Pick of the week: “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead“ — “Croupier” star Clive Owen and writer-director Mike Hodges reteamed for this pitch-dark 2003 British noir, about a homeless man seeking vengeance against the gangster (Malcolm McDowell) who drove his younger brother to commit suicide.
“Mission: Impossible 3” — J.J. Abrams helmed the third installment of the Tom Cruise series, full of imaginative action sequences and plot reversals, plus a frighteningly placid Philip Seymour Hoffman as the bad guy.
“Major League” — The old Milwaukee County Stadium (and the great Bob Uecker) are highlights of this endlessly rewatchable baseball comedy, about a roster a misfits who defy the odds.
“Lady Vengeance” — My full review is here. The third installment of Park Chan-Wook’s series of vengeance-fueled action films may be the darkest, as a woman wrongly sent to prison for killing her child looks for the real killer with the help of other grieving loved ones.
“Iron Monkey” — A dazzling martial arts extravaganza directed by Yuen Wo Ping (who choreographed “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “The Matrix”) as a father and son (along with a mysterious masked avenger) battle a corrupt politician.