All articles by Joe Lozito

Watching the ‘Thomas Crown Affair’ gives no indication of why exactly Hollywood felt the need to remake the 1968 Steve McQueen/Faye Dunaway thriller.

What are Michael Crichton and John McTiernan (both known for sleek, hyper-technical thrillers) doing making a monosyllabic story about 10th century Norse warriors battling a nameless evil horde? The answer is: nothing new.

A strong, old-fashioned, taut political thriller based with near documentary-style authenticity on the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and featuring a fascinating and commanding performance by Bruce Greenwood as John F. Kennedy.

Director Catherine Hardwicke mines the life of 13-year-old Nikki Reed to create a harrowing portrait of teen life which is elevated above After School Special material thanks to the wonderfully intense performances of Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood.

From its opening image of an alligator sinisterly submerging itself beneath a grimy swamp, it is clear that this film has got something to say.

Director Jonathan Mostow possesses none of James Cameron’s wizardry with an action scene, but a quick script and a game cast nearly make this a worthy addition to the Schwarzenegger cyborg franchise.

Ridiculous Hallmark card of a movie is notable only for its set design, record-setting product placement and, of course, another fine Tom Hanks performance.

Bruce Willis goes bald and squints his way through a glorified march through the woods as a grizzled Navy SEAL out to rescue Monica Belluci’s absurdly righteous missionary, who gets Willis’ anonymous team into all sorts of precarious positions.

It’s a Doll World After All. Wisely leaving human-centered films behind (remember ‘BASEketball’?), the creators of ‘South Park’ toy with a different kind of animation with decidedly mixed, and appropriately stupid, results. More of a send-up of Bruckheimer-era action films than politics; those looking for social satire will be disappointed.

The charisma of newcomer Donal Logue is nearly enough to stretch this sitcom premise to feature length. Nearly.