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What stands out first about Grandma's Boy is the confidence with which Nicholaus Goossen establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Grandma's Boy asks Allen Covert and Linda Cardellini to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Grandma's Boy is established with useful clarity: A thirty five year old video game tester has to move in with his grandma and her two old lady roommates. That direct approach lets Grandma's Boy use its 1

What stands out first about Tell No One is the confidence with which Guillaume Canet establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Tell No One asks François Cluzet and Marie Josée Croze to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Tell No One is established with useful clarity: An accidental discovery near a doctor's estate stirs up some painful memories eight years after his wife's hideous murder, and now, things are bound to take

What stands out first about Curse of the Golden Flower is the confidence with which Yimou Zhang establishes its action film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Curse of the Golden Flower asks Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Curse of the Golden Flower is established with useful clarity: During China's Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as wife. That direct approach lets C

What stands out first about Running Scared is the confidence with which Wayne Kramer establishes its action film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Running Scared asks Paul Walker and Cameron Bright to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Running Scared is established with useful clarity: A low ranking thug is entrusted by his crime boss to dispose of a gun that killed corrupt cops, but things get out of control when the gun ends up in wron

What stands out first about Crossover is the confidence with which Preston A. Whitmore II establishes its action film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Crossover asks Anthony Mackie and Wesley Jonathan to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Crossover is established with useful clarity: The lives of a gifted athlete and his best friend change when they take a fateful trip to Los Angeles. That direct approach lets Crossover use its 1h 35m r

What stands out first about Running with Scissors is the confidence with which Ryan Murphy establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Running with Scissors asks Joseph Cross and Annette Bening to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Running with Scissors is established with useful clarity: A teenage boy comes of age in the 1970's, sent by his neurotic, pretentious mother to live with a jolly, vulgar psychiatrist and his eccen

What stands out first about Bug is the confidence with which William Friedkin establishes its horror film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Bug asks Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Bug is established with useful clarity: An unhinged war veteran holes up with a lonely woman in a spooky Oklahoma motel room. That direct approach lets Bug use its 1h 42m running time for character, atmosphere and conseque

What stands out first about Turistas is the confidence with which John Stockwell establishes its horror film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Turistas asks Josh Duhamel and Melissa George to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Turistas is established with useful clarity: A group of young backpackers' vacation turns sour when a bus accident leaves them marooned in a remote Brazilian rural area that holds an ominous secret. That direct app

What stands out first about Phat Girlz is the confidence with which Nnegest Likké establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Phat Girlz asks Mo'Nique and Kendra C. Johnson to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Phat Girlz is established with useful clarity: An edgy comedy about two frustrated plus sized women obsessed with their weight while struggling to find love and acceptance in a world full of "hot bodied" babes. That d

What stands out first about The Hoax is the confidence with which Lasse Hallström establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Hoax asks Richard Gere and Alfred Molina to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Hoax is established with useful clarity: In what would cause a fantastic media frenzy, Clifford Irving sells his bogus biography of Howard Hughes to a premiere publishing house in the early 1970s. That direct approa

What stands out first about American Dreamz is the confidence with which Paul Weitz establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, American Dreamz asks Hugh Grant and Dennis Quaid to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of American Dreamz is established with useful clarity: A popular television music talent competition hosted by a pompous egomaniac becomes the setting for an assassination attempt when the President of the United Sta

What stands out first about All the King's Men is the confidence with which Steven Zaillian establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, All the King's Men asks Sean Penn and Jude Law to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of All the King's Men is established with useful clarity: Based on the Robert Penn Warren novel. That direct approach lets All the King's Men use its 2h 8m running time for character, atmosphere and consequen