Toronto Mike

Reviews

Total 370 Posts

Run Fatboy Run Review

Run Fatboy Run: 6.5 out of 10. We actually sat down to watch Crank: High Voltage.  I liked Crank enough to give it 6.5 out of 10, so I figured the sequel might be worth a shot.  I was wrong. We couldn't get through 20 minutes of Crank:
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Crazy Heart Review

Crazy Heart: 8.5 out of 10. Crazy Heart reminded me a great deal of The Wrestler.  Both films are about a down and out former great who meets a good woman and attempts to resolve issues with their offspring.  The Wrestler, which I very much liked, had an open
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Up in the Air Review

Up in the Air: 8 out of 10. I've heard from a few trustworthy souls that this is a perfect movie.  It's not that good.  Don't get me wrong, I'm giving it 8 out of 10 because... well, because it's lovely, but it's far from perfect. Then again, it does
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Star Trek Review

Star Trek: 8 out of 10. If I had written this review a year ago, it would actually be relevant.  As it stands, the vast majority of people who will ever see Star Trek have already done so.  As a result, I'm strictly writing this for the non-Trekkie hold-outs. Last
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Avatar Review

Avatar: 9 out of 10. We'll keep this review brief. Avatar is as good as you've heard, if not better.  You're essentially drawn into an alien world and you're not released for 162 minutes.  And then you're sorry you have to leave. I tried to see it in IMAX 3D,
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Knowing Review

Knowing: 6 out of 10. Some reviewers I know and trust loved this film, so my expectations were a little higher than they'd normally be for a Nick Cage sci fi movie.  It's not a bad movie.  In fact, it's kind of neat in spots, and practically thought provoking, but
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Fantastic Mr. Fox Review

Fantastic Mr. Fox: 8.5 out of 10. In a word, this film is fantastic.  Betcha didn't see that coming, eh? This is one of those rare films that fulfils both the 35-year old and the 7-year old.  I can personally attest to this.  It nails both audiences in terms
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The Astronaut Farmer Review

The Astronaut Farmer: 3 out of 10. I hated The Astronaut Farmer.  Rotten Tomatoes has it at 58% and I find that shocking.  The Astronaut Farmer is the worst kind of cinema and should be avoided at all cost. It's good to have dreams.  When this Farmer chap decides he's
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Wendy and Lucy Review

Wendy and Lucy: 7 out of 10. I must confess, I had never heard of Wendy and Lucy.  My wife essentially ordered me to watch it and for 80 minutes I was drawn into Michelle Williams' character's world. Michelle Williams is fantastic in this, by the way.  This ain't no
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Son of Rambow Review

Son of Rambow: 6.5 out of 10. Much like Where the Wild Things Are, which I saw the previous day, Son of Rambow is about the wonders of a child's imagination.  It's a very cute and charming little British film about a sheltered boy who is shown a pirated
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Where the Wild Things Are Review

Where the Wild Things Are: 6.5 7 out of 10. I've been looking forward to this Spike Jonze adaptation of Maurice Sendak's book since I first saw that great trailer featuring Arcade Fire's "Wake Up".  But luke-warm reviews removed the urgency.  Yesterday, on a rare afternoon without kids to
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Paul Blart: Mall Cop Review

Paul Blart: Mall Cop: 2.5 out of 10. Wow. That was bad.  It wasn't so bad it's good bad.  It was the bad bad.  The comedy without a single laugh or compelling moment bad. I'm giving it a 2.5 because my 7-year old seemed to really enjoy the
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Yes Man Review

Yes Man: 6 out of 10. I think Jim Carrey is now making the same movie over and over again.  They have these silly and simple premises, such as "Jim Carrey can't tell a lie" or "Jim Carrey says yes to everything", and then hilarity ensues. Ok, it's not quite
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Changeling Review

Changeling: 6.6 out of 10. Clint Eastwood has made several better films than this, but even if Changeling doesn't measure up to Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby and his other superior movies, it's still a great deal better than most of the slop out there. Angelina Jolie plays the primary
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Vicky Cristina Barcelona Review

Vicky Cristina Barcelona: 7 out of 10. There was a time when I could bank on Woody Allen for one smart comedy a year.  You could set your watch by his consistency.  These days, he's hit and miss, but Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a hit. It's light and easy.  It's
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Passchendaele Review

Passchendaele: 4 out of 10. When I wrote about the Passchendaele trailer back in March of 2008, I mentioned how much I was looking forward to seeing the film.  The most expensive Canadian film project of all time about the 10th Battalion, CEF in the First World War at the
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Smart People Review

Smart People: 4 out of 10. Smart People is a pretentious piece of crap.  At 95 minutes, I thought it would never end. The voice Dennis Quaid puts on to seem pompous is so annoying, I wanted to kick his ass, but not in an engaging, effective way.  He was
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Toronto Stories Review

Toronto Stories: 6 out of 10. Last December, the PR folks behind this Canadian indie film contacted me and asked me to help promote it.  They sent me the DVD to review, but in typical Canadian indie film promotion fashion, the DVD had no audio. I let my contact know
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Step Brothers Review

Step Brothers: 6.5 out of 10. Roger Ebert, your job is safe.  This movie reviewing thing is hard.  I recently watched a Coen Brothers film I had high hopes for, thought it was okay and punished it with a 6.5 out of 10 rating.  Then, I watched this
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Forgetting Sarah Marshall Review

Forgetting Sarah Marshall: 6 out of 10. The most surprising thing about Forgetting Sarah Marshall is that Seth Rogen isn't in it.  Seriously, Seth Rogen doesn't appear on screen in this film for a single moment.  He's not on the screen and he's not in the credits.  Seth Rogen is
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Burn After Reading Review

Burn After Reading: 6.5 out of 10. I'm on holidays.  I'm still in the city, because I've got a couple of important slo-pitch playoff games to play tonight and my priorities are in order, so my wife and I decided to watch this Coen brothers film we missed last
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