'IDENTITY' THEFT: PAYING $9.50.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic WHEN CONSIDERING ``Identity,'' an average thriller that's not nearly as smart as it thinks it is, you should know first that it comes from the husband-and-wife team of director James Mangold and producer Cathy Konrad. The latter is probably best-known for the ``Scream'' series, while Mangold rode Angelina Jolie's charisma to achieve some middling success with ``Girl, Interrupted.'' ``Identity'' sort of combines ``Scream'' with ``Girl,'' mixing self-referential slasher slash·er n. One that slashes. adj. Characterized by gory violence: slasher movies. slasher Noun Austral & NZ conventions with nut-house undercurrents Undercurrents is:
The movie has its roots in Agatha Christie mysteries and Hitchcock thrillers but is about as subtle in its approach as a ton of bricks. You've certainly seen the concept before in everything from ``Ten Little Indians'' to ``Alien.'' It's a dark and stormy night and 10 people are trapped at a ramshackle motel in the middle of nowhere. One by one, they begin turning up dead - a severed head For the Australian electronic music group, see . A Severed Head is a satirical, sometimes farcical 1961 novel by Iris Murdoch. Primary themes include marriage, adultery, and incest within a group of civilized and educated people. in a clothes dryer here, a baseball bat rammed down somebody's throat there - and the stranded strangers begin to eye each other with suspicion. Maybe, just maybe, the killer is part of the inner circle. The screenplay, credited to ``Jack Frost'' writer Michael Cooney, intercuts the killings with legal proceedings All actions that are authorized or sanctioned by law and instituted in a court or a tribunal for the acquisition of rights or the enforcement of remedies. regarding an unseen assailant. Said killer is going to the chair in 24 hours unless it's determined he is crazy. You don't see the assailant's face until the last 15 minutes, but you shouldn't have any problem solving problem solving Process involved in finding a solution to a problem. Many animals routinely solve problems of locomotion, food finding, and shelter through trial and error. that riddle within the film's first 15 minutes. When the movie finally pulls its head-scratching surprise twist, it's too late in the game to be of much interest. Then, too, it seems to be more of a gimmick than a genuine revelation, a silly bit of misdirection MISDIRECTION, practice. An error made by a judge in charging the jury in a special case. 2. Such misdirection is either in relation to matters of law or matters of fact. 3.-1. to take your mind off the fact that you just paid good money to see a stupid slasher movie. IDENTITY - Two stars (R: strong language, violence) Starring: John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet. Director: James Mangold. Running time: 1 hr. 27 min. Playing: Wide release. In a nutshell nut·shell n. The shell enclosing the meat of a nut. Idiom: in a nutshell In a few words; concisely: Just give me the facts in a nutshell. Adv. 1. : Agatha Christie meets Freddy Krueger. |
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