It’s not promising when a movie uses showy plotting as a crutch, as director Asger Leth does in Man on a Ledge. Escaped convict Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) is on the window ledge of a downtown Manhattan hotel to prove his innocence. We’re completely in the dark at first: the movie starts with Nick prepping […]
Film + TV
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Wave Awards seeking nominations for a few good women
The WAVE Awards honour women in the screen industry in Atlantic Canada. They are given out at the Women Making Waves conference, which takes place March 9-11 in Halifax, the second annual event. The WAVE Awards recognize noteworthy women in the local film and TV industry. The awards have no categories, they exist to salute […]
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The Grey: kinda great, kinda awful
Befitting its namesake, Joe Carnahan’s grim survival movie lands in that vast, murky area between brilliant and terrible, its moments of transcendence balanced by glaring weaknesses. Liam Neeson plays a lovesick alpha male among a group of men who live through a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness only to face the elements and a […]
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Shame a chilly, powerful film
Shame may shock in its depictions of a compulsive personality, though anyone whose life has been touched by addiction will recognize the spiral. Sex is the motivator here. Brandon (Michael Fassbender giving the year’s best performance, Oscar-snubbed and all) lives a very insular, high-end New York life, allowing him to indulge in his physical needs, […]
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Shame screenwriter Abi Morgan
The new film Shame, opening in Halifax this week, is as much about the pervasion of the internet as it is about sex. When Abi Morgan—writer of British TV series Sex Traffic and The Hour, as well as the Margaret Thatcher biopic The Iron Lady—and director Steve McQueen—whose feature debut was 2009’s Hunger—sat down to […]
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One for the Money, you could miss this show
One for the Money is palatable enough—even amusing, at times—but most all of these moments are given away in the trailer. The rest has a connect-the-dots kind of predictability to it. Director Julie Anne Robinson tries to break rom-com formula (the movie’s an adaptation of Janet Evanovich’s novel), and does a so-so job. Stephanie Plum […]
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2012 Academy Award nominations announced
The Academy Award nominations were announced earlier today in Los Angeles, and if you care about movies and are on some kind of social network, you’ve noticed people are talking about this. If you haven’t yet seen the complete list of nods, go here, then come on back. On the acting front, my thoughts are […]
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We want Detention
An inspiration to all of us frustrated screenwriters and filmmakers, Mark Palermo—who for a decade was The Coast film reviewer—co-wrote and co-produced with Hollywood director Joseph Kahn a feature film called Detention. It’s getting a release elsewhere in the world soon, and Mr Palermo would like your help to bring it here. Check out this […]
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Empowerful screens second film
On Tuesday, January 24 at 7pm, the public is invited to the see the second video in the “Empowerful” series project, produced by local company Pink Dog. The first screened last winter, where African-Canadian youth from North and East Preston worked with members of their communities to make a video on their first hero, Sinclair […]
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Red Tails goes down in flames
Word has it George Lucas, as producer, has been working on this WWII flick (directed by Anthony Hemingway) since the late ’80s. You’d think a couple of decades would be time enough to concoct fully developed characters and credible dialogue. As it is, this tribute to a group of black pilots in the Tuskegee program, […]
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Underword: Awakening, Franchise: Repetition
There’s little point in stepping in for the 4th edition of the Underworld vampire fantasy series if you’re not already a fan. “Death dealer” Selene (Kate Beckinsale), a vampire, awakes from 12 years in cryogenically frozen captivity, right where she left off: fighting the Lycans (a werewolf species). And, surprise, she has a daughter now! […]
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All the new movie reviews
All the new movie reviews are here, from January 20 and January 13 release dates. (Click on the title for the review.) A Dangerous Method Joyful Noise Contraband The Iron Lady Carnage Haywire The Artist Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Red Tails Underworld: Awakening
