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Scene: Hollywood execs sitting in a big office. One turns to the other. “Hey, let’s make a film where a serial killer plans out elaborate ways to kill people, taunting the police along the way.” Second exec, “I don’t know, what’s the twist.” First exec, “It’s set in Canada.” Second exec, “Brilliant… and we can film it there too.” Brilliant?

I’m pretty much a sucker for detective stories. I like mysteries. But the formula is getting old. When I first saw the trailer for this film and saw Angelina Jolie lying in the grave, I wanted to vomit. Grand dramatic gestures by cops are so lame. RED DRAGON nailed how to show a detective getting into the mind of the killer in my book. Additionally, TAKING LIVES throws common sense out the window. Time and time again, the contrivances of the plot make you shake your head.

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This sequel to THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY was always intended to be a theatrical release, but Fine Line bailed on it and the film went direct-to-video. The film works as an interesting morality thriller where the emotionless and amoral Tom Ripley (John Malkovich, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH) wraps dying innocent Jonathan Trevanny (Dougray Scott, ENIGMA) in a web of assassinations for insulting him at a party.

The delight of this film is the devilishly witty interplay between Ripley, Trevanny and Reeves (Ray Winstone, SEXY BEAST), the criminal Ripley wishes would have stayed in his past. Trevanny’s moral dilemma is at the core of the film. He signs on to do an awful thing for a good reason, but finds that no bad thing goes unpunished.

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This poetic Buddhist story has a lot to say about life and death, sin and redemption and love. The metaphor of the changing season representing the stages of life isn’t a revolutionary artistic touch, but director Ki-duk Kim does it with original and breathtaking beauty.

Each season represents a different section in the life of the film’s characters. An old monk (Yeong-su Oh, LITTLE MONK) lives on a small floating house in a lake in the mountains. He is in care of a young boy (Jong-ho Kim, film debut) who he teaches metaphorical lessons about life and death. When the boy becomes a teen (Jae-kyeong Seo, RESURRECTION OF THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL), a young sick girl (Yeo-jin Ha, film debut) comes into the care of the monk. The teenage apprentice is quickly smitten by the girl. What happens next I will leave as a surprise. But I will say, the film deals with the issues of rebellion, temptation and redemption.

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In the beginning of the film, we are introduced to Olivier (Olivier Gourmet, READ MY LIPS), a Belgium carpenter who works at a center for troubled children. He is asked to take on another student named Francis (Morgan Marinne, THE SEXUAL LIFE OF THE BELGIANS), but refuses claiming that his class is full. After Francis leaves, Olivier follows after the boy and watches him and the film allows us to discover the situation as things unfold naturally.

People will think ominous things throughout the film, which will keep them glued to the screen. It’s amazing how well-written drama can have a viewer on the edge of their seats like a thriller. This film has gotten universal praise winning prizes at Cannes and making several top ten lists. It deals with a story of loss in a very natural way. Once secrets are revealed one will see that the story could have been extremely melodramatic, but the directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (ROSETTA) have the patience to just observe and let the audience make up their minds.

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This film chronicles the faltering life of once big-time PR man Eli Wurman (Al Pacino, ANGELS IN AMERICA). He only has one more client – Cary Launer (Ryan O’Neal, LOVE STORY), an aging star who parties like a 20-year-old with women in their twenties. One of Eli’s less glamorous duties is to cover up Launer’s indiscretions like bailing out actress Jilli Hopper (Tea Leoni, FAMILY MAN) from jail.

Eli is falling apart. He is taking who knows how many prescription and illegal drugs. His doctor and friend Sandy (Robert Klein, TWO WEEKS NOTICE) is worried about him and so is his little brother’s widow Victoria (Kim Basinger, 8 MILE), who has come to New York to convince him to move down South with her again. In the midst of all of the mayhem, Eli is trying to put together a fundraiser for immigrants where he’s trying to get high-profile businessman Elliot Sharansky (Richard Schiff, TV’s THE WEST WING) and civil rights leader Rev. Lyle Blunt (Bill Nunn, SPIDER-MAN) to appear together.

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Anyone who pays attention to journalistic integrity and HOW the news is reported will find this film intriguing. If you pay attention to the above issues and have ever watch the Fox News Channel than you will find the film a no-brainer.

Despite, it’s catch phrase of “fair and balanced,” the Fox News Channel is nothing more than a mouth piece for News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch’s right wing political agenda. Up until recently, I had never watched Fox News, but I heard so much about its bias that I had to check it out. It didn’t take too long before it became abundantly clear, which political side this network is on. The documentary does a wonderful job of breaking down the Fox News model and showing how it subtly at times leads the news discussion to its conservative point of view.

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It is a testament to Julianne Moore’s (THE HOURS) talent that I didn’t realize just how badly written her character was until close to the end of the film. She plays straight-laced divorce lawyer Audrey Woods who loses her first case to disheveled attorney Daniel Rafferty (Pierce Bronson, THE TAILOR OF PANAMA).

The film is an “opposites attract”/”free-spirit teaches anal person to learn how to love” type film. All the characters are one-dimensional and rarely display any real human emotions or logic. Plus the plot doesn’t seem to know what it wants. Woods and Rafferty get drunk and then hook up, which Woods is ashamed of and then later they get drunk, in Ireland of all places, and get married. (I am giving no more away than the trailer did). If the drunk hook-up is lame than the drunk marriage is pathetic.

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This British TV movie was based on the first book in the popular series, which was written and illustrated by Jill Murphy. Set in a school for young witches, it’s a predecessor to HARRY POTTER. I wonder if J.K. Rowling was inspired by this tale? But in light of the monster success of Rowling’s “boy who lived” book series and its big budgeted feature films, THE WORST WITCH, sadly, looks like a pale imitation.

Mildred Hubble (Fairuza Balk, THE CRAFT) is the worst witch in her all-girl witching school. Miss Hardbroom (Diana Rigg, 1970’s JULIUS CAESAR) is always giving her a hard time and the snobby Ethel Hallow (Anna Kipling, TIME AFTER TIME) is always making her look like a fool. However, the school’s head mistress Miss Cackle (Charlotte Rae, TV’s FACTS OF LIFE) keeps encouraging Mildred. What the school doesn’t know is that Miss Cackle’s twin sister Agatha is plotting to take over the school. All of this occurs as the school prepares for a guest visit from The Grand Wizard (Tim Curry, ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW).

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The Coen Bros. humor is very dry. Sometimes you don’t know if you’re supposed to be laughing or not. This works in films like FARGO, but in a film like THE LADYKILLERS, which is clearly a comedy, it really doesn’t work. This film falls into the canon of Coen somewhere along with RAISING ARIZONA, which I am not a super fan.

This film is a remake of a far better Alec Guiness comedy that also starred Peter Sellers. Professor G.H. Dorr (Tom Hanks, THE ‘BURBS) is a ringleader of a heist team that is trying to rob a riverboat gambling company. He takes a room at the house of Marva Munson (Irma P. Hall, SOUL FOOD), a highly religious woman who complains to Sheriff Wyner (George Wallace, LITTLE NICKY) on a regular basis about the local youth playing that hippity-hop music too loudly. Mrs. Munson’s house will allow Dorr and his cronies to tunnel into the riverboat’s shoreline money room and steal the cash. The gang consists of foul-mouthed inside man Gawain MacSam (Marlon Wayans, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM), special effects specialist and explosives man Garth Pancake (J.K. Simmons, SPIDER-MAN), tactical master and silent assassin The General (Tzi Ma, THE QUIET AMERICAN) and dimwitted, failed football player and the gang’s muscle Lump Hudson (Ryan Hurst, REMEMBER THE TITANS).

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This true-life murder mystery takes a RASHOMON-type approach to the subject, telling us the story from various points of view. The film deals with the Wonderland Murders in Hollywood, which involved L.A.’s top club owner Eddie Nash (Eric Bogosian, IGBY GOES DOWN) and porn star John Holmes (Val Kilmer, TOMBSTONE). The problem with the film’s varying points of view is that they more than muddle the truth they muddle the story as well.

Holmes was known in the porn industry as Johnny Wadd for his 14-inch penis, but the film doesn’t really deal with John as a porn star, but more as a washed-up celeb, strung out on drugs and desperate for money. The tale of the murders at the house on Wonderland Drive begins with thief David Lind (Dylan McDermott, TV’s THE PRACTICE) telling his version of events that led to the murders. He implements Holmes as the idea man behind a robbery at Nash’s house, which led Nash to kill Lind’s girlfriend Barbara (Natasha Gregson Wagner, HIGH FIDELITY) and fellow robbers Ron Launius (Josh Lucas, SWEET HOME ALABAMA) and Bill Deverell (Timothy Blake Nelson, GOOD GIRL) among others. Then we get Holmes’ tale, which blames everyone else. Trapped in Holmes’ nightmare life are his teenage girlfriend Dawn (Kate Bosworth, BLUE CRUSH) and his wife Sharon (Lisa Kudrow, TV’s FRIENDS).

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