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Ratings Scale: Brutal: * Kinda Sucked: ** Average: *** Loved It: **** Perfection: ***** |
| Ironman (Theatre) |
 Director: Jon Favreau Main Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow Rating: **** Tony Stark (Downey) is a billionaire inventor and heir to Stark Industries, a defense industry giant. During a weapons demonstration in Afghanistan his convoy is attacked and he's taken prisoner. He is given a hollow sounding promise of freedom if he'll develop Stark Industries' latest weapon for them. Instead he develops a robotic exoskeleton and blasts his way out of captivity, laying the foundation for what will develop into his alter ego - Ironman. I'll say up front, I consider Ironman to be in the top three 'comic based' movies of recent memory, the other two being the first Batman (Tim Burton's) and the first Spiderman. That said, the reason this movie manages to transcend such uninspired dreck as The Fantastic Four or The Hulk is because of Mr. Downey. He carries the movie and his mannerisms and wit infuse Ironman with a humanity that lesser actors wouldn't have been able to match. Gwyneth Paltrow is terrific as his assistant and offers much more than just being the love interest and an almost unrecognizable Jeff Bridges effectively plays the role of villain. In addition to great performances the movie also offers an above average mix of special effects. Instead of being lazy and relying solely upon CGI, they also used actual robotics and miniatures created by FX wizard Stan Winston (Aliens, Predator). Robert Downey is the only reason I went and saw this in the theatre and he didn't disappoint. Ironman is a winner. |
| Aliens vs Predator - Requiem (Blu-Ray) |
 Director: Colin & Greg Strause Main Stars: Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, John Ortiz, Johnny Lewis, Ariel Gade Rating: * (Simpson's geek voice) 'Darkest movie ever!' No, seriously. Make sure all the lights are off and the TV's brightness cranked because half the time you can't make out what's happening on screen. I'm not sure if the lack of light was a lame attempt at 'atmosphere' or merely trying to cover up bad F/X. Probably both. Oh, ya, the plot. Um, Predator ship gets infected by Aliens, ship crashes, another Predator is sent to clean up the mess, backwater town gets caught in the middle, and the military ends up nuking the place. But not to worry, there's the inevitable send up for the next sequel. Maybe they'll call it 'Alien vs Predator vs Jason vs Freddy'. Ya that'd be sweet! Seriously, who green lights this crap? Is there ANYTHING good about this movie? Well you briefly get to see what I assume is the Predator's home world, which looks kinda neat. And unlike the last one, this one is rated R and full of gory fun. But it's not enough to save this mess. Here's a hint on how not to ruin a storied franchise - don't hire script writers who make comic books, and don't hire first time directors who are 'big fans of the movies'. They should actually have the next one where the Aliens and Predators team up and storm the executive offices of 20th Century Fox and slaughter all the morons who approve this garbage. I would actually be first in line at the theatre for that one! |
| No Country For Old Men (Blu-Ray) |
 Director: Joel & Ethan Coen Main Stars: Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Kelly MacDonald Rating: **** Out hunting one day, Llewelyn (Brolin) comes across a drug deal gone bad, real bad, and ends up in possession of a case full of $2 million dollars. What to do? What would you do? Of course he takes it and sets in motion a chain of events involving a psychotic killer (Bardem) who targets him and his wife (MacDonald) and a world weary Sherriff (Jones) trying to sort it all out. As the movie ended and the credits rolled I thought to myself, 'you've got to be kidding' and went to bed rather confounded and annoyed. But then I started going over it in my head. Yes this is one of those movies which equally delight and aggravate you, but stays in your head long afterwards. It's an amazing simplistic film, but one which takes turns unexpected - without feeling contrived. And therein lies it's genius. Throw in amazing performances and an ever present feeling of tension and you have a movie who's Oscars were well deserved. Javier Bardem portrays a character who epitomizes pure evil. One scene in particular involving a gas station attendant is hands down one of the creepiest moments in movie history. About the only thing that detracted from it was an unnecessary subplot involving a bounty hunter (Harrelson) that made the film a bit longer than needed. A great, but challenging flick. |
| August Rush (DVD) |
 Director: Kirsten Sheridan Main Stars: Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Robin Williams Rating: ** Diabetics should not watch this movie, as this sugary sweet, contrived dreck is likely to send you into a coma. August (Highmore) is a seemingly parentless lad who has a gift for hearing music in the daily mundane. In a flashback we find out that he does have parents after all. Lyla (Russell) is an orchestral cellist who one night ends up at a house party in Manhattan and beds the charming, yet haunted Irish rocker, Louis (Meyers). Their one night stand results in the birth of August, right after Lyla gets run over by a car (oh the horror!). Yet in a dastardly (and beyond unlikely) twist her cruel father tells her in her daze that she lost the baby, instead having secretly signed away her rights to the child. Upon his deathbed, the father admits his deception and thus Lyla begins her search for both her lost child and her haunted Irish rocker. Fear not, because all are joyously and conveniently reunited by the end of the movie. Oh, I almost forgot Robin Williams as the woefully miscast, yet menacing street hustler determined to keep August all to his own and ride his musical talents to the big leagues. Yes, by the end of it, I got a bit misty eyed - damn you swelling music! - but that just annoyed me even more as I felt that I had been entirely manipulated as viewer. As chick flicks go, this isn't the worst (at least it didn't have Eva Longoria, Katherine Heigl, or Matthew Mcconaughey in it), but it's pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel. |
| 30 Days of Night (Blu-Ray) |
 Director: David Slade Main Stars: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster Rating: ** Barrow, Alaska is not the place you want to be when a horde of vampires attack in the middle of Winter. Why? Well because there it's nighttime for 30 straight days and you're cut off from the rest of the world. Especially when said vampires kill the power, kill the sled dogs, and pretty much kill anything they come across. Based on the graphic novel, 30 Days is an attempt to revive a pretty stale genre, the vampire flick, much like 28 Days Later revived the Zombie flick. How does it fare? Not that great. The background story is intriguing, and the first half of the film had me all tingly with fear and suspense - inevitable comparisons to John Carpenter's The Thing kept going through my head. The absolute highlight is a long, slow, overhead pan of the streets below as we witness the carnage unfolding between man and vampire. But sadly, the film loses it's way shortly afterwards. Predator worked so well because you never really saw the creature until the end, likewise Alien scared the living crap out of people because for the most part you only saw glimpses of what stalked the crew. By the end of this movie these vampires cease to terrify because their constant screen time deadens the shock value. Add in some subtitled vampire philosophy and you have a turn into the farcical. Which really sucks because for a horror flick the acting is top notch and on Blu-Ray it looks like absolute perfection. Sadly, this is one of those movies that really piss me off because the potential to be great is in there somewhere. |
| Shoot 'Em Up (DVD) |
 Director: Michael Davis Main Stars: Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci, Stephen McHattie Rating: **** Mr. Smith (Owen) is sitting at a bus stop minding his business when a pregnant women in labour staggers past followed shortly afterwards by a pistol toting bad guy. What to do? Of course he goes to save her, and ends up delivering her baby in a hail of gunfire. When the mother takes a stray bullet in the head he blows away the rest of the baddies (now numbering in the dozens) and takes the baby to a lactating hooker for safe keeping. At this point you're probably thinking, what the hell? And frankly I wouldn't blame you. On it's surface Shoot 'Em Up is a bad movie, with horrible dialog, and outrageously improbable action sequences. Oh ya, it's also one hell of a rip roaring and highly entertaining movie! It works because it doesn't pretend to be something it's not and it doesn't take itself seriously. Owen is hilariously deadpan as the hero and Giamatti is completely over the top as the villain. Rounding out the cast we have the ridiculously hot Monica Bellucci fulfilling the role of gratuitous eye candy. So dim the lights, grab some popcorn, check your brain at the door, and enjoy the wild ride! |
| The Kingdom (DVD) |
 Director: Peter Berg Main Stars: Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, Jason Bateman, Ashraf Barhom Rating: **** When a group of suicide bombers target an American compound in Saudi Arabia, the FBI brings in an elite squad to investigate. Once there they must overcome government resistance, a hostile culture, and conflicting loyalties to find the culprits. The Kingdom has been described as Syriana For Dummies. I think that's a somewhat unfair comparison. The movie opens with a montage of film clips showing America and Saudi Arabia's love-hate relationship through the years, culminating in the shadow of a plane approaching the twin towers. From there we witness a horrific suicide attack and not for the first time I felt uncomfortable watching. I like seeing movies to escape from reality, not to be reminded of it and this and another scene were all to real for me. I skipped going to this film when it came out due to generally bad reviews. It seems in most reviewers eyes that a movie must either be full of mindless action or dripping with self importance and deep meaning to be spared criticism. God help the film that tries to combine elements of both. I for one found the mix of action and political commentary to be ideal. Everyone gives effective performances, but Ashaf Barhom gives an especially compelling and nuanced performance as the Saudi colonel tasked with overseeing the American team and keeping them from harm. Uncomfortable reminders aside, The Kingdom is a thrilling movie that will keep you on edge plus you won't need a PhD to keep up. |
| Ratatouille (Blu-Ray) |
 Director: Brad Bird Main Stars: Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Janeane Garafolo, Peter O'Toole Rating: **** Remy (Oswalt) is a rat with a nose and a passion for fine food. Fate intervenes one day, separating him from his family and dropping him on the doorstep of the famous Parisian restaurant, Gusteau's. His lifelong dream of being a famous chef is almost realized, he just has to overcome a vengeful boss (Holm), an overachieving man-hater (Garafolo), a scathing food critic (O'Toole) and well, the fact that he's a rat. Ok, at first glance a rat and a restaurant wouldn't seem to be an ideal pairing, but Pixar manages to pull you in and by the end you find yourself rooting for the little guy against the bad, cruel humans. Overall I wouldn't say that this is their best work, those honors belonging to Finding Nemo and The Incredibles, but it is still a solid film and miles ahead of the animated crap that other studios churn out. Visually this film is amazing. Pixar somehow manages to raise the bar with each new movie. On Blu-Ray the result is simply stunning. This is definitely reference material. More than once I found myself blown away by how lifelike some of the scenery shots were. Ratatouille c'est tres Magnifique! |
| Eastern Promises (DVD) |
 Director: David Cronenberg Main Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl Rating: *** David Cronenberg is one of my three favourite directors of all time. His films Crash, Dead Ringers, and Naked Lunch are classics of cinema. It was also a revelation when his last film, A History Of Violence, showed that he could also make the leap from art house flicks to mainstream movies. After watching Eastern Promises, I'm thinking it might be time for him to go back to exploring his quirky side again. Nikolai (Mortensen) is a driver for a Russian crime family operating out of East London. Anna (Watts) is a nurse at the local hospital who helps deliver a baby from a dying prostitute. Their paths cross when Anna ends up in possession of the dead woman's diary which details the horrors she suffered while under the 'employ' of the same crime family. All the actors turn in great performances and I am fans of both Mortensen and Watts. There are no real flaws with either the story or the technical aspects of the movie. However, I just found myself neither really liking nor disliking it. Nothing really stood out for me. And while everyone will undoubtedly be all a titter over the bathhouse fight scene I frankly found the violence in History of Violence, specifically the 'sex scene' on the stairway, to be much more brutal, honest, and real. Your mileage may vary. |