Month: November 2011

Being of a certain age, I grew up not knowing much about J. Edgar Hoover. By the time I came along, he had already become a pop culture cartoon, well known for his rumoured eccentricities. Knowing that Hoover was the architect of the modern Federal Bureau of Investigation, however, I was interested to learn more about him through director Clint Eastwood’s new film J. Edgar. But while it is interesting, the film lacks depth, and understanding its subject still proves elusive.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/j-edgar-movie-review/

The best science fiction is about ideas. Even Star Wars has a story about the virtues of spirituality over technology. When sci-fi explores a great idea, that world can rattle around in one’s brain for days afterward. This is the case with In Time.

But a science fiction movie must still entertain. A bad movie, whatever the cause, distracts us from the story and pulls us out of the experience. Unfortunately, this is also the case with In Time.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/in-time-movie-review/

Over the years, we have come to expect that movie sequels will usually be worse than the original. Creators often feel pressure to out-do themselves, and in doing so they trade good stories for empty spectacle and extraneous new characters. It’s usually even worse for “spin-off” movies, which take one or more of those extraneous characters and try to make their own franchises. I’m qualifying those last few sentences because Puss in Boots, a spin-off of the Shrek movies, is actually great fun and stands apart from its origins.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/puss-in-boots-movie-review/

2003’s Johnny English introduced us to the titular bumbling superspy played by Rowan Atkinson, and was a fair attempt at poking fun at the ultra-cool James Bond movies. Now, eight years later, Atkinson is back with Johnny English Reborn, which seems a bit of a long stretch for a sequel, though it’s nice to see they haven’t made any attempt to hide his age. The new movie still isn’t fantastic, but it should please fans of the genre just fine.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/johnny-english-reborn-movie-review/

Not every movie can be, or should be, a blockbuster. We sometimes forget this in our mad rush to tally box office receipts, see flashy visual effects, and follow the latest memes on YouTube. We forget that sometimes all it takes to be entertained is a simple and involving story.

There has been a lot of speculation prior to the opening of The Big Year that the movie has been abandoned by the studio, that it’s terrible, has no appeal, and will die a quick death at the box office. All of these things may or may not be true, but I found it enjoyable. It likely won’t give you what you’re looking for going in, but if you keep your expectations in check, it may surprise you.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/the-big-year-movie-review/