blackeyedsurfer

Tepid and overwritten script that doesn't really go anywhere. The amazing Peter Sarsgaard wasted in a pointless role once again.

Hanks and Howard at their peak.

The Devil Wears Prada: The Documentary! I'm so there.

A movie you need to watch closely, as there is a ton of plot, but there are many rewards for paying attention. The locales are gorgeous, playing just as big a role as the actors. Three key scenes set in Milan, New York, and Istanbul are worth the price of the rental alone.

Okay, so it was a little flat. I was hoping for some silly retail humour (I practically grew up in and currently work in a mall), but most of it was silly cop humour. I can't tell you how refreshing it is to see a new release comedy where every other word isn't profane. I thought the PG movie was extinct. It's still an endangered species, but at least there's hope.

This looks so stupid it might actually be funny.

One of those movies you either love or hate. Dynamic, rich, intentionally gaudy, and absolutely brilliant. I admit, it took me a long time to warm up to it. Baz Luhrman is an acquired taste, but once you're hooked, you can't get enough. The man is one of the most visionary (and perhaps misunderstood) directors working today. If you listen to the man speak for five minutes, even if you don't like the movies, you have to appreciate him for the love and energy he puts into his work. I can't really sum up this film a few words, but I encourage everyone to see it themselves.

Watching the film Rachel Getting Married is like attending a real wedding with your own family. It's raw, haunting, and tangible and is more complex and intimate than any other film this year.


It's awkward and painful, but also a huge adrenaline rush. The entire cast, mostly complete unknowns, are incredibly strong. The show stopping performance is Anne Hathaway as the bride's sister Kym. Officially graduating from her kiddie roles and locking herself into the race for Oscar gold, Hathaway also secures her future as a truly talented actor and a force to be reckoned with. She keeps Kym restrained, damaged, and incredibly human, and although she is an aggressive character, we love her in spite of it all. Rosmarie DeWitt as Rachel is just as excellent, and plays off of Hathaway beautifully. If I didn't know better going into the film, I'd think they really were sisters. Also worth mentioning are Debra Winger as the girls' estranged mother, in a small but nuanced performance; Bill Irwin as the slightly goofy father hopelessly caught between his daughters' constant battle; and Mather Zickel as the best man, who becomes fast friends with Kym through their shared troubles.


We meet just about every guest at the wedding at one point or another. Several scenes seem to go on forever with various family members giving speeches, toasts, and musical performances. Tunde Adebimpe's groom Sidney plays a music producer (and is also a musician by trade in real life with experimental rockers TV on the Radio), and so a whole variety show worth of musicians are each given a moment to shine at the rehearsal dinner and wedding reception. At first this felt like a stumbling block in the film's pacing, but on each subsequent viewing, it just gets better. Director Jonathan Demme refuses to take you away from the action for even a moment. You are present for the entire wedding, as if you were a guest yourself, just as you were caught up in the conflict between family members during the preparations.


Demme uses shaky handheld cameras and tight close-ups to put you right in the middle of the action all the time. Images rush past and creep in and out of focus like a home video. Many principles of the Dogme '95 manifesto are followed, including the use of only natural and practical lighting and music.


There isn't a tidy conclusion where everyone kisses and makes up. Several scenes at the end of the film feature the family saying good-bye to each other as they go their separate ways after the wedding. The uneasiness is as captivating as it is painful to watch. The open wounds are left that way, much like they often are in real life, and the film is all the more resonant for it.

This is epic storytelling at its finest. With what director Baz Luhrmann calls "The Feast," he offers everything anybody could want in a movie: drama, comedy, action, romance, music, history, and mystique. Not to mention some of the finest imagery taken from one of the most beautiful and vast lands in the world. Australia is an original story, but it cleverly and faithfully incorporates real historical events, even ones that until recently had not been talked about. The cinematography serves as a loving travelogue to the country. While Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman drive the love story and the drama with electric chemistry, the supporting cast is equally excellent. Particularly good is David Gulpilil as King George, who, with virtually no lines, still carries incredible presence. And a remarkable discovery is Brandon Walters as young Nullah. Discovered in Broome, his remote hometown, Walters had no acting experience and didn't even know who Nicole Kidman was before photography, and yet he carries the entire film effortlessly. Trying to cater to everyone is a dangerous game, and critics often find many excuses not to embrace these kinds of films. But Baz a rare talent, with an ability to bring together all of the ingredients and create a true feast for the eyes, heart, and soul.

Alfonso Cuarón is possibly the best director working today. Children of Men covers so much ground in two hours, creating a depressing, but at the same time beautiful world in the not-so-distant future. It's dark, dramatic, and action-packed, but it also infuses a little bit of hope and humour into appropriate moments, and it's always entertaining, never preachy or pretentious like it could have been with another director. The camerawork and editing is so mind-boggling, you'll watch it many times over and still wonder how they did it.

This is the stuff timeless masterpieces are made of. Though it garnered huge critical acclaim and box office success, the true impact of this film probably won't be recognized for many more years. Anyone familiar with the original short story can attest to the flawless expansion of the film's feature-length narrative, without sacrificing the integrity of the characters. Ang Lee's direction is simple, yet striking. The film depends entirely on the performances, and at the time, none of the four leads were particularly well known for their prestige roles, having come from the likes of Disney franchises, cult thrillers, teen-targeted blockbusters, and a primetime soap opera. But the young cast proved to be more than capable. Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway each make an impression, despite limited screen time. But of course, it's the men here that are the main attraction, and they don't disappoint. Jake Gyllenhaal is outstanding as Jack, while Heath Ledger is simply transcendent as Ennis, so nuanced here that even the short story's original author Annie Proulx was impressed.

A fun thriller on the first viewing, a subversive and twisted drama on the second, and all cleverly disguised as a shiny studio venture. The violence is intense, but also has the cartoonish appeal of Cronenberg's earlier biological horror flicks. Somehow, it's crude and polished at the same time. The casting is perfect. As husband and wife, Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello look and act like a real American family. They have great chemistry, particularly in two key love scenes that reveals just as much story and character as any straight dialogue would. Ed Harris and William Hurt have a blast at chewing the scenery which works in a brilliant contrast to Mortensen's subtlety. With a total runtime under a hundred minutes, each scene is finely crafted and executed, creating an energetic and thoroughly entertaining film that never overstays its welcome.