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Ratings Scale: Brutal: * Kinda Sucked: ** Average: *** Loved It: **** Perfection: ***** |
| Whip It (VOD) |
 Director: Drew Barrymore Main Stars: Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis Rating: *** Drew Barrymore's directorial debut tells the tale of Bliss (Page), a 17 year old stuck in the tedium of small town Texas and smothered by her mother's desire to recapture her prestige and youth. Salvation appears one day in the unlikely form of the sport of roller derby. Can she overcome her disapproving parents, the physicality of the game, and the league's most vindictive player (Lewis)? Of course she can. This is after all a feel good, pretty much paint by numbers flick. There's no great revelation about humanity or any other such heady ideas to be found here. Still, the film succeeds extremely well at what it tries to be - simply an enjoyable film. Ellen Page is hugely likeable and all the cast turn in good performances. Juliette Lewis is particularly good as the rival player and it's a shame that she's been gone from movies for so long. Barrymore's debut might not be as groundbreaking as others from Hollywood royalty (Sofia Coppola comes to mind) but it is no less entertaining. Now lace up those skates and get out there! |
| Avatar (Theatre) (3D) |
 Director: James Cameron Main Stars: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi Rating: **** One could summarize this movie as 'Dances With Wolves meets the Smurf Cats'. But that's not really doing it justice. Having spent over a decade working on this picture, James Cameron's latest film and his first since Titanic has hit movie screens everywhere. Jake Sully (Worthington) has a chance to step into his deceased brothers shoes and join the Avatar program on the far away planet of Pandora. His loyalty to the military soon starts to fade as he spends more and more time with the native population the Na'vi, eventually becoming one of them himself. Cameron is a great director but only a mediocre script writer. All of the actors give one dimensional performances, although some of them such as Sigourney Weaver and Giovanni Ribisi still manage to stand out. Technically this movie is in a category all its own and will likely influence future films for years to come. That said I wasn't blown away like I was the first time I saw Tron, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, or The Matrix. The 3D was neat although I felt nauseous for the first few minutes until my eyes adjusted. Maybe it was simply hyped to much because overall I felt slightly let down visually. Yet despite that I still managed to thoroughly enjoy the movie. Avatar has horrible dialog, stereotypical characters, and a simplistic story. But none of that really matters as you will still find yourself enchanted by Pandora's beautiful world by the time the credits roll. |