X-Men First Class

An entertaining, well-thought out ‘origin’ story that wipes away the dreck of the last two films in the franchise. Inspired ‘period’ detaills merge to give the film a groovy sixties, ‘James Bond’ vibe that actually works while the actors seem dedicated to thier roles. Some nice ‘shout outs’ to the established lore and an awesome […]

The Mechanic

A clever and well styled action flick with some nice attention to gritty detail and some kick ass action scenes. Statham and Foster make compelling, fleshed out leads who inhabit an interesting ‘grey’ zone with a workable yet uneasy dynamic that changes as the story unfolds. If you like ‘smart’ hitman/conspiracy films…this one is worth […]

Micmacs

A charming live action cartoon done in the brilliantly quirky style now expected of Jean Pierre Jeunet. Vibrant, zany characters and outlandish situatons make this film a fun lil piece of French cinema that stands up well with Jeunet’s other gems ‘City of Lost Children’ and ‘Amelie’. This one is definitely a fun ‘watch’. May […]

The Red Baron

A lavishly mounted tellling of the war career of Germany’s top Ace of WW1. The attention to period detail is impressive and the dizzying dogfight sequences are surprisingly well done and exciting. Decent performances all round with some familiar faces in the cast. For anyone with an interest in well dramatized military history…this one’s a […]

Black Swan

Intricate, dreamy horror. Impressive long takes of impeccable performances cut in a very spartan and effective style. Has a decidedly subversive ‘ick’ factor. Another of Aronofskys examples of ‘beautiful ugly’. Not quite ‘Requiem for a Dream’…but certainly on the right path. PS- Portman+Kunis=WOW. 🙂 May 15, 2011 at 2:48pm

Paul

A sly lil nod to geeks everywhere(yay us!) with some clever humor and surprising action. Rogen is well suited as the alien Paul with Pegg and Frost bringing their ‘dynamic’ to the American setting effectively. And it’s always a treat to see Sigourney Weaver on screen. For an easy laugh, this is a safe bet. […]

Knight and Day

Against my inital impression, this flick was cool… Mission: Impossible with a quirky charm and some wildly kinetic action scenes. Cruise and Diaz had a fun sorta chemistry and the story, far fetched as it was, didn’t outstay its welcome or get TOO stupid. In the same vein as RED. A fun ‘watch’. April 18, […]

Sucker Punch

An INCREDIBLE feast for the eyes with a near operatic tragedy at its core. Any human with even the most remote geek sensibilities will get some kind of ‘kick’ out of this. Every shot is beautifully detailed and creatively composed. The film nicely manages empowerment AND blatant sexualizing of its female characters somehow. A dazzling […]

Valhalla Rising (2009)

Um…wow. Oddly paced and strangely flavoured art film set in the time of The Crusades. VERY quiet. Cold and bleak with nice use of minimal sound. Some impressive gore effects ‘flesh out’ the stories inherent violent purpose. There is an eerie, dream-like undercurrent to this unsettling piece of cinema. Did I mention quiet? Not for […]

The Town (theatrical version)

Gone Baby Gone was not a fluke. Affleck can actually direct well. Nice gritty styling and good performances all round. Comparable to Heat in depth with well thought out robbery sequences to match. And strangely enough, a heart at it’s core. Gonna have to check out the ‘directors cut’. I’m curious to see more. This […]