Month: September 2013

Prisoners is arguably French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve’s first “mainstream” Hollywood film – and what a way for the world to get to know him. It’s a nail-biting mystery with an involving moral debate at its centre – how often do we see those two things together?

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com – click the title link.

Lee Daniels’ The Butler is saddled with its director’s name in the title due to a legal dispute over a similarly-named film from 1916. (Ah, Hollywood!) While it’s an excellent drama, it’s historical setting also proves to be just as cumbersome.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com – click the title link.

In recent years, we’ve seen many high-profile financiers exposed as frauds living off their clients’ money. As the media focuses on the trial and conviction of these crooks, one thing that’s often forgotten are their families. It’s easy for us to blame spouses and children for turning a blind eye in order to preserve the lifestyle they’re accustomed to, but what really becomes of them after that lifestyle disappears? Blue Jasmine is writer-director Woody Allen’s story of one such wife, and her struggle to carry on.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com – click the title link.

These days, it’s interesting and unusual to find a movie that defies expectations. When this happens, most of the time it’s the result of creative marketing trying too hard to make a film into something it’s not. But occasionally a script and director will take a seemingly-fixed premise in a different direction. Such is the case with We’re the Millers, which has the setup and intention of a raunch-fest but instead becomes a light, even endearing comedy. Depending on your expectations, that will please some and upset others.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com – click the title link.