Don't Take 'Lives' Seriously ; Angelina Jolie Blunders Her Way Down Bloody Trail

Summary

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"Taking Lives," a self-devouring murder thriller, should be marketed as a toxic package deal: at once an affected, disgraceful and ridiculous creep-out.

Those of us who found "The Salton Sea" (2002) stylish and distinctive must think again, as "Taking Lives" reunites the same director, D.J. Caruso, with the same cinematographer and production designer. The new movie has a different writer, but that little detail won't fully account for the recurrent tackiness and galloping desperation of its would-be suspenseful and sensational elements.

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Extract

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Don't Take 'Lives' Seriously ; Angelina Jolie Blunders Her Way Down Bloody Trail

The movie suggests a sadistically overcompensating spawn of several prototypes, from "Psycho" to "Seven" to "Hannibal." The opening credits evoke the tortured graffiti lo...

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