'I only want to talk to Chris Sabian' says Danny Roman (the indefatigable Samuel L. Jackson) about 40 minutes into F. Gary Gray's cop thriller The Negotiator. Roman is the best negotiator on Chicago's East Side. At least he used...... more »
FilmCritic entries tagged "J.T. Walsh"
History has not been much kinder to Nixon the movie than it was to Nixon the man. Grossing under $14 million domestically, the $50 million movie was an enormous box office flop (what 1995-era family wouldn't want to go catch...... more »
It was an odd choice to remake a mediocre 1950s noir, but at least Gene Hackman is engaging as ever in the leading role, however slightly written it is. The cat-and-mouse game of the original is largely intact, with mobsters...... more »
While I futilely try to figure out the ending of Persons Unknown means, I'm left to wonder why this film saw no real theatrical release, and why it took 11 years to make it to DVD. Maybe the fact that...... more »
I got in enough trouble as a kid to learn firsthand that fire is cool. That said, even the wicked fire shots of Backdraft -- which feature rising towers of flame, backwards-flowing fire, and blankets of flame that slowly ripple...... more »
With J.T. Walsh, Dennis Hopper, and Lara Flynn Boyle in your desert thriller, it's hard to go wrong, and in his riveting sophomore feature, John Dahl rarely gets tripped up. Why, even Nicolas Cage is in fine form, filling this...... more »
This tragically underrated look at Hollywood isn't exactly realistic (if it was this easy to become a celebrity director, I'd quit this gig in a heartbeat), but damn if it isn't funny as hell. From the twisted mind of Christopher...... more »
John Dahl (of Rounders fame) got his start here, a cool and twisty modern film noir that turned Linda Fiorentino into the '90s most exotic femme fatale (until a series of shitty thrillers drove her budding career into the dirt)....... more »
'A sucker born every minute, huh?' 'And two to take him!' So goes one of the greatest exchanges between con-man (Mantegna) and conned-woman (Crouse) in David Mamet's directorial debut, ten years ago. It might be you that plays the sucker,...... more »
Unlike most critics, I've been largely unimpressed with Billy Bob Thornton's work in the past. From One False Move to A Family Thing, I've always found his writing to lack depth and without a true focus. But then there's Sling...... more »
