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Director: Kenneth Branagh

Starring: Michael Caine, Jude Law,

Director Kenneth Branagh, best known for his Shakespearean projects, adapts another stage play to the screen, with this remake of a 1972 mystery feature. Branagh makes effective use of unusual camera angles, moody lighting, and colors while the top-notch performers masterfully deliver their dialog that is as clever as one would expect from a theatrical conversion. The Harold Pinter, classic-style mystery keeps the viewer wondering right to the end. The first twist comes before the film even begins, with the casting of Michael Caine, who played the younger man in the original 1972 motion picture, and accepted the role of the mature man in this 21st century edition, while Jude Law steps into Caine’s previous role.

Jude Law is Milo Tindle, who is visiting the wealthy husband of his lover, to ask him to grant her a divorce. Instead of a quick agreement, the two men verbally spar, until Wyke (Michael Caine) offers Milo a chance to make some money that will allow him to support his new, money-draining woman. A deal is struck, but that is just the beginning. The twists soon begin and just don’t stop, though they are overdone and will put off some viewers.

Fine acting aficionados, and fans of old-fashioned, not-over-until-its-over, mysteries, will appreciate this visually stylish and twist-filled actor’s workshop. It starts out stronger than it finishes, but is still enjoyable. I have never seen the original film, though I’m told that it compares poorly (when isn’t the original better?). I can’t make comparisons, myself, but I did find this rendition to be entertaining, though the first half is noticeably stronger than the second.

Director: David Moreau, Xavier Palud

Starring: Jessica Alba, Alessandro Nivola, Parker Posey, Rachel Ticotin, Fernanda Romero

The Eye is a re-make (some might say ‘rip-off) of a popular Chinese film called Jian Gui, and as far as these global remakes, go, this one isn’t too bad. Writer Sebastien Gutierrez moves the story along sparingly and spends most of his screen time trying to scare viewers with sudden, jump-out shocks and disturbing images. It is a simple film, but is fairly well handled by dual directors, David Moreau and Xavier Palud. The loose script pulls together in the last half hour for a decent ending.

Jessica Alba is Sydney Wells, a concert violinist who is happy, popular and productive, despite being blind since she was five. That soon changes, however, when she receives an eye transplant and regains her vision. She doesn’t get any time to enjoy her newly-revived sense, however, since almost immediately she begins to have hallucinations, that grow in frequency and intensity (What kind of story would it be, if they went away?). To rid herself of these relentless episodes, she soon feels that she has to find out the story behind the donor of her eyes.

This isn’t a bad suspense film and is a less effective cross of Sixth Sense and The Ring. Those that can look past the fact that it is a re-make, will find a mediocre, but enjoyable thriller that mananges to create some tension, but still lacks in story and character. What was it called again?

Director: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Lorraine Gray, Murray Hamilton

Jaws was the 70s phenomenon that turned little known director, Steven Spielberg into a star. It became a well-deserved box office smash on the strength of great characters and dialog, and Spielberg’s masterful creation of tension and suspense, broken from time to time by some congenial humor. The acting is uniformly strong, but the young Richard Dreyfuss and the grizzled veteran, Robert Shaw were particularly remarkable. The screenplay, written by Peter Benchley, who also wrote the best-selling novel, is very strong, though the ending gets a little far-fetched in the true Hollywood fashion

Roy Scheider is Martin Brody, the water-fearing small-town sheriff of the vacation community of Amity. Life as a lawman is pretty quiet, until a mangled body is found washed up on the beach. Soon, Amity seems to be offering a different kind of seafood buffet, and Brody struggles to handle the problem, while dealing with the Mayor (Murray Hamilton) and business people, who are clamoring to keep the issue quiet and considering an offer from a harsh local fisherman named Quint (Robert Shaw) to take care of their problem. With some help from a visiting oceanographer, Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), Brody comes to a decision.

Jaws has held up well as an excellent motion picture over the 30 years that have passed since its release. Younger viewers who haven’t seen it, will enjoy it today and those who have seen it before, will be reminded of how good it is, upon pulling it off the forgotten shelf once again.

Director: Tom Gries

Starring: Charles Bronson, Ben Johnson, Richard Crenna, Jill Ireland, Charles Durning, Ed lauter

Director Tom Gries, who also worked with Bronson to make Breakout (another pretty good film), does a fair job in turning this Alistair Maclean novel and screenplay into a pretty good western mystery. Bronson plays his usual appealingly cool steely eyed thinking man and is backed up by a strong supporting cast of familiar character actors, and of course, his on, and off, screen companion, Jill Ireland. The story, here, is a cut above the usual 70s action fare. The first two acts of this film are a pretty taut, and intriguing, classic mystery, though act three falls back onto some mediocre action.

Charles Bronson is John Deacon, an accused murderer who is captured by a rugged Marshall (Ben Johnson). The two of them mange to get on a medical supply and troop train that is also carrying the Governor (Richard Crenna) and the lovely Marica (Jill Ireland). Deacon’s journey to his own hanging, soon turns quite eventful, however, when people on the train start dying of non-natural causes. The classic setting of a moving train for a murder mystery, is perfect and there are some nice wilderness shots and some decent action worked in, as well. As mentioned above, the third action gets a little tired, but still not bad.

Breakheart Pass is a different kind of western and a different kind of mystery, so fans of both genres may find it worth renting, or staying up to catch on a late night feature. Bronson fans will like it, as well, but I imagine they have already seen it and I’m not telling them anything new. That seems like as good a point as any to wrap this up. I have to get going if I’m going to head them off at the pass…

Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jackson Bond, Jeffrey Wright

German director, Oliver Hirschbiegel, takes a stab at this, the third film version of the Jack Finney’s novel, Invasion of The Body Snatchers. Kidman’s performance is stiff, as usual, but still good, though some of the supporting cast is not quite up to her standards. The story is fine, but tired, both my earlier Body Snatcher films and, even more so by all the movies since, that have had the same kind of mass impersonation concept.

Nicole Kidman is Carol, a single mother of a young son (Jackson Bond), dealing with an ex husband, and a new boyfriend (Daniel Craig) when, following some kind of space shuttle mishap, people begin to act strangely. Just in case, one or two of my readers don’t know this story, I won’t say anymore, since those of you who do know the story don’t need me to tell you anyway.

Fans of the original(s) will find this Kidman version to be a slightly different, but respectful, addition to the Body Snatcher family. The overall result is a bland science fiction thriller that really lacks punch.

Director: Danny Boyle

Starring: Cliff Curtis, Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rose Byrne, Benedict Wong, Chris Evans, Troy Garity, Mark Strong

Danny Boyle, the director of 28 Days Later, and producer of 28 Weeks Later returns to the director’s chair for this small scale, story-driven science fiction thriller. The effects are modest, but well done and the performances are quite good. The story starts out as quite engaging, though a little far-fetched, but comes apart at the end to reduce what had been a pretty solid sci-fi effort to a mediocre attempt.

The setting is a space ship, the Icarus II, in the not-so-distant future. A crew of 8 is on their way to the sun, which is dying. Humans have come with a plan to plant a giant bomb on the surface on the sun. The theory is that this giant explosion will re-ignite the dying star and, thus save all of humankind. How come Hollywood’s scientific plans always include a bomb? Anyway, that doesn’t matter. This crew is piloting their ship, the second to attempt at this risky plan to get as close to the sun’s surface as possible, before sending the bomb. This sounds like Armageddon, but it is nothing like it. The small crew, as you might expect, soon find themselves faced with difficult decisions and, since they are out of radio contact with Earth, they have to come up with their own answers.

The Sci-fi crowd will welcome this movie with open arms since it beats re-runs of Deep Space Nine and how many times can you watch Revenge of The Sith? This isn’t a bad movie and will be enjoyed by the genre fans and others will likely find it decent, well-acted entertainment. The ending gets really far-fetched (well, impossible, I think, actually) and hard to follow, but I enjoyed the movie anyway, though I probably won’t be adding it to my home video collection.

Director: Francis Lawrence

Starring: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan

Director Francis Lawrence, and the rest of the production team for ‘I Am Legend’, have pulled off quite an incredible coupe by setting their film in a deserted New York City that is being slowly reclaimed by nature. The work they have done with this is truly impressive. Equal to this feat of determination and logistics, is Will Smith’s stand out performance as a lonely survivor in a deserted city landscape. The story is well-written, with loads of suspense and action, but doesn’t quite manage to transcend its weak zombie movie genre. If you stop and think, at all, you will quickly find yourself saying, ‘Wait a minute’. Without giving away any plot twists, let me ask you this. Who has been feeding those fish for three years?

Will Smith is a military doctor/researcher named Robert Neville, who finds himself, apparently, as the sole survivor in New York City, where he wanders about, with his dog, Sam, entertaining himself by day, before locking himself down in a fortress home by night. The genesis of this situation, which sprung from a cancer cure, is revealed slowly through flashbacks. The reason for his cautious behavior after dark, however, is revealed much sooner, and it is the familiar movie world problem of infected humans, who are reduced to snarling, single-minded predators with absolutely no instinct for self preservation. I could go on with other issues in that same vein, but I’ll leave it to you to pick out your own favorite plot holes.

Imagine Castaway, set in a deserted NYC and then cross it with 28 Days, and you will have a pretty good idea of what to expect here. If the whole thing seems familiar, that’s because it’s based on the same book (I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson) as the 1971 Charleton Heston film, Omega Man. Once you get past the logic flaws, Will Smith’s acting and the cool, deserted New York City setting combine with taut tension and explosive action, to make this one worth seeing.

Director: Frank Darabont

Starring: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, Frances Sternhagen, Alexa Davalos, Nathan Gamble,

Frank who? Frank Darabont’s first two directorial efforts (The Shawshank Redemption & The Green Mile) were both nominated for Best Picture, but since his third film, The Majestic, he has been a rare sight indeed. He is back as writer/director of yet another Stephen King work, in The Mist. This impressive film slipped into theatres as quietly as the weather phenomenon it is named for, and will surprise viewers with great characters, played by an experienced cast of back up performers who are really given their chance to shine here. The effects are good enough, but its real strength is its taut and moving story.

Thomas Jayne is David Drayton, a steady and likable commercial artist, living in a summer town in Maine with his wife and son. Following a damaging wind storm, David, his son, Billy (Nathan Gamble), and irritable neighbor, Brent (Andre Braugher) head to the store for supplies. While in the store, a mysterious mist rolls into town, which might have been ominous enough, even if a bloodied townsperson hadn’t staggered in exclaiming that there is something in the mist. It isn’t long before this is confirmed and the group has some hard choices to make. Soon the group is slintering into three different factions, lead by David, whose ideas of what to do don’t jive with Brent (whose character doesn’t really make any sense) and Mrs. Carmody, who is magnificently played by Oscar winner, Marcia Gay Harden. I don’t know what happened to her in The Invisible. I can only guess that she, like I, did not want to be there (if this comment makes no sense to you, read my review of The Invisible and try to keep up in the future, ok? He he). At any rate, the tension is as thick as the mist and the unyielding story builds to an unforgettable ending

The buzz on this one is that this is the best ending since Sixth Sense. I’m not sure about that, but it is damn good. The tension builds on our natural fearof the unknown and the unseen, while the characters are strong, even down to the shorter roles. For fans of the “there’s something out there” kind of suspense films, its worth seeing. This is a very good thriller and may be the surprise hit of the year, but don’t tell anyone how it ends.

Director: David S. Goyer

Starring: Justin Chatwin, Margarita Levieva, Marcia Gay Harden, Chris Marquette, Alex O’Loughlin,

This unfortunate feature is based on a novel, that had to be better than the movie or it would have never been published. Lead actor Justin Chatwin looks like a young Tom Cruise, but has none of the latter’s talent and charisma. Academy Award winner, Marcia Gay Harden (from Mystic River – don’t worry I had to look it up, too), acts as if is she is embarrassed that her Oscar win hasn’t garnered her better roles than this, while her performance here shows why it hasn’t. Female lead Margarita Levieva (TV series “Vanished”) is miscast and unconvincing as the beautiful juvenile delinquent who dresses like she is about to embark on a midnight cat burglary and tries to act like a tough kid, but her role is so poorly written there is no chance that she could pull it off.

Justin Chatwin is Nick Powell, a teenage poetry writer who lost his father and is neglected by his mother, played by Marcia Gay Harden. Margarita Levieva is Annie Newton, a pretty high school thug, who lost her mother and is neglected by her father. Did you catch the clever subtlety there? Anyways, Annie kills Nick, because she thinks he ratted her out to the cops, then has to try to cover it up. This is complicated by the fact that Nick, instead of going where ever dead people go, becomes invisible and wanders around unable to be seen or heard by anyone. Rather than immediately heading to the girl’s change rooms (He is a teen, for God’s sake! Give me something!), he wanders around trying to figure out what’s going on. Couldn’t he have done that after a shower scene?

Close your eyes and imagine a movie that has been inspired by Ghost, except the story, while as far-fetched as Ghost, has none of its style and charm to offset the shortcomings. Imagine, as well, that instead of Patrick Swayze, you have a no-talent Tom Cruise look-a-like in the lead. Now imagine, taking this dvd and throwing it Frisbee-style across your backyard for your dog to leap up into the air and make one of those spectacular mid-air catches that we all love so much. Now, you have found a way to enjoy this movie.

Director: Ben Affleck

Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton, Amy Ryan, Amy Madigan, Titus Welliver,

Ben Affleck picked up a pen and, along with first time screenwriter Aaron Stockard, turned Dennis Lehane’s novel into a screenplay. Following this, in another first, Affleck got behind the camera instead of in front of it. So does the elder Affleck, who is box office challenged as an actor, have what it takes to be a director? The answer is a definite maybe. The direction is strong in this film, but the uneven, disjointed story tries too hard to be tricky, and could have been tightened with fewer characters and a better flow. There is some good writing here, though, and Affleck does a wonderful job capturing the neighborhood atmosphere that he was seeking.

Casey Affleck is Patrick Kenzie, a P.I. who, along with his life and business partner, Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan from The Heartbreak Kid), specializes in finding people who have skipped out on “jet ski payments”. The pair is surprised and unsure when Beatrice and Lionel McCready (Amy Madigan and Titus Welliver) want to hire them to augment the search for their missing four-year-old niece by reaching people in the neighborhood ‘who don‘t talk to the police’. They reluctantly agree and soon find themselves taking a part in a dark tale about a young child with a crack ho mother, who went missing from the mean streets of Boston. Police chief, Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman) and detectives Bressant and Poole (Ed Harris and John Ashton), grudgingly accept the help. I liked the first half of this story, but thought it became weaker in the second half, before partially redeeming itself with a haunting finish, that will draw out different opinions.

Gone Baby Gone tries to take a gritty Chinatown-style mystery and put it in a rough area of Boston. Some the of the story is engaging and some of the characters are interesting, but the story simply needed more development. There is potential here, and I just hope that Ben Affleck lets someone else handle the writing next time, and focus his own efforts on his directing, which shows alot of promise.