The Hidden (1987)
Screenwriter Jim Kouf came up with the plot of The Hidden after was musing about the escalating reports of random acts of violence he watched on the evening news. Often the perpetrator is described...
Author: Vincent Leo
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
Sumptuously presented, as befitting a best-selling period novel of this nature, and as long as you aren’t expecting to be awed by it, given the fuss this adaptation has generated for years, Memoirs of a...
Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
John McTiernan resumes the helm in the series that made him an esteemed action director with the third installment in the Die Hard trilogy. Like the first outing, the action flies fast and furious, with excellent...
Walk the Line (2005)
Inevitable comparisons to the previous musical biopic, Ray, are almost a given, especially since both films cover similar ground. Both films are about the early careers of legendary songwriters and performers with tragic pasts, drug...
Total Recall (1990)
The idea for Total Recall began after screenwriter Ronald Shusett’s feature screenplay effort, 1974’s W, went awry. Looking to start anew, Shusett found Philip K. Dick’s short story, “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale,”...
Syriana (2005)
Gripping in parts, convoluted and stagnant in others, Syriana is screenwriter Steven Gaghan’s attempt to provide an insider’s peek into the varying forces at play in the continuing Middle Eastern oil and terrorism struggles, similar...
Fun with Dick and Jane (2005)
Fun with Dick and Jane is a loose remake of the 1977 George Segal/Jane Fonda film of the same name, revamped to incorporate a running commentary on the greed and corruption of corporate America,...
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Are introductions really necessary for Quentin Tarantino’s best film? Pulp Fiction is nearly perfectly executed in every detail, balancing a fine line between tragedy and comedy, the absurdly surreal and the unflinchingly realistic, morally depraved and...
The Animal (2001)
This is the kind of film that happens when an idea that should have been no more than a 10-minute skit during Schneider’s old SNL days gets made into a full-length movie. While playing...
King Kong (2005)
It’s a tall order to have to remake a well-known classic, especially one that still is able to thrill audiences today. Despite its popularity, King Kong is an example of a classic film that actually could...