“John Doe: Vigilante” is a shrill and sanctimonious screed about the ineffectiveness of the judicial system, combined with gory scenes of repeat offenders dying the deaths they “deserve.” Intended as a serial killer thriller, it’s more of a slog, not so much a whodunit as a whydunit—and by the end,...
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Reviews
What the Flick?! — Divergent
Like Tris standing before all those bowls at the Choosing Ceremony, I’m mixed on “Divergent.” But I’m way more positive on it than Matt and Alonso are. Then again, I made myself read the book — and now I actually want to read the next two....
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — Non-Stop
The texts are coming from inside the plane! The semi-annual Liam Neeson Festival of Ass-Kicking is back. This time, he plays a troubled air marshal who receives threatening text messages during a trans-Atlantic flight from New York to London. The “fasten seat belts” sign definitely is on....
Read moreRogerEbert.com — The Outsider
Jason Statham apparently was unavailable for this B-action movie about a beefy British bad-ass (Craig Fairbrass) who flies to Los Angeles to identify the body of his estranged daughter. But when he pulls back the sheet at the morgue, the young woman lying before him is a stranger, so he...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Cold Comes the Night
A convincingly de-glammed Alice Eve is the best reason to see this neo-noir thriller set in upstate New York. She plays a single mom struggling to bet by as the owner of a rundown motel — then Bryan Cranston shows up as a bad guy with a giggle-inducing Boris Badenov...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — The Truth About Emanuel
“The Truth About Emanuel” isn’t even the truth about Emanuel, but that’s at least a vaguely better title than “Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes,” as it was known at last year’s Sundance Film Festival. Here’s my RogerEbert.com review of this psychological thriller in which Jessica Biel plays a mysterious,...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Trap for Cinderella
The erotic thriller “Trap for Cinderella” is neither erotic nor thrilling, but rather reliant on cheap nudity and multiple mistaken-identity switcheroos in hopes of keeping us on edge. It’s essentially “Single White Female” with Hitchcockian aspirations. My RogerEbert.com review. Read the review here...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Paris Countdown
“Paris Countdown” is a middle-aged bromance tucked inside a French crime thriller, a slick and brutal B-action picture that finds writer-director Edgar Marie channeling Nicolas Winding Refn channeling early Michael Mann. It all feels familiar but never feels memorable. My Roger Ebert.com review. Read the review here...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Capital
Comedian Gad Elmaleh is chilling as the young CEO of a powerful French bank trying to master the various power plays in motion around him. Veteran director Costa-Gavras finds greed may not be as good as it used to be in this financial thriller. My RogerEbert.com review. Read the review...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — The Fifth Estate
For a movie about a larger-than-life personality who shook up the world with his brazenness—and since has had to seek political asylum because of it—”The Fifth Estate” feels unfortunately small and safe. My two-star review of the Julian Assange story for RogerEbert.com. Read the review here...
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