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Ratings Scale: Brutal: * Kinda Sucked: ** Average: *** Loved It: **** Perfection: ***** |
| Inglorious Basterds (Blu-Ray) |
 Director: Quentin Tarantino Main Stars: Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Diane Kruger, Daniel Bruhl, Michael Myers Rating: **** The fate of two groups intertwine one fateful evening in an effort to end the war and defeat Germany. The first is a group of Jewish soldiers led by Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Pitt) dedicated to killing as many Nazis as they can find. The second is a young Jewish woman (Laurent) who having escaped from her family's slaughter at the hands of SS Colonel Hans Landa (Waltz) years earlier once again finds herself crossing paths with him. Thankfully, Tarantino has given up on the self indulgent winks to his own genius and instead concentrated on the story itself. The result is that this is his most focused film. While I tend to find the dialog in his movies somewhat overbearing, here they are played to perfection. Two scenes in particular are absolutely brilliant - the sense of tension and danger they convey are palatable. I haven't seen such gripping filmmaking consisting of nothing but dialog since the gas station scene in No Country For Old Men. Brad Pitt may be the star, but he actually has a fairly minor role. The two standout actors in this are the SS Colonel and the escaped Jewish woman. They easily steal the movie. Tarantino offers up a great homage to the pulp War comics of the 40's while transcending the genre with a great storyline and outstanding acting. |
| Star Trek (2009) (Blu-Ray) |
 Director: J.J. Abrams Main Stars: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, Zoe Saldana, Bruce Greenwood Rating: *** Everyone has grown up with the characters of Star Trek - Kirk, Spock, Bones, Uhura, McCoy, Sulu etc. They are familiar and beloved. But what would it be like to go back in time to the beginning and discover how everyone met up and see the first voyage of the Starship Enterprise? So begins this 'reboot' of the iconic space series. Putting aside my usual abhorrence at reboots, remakes, and sequels and concentrating on the film itself I can say it definitely does justice to the original cast and crew and is sure to please older fans while at the same time delighting fans new to the Star Trek universe. Playing Captain Kirk is pretty big shoes to fill, but Chris Pine does a great job. Also very likeable is the new Spock (Quinto), and it's nice to see Uhura (Saldana) having a more substantial role. Still, for me, the movie was merely ok. One scene in particular bugged me where they free fall from space, through a planet's atmosphere, and land on a floating platform. Now I realize I'm being a big geek here, but there's just so much wrong with that in terms of physics and reality. While one might say 'come on it's just a movie' the one thing that was so great about all the Star Treks was their adherence to science and technology in a way that at least tried to be plausible and believable. The second major thing that bugged me was the complete lack of screen time of the ship itself. The exterior shots were nice and I was glad that for the most part they didn't change the Enterprise. However I think there was maybe two interior scenes in the entire movie that didn't take place on the bridge. It's frustrating that perhaps the most important 'member' of Star Trek was completely overlooked. Will this film reinvigorate the franchise and spawn a slew of new sequels? Likely. Is it justified? I'll leave that for you to decide. |
| The Men Who Stare At Goats (Theatre) |
 Director: Grant Heslov Main Stars: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Stephen Root Rating: ** Bob Wilton (McGregor) is a reporter in a crappy small town, working for the local paper. One day he's assigned to interview a local (Root) who tells him a bizarre story about a military unit trained in Psychic warfare. After dismissing him as a nutjob his life soon falls apart and he goes to Kuwait to cover the Iraq war and find his destiny. While there he runs into a man named Lyn Cassady(Clooney) who it turns out was part of that same military unit. With nothing better to do he tags along and quickly realizes that Lyn is certifiably crazy - or is he??? Wow, where to begin with this one. A great cast, and an original and quirky story should make for a great film right? Well for whatever reason it just didn't work for me. The movie alternates between being humorous and then unexpectedly serious and throughout it felt like it was the director having a laugh at my expense. As one reviewer said 'this one looks like it was more fun to make than it is to watch'. Frankly, I'd actually rather stare at goats than to see this again. |
| The Wrestler (Blu-Ray) |
 Director: Darren Aronofsky Main Stars: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood Rating: **** Randy "The Ram" Robinson's best days are 20 years behind him. Still, the only thing he's done and been good at in his life is Wrestling. So match after match with aching bones and barely healed wounds he goes out to the adulation of his still vocal but shrinking crowd of fans. When he is felled by a heart attack he must come to grips with either preserving what's left of his health or facing the real world - a world in which he's a nobody and has nothing. I have to say I was pretty conflicted about this movie. I wasn't overly blown away by it initially, but after having had some time to go over it in my head I've come to appreciate more and more the subtleties of this film. Yes, Rourke is amazing and his Oscar nomination was well deserved. But I think it's the story that's the real winner. It never goes down the tired path of similar films such as Rocky and yet while we all know what the ending will be it doesn't bash us over the head with sentimentality like Million Dollar Baby. It stays right down the middle with a 'it is what it is' mentality. And there's a nice dynamic between him and Marisa Tomei who plays an aging stripper - the parallels between them and how their best days are behind them are obvious. That's simply smart writing. And hey, the fact that Tomei is naked for most of the film is a nice bonus. The Wrestler is smart movie making with terrific performances. |
| Dead Snow (Blu-Ray) |
 Director: Tommy Wirkola Main Stars: Vegard Hoel, Stig Frode Henriksen, Jenny Skalvan, Charlotte Frogner Rating: **** Let's see, I love Zombies and I love films with Nazis in them. Put the two together and I'm doing cartwheels - set it in the snowy mountains of Norway and I'm in horror geek heaven! I don't know what it is, but all the best films seem to be foreign ones lately. This one hails from Norway and as such is subtitled. A bunch of med students snowmobile to a cabin in the mountains for a weekend of fun. Not long after they arrive a mysterious old man invites himself in for a break from the cold and begins to tell them of the history of the place where a bunch of German soldiers were garrisoned there during WWII. He warns them to be careful not to stir up the evil that dwells there. Of course they think he's a crazy old fool - until one by one they start disappearing. Besides the Nazi Zombie twist, the snowy backdrop that it's set in also adds to the film's unique feel and is visually beautiful. Let's face it, blood splattered snow makes for great contrast. There's also a terrific scene of a woman slowly returning to consciousness only to find her intestines being pulled out by said Zombies. Seriously great stuff making Dead Snow one of my top 5 favourite Zombie flicks of all time! |
| Zombieland (Theatre) |
 Director: Ruben Fleischer Main Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin Rating: *** The first time I heard of this movie was when I read about Woody Harrelson being charged with assaulting a paparazzi photographer at La Guardia airport - his defense was that he mistook the cameraman for a Zombie having just recently wrapped filming this movie and that he was still in character. Ah Woody, that's why we love you. More comedy than horror (although nicely gory), Zombieland details the journey of four people struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptical landscape dominated by the hungry undead. Now in fairness I have to admit that I absolutely love Zombie movies - they're easily my favorite genre. In this one, the only thing really rubbed me the wrong way was a cameo of a certain movie celebrity. It totally killed the momentum of the movie and seemed out of place with its wink to Hollywood self awareness. Still, Zombie movies are like pizza or sex - even when bad they're still pretty good. I wouldn't say that this one is bad, but it's not exceptionally good either. However, it is at least entertaining in a mindless, popcorn crunching, sort of way. |
| Waltz with Bashir (Blu-Ray) |
 Director: Ari Folman Main Stars: Ron Ben-Yishai, Ronny Dayag, Ari Folman, Dror Harazi, Yehezkel Lazarov Rating: **** Frankly if Steven Spielberg had any balls this is the film he would have made - but we all know that Hollywood would never approve of a film that was even remotely critical of Israel. So it's not surprising that this mesmerizing look at one of Israel's darkest moments had to come out of Israel itself. Waltz with Bashir is the story of one soldier trying to come to terms with his part in the massacres of the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps during the first invasion of Lebanon- while a deeply personal discovery, it's also reflective of the collective sense of guilt and shame of the nation itself. Visually the movie is stunning. While animated, it's done in a unique style that has an overriding sense of a psychedelic trip. This style persists until the very end when we are jarringly shown actual footage of the massacre before the final credits - a technique which is brutally effective at conveying the horror of this sad chapter in history. |
| Revolutionary Road (Blu-Ray) |
 Director: Sam Mendes Main Stars: Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kathy Bates, Michael Shannon Rating: **** Director Sam Mendes teams up Leo and Kate for the first time since Titanic and they don't disappoint. After the initial romance wears off April (Winslet) and Frank (DiCaprio) find themselves trapped in a loveless marriage fueled by 50's suburbia hell. In a bid to save their marriage April suggests they leave all behind and move to Paris to start over again. However an unplanned pregnancy and an unlikely job promotion bring that hope crashing down upon them. Kate is terrific as always but I was really impressed with Leo. I've never overly liked him as an actor but he definitely surprised me here - in fact there were times where it felt like he was channeling Jack Nicholson's crazy intensity. Still, for most of the film I was somewhat on the fence. That is until the end which totally sucked me in and broke me down. If you want to see a great character study with two terrific performances then check this out. If you want to see an uplifting and feel good movie then this isn't the film for you. |
| District 9 (Theatre) |
 Director: Neill Bomkamp Main Stars: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt, Sylvaine Strike, William Allen Young Rating: ***** An alien ship descends and hovers over Johannesburg, South Africa. The alien inhabitants found onboard are malnourished and dying and are taken off and helped to recover. At first there is jubilation at having had contact with an alien species, but jubilation is soon replaced by annoyance and then outright hatred as the aliens become an increasing burden upon human society. So they are rounded up and forced to live out their existence in a massive slum camp called District 9. For me this was easily the best film of the year. I had gone into this movie purposely avoiding any reviews or discussions on it so as the lights dimmed I had no idea what I was about to see. It surprised me in every way. Sure you could debate whether this was a commentary on Apartheid or the corruption of the military industrial complex but for me what carried this movie was the amazing transformation of the main character (Copley) from bumbling bureaucrat to desperate hero. Add in the fact that this is a foreign film (at one point taking a well deserved shot at Hollywood) and you have a truly amazing and in all respects unique movie experience. I can't recommend this movie enough! |
| Watchmen (Blu-Ray) |
 Director: Zack Snyder Main Stars: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Matt Frewer Rating: ** Watchmen is based on the graphic novel and tells the story of a group of superheroes who having recently been forced by the government into retirement ponder about their relevance in a world rapidly spiraling towards nuclear Armageddon. Ok, I'll save you the almost 3 hour runtime and sum it up thusly - Watchmen is about implausibly screwing over your friends to save humanity from itself. Seriously. That's pretty much it. Oh ok, I will give it points for being a comic book movie that actually has the balls to show copious amounts of sex and violence and for a story which focuses on the characters instead of just showing lots of stuff blowing up. But as the 2 hour mark passed that novelty quickly turned into tedium. Plus having had to listen to all the fanboyz play it up as the greatest movie ever made I kept thinking to myself 'you're joking right?' Special effects wise it was ok, but nothing outstanding. You've already seen all the best parts in the trailer. So unless you absolutely must see Dr. Manhattan's blue wanger on the big screen skip the movie and read the graphic novel instead. |
| The Hangover (Theatre) |
 Director: Todd Phillips Main Stars: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, Heather Graham, Sasha Barrese Rating: **** It's likely that whomever coined the phrase 'What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas' was there as part of a Bachelor party that got way out of control. And so it is with Doug (Bartha) who finds himself in Sin City to let loose with his pals before walking down the aisle with his bride to be (Barrese). Hilarity ensues involving booze, drugs, whores, a missing baby, and yes, even a Tiger. The party comes to a screeching halt however once the friends regain consciousness and realize Doug is missing. This was a hilarious movie and I found myself laughing out loud several times (one scene made me spit my water out all over everyone). About the only possible downside is an actress as great as Heather Graham definitely should have had more screen time. As long as you check your brain at the door and go with the flow The Hangover is one fun ride. Perhaps the funniest moments can be found in the credits which contain a number of photographs which could have easily been lifted from any one of our parties. |
| UP (3D) (Theatre) |
 Director: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson Main Stars: Voices of Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson Rating: **** It seems Pixar can just do no wrong. 'Up' is the story of Carl (Asner) a cantankerous old sort who lives alone in his house. Outside, time has passed him by and his quaint house is now surrounded by construction and his property is greedily coveted by uncaring developers. One day he is given an ultimatum to move into a retirement home. Instead, he ties thousands of balloons to his house and floats away in search of Paradise Falls, an enchanted land he promised long ago as a child to one day find. This is easily Pixar's most adult oriented film and I noticed more than a few adults in the theatre sniffling and wiping away tears early on. Still, the melodrama doesn't last too long and the audience (and kids) soon become wrapped up in the adventurous part of the tale. For me the only thing that prevented this from being perfect was an obvious plot device geared towards kids in the form of a pack of talking dogs. It just didn't flow with the story. This is the first movie I've seen since I can remember in 3D and I have to say things have come along way. I was definitely impressed with the technology. 'Up' is simply another terrific Pixar release. |
| The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Blu-Ray) |
 Director: David Fincher Main Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Julia Ormond, Tilda Swinton Rating: ** This movie is about a baby who is born old and as he grows 'older' he paradoxically grows younger. That boy's name is Forrest, Forrest Gump. Huh? Oh, I'm sorry I got confused. While watching this epically long film I kept thinking of Gump. Considering both stories were written by the same person I guess it's not really surprising. Still, maybe try going in a different direction or something instead of pandering to our intelligence that this is nothing but a blatant attempt at being the 'it' movie come Oscar time. Thankfully much better fare won their nominations instead - with the exception of Best Makeup, which admittedly was well deserved. To director Fincher's credit he doesn't resort to typical gimmicks to tell us how we're supposed to feel during any given scene, no swelling music to be found here. But you'd think that with such a long run time he'd have spent more time on exploring the dilemma of loving someone who grows younger as you grow older instead of wasting time on unnecessary scenes which did nothing but attempt to ram it into the audience's head as to how amazingly, hugely, important this movie is supposed to be. Sorry, but it isn't. |
| The Reader (Blu-Ray) |
 Director: Stephen Daldry Main Stars: Ralph Fiennes, David Kross, Kate Winslet, Bruno Ganz, Lena Olin Rating: *** Hanna Schmitz (Winslet) is a simple woman who lives alone in a run down apartment in 1950's Germany. One day she comes across a young boy (Kross) who is violently ill and kindly helps him. He soon returns to thank her and they begin a torrid love affair. However the sex becomes secondary to her delight in having him read great books of literature to her. And then one day she is gone and the boy grows up into a young adult who enters law school. While attending a war crimes trial he hears Hannah's familiar voice once again and to his horror realizes the woman who broke his heart all those years ago was formerly a SS guard at a Nazi concentration camp. I liked the first half of the movie, but found the second half lacking. This is one of those films that frustrate me for being tantalizingly close to greatness but ultimately failing for any number of reasons. They really could have explored the moral dilemma of the German citizens in WWII, but instead chose to sum it up in one sentence with Hannah asking 'What would you have done?' They also could have explored the postwar generations attempts to come to terms with the horrors of the past and national sense of shame. But instead they only fleetingly touched upon it in a few scenes. Still, Kate Winslet is amazing and as usual you get to see lots of her naked. A thought provoking but ultimately frustrating movie. |
| I Love You, Man (Theatre) |
 Director: John Hamburg Main Stars: Andy Samberg, Jaime Pressly, Jason Segel, Jon Favreau, Paul Rudd Rating: **** Peter (Rudd) is engaged to his sweetheart Zooey (Jones). He is by all accounts the perfect man. Except that growing up he's never really had any guy friends. One night he overhears a conversation between his bride to be and her girlfriends where this oddity is revealed to all. Determined to fill out his side of the wedding party he embarks on a series of "man-dates" to find the perfect best man. Finally! A movie that's actually as funny as its trailer. Truly Amazing. Story wise there's nothing that ground breaking here, instead what makes this film work is the cast and the hilarious dynamic between Rudd and Segal. There's just so much about this film that is truly funny. From Rudd's painfully awkward attempts at sounding cool on the phone to the embarrassing sex talk amongst all the gal pals. And let's face it, any movie that consists of several scenes of the characters jamming out to Rush and even a concert cameo by the band is a winner in my books. Slappa da bass! |
| Irreversible (DVD) |
 Director: Gaspar Noe Main Stars: Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci, Albert Dupontel Rating: **** Think of this as the best movie I hope you never see. Tired of all the garbage Hollywood films of late I felt I needed to watch a foreign film for a change. All I knew was that it was controversial and it had super hottie Monica Bellucci in it. Told in reverse order similar to Memento, Irreversible is the story of Marcus (Cassel) and Alex (Bellucci) a young couple who's trip to a house party would forever change their lives for the worst. When this film was first screened at the Cannes Film Festival the majority of the audience and film critics walked out. Not because it was bad, but rather because of two very horrific and hard to watch scenes. Irreversible is technically stunning. The camera is constantly in motion filming everything in one continuous take, with the exception of the two aforementioned scenes where it sickeningly lingers motionless the entire time. So what are these two scenes? The first one consists of a person repeatedly getting their head bashed in with a fire extinguisher and the second consists of a woman being brutally raped in such a realistic manner that I literally felt sick watching it. Despite their realism, or more likely because of it, this is an amazing film and the reverse order works well as each new part reveals more details to the events which led to it's gruesome finale. Now excuse me while I go vomit. |
| Marley & Me (Blu-Ray) |
 Director: David Frankel Main Stars: Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, Haley Bennett, Alan Arkin, Eric Dane Rating: ** As a young couple, John (Wilson) and Jenny (Aniston) move to Florida to start their new life together. Soon after John heeds his best friends (Dane) advice on how to delay Jenny's maternal yearnings and buys her an adorable Labrador puppy. The adorable puppy soon turns into a living nightmare as the reality that they're not so cute once they grow up repeatedly hits home. For me this was just a so so movie. My main problem was that I knew going in that it didn't have a happy ending and you don't have to be a genius to figure out what that means. So for most of its painfully long run time I was distracted by the knowledge that at some point soon I'd be a bawling mess. That and the fact that it was wrongly marketed as a comedy bugs the hell out of me. If marketing can't figure out how to create a trailer without resorting to portraying something that a movie clearly isn't, then I would suggest not making the damn movie in the first place! Skip the film and read the novel that it was based on instead. |
| Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Blu-Ray) |
 Director: Kevin Smith Main Stars: Seth Rogan, Elizabeth Banks, Justin Long, Traci Lords, Katie Morgan Rating: **** People seem to either love Kevin Smith's films or hate them. I've only seen some of them and they've ranged from great (Clerks) to horrible (Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back). So I wasn't sure which one I'd be getting with this latest effort. I'm happy to say that with the possible exception of Clerks, this could be his best one to date. Zack (Rogan) & Miri (Banks) have known each other forever and are living together in a platonic relationship while struggling to make ends meet. One day while commiserating about their sad existence at the local watering hole Zack strikes upon the idea that the two of them should make a porno to solve their financial woes. The one caveat, they have to promise that things won’t get 'weird' between them afterwards. After all, it's just sex. This movie is very crude and extremely funny, yet by the end also very sweet and touching. The title pretty much sums up the plot of the movie so you should instantly know whether or not you're going to be comfortable with the subject matter. With terrific dialog, great performances by Rogan and Banks, the inclusion of a former porn queen (Lords) and a current porn star (Morgan) for a bit of authenticity, and hilarious extras this one is a winner. |
| Confessions of a Shopaholic (Theatre) |
 Director: P.J. Hogan Main Stars: Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Joan Cusack, John Goodman, Kristin Scott Thomas Rating: * Rebecca Bloomwood (Fisher) dreams of one day working for fashion magazine Alette. It would be the perfect job for her as she likes to shop a lot and clothe herself in the latest fashions. The fact that she has a dozen different credit cards which are all maxed out is a minor inconvenience. However she instead ends up working for a financial magazine when the editor-in-chief (Dancy) takes a liking to her. While it's not Alette it is part of the same media empire. And as the prerequisite gay receptionist tells her 'once she's in, she's in'. Just one problem - she has to give financial advice to others all while inventing increasingly outrageous excuses to keep a persistent debt collector off her back. There's really not a lot to say as this is your typical chick flick. While Isla Fisher is gorgeous to look at, this is yet another paint by numbers, unimaginative, boring, been done a billion times before, but who cares cause they'll still make 100 million at the box office, repeat the formula ad naseum Hollywood movie. That they wasted the talents of actors Joan Cusack and John Goodman is even more annoying. |
| The X Files: I Want to Believe (Blu-Ray) |
 Director: Chris Carter Main Stars: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly, Mitch Pileggi Rating: *** Six years after the X Files series ended Mulder (Duchovny) and Scully (Anderson) are back in their second big screen outing. Having previously been kicked out of the FBI, Mulder spends all of his time alone shut off from the world. His office is adorned with newspaper snippets of paranormal events along with the iconic 'I Want to Believe' flying saucer poster. Scully, now a doctor at a Christian hospital is contacted by the FBI to convince him to return and help them find a missing agent. Ok, yes, this film tanked at the box office and had pretty negative reviews. And I understand where the negativity comes from. This film has nothing at all to do with the first one. Anyone who watched the TV series knows there were two kind of episodes, the 'Mythos' episodes which dealt with the massive government conspiracy and an alien invasion, and the 'Monster of the Week' episodes which were individual stories of paranormal events. The first movie was in the Mythos camp, so it is somewhat fitting that the second one falls in the later category. However that decision clearly upset a lot of people who were expecting some sort of continuation or sequel to the first one. That said, you should consider I Want to Believe to be a better than average TV episode. With that mindset even the most casual fan while not being blown away will still enjoy watching it. |
| Margot at the Wedding (DVD) |
 Director: Noah Baumbach Main Stars: Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black, John Turturro Rating: ** A well known New York author (Kidman) travels back home for her sister's (Leigh) wedding whom she hasn't seen in years. In the midst of dealing with her own failed marriage, her resentment of her sister and her future husband (Black) threatens to send her socialite driven neurosis into overdrive. Despite solid performances from my favorite actress Jennifer Jason Leigh and from Nicole Kidman this movie just didn't do it for me. This is one of those films which exist to offer the audience a window into the psyche of your typical dysfunctional family. However Kidman plays her role perhaps to well. She quickly becomes unlikeable and tedious to watch. In fact tedious describes this film well as despite its short runtime it seems to take forever to come to an end. Finally, we have Jack Black who while giving it a good effort will forever be typecast as a goofball and therefore should never, ever, be in a serious movie. For a moving, haunting, and beautifully filmed look at family dysfunction I'd suggest watching The Ice Storm instead. It got everything right that Margot at the Wedding got wrong. |