The Dark Knight
Published June 22, 2009 @ 10:11 in Reviews

The Dark Knight: 9 out of 10.

I'm only a year late on this one. It could be worse. I still haven't seen Doctor Zhivago, and that came out before the Leafs last won the cup.

Allow me to report stuff you've probably read a thousand times before. Heath Ledger is fantastic as The Joker. He's damn good, and you're mesmerized whenever he speaks. Even if he had lived, I'd have rooted for him to win the Oscar, that's how good he was.

The movie itself is probably the best comic book movie ever made. It's dark and thought provoking, telling an interesting story with great acting and special effects. It's just cool to look at, and there's an actual story there that blows away most comic book flicks.

I liked The Dark Knight. I liked it very much.

What's next?

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Role Models
Published June 15, 2009 @ 16:21 in Reviews

Role Models: 5 out of 10.

Were you surprised with Paul Rudd started singing "Beth" near the end of this flick? I wasn't. I mean, why else would she be named Beth?

This one got a 5 because I happen to like Paul Rudd for some reason.

Why, McLovin? Why?

Next up, The Dark Knight.

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Tropic Thunder
Published June 14, 2009 @ 16:17 in Reviews

Tropic Thunder: 7 out of 10.

I recommend seeing this movie if any of the following appeals to you:

• Ben Stiller going "full retard" as Simple Jack
• Robert Downey Jr. playing a black guy in black face
• Tom Cruise stealing scenes out of the blue as a vulgar movie mogul
• Ben Stiller desecrating the dismembered head of Steve Coogan

I recommend skipping this movie if any of the following offends you:

• Ben Stiller going "full retard" as Simple Jack
• Robert Downey Jr. playing a black guy in black face
• Tom Cruise stealing scenes out of the blue as a vulgar movie mogul
• Ben Stiller desecrating the dismembered head of Steve Coogan

Good stuff. Next up, The Dark Knight.

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The Savages
Published June 9, 2009 @ 20:42 in Reviews

The Savages: 7.5 out of 10.

I'm not capable of disliking a Philip Seymour Hoffman movie. He's so good, his presence elevates a film. He's definitely in my top five - the man can act.

Throw in a great Laura Linney performance, and you can't really screw it up. "The Savages" is a little slow in parts, but overall a bittersweet film about a sister and brother who begin to care for their ailing father.

If you're interested, I once ranked my five favourite Philip Seymour Hoffman movies.

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Twilight
Published June 7, 2009 @ 10:06 in Reviews

Twilight: 5 out of 10.

My wife loves the Twilight books. She's read them all, and raves about them. My only exposure to Twilight was all the awards the movie won at the recent MTV Movie Awards, and that's usually the kiss of death for a flick. Still, I was optimistic when we slipped the Twilight DVD in last night after a very disappointing hockey game.

Twilight is probably really deep and intense for the 17-year old crowd, but for those of us twice that age, it's a slow, boring piece of melodrama that leaves you wondering what all the hype was about. I kept waiting for the movie to actually start, then I realized it was almost over.

I watched True Blood from HBO and found it to be far more interesting, sexy and worthy of attention. In fact, Twilight felt like Dawson's Creek meets True Blood, only not nearly as good as that sounds.

In the words of Roger Ebert, Twilight will mesmerize its target audience, 16-year-old girls and their grandmothers.

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Up
Published May 28, 2009 @ 09:15 in Reviews

Up: 9 out of 10.

When I saw WALL-E last summer, I called it my favourite film from Pixar, and that was really sayin' something. All the Pixar films are pretty damn good. Last night, I saw Up in 3D and I'm ready to declare it my new favourite Pixar movie.

It's totally hilarous, tender and sweet and it looked great. I saw Bolt in 3D and left feeling it was okay, but there's Pixar and there's Pixaren't. This is Pixar, and there's a world of difference. A great movie like this doesn't need 3D, but that extra depth was pretty cool as we drifted through the clouds.

Not only did I absolutely adore Up, but the opening short, Partly Cloudy, was tremendous as well. Funny, sweet and great looking.

I didn't think Pixar could top Wall-E but they did. I smell a best picture nomination, unless that's my post-viewing buzz talkin'.

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The Incredible Hulk
Published May 24, 2009 @ 15:48 in Reviews

The Incredible Hulk: 6 out of 10.

Only five years after Ang Lee's Hulk, we get Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk starring Ed Norton as Bruce Banner and the University of Toronto as Culver University.

Torontonians will enjoy spotting parts of our city with lots of scenes of Convocation Hall and University College at U of T and the climatic scene taking place on Yonge Street. It's fun to see the Zanzibar Tavern marquee and THE BIG SLICE so prominent, and It's now the only place you'll see the old Sam the Record Man neon sign still spinning away.

As far as the movie goes, it was okay. The highlight might just be the Tony Stark cameo.

Next up: The Dark Knight.

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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Published May 17, 2009 @ 09:53 in Reviews

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: 6 out of 10.

The whole family watched "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" last night. It was strange at first to see Indy as an old dude, and I found it opened a little slow, but once it started rolling it actually exceeded my expectations.

I should preface that statement by telling you my expectations were pretty low. This was a movie I didn't think needed to be made in the first place. And all because it exceeded my expectations, doesn't mean it's a great movie. It's just a sliver better than half decent.

Next up: The Dark Knight.

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Iron Man
Published May 10, 2009 @ 16:14 in Reviews

Iron Man: 8 out of 10.

Like the rest of you, I thought I'd see Iron Man before I saw The Dark Knight.

I didn't know Jon Favreau had it in him. This is quite a step up from Elf. Iron Man is precisely the kind of action movie I like. It's smart enough to be interesting, funny enough to induce a few chuckles and not so inside that non-comic book fans can't enjoy the ride. You can rank this up there with Spider-Man II and X-Men II as a great comic book adaptation.

Next up: The Dark Knight.

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Layer Cake
Published May 4, 2009 @ 09:47 in Reviews

Layer Cake: 7 out of 10.

Outside of revisiting some old Indiana Jones flicks with my son, Layer Cake is the first movie I've seen since The Love Guru exactly one month ago. That's partly because The Love Guru was so disappointing it took a month to get the taste out of my mouth, but it's also because I was so immersed in The Wire there was no room for other escapes.

During one of my Wire rants at work, a guy who hadn't seen The Wire suggested I watch Layer Cake. I had never heard of Layer Cake, but it had Daniel Craig and Colm Meaney in it, so I gave it a shot.

It's actually pretty good. It's got a good style, nice soundtrack and an interesting enough drug caper premise. It's directed by Matthew Vaughn who produced Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and this film reminded me of those.

Layer Cake is the kind of movie Guy Ritchie would have made if his talent wasn't devoured by that woman.

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