Masquerade (1988)

The plot is the stuff of old-school gothic romantic thrillers of the Daphne Du Maurier kind with an heiress to an immense fortune (Meg Tilly) not realising how much danger she is in as she falls in love with a gigolo (Rob Lowe) but fails to notice the childhood friend-turned-policeman who vies for her heart, but the acting is often terrible and the characters paper-thin, giving this romantic thriller a perfunctoriness that no amount of sweaty Body Heat-style sex, nor Rob Lowe's glistening torso, and not even a fleeting partial glimpse of Lowe's manhood can make up for. 

★★★☆☆

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1408 (2007)

In this Stephen King short story adaptation, John Cusack is perfect as the drily funny, cynical paranormal investigator and professional skeptic who checks into room 1408 of New York's Dolphin Hotel wanting to debunk claims the room is somehow evil, but both he and the viewers soon have the smiles wiped off their faces once the supernatural terror kicks in, though these chills and jump scares wear thin a good time before the movie's oblique, that'll-do, "whatever" ending.

★★★☆☆

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