Good performances almost make it worthwhile.

A thriller stripped of thrills -- or, even worse, a thriller that thinks of itself as somehow rising above the vulgar pleasures of excitement.

The easy give-and-take between Redford and Mirren early in the film is flawlessly realistic, but even that couldn't stem the tide of this reviewer's yawns.

An evolutionary thriller, The Clearing not only reinforces the status quo, it grinds the face of the economy's losers in the dirt and does a victory dance on their head.