Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: thriller

thriller stories: 18 news summaries
MOVIE REVIEW

 Inside The Box, 
 a Muddled Surprise 

Film is wayward, most critics agree, but for some it's interesting

Nov 6, 09 12:11 PM CST
(Newser) - Critics are split on The Box, the new film from writer-director Richard Kelly, known for the much-loved Donnie Darko and the reviled Southland Tales. Some takes on the flick about a box with a mysterious, life-changing button:
  • Pass, writes writes Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News.
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • film • movie review • thriller • Cameron Diaz • Richard Kelly • James Mardsen • Twilight Zone • The Box

MOVIE REVIEW

 Whiteout Leaves Critics Cold 

Antarctic murder mystery a snowy wipeout for Beckinsale

Sep 11, 09 7:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - Antarctica's a great setting for a thriller, say critics, but the new Kate Beckinsale movie Whiteout is too mundane to bear much resemblance to a great thriller.
  • Joe Neumaier, Daily News: Whiteout, based on a graphic novel, has the makings of an enjoyable, cheesy thriller, but then "
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Antarctica • movie review • thriller • Kate Beckinsale

MOVIE REVIEW

 Pelham 1 2 3 Remake: 
 Stick With the Original 

Slick remake of '70s thriller has its pluses, but fans of the original should stay away

Jun 12, 09 7:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is a slick and solid thriller, though most critics say it pales in comparison to the '70s original—even with the energy of Denzel Washington and John Travolta.
  • Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: The New York subway heist movie is
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
John Travolta • movie review • thriller • Denzel Washington • movie remakes

NEW RELEASE

 It's No Lie: Duplicity Scores 

Spy film gets wide, warm reception

Mar 20, 09 2:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - Critics aren’t hiding their love for the twists and turns of Duplicity, a combination “caper movie,” “love story,” and “extra-dry corporate satire,” AO Scott notes in the New York Times. The buzz on the Julia Roberts-Clive Owen flick:
  • "Attempts—and to
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • Julia Roberts • movie review • spy • thriller • Clive Owen • movies • Duplicity

PROFILE

 Clive Owen+Stubble=Everyman 


Feb 16, 09 4:53 PM CST
(Newser) - Clive Owen may be good-looking, but his success in recent years depends squarely on his ability to inhabit scruffy Everyman characters that connect with audiences, New York reports. His new film, The International, heightens the illusion, as Owen’s everyday character is thrust into the middle of a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
thriller • Clive Owen • actor • character • Naomi Watts • acting • Tom Tykwer • Everyman

MOVIE REVIEW

 Doubt Overcomes Misgivings 

Top-notch performances make prize-winning play work as a movie

Dec 25, 08 9:00 AM CST
(Newser) - Doubt erases any qualms over whether the claustrophobic, Pulitzer Prize-winning play would work on the big screen, say critics. A "frighteningly good" Meryl Streep stars as the hardline principal of a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, Lou Lumenick writes in the New York Post. A game of cat-and-mouse begins... More »

MORE ABOUT:
movie review • thriller • Meryl Streep • Philip Seymour Hoffman • Amy Adams • movies

MOVIE REVIEW

 No Glory, Plenty of Cliches 

Cop thriller a little too much like every other cop thriller to be a classic

Oct 24, 08 8:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - Pride and Glory has all the ingredients of a great cop thriller, critics say, but they're ingredients that have been recycled a few too many times. Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Noah Emmerich, and Jon Voight turn in fine performances as a family of New York cops, Bill Goodykoontz writes in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
movie review • thriller • Colin Farrell • Jon Voight • movies • Edward Norton

movie review

 Body of Lies Too Conventional 

Film has atmosphere but 'flawed' story

Oct 10, 08 1:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - The CIA thriller Body of Lies is “always crisp and watchable,” but “it ends up too unconvincing and conventional to consistently hold our attention,” writes Kenneth Turan in the LA Times. The story of an anti-terror mission played out on the ground but guided from the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Leonardo DiCaprio • film • movie review • thriller • Ridley Scott • Russell Crowe • Body of Lies

 Lakeview Bullies Box Office 

Samuel L. Jackson thriller beats Coen brothers for top spot

Sep 21, 08 6:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Samuel L. Jackson thriller Lakeview Terrace debuted at number one over a soft box office weekend, Variety reports. Banking $15.6 million, it ousted Burn After Reading ($11.3 million) and outpaced My Best Friend’s Girl ($8.3 million), Igor ($8 million), and Righteous Kill ($7.7 million). Ricky... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Brad Pitt • Righteous Kill • box office • thriller • Samuel L. Jackson • Kate Hudson • Coen brothers • movies • Burn After Reading • Dane Cook • Lakeview Terrace

MOVIE REVIEW

 Righteous Kill is Dead Ordinary 

Generic cop flick falls flat despite De Niro, Pacino power

Sep 12, 08 2:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - Not even the combined star power of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro can save the “tricked-up and often turgid” cop thriller Righteous Kill, critics conclude. The iconic duo finally share some serious screen time as a pair of veteran NYPD detectives tracking a vigilante killer in their midst,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Robert De Niro • Al Pacino • movie review • thriller • serial killers • Donnie Wahlberg • John Leguizamo

MOVIE REVIEW

 Tell Everyone:
 Tell No One Is Great 

France delivers excellent old-style Hollywood thriller

Jul 5, 08 12:51 PM CDT
(Newser) - French thriller Tell No One has the critics rushing to tell the world how much they liked it. The fast-paced and thickly plotted adaptation of a novel by American writer Harlan Coben is "hot-blooded, haunting and packed with the pleasures of the unexpected," writes Peter Travers in Rolling ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • movie review • thriller • foreign film • movies

movie review

 Happening Is No Big Event 

But slow, silly film has its moments

Jun 13, 08 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - M. Night Shyamalan’s apocalyptic thriller The Happening is slow-paced and funny at times, leaving critics mixed in their reactions. It’s “too thoughtful for the summer action season, but I appreciate the quietly realistic way Shyamalan” tells his story, writes Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times. “It... More »

MORE ABOUT:
movie review • thriller • Mark Wahlberg • M. Night Shyamalan

 Salon's Favorite Thrillers 

5 gripping novels for those long summer days

May 26, 08 6:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - Memorial Day means beaches, languid hours, and a page-turner within reach—so Salon has collared the season's best thrillers. This year's lineup includes: An art forger who gets in too deep; a Stalinist official who tries to do good; and a college prof who needs help solving an imaginary murder.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
list • thriller • book reviews • novel • book • crime novels • crime novel • suspense

movie review

 Few Surprises in Deception  

Sex thriller a 'slow case of déjà vu'

Apr 25, 08 1:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - Deception is a twist-filled thriller, but critics say the cloak of deceit will be paper-thin to anybody familiar with the genre. Ewan McGregor stars as a dull accountant whose life gets spicier after an attorney, played by Hugh Jackman, introduces him to a secret sex club. Soon after, the thriller... More »

MORE ABOUT:
movie review • thriller • Ewan McGregor • Michelle Williams • movies

NEW RELEASE

Jumper Lands With a Thud

Dull plotting, acting undermine high-concept thriller

Feb 15, 08 8:47 AM CST
(Newser) - The concept for Jumper seems promising: An awkward teenage boy who discovers he has the power to instantly teleport himself to anywhere on the globe is targeted for elimination by religious fanatics. And in some respects the film delivers on that promise. "The jumping effect is faultlessly executed,"... More »

MORE ABOUT:
movie review • fantasy • thriller • Samuel L. Jackson • science fiction • Hayden Christensen • Rachel Bilson • movies

OPINION

More Jacko, Less Whacko

Jackon doesn't look creepy in 'timeless' magazine shoot

Dec 1, 07 5:16 PM CST
(Newser) - Jacko's comeback in this month’s Ebony doesn't make him “look like a creepy goofball,” marvels the Washington Post’s Robin Givhan. And it’s not just a rebirth for Jackson, Givhan says, but for the venerable mag itself. Flamboyantly dolled up in classic Jacko garb,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
African Americans • magazine • thriller • Michael Jackson • African-Americans

Stephen King Spooks Bookshop Staff

'Shining' author does some unannounced book signing

Aug 16, 07 1:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Stephen King recently dropped by an Australian bookstore and autographed a few copies of his own works—without telling anyone he was coming, or who he was. Nervous sale staff alerted management to a man vandalizing books, the BBC reports. It wasn't until King had wandered off, and someone checked... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Australia • horror • thriller • Stephen King • bookstore • book

'Bourne' Is a Bullet of a Movie

'Easily the best action thriller of the year,' raves USA Today

Aug 3, 07 8:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - America's favorite amnesiac CIA agent, Jason Bourne, is caught up again in fast-paced and far-flung action in the thinking-man's thriller threequel The Bourne Ultimatum, which critics gave high marks for both psychological acuity and adrenaline. The New York Post calls Ultimatum a "potent PowerBar of a movie—all protein... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • movie review • Matt Damon • thriller • The Bourne Ultimatum • movies

18 Stories


from our news partners