by Vincent Leo · Published April 27, 2003 · Last modified December 9, 2019
Part Agatha Christie, part Alfred Hitchcock, Identity is a modern updating of old-school mystery/suspense for today’s slasher-flick appreciative audiences. Shades of Psycho mixed with “Ten Little Indians“ get churned in the idea blender. Toss in a few new twists, and...
To Catch a Thief is Alfred Hitchcock’s second of four collaborations with screenwriter John Michael Hayes (Rear Window, The Trouble with Harry, The Man Who Knew Too Much were the others), bringing light mystery elements and...
by Vincent Leo · Published March 2, 2003 · Last modified December 9, 2019
The plot: Police arrive at the mansion of a wealthy businessman to find that same businessman and one of his handymen butchered. A further search of the house finds the wife of that businessman...
1980s / Comedy / Mystery / Thriller
by Vincent Leo · Published February 18, 2003 · Last modified June 26, 2022
Bates Motel was announced in February 1987 as a two-hour pilot for a proposed new comedy-thriller series on NBC. It was the brainchild of screenwriter Richard Rothstein, creator of the HBO series, “The Hitchhiker”....
by Vincent Leo · Published January 17, 2003 · Last modified April 12, 2019
Suspicion is classic early Hollywood Hitchcock, nicely conceived and solidly performed, but there’s a major flaw that keeps this from becoming one of his greats. No ending would be satisfying. Loosely based on Francis Iles’...
2000s / Mystery / Science Fiction
by Vincent Leo · Published November 20, 2002 · Last modified April 11, 2019
First off, I have to say that if you aren’t prepared to see a pure science fiction film, with all of the maturity and complexity that the term implies, you probably are better off...
Thankfully, this isn’t another David Cronenberg barf-a-thon or an exploration into every sordid taboo subject matter put on film. Rather, it’s a subdued, and often quiet film about one man’s recollection of a childhood...
by Vincent Leo · Published October 26, 2002 · Last modified April 4, 2019
I’ve often referred to movies as “half-baked” but it’s a rare instance when I find one that I can label as “over-cooked.” The Truth About Charlie is one of those instances. It’s actually quite a shame...
by Vincent Leo · Published September 25, 2002 · Last modified November 14, 2019
Based on the play by Robert Thomas, 8 Women transcends the stage by becoming an homage to 1950s Hollywood films and the female archetypes within them, combining the glamour and conventions of that decade with the...
City by the Sea draws its inspiration from a 1997 Esquire magazine article by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, Mike McAlary. The article was entitled “Mark of a Murderer,” and detailed the tale of a real-life cop who begins...
Reviews from film writer Vince Leo, covering all eras and genres of films from classics to the latest releases.
Film reviews from Vince Leo, from classics to new releases, since 1996.
