AppsScraps Movie Reviews

Tron: Legacy

2011-06-07T08:57:00.000-04:00

Release date: 30 November 2010 (Tokyo, Japan)

Still fabulous after all these years, Tron: Legacy, directed by Joseph Kosinski, brings us back to gladiatorial games and netherworld of life on The Grid in a fashion the original cult sci-fi classic never dreamed of. Starring Jeff Bridges as gaming guru Kevin Flynn (and his alter Tron ego, Clu); Garrett Hedland as his son Sam; and Olivia Wilde as Quorra, the perfect ISO lifeform created in the Grid that Clu is determined to wipeout, Tron: Legacy is full of flash and special effects wizardry. While the story's themes are breathtakingly deep, the movie does not have the time to full develop or explore them which is really unfortunate. Still, the film is beautiful on oh-so-many levels and will remain timeless in a Blade Runner fashion.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Source Code

2011-06-07T08:53:00.000-04:00

Release date: 11 March 2011 (South by Southwest Film Festival)

Duncan Jones directs this sci-fi adventure that sees a near-dead army pilot, Coulter Stevens, being teleported (though some magic of physics not wholly explained) into a Chicago commuter train's last eight minutes before a bomb blows it up. His mission is to discover who the bomber is so as to avert an even bigger dirty nuclear attack that is going to happen in the 'present' time. Source Code is essentially an action vehicle for Jake Gyllenhall bookended by a romance between Stevens and fellow passenger Christina (Michelle Monaghan) and victim of conscious Colleen (Vera Farmiga) trying to navigate whether or not to let our hero Stevens finally die. Source Code is a fun movie despite the constant deja-vu. With tighter writing to really add depth to the exploration of Steven's situation 'living' amid life and death and futher examination of the consequences his tinkering with time could have, Source Code would have been an instant classic.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Incendies

2011-06-07T08:48:00.000-04:00

Release date: 4 September 2010 (Telluride Film Festival)

When their mother, Nawal Marwan (a superb Lubna Azabal), dies, twins Simon (Maxim Gaudette) and Jeanne (an excellent Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin) are given instructions through their mother's will to find their brother and father. This strange yet simple start to the film, based on the play written by Wajdi Mouawad, then evolves into a moving recounting of Nawal's life in Lebanon as a mother, terrorist and prisoner that is both captivating and brutal to watch. Several scenes will leave you breathless with sadness. Directed by Dennis Villeneuve, Incendies was Canada's entry into Best Foreign Picture at the Oscars in 2011, and is certainly one of the most beautifully crafted films in sometime. As their search into the mysterious roots of their mother's life progresses - leading to tortuurer Abou Tarek (Abdelghafour Elaaziz) - an awful truth is revealed with all its devastating impact. Incendies is a film not to be missed.

My rating 10 out of 10.

The Box

2011-04-09T14:22:00.000-04:00

Release date: 17 September 2009 (Lund Fantastick Film Festival)

Camera Diaz plays Norma Lewis, the far-too-older looking wife of Arthur (James Marsden) in this psychological sci-fi thriller built in the X-Files and Twilight Zone vein. Using Richard Matheson's short story Button, Button (which was actually made into a Twilight Zone spot) as his jumping off point, director/writer Richard Kelly takes the film into the pseudo-spiritual world casting a very good Frank Langella as Steward, a born-again NASA bigwig whose job it is oversee the testing of humankind. Clear? Well, the test is the box, which, if you hit its big red button will kill someone you don't know somewhere in the world and leave you $1M richer for it. The premise is intriguing and this reviewer thoroughly enjoyed the ride Kelly gives us - as outlandish, silly and outrageous as it all is. Kudos to Pallet, Butler and Chassagne for their perfectly realized music for this film. While frustratingly murky to the nth degree, it's still worth pushing The Box's button.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Robin Hood

2011-04-09T14:19:00.000-04:00

Release date: 12 May 2010 (Cannes Film Festival)

(Yawn) yet another Robin Hood movie. Ridley Scott, no less, directs this version and opts to pack plenty of star power into his merry film in hopes - we think - to distract viewers from the fact this is yet another Robin Hood movie, and a bad one at that. Scott even tries a new angle to distract us by tackling Robin Hood's before-the-merry-gang life as a crusader with Richard the Lionhearted, his return to England and his saving of King John's throne from the French. Sadly, despite a decent Russell Crowe as Maximus (oops, I mean Robin Hood), Cate Blanchett as Marion, William Hurt as Marshall, and a great Mark Strong as evil Godfrey, this movie is a dreadful mess. Raspberries to a dreadful Oscar Issac (as King John) and a morose Matthew Macfadyen (as the Sheriff of Nottingham). Scott's film delivers no heart so we are left adrift with characters so similar in their construct they seem cutouts. Too long by half, this Robin Hood is lost in the Nottingham woods from the get-go and ought to have stayed there.

My rating 2 out of 10.

Leap Year

2011-04-09T14:17:00.000-04:00

Release date: 6 January 2010 (New York City, New York)

Leap Year gives us a romantic comedy done a little differently with the arrival of a tightly strung American lass Anna Brady (Amy Adams) in County Nowhere Ireland. She's en route to propose to her geeky fiance Jeremy (Adam Scott) in Dublin. Problem is Anna doesn't carry much travel luck and enlists the help of Declan (Matthew Goode), an Irish innkeeper, to help her get across the Republic safely into the arms of her betrothed. But as Irish luck has it, she and Declan - fighting the whole way - end up in love. Directed by Anand Tucker, Leap Year is a solid film that's fun to watch for both the interplay of its characters and the stunning Irish scenery.

It is, in a word, endearing. My rating 8 out of 10.

The Class aka Entre les murs

2011-04-09T14:15:00.000-04:00

Release date: 24 May 2008 (Cannes Film Festival)

Winner of the 2008 Palme d'Or at Cannes, The Class follows french teacher Francois Marin's (Francois Begaudeau) work with a multi-racial group of 14- and 15-year-olds who live on the other side of the tracks, so to speak, in Paris. Director Laurent Cantet utilizes the much-a-rage shaky-camera-syndrome to give the film a documentary feel. Everyone has baggage in the class, the teacher included, and the film is a poignant examination of people struggling to understand each other despite the biased perspectives their upbringing has bestowed. The subtlety of the class trying to comprehend the archaic rules of French grammar adds a je ne sais quoi to the whole process. Gritty, honest and familiar to anyone who attended an inner city school, this class is worth attending.

My rating 8 out of 10.

A Single Man

2011-04-09T14:12:00.000-04:00

Release date: 11 September 2009 (Venice Film Festival)

A Single Man starts and ends with death. In between are several gorgeously constructed - if rampantly artsy - moments of English professor George (a brilliant Colin Firth) dealing with the loss of his gay partner of sixteen years, Jim (Matthew Goode). The film is fashion designer Tom Ford's coming out directorial debut and my, what a triumph it is. Ford captures both the beauty and tragedy of moments perfectly and knows how to linger on shots to allow all their Joycean detail to emerge. Working with a fine novel by Christopher Isherwood and supported by an excellent Julianne Moore as Charley, George's 'f*g hag', and Nicholas Hoult as Kenny in full Tadzio splendor, A Single Man is a singularly beautiful film for its resonant depth.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Push

2011-04-09T14:10:00.000-04:00

Release date: 29 January 2009 (Los Angeles, California)

Push is interesting first because it's intriguing despite being frustrating, and secondly because it uses American actors set against the backdrop of Hong Kong. Directed by Paul McGuigan, it is a rift of Matrix, Blade Runner, and, none-too-subtlety, X-men. Starring Dakota Fanning as Cassie Holmes, a 'watcher' who can see the future, who is busy convincing Nick Gant (Chris Evans) that he needs to reconnect with his girlfriend Kira (Camilla Belle) before the big bad 'Division' folks lead by Henry Carver (Djimon Hounsou) get to her. Got all that? Push is so wrought with goings-on that you tend to grow mute to the telekinetic and clairvoyant abilities of everyone: screaming Invasion-of-the-Body-Snatchers-like asian brothers aside. The best advice with this one is to suspend reality and cede yourself to the silliness, action and great views of Hong Kong. It's actually worth pushing yourself to do so.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Sherlock Holmes

2011-04-09T14:08:00.000-04:00

Release date: 24 December 2009 (Worldwide)

Any new iteration of Conan Dolye's classic is always welcome and director Guy Ritchie's version adds another layer to the myth that is Sherlock Holmes (a just-on-the-edge Robert Downey Jr) and his sidekick Dr. Watson (Jude Law). This version has evil - and recently risen from the grave - Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) out to create a new world order by doing in the British Parliamentarians as a start. Ritchie adds some fabulous fun to this version by adding Rachel McAdams to the story as Holmes' American femme fatale. Full of witty repartee, some heady high jinks and plenty of action, this reborn Sherlock Holmes is a welcome addition to the family.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Chloe

2011-04-09T14:05:00.000-04:00

Release date: 13 September 2009 (Toronto International Film Festival)

Chloe, a film directed by Atom Egoyan, gives the viewer a great tour of Toronto and really, that's about as much as you can say about this film that marries psychological thriller with sexy romp - neither successfully. Liam Neeson stars as David, a professor with an eye for his students that gets his wife Catherine (Julianne Moore) to wondering when he misses his surprise birthday party and she finds a picture of him with a student on his cell phone. Enter young-prostitute-with-a-problem Chloe (a doe-eyed Amanda Seyfried) whom Catherine hires to tempt David. Problem is Chloe has a thing for Catherine and begins telling fibs about her relations with David in order to further her own attempts to bed his wife. Yawn. Chloe is a darn awful film that fails to be entertaining, sexy, or scary. Egoyan who is known for - one could argue - too many films of this ilk should perhaps consider venturing down some new paths.

My rating solely for the great architecture shot in the film, 2 out of 10.

The Imaginarium of Dr. Panassus

2011-04-09T13:57:00.000-04:00

Release date: 22 May 2009 (Cannes Film Festival)

From the opening shots this is undeniably a film directed by Terry Gilliam. Christopher Plummer stars as Dr. Parnassus, a man given immortality through a deal with the devil (a brilliant Tom Waits). The deal requires he sacrifice his own daughter Valentina's (Lily Cole) soul when she turns sixteen. Parnassus runs a traveling road show that takes people into his imagination where their dreams and wishes come true. This premise is used in a new deal with the devil to save his daughter's soul with help from a corrupt charity CEO, Tony (variously Heath Ledger and Johnny Depp and Jude Law) they discover hanging under a bridge. It's all very Brazil, of course. The Imaginarium of Dr. Panassus will forever be known as the last film of Heath Ledger and Gilliam does a fine job adapting the screenplay to accommodate Heath's death. The movie is a fantastical journey and fans of Gilliam's work will love it. Others will reach for the remote.

For the sheer audacity of his imagination, my rating 5 out of 10.

Eat Pray Love

2011-04-09T13:55:00.000-04:00

Release date: 13 August 2010 (Canada)

Eat Pray Love is Julia Roberts' version of the film Shirley Valentine. Roberts plays Liz, a lass who is down on love, out of love with her husband, and lost within a new relationship to David (James Franco). To mend she flees: to Italy to eat; to India to pray; to Bali to reflect. On route she meets people who give her what she lacks - perspective. With their advice she is able to find love again with a divorced Brazilian Felipe (Javier Bardem). While a great travelogue, Eat Pray Love plods and director Ryan Murphy should have edited the film with more vigor. That said kudos to Richard Jenkins for his role as Richard the Texan and the richness of the scenery throughout (Ms. Roberts included).

My rating 6 out of 10.

Hot Tub Time Machine

2011-04-09T13:53:00.000-04:00

Release date: 26 March 2010 (Canada)

Dumb title, sure, yes, let's admit that from the start. When three longtime buddies - just dumped Adam (John Cucsak); Nick (Craig Robinson) and a recently suicidal Lou (Rob Corddry) head back to a ski resort they partied at during their college days - accompanied by Adam's nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) - the strangest of things takes place. Thanks to too much booze, and a can of Russian Red Bull-like drink spilling on the hot tub's control, the foursome find themselves transported back to 1986. Remember those days? Reliving their lives again reveals all sorts of truths and allows the guys to reconnect, reflect and heal. While Hot Tub Time Machine is inconsequentially silly with no greater meaning than filling screen time, it's still worth digging out the bathing suit and heading to the water.

Love Actually

2011-04-09T13:51:00.000-04:00

Release date: 7 September 2003 (Toronto International Film Festival)

Love Actually is an ensemble piece whose characters are all in varying stages of infatuation. Some are madly in love; others are busy falling out of love; still others are finding their first love. Directed by Richard Curtis, it stars the likes of Hugh Grant (as the Prime Minister nonetheless); Liam Neeson (as Daniel); Emma Thompson (as Karen); Bill Nighy (as Billy Mack); Keira Knightley (as Juliet); Chiwetel Ejiofor (as Peter); Alan Rickman (as Harry); and even Billy Bob Thornton (as the US President). Set in London at Christmas, the film is wonderfully engaging as the lives of all these characters collide and intermingle with nary beat missed. Love Actually works. Works because we see in every encounter some semblance of ourselves.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Legion

2011-04-09T13:47:00.000-04:00

Release date: 21 January 2010 (Hollywood, California)

Seems the world is always ending in America and Legion continues this trend with a fallen St. Michael (a wooden Paul Bettany) arriving in Los Angeles on the prowl for a new age Mary named Charlie (Adrianne Palicki). The premise of this gawd-awful film directed by Scott Charles Stewart is that God - it seems - is fed up with all our bullsh*t and has opted to use humans themselves (rather than a flood) to end the world. But God has been watching too many B-rate zombie movies and has possessed sort-of-dead Los Angeleans driving out to the desert to kill our new age Mary who is holed up with the renegade St. Michael and the occupants of a diner - Jeep (Lucas Black), his dad (Dennis Quaid), Kyle (a good Tyrese Gibson), Percy (Charles S. Dutton) and the Anderson family. Mayhem ensues until St. Gabriel arrives, bringing with him one of Hollywood's most stupid entrances ever, a mace, and a nasty case of Father-infatuation. Production value aside Legion gives new meaning to bad film-making and is, in the worst sense of the word, a horror to watch.

My rating - may God strike me down - 1 out of 10.

The Lives of Others

2011-03-12T15:47:00.000-05:00

Release date: 15 March 2006 (Berlin, Germany)

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck - a mouthful of a name for sure - directs this perfectly paced thriller that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign picture in 2007. Set in East Berlin when the Stasi ruled supreme and whole arms of the East Germany government spent their time monitoring the lives of others. Into this world arrives Stasi secret agent Capt. Gerd Wiesler (a fabulous Ulrich Mühe), a man of monotonous routine and precision, who is charged with spying on the lives of author Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) - believed to be sympathetic to the West - and his lover, a actor named Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck). Problem is the real motive for the spying is not western sympathies - though are these discovered? - but the fact the Minister of Culture has a love-on for Christa. The film works brilliantly on many levels - the suspense building subtlety throughout - as Wiesler's own fascination with the couple slowly creates holes in his Stasi armour. The Lives of Others gives us an example of the tragedy that results when a man's allegiance - to a ideology, to his country - is tested.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Sunshine Cleaning

2011-03-12T15:45:00.000-05:00

Release date: 18 January 2008 (Sundance Film Festival)

Directed by Christine Jeffs Sunshine Cleaning gives us the story of two Albuquerque sisters who venture into the business of bio-hazard and post-crime scene clean-up. Bright and cheery, it is not. Rose (Amy Adams) is eking out a living working as a house cleaner, dealing with a son, Oscar (Jason Spevack) with challenges of his own, and continuing an affair with her (married) high school sweetheart - now sheriff - Mac (Steve Zahn). When he suggests she raise the money she needs to send odd Oscar to private school by cleaning up murder scenes she recruits her gadabout sister Norah (Emily Blunt) and is off to the hardware store to bulk buy Lysol. And thereupon Sunshine Cleaning is born, and pardon the pun, dies. With a decidedly 'indie' feel to the adventure - and despite the appearance of Alan Arkin as their very eccentric father, Joe - Sunshine Cleaning feels wrong from the get-go. As though we are watching not a film but a version of Twin Peaks swept into Little Miss Sunshine. Where's the magic eraser when you need it?

My rating 3 out of 10.

Watlz with Bashir

2011-03-12T15:43:00.000-05:00

Release date: 15 May 2008 (Cannes Film Festival)

If you haven't yet danced with Bashir; get moving. Waltz with Bashir is director Ari Folman's exploration of his time serving with the Israeli military during the invasion of Lebanon in 1982. More than that however, the film cuts new territory on the art of documentary film-making by marrying one man's journey to discover - and reconcile - his wartime actions using animation as the vehicle. Portraying the horror of the war and subsequent massacre of civilians in animation dulls the visceral nature of the violence so Folman can examine more clearly his part in it. Waltz with Bashir is a fascinating achievement that rockets the viewer through the history of the middle east and the wounded dreams of those who've fought its battles and ends with a live action segment that is brutally effective. This is powerful stuff and a must see.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Swept Away

2011-03-12T15:40:00.000-05:00

Release date: 8 October 2002 (Los Angeles, California)

There's really only three reasons to watch this film. The opening credits are beautifully realized; the last ten minutes are achingly beautiful on an emotional level with - finally! - emotive acting by Madonna (as Amber, the uber rich, bitchy socialite); and, most intriguingly, to sift through the dreadful other bits to ponder the deeper themes at play. Themes of class warfare; sex; and the roles of men and women. Directed by Guy Ritchie, Swept Away is a remake of Lina Wertmuller's 1974 film Travolti da un insolito destino nell'azzurro mare d'agosto (Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August). Madonna essentially plays herself and is forced to look at things a little differently when she is stranded on a Mediterranean island with a fisherman named Giuseppe (Adriano Giannini). Here she evolves we're led to believe and the film ventures into territory that is deeply misogynistic (to the point of being uncomfortable) but perhaps that's the film's salient point?

For making me uncomfortable and forcing me to think, my rating 4 out of 10.

The Counterfeiters

2011-03-12T15:36:00.000-05:00

Release date: 10 February 2007 (Berlin International Film Festival)

The Counterfeiters won the Academy for Best Foreign Film in 2008, and deservedly so. Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky, it recounts the true story of Operation Bernhard - the Nazi's plan to destabilize the British and American governments by flooding their economies with forged pounds and dollars designed and printed by Jews interned at Sachsenhausen. Central to the story is Salomon "Sally" Sorowitsch (a superb Karl Markovics), a master counterfeiter who is captured in Berlin at the start of the war by Friedrich Herzog (Devid Striesow), who later becomes his jailer at Sachsenhauser. The Counterfeits is a fine film full of fine acting - kudos to both August Diehl (as Adolf Burger) and the young Sebastian Urzendowsky (as Kolya) - that drags us into the dirty moral quicksand associated with Nazi complicity and lets us struggle with the question: what would you have done?

My rating 8 out of 10.

Invictus

2011-03-12T15:33:00.000-05:00

Release date: 3 December 2009 (Hollywood, California)

Despite the considerable talent of none other than Clint Eastwood directing, Invictus is a formulaic - verging on trite - recap of the South African rugby team's victory at the 1995 World Rugby Cup. Based on John Carlin's book, Eastwood positions the story as President Mandela's (Morgan Freeman) mission to win the cup as one tool to help unite the apartheid-torn nation. He recruits into the effort none other than the team's captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon). And while a true story indeed - and an important one - sorry, it doesn't make for very good film-making. Worse, Damon's seemed to forgot how to act (unless you count woodenness as acting) and Freeman's portrayal of Mandela cum Gandhi with a dreadful accent just plain hurts. All in all, a film decidedly lacking in heart. To paraphrase William Ernest Henley, whose poem the movie draws its title from: in the fell clutch of circumstance, I have both winced and cried aloud.

My rating 4 out of 10.

Death at a Funeral

2011-03-12T15:30:00.001-05:00

Release date: 10 February 2007 (European Film Market)

Directed by Frank Oz, this black comedy has two brothers - Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) and Robert (Rupert Graves) - maneuvering about their father's home trying to deal with a disabled and acerbic uncle Alfie (Peter Vaughan), a blackmailing dwarf (Peter Dinklage) and their cousin Martha's (Daisy Donovan) fiance Simon (Allan Tudyk) who has surreptitiously taken hallucinogenic drugs. What makes this all so entertaining is the fact it happens on the day of their father's funeral. Turns out the dwarf is actually their father's gay lover; Martha's dad Victor (Peter Egan) can't abide Simon; and, best of all Daniel's been harbouring a grudge against his older, more successful brother for ages. Death at a Funeral is a twisted dark comedy in a style so decided fawlty (emphasis and spelling intended) it's a wicked joy to watch.

My rating 7 out of 10.

127 Hours

2011-03-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

Release date: 4 September 2010 (Telluride Film Festival)

Bully on James Franco for tackling a film where he is the center of attention from the get-go and responsible for carrying all the action. Bully on director Danny Boyle for detouring off the beaten path of Slumdog Millionaire to tackle the harrowing true-life story of Aron Ralston, who when trapped in a crevice in the Utah badlands opted to amputate his right arm rather than perish. A bold story coupled with bold acting in the hand(s)? of a bold director can produce a fine movie and 127 Hours is that and more.

My rating 8 out of 10.

It's Kind of a Funny Story

2011-03-05T11:57:00.000-05:00

Release date: September 2010 (Toronto International Film Festival)

It's kind of an odd story, what with a suicidal 16-yer-old checking himself into an adult psychiatric ward, but It's Kind of a Funny Story is a good story too. Got that? Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the film follows Craig (Keir Gilchrist), a not untypical teenager as he wanders the ward of the unit meeting and befriending the patients in his search to fully understand he's just like most teenagers confused by he feelings for a girl and unable to relate what he wants to be (artsy and creative) with his parents expectations. Central to the film is a great performance by Zach Falifianakis as Bobby and Emma Roberts as Noelle, Craig's soon-to-be girlfriend. While the film tackles the subject of mental health with a tongue-in-cheek humour that may lessen the severity of those individuals working their way through the maze that is brain health illness, It's Kind of a Funny Story (dumb title aside) is both quaint and odd enough - in an indie film sort of style - to make you forgive this.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Inception

2011-03-05T11:54:00.000-05:00

Release date: 8 July 2010 (London, UK)

Easily the best film of this or any year, Christopher Nolan's masterpiece is a Jungian's wet dream of symbolism and one of the most deep films in the past half century. A marriage of past and present layered with a premise so interesting it ought to warrant its own research grant - that we can invade the subconscious and lay seeds that will eventually blossom into real-life actions. Inception stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Cobb (and who else does tortured soul better?) the leader of a group of professionals who parachute into the dreams of their targets. With him are sidekicks Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Ariadne (Ellen Page) and paying client Saito (Ken Watanabe). When Cobb is hired by Saito to change the mind of the CEO of the world's key energy company Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy), he comes face-to-face with his own past and the wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard), he abandoned within a dream. With a rich storyline that goes deeper and deeper as it evolves and special effects that brilliantly complement its brazen premise, Inception is the most refreshingly original movie you'll see in long time.

My rating 10 out of 10.

The Secret in Their Eyes

2011-03-05T11:52:00.001-05:00

Release date: 13 August 2009 (Argentina)

The Secret in Their Eyes won Best Foreign Film for Argentina in 2010. Skillfully directed by Juan Jose Campenella, there is nary a misplaced scene. In fact what works best about this film is its quietness. A skill that continues to elude the majority of American directors. The film is a crime thriller with a retired legal counselor in 1999 choosing to write a book about an unsolved rape/murder case from 1974. Ricardo Darin stars as Benjamin Esposito, the counselor in question; Guillermo Francella is Pablo Sandoval his perpetually drunk colleague and Soledad Villamil is their boss, Irene Hastings. When a recently married Lilana is raped and murdered Esposito is assigned to the case. From that assignment he builds a lifelong fascination with the case and its players, including Lilana's husband Ricardo Morales (Pablo Rago). The Secret in Their Eyes is a bold film despite its quietness and the twists and turns you encounter viewing it are fabulously fodder for a psychiatrist. See it.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Iron Man 2

2011-03-05T11:49:00.000-05:00

Release date: 26 April 2010 (Los Angeles, California)

Robert Downey Jr returns - some six months later in time - as mega entrepreneur Tony Stark aka Iron Man. Now that he's a successful deterrent to war, the US Army begins its work to militarize the Iron Man technology, much to Stark's chargin. Sadly, Stark's ticker continues to wane and new bad guy Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) proves the US military right when he shows up at the Monaco Grand Prix in a Iron Man-like suit and nearly does Stark in. Gwyneth Paltrow returns as Pepper - now Stark CEO - Potts and Lt. Col. James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) pulls double duty again tiptoeing between his military bosses and Stark. Stark's new assistant Natalie (Scarlett Johansson) we discover is actually working for Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and when Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) hires Whiplash to work on a Hammer version of Ironman, all heck breaks loose. Directed by Jon Favreau, Ironman 2 continues all the great stuff discovered in the first movie and gives us a reason to like Ironman all over again.

My rating 8 out of 10.

The Town

2011-03-05T11:45:00.000-05:00

Release date: 8 September 2010 (Venice Film Festival)

Charlestown on the outskirts of Boston births some of America's most successful thieves. The Town is director Ben Affleck's story of one such group of armed robbers and, in particular, the attempt by one of this gang - Doug MacRay (Affleck) - to quit the neighbourhood's business. When Affleck and his crew rob a bank and end up taking the bank manager Claire (Rebecca Hull) hostage, it sets in motion a collision between him, his best friend James (an outstanding Jeremy Renner) and the law. Anxious to escape Charlestown and with FBI agent Frawley (John Hamm) in pursuit, Doug is forced to take one last job for the neighbourhood godfather, Fergie Colm (Pete Postlewaite). The Town is an action filled tale woven tightly around the story's four key characters and while it can be criticized for being unrealistic on a whole host of levels, the acting is fine enough, the action sharp enough to warrant a sojourn.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Score: A Hockey Musical

2011-03-05T11:42:00.000-05:00

Release date: 9 September 2010 (Toronto International Film Festival)

A film only a Canadian could love, Score: A Hockey Musical stars Noah Reid as Farley Gordon, a home-schooled lad with the hockey skills of The Great One. Recruited to the Brampton Blades for a tryout he soon makes the team much to the chagrin of Coach Donker (John Pyper-Ferguson). But when Farley is faced to fight, the pacifist sentiment his parents - Hope and Edgar (Olivia Newton John and Marc Jordan respectively) - built into him has him at a crossroad. Directed by Michael McGowan and co-starring Alle MacDonald as Farley's 'I've-not-yet-discovered-I-love-her' best friend Eve, Score is ramp with over-the-top silliness and some pretty awful singing too boot. But hey, it's about hockey and features a few cameos by the likes of Walter Gretzky, Nelly Furtado, Evan Soloman, Theo Fleury and George Stroumboulopoulos, so it can't be all bad, eh!

My rating 4 out of 10.

The Road

2011-03-05T11:40:00.000-05:00

Release date: 3 September 2009 (Venice Film Festival)

The Road is a post-apocalyptic story based on Cormac McCarthy's novel that has a grungy looking Viggo Mortensen traipsing around an even grungier America. Viggo is looking for a safe place for he and his son, "Boy" (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as a new ice age settles on the continent and consumes the compassion that once knit communities and people together. Directed by John Hillcoat in hues of gray that match the relentless malaise and sadness of the story this is not a film to watch if you're feeling out of sorts or depressed. While ultimately The Road is a story of hope and love, you are forced to suffer through lots of violence to get there. Viggo is as good as ever but we've been down this road before.

My rating 6 out of 10.

Kwaidan

2011-02-21T16:51:00.002-05:00

Release date: 29 December 1964 (Japan)

Even today this 1964 film by artist-turned-director Masaki Kobayaski remains a masterpiece. Whether viewed as a psychological horror, a histogram of creepy folktales or a fantasy, Kwaidan remains hugely influential in Japanese film even today and echos of Kobayaski's style appear in modern anime with his pioneering use of stark colours and subtle messaging that mixes fable and parable. The film is a compendium of four stories based on the stories of Lafcadio Hearn - Black Hair, The Woman in the Snow, Hoichi the Earless and In a Cup of Tea. Each has its eerie and supernatural aspects and of the four the first and third work the best. Hoichi the Earless is a profound segment that blurs the lines of history when a story teller's ability to recount the past has the ghosts of the past trying to recruit him.

Essential viewing for any Japanese film fan, Kwaidan gets my rating of 9 out of 10.

The King's Speech

2011-02-21T16:49:00.002-05:00

Release date: 5 September 2010 (Telluride Film Festival)

Telling the little known story of King George VI's (an excellent Colin Firth) struggle with stuttering and the speech therapist, Lionel Logue (an even better Geoffrey Rush), who aided him, The King's Speech recounts a heady slice of European history from the death of George V (Michael Gambon), the ascention and abdication of Edward VIII (Guy Pearce) and the arrival of George VI on the throne at the start of World War II. Directed by Tom Hooper, the film gives us a peek into the Family Royal and the intrigue - real or imagined - of life at court. Everyone is good in this film and the production has a regal air about it fitting the subject matter. The film's best bits though are those with Bertie and Lionel alone working through his stammer and the psychological baggage that birthed it. A good film that marries a history lesson with a drama few of us - at the time - knew was taking place behind the velvet curtains of Buckingham Palace.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Fantastic Mr Fox

2011-02-21T16:43:00.002-05:00

Release date: 14 October 2009 (London Film Festival)

After promising his pregnant wife, Mrs Fox (Meryl Streep) he'll refrain from his fox raiding ways to take up a job as a journalist, the erstwhile Mr Fox (George Clooney) moves his home from a den to an oak tree situated beside three of the biggest, baddest farmers in the county - Boggis and Bunce and Bean. There, with his very odd son Ash (Jason Schwartzman) grown-up and his nephew Kristofferson (Eric Chase Anderson) moved in, he resumes his chicken stealing ways. This inevitably leads to a war between the farmers and Mr Fox which draws in the entire animal community living beneath the ground. Directed by Wes Anderson and using stop-action animation - a decidedly brave move that works in a world of computer drawn animation films - Fantastic Mr. Fox takes Roald Dahl's much loved characters on a new adventure that is endearing, slightly odd, and wickedly funny.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Winter's Bone

2011-02-21T16:41:00.001-05:00

Release date: January 2010 (Sundance Film Festival)

Daniel Woodrell's novel of the same name is adapted by director Debra Granik and becomes a movie critic's darling. When 17-year-old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) is told the home she and her family live in will be confiscated unless her drug-dealing father Jessup is found, she takes things into her own hands to search the underbelly of Missouri hillbilly country - and its vile web of secrets and mean inhabitants - to discover the truth. Sadly, she finds it in a swamp but does come out richer for it. Winter's Bone is beautifully filmed in an unflinching fashion and cuts very near the bone. And while Lawrence, John Hawkes (as her uncle Teardrop) and especially Dale Dickey (as the cruel-to-be-kind matriarch Merab) are all excellent, in the end you have no emotional attachment to these folks - real as they may be in portrayal - and worse, tire of the dreariness of the whole thing. A good example of style over substance, Winter's Bone leaves this critic cold indeed.

My rating 4 out of 10.

Exam

2011-02-21T16:36:00.002-05:00

Release date: June 2009 (Edinburgh Film Festival)

Stuart Hazeldine wrote and directed this stylistic thriller that has a mysterious group of wannabes entering a room to take an exam which will land one of them a much coveted job with the world's greatest pharmaceutical. At the outset the exam's invigilator (Colin Salmon) lays down the rules the 8 candidates must adhere to. These include no spoiling the exam paper; no talking to either the invigilator or the armed guard stationed in the room; and no leaving the room. With that, the exam and intrigue commence. The central players end up being White (Luke Malby), Black (Chukwudi Iwuji), Blonde (Natalie Cox) and Deaf (John Lloyd Fillingham) who - once they realize they can talk to each other - try to sort out the mystery and answer the question that appears to elude them. Exam is a well thought-out thriller expertly directed within the confines of a single room. It captures you from the opening credits forward with enough cerebral and physical action to keep you pondering. You'll look at your next exam a little differently for sure.

My rating 8 out of 10.

The Kids Are Alright

2011-02-19T11:23:00.003-05:00

Release date: 25 January 2010 (Sundance Film Festival)

Lisa Cholodenko directs a film she wrote - and a very good original screenplay at that - which follows the arrival of a surrogate father into the lives of two lesbians and their two children. Annette Benning stars as Nic, the successful physician and 'father' of the family. Julianne Moore is her partner, Jules, a woman still trying to find herself and her lot in life. When their teenage children - Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and brother Laser (Josh Hutcherson) - decide to meet their sperm-donating father Paul (Mark Ruffalo) it sets off all sorts of doubts and drama that challenges the family's dynamic. The film is refreshing in that it portrays two not unusual occurrences in life within the (to some) unique context of a gay couple with kids. Filmed with good humour, it all ends predictably enough - poor Paul aside - and Benning steals the show.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Toy Story 3

2011-02-19T11:14:00.003-05:00

Release date: 12 June 2010 (Taormina Film Festival)

Lee Unkrick directs this latest installment of the Disney Studios juggernaut that keeps going and going. The playpen of characters returns including Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Lotso (Ned Beatty), Mr Potato Head (Don Rickles - who this reviewer always thinks is deceased), and Ken (Michael Keaton). As Andy heads for college, he toys with what to do with his beloved childhood friends. Opting to cart them to the attic, they are inadvertently waylaid by Andy's mom and end up in a notorious daycare overseen by an evil strawberry-scented teddy bear called Lots-o'-Huggin'. The story is formulaic to its core and despite the gorgeous animation, Toy Story 3 has a thoroughly been-there, done-that feel. And the Academy picked this an Oscar 2011 contender? Oh my!

My rating 5 out of 10.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

2011-02-19T11:11:00.002-05:00

Release date: 8 September 2009 (Venice Film Festival)

Despite a stellar line up of stars, The Men Who Stare at Goats is simply too strange a film to warrant anything but passing interest. Ewan Macgregor stars as Bob Wilton, a loser journalist who ships out to Iraq to get a story that will make his girlfriend reconsider the fact he is a loser. There he meets Lyn Skip Cassady (George Clooney) who recounts a tale only a strung out San Franciscan could love of an army officer, Bill Django (a good Jeff Bridges), whose job it was to train a secret group of army misfits to be - wait for it - psychic Jedi warriors. Kevin Spacey appears being, well, Kevin Spaceylike as the Jedi warrior with a grudge, Larry Hooper. And yes, a goat dies. The film fails despite its tongue-in-cheek plot thanks solely to Macgregor who is thoroughly aggravating throughout the film. This reviewer kept hoping he'd be shot. Never a good sign, granted. Kudos to Clooney and Bridges for giving us something to focus on.

My rating 4 neahs out of 10.

Red

2011-02-19T11:07:00.001-05:00

Release date: 29 September 2010 (Austin Fantastic Fest)

Retired Extremely Dangerous is what the initials stand for and to it you might add, fun to boot. Directed by Robert Schwentke, the ensemble piece stars a fine group of stars - Helen Mirren (as Victoria); Bruce Willis (as Frank Moses); Karl Urban (as William Cooper); the always crazy John Malkovich (as crazy Marvin Boggs); Mary-Louise Parker (as Sarah); Morgan Freedman (as Joe Matheson); the always fine Brian Cox (as Ivan) and even Richard Dreyfuss and Ernest Borgnine. Best watched by totally ignoring the plot and simply going along for the ride, it's great to see this cadre of fine movie stars in a vehicle that plays wonderfully to their age.

My rating 7 out of 10.

A Room With A View

2011-02-19T11:04:00.002-05:00

Release date: December 1985 (Royal Command Film Festival)

An Ivory and Merchant film that is - as all Ivory and Merchant films are - exquisite. A Room with a View puts to film E.M. Forrester's fabulous novel of the same name. The film is a gorgeous love story with a overriding social commentary that pokes fun at English sensibilities at the turn of the century. Starring oh-so-young versions of Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy Honeychurch and Daniel Day Lewis as her pompous fiance Cecil Vyse; Julian Sands is Lucy's paramour George; the great Denholm Elliott is his father Mr. Elliott; Julie Dench is writer Eleanor Lavish - gotta love that name! - Simon Callow plays Reverend Beade and the great Maggie Smith is Lucy's cousin and chaperon, and ever-in-a-muddle, Charlotte. The film is rich on too many levels to count and the scene of Lucy coming upon George in the field high above Florence remains one of this reviewers most favourite movie scenes of all time.

My rating 9 out of 10.

500 Days of Summer

2011-02-19T11:01:00.001-05:00

Release date: 17 January 2009 (Sundance Film Festival)

Marc Webb directs Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom Hansen and Zooey Deschanel as Summer Finn, the inspiration for the title of the movie. Tom is a greeting card copy writer who has become so caught up in his verses that when he meets new office employee Summer is instantly love-struck. What follows is a cute synopsis of their 500 days of ups and downs. Summer, you see, is a freer spirit and is fine with that nebulous commitment best termed 'friends with benefits'. When fate intercedes and she meets the man of her dreams, Tom is forced to realize sometimes love-struckness can be one-sided. 500 Days of Summer is a very good film that uses an inventive storyline complemented by fine acting to relate one of the great truths of dating - often you're not 'the one', but 'the one' is out there.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Finding Bliss

2011-02-19T10:57:00.002-05:00

Release date: 8 January 2009 (Slamdance Film Festival)

Schlock. Pure schlock and poor schlock at that. A straight to dvd disaster that uses the premise of a 'real' film-maker Jody (Leelee Sobeiski), who, trying to make inroads into the industry, opts to work at an adult film company while secretly filming her 'real' movie in their studios at night. While the movie bills itself as a romantic comedy, the dreadful intermingling of a love story with porn makes the romance, pardon the pun, impotent. Directed by Julie Davis and with Matt Davis as Jody's romantic interest, Jeff Drake, the film's only redeeming quality is supporting actors Kristen Johnston as Irene Fox and PJ Bryne as Gary. What's sure, you'll not find any bliss in this awful film.

My rating 1 out of 10.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

2011-02-05T11:23:00.002-05:00

Release date: 24 June 2010 (Los Angeles Film Festival)

(yawn)... finally the end of this sad journey. The usual gaggle of werewolves and vampires reassembles again including the unholy trio of shamelessly inane 'actors' Kristen Stewart as Bella, Robert Pattinson as Edward and Taylor Lautner as Jacob. David Slade directs the two sorry hours of tedious boredom; Bella graduates; Victoria returns for more revenge; Jacob still lusts after Bella. Amid the tiresome seen-it-all-before scenes rank with simply brutal dialogue lies the end of the saga. Let do hope and pray this dreadful series that only got worse as it evolved has finally met its eclipse.

My rating 1 out of 10.

Before Sunset

2011-02-05T11:19:00.002-05:00

Release date: 10 February 2004 (Berlin International Film Festival)

Nine years after their first encounter in Paris, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Deply) cross paths again when Jesse arrives in Paris at the end of a long book tour. The book, of course, is a veiled autobiography of his and Celine's before sunrise journeying. Both remain haunted by their first encounter and director Richard Linklater picks up where they left off dealing with the question: did either return to the train station as they promised. Before Sunset doesn't work as well as the first film. The couple are simply re-hatching old themes, driven by a plot vehicle - Jesse's soon departing plane - that feels false. Though both are wiser, sadder and more mature this time out, the passion that brought life to the first film is buried in too much psychological melodrama that is both too verbose by half and gives us characters weighted in stone rather than light. But perhaps that's the point?

My rating 6 out of 10.

Down with Love

2011-02-05T11:16:00.002-05:00

Release date: 9 May 2003 (New York City, New York)

Down with Love is an homage to those silly, bantering romantic comedies of the 1960s. It is not trying to be something bigger or deeper or more meaningful. Its raison d'etre is simply lightness and silliness. Barbara Novak (Renee Zellweger) comes to New York to celebrate the publication of her women-can-have-lives-and-pleasure-without-men book - Down With Love. Journalist and womanizer extraordinaire, Catcher Block (Ewan Macgregor), is set on proving her wrong by trying to woe her - as someone else. It's all utterly ridiculous in the hands of director Peyton Reed and with the addition of David Hyde Pierce as Peter MacManus, Block's boss, and Sarah Paulson as Vikki Hill, Novak's agent, the mis-communication and comedic results are wonderful to see on screen.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Replusion

2011-02-05T11:12:00.002-05:00

Release date: May 1964 (Cannes Film Festival)

In 1965 Roman Polanski directed a very young Catherine Deneuve in this deep and beautifully filmed psychological thriller. Deneuve is Carole, a young manicurist who lives in London with her sister Helen (Yvonne Furneaux). Carole is deeply troubled, in particular by men; repulsed in fact. A situation not helped by her sister who is banging her boyfriend Michael (Ian Hendrey) each nigh in their flat, nor by Colin (John Fraser) her wannabe boyfriend. Things come to a head when Michael takes Helen on a vacation leaving Carole alone in the flat. She soon slides into hallucinations as her mental state slips beyond the norm into a nether world where she imagines being raped as the walls of her flat - literally - come alive. Way ahead of its time, Repulsion is pregnant with subplot but try to avoid thinking too much and simply sit back and enjoy watching the great film-making. Exceptionally great even all these years on, Repulsion shows us how to create horror that doesn't need the gory effects so prevalent in today's films.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Sin Nombre

2011-02-05T11:08:00.002-05:00

Release date: 18 January 2009 (Sundance Film Festival)

It doesn't end well. That said, Sin Nombre is a magnificent film that takes us deep into two miserable worlds: the gangs of southern Mexico and the lives of desperate families trying to escape poverty in Central America by making the dangerous journey to America. Directed and written by Cary Fukunaga, Sin Nombre shows us the story of El Casper (Edgar Flores), a Mexican lad brutally buried in gang culture and Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), a young Honduran refugee escaping to America with her father and uncle by riding train roofs across the breadth of Mexico. When the lives of these two youths meet atop the roof of a train one night, the film's true journey begins. Beautifully filmed and oh-so-sad to watch, Sin Nombre gives us in the 'have countries' a reality difficult to comprehend. Fate is cruel and despite knowing intuitively that his days are numbered El Casper aids Sayra in reaching the border as though his redemption for past sins rests on this goal alone. A must see.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Mission Impossible 3

2011-02-05T11:05:00.002-05:00

Release date: 24 April 2006 (Rome, Italy)

JJ Abrams directs Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt in this latest MIF caper. Aiding Hunt is his usual crew - Maggie Q as Zhen and uber-cool Ving Rhames as Luther. Trying to finally exit the MIF life and retire, Hunt marries Julia (Michelle Monaghan). Alas the scriptwriters have different ideas for Julia after Hunt captures bad guy Owen Davian (a wickedly evil Philip Seymour Hoffman). She is duly dispatched to Shanghai as a bartering chip for Hunt to steal - wait for it - the "Rabbit's Foot", which is some crazy nuclear vial that will end the world or something - sorry, this reviewer lost track, and, frankly didn't really care by this point what it was all supposed to be about. In the end, there's plenty of action and Tom huffs and puffs his way through it all capably - the utter lack of any romance between him and Monaghan aside - and Billy Curdup, as double agent Musgrave, gets his comeuppance. Roll credits; roll eyes.

My rating 3 out of 10 for some breathtaking special effects.

The Book of Eli

2011-01-15T11:00:00.002-05:00

Release date: 11 January 2o1o (Hollywood, California)

Allen and Albert Hughes direct the screen version of Gary Whitta's novel about a Christian black man wandering a post-apocalyptic America with purportedly the last copy of the Bible in his hands. Denzel Washington plays Eli with a sort of cool hand Luke attitude as he crosses America just ahead of the evil Carnegie (the always great Gary Oldman) accompanied off and on by Solara (Mila Kunis), a lass he rescues from bandits. While an excellent study of one man's journey to his destiny - at Alcatraz of all places - the marriage of Mad Max-like scenes with spirituality doesn't feel genuine. America - post-apocalyptic or not - is hardly the place we're going find a latter-day saint.

My rating 4 out of 10.

Black Swan

2011-01-15T10:57:00.002-05:00

Release date: 1 September 2010 (Venice Film Festival)

Director Darren Aronofsky's companion piece to his Oscar-winning film, The Wrestler, is a macabre psychological thriller that plays brilliantly with the central theme of Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake, where a dancer is required to play both the White Swan and her evil Black Swan twin. Nina (Natalie Portman) is chosen by her New York City ballet company director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) to champion the role. Nina is obsessed with perfection - a by-product of her wildly over-bearing mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) - and is clearly mentally ill. She soon begins to confuse what's real with what's imagined and believes a younger, more earthy dancer Lily (Mila Kunis) is vying to take her place. What results is a marvelous examination of an artistically ill mind filmed with a richness and complexity that is both horrific and beautiful. Aronofsky's directing is stunning with each scene a study in black and white. Black Swan is a deep film and will garner Oscar nods this year.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Congorama

2011-01-15T10:51:00.002-05:00

Release date: 25 May 2006 (Cannes Film Festival)

Olivier Gourmet stars as a Belgian inventor with not much skill, Michel Roy, who lives his life in the limelight of his successful father, the author Herve Roy (Jean-Pierre Cassel). Michel is married to a Congoese refugee Alice (Claudia Tagbo) and has a budding tennis star of a son, Jules (Arnaud Mouithys). One day his father confesses he was adopted from a family in a small Quebec town called Sainte-Cecile. Fascinated by this, Michel travels to Quebec to pitch an invention and seek his roots. In Sainte-Cecile he meets Louis Legros, the son of an inventor of hybrid autos, and when their paths cross after an accident the real story of Congorama takes flight. Directed by Philippe Faladreau, Congorama twists a comic tale of fate and family as only the Quebecois can conceive. A wonderful little gem of a film that tells a cautionary tale of the importance of honesty.

My rating 7 out of 10.

The Social Network

2011-01-15T10:48:00.002-05:00

Release date: 24 September 2010 (New York Film Festival)

David Fincher directs what will be an Oscar contender about the rise of Facebook and its founder, the acerbic Mark Zuckerberg (Jessie Esienberg). When Zuckerberg gets dumped by his girlfriend he heads back to his Harvard dorm room and invents what will become Facebook. Helped by his closest friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) and initially funded by two wealthy Harvard classmates, the Winklevoss twins (Armie Hammer and Josh Pence), Facebook takes off across American colleges. Zuckerberg moves to California and is befriended by Napster founder Sean Parker (a very good Justin Timberlake) who secures the 'in' needed to flow Silicon Valley dollars to the enterprise. But along the way Zuckerberg manages to alienate those who helped him and ends up being sued and sued again. Fincher does an excellent job pulling the matrix of connections associated with this story together and the scenes with Zuckerberg and his lawyers mediating settlements are by far the best. Guaranteed to make you look at Facebook a little differently after seeing it, The Social Network proves truth is - as always - stranger than fiction.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Entrapment

2011-01-15T10:45:00.002-05:00

Release date: 29 April 1999 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

The single biggest problem with this Bond-lite flick rests with the utter lack of romance that is supposed to exist between its two stars, master thieves Robert MacDougal (Sean Connery) and Virgina Baker (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Directed by John Amiel, the premise is the entrapment of the aging burglar by the younger agent who is working for an insurance agency. There's plenty of action, the requisite master thief training the up-and-comer, Mission Impossible-like antics at the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur , a twist or three and moments of 'romance' which are laugh out loud silly. Rent this only if you're heading to Kuala Lumpur - as I actually was at the time - or want some comic relief, otherwise avoid being entrapped by its supposed star power.

My rating 2 out of 10.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

2011-01-15T10:42:00.002-05:00

Release date: 14 May 2010 (Cannes Film Festival)

The rumour is true, Gordon Gekko is back. Released from prison Gekko (Michael Douglas) is out to win the respect of the Wall Street world, regain the trust of his daughter Winnie (Carey Mulligan) and assist a young trader, Jake (Shia LeBoeuf) - who is rather too conveniently dating his daughter - in eking out revenge on mogul Bretton James (Josh Brolin) who had a hand in the demise of Jake's mentor Jules Steinhardt (Eli Wallack). Sadly the themes here seem dated despite the rash of Wall Street inside trading and the entire story feels forced. This reviewer has never been a fan of the work of director Oliver Stone. His films are all far too self-indulgent and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (dumb title by the way) is another example of this.

My rating 3 out of 10.

Let Me In

2011-01-15T10:38:00.003-05:00

Release date: 13 September 2010 (Toronto International Film Festival)

Let Me In is a remake of the fabulous Swedish film Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In) based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist. It stars Kodi Smit-McPhee as Owen, a young lad with an absent father and drunken mother who is bullied at school. Into his life comes Abby (Chloe Moretz) an ever-12 year-old vampire who appears one evening in the playground of his tenement. Abby's 'father' (a oddly miscast Richard Jenkins) acts as her protector and assists the vampire in securing the blood she needs. Directed by Matt Reeves, this version is honest to the original story and movie and does a good job at maintaining the eerie feel and tempo found in the Swedish film. Ultimately it is a tale of love, loneliness and revenge. Let Me In is an exception to the usual rule that remakes by Americans of Asian or European films are trashy.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Catfish

2011-01-15T10:35:00.002-05:00

Release date: 22 January 2010 (Sundance Film Festival)

Despite its marketing as some sort of Blair Witch Project, Catfish is decidedly more a statement on the state of social media in America and the lengths some folks will go to. Filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost document a story involving Ariel's brother, Nev, a 24-year-old New York-based photographer when he decides to actually visit a Facebook friend he's made in rural Michigan. Her name is Abby and while Ariel thinks Abby is a little girl who asked permission to paint one of his photographs, the truth when finally revealed is both intriguing and sad ... and certainly worth renting the film to see. Anyone who has ever created a Facebook page and accepted a 'friend's request' will want to see Catfish and will no doubt think twice about their online relationships.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Despicable Me

2011-01-15T10:32:00.002-05:00

Release date: 20 June 2010 (Moscow Film Festival)

Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud direct the voice of Steve Carroll as Gru, a criminal mastermind biding for king of the kingpins by stealing the moon but really more interested in gaining the approval of his mother (voice of Julie Andrews). What Gru doesn't expect is a trio of orphaned lasses - Margo, Edith and Agnes - who don't see the evildoer but a potential papa in the making. Despicable Me is a wonderfully fun film that marries shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles with two genuine stories - a son's desire to make his mother proud and the desire of orphaned children to find a family that accepts them. Filmed in a luscious animation reminiscent of the animation of the 1970s, Despicable Me is a wee gem of a film worth renting.

My rating 9 out of 10.

The Expendables

2011-01-15T10:28:00.002-05:00

Release date: 3 August 2010 (Los Angeles, California) (premiere)

An eclectic band of misfits is recruited for money to head to South America and depose a dictator in this homage to action films of the 1970/80's directed by the one and only Sylvester Stallone. There is a testosterone rush from the first scenes and the film maintains its relentless pace of toughness, violence and tongue in cheek cheesiness throughout. The Expendables is certainly not a great film but with a roster of stars that includes Sylvester Stallone (as team leader Barney Ross); Jason Statham (as ever romantic Lee Christmas); Jet Li (Yin Yang); Dolph Lundgren (as crazy Gunner Jensen); Mickey Rourke (playing his usual shtick, this time called Tool); Giselle Itie (as the lone female nod, Sandra) and Bruce Willis (as bad guy Mr. Church), everything works well. If you're looking for an A-Team-inspired flick for a night with the boys this is the one to pick. While it is instantly forgettable, it doesn't matter as the goal with this one is nothing more than fun, fun, fun.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Howl

2011-01-15T10:25:00.002-05:00

Release date: 21 January 2010 (Sundance Film Festival)

This docudrama combines funky animation with live acting and an interview with Allen Ginsberg to relate the genesis of his famous poem and the obscenity trial that resulted in California of the late 1950s. Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Freidman it stars an excellent James Franco as beat-poet Ginsberg and Jon Hamm as Jake Ehrlich, his lover of many years. Recounting Ginsberg's coming to terms with his homosexuality and the creation of Howl, the film works on every level. The use of animation to convey Ginsberg's poem is fabulous and the trial scenes add a real level of drama - and well-written drama at that. Treat Williams co-stars as Mark Schorer, Mary-Louise Parker appears as Gail Potter and Jeff Daniels plays Professor David Kirk. The film, like the poem itself, resonates even today as being ahead of its time and emblematic of literature that started a revolution.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Salt

2011-01-13T08:33:00.002-05:00

Release date: 19 July 2010 (Hollywood, California)

Essentially a vehicle for Angeline Jolie to strut her stuff, Salt, directed by Phillip Noyce weaves a fantastically dumb premise of bad guy Russians who back in the Cold War days trained wee Russian kids to infiltrate the power halls of the US government awaiting Day X when they would all strike and bring down big, bad America. Salt works best if you can just sit back and enjoy the action and banish all thoughts of reality from your mind. Levi Schreiber does a good job playing pepper to Jolie's Salt. If you're looking for an adrenaline rush some night Salt is your ticket to high blood pressure for sure.

My rating 8 out of 10.

The American

2011-01-13T08:29:00.001-05:00

Release date: 1 September 2010 (Canada)

Anton Corbijn is a photographer first and foremost and you can see his passion in this film. It is beautifully shot despite its violence. As the movie starts American assassin for hire Jack (George Clooney) has a job end badly in Sweden. He vows to his handler Pavel (Yohan Leysen) that his next job will be his last. Pavel sends him to the Italian countryside where he skillfully builds a gun and bullets to be used by Mathilde (Thekla Reuten) on an unspecified target. While there he befriends Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli) and falls in love with Clara (Violante Placido) and begins to self-reflect on the life he's lead. The American is a beautifully studied film, in many respects a very quite film which makes the violence that more meaningful.

At its core is the story of a man destined for hell who finds salvation in the strangest of places and well worth my rating of 9 out of 10.

Blood Simple

2011-01-13T08:22:00.002-05:00

Release date: September 1984 (Deauville Film Festival)

This 1984 film landed the Coen brothers on the 'these-guys-are-hot' map. Directed by Joel and co-written with his brother Ethan, Blood Simple is a crime drama with a deliciously black angle. It stars a very young Frances McDormand as Abby, the wife of a very jealous and evil Texas bar owner Marty (Dan Hedaya). Thing is Abby is busy having an affair with one of Marty's barmen Ray (John Getz) and Marty hires a perfectly cast M. Emmett Walsh - a perfectly bent private detective named Visser - to investigate. The wicked plot that ensues is brilliantly played out. Misinterpretation, lying and deceit never looked so bloody good on film.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Runaway Vacation (aka RV)

2011-01-13T08:16:00.002-05:00

Release date: 28 April 2006 (Canada)

Robin Williams does his usual routine in this take on Chevy Chase's Vacation. Bob Munro (Williams) has promised his family - wife Jamie (Cheryl Hines) and typical teenagers Carl (Josh Hutcherson) and Cassie (JoJo Levesque) - a family holiday to Hawaii. Plans go awry when his meano-beano boss orders him to prepare a pitch for a big client in Colorado. Bob then rents the mother-of-all-RVs and convinces the family head west so he can complete the presentation and assist the evil boss in the presentation. What ensues is typical stuff coloured by the arrival on scene of the very odd and very type cast Gornicke family, headed by papa Travis (Jeff Daniels). Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld RV has several (crude) laughs and does all it is supposed to do to unite the family through the course of a road trip. Original it is not; funny it is (in parts).

My rating for the sheer dumbness of it all, 5 out of 10.

The World of Suzie Wong

2010-11-11T16:48:00.002-05:00

Release date: 10 November 1960 (New York, New York)

Richard Quine directed the film version of Richard Mason's novel (later a stage play) - the World of Suzie Wong. Premiered way back in 1960, it was a daring film for its time. The overt negative stereotyping of Asians aside, William Holden as Robert Lomax, the architect who escapes America to find his artistic soul in Hong Kong, and a so young Nancy Qwan as Suzie Wong, the prostitute who captures his eye, do a fine job as two misfits in their own worlds drawn, inexplicably, together. While Holden is too old (or Qwan too young) to make the love story really work, the film is worth a watch for its comedy; the wonderful scenes of a Hong Kong that no longer exists; and for boldly - yet compassionately - portraying an inter-racial relationship to a world ill-equipped to face it.

My rating 7 out of 10.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

2010-11-11T16:45:00.002-05:00

Release date: 16 November 2009 (Los Angeles, California)

Based on the wildly popular and poorly written trilogy, New Moon gives us part two of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga. Directed by Chris Weitz, all the regulars return including Bella (Kirsten Stewart), deathly white Edward (Robert Pattinson) and the now-realized-I'm-a-werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). New Moon has all the lads beefed up to heighten the sex appeal and get the legions of lovelorn lasses who pant after them all hot and bothered. Sadly in doing so, everyone forgot how to act and that for these films to work, a little action is required.

Painfully boring and interminably never-ending, this woeful effort has neither bark nor bite and is barely worth my rating of 2 out of 10.

Paranormal Activity

2010-11-11T16:41:00.002-05:00

Release date: 14 October 2007 (Screamfest Film Festival)

This Blair Witch riff takes us into the house of Micah (Micah Sloat) and Katie (Katie Featherstone). Katie it seems is pestered by a demon that house hops with her and is, or maybe isn't, connected to a long line of families that have ended up bloodied on the five o'clock news. Ever resourceful Micah uses a video camera to film - over an interminable 23 days - the slamming of doors, appearance of footsteps, swinging of chandeliers, and general mischievousness the demon gets up to while they sleep. It's all about as horrifying as cutting your toenails. Directed and written by Oren Peli, this is a thoroughly miserable movie experience and is laugh-out-loud laughable from start to finish.

My rating 0 out of 10.

Born Into Brothels

2010-11-11T16:35:00.002-05:00

Release date: 17 January 2004 (Sundance Film Festival)

A documentary made by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman, Born Into Brothels takes us into Calcutta's red light district to meet the children of the prostitutes who roam its streets. Lower than the low, these children are all but invisible to Indian society and aid organizations. Deemed so low in fact, that neither government officials nor schools wish to take them on. But Zana brings photography to their lives, setting the kids up cameras, classes on how to use them and then weekly sessions to critique the photographs of the world they inhabit. The kids, of course, excel in the art and soon Zana conceives a plan to hold a photographic exhibition of their work to help fund their escape from the ghettos they inhabit. Beautiful illustrating a story we all should be aware of, Born Into Brothels shows us both the resiliency of children and the potential that lies within all, regardless of their birth.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Valmont

2010-11-02T16:00:00.002-04:00

Release date: 17 November 1989 (USA)

Comparisons to Dangerous Liaisons are inevitable so upfront let's admit Valmont is the lesser of the two adaptations of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' bewitching 18th century novel redone by Christopher Hampton. Directed by Milos Forman, Valmont has the same sweep as Stephen Frears' film but is more a Sunday Night at the Movie version with far less edge than the Machiavellian characters gifted us by John Malkovich and Glenn Close. That said, Colin Firth as Vicomte de Valmont is more charming and Annette Bening as the infamous Marquise de Merteuil is more rounded with less cynicism. Cecile (Fairuza Balk) is more the true virgin than Uma could ever portray and it goes without saying that Henry Thomas as Danceny is light years stronger than Keanu. Meg Tilly as Madame de Tourvel is a blight on the film and seems to be channeling Sister Agnes.

My rating 6 out of 10.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

2010-11-02T15:57:00.002-04:00

Release date: 18 September 2009 (Canada)

Phil Lord and Chris Miller direct Judi Barrett's refreshing and ingenious 1978 children's book that sees nerdy misfit, Flint Lockwood (voice of Bill Hader) invent a machine that turns water into food. Great premise eh! In a sardine town on the edge of disaster, Mayor Shelbourne sees a tourist bonanza and using weather girl Sam Sparks (voice of Anna Faris) starts spreading the word globally. But Flint's machine goes awry and morphs into a Death Star-like monster that threatens to wipe out the planet with a rain of, you guessed it, ginormous meatballs. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs works on several levels - great characters and an honest connection to the plight of two nerds - Flint and Sam - trying to find their way in the world and a genuine story of a son trying to please his father. To boot, the animation is quirky and different than what you'll see elsewhere.

A movie well worth spending dinner with. My rating 8 out of 10.

Eye of the Beholder

2010-11-02T15:55:00.001-04:00

Release date: 4 September 1999 (Venice Film Festival)

This is a thoroughly dreadful film based on - one can only hope, a better - novel by Marc Behm. British secret agent Stephen Wilson (Ewan McGregor) is sent to the United States to track a vicious serial killer of men, Joanna Eris (Ashley Judd). But rather than stopping the killer, poor Stephen becomes obsessed with her and thereupon travels the US for 10 years following her tracks. Yawn. One is teased halfway through the film by the appearance of Dr. Jeanne Brault (an I've-hit-the-wall Genevieve Bujold, or is the make-up artist to blame) and for bare moments we edge closer to our seats hoping sense will be made of the journey. But it's not to be. A film that bangs you over the head with the lengths some men will go when obsessed, Eye of the Beholder is nothing more than an insult to everyone involved.

My rating 2 out of 10.

Millennium Mambo (aka Qian xi man po)

2010-11-02T15:52:00.003-04:00

Release date: 19 May 2001 (Cannes Film Festival)

Millennium Mambo is used by uber-brilliant director Hsiao-hsien Hou as a vehicle to showcase the considerable sultry talents of Qi Shu who play Vicky, a young woman living in Taipei at the turn of the new century. Vicky has endured a raucous relationship with Hao-Hao (Chun-hao Tuan) a lad lost to drugs, petty thievery and his obsessive compulsive tendencies for Vicky and her neckline. She takes solace with trips to Japan with Jun (Jun Takeuchi), a younger, kinder version of Hao-Hao and shelter in the home of a benefactor, Jack (Jack Kao). Originally conceived as a 6-hour film - something unfathomable - it is classic Hsiao-hsien Hou with long lingering shots and shots filmed askew as if a camera was set secretly into the lives of these characters. While nowhere as good as Hou`s other efforts, it does reaffirm a worldwide poll done in 1988 that he is one of the three most crucial directors to the future of film.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Alpha and Omega (in 3D)

2010-11-02T15:49:00.002-04:00

Release date: 17 September 2010 (Canada)

Sadly Alpha and Omega is little more than a rushed effort to cash in on 3D mania that is now consuming the world of animation. Directed by Anthony Bell and Ben Gluck, it concerns the love story of two wolves from opposite sides of the pack - Alpha Kate (voice of Hayden Pannettiere) and Omega Humphrey (voice of Justin Long). When the two are whisked away to Idaho from the Rockies outside of Jasper, they unite forces - with two golf-fanatic geese - to find their way home and solve the crisis of the western and eastern wolf packs at odds over elk herds. The problem with this film is an utter sense of deja-vu: we feel we`ve seen this all before. It is not helped by average (at best) animation and so-so 3D effects (the title blocks aside). In a hyphenated word, Alpha and Omega seems an after-thought and like most after-thoughts is not worth the effort.

My rating 4 out of 10.

Rashmonon

2010-11-02T15:44:00.002-04:00

Release date: 25 August 1950 (Japan)

This 1950 film, directed by the great Akira Kurorsawa, is the quintessential crime drama that perfects displays the art of narrating a story from many different perspectives. In medieval Japan, a woman is raped and a man murdered and the conflicting stories of the witnesses to this crime - including the victim`s via a medium - make the story. In the end, we are left to judge ourselves - as in life - and are perhaps left saying (as noted in the film`s first line) `I do not understand". But that is the film`s purpose and point. Rashmonon Introduced Japanese film to Western audiences (it won both the Golden Lion and Academy Award) and remains even today hugely influential. It is a mesmerizing masterpiece. Filmed by cinematographer Kazuo Migagawa, it starred the great Tshiro Mifune as the thief Tajomuru, Masayuki Mori as the soon-murdered samurai Kanazawa, the beautiful Machiko Kyo as his wife, Masako, Takashi Shimura as the woodcutter who happens upon the scene, and Minoru Chiaki as the priest.

Worth viewing many times over, Rashmonon gets my rating of 9 out of 10.

Saraband

2010-10-11T10:04:00.002-04:00

Release date: 1 December 2003 (Sweden)

Written and directed by the incomparable Ingmar Bergman, Saraband is a sequel that brings closure to two characters from Bergman's early career - Marianne (Liv Ullmann ) and Johan (Erland Josephson) - from Scenes of a Marriage (1973). Marianne has returned inexplicably to the lake cottage and there becomes entangled in a power struggle between Johan, his son Henrick (Borje Ahlshedt) and his daughter, the beautiful Karin (Julia Defvenius). Saraband is classic Bergman with all that means for angles and lighting and transitions. But beyond the utter perfection of the art of this film, lies the heartwrenching truth of its message - of how we live our lives and in choosing a certain path are either blessed or cursed to live loved or embittered. Saraband is a deep film that reveals more and more at each viewing and is a fitting testament to a great director.

My rating 10 out of 10.

Zombieland

2010-10-11T10:01:00.002-04:00

Release date: 25 September 2009 (Austin Fantastic Fest)

An irrelevant and comedic look at a post-plague America where zombie's rule the land and a tiny group of four, as yet-not-infected, people learn a new definition of family amid the rules for life in Zombieland. Directed by Ruben, this delightful - if violent - romp stars Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee; Jesse Eisenberg as Columbus and Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin as Wichita and Little Rock. While over-the-top in a Roadhouse sort of way, the development of these characters as they travel west to Los Angeles is spot-on (thanks to the writers) and the addition of Bill Murray as himself is just perfect. Living amid the undead has never been so much fun and the search for a Twinkee just adds to the weirdness. Book passage soon; no passport required.

My rating 8 out of 10.

The New World

2010-10-11T09:56:00.002-04:00

Release date: 25 December 2005 (USA)

The New World recounts the story of Pocahontas (Q'orianka Kitcher), the 17th century native American princess of lore. Directed by Terrence Malick. You know the story well, Captain Newport (Christopher Plummer) lands on Virginia's shores in 1607 and with him is the infamous Captain Smith (Colin Farrell) who is eventually integrated into Pocahontas' tribe as being banished from Jamestown. The two become lovers and the rest they say is history. While there is no denying The New World is stunning visually and incorporates a natural vividness that is breathtaking, director Terrence Malick cannot seem to decide what he actually wants to tell us. There is not one iota of connection between Smith and Pocahontas (blame both actors) nor between Pocahontas and her second husband, John Rolfe (Christian Bale). Worse, Malick incorporates very little dialogue and opts to give us Shakespearean moments where characters prattle on to themselves - in their minds. It's a very tiresome experience and has this reviewer wishing the New World had never been discovered to save us from schlop like this.

My rating 5 out of 10.

Goodbye Dragon Inn

2010-10-09T17:36:00.002-04:00

Release date: 29 August 2003 (Venice International Film Festival)

"Did you know this theater is haunted?" is the first sentence spoken between characters in this movie. It comes roughly 45 minutes into the film. That's either boldness or craziness on the director's part. But the director here is Malaysian-born Ming-liang Tsai and in this case, boldness is appropriate. Goodbye, Dragon Inn stars Tsai regular Kang-sheng Lee as a smoking movie-goer in a theatre on the verge of its last show. When a Japanese tourist (Kiyonobu Mitamura) takes shelter in the theatre to get out of the rain he encounters all sorts of quiet folks who busy themselves watching King Hu's 1967 martial art film "Dragon Inn"; most memorable of these is the disabled ticket taker women (Shiang-chyi Chen). This film is a warm and comedic homage to film-going of yesteryear and is full classic Tsaisms, including a fascination with water and immeasurably long shots where very little happens. While not as good as either The River or I Don't Want to Sleep Alone, the addition of real-life Chinese martial art movie heroes Tien Maio and Chun Shih as themselves was a brilliant move.

My rating 6 out of 10.

Food, Inc.

2010-10-09T17:32:00.002-04:00

Release date: 7 September 2008 (Toronto International Film Festival)

If nothing else, Food Inc. will make you take a more sobering look at the food you purchase as you wander the supermarket aisles of any American grocery store. Robert Kenner directs this documentary look at the business that is food in America and in the process dismantles our perception of farmers and the goodness and healthfulness of the food we consume. From the small handful of multinational companies that now control what we eat and how it is created and processed, Food Inc. unwraps the disturbing truth that money - not safety, not nutrition, not ethical employment practices - lies at the heart of nearly everything we lift to our mouths. It is a wake-up call to us all to get involved, ask questions of our grocers and demand answers.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Eight Legged Freaks

2010-10-09T17:27:00.002-04:00

Release date: 30 May 2002 (Zurich, Switzerland)

If you're afraid of spiders avoid this movie but if you're a fan of either Scarlett Johansson or the campy 1950s creature-from-the-black-lagoon genre of movie making, rent this tout suite. Directed by Kiwi Ellory Elkayem, who makes this type of tongue-in-cheek sci-fi shtick his bread and butter, it stars David Arquette as Chris McCormick, the son of a wealthy Arizona miner who returns to his hometown days after giant mutant spiders start over-running it. His love interest is single mom Samantha Parker (Kari Wuhrer), the town's sheriff. Despite the film's you-see-everything-coming approach, it works thanks to Scarlett's presence (and even here she is a presence), the endearing quality of Harry Potter look-a-like Mike Parker (Scott Terra) and a perfectly played Deputy Pete Willis (Rick Overton). Is Eight Legged Freaks a good film? Hell no! But as pure entertainment on a Sunday night, you can't beat it.

My rating 6 out of 10.

Scenes of a Sexual Nature

2010-10-09T17:22:00.002-04:00

Release date: 3 November 2006 (UK)

This cute British film was a bit of a flash in the pan but is worth a look. Directed by Ed Blum it follows scenes of a sexual nature among seven couple lounging on Hampstead Heath in London one sunny afternoon. The stories are hit and miss but there are a couple gems worth renting the film for. In particular the story of Iris (the fabulous Eileen Aktins) and Eddie (Benjamin Withrow), widowed seniors who cross paths on a bench in the park is truly heart-warming, if far-fetched, and Noel (Tom Hardy) and Anna (Sophie Okonedo) as an over-the-top couple - one just dumped; the other very horny. Amid the stories there lurks every manor of sexual truth and innuendo. The film fails in that it is simply too British; witty yes, but too British with the couples endlessly talking about sex rather than getting it on. It is all very droll and could have been better titled 'Endless Scenes of Seven Couples Talking A Lot'.

My rating 5 out of 10.

Chungking Express (aka Chung Hing sam lam)

2010-10-09T17:16:00.002-04:00

Release date: August 1994 (Locarno Film Festival)

Where to begin with Wong Kar Wai's mysterious masterpiece that follows two cops' adventures with love? Chungking Express is, of course, the Chinese take-out restaurant Wong Kar Wai uses as the foundation for the stories and aside from that link, there is little else that knits the film together - and brilliantly so. Watching Chungking Express is both a joy and an experience. It confounds you ... but perhaps, like love, that is its point. Bridgette Lin stars as the Woman in the Blond Wig that Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) becomes infatuated with while Tony Leung is Cop 663 who is being systematically hounded by the fast food restaurant waitress, Faye (Faye Wong). Filmed back in 1994, Chungking Express is a film junkie's film concerned more with art than story. Mainstream it is not and like the films of John-Luc Godard - to which its style can be compared - you're going to either love it or loathe it. This reviewer falls firmly on the love side and is willing to make a stop into this eatery again and again.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Exit Thru The Gift Shop

2010-10-09T17:12:00.002-04:00

Release date: 24 January 2010 (Sundance Film Festival)

Infamous street/graffiti artist Bansky directs this film that starts as a documentary purported to illustrate him and morphs into the making of a new art world sensation, MBW (Mr Brainwash); the French shop keeper, Thierry Guetta. Thierry spends every waking moment video taping well, everything in his life. This hobby eventually crosses into the world of graffiti artists, thanks mainly to the fact that his cousin is the infamous artist, Invader. His nocturnal outings eventually lead him to the mysterious Bansky, who takes him on as a comrade-in-arms. When Bansky finally asks to see the documentary Guetta has been making, the dreadful result is enough to have him ask Guetta to return to Los Angeles and take up graffiti full time; thus leaving the raw footage in Bansky's hands. At this point the film turns into a film about the creation of Mr Brainwash and the uber show he constructs jumping off from where Warhol left off. Exit Through the Gift Shop is a thoroughly engaging film; a shred marketing move on Bansky's part; and a glimpse into the vacuous world of modern art and what it means to be 'an artist' in this day and age.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Eyes Wide Shut

2010-10-09T17:07:00.001-04:00

Release date: 13 July 1999 (USA)

The wondrous Stanley Kubrick directs this exceedingly sexual tome on love and jealously and seven year itches. Tom Cruise stars as Dr. Bill Harford, a man seemingly happily married to Alice (Nicole Kidman). But when Alice admits to a near affair, Dr. Harford embarks on a fantastical odyssey over two nights that nearly derails his marriage. Kubrick does what he does so well, giving us his unique immediacy and grandeur as Dr. Harford journeys first to a deathbed then onto a costumier and finally into a mansion-cum-sex-den straight out of the mind of the Pet Shop Boys. While Cruise is his usual stoic self throughout; Kidman seems out of her depth (despite her nudity) and is just plain awful, most especially in both her drunken and sexual scenes; which is odd as she was married at the time to Tom Cruise. In a fashion Eyes Wide Shut is the story of a frosh year student trying to lose his virginity taken far, far out into inner space. Sadly Kubrick passed away prior to the film's premiere in July 1999 but it remains a gorgeous, deep and luscious examination of one man's journey back to home. Kubrick considered it his best work to date and considering his filmography that's quite a testament.

This reviewer agrees and bestows a rating of 9 out of 10.

Before Sunrise

2010-10-09T17:01:00.002-04:00

Release date: 27 January 1995 (USA)

Starring Ethan Hawke as Jesse and Julie Deply as Celine, this 1995 Richard Linklater directed film follows two strangers who meet on a train on route to Vienna and end up spending one of those wondrous paths-less-taken nights together. Jesse is coming off a break-up with his girlfriend in Spain and is heading to Vienna to catch a flight home to America. Celine is on route to Paris but opts to jump the train and spend the evening keeping Jesse company in Vienna. What evolves is a well-written, and honest, love story as the two wander Vienna's streets taking in the culture. The film works thanks to the great acting and truth that we feel these two people have a genuine connection that grows as they learn more about each other.

Perfectly paced through to its ending on the train tracks, Before Sunrise gets my rating of 8 out of 10.

Young Adam

2010-09-02T07:53:00.002-04:00

Release date: 16 May 2003 (Cannes Film Festival)

Beat poet Alexander Trocchi's novel gets a treatment in this David Mackenzie-directed film. The film is exceedingly introspective, taking us inside the mind of boatman Joe Taylor (Ewan McGregor) as he struggles whether or not to come clean with his knowledge of the death of his girlfriend Cathie (Emily Mortimer) while carrying on an affair with the wife (Tilda Swinton) of his employer Les (Peter Mullan). The performances in this film are both studied and fine and Mackenzie does a superb job creating an atmosphere to match. Despite this though, the film fails to engage its audience and is an example of greatness just missed.

But for giving us a glimpse of both Tilda's breasts and Ewan's penis, my rating 5 out of 10. Sex sells afterall.

Couples Retreat

2010-09-02T07:51:00.002-04:00

Release date: 25 October 2009 (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Director Peter Billingsley was brought in to direct the dumb screenplay by - among others - Vince Vaughn. Premise has 3 couples in varying degrees of challenge heading to Fuji (St Regis Bora Bora Resort) - okay, that's good - to partake in a couples retreat. Despite the B-star power brought into this shipwreck of a movie - with Jason Bateman at the helm - Couples Retreat is both so far fetched and so, well, bad it makes one long for abandonment on a island without access to any films again. If crudeness is your cup of tea, saddle up to the trough, you'll love it.

Only watchable because of the gorgeous scenery in Bora Bora gives this mistake masquerading as a movie, my rating of 3 out of 10.

Deception

2010-09-02T07:48:00.001-04:00

Release date: 24 April 2008 (Australia)

You can tell from the very first moments of the film that accountant Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan MacGregor) is going to be had by lawyer Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman). This is both unfortunate; and not. Director Marcel Langenegger is not subtle so we see it all coming; ditto when our femme fatale S (Michelle Williams) arrives on scene. We know she's not quite what she seems. So sure the story is full of holes but thankfully the acting of this trio staves off complete ruin. The film's premise is, well, just silly and the segway into the sexual escapades of the rich and idle via a swingers club - "Are you free tonight?" - doesn't help. The wee twist at the end makes the going somewhat worth the journey ... but barely.

My rating 5 out of 10.

Lost in Translation

2010-09-02T07:46:00.002-04:00

Release date: 29 July 2003 (Telluride Film Festival)

Lost in Translation was Sophia Coppola first venture as a director and screenwriter and my, what a marvelous entry to the world of film. Quiet and subtle, it follows Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) and Bob (Bill Murray) as they roam the Park Hyatt Tokyo and its New York Grill bar/restaurant in search of something they know they need but can't quite grasp: grounding. The film is deep on oh-so-many levels as both struggle with the language of their lives - the obvious struggle of fathoming Japanese and the even deeper struggle of communicating with their spouses. The comfort they discover with each other bridges these language barriers. Lost in Translation is a wonderful tome on loneliness and the importance of friendship and Sophia does an outstanding job showing North American audiences the subtlety of Zen existent in modern Tokyo.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Orphan

2010-09-02T07:44:00.002-04:00

Release date: 21 July 2009 (Westwood, California)

Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard star as husband and wife Kate and John Coleman, who, after a miscarriage, adopt a wee Russian lass, Esther (Isabella Fuhrman) with a whole lot of baggage. Brought into their existing home with younger daughter Max (Aryana Engineer - [dreadful name]) and older son Daniel (Jimmy Bennett), Esther sets herself promptly to work sowing seeds of distrust and fear among the family, and lusting after her new papa. As the story unfolds, we learn Esther has a history of wrecking havoc and a disorder that actually makes her look younger than she actually is. Director Jaume Collet-Serra does a good building the suspense, even though we see it all coming and the inherent problem with the film is its slowness in developing Esther's back story. Farmiga is great and wee Fuhrman is amazing playing a 30-year in a 9-year-old's body. Props to Collet-Serra for giving us an unconventional non-Hollywood ending vis-a-vis papa too.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

2010-09-02T07:41:00.002-04:00

Release date: 5 March 2010 (Canada)

The mind of Tim Burton continues its unparalleled ability to birth fantastic worlds, in this case a retelling of Lewis Carroll's classic Alice in Wonderland. The version stars Burton regulars Johnny Depp (as the Mad Hatter), a simply brilliant Helena Bonham Carter (as the Red Queen - "I need a pig here!") and Mia Wasikowska as the now 19-year-old Alice returned to Wonderland - her memory muted - to do battle with the Jabberwocky (the voice of Christopher Lee) once again. Like all Burton films, the look is everything and the look here is mesmerizing and alone, worth the price of admission. That, and enjoying the gushing over-the-topness of Carter. While not groundbreaking or epic, Alice in Wonderland is fun, funny and fantastically fabulous.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Four Christmases

2010-09-02T07:37:00.002-04:00

Release date: 26 November 2008 (Canada)

With a stellar cast of Hollywood hot properties, Four Christmases ought to be a runaway hit. Many reviewers however thought differently and were, in several cases, unkind. Yet, despite its flaws Four Christmases works magically well as both a cautionary Christmas tale of the bonds our families wield and the facades we build about ourselves in the quest for a perfect relationship. Hardcore never-getting-marrieders, Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate (Reese Witherspoon) have spent their years together outright lying to their dysfunctional families about their whereabouts at Christmas. Unwilling to face the trauma of doing the rounds, they make-up stories of overseas good-deeding in third world countries while secretly vacationing in Fiji. But this year they are caught out in the fib and must tour Kate and Brad's wonky families including Paula (Sissy Spacek) and Howard (Robert Duvall) - Brad's folks - and Kate's parents Marilyn (Mary Steenburgen) and Creighton (Jon Voight). Seth Gordan directs this hodgepodge that, despite its really bad bits (and there are plenty!), comes off revealing the complicated emotions pent up in Kate and Brad with a truism that is both well written and expertly portrayed.

There is a great moral here as all great Christmas films must have, and for that my rating 8 out of 10.

Wings of Desire

2010-08-17T17:01:00.002-04:00

Release date: 17 May 1987 (Cannes Film Festival, France)

Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) are angels who spend their days roaming Berlin before the fall of the Wall eavesdropping on the conversations of ordinary folk. While slow to start and void of plot as traditionally understood, patience is rewarded in viewing what is really a combination of poetry and stream of consciousness brought to film by director Wim Wenders. Wings of Desire is deep on umpteen levels and full of messages that still ring true today: who are you? why are you here? is love worth it? When Damiel falls in love with the beautiful trapeze artist Marion (Solveig Dommatin) and opts to fall from grace, we have an answer as sure as the truths espoused by Peter Falk (playing himself). This is a beautiful film and an artsy film, sure; but in the end isn't it better you be challenged to see yourself differently upon leaving a movie theatre?

My rating 9 out of 10.

The Red Violin

2010-08-17T16:58:00.002-04:00

Release date: 10 September 1998 (Toronto International Film Festival)

This Canadian film, directed by the brilliant François Girard, traces the life of a violin crafted in 1681 Italy, that has come to auction in present day Montreal. Filmed in flashbacks amid the violin's history in an Austrian monastery, the hands of gypsies, the hands of a crazed English violinist, and the Chinese cultural revolution, we learn of its fabled roots in the death of its maker's wife, the beautiful Anna Bussotti, whose blood gives the violin both its magical powers, fame, and name. The film is anchored by Samuel L. Jackson, who plays Charles Morritz, the expert brought in to confirm the violin's authenticity. The Red Violin is an adventure, and a mystery, and a journey on so many levels and is a film best described as rich. It is rare in film today in that it is intelligent. Well worth a rent if you're looking for 2 hours of utter immersion in the ethereal power of love and music.

My rating 9 out of 10.

The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveras

2010-08-17T16:55:00.002-04:00

Release date: 13 July 2005 (Philippine Independent Film Festival, Manila)

This is a Philippine film directed by first-time director, Auraeus Solito. It weaves the story of a ladyboy named Maxi (a very good Nathan Lopez) with his family's life of petty crime in Manila. Maxi shares his home with Paca, his dad (played by Soliman Cruz) and his two older brothers, the always moody Boy (Neil Ryan Sese) and always manic Bogs (Ping Medina). Maxi is mother to the older men who spend their day placing bets and stealing then selling cell phones. When a new cop on the block Victor (VR Valentin) arrives to rescue Maxi from a thrashing, the stories collide. Maxi, who everyone accepts as a girl in boy's clothing, is instantly infatuated. However, Victor is a cop and when Boy ends up killing a student, Maxi is faced with having to support his family or his 'love'; with some mellow-dramatic - if tragic - consequences. The Blossoming of Maximo is filmed in a gritty, in-the-moment style that works despite the occasional problems director Solito has with lighting, and flow, and while the story is here and there (I suspect more a problem with the subtitles then the acting), it is oddly refreshing to see a gay lad portrayed with such honesty.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Shutter Island

2010-08-17T16:50:00.001-04:00

Release date: 13 February 2010 (Berlin International Film Festival)

Martin Scorsese directs this wonderful psycho-thriller based on Dennis Lehane’s novel that stars a gaggle of superstar actors including Leonardo DiCaprio (US Marshall Teddy Daniels), Max von Sydow (Dr. Jeremiah Naehring), Ben Kingsley (Dr. John Cawley), Michelle Williams (Dolores Chanal), Jackie Earl Haley (George Noyce) and Mark Ruffalo (Chuck Aule). It’s 1954 Boston and off the coast lays fictional Shutter Island, home to the worse of the worst of the criminally insane. There an is-he-good-or-is-he-not Dr. Cawley works with the inmates trying to ground them in the reality of their crimes. We’re given to believe that Marshall Daniels is brought to the island to investigate the disappearance of an inmate. What evolves however is a descent into the madness murder can birth, told in flashbacks and hallucinations. While sold as a horror, this film is actually a brilliant psycho-thriller that is captivating from beginning to end. It’s worth getting stranded on this island; ideally watching this film in the dark and late at night.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Love in the Time of Cholera

2010-08-17T16:46:00.003-04:00

Release date: 4 October 2007 (Festival do Rio, Brazil)

Mike Newell directs this adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez’s Nobel Prize wining novel of the same name that concerns itself - wholly - with one man’s 50-year fascination with one woman in turn of the century Columbia. When Florentino Ariza (Javier Bardem) meets the beautiful Fermina Daza (Giovanna Mezzogiorno), the daughter of a nasty mule trader, it is love at first sight. Thereupon ensues a lifetime of obsession that endures even after Ariza is spurned as Fermina marries the doctor Urbino (an excellent Benjamin Bratt). While the movie is dropjaw beautiful to watch, the richness of the novel is lost in its translation to film. Its other challenge is the unlikeableness of Bardem in his role which does put a damper on things when he finally does get to bed the aged yet still regal Fermina.

No where near a thousandth as good as the novel, gives this sojourn in a time of cholera my rating of 5 out of 10.

PT 109

2010-08-17T16:43:00.002-04:00

Release date: 19 June 1963 (Hollywood, USA)

When President Kennedy was elected Hollywood was already working to mythologizing him, and PT109 was Warner Brother and director Leslie H. Martinson’s effort. Recounting in fanciful detail Kennedy’s captaining of the PT109 torpedo boat which ends up sunk by a Japanese destroyer, it has Cliff Robertson playing an ever-good Kennedy as he shepherds his survivors to a wee island in the Pacific. The crew survives the coral reef, finds food and shelter and is eventually rescued - with much thanks to an Aussie - so that Kennedy can head into Presidential fame. The film is overly long - even by 1963 standards - and could do with a ruthless editing. The acting is solid, if wooden, as Robertson, Robert Culp, Norman Fell and a very young Robert Blake all do their utmost to contribute to the awe that was (and continues to be) America’s fascination with the first family of rum-runners cum political dynasty. Released in June 1963, its poignancy was that much more pronounced when Kennedy was assassinated in November.

My rating 5 out of 10.

Transporter 3

2010-08-17T16:39:00.002-04:00

Release date: 26 November 2008 (France)

The Transporter genre continues its proven formula with this better than-Transporter 2 outing that has our hero Frank Martin (Jason Statham) driving a frisky lass named Valentina (a dreadful Natalya Rudakova who is in dire need of acting basics) from Marseilles to Odessa. Valentina is the kidnapped daughter of a Ukranian Minister being blackmailed into signing off on a nasty shipment of toxic waste. The angle being used to get our hearts racing in this version is the fact both Frank and Valentina have funky bracelets cum bombs strapped to their wrists that will go off if they wander more than 30m from Frank’s uber cool Audi. Directed in full action mode by Olivier Megaton, Transporter 3 has an excellent bad guy in Johnson (Robert Knepper) and the refreshingly comic Inspector Tarconi (the always excellent François Berléand) to break the ice now and again. While no new ground is broke here, and the spur of the moment love affair between our driver and his package spoils a good chuck of the movie, Transporter 3 still has enough gas to keep you interested. Go Frank go!

My rating 7 out of 10.

One Week

2010-08-17T16:35:00.002-04:00

Release date: 8 September 2008 (Toronto International Film Festival)

A film only a Canadian could love. It is built in a two solitudes vein with a man facing nature on a motorbike while battling the great big theme of mortality. One Week is a cross-Canada road trip starring Joshua Jackson (as Ben Taylor). Ben is advised he has terminal cancer and has but a couple years to live. To sort through the complex emotions birthed by such a diagnosis, he heads west - abandoning his fiancé and parents - in search of Mr. Grimm, a phantasmagorical something-or-other his father told stories of when he was a wee lad. On route, Ben faces the vastness that is Canada and reinforces the country’s largeness by visiting Canadian homages to size: the Big Nickel in Sudbury; the Giant Goose in Wawa; the Sleeping Giant in Thunder Bay; the largest teepee in Medicine Hat. Typically Canadian in every quirky way, this film directed by Michael McGowan is worth the trip and proves that it’s the journey not the destination that matters.

My rating 7 out of 10.