They first meet in an out-of-the-way pub, late at night, during a rain shower. The perfect setting for a little intrigue. They’re nameless at first, but hey, isn’t that Robert De Niro? Yeah, and the woman behind the bar, wasn’t she Truman’s fantasy in “The Truman Show?” That guy sitting at the bar? Didn’t he double-cross Tom Cruise in “Mission: Impossible?” And speaking of double- crossing, isn’t that guy in the booth the same person who tripped up Harrison Ford in “Patriot Games?” Read the rest of this entry »

Not since the over-hyped “The Blair Witch Project” have I had the pleasure of sitting through (just barely) such a ponderous and preposterous thriller as “The Ring.” If you think that’s praise, look up facetious in the dictionary. Based on the Chinese thriller of the same name, “The Ring” is as annoying as it is cloying. Read the rest of this entry »

KNOCKAROUND GUYS (R)

Barry Pepper is very effective as Matty Demaret, the son of a Brooklyn crime boss who wants in on the family action. Reduced to being an errand boy after he refuses to kill the man responsible for sending his father (Dennis Hopper) to prison, Matty gets fed up with his lower run status and convinces his paroled father and uncle (John Malkovich) to trust him and his friends with an important money drop. Read the rest of this entry »