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Set in the late 1940s, The Hi-Lo Country is a strange mix of drama, romance, western, buddy movie and something that can be best described as an Americana version of Latin America's magical realism: there's even a witch telling the future, and her prophecy fulfills! The movie does not offer much in terms of action: it rather sets out to be a "slice-of-life" piece, taking a look both at the events and the changes occurring in all the lead characters. I can understand this kind of approach can be disliked by some viewers; still, I found this movie interesting and somewhat underrated (picked it one evening on the cable). If you like a movie that emphasizes the mood instead of the actual action and with a strong cast ensemble (watch for Northern Exposure's Darren Burrows!), this is for you. 7 out of 10.

While this movie purports to be an adaptation of Robert Ludlum's classic action novel, it actually borrows some of the main plot points, and nothing more. Which actually is a quite good decision: this new, 2000s-updated version of a story, in which a man, found floating unconsciously in the Mediterranean Sea and suffering from a total amnesia, slowly starts picking up pieces of his forgotten past as a undercover agent, actually works. "The Bourne Identity" is a decent action flick, with lots of high-speed chases and hand-to-hand combat scenes; Matt Damon is very believable and natural as the title character, and Franka Potente as his love interest shows why she could be regarded as the modern cinema's overlooked gem. Chris Cooper also shines as the bad guy, although he is unlucky to share many scenes with the late Brian Cox, and Cox always had the ability to steal the scene whenever he appears on screen, and this movie is no exception. A good action flick. 8/10

In a 1942 Romania, a German unit occupying the old keep on a mountain pass is decimated, as two soldiers accidentally release an old demon kept within its walls. This movie had all the ingredients: decent director, Tangerine Dream's atmospheric score, great cinematography by the late Alex Thomson, some decent actors (Glenn, Prochnow, Byrne, McKellen), and to top it all, the great source - a very good horror book by F. Paul Wilson - but ultimately, it failed. The actors are good (especially Prochnow), and both the cinematography and music are great; unfortunately, the script itself is too shallow and actually loses most of the original book's atmosphere and tension. In a word, "The Keep" could have been a decent, 7-8-point horror movie, but ultimately it fails. A nice filler for a rainy afternoon, if you don't expect too much. 5/10