Agnes of God

Release date: 21 August 1985 (Canada)

Way back in 1985 Canadian uber-director Norman Jewison took John Pielmeier's stage play, Agnes of God, and turned it into a decent film. Taking the mysterious birth (and death) of a novice nun's newborn baby as its starting point, the movie forces us to examine our views of all things religious. Starring Jane Fonda as Dr. Martha Livingston, the psychiatrist sent to examine the unholy business and interview the novice nun; a never more brilliant Meg Tilley as the nun in question and Anne Bancroft as Mother Miriam Ruth, the film is essentially a struggle between faith, represented by Mother Ruth and fact, represented by Dr. Livingston. The real drama here lies in the exchanges of the relapsed Catholic and the zealous Mother Ruth as she tries to hide her own involvement in the mysterious birth.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Coraline

Release date: 5 February 2009 (Portland International Film Festival)

A dark and magnificent fable executed in gorgeous animation based on the graphic novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman. When wee lass Coraline (voice of Dakota Fanning) uncovers a secret door in her new house, she is transported to an alternate world where her parents Mel and Charlie, their eyes replaced by black buttons, do any and everything she fancies. Lulled by the beauty of a world centred entirely on her, Coraline spends more and more time with the Other Mother and Other Father but soon notices cracks within their facades. When they declare she should remain within their freakish world if she would only have her eyes struck out and replaced with buttons, Coraline, aided by a cat (the voice of Keith David) must summon all her courage and wits to escape. Directed by Henry Selick, Coraline is a tour de force examination of self and the fact the grass is sometimes never greener on the other side. Not for kids.

My rating 10 out of 10.

The Eye

Release date: 31 January 2008 (Hollywood, USA)

The Eye is the americanized version of Jian Gui, the Hong Kong film directed by the Pang brothers in 2002. Directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud, this version stars Jessica Alba as Syndey Wells, a blind violinist who receives a cornea transplant from a young Mexican women, Rosa, who committed suicide after being harassed as a witch. As her sight returns so do disturbing images of the young girl's life and worse, the ability to see ghosts living amid us in the real world. With the help of her doctor, Paul Faulkner (Alessandro Nivola), Syndey travels to Mexico to confront her disturbing visions and help Rosa transition past her purgatory. As is often the case with the americanization of asian films, this one fails as poor Jessica Alba still can't figure out how to act with any measure of believability and the directors opt to give us a silly Hollywood ending rather than the fine, if disturbing, one envisioned in the original film.

My rating 4 out of 10.

The Hottie & the Nottie

Release date: 21 February 2008 (USA)

Paris Hilton stars. That is surely enough to have any moviegoer flee. Full of rank cliches. That is surely enough to make any moviegoer cringe. A done-before story of the ugly sister, this time Cristabel's (Paris Hilton) childhood best friend, June (Christine Lakin) who metamorphoses from horror to beauty thus turning the head of Nate (Joel Moore) who initially only had eyes for Cristabel. Yawn, you'd think. And you know what, despite all this; despite the cliche and cringe factor and dreadfulness is a genuine feel good film that really grows on you. I know I'm in a minority here, but I found The Hottie & the Nottie entertaining, fun, funny, and real despite its many flaws. Thanks, I suppose to director Tom Putnam for keeping things on track. Totally worth a rent on a lazy summer afternoon at the cottage.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Gui si (aka Silk)

Release date: 24 May 2006 (Cannes Film Festival)

When a team of misfit scientists enlist the aid of a Canadian photographer to photograph a ghost living in a Taipei apartment house, all manner of creepiness takes flight. Inside a small room they find the photographer dead and, with the aid of a device known as the Menger Sponge, capture the spirit of the young ghost within the room. Directed by Chao-bin Su, Silk stars Yosuke Eguchi (as the crippled scientist-inventor of the Menger Sponge, Hashimoto) and Chen Chang (as Detective Tung, the lipreading specialist brought in to read the silent lips of the boy ghost). What ensues is a tight thriller/horror married to a philosophic tome on the hereafter as Tung discovers the truth of the young boy's murder at the hands of his mother and the silken threads of afterlife that connect the living with the dead. Silk is an exceptionally thought-provoking film that succeeds thanks largely to the fine acting of Chen Chang and Su's fine direction. Ease back under the covers on a dark night and be prepared to be creeped out.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Duplicity

Release date: 22 April 2009 (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Directed by Tony Gilroy, Duplicity stars the always great Julia Roberts (as Claire Stenwick) and Clive Owen (as Ray Kovel), two former spies making ends meet (and more) as corporate espionage specialists working for competing firms with over-the-top CEOs - Howerd Tully (the brilliant Tom Wilkinson) and Dick Garsil (Paul Giamatti). The stakes are high as the two companies vie to be the first to patent the greatest product since sliced bread: a cure for male pattern baldness. Amid the espionage, Claire and Ray work an awkward romance that hatches a plot to out maneuver both their employers and land the patent first. Duplicity is an excellent film with fine, fine performances and an intricately woven, intellectually stimulating, storyline that requires attention and patience. And while some reviewers have found fault with this very point, the richness inherent in Duplicity on so many levels makes it one of this reviewer's favourite films this year.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Race to Witch Mountain

Release date: 7 April 2009 (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Alexander Key's 1968 novel Escape to Witch Mountain gets a new working by director Andy Fickman. When out of this world twins Sara (AnnaSophie Robb) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig) crash land their spacecraft outside of Las Vegas, they are picked up by Vegas-taxi-driver-with-a-past Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson) who soon finds himself immersed in a battle to keep the feds and a nasty 'Siphon' sent by bad-guy aliens to kill Seth and Sara at bay. Seems Seth and Sara are the linchpin to saving humankind's destruction at the hands of the bad-guy aliens. On route they enlist the help of UFO scientist Dr. Alex Friedman (Carla Gugino) and the foursome, after far too many chases, find themselves captured. Resourceful as ever - this is Disney afterall - the group escapes and the the alien twins complete their mission and save earth. Yay! Race to Witch Mountain is a good film that keeps you engaged but ultimately falls short when plot is sacrificed for action.

My rating 5 out of 10.

Watchmen

Release date: 23 February 2009 (London, England)

1986. That's how long this project has been in development. And anyone who has read the magnificent original graphic novel can understand why. Watchmen's complex storyline and involved character development rest on an alternate future where Nixon did not resign, America won the Vietnam War thanks to average citizens who donned masks to become superheroes and the Cold War continued unabated, is no easy nut to crack. Even Watchmen author, the enigmatic Alan Moore, declined the invitation to give it go. So bully on director Zack Snyder for pulling it off. Watchmen is filmed in a fashion similar to Snyder's 300 and is a stunning visceral experience to its core. Odd, engaging, thought-provoking and mesmerising, Watchmen is a tour de force film decidedly not for kids. To paraphrase Moore's line: "Who watches the Watchmen?" ... we do ... and love it! In a word, brilliant, and worthy of my rating of 10 out of 10.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Release date: 6 July 2009 (Tokyo, Japan)

The regulars return for the next to last installment of the Potter juggernault with David Yates directing. Everyone knows their role here and Daniel Radcliffe (as Harry Potter), Michael Gambon (as Professor Dumbledore), Jim Broadbent (as Professor Horace Slughorn), Emma Watson (as Hermione), Helena Bonham Carter (as Bellatrix Lestrange) and Alan Rickman (as the creepy Professor Snape) pull them off with complete credibility. The film continues the genre's look and feel and recreates the world of wizardry and witchcraft with stunning realness while keeping the usual tongue in cheek laughs and budding romances in the mix. It's all very well done. But after what has been too many of these movies and the fact the film is too long by half, I just want little Harry to get on with it and knock-off Voldemort so we call it a day already.

My rating 7 out of 10.

The Hangover

Release date: 30 May 2009 (The Hague, Netherlands)

Vulgar, violent, unfunny and with a dreadful premise, The Hangover will leave you racing for the the next AA meeting. But maybe that's its point? When soon-to-be-married Doug (Justin Bartha), Doug's two best buddies Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Stu (Ed Helms), and his finace's strange brother Alan (Zach Galifianakis) head out on the road for Doug's stag party in Las Vegas, plenty goes wrong including what I thought was disturbing scenes with the baby in tow. Directed by Todd Phillips with "Jackass" sensibilities, this film warrants a medal for bad taste.

My rating 2 out of 10.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Release date: 5 February 2009 (New York City, USA)

Tied to every woman's worse nightmare/joy (take your pick) Confessions of a Shopaholic brings to film Sophie Kinsella's wildly popular series of books about one Rebecca Bloomwood's (Isla Fisher) battle with shopping addiction on a grand scale. Frankly, this reviewer was not expecting much as the dvd slid into the machine, but in the hands of director PJ Hogan and with Kristen Scott Thomas (as Alette Naylor), John Lithgow (as Edgar West), Joan Cusak, and John Goodman all in the mix, the film works marvellously. The plot moves along as smartly as the fashionistas and Rebecca is able to come to terms with her addiction in a way that is both satisfying, funny and utterly endearing. Well worth a rent on a Sunday night.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Dung che sai duk redux (aka Ashes of Time Redux)

Release date: 16 September 1994 (Toronto International Film Festival)
Redux: 18 May 2008 (Cannes Film Festival)

It is cinematic legend this film. Directed by the incomparable Wong Kar Wai the film, a homage to wuxia, follows the people that cross paths with a desert swordman-for-hire, Ouyang Feng (the late Leslie Cheung). Ashes of Time is a feast for the senses on many levels and is best viewed by trying to ignore the inscrutable storyline and simply immerse oneself in the gorgeous visuals and brilliant movement (with thanks to cinematographer Christopher Doyle). Brigitte Lin stars as Mu-rong yin/Mu-rong Yang, the woman central to the theme of seasons within the story and both Tony Leungs star as assassins. Why Wong Kar Wai had to remake the film is beyond me as in either format – regular to reduxed – this is more art than film.

For its sumptuous visuals and beauty, my rating 8 out of 10.

Valkyrie

Release date: 25 December 2008 (USA)

Loaded with star-power, Valkyrie, directed by Bryan Singer recounts the true story of the nearly successful assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler in July 1944. Germany. By this time, many within the German military knew Hitler had to go. The best evolved of these plans was one hatched by senior officers Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), Ludwig Beck (the perfect Terrance Stamp), General Olbricht (Bill Nighy) and Major General von Treschow (a wasted Kenneth Branagh) to blow up the Führer at his Wolf’s Den then mount a coup using the reservists. Von Stauffenberg’s plan worked but thanks to a conveniently placed table, Hitler survived the attack. Valkyrie works very well (the always-wooden Tom Cruise aside) and his support cast (especially Nighy, Stamp and Tom Wilkinson as General Fromm) carry the film. Exciting and intriguing, Valkyrie shows those of us with a rather skewed view of Germans during World War II that good guys did exist and did try to change the course of history.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Se, jie (aka Lust, Caution)

Release date: 30 August 2007 (Venice Film Festival)

Ang Lee comes back strong after the silly debacle that was his wander in the wilderness, Boredback Mountain. Tang Wei stars as Wong Chia Chi, a young Chinese nationalist charged with getting her group of student assassins close to a Japanese collaborator, Mr. Yee (the always good Tony Leung) in 1940s Shanghai. Lust, Caution is beautifully rendered and Lee has done a great job recreating the feel of Shanghai during WWII (if a little too clean). What carries the story is the acting and both Wei and Leung (and Joan Chen as Yee Tai Tai) are outstanding. The film is, of course, known for its explicit love scenes and they are indeed hot. Lee is a master at detail and he doesn’t disappoint here, though he does need to be more ruthless with his editing. The ending is perfectly anti-Hollywood and demonstrates the power of Wong Chia Chi’s lust and Yee’s caution. He, more than her, remains the true victim of his situation and that tragedy redeems the entire film.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Låt den rätte komma in (aka Let the Right One In)

Release date: 26 January 2008 (Goteborg International Film Festival)

The young vampire genre is not new to filmmakers – witness Lostboys and Interview with a Vampire, and most recently, Twilight – and the trick is often not so much the function but its form. This Swedish effort directed by Tomas Alfredson is a magnificent example of the stark beauty that results when form trumps function. In its sparse dialogue and chilly scenes of Blackeberg, a suburb of Stockholm, Alfredson gives us a tome on loyalty, friendship, loneliness and revenge. Most definitely, revenge. Based on John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel, Let the Right One In gives us the story of Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) a young misfit who is bullied at school who one day meets Eli (Lina Leandersson), the forever 12-year-old vampire in his tenement house playground. The two form a unique friendship and when Eli’s mortal protector and benefactor, Hakan (Per Ragnar) is discovered bleeding out a young lad for Eli’s sustenance, Oskar steps into his role: the deal sealed by Eli’s dealings with Oskar’s bullies. The title refers to vampire lore that suggests they must be invited in before entering a house. With a high creepy factor that has been perfectly polished, this film is well worth the risk of inviting home.

My rating 9 out of 10.

El Orfanato (aka The Orphanage)

Release date: 20 May 2007 (Cannes Film Fest)

Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, El Orfanato is a thrilling horror film built in the vein of Henry James’ Turn of the Screw. Married couple Laura (Belen Rueda) and Carlos (Fernando Cayo) take their adopted son, Simon, (Roger Princep) back to the creepy mansion that served as an orphanage when Laura was a little girl. The parents are keen to open the mansion for children with disabilities. Simon starts seeing invisible playmates throughout the mansion, in particular a hooded boy called Tomas. At the opening day party Simon suddenly disappears and the film then slides into the horror: a horror that is exquisitely executed with intelligence and a richly detailed history of the mansion’s former child residents and their creepy Nanny, Benigna (Montserrat Carula). When Laura calls in the medium Aurora (the always brilliant Geraldine Chaplin) to help in the search for Simon, the film twists yet again into a treatise on what’s real and unreal. Everything about El Orfanato works. The acting is superb and the atmosphere Bayona creates will keep you scared, riveted and entranced throughout. Highly recommended.

My rating 9 out of 10.

War Dance

Release date: 19 January 2007 (Sundance Film Festival)

Written and directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix, this fine documentary recounts the oh-so-very-sad stories of three war children – Dominic, Nancy and Rose – caught in the ongoing civil war in Northern Uganda. The three are members of the Acholi tribe. The Acholi are an internally displaced people in Northern Uganda who are being systematically brutalized by a group known as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Kony. All three children have witnessed horrific events ranging from the murder of their parents to, in Domenic’s case, killing innocent farmers after being forcibly made a child solider. Living in a refugee camp, what binds them together is their desire to compete with their tiny school in Uganda’s National Music competition in Kampala, and their quest to regain some semblance of their lost childhoods. Sad, joyous, tragic and ultimately hopeful, War Dance shares the story of these children with a beauty and dignity that will leave you humbled.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Wendy and Lucy

Release date: 22 May 2008 (Cannes Film Festival)

Kelly Reichardt directs this take on Jonathan Raymond’s story, “Night Choir” concerning a young lass, Wendy (Michelle Williams) and her dog, Lucy. The duo are Alaska bound when their car dies in a wee Oregon town. Out of luck and money, Wendy shoplifts some chow for Lucy but is caught and hauled off to the police station leaving Lucy tied up at the store’s entrance. (Predictably) When she finally returns her dog is gone. Helped by a kindly security guard (Wally Dalton) she opts to stay in town and search for Lucy while her car is repaired … and that’s about it for story. This short but seemingly very long 80-minute indie film was a big hit at most of the film festivals, but did nothing for this reviewer. Quiet and minimalist its central flaw is not giving Wendy enough time to show the true depth of her relationship with Lucy (so we care to pay attention) and its lame ending. Wendy and Lucy proves one can appreciate the ‘art’ of a film while thoroughly disliking everything about it.

My rating 3 out of 10.

Star Trek

Release date: 6 April 2009 (Austin, Texas)

What a great prequel! Director JJ Abrams and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have dusted off the institution that is the Star Trek phenomenon and given us a refreshing, fun, action-filled version true to the original series. Chris Pine stars as James T. Kirk, the James Dean-ish renegade Starfleet Academy cadet, and yes that was Eric Bana as the evil and messed-up-in-time Romulan, Nero, and Winona Ryder as Spock’s mommy, Amanda Greyson. The story is your typical Star Trek romp and has Kirk captaining the USS Enterprise as it tries to recover Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood) from the menacing Romulan who’s destroyed Vulcan and is now on his way to destroy Earth (but of course). The story is just a vehicle here to get us reacquainted with the characters we’ve long loved, and who, through the tragedy of time and too many Hollywood Star Trek films had become lost. This Star Trek is a real winner and it’s great to have the institution we love grounded again.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Man on Wire

Release date: 22 January 2008 (Sundance Film Festival)

Directed by James Marsh, Man On Wire – winner of the 2009 Best Documentary Oscar – recounts Philippe Petit’s own book detailing his fantastic crossing of the World Trade Center buildings in August 1974 … on a tightrope. The film uses Petit and his co-conspirators own recollections of the event and mixes archival footage with dramatization. The story is infectious, crossing personal drama with mystery and anticipation as the small group manages to haul a ton of equipment up the towers and rig the wire in the dead of night. The moment where Petit steps out onto the wire is, in a word, mesmerizing and sobering now that the WTC is no more. Man on Wire is a thoroughly engaging film that keeps the viewer on edge throughout its ninety minutes. More importantly, it allows us a glimpse into the unique mind of an artist and the mysterious force that guides his approach to life.

My rating 8 out of 10.