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A disgruntled man takes a bombastic financial advisor hostage on live television.

If you watch this, it's probably because of George Clooney or Julia Roberts. They have starring roles, so they get a lot of screen time. Putting George Clooney in a Jodie Foster movie seems likely to result in a satire of greed and Wall Street, which does indeed happen. It seems to know that we know this, however, and it throws a few curve balls here and there.

It's not quite as predictable as might expect, but it's not going to subvert your expectations, either. I have a real soft spot for Jim Kouf's most B movie script, The Hidden. I love how bonkers and unpretentious it is while still sticking to the standard tropes of a low-budget science fiction movie. Probably because Jodie Foster is directing instead of Jack Sholder, this movie stays a bit more classy, but there are some amusingly crude elements, too.

Many of the characters float between likable and unlikeable throughout the runtime. This keeps things a bit more interesting and lively than you might expect from a hostage movie. Things also move at a brisk pace, and you get fed new information that moves the plot along pretty often. It's certainly no slow-paced drama.

It's not a biting satire, and I'm not sure it will stick with you for years. However, watching George Clooney's character dance with his own fly girls is hilarious. He actually pulls it off, too. It gets maybe a little preachy sometimes, and I guess I would have preferred if it had settled into a single genre and style, but the end result is enjoyable.

A bartender in New York City becomes embroiled with several gangsters after agreeing to watch his neighbor's cat.

This is a brutal take on After Hours, which itself was no slouch. I was a bit frustrated at first when I realized how similar it was to After Hours, but it won me over. If you're expecting something radically new and different, that could be a stumbling block, though.

I really loved Pi, Aronofsky's first movie. After that, it seemed to me like he leapt pretty far outside my demographic, though I enjoyed Black Swan. This is an unexpected swerve right back into my demographic, which is admittedly not a very profitable one.

Caught Stealing is full of odd characters. At first it seemed like it was potentially going to be a comic book world like The Warriors or Streets of Fire, which is probably how I would have done it. However, it settled into something more grounded in reality, like a Guy Ritchie movie. I have to wonder if maybe the British punk was a nod to this.

The characters feel like they could potentially exist in the real world. The antagonists, who are introduced in bombastic and amusing ways, could have stolen the movie, and I have to say that I'm honestly a little sad that they didn't. They are violent but amusing, especially the Russian gangsters.

Near the end of the movie, two Orthodox Jewish gangsters, played by Liev Schrieber and Vincent D'Onofrio, take center stage among the cast of oddball characters. These two get the most characterization and perhaps depth. It's interesting that possibly the most cartoonish characters turned into the most believable ones by the end.

I did not expect to like this as much as I did, and I understand why some people didn't. It seemed to me that Aronofsky was making a postmodern movie that referenced others movies. Why else would he cast Griffin Dunne? That's a very deliberate thing. The tonal shifts between comedy and violence were also rather deliberate, I thought.

If you're into this sort of thing, I think it will be a great watch, but After Hours fans will also likely enjoy it.

A serial killer becomes trapped in a time loop at a cafe.

It's tough to make a movie with a serial killer as your protagonist. Most of the time, they end up being pretty black horror comedies or rather disturbing indie dramas. I guess there's also the Dexter-style vigilante, but that's pretty rare. This one takes more of the horror comedy route, though it's got a fair bit of slasher in it, too.

Brendan Fehr plays the serial killer. He's best during the more comedic moments, I think, and he does a fair job of being a slasher villain, too. However, Fehr and director Keith Jardine fail to imbue him with the charisma and presence of the greats. There's a scene inspired by The Hitcher where this becomes apparent. That said, it's tough to top Rutger Hauer, and it was fun to see them homage it without directly ripping it off.

The violence is sometimes played for laughs and sometimes played more straight. The black comedy moments helped to lighten the mood a bit and showed more creativity. A routine in the middle involving the fry cook, played by Tait Fletcher, was probably my favorite. Not only was it amusing, it also let some of the characters get their revenge on the serial killer, which was a bit cathartic, too.

The problem is that these moments don't really advance the plot, and you're left wondering when exactly that's going to happen. As time goes on, Fehr becomes increasingly disturbed by his predicament, which I thought was once again not done as well as the comedic parts. When the climax comes around and reveals what's been going on, it's a bit heavy-handed and perhaps a bit silly, but it works.

Majandra Delfino, who plays the other major role in the movie, is good. In any other movie, I suspect she'd have been the lead. If you're a fan of her or Fehr, it surely can't hurt to check this out. Horror fans may also enjoy the premise. If you don't fit into any of those categories, it might be a tough sell.