The Reader: 8 out of 10. The Reader was one of five films I watched during yesterday's AMC Best Picture Showcase at Yonge and Dundas.  It was great. I went into The Reader totally cold, without a clue what it was about.  It's actually the most thought provoking of the

Milk: 8 out of 10. Milk was one of five films I watched during yesterday's AMC Best Picture Showcase at Yonge and Dundas.  It was great. Watching Sean Penn as Harvey Milk has me torn between him and Mickey Rourke for Best Actor.  I'll be posting everyone's Oscar picks later

Semi-Pro: 5 out of 10. I saw some pretty weak comedies this Family Day long weekend.  Semi-Pro was funnier than Be Kind Rewind, but it barely earned a 5 out of 10. People seem to really like Will Ferrell movies, but I'm always left disappointed.  Anchorman: The Legend of Ron

Be Kind Rewind: 3 out of 10. I strongly discourage you all from giving Be Kind Rewind a shot.  The premise may intrigue you, and the presence of Jack Black may cause you to believe it can't be all that bad, but I assure you... it is. I honestly couldn't

Horton Hears a Who!: 7 out of 10. We watched this one with the kids tonight, and it was pretty entertaining. In the book, Horton Hears a Who! seems to be about a speck.  In the movie, it seems to be about something greater.  The movie seems to be about

21: 6 out of 10. Not bad, but not nearly good enough.  It's frustrating that this interesting story with a solid cast amounted to a mere 6 on the Booner Scale. With a better script, it coulda been a contender.

Shine a Light: 6 out of 10. I should preface this review by admitting I grew tired of the Rolling Stones long ago.  As a younger man, I adored Hot Rocks, essentially their greatest hits from 1964-1971.  In the late 80s, I was still a fan, and actually bought Steel

Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten: 8.5 out of 10. If you're a fan of Joe Strummer, this is a documentary you absolutely have to see.  Even if you're just a casual fan of The Clash, I'm suggesting you set aside a couple of hours for Joe Strummer: The

The Killing of John Lennon: 6.5 out of 10. Using Mark Chapman's own words, this is a dramatization of the months leading up to and following his murder of John Lennon outside the Dakota Hotel.  Jonas Ball actually does a pretty good job in the lead role. It's not

The Wrestler: 8 out of 10. I was blown away by Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream back in 2000.  I was less impressed by his follow up, the awfully confusing The Fountain, but he strikes a near perfect chord with The Wrestler. It's super low budget and delightfully raw,

Flightplan: 4 out of 10. I hardly remember the release of this Jodie Foster movie from 2005.  It was available at our local library, so my wife picked it up in the hopes it would be Hitchcocky. I thought the whole thing was rather boring and predictable.  But then, I'm

Drillbit Taylor: 5 out of 10. Judd Apatow has produced some very funny films.  This isn't one of them. Sure, there are a few chuckles in the mix, but at 109 minutes it feels awfully long and it's a mere shadow of the comedy Superbad was.  In fact, save yourself

Slumdog Millionaire: 9 out of 10. Because my team won the company softball tournament last summer, I won two free passes to a movie at any Empire Theatre location.  The thing is, there really is no Empire Theatre near my home, but when I saw Slumdog Millionaire was playing at

Disturbia: 5 out of 10. This is a modern spin on Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window.  A better spin on Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window was that episode of The Simpsons when Bart breaks his leg and starts to believe Ned Flanders has committed murder. Disturbia isn't terrible, it's just not particularly

Control: 7 out of 10. I watched the Joy Division documentary a couple of weeks ago, and this was a great follow-up.  It's an Ian Curtis biopic and it's an ideal feel-good flick for this holiday season. I kid, I kid.  This black and white Anton Corbijn film will make

Charlie Wilson's War: 7 out of 10. I liked Charlie Wilson's War.  Tom Hanks was very good and Philip Seymour Hoffman stole the show, but everything that damn Julia Roberts showed up, it started to piss me off.  I just don't like Julia Roberts. But Philip Seymour Hoffman... damn, this

Cloverfield: 6.5 out of 10. My Mayhem in Manhattan week continues.  I caught I Am Legend earlier in the week and last night I watched Cloverfield, yet another "anarchy in Manhattan, God help us all" flick. When this movie came out, we were six years removed from 9/11.

Bolt: 4 out of 10. I caught Bolt in 3D before it hit theatres and wrote about the 3D experience here. The 3D aspect, although a bit much, was distracting enough to make the first third of this film tolerable. I brought my daughter along and she was thrilled to

I Am Legend: 7 out of 10. The less you know about this film going in, the better.  I didn't know anything about it and I'm a solid year late in watching it. I'm not giving anything away to suggest this movie is worth your time for the special effects

Joy Division: 8 out of 10. This documentary on the late 1970s English rock band Joy Division was just what the doctor ordered to get rid of the bad taste Four Christmases left in my mouth.  Even if you know the story, this is a riveting retelling of the Manchester

Four Christmases: 3 out of 10. I had several issues with Four Christmases, a family comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon. First and foremost, this supposed comedy isn't the least bit funny.  I think I smiled twice, but I didn't register one chuckle.  The writing is weak, the characters

There Will Be Blood: 8.5 out of 10. They should rename this film "The Daniel Day-Lewis Show".  It's his movie, in fact, I can't remember a scene without him as the focal point.  He's all over this Paul Thomas Anderson flick about a a turn-of-the-century oil prospector and he's

Now that I've figured out the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People is the Young People's Theatre I frequently visited in my youth, it was time to share the experience with my own children.  Today we saw You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown at the LKTYP. I had never seen

Ghost Town: 7.5 out of 10. November is almost half over and I just realized I had some free movie passes for the AMC Yonge & Dundas 24 that expire in a few weeks.  Reviewing the films currently playing there, I could only find one I'd be willing to

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story: 6 out of 10. "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" isn't in the same league as "Knocked Up" or "Superbad," but it's a fun 90 minutes if you're just looking for a few laughs, some neat cameos and music that ain't half bad. Look