Articles by James Luscombe

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  The Pledge

  Sean Penn

  PUBLISHED Nov 17, 2016

  How is it that Sean Penn's films as a director all seem to have the ingredients of greatness without actually achieving it? "The Indian Run...

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  The Tao of Steve

  Jenniphr Goodman

  PUBLISHED Nov 17, 2016

  I'm always happy to see Donal Logue's name in the credits of any movie. You may remember him as the second-string villain who stole the sho...

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  Hollow Man

  Paul Verhoeven

  PUBLISHED Nov 17, 2016

  Say what you will about Paul Verhoeven ("The 4th Man," "Starship Troopers"), whether his films are good or bad, they all have his distincti...

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  What Lies Beneath

  Robert Zemeckis

  PUBLISHED Nov 17, 2016

  Let me get this out of the way immediately: the hotly anticipated new Robert Zemeckis thriller, What Lies Beneath, is a dud-firecracker of...

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  Une Liason Pornographique

  Frederic Fonteyne

  PUBLISHED Nov 17, 2016

  France has been making a lot of great films lately, many of which never get international distribution, but Une Liaison Pornographique is t...

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  Up At the Villa

  Philip Haas

  PUBLISHED Nov 17, 2016

  Has there ever been a more mismatched on-screen couple than Sean Penn and Kristin Scott Thomas? They're the romantic leads in Up at the Vil...

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  Cecil B Demented

  John Waters

  PUBLISHED Nov 17, 2016

  The scrappy new John Waters film, Cecil B. DeMented, is a scant 88 minutes long, but it feels shorter. It's fun, fast-paced, and while it h...

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  Saving Grace

  Nigel Cole

  PUBLISHED Nov 17, 2016

  I curse the day "The Full Monty" became a blockbuster hit. Ever since then, endearing British comedies have been finding their way to these...