***Slow-build suspense on the Trans-Siberian Express*** A couple doing missionary work in China (Woody Harrelson & Emily Mortimer) takes the Trans-Siberian train from Beijing to Moscow, but their involvement with a dubious couple (Eduardo Noriega & Kate Mara) gets them entangled with a no-nonsense narcotics detective (Ben Kingsley). A relative told me a story of his travels in Russia back when it was part of the USSR: He said the deeper he journeyed into the country the more it seemed like he was going back in time. At one point he happened to turn around in some kind of an installation and immediately got stopped by authorities and apprehended. He was taken to the proverbial dark room with a hanging light where he was interrogated for a couple hours. I asked what he thought was going to happen and he said he feared getting taken to a gulag in Siberia. I bring this up because you’ll see these kinds of elements in "Transsiberian" (2008), a crime drama/suspense/thriller that has the tone & themes of “A Simple Plan” (1998), but mixed with a little “Runaway Train” (1985) and “Dr. Zhivago” (1965). While I still prefer “Runaway Train” I have no problem listing “Transsiberian” with these notable films, despite the fact that it’s an obscure flick that bombed at the box office (no doubt because it wasn’t released properly and didn’t reach enough theaters). “Transsiberian” works so well because it has the confidence to take its time and establish the characters, which are nicely fleshed-out. Roy (Harrelson), for instance, is an affable Christian who seems oblivious to the evil in the world and assumes the best in everybody. His wife, Jessie (Mortimer), by contrast, has a dark history, but was obviously attracted to Roy’s innocence. She sees her former-self in Abby (Mara), which links them. Meanwhile Carlos (Noriega) is the worldly bad boy who’s an expert at wooing women. But this is just the set-up, the movie takes a thrilling turn in the last act, but it’s superior to the similar Hollywood turn in “A Simple Plan,” which I found unconvincing and a little eye-rolling. The film runs 1 hour and 51 minutes and was shot in Lithuania, Russian and China. GRADE: A-
Another excellent Woody Harrelson performance. Otherwise, not really worth a watch.
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Movie Star Rating : 0 Read More
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Movie Star Rating : 6.5 Read More
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Movie Star Rating : 5.6 Read More
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Movie Star Rating : 6.6 Read More
Ivanhoe Martin arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, looking for work and, after some initial struggles, lands a recording contract as a reggae singer. He records his first song, "The Harder They Come," but after a bitter dispute with a manipulative producer named Hilton, soon finds himself resorting to petty crime in order to pay the bills. He deals marijuana, kills some abusive cops and earns local folk hero status. Meanwhile, his record is topping the charts.
Movie Star Rating : 6.6 Read More
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Movie Star Rating : 6.5 Read More
Plagued with grief over the murder of her daughter, Valerie Somers suspects that her husband John is cheating on her. When Valerie disappears, Detective Leon Zat attempts to solve the mystery of her absence. A complex web of love, sex and deceit emerges - drawing in four related couples whose various partners are distrustful and suspicious about each other's involvement.
Movie Star Rating : 6.6 Read More
Elliot, a successful gynecologist, works at the same practice as his identical twin, Beverly. Elliot is attracted to many of his patients and has affairs with them. When he inevitably loses interest, he will give the woman over to Beverly, the meeker of the two, without the woman knowing the difference. Beverly falls hard for one of the patients, Claire, but when she inadvertently deceives him, he slips into a state of madness.
Movie Star Rating : 7.1 Read More
When four bodies are discovered among the industrial decay and urban grime of New York City, brash young detective Mike Reilly teams with ambitious Department of Health researcher Terry Huston to uncover the cause behind their violent and inexplicable deaths. The only common factor shared by the victims? Each died exactly 48 hours after logging onto a website called feardotcom.
Movie Star Rating : 3.7 Read More
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