REVIEW: The Hurt Locker [2009]

“That’s spoken like a wild man” While reading about the new Kathryn Bigelow film The Hurt Locker, I found it very interesting that people were saying how it really doesn’t have an anti-war sentiment. I was always under the impression that it would be another liberal propaganda-driven message movie like all the others coming out recently. To my great surprise, they were exactly right. Rather than use the war to tell people already against it to protest, Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal decide to use Iraq purely as a backdrop…

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REVIEW: The Proposal [2009]

“The witch is on her broom” It is safe to say, my man-crush on Ryan Reynolds has remained intact after watching his new film The Proposal. It could have gotten ugly being a vehicle for Sandra Bullock, (Reynolds is in fact the “romantic interest”), directed by Anne Fletcher, the woman behind the occasionally entertaining 27 Dresses. Would I have enjoyed myself as much as I did if Reynolds—a Canadian playing an American, opposite an American playing a Canadian—was not there? Probably not. That is what his sarcastic humor does for…

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REVIEW: The Wedding Date [2005]

“He’s not really family; he’s more like a hostage” The filmmakers behind The Wedding Date do a very smart thing by throwing us into the action right from the start. I was anticipating a lengthy exposition period of Debra Messing’s Kat talking to a best friend about how she doesn’t want to go to her sister’s wedding alone, especially since the best man is her ex-fiance. As the two banter about the past and broken-hearts, the friend will suggest, “why don’t you get an escort to make him jealous?” Then…

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REVIEW: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen [2009]

“What if we leave and you’re wrong?” My screening of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ended around 10:00pm. What do we see in the lobby as we exit the theatre? A line already forming for the midnight show less than two hours away, the premiere time slot to expose the world to the ancient Decepticon Fallen. Those kids were ready for a good time, hoping that the sequel lived up to the surprisingly effective first installment. If any of them had asked me as I walked by what I thought,…

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REVIEW: My Sister’s Keeper [2009]

“I’m sorry I let them hurt you” I have not read the Judi Picoult novel for which the new film My Sister’s Keeper is based, and I think that is a good thing. Whether I would have thought the movie did or didn’t live up is beside the point as, from the scuttlebutt at the completion of the screening around me stated, the endings are completely different. Truthfully, I think I like the cinematic conclusion much better than the literary one, if these audience members are to be believed. What…

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REVIEW: Speed Racer [2008]

“See, this race is full of cheaters” I’m going to preface this review by saying I have no clue about anything “Speed Racer”. I’ve never seen the cartoon, I don’t know the ins and outs or plotlines, nor if the source material was tongue-in-cheek and campy. Truthfully, I am glad I went into the Wachowskis’ film adaptation Speed Racer this way. Perhaps the tone took me by surprise in how grating and annoying it could be at times, (I wanted to kill Spritle and Chim Chim from their first moment…

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REVIEW: The Midnight Meat Train [2008]

“People usually run away” I don’t know what it was about the trailer for The Midnight Meat Train that drew me in, but I had been anticipating finally seeing it for a long while. Maybe it was seeing Bradley Cooper in a lead role, against his usual type, (and now of course he is huge after The Hangover); maybe it was the bleak, metallic starkness of the subway car surroundings; or perhaps it was that it’s based on a Clive Barker short story. Now, if I were to pick any…

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REVIEW: My Dad is 100 Years Old [2005]

“Like is not the measure of right” I have caught the Guy Maddin bug. And it is all My Dad is 100 Years Old’s fault. Is Isabella Rossellini’s love letter to her father overdone, pretentious, and unnecessary? Probably yes on all counts, however, none of that detracts from the achievement it also creates. Why film an interview, static and uninteresting, when you can hire an auteur to use his eye and add a flair for the dramatic? Cinema is about drawing the viewer in, right—to cause the audience to think,…

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REVIEW: Летят журавли [The Cranes are Flying] [1957]

“I am always waiting” Director Mikhail Kalatozov’s film Летят журавли [The Cranes are Flying] is a glorious piece of cinema. From the screenplay by Viktor Rozov, based on his own play, Kalatozov shows us a vision of the heroism of war and the suffering by those left at home. Granted, the film was made in 1957, but having just seen it myself, I must say how much of a breath of fresh air it is. Inundated with countless war movies showing us the front lines and the carnage, the topic…

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REVIEW: The Taking of Pelham 123 [2009]

“You a Yankees fan?” If you ask me whether I’d prefer Ridley Scott or his brother Tony, I think I would have to pick the latter each and every time. Sure, Ridley has made some masterpieces, (Alien and Blade Runner), but he has also given the world plenty of overrated fare as well, (yes, I’m talking to you Gladiator). Has Tony ever equaled the best work of his brother? Absolutely not. But if I were to pick an entire career, I can’t deny the entertainment value and sheer consistency of…

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REVIEW: The Girlfriend Experience [2009]

“If they wanted you to be yourself, they wouldn’t be paying you” I like the Ocean’s movies as much as the next guy, but something about Steven Soderbergh’s indie films show how much of a paycheck job those blockbusters are. His artistic endeavors may not always work—see the disappointing Ché Parts 1 & 2—but they do consistently show an auteur trying something new, challenging himself and his viewers. I have not yet seen Bubble, but 2009 brings us his second feature under the HDMovies deal, bringing his films to theatre,…

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