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What stands out first about Bubble Boy is the confidence with which Blair Hayes establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Bubble Boy asks Jake Gyllenhaal and Swoosie Kurtz to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Bubble Boy is established with useful clarity: Bubble Boy's been in a bubble all his life due to no immune system. That direct approach lets Bubble Boy use its 1h 24m running time for character, atmosphere and conseq

What stands out first about Birthday Girl is the confidence with which Jez Butterworth establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Birthday Girl asks Nicole Kidman and Vincent Cassel to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Birthday Girl is established with useful clarity: A thirtysomething bank clerk from St Albans has his small town life exploded by the arrival of his Russian mail order bride. That direct approach lets Birthd

What stands out first about Formula 51 is the confidence with which Ronny Yu establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Formula 51 asks Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Carlyle to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Formula 51 is established with useful clarity: An American master chemist plans to score big on a once in a lifetime drug deal. That direct approach lets Formula 51 use its 1h 33m running time for character, atmosphe

What stands out first about Made is the confidence with which Jon Favreau establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Made asks Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Made is established with useful clarity: Two aspiring boxers, life long friends, get involved in a money laundering scheme through a low level organized crime group. That direct approach lets Made use its 1h 35m running time for char

What stands out first about Monkeybone is the confidence with which Henry Selick establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Monkeybone asks Brendan Fraser and Bridget Fonda to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Monkeybone is established with useful clarity: In a coma, a cartoonist finds himself trapped within his own underground creation and must find a way to get back, while racing against his popular but treacherous chara

What stands out first about Say It Isn't So is the confidence with which J.B. Rogers establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Say It Isn't So asks Chris Klein and Heather Graham to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Say It Isn't So is established with useful clarity: Jo and Gilly date. That direct approach lets Say It Isn't So use its 1h 35m running time for character, atmosphere and consequence. ⁠ Say It Isn't So uses it

What stands out first about Iris is the confidence with which Richard Eyre establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Iris asks Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Iris is established with useful clarity: True story of the lifelong romance between novelist Iris Murdoch and her husband John Bayley, from their student days through her battle with Alzheimer's disease. That direct approach lets I

What stands out first about Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 is the confidence with which Brian Trenchard Smith establishes its action film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 asks Michael York and Michael Biehn to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 is established with useful clarity: Megiddo is a supernatural ride into a world teetering on the edge of the Apocalypse. That direct approach lets M

What stands out first about Nowhere in Africa is the confidence with which Caroline Link establishes its biographical drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Nowhere in Africa asks Juliane Köhler and Merab Ninidze to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Nowhere in Africa is established with useful clarity: Due to Hitler's threat, Walter Redlich, a Jewish lawyer, immigrates to Kenya with his wife Jettel and daughter Regina. That direct appr

What stands out first about Ghost World is the confidence with which Terry Zwigoff establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Ghost World asks Steve Buscemi and Thora Birch to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Ghost World is established with useful clarity: Two eccentric best friends graduate high school and respond to a man's romance seeking newspaper ad as a gag, only to find their lives becoming increasingly complicated

What stands out first about Impostor is the confidence with which Gary Fleder establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Impostor asks Shane Brolly and Vincent D'Onofrio to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Impostor is established with useful clarity: In the future, an alien race uses androids as bombs to attack Earth. That direct approach lets Impostor use its 1h 35m running time for character, atmosphere and consequenc

What stands out first about One Night at McCool's is the confidence with which Harald Zwart establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, One Night at McCool's asks Liv Tyler and Matt Dillon to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of One Night at McCool's is established with useful clarity: Every man has a different recollection of the beautiful young woman who wreaked havoc on their lives during one heated night. That direct appro