Because sequels are meant to be sure things at the box office, they are not often very innovative. The great majority of second films, even the good ones, are essentially just the notes of the first film played louder and bigger. In one key way, Saw II is actually a bit original, then: it clocks […]

Stripped to its bare essentials, the first Saw, from 2004, could have been a pretty great little film. Two men are trapped in a grimy bathroom, chained to pipes, a dead body lies between them. There are a handful of clues tossed around the room about what they need to do to get out, and […]

Proof yet again that nothing good comes out of Sundance anymore: David Slade’s monumentally unpleasant Hard Candy. I saw the poster first in January. “Holy shit!” I thought, “that’s one hell of an image! I have no idea what the film is about, but the Little Red Riding Hood imagery? Brilliant!” Well, the little red […]

A year from now, when I am putting together my list of the great films of 2006, near the top of the list you can surely expect to find Hostel, Quentin Tarantino’s Eli Roth’s delicious satire of innocents abroad, a social farce as wry and pointed as the best work of Evelyn Waugh or Oscar […]