From the clean, modern tone of this film, you’d never guess it is not the first, but the second remake. L’Emmedeur, billed this time over as A Pain in the Ass, is based upon a play written by French director Francis Veber around forty years ago. He then made it into a film, which was consequently remade in the 70s under the title Buddy Buddy and starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. But this latest effort eclipses both its predecessors, offering viewers not only Veber’s typical farce but a fresh look and fast paced storytelling.

Who would have thought corporate espionage could be this exciting. When I phrase it like that though, it tends to sound like it ought to be. But it was director Tony Gilroy’s previous film Michael Clayton that firmly put the terms ‘corporate politics’ and ‘thriller’ in the same sentence. With 7 Academy Award nominations to show for it, there’s little wonder why he is back with a similar angle in Duplicity. However, in this endlessly deceptive caper tale, Gilroy is more inclined to mix business with heavy doses of pleasure than he was with Clayton. It’s certainly no worse to show for it; Duplicity is still a stylish, engaging and complex thriller, perhaps excessively so.

For those who love their thrillers stylish and nail-biting, this film is a must-see. Although it’s now seven years since its release in 2002, many of the respective players in Panic Room have recently come to the fore, which means public interest in this film could well increase. Directed by David Fincher, recently celebrated for his visionary drama The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Panic Room is a claustrophobic, home-invasion thriller, focusing on the plight of Meg Altman, a recent and subsequently wealthy divorcee, portrayed by two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster, and her daughter Sarah Altman, played by Kristen Stewart, who has recently achieved renown – especially in teenage circles – for her turn as Bella in Twilight, the film spawn of Stephanie Meyer’s bestselling book franchise. On their first night in their new home, an extensive mansion on New York’s upper-east side, Meg and Sarah face an ordeal against three burglars who are intent on infiltrating the house’s panic room, in which the previous owner has hidden his fortune. The panic room is a safe-haven, specifically designed by security companies for use in the event of a burglary. The film’s tagline aptly puts to us the question: What do you do when your hiding place is their destination?