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Cleaner

A single father and former police officer (Samuel L. Jackson) makes a living mopping up after murders, but even this gruesome job can’t keep him from getting embroiled in police corruption, which sees a client go missing and a former partner (Ed Harris) enter the scene. Something must be wrong if a movie starring Jackson and Harris misses out on a theatrical release in the US. Maybe the problem lies with director Renny Harlin, who has struggled for more than a decade to make anything as entertaining as Cliffhanger.



Death Defying Acts

After The Prestige and The Illusionist comes another film dabbling in magic, trickery and drama. Guy Pearce plays Harry Houdini, who arrives in Edinburgh and enters into an intense relationship with a local woman (Catherine Zeta-Jones) set on a large sum of money the skeptical Houdini will give to anyone who can reproduce the dying words of his mother. With this effort, Aussie director Gillian Armstrong adds yet another title to her list of period pieces, though critics were unmoved by the romance angle on this occasion.



W∆Z

Veteran Swede Stellan Skarsgard stars as a cop hunting for a serial killer in this British production set in New York but shot in Belfast (!). The title and poster may invoke the Saw franchise (part 5 of which opens here next month), but the film itself is said to stand on its own, rising above the “torture porn” label and building generous amounts of atmosphere within an intelligent framework. The torture scenes are quite strong, though. The Taiwanese release was delayed for almost a year, but finally hits theaters today. Otherwise known as WAZ — for word processors that can’t handle triangles.



The Signs of Love

This is a Japanese romance from last year starring Nao Matsushita as a young woman with a dream boyfriend who has a thing for architecture. This takes the young fellow to Spain, which is only one problem threatening their idyllic relationship. Squeaky clean romance, angst and heartbreak for young viewers, this has a ready-made audience in Taiwan, not least because the plot is based on lyrics by the band Dreams Come True.

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