Okay. Let's say you're an average movie lover with a penchant for thrillers. You somehow get a job as a movie director (it can happen). You're hired to direct a script called TAKING LIVES. Your brain then begins to spit out scenes from almost every other movie you've ever seen in your 35 year old life. And so, an average movie-goer pays 6 bucks to watch a film compiled from SHADOW OF A DOUBT, SEVEN, ORDINARY PEOPLE, DRESSED TO KILL, PSYCHO, THE BONE COLLECTOR, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, ROSEMARY'S BABY, JAGGED EDGE, FATAL ATTRACTION, MURDER BY NUMBERS, KISS THE GIRLS, TWISTED (I haven't seen it but no matter), ALONG CAME A SPIDER, almost every film by Ridley and Tony Scott, COPYCAT(!), CAPE FEAR, and AN EYE FOR AN EYE. The only reason critics -certain critics- are giving anything other than a big fat raspberry to this tired, TIRED drivel is probably because they've crossed into some other boundary. They're probably so beyond burnt-out having seen the same film for about 40 years they have no idea what they're looking at any more. (Note to filmmakers: Robert Altman once made a film called THE LONG GOODBYE where he brilliantly deconstructed the gangster/mystery genre. It still is fresh, suspenseful, engaging, and quite refreshing. Think about it.)
Review of Taking Lives
