Thriller Movie Reviews | Picturenose

The Usual Suspects (1995)

Apr

2012

And like that…he’s gone And, as always happens when we make a list, our talk of Top 10 Movie Villains put me in mind of notable omissions – Blofeld of the James Bond films, perhaps, Noah Cross of Chinatown (1974), and Keyser Soze of Bryan Singer‘s The Usual Suspects (1995), absolutely definitely. And just what, ...

Wait Until Dark (1967)

Apr

2012

A blinder, pure and simple Couldn’t resist it – in choosing Alan Arkin as Harry Roat Jr. from Scarsdale as one of my all-time ‘favourite’ villains in our (though I say it myself, remarkably successful) Top 10 Movie Villains post, I realised that I simply had to share my further thoughts on Terence Young‘s sublime ...

Dirty Harry (1971)

Apr

2012

‘Cause he likes it’ Colin was talking recently about one Andy Robinson, citing him as an under-rated actor who, because of a certain ‘break-out’ role, had never achieved the level of success he deserved. Well, Dirty Harry (1971) by Don Seigel starring we-all-know-who was the film in question, and Robinson as Scorpio, a serial killer ...

Falling Down (1993) 4

Mar

2012

Can’t stand up… Never a better time to write than when you’re feeling that way out, is there? Well, guess what, that’s how you find me as you read this, so it seems more than appropriate to discuss a film that’s *all* about feeling that way out, namely Joel Schumacher‘s Falling Down (1993) starring Michael ...

The Andromeda Strain (1971)

Mar

2012

Feeling the strain Definitely time to talk about this one – Robert Wise, who was one of the most talented and versatile directors ever to come out of the Hollywood system, turned his hand to sci-fi/paranoia just when the Cold War was still in full swing and, in his adaptation of Michael Crichton‘s novel made ...

Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)

Feb

2012

Sect’s secrets The first scenes of Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) don’t indicate the beginning of a real nerve-wrecking, dark thriller. There is a farm somewhere in the woods. There are people working in the garden. It looks peaceful. Then there is dinner…a weird one. First, some men, around ten of them, are eating their ...

A Dangerous Method (2011) 14

Jan

2012

Sex and sensibility A Dangerous Method (2011) is a film about temptation and seduction, the breaking of professional etiquette, the falling out between two aging academics and the use of a ‘Talking Cure’ for people suffering from mental problems. Another poignant insight into the life of the soul from director David Cronenberg, who is no ...

Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) 3

Jan

2012

Not-so-OK computer It’s an underrated and, these days, little-viewed classic is Joseph Sargent‘s Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970), which is probably why Hollywood, as we speak, is planning the customary big-budget remake starring, surprise surprise, Will Smith. I’ll make no comment as to what a mess Smith’s last sci-fi epic I Am Legend (2007) was, ...

The Stone Tape (1972) 2

Jan

2012

Ghost in the machine “A remarkably creepy and subtle evocation of dread, from a typically nuanced Nigel Kneale script. What if ghosts are simply ‘data’ that need to be better categorized? That’s just what a team of computer specialists, on the trail of a new recording medium, attempt to do when they discover that the ...

The Ides of March (2011)

Dec

2011

It’s not the saints marching in… George Clooney’s fourth movie as director, The Ides of March (2011), is an intelligent political thriller with just the right pace and balanced amount of suspense. It’s Clooney showing the complications and war-like relations from which American (and not only American) elections suffer. Is politics all about plotting and ...

Retreat (2011)

Nov

2011

No escape The beautiful locations, intriguing plot and skilled cast of Carl Tibbetts’ first feature Retreat (2011) make it a largely successful attempt to mark his place in the film world. Martin (Cillian Murphy) and Kate (Thandie Newton), a young married couple, rent an old house on an island somewhere off the British coast.