Master horror director Alfred Hitchcock had a theory that continues to apply to thrillers even today, he theorized that if you take a tense moment and stretch it out as long as possible you can keep the audience on the edge of their seat, biting their nails and sweating at the thought of an oncoming jolt, that if you stretch it long, it will have more of a lasting effect on the audience than if you hit them with one instant jolt which they will inevitably forget. Many of today’s horror and thrillers prefer to use the latter which, despite always getting a reaction, isn’t always effective, “Phone Booth” uses Hitchcock’s method in the most purest sense and gives a fond remembrance of the days when a thriller actually used its title “Thrill”, and what “Phone Booth” does is surely thrill in rare form.
Tag Archives: Mystery
Basic (2003)
Director John McTiernan, after directing the horrible “Rollerball” remake, displays a high energy thriller which is beautifully directed; there some great shots in the film and the right mood and tension but ultimately it’s all wasted beneath the muddled confusing story. Taking it’s lesson from the classic “Rashomon”, an infantry group witnesses a murder take place attempting to rescue some survivors that never returned from a mission; they soon learn there was a large incident that took place and attempt to discover what occurred. Finding no options they call in DEA agent Tom Hardy played by the energetic John Travolta to take the reigns and interrogate the survivors and unfoil what occured while assisted by the scruffy Lt. Julia Osborne who discover a plot involving sadistic Sgt. Nathan West and his soldiers who hate him with a passion, and soon find much more beneath what looks like murder and drug dealing within the troop.
The Life of David Gale (2003)
“The Life of David Gale” is yet another Hollywood film preaching for a cause. I wouldn’t have much of a problem with such a concept if this film orchestrated it the right way without such a ridiculous turn of events in the last segment of the film. “The Life of David Gale” portrays capital punishment abolitionists not only as melodramatic, but as despicable, self-righteous, under-handed, hypocritical, smug, and sleazy. Not only is it an unfair and inaccurate portrayal of people who are anti-capital punishment but it contradicts the theme supposedly revealing that it’s for capitol punishment and supporting people who feel this way when it’s completely contradictory.
S.W.A.T. (2003)
Originally set in 1975, the iconic series “S.W.A.T.” is given a welcome modern spin with all the original characters back in tow. Director Clark Johnson does a good job selecting an all-star hip cast to portray the famous characters from the original series. What this movie manages to do that most modern action films don’t is successfully establish every character, their personality, and their background which is interesting and then pulls the audience into the action taking place with the story. It’s reported among the stars that they actually studied the real S.W.A.T. training sequences and also interacted in exercises which can be seen in the very realistic and steadfast depictions of the exercises used by the S.W.A.T. infantry.
.com for Murder (2002)
“.Com for Murder” and director Nico fails in every aspect of what may have been a good horror film. This film is so laden with attempts at borrowing from other films, its original product is lost in the process. Heck even the high tech computer system the characters use in the film is called HAL which is another attempt at winking an eye at the super-computer from the masterpiece “2001: A Space Odyssey”, but the name is such a blatant reference it becomes distracting.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
Loosely based on the critically acclaimed comic book from critically acclaimed author Alan Moore, “LXG” tells the tale of Allan Quartmain, an aging adventurer in 1899 who is called upon by a mysterious man named M who enlists him and six other super-powered beings whose powers are parallel to legendry literary characters who must fight a warlord called “The Phantom” who plans to take over the world. Alan Moore presents an idea and concept so ingenious and brilliant, I was stunned upon hearing of it. Take some of the most famous heroes and villains in literary history and turn them into superheroes. What turns up as the end result is a guilty pleasure that kept me entertained all the way through.
Poison (2000)
The story in the film and the script is a hefty mess and bears some incredibly wide plot holes that ruin the efficacy of the film. For example, It’s never fully or clearly explained as to why Traci does the things she does to get her mother’s attention. There’s some insinuation that she resents her, or maybe she’s psychotic, but there’s no verification. Even in the end which is somewhat blurry, we’re never truly sure as to her motives with killing all the people during the movie. Her actions during the film perceive her character to be more spoiled than psychotic and threatening, so in the end it remains hazy. Also, the climax of the film seems so rushed and tacked on it begins to feel awkward on the closing credits.