Eastern Promises by David Cronenberg (UK / Canada / USA)

A gripping mob tale with all the inner workings of a good film. A good, unique plot with a nice setting in London, a great cast of actors, some intricate camerawork punctuated by a nice score, and a dash of bloody violence makes this a fine thriller by Cronenberg. Viggo Mortensen is outstanding in his role as a Russian driver cum hitman. It's obvious he's done research and spent some time with some Russian tough guys before this film. His mannerisms and speech were great, with an icy cold stare and some badass prison tattoos.

The fight at the bathhouse is probably one of the best hand to hand combat ever filmed for a non-martial arts movie, in the likes of the hammer fight in 'Oldboy'. This is one of the best films of 2007, and Cronenberg has got his own unique style and tone down on the film. I'm definitely looking forward to catching up with his filmography. For some reason I've been avoiding watching his movies so far, with the exception of 'Spider', but that's going to change soon.

4/5 stars
IMDB

The Detective by Oxide Pang Chun (2007, Hong Kong)

Gritty supernatural HK thriller set in Thailand. It looks good, but lacks any real substance, not to mention the supernatural element is really tacky and cliched and for the Pang brothers, it's pretty much beating a dead horse by this point. The scares weren't scary and it's really evident the Pang brothers desperately need some kind of inspiration, from the kind of shit they've been churning out lately. Andy Lau wasn't bad, but not even he and a handful of pretty chicks could save this movie from making viewers fall asleep.

2/5 stars
IMDB

American Gangster by Ridley Scott (2007, USA)

Ah, what a waste of time. Ridley Scott should have done better with a drug kingpin movie. Instead he focus too much time on the buildup of the story on the two main characters, which ultimately led to a slow movie with a boring payoff. Interesting characters, but I think I've seen this kind of cop/villain film before. Watch out for the director's cut though.

2/5 stars
IMDB

Sunshine by Danny Boyle (2007, UK / USA)

I felt a little let down after watching this movie. Definitely not Danny Boyle's best movie. In fact I couldn't believe he basically made a crazy space monster movie, choosing to abandon character development and a believable plot in the last act. Anytime you have a pseudo-religious wackjob as your villain, it's usually a good sign the plot is turning to shit. Cliff Curtis was cool while he lasted.

2.5/5 stars
IMDB