Horrible Bosses (2011)

Nick, Kurt and Dale are three friends with one thing in common; they all completely hate their bosses and are making their lives a living hell. But quitting is not an option for the guys, so they contemplate, hypothetically what if they were to get rid of them? What if they were to hire a hit-man to kill them? At first hesitant but then thinking about how happier their lives would be without them around, they meet an ex-con who helps them, suggesting to the trio to do the others crimes and make it look like an accident. However being amateurs in planning a caper, it is a lot more complicated then the men soon realize. Totally funny dark comedy; a crazy, non-stop laugh riot with a lot of raunchy humor. Starring Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Colin Farrell, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, Donald Sutherland, Jamie Foxx 7/10 Rated R

Drive (2011)

Ryan Gosling is known as The Driver, a mechanic, movie stunt driver and getaway driver for criminals. He leads a pretty lonely life until he becomes close with his neighbor Irene and her young son Benicio. He also meets Irene's husband, Standard who has returned after being in jail. But Standard still owes money to a gangster and if he doesn't rob a pawn shop he'll come after his family. So Driver agrees to help Standard with the job only if he pays off the debt. Adapted from the James Sallis novel, Drive is a subtle film but on the other side it is explicitly violent film with entertaining chases; think The Man With No Name meets Bullitt. Starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Oscar Isaac, Albert Brooks 7/10 Rated R

Blow Out (1981)

Travolta plays Jack Terry, a sounds effects guy who one night while out recording sounds for a movie, hear a shot, a blow out and sees a car drive over a bridge and crash into the water. He ends up saving the girls that is in the car, but later discovers that a governor who was also inside the car, was not so lucky. After finding this out however, Jack believes that it wasn't an accidental blow out, that someone deliberately shot at the car in order to kill the governor. An interesting and gripping film, easily one of Travolta's best performances. Starring John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz 7/10 Rated R

Wall Street (1987)

Bud Fox is an ambitious accountant executive who resides on New York City and is dying to climb up the corporate ladder. Enter Gordon Gekko, the tough and top businessman who gives Bud the chance he's been waiting for; to become a filthy rich stockbroker of Wall Street. But as Bud becomes more successful under Gordon's direction, he ends up getting deeper and deeper in a world of greed and corruption. Douglas is fantastic as the hotshot Gekko, and Sheen also gives an impressive performance as the young and naive Fox. Starring Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Daryl Hannah, Martin Sheen, Terence Stamp, Hal Holbrook, John C. McGinley, Sean Young, James Spader 8/10 Rated R

The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

When Emily Rose dies of an exorcism gone wrong, their priest Father Moore, who performed the ritual, is put on trial and defended by attorney Erin Bruner to find out if what happened to Emily was an accident or homicide. Shown in flashbacks, after Emily goes away to college she starts to get frequent demonic attacks and convulsions. As her condition worsens, she is brought back home, and that's when Father Moore is asked to come in to help drive out the dark forces possessing Emily's body. As terrifying as The Exorcist, and is actually based on a true story. Laura Linney is superb. Starring Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, Jennifer Carpenter, Colm Feore, Campbell Scott, Mary Beth Hurt 7/10 Unrated

Mean Creek (2004)

Shy and small Sam tells his older brother Rocky about the school bully, a fat dyslexic kid named George beating him up. So Rocky and his friends Clyde and Marty devise a plan to get some revenge on George. They invite him on a boating trip, to give Sam a supposed "birthday party". Sam also brings along his girlfriend Millie, but doesn't tell her about the plan or that George is coming along with them to the river. She demands to know what's going on, so Sam tells her that they're going to dare George, then making him run home naked. But Millie makes Sam promise not to do anything to him. Sam talks to Rocky, but he thinks that George deserves it for being a bully. However what starts out being a harmless prank turns into a tragic and shocking accident. An interesting and thought-provoking tale about bullying and teen adolescence. Starring Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelley, Scott Mechlowicz, Trevor Morgan, Josh Peck, Carly Schroeder 7/10

The Last Seduction (1994)

Bridget Gregory is a tough as nails businesswoman living in New York City. She makes her husband Clay steal drug money and then decides to steal it from Clay. She leaves town, but runs out of gas. So she stops at a small town called Beston on her way to Chicago, and meets Mike, whom she immediately hooks up with. She gets a job at an insurance company and changes her name to Wendy Kroy as a new alias so Clay won't find her. However Clay, who knows of her talent of writing backwards, figures out her new name is New York spelled backwards. Bridget convinces Mike into getting rid of a foreclosure lawyer whose cheating old ladies out of their homes, despite thinking she's crazy. But it turns out it's really her husband that Bridget is planning to get rid of. Fiorentino is perfect as the psychotic, manipulative femme-fetale, who doesn't mind taking advantage of men to get what she wants. Starring Linda Fiorentino, Bill Pullman, Peter Berg, J.T. Walsh, Bill Nunn 8/10

Body Heat (1981)

Ned Racine is a cheap and tawdry Florida lawyer. In the middle of an unbearable heat wave, he has a few brief encounters with a woman named Matty Walker, chatting about the heat and the wind chimes on her porch. Not long after they have a most explicit affair, despite her already being married to Edmund, a wealthy businessman. Matty tells Ned she can't stand being with Edmund anymore, and wants a divorce but she signed a prenuptial agreement. So Ned suggests that they kill him. A sexy neo-noir thriller; the dialogue between Hurt and Turner exudes raw sensuality and the scenes with them together are so scorchingly hot it'll make your temperature rise. Starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, J.A. Preston, Mickey Rourke 8/10

Leaves of Grass (2009)

Bill Kincaid is a classic philosophy professor living in Rhode Island. He has an identical twin brother, Brady, who is a dope dealer and lives in Oklahoma. Brady has just recently gotten out of jail. After Bill hears that his brother has been murdered, he takes a trip back to his hometown of Little Dixie, Oklahoma. But Bill soon discovers that Brady isn't really dead after all, and gets him down there so he can switch places with him; Bill pretends to be Brady to visit their mother in the nursing home, while Brady takes care of a deal he made with his business partner, a man named Pug Rothbaum, whom he owes money to. But when Brady commits a terrible crime, things can a little out of control. Edward Norton is just brilliant, playing duo roles in this crazy and funny black comedy. Starring Edward Norton, Tim Blake Nelson, Susan Sarandon, Keri Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Ty Burrell, Melanie Lynskey 7/10

Taken (2008)

Bryan Mills was a former highly-trained CIA officer, now retired because he wants to have a relationship with his seventeen year old daughter Kim, which because of his duty to the CIA has kept him from having a normal family life. When Kim begs him to let her go on a trip to Paris, he is hesitant to give in. But eventually he does, despite his worries even though her mother, his ex-wife insists she needs her freedom. However he soon finds out that Kim has been kidnapped by Albanians, who lure young girls and then trade them for sex. So Bryan goes to Paris and stops at nothing to find out where she is. Pulse pounding, and intensely fast-paced thriller; Liam Neeson is terrific. Starring Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen 8/10

Sea of Love (1989)

Frank Keller is a New York police detective; he's also an alcoholic and divorced from his wife. His ex-wife is now involved with one of Frank's colleagues. Frank investigates a series of shootings where men are being shot in the back of the head, while "Sea of Love" is played. He meets Detective Sherman Touhey, who thinks that he and Frank should work together on the case, believing that it's a woman who is the culprit. They find out that the men who are being murdered have been putting rhyming ads in the singles magazines; so Frank has an idea that they put their own ad in the magazine, go out on the dates with the women, get their prints and catch the killer. Pacino is pretty good and his scenes with Goodman are great; however what really makes this film memorable are the moments Pacino has with Barkin. Their chemistry is red-hot and incredibly sensual. John Goodman's rendition of "Sea of Love" is hilarious. The title is actually a song by Phil Phillips, which is essentially played throughout most of the movie. Starring Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman, Michael Rooker, William Hickey, Richard Jenkins, Paul Calderón, Samuel L. Jackson 6/10

The Mod Squad (1999)

Julie Barnes, Peter Cochran and Lincoln Hayes are all delinquents of the law; Julie for assault, Pete for robbery and Linc for arson. They are recruited by Police Captain Adam Greer to go undercover at a local nightclub otherwise they have to serve jail time for their crimes. But when they discover that Adam has been killed, they believe it was a setup so they go investigating on their own to find out who did it. As much as critics hated this and it bombed at the box office, this film for me is still a guilty pleasure, despite the lame dialogue and the uninteresting plot. The only thing that is worthwhile to watch is Giovanni Ribisi's eccentric performance. Starring Claire Danes, Giovanni Ribisi, Omar Epps, Dennis Farina, Josh Brolin 5/10

Against All Odds (1984)

Terry Brogan is a football player who has been cut from the team and needs money. Luckily his friend Jake Wise, a nightclub owner comes in and hires Terry to find his girlfriend Jessie, who apparently stabbed Jake and stole money from him. Terry ends up finding Jessie in Mexico City and not long after falls in love with her. The lovers plan to flee so Jake won't find them but before they do, Hank Sully, one of Terry's coaches shows up and tells them that Jake sent him to take them back. An interesting and complex tale of betrayal, lust, corruption and greed. Starring Rachel Ward, Jeff Bridges, James Woods, Richard Widmark, Alex Karras, Swoosie Kurtz, Saul Rubinek 6/10

Tequila Sunrise (1988)

Dale McKussic, aka "Mac" is a former drug dealer who's trying to get away from that life and go straight. Nick Frescia, who in spite of being Mac's close friend is a detective lieutenant and he'll probably have to bring him to justice if he is in the drug dealing business again. DEA Agent Hal Maguire hears around that Mac is going to personally move kilos of coke with drug kingpin Carlos, who is supposedly coming to town soon. So Hal wants Nick to use his relationship with Mac so he can get close to Carlos. Mac becomes attracted to restaurant owner Jo Ann Vallenari, while Nick gets chummy with her to find out if she's involved with Mac. Russell is tough, Gibson and Pfeiffer are sizzling together but it's Raul Julia's character that really steals the show. Starring Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell, Michelle Pfeiffer, Raul Julia, J.T. Walsh, Ayre Gross 7/10

Sin (2003)

Eddie Burns is a retired cop who lost the use of his left arm in the line of duty. When he finds out his junkie sister Kassie is violently raped and left for dead, Eddie takes the law into his own hands and vows to find who's responsible. What Eddie doesn't know is that a man from his past is connected with it. A sadistic man by the name of Charlie Strom; a producer of pornography movies, Charlie has been supplying the drugs for Kassie. Average dramatic thriller that feels like a modern-day western. Starring Gary Oldman, Ving Rhames, Brian Cox, Alicia Coppola, Kerry Washington, Bill Sage 6/10

The Watcher (2000)

Serial killer David Allen Griffin likes to stalk his young female victims; he studies their daily routine and very is detailed and concise, even bringing along tools to enter their homes. Joel Campbell, an ex-FBI agent from Los Angeles has been on David's trail but hasn't been successful catching him. Frustrated, he moves to Chicago where he goes into therapy to try and deal with his failure to capture the serial killer. David ends up following him, calling him up to tell him he's sending Joel a picture of a woman and that he has a day to find her or he'll kill them. An average cat and mouse thriller; with gripping suspense, and although I didn't find Reeves to be all that menacing, he does make a surprisingly convincing villain. Starring James Spader, Keanu Reeves, Maris Tomei, Ernie Hudson 6/10

Payback (1999)

A man known only as Porter, is shot and left for dead by his former partner named Val Resnick and his ex-junkie-wife Lynn after a one hundred-forty thousand dollar heist. After healing for months Porter returns for payback. He finds out Resnick has joined The Outfit, a criminal organization and using the heist money to pay his debts. So Porter asks for the help of a call girl friend, Rosie, who is in close relations with The Outfit so he can get back his share of the loot. Stylish crime thriller; Mel Gibson is too cool as the bad guy, based on the book The Hunter by Richard Stark. Starring Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, Lucy Liu, John Glover, William Devane, Deborah Kara Unger, Jack Conley, Kris Kristofferson, James Coburn, Freddy Rodriguez 7/10

Monster (2003)

Aileen "Lee" is a hooker who lives in Daytona Beach, Florida. She ends up befriending a young girl named Selby Wall whom she met at a bar. But one night while Lee is with a customer, she is beaten and raped and in self-defense shoots the guy as a result. Lee and Selby soon become lovers and Selby leaves home to be with her, while Lee vows to stop hooking and go straight. But she can't get work as she and Selby struggle to survive. So Lee starts hitchhiking with strange men, luring them into the woods and killing them to take their money. Lee becomes a killer on the run and eventually the authorities begin the search to find her. Shocking, sad and depressing, this film is based on a true story about the life of convicted killer Aileen Wuornos; an almost unrecognizable Charlize Theron is absolutely extraordinary in her Oscar-winning role. Starring Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Scott Wilson 8/10

Matchstick Men (2003)

Roy Waller is a con artist (and a very good one at that) who lives in Los Angeles and works alongside his partner/protege Frank Mercer. Roy has several disorders that include agoraphobia, mysophobia, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and a tic disorder which sometimes interferes with his work. Frank suggests for him to see someone about his problems. So Roy visits Doctor Harris Klein where he starts talking about his past relationship with a woman whom he got pregnant. He tries to track her down, but she doesn't want to talk to him. However his fourteen year old daughter Angela wants to meet him. Before long she shows up at his house and starts spending time with him, and going along with him when he's conning other people. I think Nicolas Cage and Sam Rockwell make a great team and give equally great performances in this comedy/drama; as well as impressive newcomer Alison Lohman as Roy's long lost daughter. Starring Nicolas Cage, Alison Lohman, Sam Rockwell, Bruce Altman, Bruce McGill 8/10

Smokin' Aces (2007)

FBI Agents Richard Messner and Donald Carruthers are assigned to travel to Las Vegas to get to showman/illusionist Buddy "Aces" Israel before the ex-cons, assassins and hit men bump him off first. It's a race against time between the good and the bad guys; but the agents have no idea that their Deputy Director Locke has other matters on his mind regarding Israel, until one of them is killed and the other discovers the secret that brings the film to a shocking conclusion. With unbelievable stunts, amazing special effects and a smokin' hot cast, this action packed film is one that you won't easily forget. Starring Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Alicia Keys, Ray Liotta, Jeremy Piven, Common, Ryan Reynolds 7/10