Blow Out

Starring John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, and Dennis Franz

Directed by Brian De Palma

Release Date: July 21st, 1981

Jack Terry (Travolta) is a sound effects technician on B-grade Horror movies. Out one night recording sounds to use on a new movie, he hears what may be a blown-out tire may have been a political assassination. Soon enough, Jack beginning to uncover a deep truth which may not only get Jack killed, but also the young woman he saved, Sally (Allen).


A psychological thriller that delves into the technical aspect of sound recording that delivers Jack Terry (Travolta) into a world of conspiracies and murder. Travolta and Allen have a good rapport with one another and make a believable relationship under their circumstances. Due to the fact that sound is so important to the film's plot, the use of diagetic sound is amazingly clear and sharp, making the sounds of sirens fill the audience with alarm and panic.

Rating; * * * * of 5

Paranoia

Starring Brad Jones, Sarah Lewis, Brian Lewis, and Brian Irving

Release Date: June 7, 2011

Directed by Ryan Mitchelle

First of all, I love the tagline: Do you know the night? It works so well with the tone and atmosphere of Paranoia, the latest thriller written by Brad “Cinema Snob” Jones.

Mark Bishop (Jones) is having a hard night: his wife is leaving him, he’s got a massive headache, and there’s a dead intruder in his walkway. Soon enough, Mark is wandering across town trying to shake his growing paranoia and the strange feeling that not everything is alright. Is Mark just imagining things? Soon, Mark questions his very sanity and may soon enough become another victim of the night.

The mood of this film is amazingly tense, growing more and more suspenseful until the third act finale. What works really well is how the film starts off slow and accustoms the audience to Mark and his predicament.  Director Mitchelle makes the atmosphere for “Paranoia” work well due to his past work with Jones and his style of nourish thrillers and suspense films, such as “Midnight Heat” or “The Hooker with a Heart of Gold”.

Speaking of, Jones and his cast of actors give great performances. Jones makes everyman Mark into an amazing character, one who can be sympathetic one minute and aggressively hostile the next. Mark may be one of Jones’ best characters, someone whose sense of reality flip flops back and forth during this turbulent night. During one scene, Jones gives a great monologue about how he tries to be a writer and how ironic it is how his nightly events would make a great story. In secondary parts is Jones’ wife Jillian as Claire the Waitress or Brian Lewis as Randy, but Brian Irving gives a chilling performance as Carl, the intruder who initiates Mark’s night of insanity.

If you enjoy After Hours , Taxi Driver or Memento, you’ll certainly enjoy Paranoia.

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Rating: * * * * * of 5 

The Brothers Bloom

Starring Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo,  Rachel Weisz and Robbie Coltrane

Directed by Rian Johnson

Release Date: May 15th, 2009


The movie tries too hard to be quirky and "indie", but feels forced and artificial. Also, the pacing is off balance, being a light-hearted comedy one minute and a heavy-handed drama the next.  Still, I have to commend the actors for great performances and wonderful cinematography that captures the whimsy and oddities of this strange world. 


The Brothers Bloom is flawed, but worth seeing if you're a fan of Wes Anderson's work or con-artist movies such as Ocean's Eleven or The Grifters.

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Rating: * * * of 5 

The Lincoln Lawyer

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Phillipe, Marissa Tomei, with Bryan Cranston, and William H. Macy

Directed by Brad Furman

Release Date: March 18th, 2011

Mick Haller (McConaughey) is a defense attourney looking out for two things: the quick "Not Guilty" and his fees. Then, he's presented with a high-profile case: an attempted rape and assault case involving a rich Beverly Hills playboy (Phillipe) and a prostitute who may be out for a quick payout. However, with the help of a private investigator (Macy), things are turning much more complicated.

A smart legal thriller, The Lincoln Lawyer is adapted from the novel of the same name by Michael Connelly. The movie moves at a good pace, although I did feel there a tad too many "staring off into darkness, lonely tortured soul" moments, but that's more a problem due to it being a cliche not improper useage by the filmmakers. Other than that, the actors do a great job with their roles; Cranston and Macy make do with their limited roles, Macy being the sympathetic best friend and Cranston quietly as the inquisitive police detective. If you're a fan of John Grisham legal thrillers or TV's "Law and Order", you'll fully enjoy The Lincoln Lawyer.

Rating: * * * * 1/2 of 5

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The American

Starring George Clooney Violante Placido and Thekla Reuten

Directed by Anton Corbijn
Release Date: September 1st, 2010
Not as fast paced as your average "James Bond" spy thriller. However, I believe that, while not for everyone, The American is a faut, suffocating thriller where the audience truly understands the paranoia and loneliness of assassin, silmilar to Luc Besson's 'Leon: The Professional". The movie is a tad slow, but does work in the end to get the audience to understand the unease of Jack (Clooney).

Rating: * * * * of 5

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The Talented Mr. Ripley

Starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Philip Seymour Hoffman

Directed by Anthony Minghella

Relese Date: December 25th, 1999

It all started with a borrowed jacket, and turned into something much more sinister. Adaped from the novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith, director Anthony Minghella brings her darkly suspenseful story to live starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

New York, 1955: Tom Ripley (Damon) meets with Herbert Greenleaf (Rebhorn), a wealthy shipbulider in need of a favor. Greenleaf believes that Tom is a graduate of Yale, the same college where his son Dickie (Law) went. The favor is: Dickie is living in Italy, and Greenleaf wants Tom to bring him home. The problem is: Tom never went to Yale and has never met Dickie Greenleaf. One trip later, Tom is living the life with Dickie and his fiance Marge (Paltrow). Tom is infatuated with Dickie's life, the riches and glory that comes with being Dickie Greenleaf. However, Tom is being forced out of Dickie's life and Tom isn't about to leave...

The Talented Mr. Ripley is a fascinatingly suspenful and dark mystery about the person that is Tom Ripley. Matt Damon does a fantastic job of making Tom into a character that is at one moment in deep awe of the world around him and the next, he's calculating his next move to stay ahead. Director Anthony Minghella does a fantastic job of making the cities of Italy spectacular to behold, that even the most run-down building is a jem in Tom Ripley's eyes.

Rating: * * * * 1/2 of 5

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Let Me In

Starring Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McGee, and Richard Jenkins

Directed by Matt Reeves

Release Date: October 1st, 2010

Good, but not as spectacular as the original Swedish film.


Plot: See my review of Let the Right one In, but replace Oskar with Owen, Elli with Abby, and Sweden with New Mexico.

I was very nervous about this remake, as "Americanization" remakes of European movies are generally not very good; therefore, I felt that Let me in did its' job, but didn't strike me as memorable as the original. Sure, there are a few tweaks, such as Owen's bumbling interest with romance and Now and Laters, and a tad more development into Abby's protector (Jenkins), but not much has changed in the hands of Matt Reeves. Still, the actors are great, the make-up effects are amazing, but just like the original, the use of CGI is obvious and shaky-looking.

Rating: * * * 1/2 of 5

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The Adjustment Bureau

Starring Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, John Slattery, and Terrence Stamp

Directed by George Nolfi

Release Date: March 4th, 2011

David Norris (Damon) is a New York Congressman who is about to lose the bid for US Senate. However, his whole night changes the night he met Elise, a free spirited ballerina whose involvement in his life changes his political future. The only problem is, they were never expected to see each other ever again, thanks to the care of THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU. Soon, David is being followed by shadowy men in fedoras who slip in and out of nowhere...


Adapted from a short story by Phillip K. Dick, The Adjustment Bureau brings up the dilemma of free will versus fate, the illusion of chioce that so many people fear in today's climate. The film does a great job of making the Bureau into an ambiguous, nearly omnipotent organization that is merely doing their job, not a villanous cabal out of a comic book. One Bureau member freely admits that they are less angels and more an organziation of case workers. In addition, I enjoyed how this was more light-hearted science-fiction thriller than any other of Dick's movies, such as Total Recall or Paycheck. The Adjustment Bureau is a Sci-fi movie with a great romantic development that will be a good date movie for people that are squemish around seeing a "science-fiction" film. Finally, the film's cast is stupendous, from Damon and Blunt's striking chemistry to the smarmy charm of John Slattery as Richardson.

Rating: * * * * of 5

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The Ghost Writer

Starring Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, and Kim Catrall

Directed by Roman Polanski

Release Date: February 19th, 2010

A suspenseful thriller. A tad slow at times, but the mood is tense and creepy, and the actors are amazing. Finally, the ending is a great ambiguous final image. If you're a fan of Hitchcockian psychological thrillers, you'll fully enjoy The Ghost Writer.

Click here to buy The Ghost Writer The Ghost Writer (Single-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)
Rating: * * * * of 5

The Pelican Brief

Starring Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts

Directed by Alan J. Pakula

Release Date: December 17th , 1993

Man, what a boring movie. 2 1/2 hours long and nothing happens for the first hour. Well, except for an unintentionally humourous moment that the filmmakers probably didn't mean for (let's just say, you'll see it coming a mile away).  For a political thriller, the MacGuffin that moves the plot along is not explained very well and the action in the movie is far and few between. The only reason I'm giving the movie 2 stars is because of the good cast and their performances.
Don't waste your time with this movie.

Rating: * * of 5

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The Tourist

Starring Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Paul Bettany, Timothy Dalton, and Steven Berkoff

Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Release Date: December 10th, 2010

A tale of espionage, mistaken identities, and romance in this Italian action thriller starring Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, and Paul Bettany as a remake of the 2005 French film, Anthony Zimmer.

Venice, Italy: College Professor Frank (Depp) is looking forward to a nice vacation in Italy, nothing out of the ordinary for him. Suddenly, a mysterious British woman named Elise (Jolie), strikes up a conversation with the meek professor and invites him to stay with her at a fancy hotel posing as her husband. Out of the blue, Italian Interpol agents and Russian mobsters are chasing our American everyman due to his similarity to a British criminal known as Alexander Pierce. What is Elise's connection to Pierce? Will Frank avoid capture and death but still run away with the dashing beauty?

In comparison with more modern spy thrillers like The Bourne trilogy or the 2005 remake of Casino Royale, The Tourist is a more character driven, subdued mystery. The majority of the movie is a game of cat and mouse between Frank and Elise, each trying to play aloof with their motivations and desires. Personally, I enjoyed the nuances of the film, playing off the portrayals of the actors rather than how many car chases and gun fights the characters get into (not that the movie is without action; there's a unique boat chase in the Venitian canals). Finally, the casting for the movie is great, with the A-list actors (Jolie and Depp) having wonderful chemistry and making their characters captivating and interesting. Also, there's a great villainous portrayal by Steven Berkoff as British gangster Reginald Shaw.

For fans of Charade or North by Northwest, The Tourist is an energetic and mystifiying thriller.

Rating: * * * * of 5