Month: December 2011

By way of full disclosure, I should mention at the start that I have not read Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy, the bestselling Swedish mystery novels featuring punk hacker Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist. I also haven’t seen the trio of films originally made for Swedish television that were released to worldwide cinema two years ago. What I have seen is director David Fincher’s North American adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and while it’s not perfect, it’s a riveting experience that will stay with you.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-movie-review/

In real life, Tom Cruise inspires more eye rolls than excitement these days, but in the movies, he can still do the opposite. No matter how crazy the stunts or gadgets get in his Mission: Impossible movies, they still remain wild thrill rides. The sub-titled Ghost Protocol, fourth in the series, is just as good as the previous ones, even if the missions are beginning to seem a little less impossible.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/mission-impossible-ghost-protocol-movie-review/

There are few movie sub-genres more predictable than the babysitting comedy. The sitter, usually reluctant, arrives at the house, meets the kids, who are all uniquely troublesome, sends the parents off, and then proceeds to take the kids out of the house on some wild, irresponsible, and dangerous errand. This type of movie only succeeds on its details and its jokes. Jonah Hill’s new movie, The Sitter, hasn’t thought out the former and doesn’t have enough of the latter.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

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

Whether you consider it a blessing or a curse, we humans are obsessed with rational explanations. All children eventually wonder how Santa Claus delivers presents all over the world in one night, and because of this, there has been no shortage of family films and TV specials explaining how it’s done. Arthur Christmas is the latest of these, and while few of its explanatory ideas are new, it makes up for it with a story full of action, humour and heart.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/arthur-christmas-movie-review/

I love sharing movies with my kids, and we watch a lot of them. However, “family” films, like all others, vary in quality and impression. I have a pretty good memory, but when it came time for us to see Happy Feet Two, I couldn’t remember seeing the original, which says something about it. And while I’m pretty sure the sequel will disappear down the same rabbit-hole in my mind, it does have its moments.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/happy-feet-two-movie-review/