The World of Suzie Wong

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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 schtick 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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Fourplay (aka Londinium)

Release date: 2001 (Unknown)

This is a strange 2001 romantic comedy written; directed (and starring) Mike Binder who plays Ben, an American sitcom writer arriving in London to take up work. There he meets Allen (a mis-cast [and obviously desperate] Colin Firth), his wife Carly (Mariel Hemingway) and a French make-up artist who becomes his girlfriend, Fiona (a gorgeous Irene Jacob). The four eventually end up switching partners thanks to the conniving of Carly and Ben. It’s all very odd and the writing is reminiscent of Wood Allen on ecstasy. The characters and their motivations are all superficial and aside from watching the oh-so-beautiful Irene Jacob grace the screen (let’s see more of her please!) the film’s a disaster. Fourplay is one man’s indulgent view of relationships that’s both unbelievable and unwatchable.

My rating 2 out of 10.

Cowboys & Angels

Release date: 14 May 2003 (Cannes Film Festival)

This is a good film with just enough comedy, oddness and seriousness to make you want more. Hapless civil servant, Shane (Michael Legge) and gay art student Vincent (Allen Leach) live together in wee Limerick, Ireland. Shane is a shy, geeky artist-wannabe in love with lesbian Gemma (Amy Shields). Vincent is a sensible, fashionable artist with common sense to spare. What evolves are two stories as Vincent helps Shane shed his geekiness only to see him sink into the Irish drug culture as a means to fund his own way into art school. Directed by David Gleeson, Cowboys & Angels treads these two story lines capably - giving us some stock and shock scenes sure - but endearingly so nonetheless; and both leads are great.

My rating 7 out of 10.

The Perfect Assistant

Release date: 2 January 2008 (USA)

Dreadful fun to watch, The Perfect Assistant is just plain awful on every level imaginable. Directed by some hapless dolt named Douglas Jackson, who should have his credentials revoked, it has uber-psychotic executive assistant Rachel Partson (Josie Davis) in uber-fascination mode with her employer David (Chris Potter). With a story rifted from Fatal Attraction, The Perfect Assistant is perfect in nothing save its brutal embarrassment for all involved: bad acting, bad script, bad direction, bad, bad, bad … in fact so bad, it is a film you’ve got to watch.

My rating for the fun of all its badness, 1 out of 10.

Taking Woodstock

Release date: 16 May 2009 (Cannes Film Festival)

Ang Lee directs his take on the behind-the-scenes story of the family that made Woodstock happen - the Tibers. Centre stage is Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin), the gay son of Jake and Sonia who returns from his career in New York City to offer the Woodstock organizers his town, tiny Bethel, NY, as ground zero for the hippie invasion. While you never see the concert, you do hear it, and there are shots reminiscent of Michael Wadleigh's classic 1970 film, Woodstock. Sadly amid all the noise there are but two standout performances - kudos to Imelda Staunton who works wonders as Elliot's over-the-top-Jewish-mother-from-hell, Sonia; and Liev Schreiber as Elliot's ex-marine transvestite chief of security, Vilma. Highbrow reviewers will claim anyone not liking this film 'didn't get it'. Wrong; Ang Lee needs to try a toke or three on some weed and to learn to be less crafted in his film-making. Taking Woodstock is an exceptionally well made film, yes, but it completely lacks any vibe or heart and is about as groovy as watching paint dry. A depressingly slow and exceedingly boring 'tribute' to Woodstock, this soulless venture will make you glad you missed the concert. Avoid.

My rating 2 out of 10.

The Ugly Truth

Release date: 16 July 2009 (Hollywood, California)

When romantically challenged TV producer Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl) saves her morning show by agreeing to hire sexist radio show host, Mike Chadaway (Gerard Butler) she gets more than she expected. Chadaway's take on love reflects the ugly truth that men are scum and driven solely by sex; something Abby cannot abide. Enter Colin (Eric Winter), the proverbial 'man of her dreams'. Mike agrees to lend Abby a hand in wooing Colin in exchange for peace on the morning show set. Naturally, what ensues is Abby's realization that Colin is like everyman while Mike realizes he may have to tinker with his own self-perception as he falls in love with Abby. It's all a "been-there-seen-that" sort of film. The Ugly Truth is silly and funny (witness Abby's restaurant scene with electric panties on!), but that's it. Capable actors hit all their lines here but with cliche after cliche The Ugly Truth is a little hard to swallow.

My rating 6 out of 10.

Black

Release date: 4 February 2005 (Australia)

Black is an overacted ripoff of The Miracle Worker with a Bollywood bent. As such, it's worth a watch because - come on - when are you ever going to have that sort of a wonky mix? Better still, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali opts to mix pretentious English lines freely amid the Hindi. It's a wondrously strange brew and this reviewer had visions of Lilies dancing his head, almost as if Bhansali had initially conceived his film as a theatre piece. Frankly, the ripoff aside, the 'look' of this film is stunning. Amid the weirdness Amitabh Bachchan does a fine - if Malkovichian - job as 'Miracle Worker' Debraj Sahai to Helen Keller's Indian doppelganger Michelle McNally (Rani Mukherjee). Black won a slew of Awards of the International Indian Film Academy back in 2006 and is such a bizarre mix of styles and so overwrought it's well worth renting on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Crank 2: High Voltage

Release date: 16 April 2009 (Germany)

Crank 2 is yet another fine example of why filmmakers should not make sequels. The first Crank film - while brutally violent to its core - was stupid enough to walk the fine line of farce. In this latest venture, our star Chev Chelois (Jason Statham) has his - wait for it now - heart cut out and given to a Chinese triad boss. With a mechanical ticker in its place, Chev roams a stylized Los Angeles to get it back. While such silliness worked the first time around, Crank 2 while full of action yes, fails to engage as it's truly just too nasty on every level imaginable. Wholly unwatchable - sadly - there is nothing redeemable about this film and Statham should be plain ashamed of himself. This film forgot its farce.

My rating 0 out of 10.

Terminator Salvation

Release date: 14 May 2009 (Hollywood, USA)

Directed by Joseph McGinty Nichol (aka McG), Terminator Salvation is a very good action film that lacks soul. Well acted by Christian Bale (as John Connor) and Sam Wotherington (as Marcus Wright) and with an engaging story that continues to weave the past/future of our hero, John Connor, the film works well as a visual smorgasbord. Sadly, that power is lost as the emotional bits ring hollow since they are so dreadfully blatant, and as such, carry no meaningful impact. Smaller roles by Helena Bonham Carter as the evil Dr. Serena Kogan and the always cliched Michael Ironside as General Ashdown add a campy factor to the film that really works.

Terminator Salvation is a furiously fun film, and while soulless, gets my rating of 8 out of 10.

The Proposal

Release date: 1 June 2009 (Hollywood, USA)

The Proposal is one of those films a reviewer drags their feet to attend expecting to detest it immensely as trite, formulaic, and tiresome. So, gosh, what a surprise seeing it - lesson learned. Starring Sandra Bullock as Margaret Tate, a dragon-lady book editor in the Devil Wears Prada-mold and Ryan Reynolds as her much hackneyed executive assistant, Andrew Paxton. When the dragon-lady is faced with deportation due to a citizenship glitch, she browbeats Andrew in agreeing to marry her ... in Alaska. Toss in a Department of State bureaucrat bent on proving it's all a farce marriage; Andrew's parents, Grace (the always wonderful Mary Steenburgen) and Joe (Craig T. Nelson) and Andrew's free-wheeling grandmother, Annie (Betty White) and you have a pretty wonky, and hilarious, two hours of nuptial zaniness. Directed, perfectly, by Anne Fletcher and with a nod to Pete Chairelli's great writing, The Proposal is worth a walk down the aisle.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Adventureland

Release date: 19 January 2009 (Sundance Film Festival)

Director Greg Mottola seemed to believe a movie about his teenage adventures at an amusement park would make a good film. Unfortunately translating his recollections to the screen leaves this reviewer bored senseless. Jesse Einsenberg plays James, a kid with artsy aspirations to visit Europe before starting college that go awry when his dad is demoted and James is forced to cancel the trip to work as a game attendant at Adventureland. There he meets the love of his life Em (Kristen Stewart) and an assortment of circus freaks he calls friends. The acting is solid but the vibe is all wrong as the film struggles to decide if it is trying to be a comedy or drama (it falls woefully flat on both fronts). To use the film’s own tag line to sum-up, “It was the worse job film they ever imagined”. Avoid.

My rating 0 out of 10.

Domino

Release date: 25 September 2005 (Montreal Film Festival)

Based on a true story that is truly unbelievable, Domino recounts - granted loosely - the story of Dominio Harvey, a near-do-well lass from England who tossed aside her silver spoon upbringing and modeling career to become a bounty hunter. Keira Knightley stars as Domino and Mickey Rourke in his pre-The Wrestler days (though you can see the seeding of that character here) is Ed Moseby, Domino’s bounty hunter boos. A host of stars play minor roles in this wonky tale that’s so far-fetched it works, including: Jacqueline Bisset, Dabney Coleman; Macy Gray; Mo’Nique; and Brian Austin Green even. While the story is a shamble, what makes this film work is its style. Directed by Tony Scott, it is a collage of images and song that play like an MTV video. While decidedly not for everyone - Domino is a film you’re going to hate or love, no middle ground - its tongue-in-cheek campiness and totally off kilter approach was both refreshing and fun.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Suspect Zero

Release date: 27 August 2004 (USA)

Aaron Eckhardt is Thomas Mackelway, an FBI agent with a past, who is sent to Albuquerque to investigate the murder of a traveling salesman found with a zero etched on his body. When other bodies start appearing - all serial killers - Mackelway is led to a retired FBIer named Benjamin O'Ryan (an ever superb Ben Kingsley), who has the ridiculous/silly (take your pick) skill of being able to 'see' what serial killers see. Rolls eyes. Directed by E. Elias Merhige, this is a thriller built in the Seven-style and has Carrie Anne Moss stumbling around - looking pretty granted - as Mackelway's sidekick. The hokeyness aside, Suspect Zero is engaging for the most part by fails ultimately as it can't decide who's story to tell - O'Ryan or Mackelway's.

My rating 6 out of 10.

It's Complicated

Release date: 10 December 2009 (California, USA)

Nancy Meyers directs the always brilliant Meryl Streep in this comedy romance about letting go and moving on. Streep plays Jane, a divorced baker with three older kids and who is working to renovate her home. At her son's graduation, Jane runs into her exhusband Jake (Alec Baldwin) who despite being remarried with a young son, still feels something for Jane. Predictably they land in bed together and when the kids discover the misadventure all sort of woe-is-me moments ensure. This story has been done many times previously and in an attempt to mix it up a little Steve Martin arrives as Adam, the architect Jane has hired to renovate the house, whom she also starts misadventuring with. The film is fun and silly and has some genuinely hilarious bits. While Streep and Baldwin are great and do carry the film, It's Complicated is anything but.

My rating 7 out of 10.

The Shining

Release date: 23 May 1980 (USA)

Directed by the one and only Stanley Kubrick, this is a magnificent example of how novels (in this case Stephen King's The Shining) ought to be brought to screen. The Shining tells the classic tale of the Torrances and the winter of discontent and mayhem they spend housesitting a haunted resort - The Overlook Hotel. Starring Jack Nicholson (as writer-slowly-going-mad Jack Torrance); Olive Oyl, er, Shelley Duvall (as Wendy his wonky wife); Danny Lloyd (as their son-with-Shining-power, Danny) and Scatman Crothers (as Dick Hallorann, the hotel's cook and savant). The Shining works in every single respect and is classic horror with each and every frame a testament to Kubrick grasp of the novel and his auteur. The film is pregnant with famous moments: Jack announcing, "Wendy, I'm home" with axe in hand; son Danny (as Tony) with his talking finger saying, "Danny's not here Mrs. Torrance"; the blood pouring from the elevators; "Redrum, redrum"; "Heeere's Johnny" to mention but a few. The Shining shines like few horror flicks can and is, in a word, exquisite.

My rating 10 out of 10.