Archive for the ‘thrillers’ Category

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The Informant!

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Dvd release date: 02/23/2010

Starring: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Category: Thrillers
Rated: R

What was Mark Whitacre thinking? A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Whitacre (Matt Damon) suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company’s multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero of the common man and handed a promotion. But before all that can happen, the FBI needs evidence, so Whitacre eagerly agrees to wear a wire and carry a hidden tape recorder in his briefcase, imagining himself as a kind of de facto secret agent. Unfortunately for the FBI, their lead witness hasn’t been quite so forthcoming about helping himself to the corporate coffers. Whitacre’s ever-changing account frustrates the agents (Scott Bakula and Joel McHale) and threatens the case against ADM as it becomes almost impossible to decipher what is real and what is the product of Whitacre’s active imagination. Academy Award winner Matt Damon stars in “The Informant!”, based on the true story of the highest-ranking corporate whistleblower in U.S. history. The film also stars Scott Bakula, Joel McHale and Melanie Lynskey. (Publisher)

Summary of critic reviews:

Chicago Tribune: ***1/2 (out of four)
USA Today: *** (out of four)

Overall: ***1/2 (out of four)

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Law Abiding Citizen

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Dvd release date: 02/15/2010

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler
Director: F. Gary Gray
Category: Thrillers
Rated: R

When a home invasion robbery turns deadly, the lone survivor will stop at nothing to avenge his lost loved ones in “Law Abiding Citizen”, an explosive examination of blind justice from the director of “The Italian Job”. Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is an upstanding family man whose wife and daughter are brutally murdered during a home invasion. When the killers are caught, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), a hotshot Philadelphia prosecutor, is assigned to the case. Nick offers one of the suspects a light sentence in exchange for testifying against his accomplice. Fast forward ten years. The man who got away with murder is found dead and Clyde Shelton coolly admits his guilt. Then issues a warning to Nick: Either fix the flawed justice system that failed his family, or key players in the trial will die. Soon Shelton follows through on his threats, orchestrating from his jail cell a string of spectacularly diabolical assassinations that can be neither predicted nor prevented. Philadelphia is gripped with fear as Shelton’s high-profile targets are slain one after another and the authorities are powerless to halt the terror. Only Nick can stop the killing, and to do so he must outwit this brilliant sociopath in a harrowing contest of wills in which even the smallest misstep means death. With his own family now in Shelton’s crosshairs, Nick finds himself in a desperate race against time facing a deadly adversary who seems always to be one step ahead. (Publisher)

Summary of critic reviews:

Chicago Tribune: *1/2 (out of four)
New York Post: * (out of four)
USA Today: ** (out of four)

Overall: *1/2 (out of four)

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The Hurt Locker

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
Dvd release date: 01/12/2009

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Anthony Mackie
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Category: Thrillers
Rated: R

When a new sergeant, James, takes over a highly trained bomb disposal team amidst violent conflict, he surprises his two subordinates, Sanborn and Eldridge by recklessly plunging them into a deadly game of urban combat. As the men struggle to control their wild new leader, the city explodes into chaos, and James’ true character reveals itself in a way that will change each man forever in a movie that the NY Daily News says “deserves to stand as one of the defining films of the decade”. (Publisher)

Summary of critic reviews:

Chicago Tribune: ***1/2 (out of four)
New York Post: **1/2 (out of four)
Rolling Stone: ***1/2 (out of four)
USA Today: ***1/2 (out of four)

Overall: ***1/2 (out of four)

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Angels & Demons

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Dvd release date: 11/24/2009

Starring: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor
Director: Ron Howard
Category: Thrillers
Rated: PG-13

The team behind the global phenomenon “The Da Vinci Code” returns for the highly anticipated “Angels & Demons”, based upon the bestselling novel by Dan Brown. Tom Hanks reprises the role as Harvard religious expert Robert Langdon, who once again finds that forces with ancient roots are willing to stop at nothing, even murder, to advance their goals. When Langdon discovers evidence of the the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood knows as the Illuminati – the most powerful underground organization in history – he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization’s most despised enemy: the Catholic Church. When Langdon learns that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, he jets to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist. Embarking on a nonstop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican’s only hope for survival.(Publisher)

Summary of critic reviews:

Chicago Tribune: *1/2 (out of four)
New York Post: **1/2 (out of four)
Rolling Stone: **1/2 (out of four)
USA Today: ** (out of four)

Overall: ** (out of four)

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State of Play

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

Dvd release date: 09/01/2009

Starring: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck
Director: Kevin MacDonald
Category: Thrillers
Rated: PG-13

Academy Award winner Russell Crowe leads an all-star cast including Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams and Helen Mirren in the blistering thriller about deception, manipulation and corruption. When D.C. Reporter Cal McCaffrey (Crowe) is assigned to investigate the murder of an assistant to an up-and-coming politician (Affleck), he uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to bring down the nation’s power structures. In a town of spin-doctors and wealthy power brokers, he will discover one truth: when fortunes are at stake, no one’s integrity, love or life is safe. From director Kevin Macdonald of “The Last King Of Scotland”, “State Of Play” brings together gripping performances, riveting suspense and is “sophisticated, intelligent and powerful” (Shawn Adams, FOX-TV). (Publisher)

Summary of critic reviews:

Chicago Tribune: *** (out of four)
USA Today: *** (out of four)

Overall: *** (out of four)

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