The Abyss The perfect antidote to the oppressive heat and humidity of a summer’s day is the oppressive cold and dark, deep down in the ocean where Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio are with a crew in an undersea oil rig under siege by a hurricane, navy SEALS gone loco and aliens. This is […]
Molly Segal
Posted inArts + Music
Moonrise Kingdom
Moonrise Kingdom delivers the full Wes Anderson treatment: an ensemble cast of moody characters, stylized aesthetic and a quirky plot. Two troubled New England pre-teens—Sam (Jared Gilman), an orphan boy-scout, and Suzy (Kara Hayward), the daughter of two lawyers (Frances McDormand and Bill Murray) run away together —it’s the 1960s, so essential survival equipment includes […]
Posted inArts + Music
That’s My Boy
The world of movies wouldn’t miss much if Adam Sandler retired. His latest venture, That’s My Boy, a Happy Madison production directed by Sean Anders, is a comedy of the lowest common denominator. Donny Berger (Sandler), a junior high student, is essentially molested by his sex-kitten teacher and gets her pregnant—their lovechild, Hans Solo (Andy […]
Posted inArts + Music
Prometheus
It’s debatable whether or not Ridley Scott’s Prometheus is a prequel to the Alien series—for fans, it may be close enough, while for other viewers, enjoyable as-is. Set in the 2090s, a group of scientists in Scotland (including Noomi Rapace as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw) discover cave drawings indicating life in space, or the “engineers” of […]
Posted inArts + Music
Men in Black 3
A decade after the second installment of Men in Black and fifteen years after the original, it’s fair to say MIB III is a money grab—a chance to cash in on characters we already know long after we’ve stopped thinking about them. But for mindless entertainment, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Agents J (Will […]
Posted inArts + Music
Snow White and The Huntsman
It’s an intriguing concept to re-work an old story into a new, CGI rich action movie. Ravenna (Charlize Theron), a new take on the evil queen, conquers villages, sapping the life and beauty out of everything to stay young. Since Snow White (Kristen Stewart) would serve as the ultimate antidote to age, she sends the […]
Posted inArts + Music
Men In Black III solid summer fare
A decade after the second installment of Men in Black and fifteen years after the original, it’s fair to say MIB III is a money grab—a chance to cash in on characters we already know long after we’ve stopped thinking about them. But for mindless entertainment, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Agents J (Will […]
Posted inArts + Music
Citizen Gangster: Character-rich, context-poor
Leave it to us Canadians to make a movie about a badass bank robber, Edwin Boyd (Scott Speedman) and downplay his historical celebrity status. Boyd, a WWII vet dissatisfied with his humble Toronto life tries to get an acting gig, but settles for becoming a criminal (he wears face paint, so that’s kind of […]
Posted inArts + Music
Think Like a Man splits genders for laughs
Remember that time someone made that He’s Just Not That Into You self-help book (offering oh-so-sage love advice to hapless women) into a movie? Apparently that’s a thing: director Tim Story has adapted Steve Harvey’s love guide for women, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, for the screen. The movie brings the book’s […]
Posted inArts + Music
Chimpanzee straddles a line between drama and documentary
According to Disneynature, chimpanzees are basically people. Though this year’s Earth Day-coordinated release is heavy on the cute factor, it straddles an awkward place between documentary and fiction, ascribing human values to primates—which may not be the best way for people to learn about the species. No doubt there are similarities between chimpanzees and humans—and […]
Posted inArts + Music
Dire Wrath of the Titans
This sequel to Clash of the Titans (2010) is more of a showcase for special effects than it is a movie, with a convoluted plot and almost-characters layered on top for good measure. Demigod Perseus (Sam Worthington) ventures to the Underworld prison, Tartarus, to save his father, Zeus (Liam Neeson), and fight, with the help […]
Posted inArts + Music
Brilliant In Darkness
When heroes aren’t heroic in the Hollywood sense of good-fighting- evil, you’re left with a human account of events in which motives are complex and people are characterized by their imperfections. In Agnieszka Holland’s In Darkness (a Polish-Canadian-German production), we witness sewer worker Leopold Socha’s effort to hide a group of Jews in the sewers […]
