The Lovely Bones – Movie Review
Based on the runaway bestselling novel, The Lovely Bones tells the story of Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), a 14-year old girl murdered in the early ‘70s. Susie narrates her story from beyond the grave, not as a ghost story per se, but as an ethereal onlooker; trapped between this life and the next in a […]
The Book of Eli – Movie Review
Denzel Washington’s latest film The Book of Eli provides me with yet another opportunity to use the phrase “post-apocalyptic”. (It seems like recently I’ve used it so frequently I’d be well served to give the phrase its own shortcut key.) It’s been thirty years since “the flash”, presumably a nuclear war of some kind though […]
Crazy on the Outside – Movie Review
Tim Allen makes his directorial debut in a well-meaning mess of a film called Crazy on the Outside. Allen also stars as Tommy, an ex-con fresh out of prison for pirating DVDs. (Apparently those FBI warnings we have to sit through are serious.) Needing a place to stay he takes up residence at his sister […]
Leap Year – Movie Review
As Leap Year begins, Anna (Amy Adams) is attempting to purchase a hotly sought after condo with Jeremy (Adam Scott), her cardiologist boyfriend of four years. Jeremy is the sort of pleasing but uninspiring man that women in romantic comedies typically find themselves entangled with just before meeting someone new and exciting. (Smartly parodied in […]
Youth in Revolt – Movie Review
Michael Cera returns as Nick Twisp in the new movie Youth In Revolt. The film, based on C. D. Payne’s 1993 cult novel of the same name, has been in development hell for over a decade. (MTV tried to turn the book into a television show in 1998 and, subsequently, held the rights for many […]
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Sqeakquel – Movie Review
There are certain questions that baffle mankind. Is there a God? Why do you bad things happen to good people? And, in 2007, another was added to this age-old list: Why was Alvin & The Chipmunks a hit? It was a dreary, humorless affair; part of Hollywood’s unending attempts to strip-mine its past…even the parts […]
Sherlock Holmes – Movie Review
If you’re a Sherlock Holmes purist, then perhaps Sherlock Holmes isn’t for you. Robert Downey Jr. stars as the famous detective with Jude Law in the role of his faithful sidekick Watson. Directed by Guy Ritchie, Holmes has been updated for the 21st century (though he still thankfully resides firmly in the 19th century). Holmes […]
Avatar – Movie Review
Twelve years after Titanic, James Cameron returns with the eagerly anticipated Avatar. Set in the year 2154, a Haliburton-esque company named SECFOR is mining the planet of Pandora for a rock-like natural resource that is extraordinarily valuable on Earth. However, they have run into problems with the Na’vi, an indigenous people inhabiting the world. They […]
Did You Hear About The Morgans? – Movie Review
For film critics, December is a busy month. It’s a mad scramble and a blur of movies as studios pummel us with films in time to qualify for Oscar consideration, Golden Globes, various other awards and critics’ year-end lists. Invariably there is a film that slips through the cracks. Did You Hear About the Morgans? […]
Me and Orson Welles – Movie Review
The year is 1937 and a 22-year old Orson Welles (Christian McKay) is in the process of staging what will become his legendary production of Julius Caesar. His version of the Shakespeare classic was mercilessly pared down, clocking in at a scant 100 minutes (with no intermission). Characters were omitted. Dialog was moved around within […]