Point of Origin
Serial arson is haphazardly dramatized inPoint of Origin, a fact-based HBO production that's more flashy than effective. A respected cinematographer (The Usual Suspects,X-Men) making his directorial debut, Newton Thomas Sigel turns this pyrotechnic mystery into a showcase for rampant visual trickery, employing digital effects, various film speeds, and Hong Kong-like stunt fantasies to  the outbreak of arson in Glendale, California, in 1987. Ray Liotta plays the arson investigator whose behavior draws the suspicion of his colleagues, but his guilt or innocence (and areallyobvious make-up disguise) take a back seat to Sigel's visual treatment of fire, which borders on fetishism as it runs forward and backward in time. The effects are undeniably fascinating, suggesting the scary possibility thatrealarsonists might find this film inspiring. Obviously that's not Sigel's intention, but he's too busy showing off to fulfill the story's untapped potential.--Jeff Shannon