adolph and his Berlin boys. Based on the book of Adolf Burger who was one of the participants in this grand scale double cross. Wonderful performances, haunting sets and an absorbing story help director Stefan Ruzowitsky, create a magnificent motion picture that took the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film in 2008.

Karl Markovics is Sally Sorowitsch, a tough and successful Jewish criminal in 1930s Berlin, who makes his money as the premiere counterfeiter in Europe and doesn’t care about the Nazis, until he is arrested by them and sent to a concentration camp. Soon, he is using his artistic talent to please them and stay alive. Soon, however a Nazi officer named Herzog (Devid Striesow) takes Sally to be leader of a squad of specially skilled prisoners whose task it is to successfully counterfeit the British pound for the Nazi’s benefit. At first, things go smoothly, but in time, one of the workers, Adolf Burger (August Diehl) begins to think that they should not aid the Nazi cause.

The Counterfeiters is a strong drama and WWII period piece. The subtitles are worth it to enjoy this film, particularly if you like true stories of people in the most difficult of situations. Imagine Schlinder’s List, if it was set inside a German concentration camp and you will have an idea of what to expect here, although it lacks the emotional impact of the stronger earlier holocaust film.

Director: Julian Schnabel

Starring: Matthieu Amalric, Marie-Josee Coze, Marina Hands, Max Von Sydow, Emanuelle Seigner

This moving and absorbing feature tells the true story of Elle editor, Jean-Dominique Bauby, who suffered a stroke and found himself stricken with near complete paralysis. The story is relentlessly grim and effective at giving the viewer a glimpse at the horrific “locked-in syndrome”, forcing us forced to imagine ourselves in this unimaginable situation. The flawless performances enhance Schnabel’s inspired vision that brought this one-of-a-kind first-person novel to the screen.

Matthieu Amalric plays a successful and self-absorbed editor, who begins the film seeing his hospital room-sized world through only his left eye after awakening from a short coma. Viewers hear his internal thoughts and see his flashbacks as the horrible story of condition unfolds. Over time, Bauby, who can only blink his left eye, learns to communicate, deals with personal issues and writes a book, upon which the film is based upon.

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly is another film dealing with the true tale of a person dealing with incredible adversity. Like previous features such as My Left Foot, our ability to deal with challenges is the real story here. Wonderful cinema, I suppose, but pretty depressing for an evening’s entertainment.

Director: Marc Forster

Starring: Khalid Abdalla, Atossa Leoni, Zekeria Ebrahimi, Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada, Homayoun Marshadi, Shaun Toub

German director, Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Monster’s Ball) has done an outstanding job turning David Benioff’s screen treatment of Khalad Hosseini’s best-selling novel into one of the pre-eminent films of 2007. The story is strong, and though it does get intermittently slow, it is still engaging and moving, throughout. The acting is nothing short of flawless and enhances the film, immeasurably. The direction is stellar, particularly in the creation of settings from Kabul in the late 70s, and then the stark contrast two decades later. Subtitles are used for much of the dialog, but the added viewer effort is worth it.

The story here is that of Amir, and is split into a period when he is a child (played by Zekeria Ebrahimi) in Afghanistan just before the Soviet invasion, which forces his father (Homayoun Marshadi) to take him and leave the country. Left behind is their servant, Rahim (Shaun Toob) and his son, Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada) who was Amir’s closest friend, until the shame and guilt of an unfortunate event came between them. Amir and his father end up in America, where an adult Amir (Khalid Abdalla), has put Afghanistan behind him, taken a wife and written a novel, when his past suddenly comes rushing back to him with one phone call.

The Kite Runner is an excellent drama about human relations and how they are impacted by events of the world around them. For those who are comfortable with subtitled films, this is a must see, with the same kind of appeal, and greater impact than Namesake from 2006. For those of you, who never watch subtitled motion pictures, why not?

Director: Luke Meyer, Andrew Neel

Starring: Skip Lipman, Daniel McArthur, Rebecca Thurmond, Kenyon Wells

One of the wonderful things about documentaries is their ability, when done well, to open our eyes to worlds within our own, of which we were completely unaware. Luke Meyer and Andrew Neel have given us just such a feature in Darkon, which tells the story of a group of passionate individuals whose love for fantasy and search for acceptance leads them into a real life version of fantasy role-playing games. The characters are interesting and often filled with an undercurrent of pathos, as are their stories.

Darkon is an unusual but compelling, documentary about adults who retreat on weekends into a world of medieval fantasy kingdoms and battles. The story is told in a straightforward manner, switching back and forth from the subjects’ lives in our modern society to their intricate fantasy game, complete with countries, rulers, alliances and battles, with armor and foam weapons. There is a strange melancholy to their choice to give so much time, effort and emotion to their make-believe world. I watched much of this film with an uncomprehending furrowed brow, as I tried to understand, and make sense of it all, but I was also completely absorbed by it.

Darkon is a wonderful documentary for those who, like me, have an insatiable curiosity about the world around us and how people find so many different ways to interact with it. Many will find this candid glimpse into the lives of rather immature, and socially awkward, gamers to be boring and disturbing. Those with an interest in fantasy role-playing, particularly in a live action setting will find it irresistible. If you have enjoyed previous features like Spellbound and King Of Kong, then this will be just your sort of motion picture.

Director: Jay Russell

Starring: Alex Etel, Ben Chaplin, Emily Watson, Priyanka Xi, David Morrissey, Brian Cox

CGI meets the formulaic story of a boy’s relationship with an unusual creature. This has been done with dogs, bears and even killer whales, but has never been done with the Loch Ness Monster until now. The graphics are enjoyable, though the story is a little disjointed and lacks the emotion that these features can deliver (Anyone else seen Old Yeller?). The stock characters are bland, but sufficient, and dialog is standard family film fare.

The story here begins in a modern day Scottish pub with an elderly stranger (Brian Cox) offering the real story behind a famous picture of ‘Nessie’ to a couple of tourists. He tells the story of a serious, water-fearing young boy named Angus (Alex Etel) living with his mother and sister in a country inn along the shores of Loch Ness, while his father is off fighting in WWII. One day while wandering near the Loch, Angus finds a strange egg, that soon hatches into an even stranger little water creature. Angus’ attempt to raise the baby sea monster are complicated by his mother, a regiment of soldiers billeted at the inn and their new handyman, Lewis (Ben Chaplin).

The Water Horse is an ordinary family animal film, where the animal happens to be a mythical creature (Remember Harry and the Hendersons?). If you (or your little ones) enjoyed features like Free Willy, then this is an inoffensive, but ultimately forgettable choice. Nessie fans will probably want to see it, too, and will enjoy the CGI on the creature and the building upon the Loch Ness legend, but for a better choice (for Nessie fans, not family viewing) check out The Incident at Loch Ness.