The Manchurian Candidate ***1/2
Cast: Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber, Meryl Streep, Jon Voight , Kimbery Elise, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright
Director: Jonathan Demme
Running Length: 2:10
MPAA Classification: R

In an election year, a political thriller like "The Manchurian Candidate" packs an extra punch and delivers enough plausible story points to make one wonder if the events in the movie could really occur. In pre-Desert Storm Kuwait, Captain Ben Marco (Washington) and his convoy are attacked and captured. Three days later, they are found alive - supposedly rescued by Raymond Shaw (Shreiber), a member of the convoy. He is awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor, and thirteen years later his is running for vice-president. But Marco is having nightmares about those three days; days that are blurry in his memory. He comes to believe that Shaw may not be the hero that everyone believes he is (himself included), and begins an investigation into matters. When he finds others in the convoy are also suffering from nightmares, his paranoia increases.

I have never seen the original, but this remake, from director Jonathan Demme, delivers a sufficient amount of mystery and intrigue to keep you on the edge of your seat almost until the credits roll. My only complaint is that they attempted to deliver a type of "happy ending" to the film. To some extent, it takes away from what has happened just before it. That is all I can say without giving it away, but if you have seen the movie, you know what I mean. Denzel Washington gives another excellent performance as the tormented Ben Marco. Meryl Streep offers up the right amount of bitchiness and creepiness as Raymond's Hillary Clinton-like mother, Eleanor. This movie was definately better than I anticipated, and I would highly recommend it.