The defence The Adrenaline Seeker
“It owes the canon nothing.”
The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.
Back to trending 
Novocaine
Comedy · Crime · Thriller · 2001
A dentist finds himself a murder suspect after a sexy patient seduces him into prescribing her drugs.
Movie details
Novocaine
“Getting to the root of the problem is like pulling teeth.”
2001 Comedy · Crime · Thriller 1h 35m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.0 / 10
Community rating
A dentist finds himself a murder suspect after a sexy patient seduces him into prescribing her drugs.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Novocaine?
For the defence
The Adrenaline Seeker
“If it slows down, you check your phone.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Shoot 'Em Up
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A man named Mr. Smith delivers a woman's baby during a shootout, and is then called upon to protect the newborn from the army of gunmen.
Until Death
Action · 2007
Anthony Stowe is a dirty cop who is hooked on heroin—and everyone hates him. After a serious accident, he is placed into an induced coma, but emerges from it a better person who wants to put things right.
White Elephant
Action · 2022
An ex-marine enforcer must battle his conscience and code of honor when he is forced to do things for the mob.
War
Action · 2007
FBI agent Jack Crawford is out for revenge when his partner is killed and all clues point to the mysterious assassin Rogue. But when Rogue turns up years later to take care of some unfinished business, he triggers a violent clash of rival gangs. Will the truth come out before it's too late? And when the dust settles, who will remain standing?
Pineapple Express
Action · 2008
A stoner and his dealer are forced to go on the run from the police after the pothead witnesses a cop commit a murder.
Redirected
Action · 2014
Four friends become stranded in Eastern Europe and have to become hit men, prostitutes, corrupt cops, smugglers and more to make it home.
God Is a Bullet
Thriller · 2023
Vice detective Bob Hightower finds his ex-wife murdered and daughter kidnapped by a cult. Frustrated by the botched official investigations, he quits the force and infiltrates the cult to hunt down the leader with the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin.
Foxy Brown
Action · 1974
A voluptuous black woman takes a job as a high-class prostitute in order to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.
Rise of the Footsoldier
Action · 2007
Rise of the Footsoldier follows the inexorable rise of Carlton Leach from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late eighties and early nineties.
The Courier
Action · 2019
Ezekiel Mannings, a vicious crime boss, is out to kill Nick, the lone witness set to testify against him. He hires a mysterious female motorcycle courier to unknowingly deliver a poison-gas bomb to slay Nick, but after she rescues Nick from certain death, the duo must confront an army of ruthless hired killers in order to survive the night.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
David Atkins
Written by
David Atkins
Steve Martin
Frank Sangster
Helena Bonham Carter
Susan
Laura Dern
Jean Noble
Lynne Thigpen
Pat
Chelcie Ross
Mike
Polly Noonan
Sally
JoBe Cerny
Pharmacist Wayne Ponze
Court is in session
Put Novocaine on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Prestige Tourist
“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”
It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.