Watch It

Two 'Watch It' Reviews

2011-01-11T14:51:00.003-08:00

The Town - $9

Ben Affleck is 2 for 2 in my books. Gone Baby Gone was one of my favorite movies in years so I was excited for Affleck's second directoral attempt and he did not disappoint. This is a gripping story set in my favorite modern movie setting, Boston. The whole thing worked for me right down to the love story and especially the tense heist scenes.

I thought Affleck's performance was decent as well though I'm not nearly as big a fan of his acting as I am of his directing. In the end Affleck was outshone by Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner and even Jon Hamm who accomplished the difficult task of not seeming like Don Draper as an FBI agent.

This one is worth seeing for sure, Watch It.

How To Train Your Dragon - $10

This movie was fun from start to finish. I actually watched it again the next day and I don't have kids.

Where many animated movies fail this one succeeds, it is touching, funny and smart and all without being cheesy.

Watch It.

Bunch of Ratings

2011-01-06T06:28:00.005-08:00

So it's been a while. Thought I'd quickly go through a bunch of movies to play catch up.

Salt - $4

This was just okay. I think it tried to do too much but it was entertaining at times. Don't Watch It.

Toy Story 3 - $8

Another great installment in the Toy Story Franchise. Creative and fun enough that I've seen it twice. Watch It.

Prince Caspian - $4

Not a bad movie but a shadow of the great book. Disney is ruining my beloved Narnia books. The props look like they're from a dollar store and the costumes look like the actors' Moms made them. How they turned this book into a movie with extended battle scenes is beyond me. Don't Watch It.

Valentines Day - $0

Horrible! Nothing worked in this, there was no chemistry between any of the actors. I hated it. Don't ever Watch It.

The Other Guys - $5

I love Will Ferrell and this movie made me laugh but not as much as I had hoped. A lot of the jokes were just barely missing the target. It was close but in the end just an average comedy. Watch It, if you like Ferrell.

Inception - $10

Fantastic and gripping, I wanted to turn around and go back in for the late show after I saw it. Watch It right now.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - $0

2009-12-02T15:12:00.005-08:00

This movie was horrible. It was repetitive. It featured childish writing and the same plot as the first movie with a "Matrix" instead of the "All Spark".

There was a complete lack of character development, for example Bumble Bee suddenly has voice problems again and has to use the radio to speak to Sam. This was a weak plot device in the first movie to create easy jokes and was repeated here with no explanation.

Numerous new characters were added which I don't remember from the cartoon, what's the point of this? This movie might as well be called GoBots for it is a bad imitation of its inspiration.

Bad jokes, horrifically predictable, everything about this was appalling.

Michael Bay is now my undisputed choice for worst director in the history of motion pictures, and whoever wrote this movie should be writing for children's television.

If you see a movie reviewer who likes this movie never trust anything they say about anything ever again.

$0. Don't Watch It.

Where the Wild Things Are - $9

2009-11-04T11:48:00.004-08:00

Where the Wild Things Are is a book I loved as a kid, it's not a complex book, in fact I believe it's only 10 sentences long, so the movie had to get creative and inventive and in my opinion they pulled it off.

Where the Wild Things Are, the movie, is about a young boy named Max. Max doesn't have a lot of friends and like a typical child he gets a little carried away with his childish wild side from time to time. One night after an arguement with his mom Max runs away and sails to a far away island where he meets a group of strange monsters that make him their king. Max's rule of the island starts out very well but he begins to see the ugly side of the monsters after a long time there and he heads back home to his relieved mom.

The monsters each seemed to represent a different kind of childish behavior and you'd expect that to lead into some overt moral to the story, but it doesn't. Max seems to have learned a bit about himself by the end but not in any kind of neatly wrapped up way. This was a story that was simply about childish behaviour without a lot of judgement attached and to frankly, it was refreshing in that it didn't spoon feed it's audience with an obvious message. This is an understated and rich story that reminded me of being a child the entire time I watched it.

This movie captivated me with the visuals and the dialogue. The pre-monster portion of the story is told well but it's really the time in the land of the wild things that makes this movie great.

I've heard critics saying this is too dark and subtle for kids but I think they underestimate kids. I recommend this one no matter what your age.

$9 and a 'Watch It' for sure.

District 9 - $7

2009-08-21T11:35:00.003-07:00

I hesitated at first to review District 9 until I see it again because I was forced to watch it in the 3rd row in one of those theaters where the first 4 rows are below the screen. This made for a hindered experience of the visuals of the movie, but I still liked it.

This movie is unique, not because it's doing anything that's never been done before, but because it's combining things that have never been combined before. This is part drama, part action, part comedy, part mockumentary and it's all wrapped in a metaphor for apartheid. Because of this it would be hard to pull off an effective plot summary for District 9 so I'll give you an ineffective one.

This is a movie set in South Africa where aliens who arrived without warning or purpose are put into an internment camp, called District 9, to be kept away from the general population for more than 2 decades. An attempt to evict and move the aliens to a new camp further away does not go well and District 9 becomes an action movie that needs to be seen rather than explained.

District 9 has a plot that is hard to believe at times but overall it worked for me, and it was certainly never boring. There is sure to be a sequel and I'll be sure to see it.

I give District 9 a value of $7 and put it on my 'Watch It' list. We'll see if that rating changes when I see this again and can view the whole screen without having to move my head side to side.

Funny People - $8

2009-08-14T16:26:00.004-07:00

After a long hiatus I've been inspired to write a recommendation for Funny People, the latest Judd Apatow movie. Why this movie; it's simple really, it surprised the heck out of me.

I'm not a big Apatow fan, I laughed in 40 year old virgin and not as much in Knocked Up and I've found every movie he has his hands on to rely almost completely on pretty simple and vulgar humour. I'm also not a huge Seth Rogan fan, he's funny at times but he's been playing the same guy in all these movies and it wasn't amazing the first time.

Funny People was a pleasant surprise because it had all the things I didn't expect it to have, it was smart, mature, interesting and even had well developed characters. There was still a good dose of vulgarity but it was a side show at most and it fit the story more naturally since this is a movie about stand up comedians and lets face it, most of them make a living with vulgarity.

Funny People is long, really the first comedy epic I've ever seen, but it doesn't drag at all. It tells a story that needed time to be told.

Seth Rogan is good playing pretty much the guy he always does. Adam Sandler stole the show though. Sandler is hit and miss for me but once again in Funny People he proved he can actually act if given the chance.

It's also worth mentioning that Jason Schwartzman and Jonah Hill have a surprisingly great chemistry as the roommates of the main character. Also, the biggest surprise of all, Eric Bana is funny. Who knew.

I'm putting Funny People on my 'Watch It' list and giving it a $8 value. I laughed a lot in this movie which is not a normal Apatow reaction for me. I hope we see more of this type of movie making from Apatow in the future.

The X Files: I Want to Believe - $1

2008-12-04T21:48:00.003-08:00

I'll make this short, this movie sucked.

I used to love the X Files TV show and it's previous movie incarnation was quite good too. This movie just felt like the most boring X Files episode I've ever seen. The plot was simple, the characters were flat and had no chemistry, there was nothing frightening or creepy, no aliens, no conspiracies... what the heck was this piece of crap?

This should have gone straight to video.

I put The X Files: I Want to Believe on my 'Please Don't Ever Watch It' list and give it a value of $1. The dollar is for Amanda Peet, no movie with her will ever get a 0 from me.

The Incredible Hulk - $6

2008-11-22T11:51:00.001-08:00

I didn't mind Ang Lee's Hulk (2003), it was interesting and worth watching if only for the unique way it was made. For all the comic book movies out there these days, Lee's version was the closest any movie has come to the feel of a comic.

This new incarnation of The Incredible Hulk is a much more typical comic adaptation movie. Lots of action, explosions and CGI. Interestingly neither Hulk movie has made much money at the box office and I have some theories there. Ang Lee's Hulk was too different for your typical comic movie fan and this one, while a continuation of the first, was not really a sequel either so the interest level wasn't there. There was some confusion when it came out as to whether it was another remake of the first one from only a few years earlier or if it was a sequel. It really wasn't either. Rest assured, both Hulk movies are far superior to Spider Man 3.

The Incredible Hulk begins with Bruce Banner living in a very poor area in South America and working at a drink factory. He is of course hiding out from the military that created his alter ego, the Hulk, as he attempts to find a cure. Once day in an innocent factory accident a drop of Banner's blood falls into one of the drinks. Weeks later a man dies from the same kind of radiation poisoning that created the Hulk and the military finally knows where to look for Banner.

The rest of the story revolves around Banner finding Betty Ross, the woman he loved and left behind when he went into hiding. When he finds her she helps him hide and look for answers and a cure to his condition. There is also a member of the special forces team trying to capture the Hulk who voluntarily undergoes procedures to give him similar powers as the Hulk, that being the ability to transform into a monstrous like thing with super strength. His procedure goes wrong of course and he turns in the Abomination. In an ironic twist the very military trying to capture Banner/Hulk have to turn to him in the end to help stop Abomination.

Though it's predictable and somewhat formulaic, I'm recommending The Incredible Hulk. Ed Norton turns out to be a very good Bruce Banner and Liv Tyler is actually pretty convincing as Betty Ross. William Hurt is, as usual, fantastic playing Gen. Thaddeus Ross, the man in charge of the experimental program which made Banner become the Hulk. He also happens to be Betty Ross' Father, insert drama here.

The Incredible Hulk manages to be intriguing and finds a way to further the Hulk story without truly being a sequel to the 2003 movie. The CGI is good, as it always is when more than 100 million dollars is spent, but more importantly there is actually some character development and a bit of a story told here.

I'm putting The Incredible Hulk on my 'Watch It' list and giving it a value of $6.

Two Quick 'Don't Watch It' Reviews

2008-10-25T13:59:00.002-07:00

Street Kings - $1

This predictable action movie tried way too hard to be epic and ended up simply being not very good. Needlessly overdone violence and terrible dialogue dominate this story about cops who break the rules to get the bad guys.

Despite having a few actors in it that I like I'm saying you should skip this one, it's on the 'Don't Watch It' list and gets a value of $1.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - $4

Ok, full disclosure, I almost recommended this one. I grew up loving the Indiana Jones movies and really Lucas and Spielberg got a lot right with this newest incarnation of Indy. There was goofy dialogue and unrealistic action galore but really, those things were in the other classic movies as well. Harrison Ford is way too old to be doing this but at the same time the movie acknowledges and pokes fun at his age instead of trying to pretend he's still in his prime.

So while Indy 4 could have been a lot worse, it still wasn't good. I never felt the darkness and fear of the enemy that was prevalent in the old Indy movies. I never once worried that Indy was in any danger or that anything bad was going to happen to him. It was all just a little too simple.

Still, if you like Indiana Jones and you want a brainless and fun movie night, you'll have a good time with the Crystal Skull.

It's on my 'Don't Watch It' list though and I'm giving it a rating of $4.

Twin Peaks - $9

2008-10-17T14:45:00.002-07:00

I don't want to say too much about Twin Peaks yet because I'm just finishing season 1 tonight but so far it has been just about the most quirky, creepy, funny and entertaining TV I've ever watched.

Twin Peaks centers around Agent Cooper, who has to be one of the best TV characters of all time. He's an FBI agent visiting the small town of Twin Peaks to investigate a murder. He's weird and eccentric but smart and strong at the same time. Obsessed with good coffee and finding the meaning of his dreams, Cooper would be dismissed as unstable if he weren't right so often. The picture above is from my favorite scene so far, it's a dream Cooper has and it's better seen than described, but essentially the murdered girl and a little person talk to him in voices that sound as if they've been recorded backwards and played back forward.

This is just good television.

The characters in Twin Peaks are all either crazy, mysterious or solid every day people. As weird as the show is it might be a pretty accurate portrayal of a normal town.

I can't wait to finish watching it and I highly recommend you see it if you never have. I give it a value of $9 and it's obviously on the 'Watch It' list.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 - $6

2008-09-01T12:33:00.005-07:00

Just a brief review today, August was busy as you can tell from my lack of reviews. To fill the void I'll have a guest reviewer post for you in the next couple of days. Stay tuned for that, the guest reviewer is someone a few of you know.

Onto the review at hand here, Kill Bill. It's a cop out to review both Volumes at once as they are different and distinct movies, but that's what I'm doing.

I saw Kill Bill back when it was first released and I really liked it then. I watched it again recently and was entertained enough to remember why I liked it so much the first time.

Kill Bill is a tough movie to define, it has a martial arts feel at times, classic western moments, cheesy action movie moments and lots of comic book type moments. All in all I found that it works as one coherent movie, though I know some people find it choppy and inconsistent. I liked the pacing of Kill Bill and I find the transitions between the dramatically different parts are affective.

Kill Bill is fun and extremely unique. Uma Thurman is great as the main character, The Bride and David Carradine is pitch perfect as Bill.

The writing is so cheesy it usually works but there were definitely times I laughed when I know I wasn't meant to.

Overall Kill Bill is worth checking out if you need some entertainment and you're in the mood for a unique action movie. I put Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 on my 'Watch It' list and give the two part movie a value of $6.

Top 5 Comedies of All Time

2008-08-17T17:15:00.011-07:00

Here they are, the Watch It Top 5 comedies of all time. I'll start from #1 this time just to mix it up.

1) The Big Lebowski

I LOVE this movie, it has grown better each time I've watched it. John Goodman puts in the performance of his life and Jeff Bridges is perfect. If you haven't seen this you've missed out on an epic movie. Full Review

2) Dumb and Dumber

Dumb and Dumber actually seems to get..well..dumber every time I watch it now, but I have to put it on this list, in fact I almost put it first. No movie has ever made me laugh as much as this one did the first 47 times I watched it. The Cam Neely (Seabass) cameo alone makes it worth watching.

3) The Darjeeling Limited

This one has had very mixed reviews but I was hooked from the opening scene to the very end. I laughed, I almost cried, I loved it all. Wes Anderson is one of my favorites in the writer/director field as you'll see by my choice for #4 on this list.
Full Review

4) The Royal Tennenbaums

I couldn't help but put 2 Wes Anderson movies on this list. I could almost have put another one but that would get silly. The Royal Tenenbaums is a brilliant comedy and like Anderson's other movies it got me right from the start. I think it's his attention to detail in the imagery and his great characters that I like best but I could also sit and just listen to the dialogue in this movie and still laugh.

5) Old School

Vince Vaughan, Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson...enough said.

Do Me a Solid? EVEN MORE UPDATED

2008-08-15T13:59:00.000-07:00

UPDATE 2: It worked! Go to the LAMB and check me out, I'm #1 this week! Thanks to everyone who clicked the link and checked out the fast growing site that is the LAMB.

_______Original Post_________
Faithful readers, thank you for voting in such massive numbers on my poll to the right. Overwhelmingly you chose Comedies as the topic for my next Top 5 list, you will get your way in a post to come this weekend.

In the meantime how 'bout doin' me a solid and visiting the Large Association of Movie Blogs (LAMB) site? Each week the site posts the top 5 members who are sending visitors to the LAMB. It seems to only take 25 or so to get into the top 5 and I've never been there.

I'm a LAMB member and it's actually an interesting site to check out, so come on, at least once go check it out by clicking the link in the sidebar or clicking the picture below. I really want to get in that list.

- Tony

UPDATE: I've been told by the guy who runs the LAMB that I'm in a close race for first this week. One more click below everyone and I can win this thing! (Top 5 Comedies nearly completed, I will release it today)

El Orfanato (The Orphanage) - $9

2008-08-05T21:31:00.009-07:00

I've said more than once on my site that I'm not a big fan of the horror genre. By that I mean movies like Texas Chainsaw, Saw etc... I do enjoy a good thriller from time to time though and the distinction to me is in what is being done to frighten me. I don't mind being scared of something mysterious or haunting, but I'm not fond of seeing disgusting gore designed to terrify me in a very simplistic way.

The Orphanage is exactly the kind of thriller I like. The story revolves around a woman named Laura who has bought the orphanage she spent her childhood years in prior to being adopted. Her and her husband intend to turn it into a boarding house for mentally challenged children while also living there with their own son, Simón.

In one of the movies' more eerie scenes Laura finds Simón talking to someone in a cave near the beach they frequent. Laura never sees anyone and assumes Simón is talking to an imaginary friend. That day Simón leaves a trail of shells that lead back to the house so that the friend he met in the cave can find it and come over to play. The next day Laura finds the shells in a pile by the front door and from that moment on she begins to hear and see things in the house that prompt her to believe that this imaginary friend of Simón's may not be imagined after all. When Simón goes missing Laura is convinced that the spirits in the house are to blame.

The Orphanage is beautifully shot and is frightening for all the right reasons. There is mystery and story to what is happening in the house and the fear the movie makes it's audience feel is a powerful fear of the unknown. There is a purpose to the horror as well as it adds to the story being told rather than being the only part of the story. The Orphanage even manages to give you an almost touching ending.

The Orphanage has an amazing tone and mood with imagery that makes it far more than just a horror movie. The acting and writing are great though I'm always left wishing I spoke the language of a subtitled movie especially when it impresses me. How much more impressed would I have been if I could understand the dialogue as it was intended?

This is a must see, I'm putting The Orphanage on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $9.

The Dark Knight - $8

2008-07-25T10:37:00.009-07:00

I went into The Dark Knight with high expectations and it delivered - for the most part. This is a comic/superhero movie which, unlike the many others in this genre, tries very hard to also be a good movie and a compelling story. Director Christopher Nolan has succeeded in making a very good movie here and in a way he has transcended the genre while perfecting it at the same time.

I won't go into a big plot summary, since you've all already seen it according to box office numbers, but essentially you've got Batman saving people from the Joker and assorted other criminals while wrestling with his purpose and the question of whether he is actually helping Gotham in the long run. I like that Nolan has given the Batman story something more than it's other incarnations by focusing on moral dilemma's and Batman's own lack of innocence.

The Dark Knight works on a lot of levels, the effects are amazing but great effects alone never make a good movie. Dark Knight also gives it's audience fairly good writing which is the last thing I expect in a big budget comic book adaptation.

Everything you've heard about the acting in this movie is true, if a little over hyped. Ledger is incredible as the Joker and Bale turns in another great performance as Batman. For me Aaron Ekhart's performance as Two-Face/Harvey Dent stole the show a bit from the bigger names around him. The supporting cast is good as well and I agree with most that Maggie Gyllenhaal playing Rachel Dawes is an improvement on Katie Holmes. Thankfully though she's not different enough as to distract the audience. Normally using a different actor to play the same character is a huge distraction for me (Fresh Prince of Bel Air anyone?) but it worked here.

As I said, I enjoyed this movie. The hype is overblown for sure, especially when you look at it's IMDB rating, but it's still the best blockbuster to hit theatres in a long time. I still think Batman Begins is the superior of the two but I'm a sucker for origin stories. I'm definitely hoping Nolan doesn't stop with Dark Knight and continues to redeem the Batman franchise from the horrific Warner Bros versions.

The Dark Knight is on my 'Watch It' list and I'm giving it a value of $8.

Four, Five and Six - $9

2008-07-23T14:15:00.005-07:00

Four, Five and Six is a short film by Nathan Davies and Jeff Coutts.

The film follows a man through six scenes of life, in the first he learns that his Father has passed away and throughout the rest of the story we see how this passing affects every day moments in his life and the lives of those around him.

Four, Five and Six is a great film and well worth watching. The dialogue is smart and the scenes are well shot and well performed.

For those who live in Edmonton this film is in consideration for the Edmonton International Film Festival so I hope the selection committee has the good sense to show it and that you get the chance to watch it.

For my part I put this one on the 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $9.

Two Quick Reviews

2008-07-21T11:48:00.006-07:00

I've been away and will be seeing and reviewing The Dark Knight this week but for now here are a couple lightning quick reviews of two movies I saw last week.

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days - $9

4 Months is an incredible movie and may be the most emotionally intense film I've seen in years. The story follows a University student who is helping her roommate obtain an abortion in communist Romania during a time that this is illegal.

Regardless of what your opinion is on this divisive issue the images and story in 4 Months succeeds in bringing both sides to light without ever giving an opinion or even directly addressing either side of the issue.

This was a movie experience I will never forget, though I'm not sure I want to duplicate it. I put 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $9.

Lars and the Real Girl - $6

Lars and the Real Girl was a surprisingly touching and funny movie. While it was never incredible it was often good and was well worth watching.

I put Lars on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $6

Charlie Wilson's War - $8

2008-07-09T17:36:00.008-07:00

This one will be brief, I'm on holidays.

Charlie Wilson's War was an endearing and fun character movie. This is the true story of US congressman Charlie Wilson in the late 70's and early 80's. Charlie isn't your typical congressman as he drinks a lot, sleeps around and dabbles in drugs. Charlie does however care deeply about what's happening in one part of the world other than the US and that is Afghanistan, where the Soviets at the time had invaded the country and were killing Afghan citizens who were horribly underarmed to fight back.

Charlie convinces the decision makers to spend a lot of money on a covert operation to get weapons to the Afghan fighters willing to fight the communist Soviets without the Soviets being able to blame it on the US.

No matter what your opinion is about the history of Afghanistan this is a fascinating story which is well told by one of my favorite writers, Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin's strength is dialogue and the dialogue is performed to perfection by Tom Hanks (Charlie) and Philip Seymour Hoffman who plays the CIA advisor that helps Charlie make all this happen. The often vulgar and always entertaining dialogue between these two made me laugh out loud more than once.

Charlie Wilson's War is definitely on my 'Watch It' list and I give it a value of $8.

The Happening - $6

2008-06-21T11:11:00.006-07:00

I know I'm going to take abuse for this one, but I liked The Happening.

M. Night Shyamalan brings his unique writing and directing style to the screen once again in a story about people fleeing from something, but not knowing what they are fleeing from. The Happening begins in Central Park in New York City where everyone suddenly stops talking and walking and they begin killing themselves with a varied series of slow and eerily unemotional actions. It begins to be reported as a terrorist attack and then the suicides begin happening all over the North East coast of the US.

The main story centers around a high school science teacher in Philadelphia named Elliot who is fleeing from the affected areas with his wife Alma. As it becomes more and more clear that terrorists could not be responsible for these events Elliot becomes desperate to determine the cause so that he can keep his wife safe.

Let me start by saying what I didn't like about The Happening, because don't get me wrong when I say I liked this movie, it was not great and it is by far M. Night's weakest movie so far.

The Happening does not develop its characters with the exception of Elliot and Alma. The usual long pulled back shots that make M. Night's movies so visually stimulating weren't on display here nearly as much. My main problem with the Happening was an extremely out of place series of scenes at about the 3/4 mark of the movie. The scenes were eerie in their own way but the movie got away from its main plot for a while there and it was distracting. I'm attempting to not give a spoiler her but I'm sure that those of you who've seen The Happening know what I'm talking about.

I liked a few things a lot in this movie though. The pacing was great, I love the slow methodical way that M. Night tells a story. I also found the opening scenes extremely creepy and affective and I loved the way that the story focused on the calm exodus of people who really weren't sure what they were running from. The result is people who aren't in a panic, though their fear is tangible. There were moments of humour in The Happening that worked very well also.

I read a bunch of reviews of The Happening to see if I was the only one who liked this movie and I was relieved to find that the man himself found more to like than dislike here, "It is no doubt too thoughtful for the summer action season, but I appreciate the quietly realistic way Shyamalan finds to tell a story about the possible death of man." - Roger Ebert

I enjoyed most of The Happening but I didn't love it. Mark Wahlberg was good at times as Elliot, but he was out of place at other times. I thought Zooey Deschanel was great as Alma but unfortunately there weren't really any other well developed characters to talk about. John Leguizamo actually gives a very good performance as Elliot's best friend and he really should have had more screen time.

I'm going to do something I've never done before on this site and that is to not recommend a movie that I liked. I'm putting The Happening on my 'Don't Watch It' because I don't think many people will enjoy it. For me the value was good though and I rate The Happening at $6.

Lions for Lambs - $7

2008-06-18T18:40:00.005-07:00

Lions for Lambs has been widely criticized and rarely recommended, frankly I'm not sure why.

This is a three part story and though the three parts don't collide as well as they could, they do relate. There is a Professor trying to convince a student to give a crap about something other than himself by relaying a story about two of his former students who fought in Iraq. The third story brings us a one-on-one interview with a powerful US Senator who is making very high level strategy decisions for the war.

Lions for Lambs is a subtle movie with a less than subtle message, I found it to be fair to the issues as it presented multiple sides of multiple arguments.

I honestly can't understand how anyone who likes great acting could dismiss this movie. Cruise, Streep and Redford are fantastic and some of the best performances come from the lesser known actors involved here like Michael Peña and Derek Luke. Even if you don't enjoy the stories being told here the lengthy and well written dialogues being performed by these actors make this movie well worth watching.

I put Lions for Lambs on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $7. I think I'll have to bring you another edition of "When The Critics Get It Wrong" soon starting with this one.

Iron Man - $8

2008-06-09T15:09:00.004-07:00

Despite predictions to the contrary from one of my favorite readers, I did enjoy Iron Man immensely and I line up with the many critics who are praising this entertaining movie. I can't wait for the sequel.

Iron Man is based on the Marvel comic by the same name and is the story of Tony Stark, the head of a US weapons company who is taken captive in a war zone and forced to make weapons for terrorists. Rather than making them a weapon, he makes himself a nearly indestructible weaponized metal suit and escapes. This experience changes the arrogant and greedy Stark and inspires him to focus on improving the suit rather than on weapon sales.

Stark's right hand man at Stark Industries, Obadiah Stane, turns out to have been selling their weapons to the enemy for years and a stand off between the two becomes the climax of the movie.

There were a few things I didn't like much about Iron Man. The initial scenes, where Stark is first making the suit and his captors think he's making a missile for them, are hard to believe at best. There are cameras on him at all times in his cell and yet they can't tell he's making a suit of armour? He's trying stuff on at one point, who tries on a missile? There is also some very cheesy humour in Iron Man that would have missed the mark completely if not for the delivery of Robert Downey Jr.

With that let me transition into what I liked about Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. is fantastic as Tony Stark. He made the transition from jerk to hero believable and he brought a lot of charm to a movie that could have been merely a special effects showcase if not for his performance. The cast is rounded out well with Jeff Bridges (Stane), Terrence Howard and my favorite - Gwyneth Paltrow.

The special effects in Iron Man are spectacular but they aren't in isolation, there is some surprisingly good directing here from Jon Favreau.

Big budget action movies are pretty hit or miss with me, especially in the comic book adaptation genre, but Iron Man hit the mark. It was entertaining and it's weaknesses were overcome by good casting.

I'm putting Iron Man on the 'Watch It' list and giving it a rating of $8. You may ask; why not a higher rating considering the praise I've lavished here? It's simple, this is still a comic book movie and the best of those can never be the greatest of movies.

Entertainment in the Air

2008-06-06T07:14:00.015-07:00

I was on two 4+ hour flights this week and both times the planes were equipped with those seat back screens that allow me to scroll through movie, music and TV choices and start and stop them when I want. I love these types of planes.

I want to go through some lightning quick reviews of everything I watched or started to watch and didn't finish. (Iron Man review still coming)

Movies

Shine a Light - $7 (watched 1/2)

This film by Scorcese which documents a Rolling Stones concert was shaping up to be amazing but I stopped watching it once it really got into the concert itself as I'm not a huge Rolling Stones fan.

Jumper - $3

Good special effects meet average acting and uncreative writing in this lame movie. Hayden Christensen continues to show the world that he should be modeling, not acting.

National Treasure 2 - $4

National Treasure actually had its moments but in the end it came off like the movie adaptation of a choose your own adventure, except I had no choices.

10,000 BC - $0 (watched 10 minutes)

I only made it through 10 minutes of 10,000 BC before putting it out of its misery. In that 10 minutes I saw special effects that looked on par with a used car commercial and costumes and make up that appeared to have been borrowed from a high school play. And don't get me started on the writing... Thank you to all of you who warned me not to waste my money on this one.

The Bucket List - $6

I actually enjoyed The Bucket List. Jack Nicholson gave dimension to an otherwise predictable plot. It was worth watching and even a bit moving.

TV Shows

The Class - $1 (5 minutes)

Horrible, cheesy, bottom of the barrel television.

The Big Bang Theory - $4

Despite having the feel of a 90's sitcom this one actually made me laugh a few times. Still not great TV though.

Til Death - $2

Just don't bother, there's nothing new here.

The New Adventures of Old Christine - $3 (15 minutes)

Just plain boring most of the time.

That Mitchell and Webb Look - $7

A very funny sketch show from England. I laughed out loud several times to the annoyance of the gentlemen on either side of me. (Yes, the travel agent screwed up royally and grabbed me a middle seat on the way home.)

Psych - $0 (10 horrible minutes I'll never get back)

One of the worst TV shows ever made. It was like a train wreck, it took me 10 minutes to look away.

Dan in Real Life - $7

2008-05-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

Dan in Real Life is a pretty good character movie. Dan's struggle to be a good single dad to his three daughters is somewhat touching and believable. Dan also struggles to find romance and move on years after the passing of his wife.

The story revolves around a family holiday with uncles and aunts and cousins filling the old family home. Dan falls in love with his brother's girlfriend and off goes the movie.

Steve Carell is quite good as Dan and the supporting cast are good as well. Nothing really stood out to make this movie unique or really incredible but it was good and well worth watching.

I put Dan in Real Life on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $7.

I'm Not There - $4

2008-05-27T15:54:00.007-07:00

I'm Not There is a take on the life of Bob Dylan. Or at least that's what it claims to be. Dylan is played by different actors who each seem to represent different parts of his personality. Creative idea, poorly executed in my opinion.

I was really looking forward to I'm Not There. My brother got me into Bob Dylan a few years ago and since then I've become a huge fan. This movie was a big disappointment to me though.

The story jumps around chronologically and the metaphors seem so obvious I kept wondering if I was missing something.

In the end I'm Not There is a meandering and directionless movie that tries way to hard to not be a biopic and ends up being a series of disconnected artsy short films that are sort-of about Bob Dylan. There were some intriguing scenes, some great imagery and some brilliant acting but way too many times where I was totally unengaged.

I'm putting I'm Not There on my 'Don't Watch It' list and giving it a value of $4.

Two Quick Reviews

2008-05-22T16:58:00.004-07:00

I've been a bit quieter than usual here lately. It's not for lack of movie watching but more for lack of time. I've got an Iron Man review coming but for now here are two brief reviews of other movies I've seen in the last month.

Juno - $8

Juno was fun to watch, creatively written and well acted. The dialogue is quick and funny and the characters were developed well. Juno managed to be cute as well as touching while not being cheesy, a challenging line to walk.

Ellen Page was good but not brilliant. I need to see more range from her before I jump on the bandwagon. She was perfect for this movie though. Jason Bateman is subtle but great and Michael Cera steals the show in my opinion.

Juno is a good movie, nothing groundbreaking here though so I'm giving Juno a value of $8 and definitely putting it on my 'Watch It' list.

Cloverfield - $9

I loved Cloverfield. This was a very well executed movie in a genre that is hard to define. The opening 15 minutes dragged a bit but were necessary for making me care about the characters later on in the story.

When Cloverfield first ended I was disappointed that they didn't take the story further but after thinking about it I was happy the movie makers decided to leave it the way it was.

Cloverfield is creepy, thrilling and even a bit moving. I believed in the plausibility of the actions of the characters, this is an important point because often movies like this make their characters do things a person would never do just to advance the story or create a tense moment.

I am tempted to give Cloverfield a $10 rating but the beginning could have been better and it was too short. This is on the 'Watch It' list and I give it a value of $9.

The Golden Compass - $3

2008-05-10T18:53:00.005-07:00

The Golden Compass is one of the most poorly executed book-to-movie adaptations I've ever seen. To bring it to the big screen major changes were made to the characters and situations in this story, unfortunately none of these changes were improvements.

The Golden Compass has a completely different ending than the book it is based on and omits enormous amounts of the story. The order of circumstances is changed and the screenplay writing is simplistic and awful.

The book is a wonderfully told story which reveals the mysteries of this fantasy world slowly whereas the movie does not allow the audience to figure anything out but rather has characters explain things as if to assume the audience is too dumb to follow along. The movie even has the audacity to open up with narration which explains major parts of the plot which are not revealed until the end of the book.

At this point you may be asking why I am giving a rating of $3 to a movie I have nothing but negative things to say about. The answer is simply that as a movie, judged apart from the far superior book it is based on, it's not terrible. Leaving aside the truly horrible screenplay, The Golden Compass contains brilliant visuals, pretty good acting and almost perfect casting, including the incomparable Sam Elliott.

This is definitely on my 'Don't Watch It' list though and I give The Golden Compass a value of $3. If you've read the book don't bother with this movie, but if you like fantasy movies and don't mind bad writing you may want to give it a shot.

Amazing Grace - $6

2008-05-07T11:55:00.004-07:00

Amazing Grace is not an amazing movie, it is however a pretty good one.

Amazing Grace is the story of William Wilberforce, the late 18th and early 19th Century British parliamentarian who is credited with ending the British slave trade. He is an heroic figure of history and his story is well worth telling.

Where this movie misses is in the big moments, it seemed to me that several opportunities for powerful scenes became fairly mundane scenes passing facts along about this incredible person's life. Wilberforce is played only adequately by Ioan Gruffudd who is overshadowed by the performances of cast mates like Albert Finney, Rufus Sewell and Romola Garai.

Amazing Grace is worth watching if you like true stories told well through film. It will not blow you away but the life and accomplishments of Wilberforce should.

I'm putting Amazing Grace on my 'Watch It' list as I do like a good true story and I'm a sucker for political heroism. The modest rating of $6 reflects my feeling that this could have been better, but it wasn't bad.

There Will Be Blood - $7

2008-04-22T11:28:00.012-07:00

I've gone back and forth on what I thought of There Will Be Blood over and over again since seeing it. Quite honestly I was bored at times but at other times I felt I was watching an epic masterpiece. The passage of time and another viewing may increase or decrease my rating, I haven't decided yet.

There Will Be Blood is a story about Daniel Plainview, an entrepreneur in the early 20th century who attains great wealth drilling for oil. There is much more to this story but it's better viewed than summarized.

My initial reaction after watching TWBB was that I didn't quite get all the hype, as I've mentioned, it bored me at times and that's a sign that I'm not fully engaged with a movie. This was due to some slow pacing and some wildly out of place music in the soundtrack. In reflection I acknowledge this movie was very good, I'm not sure if it was great though.

The visuals in TWBB are breathtaking. I loved the subtle and minimalist settings which were frequently shown in long, pulled back shots. This only added to the ability of the movie to showcase it's great performances. In a recent online discussion I was involved in this person summed up the setting well, "Plainview is such an enormous character that I think he needed an equally large canvas to play on, or else he would have burst the seams of the film."

Daniel Day Lewis was brilliant in this movie as Daniel Plainview. He made me love and hate his character at different times in the story, sometimes even at the same time. Paul Dano is also incredible as the local church leader, who Plainview seems to loathe from the beginning.

This is a good movie, there are those who feel it is great and maybe I will want to increase this rating some day. I still can't get past the fact that I wasn't drawn in for the entire 3 hours. Maybe that's my weakness.

I put There Will Be Blood on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $7

When The Critics Get It Wrong

2008-04-12T15:44:00.010-07:00

I frequently visit a site I'm sure many of you have been to, Rotten Tomatoes (RT). Unlike IMDB where average ratings are based on regular site users, RT gives you the average ratings by critics by giving each movie a percentage based on how many recommended seeing the movie being critiqued.

I find both sites useful in their own way but every once in a while I am astounded at a rating at RT considering that so many critics contribute to it.

Let me give you a few examples of times that I think the critics on RT got it horrifically wrong.

Spider Man 3

RT rating = 62%
Watch It rating = $2

I liked Spider Man 1 & 2, in fact #2 was a great movie, but Spider Man 3 was terrible. The writing was on a much lower level than the previous two superior installments and the dark side of Spider Man was extremely unconvincing. This movie contained some of the worst scenes I've sat through in years and yet somehow 62% of RT critics recommended it! Are you kidding me?

Live Free or Die Hard

RT rating = 80%
Watch It rating = $4

Live Freed or Die Hard was OK. The complete and total implausibility of most of the action scenes lost me though and the villain was lame. An 80% recommendation from RT is shameful.

Knocked Up

RT rating = 91%
Watch It rating = $3

I've taken a lot of heat for my low rating of Knocked Up. I still say that it's a simple and vulgar movie with far less laughs than I expected. A 91% level on RT should be reserved for Oscar contenders not comedies that revolve around masturbation and poo jokes.

Transformers

RT rating = 57%
Watch It rating = $8

Transformers was a fun and entertaining movie. One of the knocks against it has been that it was weak on plot but did people really expect more from a movie based on a cartoon which was based on a toy? While 57% of RT critics saw it as good enough to recommend I don't know what the other 43% were hoping for, especially when 62% of them recommended the retched Spider Man 3.

Just my opinion though.

Rendition - $8

2008-04-09T17:41:00.004-07:00

Rendition is a well executed movie with a political statement to make. For me it was very effective.

Rendition is the story of an Egyptian man who has lived in the US for 20 years and has a family there. As part of a terrorist investigation this man is taken while on a business trip and handed over to American officials who utilize a process called Rendition to send him to a country where they can have him tortured. There is also a connected story which follows the life of the torturer and his struggles to save his relationship with his daughter who has run away to avoid an arranged marriage.

This is well made movie, the settings are convincing and the story is intense and captivating. There are several effective twists and turns and a great ending. There's really nothing brilliant here but it's very good.

As I've said before on this site I'm really into performances and while the acting is good in Rendition, nobody amazed me.

All in all this one of the better options on an otherwise underwhelming rental shelf these days. I put Rendition on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $8.

Occupato - $7

2008-04-03T18:16:00.007-07:00

Occupato was well worth watching. This is an entertaining short film by Shea Sizemore and the rest of the aspiring movie makers at (un)Heralded films.

When I started reviewing movies as a hobby at this site one of the first people I stumbled across in the movie-review-blog world was Shea Sizemore, pictured above. Shea has become one of the more regular visitors to my humble site and I've always appreciated the comments he makes. Shea's film company (un)Heralded has a few projects under their belt and you can order a collection of these films here.

I ordered this collection and have enjoyed everything I've watched. The headline movie of the collection is a comedy/horror called Occupato. Occupato revolves around a portable toilet that pulls it's victims in with long toilet paper arms. Sounds goofy and while it is humorous and entertaining, Occupato manages to make the viewer fear the portable toilet, at least a little bit. (picture below not actual toilet in Occupato)

Visually this is actually a very impressive movie, I really like some of the shots and there is a lot of potential shown here. I'm really looking forward to future film projects from the (un)Heralded filmmakers.

All in all I put Occupato on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $7. Check out the (un)Heralded collection and again you can order it here.

Michael Clayton - $10

2008-03-31T21:49:00.005-07:00

Michael Clayton was a very good movie.

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this movie. Looking back it's hard to explain exactly why, I just really liked it. George Clooney was great, Tilda Swinton put in a fantastic performance and Tom Wilkinson was almost flawless. Of all the things I like about a great movie it's individual acting performances that usually stick with me most, this one had plenty.

Besides the great performances Michael Clayton brought an intriguing mystery and unravelled it brilliantly.

I liked the look of this movie and the writing was the kind that made me want to stop and rewind a few times to listen to dialogue over again.

All in all, this is a great one. See it soon if you haven't yet.

I put this on my 'Watch It' list and give it a full value of $10.

The Darjeeling Limited - $10

2008-03-30T10:14:00.003-07:00

I saw The Darjeeling Limited again last night and loved it even more than the first time. I'm re-posting my original review from last year.

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Wes Anderson has once again created an engaging story that is both hysterically funny and deeply emotional. This may be his best movie yet.

This story takes place mainly on a train travelling through India called The Darjeeling Limited. Among its passengers are the three Whitman brothers who have not seen each other in the year since their father's death. One of the brothers, Francis, has organized this reconnecting trip for his brothers with spiritual experiences scheduled on each days laminated itinerary. While the brothers make a valiant effort with each scheduled attempt at creating a spiritual experience, it isn't until the trip seems a total failure that an unscheduled event actually does give the brothers the experience they crave.

Adrian Brody, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson play the Whitman brothers, Peter, Jack, and Francis, and Brody fits in impressively with Anderson's movie making style, one that is quite unique and that Schwartzman and Wilson each have experience with. For most people there is something very hit or miss with the subtle, witty and pause-filled dialogue that Anderson writes. For me it hits the bulls eye, or home run or target, or whatever metaphor you prefer. The Darjeeling Limited had me laughing and moved, sometimes at the same time, by the broken relationships of its emotionally broken characters.

While the writing and humour are often subtle in Darjeeling the major themes of the movie are anything but. Three brothers on a journey together each having brought their belongings in their fathers old luggage (baggage) which they haul around with great effort throughout the whole movie. There are no big surprises or twists in this plot but the story is still captivating.

Visually the train setting allows Anderson to use some enthralling cinematography where at times the world is going by on the outside and at others the train itself is going by and must be caught. Frequently used are Anderson's characteristic slow motion sequences and long moments of holding a single shot.

The performances in Darjeeling are pitch perfect, the look of the movie is detailed and fascinating and the writing is as good as any Anderson has done to date.

I enthusiastically put The Darjeeling Limited on my 'Watch It' list and give it the rarely awarded value of $10.

Vantage Point - $6

2008-03-24T19:41:00.004-07:00

Vantage Point never seemed to figure itself out. It was partly an intriguing mystery, a political thriller and an action movie. If the makers had chosen just one mood and genre they might have had something here.

Essentially Vantage Point is a movie about an assassination attempt on the President of the US. The plot itself isn't anything unique, what is unique is how the story is told. The first half of the movie uses a fascinating story telling device in that it keeps showing the audience the same 23 minutes of real time from different people's perspectives, or vantage points. This was done by letting us watch to a certain stage and then actually rewinding and starting again at the same point from another characters view.

This whole rewinding and telling different pieces of the same story was working for me, I was actually into it at about the half way point. Suddenly though Vantage Point turned into an action movie and began to tell the story in a more linear way going back to little details here and there but trying to follow a dozen or more characters at once. Some of these characters had not had their vantage point shown yet. It fell apart for me a bit in this second half with car chases and gun fights, really the whole personality of the movie changed.

This movie had potential, it was a unique idea and I think the story could have been told with the rewind method right to the finish, letting the audience figure things out as each character's viewpoint reveals one more part to the mystery. What was shaping up to be an interesting mystery turned into an adequate action movie and left me a little disappointed.

I still put Vantage Point on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $6. Wait for the rental though.

No Country for Old Men - $9

2008-03-22T10:43:00.006-07:00

No Country for Old Men deserves all the praise it has received. It was an incredible movie watching experience. No Country was creepy and violent at times and at other times it was subtle and even slightly heartwarming.

The writing and directing is strong in this modern day western. The Coen brothers may have perfected a new genre here and they've certainly shown their range of skill in making this movie.

There is not enough room on this hacks blog to properly give the performances in No Country their due. Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin were truly great as were many others.

Why not a $10 rating? Mostly I didn't give this one the perfect value rating because of the truly awful (albeit brief) performance of Beth Grant near the end of the movie. Her part was the most out of place and poorly executed bit part in movie history.

Otherwise No Country for Old Men is a truly incredible movie and well worth its $9 rating and being on my 'Watch It' list.

We Own the Night - $7

2008-03-11T18:01:00.007-07:00

We Own the Night is an intense movie full of impressive performances which to me fell short of being a great movie, but not by much.

The root of this story is two brothers, Bobby and Joe. Joe is living to please their chief of police Father and Bobby is living to party and please his wealthy boss. At one point Bobby has to choose between the life he's created and his family as his brother is attacked by people he is connected to through the club he manages.

Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix play the two brothers well and Robert Duval gives the solid, subtle and consistent performance fans have come to expect from him as he plays their father.

We Own the Night worked for me. The family dynamic was believable, as was the struggle of Bobby to choose his family. The directing impressed and surprised me, specifically there was a chase scene in the rain that was creative and chilling and managed to make me feel like I was part of it.

Where did We Own the Night go wrong? It was slow in parts and I found the pacing very strange. In the end I just felt like it didn't have a consistent tone or feel to it.

I put We Own the Night on my 'Watch It' list but give it a modest value of $7 considering the great performances.

The Brave One - $4

2008-03-02T09:23:00.005-08:00

Sometimes I come away from a movie without a clear feeling about whether I liked it or not. The Brave One was one of those movies.

The Brave One is not a bad movie, it has all the marks of a movie that was made well, but almost every element in it is underwhelming.

The story revolves around Erica Bain, a New York DJ whose fiance is beaten to death trying to protect her from some thugs in the park. Erica buys a gun to help her cope with the intense fear she has of going anywhere in the city after this horrific incident. She also begins to gravitate toward dangerous parts of the city and begins using her gun and her new courage to carry out vigilante justice against an assortment of criminals.

There were many parts to this movie that just barely missed the mark. The attack on Erica and her fiance at the beginning was meant to be terrifying but the attackers were such stereotypical New York thugs the whole thing came across as a bit cheesy . Erica's transformation into a vigilante is also not entirely unbelievable but I never completely bought it either.

The acting in The Brave One was OK, not bad or good really, just adequate. Jodie Foster didn't seem quite right to me as Erica Bain but she wasn't awful.

I went into this movie with low expectations and they were exceeded slightly. I almost recommended this one but after giving it some thought I'm putting it on my 'Don't Watch It' list and giving it a value of $4.

If you saw it let me know what you thought.

Gone Baby Gone - $10

2008-02-22T13:59:00.006-08:00

It is officially the year of Casey Affleck as I have now watched two movies in succession where he has blown me away.

Gone Baby Gone is a heart wrenching story of a missing girl and the desperate search for her by family, police and a private detective named Patrick Kenzie. Kenzie is portrayed brilliantly by Casey Affleck who could very well have gotten an Oscar nod for this role. He's already up for supporting actor for his equally marvelous role in The Assassination of Jesse James... and as good as he is in that he is ever better in this movie.

Gone Baby Gone was directed by Ben Affleck who also had a hand in adapting the screenplay from the novel by Dennis Lehane, writer of Mystic River. Set in Boston, this story gave the Boston native the unique ability to make it authentic and with his choice of casting his brother Casey in the main role and using local people as extras the authentic Boston feel comes through perfectly. Ben has destined himself to be known as "the other Affleck" now though as this movie is yet another piece of evidence that the acting talent is clearly stronger with Casey in that family.

Gone Baby Gone is not to be missed. I can't think of a single thing that the movie makers didn't get right. The mood is dark and engaging, the writing is fantastic as the story and characters are developed quickly and deeply, the music is as haunting as the story, and several of the acting performances were among the best of the year. I was left thinking about this movie for a long time afterward.

See this movie and do it soon. This is a nearly flawlessly told story and is the best movie of 2007 in my books. (I'm gonna have to redo that best of 2007 list.)

Gone Baby Gone is on my 'Watch It' list and I give it a full value rating of $10

LAMB Article

2008-02-18T10:20:00.002-08:00

I'm a member of the Large Association of Movie Blogs (LAMB) and I've written an article for them as part of a 24 part series about the Oscars.

Check it out here.

And take a look at the many other quality members of LAMB.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - $9

2008-02-12T19:40:00.003-08:00

To use a tired blog cliche, I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. It's been a busy time in life and so I'll keep this one brief. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (TAJJCRF) was brilliant.

TAJJCRF grabbed me from the first moment. The visuals were outstanding, it is a crime that the director is not up for an oscar, the acting was amazing and even the narration is worth mentioning.

This is a long movie so be prepared for that and it is a bit slow in parts which is really the only thing keeping me from rating it at $10.

Amazingly though this is the second western in a row that I've loved.

TAJJCRF is on my 'Watch It' list and I give a value of $9.

Apocalypto - $8

2008-01-26T09:48:00.000-08:00

My experience of a movie is always affected by what my expectations were going in. I'm aware that this does not lend credibility to a person trying to be objective but I can't help it. If I expect greatness from a movie, and it's only good or average, I'm more critical than I should be. In the case of Apocalypto the opposite is true, I didn't expect much and I was blown away.

Apocalypto was written and directed by Mel Gibson and is a story set in the last days of the Mayan empire. The Mayans have become a wealthy kingdom obsessed with showing their grandeur and this wealth is beginning to intersect with the more remote members of the Mayan culture. The story follows Jaguar Paw, a young hunter living in one of the remote villages of the Mayan kingdom. His village is attacked and many are taken prisoner and brought to the Mayan capital to be sold as slaves or sacrificed to please their god. Jaguar Paw escapes to get back to where he has hidden his wife and child and is pursued all the way back to his village by his captors.

I'm not kidding when I tell you that I was blown away by this movie. Their was little or no CGI used and the authenticity of the settings and costumes is truly amazing. There is an astounding scope to the imagery in Apocalypto and it's captivating story hits the audience with many moods, everything from scenes that are quite funny and lighthearted to moments of brutality and cruelty that will make you cringe. This is a truly incredible movie.

The latter half of Apocalypto follows Jaguar Paw running through the jungle, injured and desperate to get back to his family. All the while he is pursued by men intent on killing him. This chase scene is long and all on foot but may be the most intense, creative, and thrilling chase scene I've ever seen.

Apocalypto is not without it's flaws. There is some characteristic Mel Gibson gore that seemed a little unnecessary and some of the acting during the scenes of sacrifice was over the top and distracting.

This is a movie I will watch again though. I put Apocalypto on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $8.

3:10 to Yuma - $9

2008-01-24T13:39:00.000-08:00

3:10 to Yuma is visually stunning, almost flawlessly acted and extremely well written. I'm not big on westerns but this one was fantastic.

3:10 to Yuma is the story of Dan Evans, a poor but good man who is struggling to keep money lenders he is in debt to from taking his ranch. Evans happens to be around when a ruthless outlaw named Ben Wade is captured and in exchange for money he offers to help escort Wade to the train which will take him to the Yuma prison. A very unusual relationship is formed between these two men and throughout the movie the ragtag group escorting Wade is constantly hunted by Wade's gang.

I am hard pressed to pick out anything about 3:10 to Yuma that I have a significant criticism for. Each and every character brought something to this story for me. Often in Westerns most of the characters are two dimensional but not so in this movie. There is an average family thrust into an extraordinary situation, villains who seem to be good people and vice versa and of course the main characters, Dan Evans and Ben Wade.

Evans and Wade are rugged western cowboys perfectly portrayed by Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, an Englishman and an Aussie respectively. Their chemistry carries long moments in this movie which revolves mostly around them. I'll save my highest praise for my favorite performance of all though, the leader of Wade's gang in his absence, Charlie Prince. He is young, quirky and borderline psychotic and his loyalty to Wade keeps him chasing Wade's captors at all costs. Prince is played by Ben Foster in what I consider to be the best individual performance in a Western since Val Kilmer brought us Doc Holiday.

My only mild criticism for this story is the initial distaste for his Father that one of Evans' sons has. The level of the dislike seems unwarranted and poorly explained, though the young actor portrayed it convincingly.

3:10 to Yuma is a must see, even if you don't love the genre. It probably would have made my top 5 for 2007 if I hadn't waited until 2008 to see it. I put it on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $9.

Heath Ledger 1979-2008

2008-01-23T18:03:00.001-08:00

Heath Ledger passed away yesterday.

I know that death is a reality of life and a celebrity dying shouldn't elicit more response than anyone else but this news saddened me deeply. Ledger was only 28 and was a father. I have an immense respect for his acting, his talent was great and from all accounts of those who've crossed paths with him, he was also a good person.

Moviegoers will surely miss Ledger but not as much as his family and friends. My sympathies go out to all who knew him.

Here's another short tribute with some more information if you're interested.

Domestic Disturbance - $4

2008-01-19T10:25:00.000-08:00

Domestic Disturbance can be found in the old section of your video store, it will probably have gone unrented for several months when you find it and you'll want to just leave it there to go unrented for at least one more night.

The story revolves around a divorced couple who's 12 year old son Danny is trying to come to terms with his mom getting remarried. The new stepdad is a local businessman who is widely respected in town but as we learn, he isn't the great guy he appears to be and Danny's real dad risks everything to protect his son from this man he does not trust.

In the end it's not that Domestic Disturbance is all that terrible. Travolta and Vince Vaughan both put in adequate performances as the dad and stepdad and the story is never boring. If you like cookie cutter thrillers you might even want to blow the dust off that old copy of Domestic Disturbance at your neighbourhood rental store and give it a try.

Here's the problem though, this is as predictable a movie as they come. The next plot twist is never really in doubt at any moment in the movie. Even the initial set up of the stepdad being a good guy is obviously preparing us for the "surprise" that he has a shady past.

I didn't hate Domestic Disturbance but I can't justify recommending it. I'm putting it on my 'Don't Watch It' list and giving it a slightly generous value of $4.

Two Brief $7 Reviews

2008-01-09T18:24:00.000-08:00

1) The Kingdom - $7

A group of FBI agents travel to Saudi Arabia to investigate a terrorist attack there. They quickly find that they cannot do their jobs the same way they would in the US as they are being hindered at every turn from doing any actual investigating . The interference in their efforts escalates to violence and The Kingdom changes pace hitting its audience with quick and intense action sequences in the last part of the movie.

The Kingdom was good but not great. I went into it not knowing what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised by how well made it was. I also appreciated the many sides of the terrorism issue that were presented in what I found to be a balanced way.

This movie just didn't amaze me though. I'm putting it on my 'Watch It' list and giving it a value of $7.

2) Eastern Promises - $7

Easter Promises is the story of a midwife in London named Anna who is attempting to find the family of a young pregnant woman who died while giving birth at her hospital. Anna finds a diary written in Russian among the possessions of the young girl and soon discovers a link to a Russian mob family operating in London. The driver for this family is Nikolai, a mysterious Russian man working his way up the ranks of this powerful crime family. Nikolai becomes inexplicably kind to Anna and a great story unfolds around these two.

I had high expectations as I sat down to watch Eastern Promises and truthfully I really enjoyed it. Viggo Mortensen is incredible as Nikolai. Much like The Kingdom though I just didn't feel that I had seen a great movie when it was over. A good one no doubt, but not great.

Easter Promises is certainly on my 'Watch It' list though and I give it a value of $7 as well.

A Bunch of Lists

2008-01-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

Here are some lists for those who like opinions in list form. Remember, these are based only on what I saw in 2007.

Most Disappointing Movies of 2007

4) Knocked Up
3) Spider-Man 3
2) Shooter
1) Evan Almighty

Best Performances of 2007

5) Shia Labeouf - Transformers
4) Adam Sandler - Reign Over Me
3) Will Smith - I Am Legend
2) Denzel Washington - American Gangster
1) Adrien Brody - The Darjeeling Limited

Movies You Should See That You May Not Have (in no particular order)

Reign Over Me
Fugitive Pieces
Across the Universe
Paris Je T'aime

I Am Legend - $7

2008-01-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

I Am Legend is a movie that should have been brilliant. I enjoyed it immensely as it was, this is an action packed science fiction story with a great performance and images that stuck in my head for hours afterward. It could have been so much better though.

I Am Legend is the story of Robert Neville (Will Smith) who is the last person alive in New York city after a virus, initially hailed as the cure for cancer, wipes out most of the worlds population. 99% of the survivors of this virus devolve into creatures who can only exist in the dark and feed on the very small percentage of people who are immune to this virus. Robert Neville is one of the few to be immune, he is a scientist and a military man and is attempting to find a cure using his blood as a base. He has also developed intricate methods of staying alive along with his only companion, his dog.

Will Smith is great in this movie and he needed to be as most of the story revolves only around Robert Neville. The story itself is intriguingly told in a series of flashbacks while the audience follows Neville around in his day to day existence in an empty present day New York. I Am Legend is full of fascinating imagery and very good pacing especially in the early parts of the story as we are introduced to Neville and the life he now leads alone.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie, besides some slightly disappointing CGI there really isn't much to criticize in what this movie had in it. My criticisms instead are reserved for what it did not have. There was so much more I wanted to know when the movie was over that I felt I had only been told part of a story.

What was going on in the rest of the world during the years Neville was alone in New York? There is a subtle rivalry between the strongest and seemingly smartest creature Neville comes in contact with throughout, where did this come from, why was this never explained or expanded on? I was also frustrated with the gap in storyline, the flashbacks at the beginning of the movie only take the story to a point when things started getting bad and the virus is only just getting out of control. We are never told what took place between that point and the state that the world is in now. There is just so much more background that I Am Legend could have given it's audience and at a running time of 100 minutes there was certainly time for more.

It would be impossible not to recommend a movie when my only major criticism is that I wanted more. Still I can't rate I Am Legend as highly as I'd like because it really could have been so much better in my estimation.

I put I Am Legend on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $7.

Coming Soon...

2008-01-02T16:31:00.000-08:00

I've been on the other side of the planet for the holidays and so I apologize to readers for the unusually long hiatus on the site.

I'll be posting a worst movies of the year list soon so stay tuned.

Top 5 Movies of 2007

2007-12-17T20:30:00.001-08:00

Here they are, the much anticipated, often disputed, never refuted, authoritatively spew ted - Watch It top 5 movies of 2007.

5) The Bourne Ultimatum

This was just a great all around action movie. Smart and intense with a fast pace and an entertaining storyline. Even the acting and writing were alright. Full Review

4) Into the Wild

It would be difficult to not be intrigued by the story of Into the Wild. This movie is beautifully shot and well executed in every way. Full Review

3) Fugitive Pieces

A haunting tale that nobody should miss if you have the good fortune of being within driving distance of a theatre that will play it. Look for Fugitive Pieces in a slightly less limited release in the spring. Full Review

2) American Gangster

American Gangster is not being universally loved, but for me it was almost perfect. I don't think I've ever seen Denzel Washington better. Full Review

1) The Darjeeling Limited

The Darjeeling Limited is another one that is getting mixed reviews but not from me. This movie hit on every emotion in existence and may be Wes Anderson's best movie to date. Full Review

Check out the Large Association of Movie Blogs (LAMBs) here if you haven't been there yet. There will be a top 5 list for 2007 posted there at the end of December based on a compilation of LAMB reviewers top 5 picks. You've just read my contribution.

American Gangster - $9

2007-12-07T12:32:00.001-08:00

The true story of Frank Lucas comes to life in American Gangster and in the end the audience is left with so much more than a bio movie, this is one of the best movies of 2007.

Frank Lucas took over the heroin trade in New York after the French Connection dope dried up in the 1970's. Lucas found a way to bring better heroin to the US for a fraction of its normal price by going straight to the source in Thailand and having US soldiers in Vietnam smuggle the drugs back into the US for him. This massive advantage gave Lucas instant power and notoriety in a world where the Italian mob normally had no competition.

Lucas does not horde his success but lavishes his family with a great life and never forgets to be a good and respectful man to his mother and for the most part his wife. He involves all his brothers in the wildly successful family "business" which at its height took in a million dollars a day in profit.

In American Gangster's parallel story we follow an honest cop named Richie Roberts who is heading up a drug task force that ends up hot on the tail of Lucas' entire operation. As honest as Roberts is as a cop he is an equally terrible husband and father and cannot get his private life together.

It is this play between good and evil, light and dark, and the many shades of grey in between that fascinated me the most about American Gangster. I found myself painfully aware of the evil in Lucas and yet I was able to also see the good in the man as well. The sames goes for Roberts. The writing in this movie achieves this tension in a way that had me never quite knowing who to route for and enjoying every single minute.

The performances are spot on in American Gangster, each supporting role is played tremendously well and Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe each bring their best performance in years playing Lucas and Roberts respectively. Washington to me should be the early favorite for actor of the year for his portrayal of Lucas, a gentleman who knows how to smooth talk anyone but who also has breaking point and will snap on those who disappoint him. Another performance worth noting is that of Chiwetel Ejiofor who plays one of Lucas' brothers. I've enjoyed Ejiofor in several roles in recent years and he is brilliant in this supporting role alongside Washington.

Ridley Scott directs American Gangster and while his work it hit or miss for me this one is right on the mark. Everything in the look and feel of this movie had me involved and along for the ride from start to finish.

American Gangster is not to be missed. I put it on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $9.

Last Days - $4

2007-12-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

There are those who will love Last Days for the movie makers' courage, and for the originality with which this story is told. I am not one of those people.

I loved a few of the moments in this movie but overall I can't shake the feeling that Last Days was mostly a directionless voyeuristic movie that left me feeling very unsatisfied.

Last Days is loosely based on the final days of Kurt Cobain's life and mostly follows a character named Blake who is meant to be some sort of representation of Cobain. The movie is set in a large and beautiful house in which Blake is hiding from everyone and anyone. There are several friends he is allowing to stay in the house with him seemingly because they purposefully leave him alone and aid him in his desire to stay hidden.

Blake spends the movie in a daze, drifting in and out of sleep and in and out of the house and its many rooms. He is portrayed mostly as an absolute mess, mumbling to himself and at one point unable to carry out the simple task of making a bowl of cereal. Blake has his moments though, he writes and mumbles his thoughts in a notebook in a moment of inspiration and the bits of his inner monologue that are audible are deep and powerful. There are also a couple of incredible scenes where Blake is creating music by himself in the house and these glimpses into the creative mind and talent of his character are amazing.

I also especially enjoyed a scene which involved a Yellow Pages salesman coming to the door, in a case of mistaken identity he tries to sell ad space to Blake believing him to be the owner of a locomotive company.

Last Days is not a bad movie. Gus Van Sant has once again created a unique film experience and as I said earlier, there will be those who will love it. I appreciated parts of Last Days such as the cinematography where many things happen off camera and the audience is left listening and knowing exactly what is happening without seeing it. It undoubtedly took courage to make this movie.

For me though, besides some exceptional moments in the film, I was left waiting the entire time for a story to be told and I never felt like that was accomplished. There were some very small stories told in between long moments of nothing but overall Last Days just didn't have enough holding it together to make me enjoy it.

I hesitantly put Last Days on my 'Don't Watch It' list and give it a value of $4.

- Please leave a comment if you agree or disagree, I'm really curious to know how others of you interacted with this film.

Ratatouille - $8

2007-11-25T12:20:00.000-08:00

Ratatouille is without question the most visually stunning animated movie I've ever seen, this does not necessarily make it the best, but even if it's animation were the only positive, Ratatouille would still be worth seeing.

Ratatouille is the story of a rat named Remy who is tired of eating the garbage his colony collects for food. Remy has a very enlightened taste for good food and he also finds a way to learn how to cook by sneaking into the kitchen of the house whose walls are his home. Through a series of traumatic events reminiscent of the animated classic American Tail, Remy ends up seperated from his family and alone in Paris. From there he befriends a garbage boy named Linguini in one of Paris' finest restaurants and predictably ends up helping the garbage boy become an amazing chef.

The story in Ratatouille is the typical underdog tale Disney has brought us so many times with warmhearted comedy and life lessons abounding throughout. Remy struggles with his lack of full acceptance in both the human and the rat world while Linguini struggles with the immense praise and credit he is getting for work that is not his. Remy and Linguini are completely dependant on each other for their individual success and of course their relationship hits a few bumps throughout the story as well.

While the specifics of the plot of Ratatouille are unique it's the underlying themes which are nothing new. This was an impressive movie in many ways but it was also a story I've seen before from Disney.

Still, Ratatouille is well worth seeing, the voice acting is very good and the writing, while not unique, is very good. Of course the visuals are the main reason you need to see this latest animated Disney/Pixar colaboration. While animation has become increasingly impressive the last few years Ratatouille has raised the bar to a whole new level. No other animated movie I've ever even comes close to the quality and detail in this one.

I can forgive the flaws of Ratatouille as they are to be expected in this genre. The good far outweighs the bad and it is going on the 'Watch It' list with a value of $8.

Paris Je T'aime - $10

2007-11-24T10:29:00.001-08:00

If you love movies you owe it to yourself to see Paris Je T'aime. This was one of the most rewarding, moving, and fun movie watching experiences I've ever had.

If you have not heard of Paris Je T'aime you need to know a few things first. This is not really a movie at all, it's a collection of 18 short films related to each other only in that they all take place in Paris and all have love as their theme. These two commonalities were enough for me to feel like the entire film was one big experience rather than 18 individual experiences.

Not all the films were amazing to me but the more people I talk to the more I realize that everyone seems to have a different take on which were great and which were duds. That's really part of the magic of Paris Je T'aime, as long as you don't arbitrarily hate all short films I can guarantee you'll thoroughly enjoy at least a few of the stories told here.

The most impactful ones for me were the real life love stories such as the husband who is about to tell his wife he is leaving her when she announces she is dieing, in that moment he alters his entire life plan and chooses to take care of his wife. As she fades away he falls back in love with her more deeply than ever before. There is also entertainment to be found in some of the strangers short films including one about two mimes and another about a vampire falling in love with a tourist.

Paris Je T'aime features many great directors such as Gus Van Sant, the Coen brothers and Alfonso Cuaron, and an impressive list of actors, Steve Buscemi, Elijah Wood, Natalie Portman, Willem Dafoe, Rufus Sewell and Catalina Sandino Moreno, I could go on but there's nothing quite as affective at losing a readers interest like a list.

Paris Je T'aime will not be perfect to anyone but it will be enjoyable to everyone. Go and watch this today if you haven't seen it yet.

This is unquestionably on my 'Watch It' list and I give it full value at $10, it's not perfect but it's worth every penny.

Into the Wild - $9

2007-11-16T17:55:00.000-08:00

Into the Wild is an astounding true story that sparked inspiration and criticism from those who read the book in the 90's. In the film version of this story the same debates will rage on but one thing is sure, this is a movie worth watching.

Into the Wild is the story of Chris McCandless, a 24 year old who has grown up in privilege and wealth but breaks from all that after graduating from University. McCandless donates his $24,000+ college fund to charity, burns his ID and cash and sets out on a journey that takes him all over the US, to Mexico and eventually to his ultimate goal, Alaska.

The debate around this story is between those who see McCandless as an intelligent visionary breaking away from what is wrong in the world and those who contend he was running from his life and drastically unprepared for the wild he longed to live in. Sean Penn wrote and directed this film version of the Jon Krakauer book and though they each paint a slightly different picture of McCandless what comes through is a version of the story that finds balance between the two extremes.

In the end what we're left with is a brilliant movie that left me thinking for days. The cinematography is breathtaking in Into the Wild as Penn gives a great feel for the surroundings of McCandless and an appreciation for the peace that nature seemed to give him. The performances in this movie really bring it all together, McCandless meets and befriends several people in his journeys and each character is played very well and brings cohesiveness to the story when only McCandless is the common thread between them all. Emile Hirsch plays McCandless and likely deserves most of the credit for finding chemistry with each and every actor he is alongside in Into the Wild.

This is a great story and a very good film. Whether the themes of Into the Wild inspire you, frustrate you or both you will come out of it having witnessed skilled storytelling, superb imagery and fantastic acting.

I put Into the Wild on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $9.

Live Free or Die Hard - $4

2007-11-12T15:52:00.000-08:00

The fourth installment of the Die Hard series is far less engaging than it's predecessors. I can't claim I wasn't entertained but I was certainly not impressed.

The previous Die Hards, especially the original, brought the audience character driven stories and raw action done nearly to perfection. Live Free or Die Hard relies heavily on big special effects and stunts and doesn't give the viewer nearly enough story. The villain was never convincing to me, nor were his motives clear and as much as it's always far fetched that our main character John McClane lives through the many near death experiences each movie has brought his way, it went from far fetched to ridiculous in this one. At one point McClane jumps from an air force fighter jet and slides down a broken concrete overpass with the jet exploding overhead. I can shut off my expectations of reality for an action movie but he walked away a little too quickly from that one.

Overall Live Free or Die Hard is not awful. There are entertaining moments and when the action is bound by the laws of physics it is quite entertaining. Bruce Willis is great as always playing John McClane, and his co-star Justin Long is quite good as well as the funny bumbling sidekick.

For me this movie just didn't work though. The tame villain combined with the impossible to believe action sequences left me unable to forgive the thin and undeveloped storyline.

This is a movie worth seeing if you're a Die Hard fan but I have to put it on my 'Don't Watch It' list and give it a value of $4.

Evan Almighty - $0

2007-11-10T22:54:00.000-08:00

Plausibility is a major factor in the enjoyment of any movie, this is one of many reasons that I didn't enjoy a single moment of the completely implausible Evan Almighty.

When I say Evan Almighty was implausible I don't mean the supernatural parts of its plot line. Anytime a movie has supernatural elements in its premise I'm willing to suspend my normal life expectations for the sake of the story. The impossible to believe part of Evan Almighty was every single character's reaction to Evan during the story.

Here's the premise, Evan Baxter (the news anchor from the mildly enjoyable Bruce Almighty) is a US congressman who is visited by God and asked to build an ark just like the one Noah built in the bible. Evan is convinced he has to do this and over the course of several days he miraculously grows a ZZ Top length beard and suddenly is followed everywhere by two of all kinds of wild animals. There's a little more to it but not much, and I don't want to give away the ending.

Think about what would happen if a person suddenly grew a foot long white beard, built an ark by hand and had birds, lions, monkeys etc... following them around. Honestly think about it, they would be a supernatural phenomenon that people would clamour to meet. I would venture a guess that they would be worshipped.

What happens here? Every single person in Evan Baxter's life thinks he has gone crazy, they betray him and completely discredit him. This includes his own family who sees the miracles first hand and knows them to be real but takes until the half way point of the story to rally around him. I realize that this movie is not meant to be a dramatic study of real people and their reactions to unexplainable events but I don't think it's too much to ask that the humans in a movie act like humans.

Besides Evan Almighty's MASSIVE plot holes it also brings you terrible writing and some truly awful CGI for many of the animals. Not even the brilliant Steve Carrell could save this one.

Please don't ever see Evan Almighty, you'll never get that time back. I put it on my 'Don't Watch It' list and give it a well deserved value of $0.

The Darjeeling Limited - $10

2007-11-05T17:49:00.001-08:00

Wes Anderson has once again created an engaging story that is both hysterically funny and deeply emotional. This may be his best movie yet.

This story takes place mainly on a train travelling through India called The Darjeeling Limited. Among its passengers are the three Whitman brothers who have not seen each other in the year since their father's death. One of the brothers, Francis, has organized this reconnecting trip for his brothers with spiritual experiences scheduled on each days laminated itinerary. While the brothers make a valiant effort with each scheduled attempt at creating a spiritual experience, it isn't until the trip seems a total failure that an unscheduled event actually does give the brothers the experience they crave.

Adrian Brody, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson play the Whitman brothers, Peter, Jack, and Francis, and Brody fits in impressively with Anderson's movie making style, one that is quite unique and that Schwartzman and Wilson each have experience with. For most people there is something very hit or miss with the subtle, witty and pause-filled dialogue that Anderson writes. For me it hits the bulls eye, or home run or target, or whatever metaphor you prefer. The Darjeeling Limited had me laughing and moved, sometimes at the same time, by the broken relationships of its emotional broken characters.

While the writing and humour are often subtle in Darjeeling the major themes of the movie are anything but. Three brothers on a journey together each having brought their belongings in their fathers old luggage (baggage) which they haul around with great effort throughout the whole movie. There are no big surprises or twists in this plot but the story is still captivating.

Visually the train setting allows Anderson to use some enthralling cinematography where at times the world is going by on the outside and at others the train itself is going by and must be caught. Frequently used are Anderson's characteristic slow motion sequences and long moments of holding a single shot.

The performances in Darjeeling are pitch perfect, the look of the movie is detailed and fascinating and the writing is as good as any Anderson has done to date.

I enthusiastically put The Darjeeling Limited on my 'Watch It' list and give it the rarely awarded value of $10.

Halloween Top 5 List

2007-10-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

I'm not a huge fan of horror movies so these are mostly thrillers but I stand by this list. Happy Halloween.

5) Vertigo

An Alfred Hitchcock classic. Jimmy Stewart at his best. You're missing out if you've never seen Vertigo.

4) Signs

It's rare that a movie can pull off a storyline that includes everything from an alien invasion to a debate on faith. Along the way Signs delivers some of the creepiest scenes I've ever witnessed.

3) The Sixth Sense

If you know me then you should have expected M. Night would make my list twice. Sixth Sense is not my favorite of his movies but it is certainly his most frightening.

2) Dark City

Dark City is an extraordinary film. This is a dark movie which is shot and acted to perfection. It may not be known for being frightening but you'll know why it's on this list if you've seen it.

1) The Shining

Straight up scary. This is a great movie made terrifying by fantastic acting and imagery only Kubrick could provide.

Honourable Mentions

- Stigmata

- Constantine

- Disturbia

These are all frightening movies and each one surprised me with how well it was made.

Knocked Up - $3

2007-10-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

Knocked Up is a needlessly vulgar, unrealistic movie with far less laughs than I expected. This may have been the most disappointing movie I've seen this year.

I went into Knocked Up with very high expectations, this was supposed to be an intelligent and refreshingly realistic comedy and almost every critic has been praising it. I am going to disagree with the critics here fairly strongly.

I'll first tell you what I liked. The performances of the four main characters are all quite good and there were certainly a few funny moments in Knocked Up. Some of the dialogue is very intelligent and witty, but this is the minority of the movie unfortunately.

My main problem with Knocked up is the lack of plausibility in the story. I know it's just a comedy but in any movie the story does need to be believable and this one is not. Basically Ben (Seth Rogan) has a one night stand and Alison (Katherine Heigl) gets pregnant. When Alison decides to keep the baby they decide to try to make the relationship work. All believability ends here.

Ben is an unemployed loser who lives with unemployed losers who are all more disgusting and vulgar guys than any I've ever met. Alison is a beautiful woman with a promising career in television broadcasting. She is about four divisions out of Ben's league and though I can believe that she would want to make an effort with the father of her child she starts to like Ben pretty quickly without much reason.

I think I was supposed to see a transformation in Ben as the movie went on to being a more responsible guy willing to do what it takes to make this whole thing work out. What I saw was a guy stay unapologetically a loser and really only at the tail end of the story does he make some minor changes in his life by moving out on his own and (gasp) getting a job.

Besides the major plot line being outside the realm of reality for me I also just didn't find Knocked Up all that funny. What laughs there were came from witty dialogue but most of the humour stemmed from pretty simplistic potty jokes.

Overall Knocked Up is really just a vulgar movie. I'm not trying to say all movies need to be polite and star PG characters but most of the humour in this one is just unoriginal.

Knocked Up just didn't work for me. I know I'm in the minority with this opinion but there you have it.

I put Knocked Up on my 'Don't Watch It' list and give it a value of $3.

Across the Universe - $7

2007-10-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Across the Universe is the most unique and imaginative movie I've seen since Moulin Rouge. It is highly entertaining at times and thoroughly over the top at others but that could likely be said for all musicals. Overall this is a movie worth seeing.

Across the Universe follows a few years in the life of a British dock worker named Jude who travels to America in the 60s to find his estranged father. The main storyline is rather simple actually, Jude makes a friend named Max and falls in love with Max's sister Lucy. Max is drafted to fight in the Vietnam War and mild mannered Lucy becomes an anti-war activist.

The unique catch to Across the Universe is that the entire movie centers around more than 30 Beatles songs; each one is woven into the storyline and sung by the movie's characters in the style of a stage musical. At times this was a bit of a stretch but for the most part the music was well done and the story worked.

While I found the main storyline fairly simple there are many other themes touched on in this movie. There's the love story intertwined with the anti-war movement, there are the social protests and civil rights movement, and of course the casual use of hard drugs like LSD.

I am at best a casual fan of Beatles music. I've heard it all and like almost all of it but I can't claim to be a huge fan. Those of you who are will surely enjoy Across the Universe even more than I did. I understand there are even visual comparisons to some of the Beatles movies from the 60s and 70s.

No matter what you think of musicals or this movie specifically I believe writer/director Julie Taymor should be celebrated for making this original, entertaining and truly imaginative film.

I put Across the Universe on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $7.

Fugitive Pieces - $9

2007-10-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

Fugitive Pieces is a beautiful movie; it is both a tragic and uplifting story and a tremendously well made film.

This movie is an adaptation of the celebrated novel (with the same title) by Canadian author Anne Michaels. I've read parts of this extremely poetic book and going into the movie I wondered how a film would do such a book justice, but this one truly has.

Fugitive Pieces is the story of Jakob, a young Jewish boy who miraculously escapes death as child in Poland during WW2. Jakob hides in the wall of his home while Nazi soldiers ransack his house and kill his family. Later Jakob is saved while hiding in the woods by a kind man named Athos who risks his life to get Jakob out of Poland. Athos raises Jakob as his own son in Greece and later in Toronto. Jakob grows up to become a good man who never forgets his past and struggles to truly grab onto the present.

This is a well told story and a wonderfully shot film. The adaptation from novel to screenplay has to have been challenging but is done very well by writer/director Jeremy Podeswa. Podeswa is best known for his work directing the acclaimed TV series' Carnivàle and Six Feet Under and he makes an affective transition to the big screen in Fugitive Pieces.

This is a moving film with great character development and very good acting performances from each of the several main characters. Unfortunately for you I saw Fugitive Pieces at the Vancouver International Film Festival and the rest of the world will have to wait until March 2008 to see it, but see it you must.

I put Fugitive Pieces on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $9.

Boston Legal - $8

2007-09-27T19:45:00.000-07:00

Recently, and in quick succession, I've watched the first two seasons of Boston Legal and I have to admit, I am hooked.

Boston Legal takes place in a law firm in (you guessed it) Boston. The law firm is run by a man named Denny Krane, a legend in the law circles of Boston and a man with an ego big enough to match his faults, which are many. Denny is going through the early stages of Alzheimer's, though he claims to have mad cow disease, and it is established early on that he doesn't actually run the firm in any tangible way, but it's his name on the door none the less.

William Shatner plays Krane and this show is a welcome return to television for a guy long thought to a one dimensional actor. He is fantastic in Boston Legal and even manages to never sound like that caricature of himself, Captain Kirk.

The cast is rounded out by the likes of James Spader and Candice Bergen as well as a host of other talented actors playing extremely varied characters.

Boston Legal is primarily a comedy but this is no cheesy sitcom, serious issues are dealt with and made light of, often at the same time. I've seen everything from Asperger's syndrome to Scientology to abortion explored in this show and each time an issue is raised an effort is made to present all sides of it to the audience. There is usually a bias that comes through and sometimes the show can even seem a little preachy but it is almost always fair, and always funny.

I enjoy Boston Legal immensely and unfortunately I now have another TV show to watch.

I put Boston Legal on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $8.

Jon Coutts - $10

2007-09-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

Today's review is not of a movie, nor of a TV show, but of a man. My brother, my friend and a great man, Jon Coutts.

Jon is 32 today, an age that sounded old to me not long ago but which seems young now that I approach 30 myself. I have little opportunity in my life to pay tribute to Jon and while a blog entry can hardly do a person justice I will honour him here.

Jon and I have not always gotten along, as with most brothers we went through a competitive and sometimes violent stage as young teenagers. As we got older though and started to grow up we realized we had become friends somewhere along the way. I say "started to grow up" because I know I have much more ground to make up in that category. In my later high school years I began to count Jon as one of my best friends, so much so that we shared many of the same friends and still do to this day.

Eventually I had the privilege of going to College with Jon and in later years we stood for each other on our wedding days, each as the best man for the other.

Jon is honest, kind, gentle in disagreement but principled in his opinions, he is intelligent but not prideful and he excels at teaching others. I am testament to that teaching as I owe much of who I am to the positive influence and gentle challenging Jon gave me throughout my life.

Jon is a great brother, a great husband to his wife and a great father to his two boys, he is also a great friend.

Happy Birthday Jon. Here's to many more years.

Check out his blog on Christian spirituality and theology: http://www.thissideofsunday.blogspot.com/

Blades of Glory - $5

2007-09-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed Blades of Glory but I fear that may be due to my love for Will Ferrell's brand of comedy. This movie was funny in the goofy way I expected it to be and when it comes to comedy, all I ask is that it makes me laugh. Not everyone will like this movie however, it is predictable and beyond the premise, there's really nothing original about it.

Blades of Glory is the story of two rival male figure skaters who are banned for life from competition but find a loophole wherein they can compete as a pairs team. That's the premise I spoke of as being the only original part of this movie.

Will Ferrell and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) star as the two skaters and they play their roles well. They are both quite funny in their ridiculous rivalry which turns into a friendship as the movie progresses. Will Ferrell plays a very similar character to a few others he's played in the past; he is loud, dumb and out of control. I pretty much find anything Ferrell does funny so while I knew I wasn't seeing him do anything new, I still loved watching him do it.

You won't be interested in Blades of Glory if this type of humour isn't your style. For those of who in this category this movie may still be worth seeing just to watch the real life husband and wife duo of Will Arnett (Arrested Development) and Amy Poehler (Saturday Night Live) who play a brother/sister pairs team. There is a interview with them on the special features of the DVD which alone makes this worth renting.

One thing is for sure; Blades of Glory is not a great movie. If you're not into the Talladega Nights and Old School type of comedy that Will Ferrell brings to the table you won't want to watch it. This is also not a movie on par with either of those previously mentioned comedies. It's good but just not great.

For this reason I am taking the unprecedented step of putting Blades of Glory on both my 'Watch It' list and my 'Don't Watch It' list and giving it a neutral value of $5. Watch it if you like this kind of movie but please don't watch it if you have no time for Will Ferrell.

Grizzly Man - $10

2007-09-12T21:59:00.001-07:00

Grizzly Man is as good as a documentary gets. It is moving, inspiring, truthful, shocking and breathtaking. This movie truly gripped me throughout my viewing of it and for days following.

Grizzly Man is a documentary by Werner Herzog about a man named Timothy Treadwell. Treadwell spent several months of the year, every year for 13 years, in a remote area of Alaska heavily populated by grizzly bears. Treadwell filmed over 100 hours of footage and would tour and speak to school children about the bears he had come to know. All this until he was killed by one of the Grizzlies he's dedicated his life to protecting.

Herzog has compiled Treadwell's footage and watching Treadwell interact with the grizzlies is astounding. While he does not live alongside them or touch them he is in close proximity to them regularly with a surprising lack of aggression from the bears considering their reputation.

What I took away from Grizzly Man more than anything though was the respectful and yet honest portrait of Treadwell that Herzog has created. He does not shy away from showing the footage of Treadwell that makes him look unstable but he also shows many examples of the compassionate side of Treadwell, a man who had clearly pulled further and further away from the "human world" as he called it and escaped fully into a life he created for himself among these animals.

Grizzly Man is a movie I will never forget and is likely the most engrossing documentary I've ever seen.

I put Grizzly Man on my 'Watch It' list and give it the rare, full value rating of $10.

Stardust - $6

2007-09-04T11:27:00.000-07:00

It would be disingenuous to call Stardust anything but escapist cinema. This is a fantasy movie that does not attain the storytelling status of Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter; Stardust is however quite a fun movie.

Stardust is the story of an insecure teenager named Tristan who attempts to find a fallen star to win the hand of the snobby girl he loves. Tristan ventures into a magical land and an unpredictable adventure begins which involves everything from flying pirate ships to witches to princes battling for a throne.

While I watched Stardust I was acutely aware that the pacing was inconsistent and that some parts of the fantasy aspect were not being explained well enough to be plausible, even for fantasy. Overall these flaws turned what was likely meant to be a fantasy epic into nothing more than Hollywood summer cinema.

Despite a series of serious weaknesses in the storytelling I still cannot deny that I enjoyed Stardust. The imagery was exceptional at times and the movie was funnier than the last few comedies I've seen. The story itself had me interested and along for the ride the whole way. I knew this was not an epic but I was never bored and I was even slightly involved with the main characters right to the end.

Stardust also features performances from the likes of Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes, Peter O'Toole, a short comedic role by Ricky Gervais and narrating by Ian McKellan. None will blow you away but they each play their role well and added to my enjoyment of the movie.

Regardless of Stardust's faults and "mindless" status, this is a movie you may very well be entertained by, as I was.

I put Stardust on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $6.

Hot Fuzz - $8

2007-08-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

I watched Hot Fuzz alone, sadly enough, but when you watch a comedy alone it is the true test of the humour. Hot Fuzz had me laughing out loud throughout and to me that automatically makes it a winner.

Hot Fuzz is the story of Nicholas Angel, an overachieving London police officer who is transferred by his superiors so that he will stop making the rest of the London cops look bad. Angel is transferred to the small town of Sandford and he quickly realizes that Sandford is not the sleepy village it appears to be. This suspicion is confirmed when townspeople begin turning up dead, each death chalked up to being an unfortunate accident to everyone but Angel.

This movie works on quite a few levels; it is first and foremost a buddy cop parody, though it is as much a homage to buddy cop movies as it is a mockery of them. Hot Fuzz even manages to parody the idea of parody itself when Angel's partner tells him all about classic cop movies such as Point Break and Bad Boys, Hot Fuzz then proceeds to imitate specific scenes from both of those movies.

Despite this movie being a comic parody don't make the mistake of putting it in the category of something like the Scary Movie franchise, the thing that sets Hot Fuzz apart is that each element of it is done well. The action sequences, while imitating everything from Desperado to the aforementioned Bad Boys, are actually done in a high quality and entertaining way. As a viewer I am able to watch these scenes and enjoy them while not having to turn my mind off because unlike a regular action movie which tries to pawn these elaborate scenes off as realistic, Hot Fuzz admits the silliness of them in its very premise.

Hot Fuzz is a funny movie with intelligent writing and very good comedic performances by the main actors. If you see it be warned however, though the murders and swearing in this movie are part of the comedy they are still not family viewing.

I put Hot Fuzz on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $8.

The Bourne Ultimatum - $9

2007-08-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

The Bourne Ultimatum is a great finish to a trilogy of great movies where once again the audience is treated to everything an action movie should be, fun, fast and entertaining.

Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is a trained special ops hit man who has only been able to remember bits and pieces of his past since a near death incident detailed in the first of the three movies, The Bourne Identity.

Once again in The Bourne Ultimatum we are treated to a story where the skills of escape and combat are thoroughly explored in the character of Jason Bourne. The action sequences in this movie include everything from a slow speed chase on scooters to the killing of a man using a hand towel. I realize those things don't sound interesting but considering the fact that both were good scenes you can imagine how spectacular the standard car and foot chases were as well.

For those who've followed the Bourne story from the beginning, Ultimatum provides some much anticipated explanation for how Jason Bourne came to be the killing machine that he is. I appreciate however that this movie, like the other two, does not really explain everything. You are given enough as an audience to figure out the basics and make some guesses at the details. I prefer this kind of storytelling to the kind which spells out things for me in an intellectually insulting way.

The Bourne Ultimatum is well directed in a tone and style which reflects the pace of each scene. There are some great acting performances as well, Damon as usual is pitch perfect as Bourne and is supported well by the likes of Joan Allen, Albert Finney and David Strathairn to name a few.

This is quite simply an entertaining, high quality action movie.

I put The Bourne Ultimatum on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $9.

Hot Rod - $5

2007-08-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

Hot Rod is a funny movie, as a comedy its main goal must be to make people laugh and it certainly accomplished that goal with me. It would be hard to call it a good movie though.

Hot Rod is a story about Rod, a young wannabe stuntman whose stepfather needs a heart transplant and Rod wants to raise the money for it because he doesn't want his stepfather to die before he has succeeded in beating him up. Rod decides to raise this money by performing a motorbike jump over 15 buses.

This movie makes no attempt to be anything more than a goofy comedy, the plot line and the acting is purposely outrageous, the characters are really caricatures and the whole thing feels like a really long SNL sketch. A good sketch, but a sketch none the less.

I left the theatre feeling like I did the first time I saw Billy Madison and after repeated viewings of Billy Madison I came to love it. This is a comedy that is either ahead of its time and will become a cult classic, or it is a comedy that is just dumb. Only time and multiple viewings will tell.

The cast in Hot Rod is truly funny and some great comedy careers are sure to come from the likes of Andy Samberg (Rod) and Bill Hader who plays Dave, one of Rod's crew.

I keep going back and forth on whether to recommend Hot Rod. As I said it was strange and not a particularly sophisticated style of comedy but it did make me laugh and I was never bored.

I put Hot Rod on my 'Don't Watch It' list, but just barely, and I give it a value of $5. If I see it again that rating will change, I just don't know if it will improve or become worse.

Shooter - $2

2007-07-29T16:55:00.000-07:00

Shooter is not worth your time.

Shooter is a self indulgent and intellectually bankrupt action movie. The main problem is that it thinks it's a complex, conspiracy-revealing thriller. It is not.

Mark Wahlberg gives a good performance as Bob Lee Swagger, a world renowned sniper hired to find out how someone might kill the president. He is then framed by a US government organization, an organization so absurdly morally bankrupt it is comical. This organization is run by a US Senator who is basically the worst human being who has ever lived. This Senator states at one point that every atrocity in human history was either committed, or allowed to happen by a government somewhere and that if you have to pick a side you might as well pick the one where you make some money.

The portrayal of the villains in Shooter were completely over the top, from the writing to the truly awful performance of Danny Glover as the head of the organization which frames Swagger.

The action in this movie is impressive and combined with Wahlberg's performance it is the only thing keeping this one from getting a $1 rating from me.

I put Shooter on my 'Don't Watch It' list and give it a value of $2.

The Prestige - $8

2007-07-20T22:31:00.000-07:00

Two rival stage magicians become bitter enemies after a trick goes wrong at a show they are part of. The rivalry turns into a battle as the two become obsessed with outdoing and destroying each other.

The Prestige was a movie I went into with high expectations and I was not disappointed. I'm becoming a big fan of Christopher Nolan, (Memento, Batman Begins) who wrote and directed this movie and once again he has created a great film with solid story telling and wonderful imagery. The look of The Prestige is superb, from the costumes to the sets, it is nearly worth watching for that alone.

There is far more to see however as The Prestige is capped off by a mysterious storyline and great acting performances from Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson. The team of Bale and Nolan is one I will go out of my way to see in the future as I'm sure this is not the last movie they will do together.

My only slight criticism for this otherwise engaging film is the performance of Hugh Jackman. Because Jackman is in one of the lead roles he is pretty much the only factor keeping my rating from being higher than it already is. I've just never understood Jackman; in every movie I see him in all I see is Hugh Jackman and I never feel fully engaged in the character he is portraying. Jackman is not a bad actor, and neither is his performance in this movie all that bad, but he was overshadowed by the other actors and was not quite subtle enough for the role he was playing.

Overall The Prestige is a movie well worth your time, it is an engaging movie that makes you want to see it again to experience it from the beginning with the knowledge you glean during the unfolding of the story.

I put The Prestige on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $8.

Transformers - $8

2007-07-07T13:44:00.000-07:00

Transformers is everything it should be, action packed, fun, childish and quite funny.

I was worried when I heard Michael Bay was making the live action version of my favorite childhood cartoon, as I'm no fan of his. I find Bay normally sacrifices story for image and leaves his characters with little to do but look good. Transformers may have been just the right project for Bay however as no one can honestly expect this movie - based on a cartoon based on a toy - to tell an epic story or have a moving dramatic back story. Bay provides his audience with just what the cartoon always did, funny dialogue and over the top action.

I'm sure some purists will find the modernization of the Transformers too much to take. I thought it was appropriate and as cheesy as the GMC product shots were the movie makers stayed true to the essence of each character. For me any inconsistencies with the original were overlooked as soon as I heard the familiar sound of Optimus Prime's voice in the opening narration.

I enjoyed Transformers immensely, it was great fun to watch these toys come to life again in a live action movie with some of the best CGI I've ever seen. This movie will win no acting or writing awards but if you have ever been a fan of this implausible story then you shouldn't have any trouble being entertained by the big screen version.

Watch for Shia LaBeouf's career to take off as well, he carries much of the story and especially the comedy in Transformers playing the movie's main character Sam, a teenagers whose Father unwittingly buys him an Autobot from a used car lot. In this modern retelling of the Transformers story all the Autobots are GM vehicles (I can't imagine what GM must have paid for that product placement) and the Camaro Sam buys turns out to be Bumble Bee. As a tribute to the old Bumble Bee he is placed next to a yellow bug in the car lot.

Overall this is not a perfect movie nor is it a movie for those who don't like senseless action and were never fans of the Transformers. It is however wonderful fun and worth seeing. I'm sure there will now be a whole new generation of Transformers fans that will finally understand what all those 30 year old geeks like me are talking about.

I put Transformers on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $8.

Half Nelson - $10

2007-06-02T08:42:00.001-07:00

Dan Dunne is an inner-city junior high school teacher in Brooklyn who is trying to inspire his 13 and 14-year-old students to see history as more than just dates and events.

Dan is a living example of the worldview he is teaching his students; a worldview that sees history not just as individual events but as the slow change brought on by opposing forces. Though Dan is in control in the classroom, his personal life is very much out of control due to a serious drug habit. Drey, one of Dan's troubled students, catches him in the act after school and an awkward and yet touching friendship is started.

Half Nelson is a great character movie. Several of the acting performances are subtle and powerful but none as much as Ryan Gosling's portrayal of Dan Dunne. The Academy got something right for once by picking out his performance in this small festival movie and nominating him for best actor. They got it wrong by not giving him the award but at least hey recognized his work.

This movie was an intense look at a person who is teetering on the edge of control trying to deal with his inability to change the world around him.

Great writing and directing compliment the solid performances in Half Nelson which is also rounded out by a fantastic sound track. This is a movie that should not be missed.

I emphatically put Half Nelson on my 'Watch It' list and give a value of $10.

My Life as a Dog - $9

2007-05-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

At the request of a reader, my brother actually, I'm expanding on my quick review of this movie. (See the side bar to the left for other quick reviews)

My Life as a Dog is the kind of movie that I will always enjoy when it is made well. Set in Sweden this movie is a sort of Scandanavian "Catcher in the Rye".

The story centers around two young brothers who constantly fight as all young brothers do, their Mother meanwhile struggles to fight a serious illness while attempting to deal with the two boys. It is decided that the two brothers will be boarded at separate relatives houses for a few months to attempt to allow their Mother to rest and get well.

This story then follows the younger brother Ingemar as he goes to live with his uncle and aunt in a small town full of interesting characters including a neighbour who is constantly and obsessively fixing his roof and an inventor who is trying to perfect a zip line for the kids in town. The most signifigant character in town to the story is a young girl who becomes a friend of Ingemar's while pretending to be a boy so she can play organized sports.

This is an amazingly well told story and a great film about a boy coming of age and dealing with the fact that his the mother he loves is dying. My Life as a Dog touches on many emotional themes, adolescent sexuality, death, and family dynamics to name a few. The adults in Ingemar's life seem to fear telling him the truth about what is going on in an attempt to protect him, ironically this only makes things harder for Ingemar when the truth comes out.

For all of it's intense emotion My Life as a Dog is also quite funny which makes it even more touching. This movie's range is possible thanks to the great writing and superb performances by talented actors.

I highly recommend My Life as a Dog, it is certainly on my 'Watch It' list and I give it a value of $9.

Babel - $9

2007-05-22T17:34:00.000-07:00

Babel is a movie about tragedy, human despair and the types of actions and decisions that people are forced to make during these times.

The characters are diverse and are all going through very different types of situations and yet as the story unfolds we see that Babel using a classic movie tool in drawing the viewer in; all the characters are connected in some way.

Babel was very good, it gripped me and had me involved in the story. I was concerned for those who were going through difficulties and found myself wishing some of them would make better choices. This kind of conscious involvement is always a good sign to me that I am being impacted by a movie.

The acting performances in Babel are superb. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are the biggest stars here but are only two of many strong performances I enjoyed in this film.

My favorite part of Babel however was the directing. The imagery and cinematography were fabulous. There a few different settings and each is shot beautifully and really captured in a detailed and yet broad sense at the same time.

Babel is one of the best movies of 2006. I put it on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $9.

Spider-Man 3 - $2

2007-05-16T17:05:00.000-07:00

Spider-Man 3 is going to make a lot of money. It is an action packed movie with amazing special effects which will appeal to a young audience.

Unfortunately Spider-Man 3 is not a good movie. It is in fact terrible. The 3rd installment in this series is a massive disappointment in comparison to the far superior 1st and 2nd movies of this same series.

The action is good, of that there is little doubt. The director is the same person who directed 1 and 2 and the action sequences are again amazing, the pace is fast and is likely the main reason so many people have already gone to see this movie. Though it could be said that there is also really nothing new here.

What went wrong then you ask? Basically everything else. The love story of Peter Parker and MJ is awkward and I found myself a little bit pleased when it wasn't working out during the movie. The dialogue in Spider-Man 3 is truly awful, cheesy jokes and lame one liners dominate a script that is devoid of the quality character development and tension that the first 2 movies contained. The villains in this movie were underdeveloped, we were left to guess how they were able to do most of what they could do and their hatred of Spider-Man was not believable to me.

The most glaring problem with Spider-Man 3 however is the major plot line. A living black sludge that falls from space attaches itself to Parker's scooter and later to his Spidey suit; this sludge (as Parker's chemistry teacher explains) increases the aggression of its host when it attaches itself to something. That's all we're told about it really. When Spider-Man is affected by this material he turns black and becomes more vengeful. Parker however basically turns into a bigger nerd with nicer clothes and a new hairdo.

There is a scene where the post-black-sludge Parker goes shopping and takes a girl to a Jazz club, this scene was intended (I believe) to show that Parker has become cooler and darker since the affect of the space sludge. I can say in no uncertain terms that this was the worst series of scenes I've witnessed in a movie since Crawlers. The cringingly bad acting was only eclipsed by the terrible writing in this part of the movie. At one point I leaned over to my wife, who I was at the movie with, and said "is this really happening?"

Overall it was painfully obvious that Spider-Man 3 was written by a new team of writers and not by the successful team which wrote 1 and 2.

If you are a big Spider-Man fan you may want to check this out anyway but I adamantly put Spider-Man 3 on my 'Don't Watch It' list and give it a value of $2.

Fast Food Nation - $3

2007-05-11T22:28:00.000-07:00

Fast Food Nation is a movie I had high hopes for. It is written and directed by Richard Linklater (of Dazed and Confused fame) and stars a number of actors I was looking forward to seeing on screen. Overall though this movie was a dramatic disappointment.

This is a movie in the now popular ensemble-cast style. There is no dominant story but several sub plots that only intersect mildly. Each story relates to the fast food industry, we follow Mexican migrant workers on their journey across the border to becoming workers in a meat processing plant, we follow the VP of marketing for the fictional Mickey's restaurant as he investigates why their meat has feces in it, and we follow several teenage part time fast food employees in their day to day lives.

Where Fast Food Nation went wrong for me was that it tried to do too much. Through the characters in this movie, their dialogue, and the situations they get into we are exposed to commentary not just on fast food but on suburban housing, safety in the workplace, unclean farming practices, environmental effects of modern farming practices, sexual abuse in the workplace, teenage dreams and adults with unfulfilled dreams and believe it or not, even the Patriot Act.

I really wanted to like Fast Food Nation. I agree with a lot of the sentiment expressed in its message about farming and how fast food has affected farming practices in the United States. Some of the imagery of the movie was affective as they filmed the meat processing plant scenes in a real meat packing plant while it was operating, the actual plant workers were the extras. In the end however, this was a movie with a lot of unrealized potential.

I know that there was a message that got out through this movie, I'm sure that many people who saw this movie came away with more knowledge about where their fast food comes from; the problem is they likely didn't come away feeling like they'd just watched a well told story and if they're anything like me they certainly didn't come away entertained.

In the end this is a movie with awkward pacing and a wandering plot that leaves the viewer wondering what the point is on more than one occasion.

I put Fast Food Nation on my 'Don't Watch It' list and give it a value of $3.

The Big Lebowski - $9

2007-05-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

Way out west there was this fella I wanna tell ya about. Goes by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least that was the handle his loving parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. See, this Lebowski, he called himself "The Dude". Now, "Dude" - there's a name no man would self-apply where I come from...

The Big Lebowski opens with the narration above in the low, silky, cowboy voice of Sam Elliott. This begins one of the strangest and funniest movies of all time. I recently watched The Big Lebowski again and I'm convinced that I enjoy it more each time I see it.

Basically this movie follows the Dude, a lazy man in LA who bowls and drinks White Russians for a living. The Dude's life is thrown into chaos when he is mistaken for a rich man with the same name and thugs soil his area rug. The usually laid back Dude is convinced by his friend Walter to demand the rich Lebowski replace this rug as it "tied the room together." This simple act of attempting to get his rug back begins a spiral of more and more problems for the Dude. There is a kidnapping, a lost toe, a death, bowling, a drugging, a ransom hand off gone bad and many more circumstances for which the Dude is the least qualified person on earth to deal with.

I've met people who don't like The Big Lebowski, it's not for everyone and you'll know in the first 5 minutes whether you're going to enjoy it or not. If you don't laugh in the first scene just take the movie out and chalk yourself up as someone who won't like The Big Lebowski. I won't judge you.

For my part I love this movie, I watched it alone most recently and laughed out loud and I've always said that one of the true tests of comedy is whether it makes you laugh out loud when noone is around.

Jeff Bridges is nearly flawless as the Dude and John Goodman performs my favorite role of his career as Walter, the unstable friend of the Dude who is obsessed with his time in Vietnam.

The Big Lebowski makes me laugh with it's dialogue, it is quick and character driven and often 3 characters are having 2 or 3 conversations at the same time. The writing in this movie is only surpassed by the performances of the actors delivering those lines.

All in all what pulls this whole comedy together is the fact that it is well made in every way a movie can be well made. The directing, the lighting, the music...it is all great.

The Big Lebowski is one of my favorite comedies of all time. I put it on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $9.

Deja Vu - $6

2007-05-03T11:58:00.000-07:00

A group of scientists have discovered a way to look back in time to 4 days and 6 hours ago, and always 4 days and 6 hours ago, they can record what they see but can't look everywhere and they can't rewind. This discovery is being tested on it's first investigation, a terrorist bombing of a boat which killed hundreds of sailors and their families.

This highly implausible plot is the framework for Deja Vu, a movie that is as entertaining as it is hard to believe.

I'll start with what I didn't like. The explanations for how this technology work were not extensive, I assume that was on purpose due to the fact that there is no actual explanation, but it made this part of the story difficult to believe and considering how pivotal this was to the plot I was left unable to ever really let myself fully get into Deja Vu. At one point they figure out how to send a note to someone 4 days and 6 hours ago which leads to the discovery of how to send our main character Doug Carlin back as well to save a woman who gets murdered by the bomber; Carlin believes that if he can save her he can stop the bombing.

Implausibilities aside, even with my inability to fully buy into the science fiction I enjoyed Deja Vu. It is an entertaining movie with some of the most unique scenes I've ever witnessed. Case in point is the chase scene where Carlin is wearing special goggles which are sending him a feed of what is happening 4 days and 6 hours ago, Carlin uses this to find where the bomber was 4 days ago and follow him, of course all the while he has to keep one eye on the present to avoid present day traffic. Sounds dumb as I type it but it really was a fascinating scene.

Ultimately Deja Vu is worth watching (even if just barely) thanks to some great performances. Denzel Washington plays Carlin and people tend to either love or hate Denzel. I fall into the former category and this movie is another great role for him as a smart determined "hero." James Caviezel plays the bomber perfectly, just creepy enough but not overacted as many villains tend to be. Val Kilmer is also fantastic in this but rounding out a cast of great performances is a favorite of mine, Adam Goldberg (of Dazed and Confused fame) who plays the lead scientist who discovered this hard to believe time warp thingy. The science isn't explained well but the scientist is played to perfection by Goldberg.

So basically I liked this movie overall. I loved some parts of it and was unimpressed with others but if you're in the mood for something entertaining where you can just shut your brain off, I'd put Deja Vu on the top of your list.

I tentatively put this movie on my 'Watch It' list and give it value of $6.

Top 5 Movies of 2006

2007-04-14T12:29:00.001-07:00

I know 2006 is long gone but I wait for the dvd with most movies so I'm always a little behind on my viewing. Here is my list of the best 5 movies of 2006 that I have seen.

5) The Departed

The academy's choice for #1 is my choice for #5. Not the best movie made in 2006 but if you like the genre you likely enjoyed it as much as I did. Also if you admire strong individual acting performances there are about 10 in The Departed. Full Review

4) Talladega Nights

This movie isn't for everyone but I love it. I love Will Ferrell and this is Will Ferrell at his best. John C. Reilly is also fantastic as Ferrell's sidekick, who knew he could do comedy.

3) Stranger Than Fiction

This is another underrated movie. Very funny and touching and surprisingly well made in every way. Full Review

2) Little Miss Sunshine

Maybe the best all around comedy I've ever seen. If you haven't seen this movie yet your life is incomplete. Full Review

1) Pan's Labyrinth

This movie is a treat for the senses and deserved more accolades than it received from the assorted Hollywood movie awards. Full Review

Children of Men - $4

2007-04-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

I expected a lot from Children of Men, it has been widely praised and reviewed as an outstanding science fiction movie with stark imagery and a frighteningly prophetic look into the future. For me it did not live up to this high billing.

Children of Men takes place in 2027, no person on earth has had a baby in over 18 years and humanity is in complete and total chaos. Set in England, Children of Men also shows a future where illegal immigrants are being rounded up and deported or killed. There are massive refugee camps everywhere and anarchy reigns in these camps. The story follows Theo, a former activist who is thrust back into a rebel movement he left long ago to help a miraculously pregnant woman avoid government detection.

Where Children of Men is successful is in some of it's imagery, there are some incredible cinematographic moments in this movie, particularly in the battle scenes in the storey's climax.

Where Children of Men fails for me is nearly everywhere else. While at times the cinematography was gripping, at other times it had the feel of a home movie. This method of going back and forth between regular movie making and documentary style filming was unconvincing and left Children of Men with a TV movie feel.

The writing does not make up for the choppy filming style. The characters are one dimensional and the dialogue reminded me of an airport novel. Even Michael Caine could not make up for the bad script he was given, though he and Clive Owen (Theo) deserve credit for their effort.

Though there is some creative imagery, overall this is a movie full of unexplained plot lines, cheesy stereotypical characters and a picture of the future so bleak it's laughable. It was never clear to me what connection the lack of fertility on earth had with the complete and total crumbling of society. I suppose there is an implication that with no children there is no future, but why that would make people all over the world give up on any sense of order is never explained.

Children of Men is on my 'Don't Watch It' list and I give it a somewhat generous value of $4 due to it's imagery and a couple of adequate acting performances.

Stranger Than Fiction - $9

2007-04-03T16:17:00.000-07:00

My movie watching this spring has produced a series of surprises for me, some very pleasant surprises like The Illusionist and Blood Diamond and some movies that I expected to like and surprisingly loathed, like Borat. Even though I am a huge Will Ferrell fan I would have to say it was another pleasant surprise to watch Stranger Than Fiction and enjoy it immensely. I did not expect the touching and superbly written dialogue that Stranger Than Fiction delivered.

Stranger Than Fiction is the story of Harold Crick, an IRS agent who finds one day that he can hear a voice narrating his dull and mundane life. Very quickly this voice, which only Crick can hear, begins to affect every facet of his boring life, even to the point of telling him he is going to die.

Telling you more about this movie would spoil it and I think the best way to experience Stranger Than Fiction is without knowing much about it beforehand. If you're anything like me you will be pleasantly surprised.

Directed by Marc Forster, (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland) Stranger Than Fiction brings the audience into Harold Crick's world in a creative visual way that was simple but drew me in.

As for the writing, I can't say enough about it. This movie centers around the world of literature; Crick receives help from Jules Hilbert, a literature Professor, as he tries to find the author who is currently writing about him and whose voice he is hearing. These themes seemed to prompt the writer of Stranger Than Fiction to use intelligent and witty dialogue that is so often missing in movies today.

The performances in this movie are also very well executed. Will Ferrell is deserving of his Golden Globe nomination in what has to be considered his most understated and well acted role to date. I love Ferrell's purely comedic characters as well but this is the first time I've seen him really act and he did not disappoint. Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson are also nearly flawless as supporting characters in this great story.

I'm guessing that not everyone will love this movie as much as I did, and that's fine, but as I said Stranger Than Fiction was a delightful surprise for me. I laughed, I was moved and I was most certainly entertained.

I put this movie on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $9.

Blood Diamond - $8

2007-03-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

Rarely is a movie anything more than mindless entertainment, even when a movie does offer something extra it is often nothing more than a simple life lesson or profound statement which elevates a movie to more than just mere fun. Blood Diamond is the rarest of all, a movie which inspires its viewer to look at something in their world in a new way.

Blood Diamond is a story set in 1999 in civil war ravaged Sierra Leone. The economy of Sierra Leone, then and now, revolves around diamond mining and in 1999 the country was in chaos as rebels and the military fought over control of these diamond mines.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Danny Archer, a diamond smuggler for a major international diamond company. Archer shows no regard for where he gets the diamonds from, only that he acquires them. Djimon Hounsou plays Solomon Bo, a fisherman whose village is destroyed by the rebels who force Bo into slavery in one of their diamond mines. Bo`s wife and children escape the rebels but are impossible for him to locate on his own. While working in the mines Bo finds a priceless diamond and realizing its significance, he hides it. Archer and Bo cross paths as Archer hears about this diamond and knows that Bo he can lead him to it. A deal is struck between the two wherein Archer agrees to help Bo find his family in exchange for help in finding this diamond.

Throughout this movie Danny Archer`s disregard for the origin of the diamonds he trades causes the trading of many diamonds that come from rebel controlled and slave labour driven diamond mines. These are blood diamonds, or conflict diamonds, and they end up mixed with legitimate diamonds and sold to Jewellers all over the world. This is where this movie is controversial, it is unclear how many of the worlds diamonds are conflict diamonds and critics say this movie exaggerates the problem. Sierra Leone is now peaceful and it is said that legitimate diamond mining is the backbone of their economy, critics have said that because of these facts Blood Diamond undeservedly casts a shadow over Sierra Leone`s current mining industry.

Whether conflict diamonds are as big a problem as this movie implies is not clear but nobody disputes that they have been a problem and still exist today. The makers of Blood Diamond should be applauded, in my opinion, for bringing attention to our need in the wealthy west to consider a diamond`s origin before buying it.

Blood Diamond is a well made movie with outstanding acting performances by DiCaprio and Hounsou. An intense movie with images that at times haunt the viewer and at other times inspire. This movie was not without its faults, the pacing dragged at times for one thing, but this can be overlooked in the bigger picture of the powerful story being told.

I put Blood Diamond on my `Watch It` list and give it a value of $8.

300 - $8

2007-03-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

300 is the cinematic version of Frank Miller's graphic novel by the same name. It is the retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C where 300 Spartans held the Persian Army of thousands for three days which, it is said, gave Greece enough time to raise their own army, inspired an eventual victory over the Persians and the founding of the world's first democracy. This is the epic battle of all epic battles.

300 is a legendary tale told in the exaggerated way only a graphic novelist could get away with. The Spartans are depicted as nearly flawless warriors and the Persians as inhuman abominations. Battle scenes dominate the story line with severed limbs aplenty, yet somehow the exaggerated comic-book-style depiction of these battles made it easier to watch for me than the realistically graphic battles I've seen in other epic war movies.

The dialogue of 300 even feels like a comic book and was part of the entertainment value for me. King Leonidas is regularly inspiring his soldiers with such wisdom as; "Give them nothing! But take from them everything!" and "Spartans! Enjoy your breakfast, for tonight we dine in Hell!" In any other movie I would attributed this kind of dialogue to poor writing but in 300 it worked with the rest of the over the top and unreal aspects of the movie.

This movie does not overwhelm you with historical facts or deep life lessons. What 300 does is entertain its audience from start to finish. If you go to see 300 and expect anything more than this you will be disappointed. This is a movie of excess and simplicity but it is certainly not boring.

300 is full of impressive computer generated scenery and slow motion action sequences and if battle scenes and graphic novel story telling are up your alley then it is not to be missed.

This movie is worth seeing despite its faults. I put 300 on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $8.

Borat - $2

2007-03-20T07:08:00.000-07:00

Borat was hard to watch. I understand that Sacha Baron Cohen isn't actually a racist, I assume that because he is Jewish himself he is able to get away with the anti-semitism of his character Borat who has to be considered the most racist fictional character in history. I also get that this is a satirical movie which paints racism and sexism as the refuge of idiots.

The problem is I still didn't enjoy watching a movie full of blatant and inappropriate prejudices. The other problem is that Borat's target audience doesn't seem to understand the nuance that this movie is belittling Borat and anyone like him, from what I overhear from this movie's fans they instead imitate and admire Borat. I can't imagine that this was the intent of the movie.

The full title of this movie is Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan and the premise is that Borat is a Kazakh who is being sent by his government to film a documentary about America to help Kazakhstan improve itself. Borat travels around the US interacting with people who really believe they are being filmed for a Kazakh documentary and proceed to do and say things that I hope they wouldn't admit to anyone else.

This premise makes for a shocking movie full of uncomfortable moments. If you watched Borat and didn't cringe there is likely something wrong with you. For my part I cringed in almost every scene and didn't really laugh that often. I did laugh at times and to be honest not every person on the movie treated Borat poorly, in fact some people were downright nice to him.

In the end, after the movie stopped and I breathed a sigh of relief that it was finally over, I immediately wondered why so many people have given this movie such high praise. Cohen is not doing anything new here, admittedly he is one of the people who perfected this type of comedy years ago and this movie takes it to a new level; but the fact remains that Borat is not a new idea and mostly the movie is just full of horrible racism and sexism which now get repeated every day by people who've seen this movie and think it's hilarious.

There were some funny moments amidst the cringing and Cohen would have literally risked his life a few times to do the things he did so I hesitate to give this movie the lowest rating I've ever given.

I certainly put Borat on my 'Don't Watch It' list though and give it a value of $2.

The Departed - $8

2007-03-11T17:19:00.000-07:00

I've been asked what I think of The Departed for months now but I didn't actually watch it until recently. I've eagerly anticipated this movie for some time and when the Academy chose it as the best movie of 2006 and gave Scorsese his long overdue best director award, I finally got around to seeing it.

The Departed is a treat to watch if you enjoy intense acting, quick dialogue and a well paced movie. I even found it quite funny at times.

There are those out there who believe Scorsese is overrated, I am not one of those people and while I don't love violence in movies I can handle it from Scorsese more than most directors. The Departed is not the most violent movie I've ever seen in the "gangster" genre, but it is prevalent. In typical Scorsese fashion the violence is quick, shocking and realistically graphic, there are no slow motion replays or gimmicks which somehow makes it easier to handle for me.

It's hard to pick out one, or even just a few great acting performances in The Departed. In the era of ensemble casts this is one for the ages. DiCaprio, Wahlberg, Baldwin, Damon, Sheen, and of course Nicholoson are all brilliant. My only complaint is the lack of female characters, save one played well by Vera Farmiga.

So did it deserve best picture? I'm not so sure. I was pulling for Little Miss Sunshine but assumed it would not win. I've heard others say Babel was more deserving of the Oscar. I certainly think highly of The Departed and will watch it again, but it wasn't the best of what 2006 had to offer in my opinion. Still this was a great movie; in the gangster genre which nobody does better than Scorsese, this is one of the best I've seen.

The Departed is on my 'Watch It' list and I give a value of $8.

24, Seasons 2 and 3 - $3

2007-02-28T17:57:00.000-08:00

In January I rented the first season of 24 and enjoyed it, at least enough to go out and rent season 2. Following that I was somehow convinced to also rent season 3 and that's where things got even worse. It's not that 24 isn't entertaining at times, but it is predictable. It is full of unconvincing plots, inconsistent characters and worst of all 24 treats you the viewer like an idiot.

Maybe 24 is a better experience for all the fans who watch it on TV, it must be easier to overlook the inconsistent plot lines when you have weeks in between episodes and months between seasons. Watching 3 seasons on DVD in 2 months likely exposes the flaws of a TV show in a way that's harder to miss.

I still give the creators of 24 some credit for creativity. It is a brilliant concept to have each episode be in real time and each season take place over a period of 24 hours. The main character, Jack Bauer, is played well by Kiefer Sutherland and overall the show uses techniques that are innovative.

The problem is; this was all there in the first season and nothing really changed, there weren't any new concepts in season 2 or 3. 24 is all about surprising the audience and it worked in season 1. Now I come to expect them to kill off main characters and generally do the last thing I'm expecting. It's not new anymore, nor is the rest of the show.

24 is worth checking out if you've never seen it but basically if you've seen one season, or even most of one season, you've seen it all. It has become way too formulaic and I could only get through the last few episodes of season 2 and 3 by completely suspending my common sense.

24, Seasons 2 and 3 are definitely on my 'Don't Watch It' list and I give them both a value of $3.

Rushmore - $9

2007-02-25T14:45:00.000-08:00

I watched Rushmore years ago and it was my first taste of writer/director Wes Anderson's unique style. Anderson is the writer of the brilliant and better known Royal Tenenbaums and Life Aquatic, Rushmore pre-dates both of them.

Like all Anderson's movies Rushmore is the kind of comedy you either love or don't quite get. I fall into the former category. I recently watched Rushmore again and was reminded of why I loved it so much the first time and how it literally changed what I look for in a great comedy.

Rushmore is full of dry wit, intelligent comedy and even touching moments. Some of the comedy is set up so well by everything else in the movie that if you joined the movie part way through you'd likely not catch the subtle hilarity of a given moment.

The story revolves around 15 year old Rushmore High School student Max Fischer. Max is smart and driven but mainly to start clubs, write plays and win a grade school teachers heart. He is flunking almost all his classes. Max meets Herman Blume when Herman comes to speak in a chapel service. Herman is a Rushmore alumnus and successful businessman. Eventually Herman falls in love with the same grade school teacher Max is in love with and their friendship turns to rivalry.

A young Jason Schwartzman plays Max Fischer and Bill Murray plays Herman Blume and the humour and chemistry between the two is a big part of what makes this movie great.

If you've never seen Rushmore but enjoyed either of Wes Anderson's better known movies I mentioned earlier; you owe it to yourself to check this one out.

Rushmore is definitely on my 'Watch It' list and I give it a value of $9.

The Shining - $9

2007-02-13T21:52:00.000-08:00

I realize a lot of my reviews have been rated highly lately but I hope you don't take that as a sign that I'm easy to please, the reality is that I've been seeing movies that come highly recommended by trustworthy sources and that usually means I'm in for a good experience. The Shining was no exception.

The Shining leaves little doubt that it is a horror movie but right from the beginning with its scenic and beautiful opening it is clear that this movie sets itself apart from the cookie cutter gore and fright of most movies in this genre.

Set almost entirely in a remote hotel in Colorado called the Overlook, The Shining is the story of the Torrance family who are tasked with looking after the Overlook during the winter when it is shut down for off-season. Jack Torrance, played masterfully by Jack Nicholson, and his wife Wendy believe that this winter at the Overlook will be good for the family as Jack plans to spend the time working on a book he's writing. Danny Torrance, their son, has an ability referred to as "shining" by one of the other characters in the movie. Danny is able to see the future and the past at times and it's clear to him even before they move to the hotel that it has a tragic past and is not a safe place.

The Shining is full of terrifying images as Danny sees and hears things in the hotel while his family is staying there. At the heart of this horror movie though is the transformation of Jack from a caring husband and father to an out of control monster who tries to harm his family.

The Shining is shot with a surprising amount of beautiful cinematography; this movie is full of amazing images, brilliant acting, and a terrifying storyline. The only thing keeping me from giving it a perfect rating is that I don't love the genre, though The Shining is undeniably in a class of its own in the world of horror movies.

I put this movie on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $9.

The Illusionist - $8

2007-02-01T21:17:00.000-08:00

Eisenheim the Illusionist is a gifted magician and we begin this story in Vienna in the turn of the century, Eisenheim is in the middle of a performance. The crowd looks on in captivated silence as Eisenheim is conjuring something on the stage, it is clearly a woman based on the comments from the crowd. Before we are able to see for ourselves the Chief Inspector arrests Eisenheim for disrupting the peace, nearly causing a riot.

The Illusionist proceeds from this point by taking us through a series of flash backs. As a teenager Eisenheim loved a girl named Sophie but as is the theme in many period pieces the two were from very different social classes and had to hide their relationship. After an unsuccessful attempt to run away together Sophie is taken away and Eisenheim is threatened with imprisonment if he ever sees her again.

Flash forward to an evening in Vienna in the present, (not as far into the present as the start of the movie so still the past I guess) Inspector Uhl, the Chief Inspector, is tasked with making sure the theatre Eisenheim will be performing in is secure. That night's performance will be honoured by the presence of Crown Prince Leopold. Inspector Uhl being an amateur magician himself meets and is fond of Eisenheim immediately. That night at the performance the illusionist asks for a volunteer from the audience the Crown Prince offers up his fiance. As she comes closer to the stage you realize it is Sophie, Eisenheim's teenage love.

From here this movie takes some mildly predictable turns. Sophie and Eisenheim begin meeting privately, Inspector Uhl finds out and is forced to investigate Eisenheim. Despite these moments of unsurprising plot development The Illusionist offers enough unpredictable elements to keep the audience engaged and interested throughout.

This is a visually well made movie, the sets and costumes do not overwhelm the story as in some period pieces but they are done very well. The Illusionist was fun to watch, it was entertaining in almost every way and yet there are really 2 main reasons I recommend it as highly as I do. They are Ed Norton and Paul Giamatti.

Norton plays Eisenheim in what may be the most understated role of his career but it is a treat to watch. Norton is nearly perfect in this role as he resists the tempatation to make Eisenheim into a larger than life character. The subtleties of his performance make the movie worth watching on their own.

Giamatti plays Inspector Uhl and really ties the whole movie together. He convinces you that he is at once loyal to the Crown Prince and eager to please him to advance his own ambitions and yet he is also sympathetic and fond of Eisenheim and does his best to protect Eisenheim from the Crown Prince's suspicions.

Rufus Sewell's performance is worth mentioning as well. He plays Crown Prince Leopold who is the polar opposite character to Eisenheim, full of emotion and power and played well by Sewell. Sophie is played by Jessica Biel and though many call her performance poor I thought she was adequate. Her part was small enough that though her performance dwarfs that of her cast mates in it's quality it does not take very much away from the story.

Overall this movie is well worth your time. I put The Illusionist on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $8.

Pan's Labyrnth - $9

2007-01-29T11:27:00.000-08:00

Pan's Labyrinth is not a movie for the faint of heart. It is also not a children's movie. What it is is one of the most visually stunning, intense, engaging and magical movies I've ever seen.

Guillermo Del Toro writes and directs this Spanish film which is set in Northern Spain in 1944. Pan's Labyrinth is the story of a young girl named Ofelia who moves with her pregnant mother to live with her mother's new husband, a cruel military man named Captain Vidal. Vidal has brought them to an area still in dispute and still at war.

Ofelia is a young girl obsessed with reading fantasy stories and upon arriving at her new home she enters into a fantasy world of her own. A fairy guides her to a Labyrinth where she meets Pan. When Ofelia asks Pan who he is he responds "Me? I've had so many names... Old names that only the wind and the trees can pronounce. I am the mountain, the forest and the earth. I am... I am a faun. Your most humble servant, Your Highness."

Pan tells Ofelia that she contains the spirit of the Princess of the underground realm who had long ago escaped, forgotten about her home and died in the human world. The King always believed she would return in another body. To earn her way back to the underground realm Ofelia is given three dangerous and magical tasks.

While Ofelia goes back and forth between the Labyrinth and Pan and the real world there is another story taking place. That is the story of Captain Vidal defending his territory from rebels, the story of Ofelia's Mother turning sicker and sicker by the day in her pregnant state and the story of a servant of the Captains who cares for Ofelia.

This is at times a horror movie, at times a war movie and at times a fantasy movie yet somehow it all connects and intertwines and works together. The non-fantasy scenes comprise more than half of Pan's Labyrinth and this part of the plot is such a well told and well acted story it could likely stand alone. Amazingly though Del Toro also weaves in a captivating fantasy story and brings the two worlds together.

There is quality imagery and acting in Pan's Labyrinth. There is magic and wonder and in both the fantasy and the real world of this story there is horror.

If you do not like gore there are times to look away but it is worth it to endure the frightening parts of Pan's Labyrinth to see a movie that is like nothing you've ever seen.

I put this movie on my 'Watch It' list and give is a value of $9.

24, Season 1 - $7

2007-01-27T12:01:00.000-08:00

24 is a unique concept, 24 episodes that are 1 hour each and the entire season is one 24 hour day. This show takes place in real time. I've heard all the hype and seen how popular this show is but I had never taken the time to watch even 2 minutes of it. Recently I rented season 1 and over the course of a weekend I have now watched 16 of the 24 episodes. This review is my reaction so far.

First for those who've never seen 24, it is a show that revolves mainly around one character, Jack Bauer. Bauer heads up the LA office of the US Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU). The first season of 24 takes place during the day of the California Primaries after CTU learns that there is a terrorist organization trying to kill the Presidential front runner. Things get complicated when Bauer's wife and daughter are kidnapped by the same terrorist organization and we slowly learn how everything is connected.

24 is a well made show, the directing is unique for a TV show especially considering that season 1 was on TV 6 years ago. The show uses split screens very creatively but doesn't overdo it so as to dizzy you with multiple screens for too long. The pace of 24 is fast and tiring and everything about it is made to give you that impression, from the writing to the camera angles to the real-time concept.

Each show ends in 'cliffhanger' style and I was grateful more than once to have rented the DVDs rather than having to wait a week to see what happens.

Overall I've enjoyed the episodes of season 1 that I've watched. 24 is entertaining and worth watching. I have found it less than realistic at times but each episode has left me wanting to know what is going to happen on the next one and I suppose that is the main goal of any TV show.

24 is not blowing me away but I will put it on my 'Watch It' list and give it a respectable value of $7.

UPDATE: I finished watching season 1 the other day. I nearly came on here and lowered my ranking to $6 but decided against it. The end of the season wasn't terrible but was somewhat hard to believe. I didn't lower the rating mainly because I was left intrigued enough to go out and rent season 2.

Little Miss Sunshine - $10

2007-01-20T10:48:00.001-08:00

This is a great movie and I am a better person for having watched it.

In Little Miss Sunshine we watch a unique family going through a lot of changes. Richard is a failed motivational speaker, Sheryl is on her second marriage, Grandpa sleeps on the couch after being kicked out of his seniors complex, Uncle Frank moves in after attempting suicide as the doctors recommend he not be left alone, 15 year old Dwayne hasn't spoken in 9 months and 7 year old Olive dreams of becoming a beauty queen.

Through a series of circumstances each of these people ends up in a Volkswagen van together in order to get Olive to the beauty contest of her dreams, Little Miss Sunshine.

This movie is full of impressive performances, at first glance Grandpa's inappropriate comments and drug addiction seem to sum him up but as we see more of him we realize he is at times a caring Father and loving Grandfather. This is really the kind of lens I saw each character through, I am given an impression of them early on and then this story proceeds to blow that impression away.

Little Miss Sunshine challenges our human tendency to hastily judge people through well developed characters that are brilliantly written and even more impressively performed. It is hard to pick out just one actor to praise from Little Miss Sunshine, however, the performance which impressed me most was that of Steve Carell. Carell plays Uncle Frank and this has to be considered the most subtle role of his young film career. Carell is funny as well as moving which is also a fair summary of this entire movie.

Little Miss Sunshine is one of the best movies of 2006 and hopefully the first of many that will be brought to us by first time screenwriter Michael Arndt. I enjoyed this movie from start to finish and I did something I'd never before done, I watched it a second time the next day before returning it.

You need to see Little Miss Sunshine, it is unquestionably on my 'Watch It' list and I give it a value of $10.

2001: A Space Odyssey - $10

2007-01-12T20:14:00.001-08:00

2001 is a movie about human potential, about how we've evolved. It is a movie that touches on the amazing capabilities and the dangers of our advancements. 2001 is not an action movie and it's certainly not typical science fiction. The legendary Stanley Kubrick directs this unique look into the past and future of the human condition and he does it with immense skill and near perfect execution.

Kubrick gives his audience fair warning that they are in for something different when he opens the movie with the word OVERTURE against a black screen and has you listen to an orchestra warm up for 4 minutes. A fellow fan told me that it's as if he is telling the viewer to sit back and slow down because you're in for a whole new kind of movie experience.

2001 takes you from the dawn of man to what was the distant future in 1968, 2001. Though it's not entirely clear at what stage this movie is actually in 2001 as the year is only mentioned in the title.

At the dawn of man a mysterious monolith appears on earth in an area where some advanced apes live. One of these apes learns to use a tool shortly after the monolith's arrival and a separation from other animals begins for these primates. It is never stated what involvement the monolith plays in this great moment in human history. There is much speculation as to Kubrick's point, possibly that the ape was given an idea by it in some direct way, maybe merely seeing the monolith caused the ape to realize that not all was known to him, prompting him to think in ways he never before had.

Fast forward to the future where humans travel to space with the ease that we go on vacation today, spaceships carry passengers the way a plane transports you today. Gravity is created on the ships and on the spacestations by keeping them revolving. Humans have taken full control of their tools and are doing things never before imagined. In this way, unlike two other space centered stories in the same era, Star Trek (1966) and Star Wars (1977), 2001 takes great pains to make its space travel plausible. It is even rumoured that NASA copied and implemented some of the technology portrayed in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Compared to it's more commercial science fiction counterparts, 2001's imagery is astonishing, the special effects and cinematography are spectacular and even if its slow pace and unique style don't interest you, it is worth watching for the imagery alone.

In the future a discovery has been made on the moon and is being kept under wraps by scientists from the United States. The implications of this find are clearly immense though the object itself is not revealed to the viewer for some time. We follow a team to the moon whose mission is to find out just exactly what this is. In a scene that may be the best I've ever watched, this team slowly approaches the object which was buried under the moon's surface and has been dug up; it is the monolith. An examination of the monolith, paralleling the apes examination of the same, shows that it is sending a signal to Jupiter.

Fast forward further to the future as we follow a mission to Jupiter to follow the signal and learn who or what is receiving it. This mission is being carried out on a state of the art spacecraft, one with a computer guiding all major functions of the ship. This computer has never made an error, it has a name and even seems to have a personality; the computer is HAL. HAL is the first tool created by humans which may be capable of more than them. But HAL makes an error. This causes a conflict between HAL and the scientists on board as they attempt to disconnect some of HAL's functions. HAL kills all of them but one, Dave. Dave manages to regain control of the ship and continue to Jupiter where this movie once again shifts gears dramatically.

While approaching Jupiter Dave finds the monolith. Upon seeing it Dave is hurled through light and colour and comes out in a room where he sees himself as an older man, this older man sees himself as a dying man and this dying man sees the monolith. The movie ends on a shot of a fetal human cocooned in a bubble and floating in space. The next stage of human development?

This movie was well written, well acted, well directed: frankly it was well made in every conceivable way. 2001: A Space Odyssey is considered by many critics to be one of the greatest movies of all time and I must admit that having finally seen it, I agree.

I wholeheartedly put this movie on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $10.

Miami Vice - $4

2007-01-10T17:43:00.000-08:00

Miami Vice was a movie full of style and impressive cinematography. Unfortunately it was also dreadfully boring.

In this movie we follow the lives of Rico and Sonny, two undercover cops from Miami. The FBI learns that they have been infiltrated and appeal to Rico and Sonny to get to the bottom of it.

Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx play Sonny and Rico and a good performance by Foxx nearly makes up for the unconvincing and feeble performance by Farrell. In fact the first major mistake of this movie was casting Farrell for the slightly bigger role.

Stylistically this movie is entertaining. Michael Mann directs and he uses some amazing camera angles and lighting tricks. The downside of a director who's willing to try new things is that he often tries too many and some of the scenes leave you feeling like you wished the camera had been focused on something.

Overall this movie wasn't bad, it had a complex plot and had some pretty good performances. As I said though it simply bored me and with Farrell's poor performance I can't recommend it.

I put Miami Vice on my 'Don't Watch It' list and give it a value of $4.

Rocky Balboa - $8

2007-01-03T15:40:00.000-08:00

Like many other people I laughed when I first heard that a 6th Rocky movie was being made. This skepticism was well founded considering that Rocky 5 was truly a bad movie, Stallone is 60 years old and boxing isn't exactly popular right now. These are among the many reasons critic's everywhere went into Rocky Balboa with low expectations.

Just like the underdog Stallone plays in the Rocky movies, the 6th installment gives you the last thing you expect, a great movie.

The first half of this movie, the last installment in the Rocky franchise, follows an aged Rocky who is recovering from a bankruptcy and living a simple life. Rocky runs a little Italian restaurant where he tells stories of past fights to his customers. Adrian has passed away from "woman cancer" as Rocky puts it, and Rocky is shown as a quiet and kind man. One of my favorite sub plots is Rocky's charity toward a former fighter named Spider whom Rocky had defeated in the first movie.

Before you start thinking this movie can't possibly feature a fight, what with Rocky's age, it happens. In a computer generated fight between Rocky in his prime and the current unpopular champion Mason "The Line" Dixon, Rocky is victorious. To improve his image Dixon agrees to an exhibition with Rocky who feels he has more in the tank.

This movie came at me in ways I didn't expect. I was moved by Rocky's loneliness and kindness toward those around him an I was entertained by the classic training sequences and fight at the end. This movie was full of sentiment, surprisingly good acting and writing, and a classic Rocky storyline.

I put Rocky Balboa on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $8.

Watch It - Top 5 Christmas Movies

2006-12-19T09:36:00.001-08:00

5) Elf

Elf is about Buddy, a normal man who believes he is one of Santa's elves due to being raised at the North Pole. Buddy is raised by Papa Elf, who is played wonderfully by Bob Newhart. Will Ferrell plays Buddy and is hilarious, he never quite fits in due to his enormous size relative to the other elves. Eventually Buddy figures out that he's a normal sized man and he heads to New York to find his real Father and more hilarity ensues. I know this isn't exactly a classic Christmas movie but I loved it. I'm a big Will Ferrell fan and you definitely need to be to love this movie, though I'd recommend it either way.

4) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

This is a great kids movie. The original story of how Rudolph saved Christmas one stormy year with all kinds of added plot lines like Yukon Cornelius and the Abominable Snowman. In this story we learn that everyone is worthwhile no matter how "different" they might be. I watched it again recently and was reminded of why I loved it so much as a child. This is a true classic with great animation and voices, a truly unique story.

3) It's a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life is not only a great Christmas Movie, for many people it is also one of the great movies of all time. Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey, a kind and compassionate businessman who runs into a string of bad luck and tries to take his own life. His guardian angel saves him and shows him what life would be like had he never existed. This is a great story, a feel-good story if you will. The style and age of the movie may keep some of today's movie goers from getting into it but if you've never seen it you're missing out.

2) How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Another classic kids movie. This cartoon based on the Dr. Seuss book is 30 minutes of pure enjoyment. The voices, drawings and songs are all memorable and I still enjoy watching it as an adult. This is yet another Christmas movie with a great uplifting moral to it and though Jim Carrey did his best with the live action version they made a few years ago it pales in comparison to the simple and superior cartoon.

1) A Christmas Story

This is a movie that captures childhood. Through the narration of the main character, Ralphie, we are told the story of a memorable Christmas in his childhood. A Christmas that includes a bebe gun, a horrible gift of bunny pajamas that Ralphie is forced to try on, a child's tongue freezing to a pole, a Christmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant and many other family moments you'll never forget. This is my favorite because it re-tells Christmas from the perspective of a child who is at the age when I remember loving Christmas the most.

Mission Impossible III - $7

2006-12-15T13:49:00.000-08:00

In the latest Mission Impossible installment Ethan Hunt is off the frontlines and is working in the classroom, well maybe not a classroom per se, but he's training future agents and not working in the field anymore.

Mission Impossible III starts by informing us that Hunt is getting married and his cover story with his fiance is that he works for the Department of Transportation. Of course Hunt's quiet life of training agents and being out of the field lasts all of 5 minutes in this movie as he is drawn back into action by the kidnapping of one of his trainees.

The villain and kidnapper is Owen Davian, an arms dealer who has eluded authorities for years. Davian is played brilliantly by Philip Seymour Hoffman, so well in fact that I wish the movie would have featured more of his character.

As usual though, this impossible mission centers almost entirely around Ethan Hunt, played by Tom Cruise. Davian kidnaps Hunt's fiance and forces Hunt to recover the 'Rabbit's Foot' to save her. Curiously the audience is never let in on just exactly what the Rabbit's Foot is.

Unlike the first two Mission Impossible movies, this one is a little truer to the TV show it takes its name from. Hunt uses and relies on his team and on advanced gadgets and technology to get the job done. At one point he impersonates the bad guy by wearing a silicon mask, a classic Mission Impossible move that is as standard as the A Team drugging B.A.'s food to get him on an airplane.

I didn't love this movie, but I liked it. It is a far better movie than the first two in this series and it delivers exactly what you'd expect out of an action move - action.

I put Mission Impossible III on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $7.

Casino Royale - $9

2006-12-08T22:44:00.000-08:00

James Bond is back and better than he's been for a long time. Actually in Casino Royale James Bond is just beginning. The 21st Bond film takes us back to the beginning and lets us watch James Bond become OO7 and evolve into the man we've watched 20 other times.

Daniel Craig is the new Bond and I, like many others, was skeptical when I heard he had to learn to drive standard and had never held a gun before this movie. Craig proved me and all of his critics wrong with the best Bond performance since the great Scot himself. Craig plays Bond with the usual sophisticated confidence bordering on arrogance; what he also accomplishes is the tough side of Bond that was less than convincing in some of the past actors who played the fictional legend.

Casino Royale is a great action movie and a great Bond movie. As cliche as it may sound, I was literally on the edge of my seat during some of it. One scene in particular, where Bond chases a bomber through a high rise under construction, could be the best chase scene I've ever witnessed.

The movie centers around a classic Bond villian with a physical disfiguration. He is an understated villian named Le Chiffre who is not trying to take over the world but rather he is a financier of terrorists. Le Chiffre needs to make millions of dollars back to save his life and he plans to do this by winning a big-pot poker game at the Casino Royale. Bond's plan is to break Le Chiffre for good at the gambling table, and the $10 million buy-in is financed by the British Treasurey and delivered by Vesper Lynd who is the anti-Bond-girl in every way.

The only part of this movie I thought could have been better was the love story between Bond and Lynd, we see the sensitive side of Bond and we also see the context behind his womanizing ways and why this sensitive side is never to be seen again. I acknowledge that this part of Casino Royale was necessary for the plot but Craig was slightly less convincing as the romantic lead man.

Overall this is one of the best Bond movies I've ever seen and certainly the best action movie produced in years. I highly recommend seeing Casino Royale, especially if you are a Bond fan. The gag and gadget centered themes of the past few Bond movies are stripped away and the audience is left with a simplified movie that centers on the characters, low-tech real action, and a newly invigerated Bond character. I'm looking forward to #22.

I put this movie on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $9.

Superman Returns - $3

2006-12-01T11:07:00.000-08:00

Superman has returned to earth and he looks younger than when he left. Why did he leave you might ask? He went to see if Krypton had in fact blown up as he had always believed since human astronomers had apparently spotted it intact. It took him 5 years to find out the astronomers were wrong and return.

While he was gone Lois Lane got engaged and had a child. He was not replaced at work for 5 years and slipped back into his lame Clark Kent job seamlessly.

This movie was true to the Superman genre, in fact so loyal to the genre it was ridiculously predictable, and that was it's downfall for me. If you've ever seen a Superman movie you've seen everything that's in this one. Superman opens with a heroic act saving hundreds, he then tries to win Lois Lane back by taking her for a romantic flight, Clark tries to get Lois Lane's attention too but those glasses magically keep her from noticing he looks a little like Superman. Everyone else seems to miss the coincidence that Clark and Superman are not only identical twins but they returned on the same day.

And don't worry, Superman faces Lex Luther who uses Kryptonite to initially defeat him only to lose to Superman in the end. I didn't see that coming.

And all this was accomplished in a 2 1/2 hour movie that left me wondering when it would end more than once.

This movie wasn't a total loss, Brandon Routh does a great job playing Superman. I almost felt like I was watching Christopher Reeves. The special effects are entertaining though I couldn't help but feel like I was watching a video game at times. Plus it just feels like a Superman movie and fans of the old ones will likely enjoy it.

Here's my problem though, I found it boring.

I put this movie on my 'Don't Watch It' list and give it a value of $3.