Tag: Movies

Let’s be honest – given the choice, most young moviegoers are unlikely to pick a film about a man’s struggle with cancer. It’s a tough subject under the best of conditions, since we generally don’t like to be reminded of our own mortality. 50/50, however, is a comedy produced by and featuring Seth Rogen, which is certainly likely to raise its profile. But, while it’s lighthearted and tells an uplifting story, people expecting the outrageous humour Rogen is known for may feel like victims of a bait-and-switch.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/5050-movie-review/

Though the term is never used, Moneyball is about sabermetrics, which is the practice of analyzing baseball purely on statistics, focusing not on players’ perceived talent but their hard numbers as a predictor of future performance. If anything about that sentence makes your eyes glaze over, you wouldn’t be alone, but actually Moneyball is a mostly enjoyable sports drama.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/moneyball-movie-review/

Before fuel injection was invented, all car engines had something called a choke valve, which was designed to limit the amount of air drawn into the fuel chamber while the engine starts. This is also an accurate description of Drive, an engaging crime thriller held back by some odd creative choices.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/drive-movie-review/

If you’ve heard anything about Warrior, you will know it’s a movie about two brothers who separately enter a mixed martial arts tournament, and end up battling each other for the top prize. Even if you haven’t, that’s no spoiler, since the way the story goes you’d have to have taken more than a few kicks to the head to not figure out what’s going to happen. Which illustrates one of the odd things about sports movies – they can be great even if you know a little too much about the ending. And Warrior happens to be more than great – it’s one of the best films of the year.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/warrior-movie-review/

It’s challenging to be famous for doing something heroic. Constantly recognized for your accomplishments. Continually asked to repeat the stories of your life for the benefit of your admiring fellow citizens. Being held up as an example for all. While gratifying, it can also wear on you. But then imagine that your fame and success are based on a lie.

The Debt is a film about the lifelong burdens of maintaining such a lie. It’s also an exciting thriller, a character study, and a bit of a romance. And it’s very, very good.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

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

Is there a modern word for “hippie”? If there isn’t yet, a good start might be “Ned”, after the title character in Our Idiot Brother – an organic (sorry, bio-dynamic) farmer who embraces the world, names his beloved dog “Willie Nelson”, and when frustrated can only muster enough violence to say stuff like “Geez, Louise!” Conservative people usually avoid Neds, but it’s almost impossible not to like this one, and you might very well say the same about the movie.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/our-idiot-brother-movie-review/

Like the previous Spy Kids movies before it, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World is a product of the tireless work of its creator, Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez is well-known for his many talents spanning a range of filmmaking disciplines – among his contributions here are writing, directing, producing, cinematography, and music.

Unfortunately, involving oneself heavily in a project sometimes leads to a measure of nearsightedness, and that’s the case here. All the Time in the World is jammed full of creative ideas, but the execution is often nonsensical. Kids will love it, but adults will likely be frustrated.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/spy-kids-all-the-time-in-the-world-movie-review/

The main character of 30 Minutes or Less is a pizza delivery guy. This is apt, because the movie itself is a lot like cheap pizza: predictable and bland, but still enjoyable if it’s what you’re in the mood for.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/30-minutes-or-less-movie-review/

It’s an understatement to say that CGI technology has revolutionized the way we watch movies. When visual effects are working at their best, they fade into the background, allowing the viewer to drop into the movie experience rather than merely marvelling at the spectacle. Such is the case with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and while many might question the need for another film in the series, this is the best example of the year of how visual effects make a movie great.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

http://www.oakville.com/articles/rise-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-movie-review/

For better or worse, I think by now we’ve all grown used to Hollywood’s desperate practice of recycling – sorry, “updating” – movies, TV and cartoons. One by one, the joyful entertainments of our youth have been dragged into the present, covered in a layer of pop-culture sass, and trotted out for our kids to “enjoy”. I wasn’t expecting The Smurfs to be any different, but was pleasantly surprised to find it highly entertaining, and even heartwarming. It’s a great family movie.

Read the rest of my review at Oakville.com:

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