Inception
Can Christopher Nolan do any wrong amongst fans? The man has become the silent Jerry Rice of Directors, making big plays whenever he’s thrown the ball and stepping aside gracefully until it’s his time again. Inception was described to me by a friend as having left him with the same feeling of wonder that he felt when he first saw The Dark Knight. For me it was all pistons firing... [Read more]
Shutter Island
After being bombarded by the trailer to Shutter Island for months now I was elated at the chance of watching it and putting the whole thing behind me. Not because I expected it to be bad… hell it has Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio and Sir Ben Kingsley, I just wanted the trailers to finally go away. Shutter Island ended up being nothing like the trailers suggested, it was a journey through... [Read more]
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Partially a farewell on film to Heath Ledger and partially a satire on the modern age and the phasing out of imagination. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus will no doubt confuse many audience members as it requires one to read between the lines to pull forth a moral to the story. Director Terry Gilliam brilliantly contrasts the old world traveling show of Dr. Parnassus and company with... [Read more]
The Fourth Kind
If you want to see The Fourth Kind due to the great trailers for it I will advise you to stop reading immediately. Go into it blindly, convince yourself that the “footage” is real and that Director Olatunde Osunsanmi was given the rights to use it to make a Box Office movie. Fool yourself into thinking that this woman Dr. Abbey Taylor (Milla Jovovich) is real and that her life has been... [Read more]
The Ninth Gate (1999)
I recommend The Ninth Gate to the movie watcher who loves a sense of mystery and an open-ended script that allows for debate, discussion and interpretation. Johnny Depp is remarkable as the curious Dean Corso and Frank Langella and Liana Telfer are a pleasure to watch in their respective roles. Watching this echoed reminders of the newer The Da Vinci Code yet I found this to be a superior... [Read more]
A Perfect Getaway
While seeing Milla Jovovich in a role that didn’t require her to jump around with dual pistols was refreshing. I found A Perfect Getaway to be quite mediocre and predictable. And what exactly do I mean by mediocre? Well the story wasn’t overly shocking, or surprising, I had the outcome figured out within minutes and the characters felt false and unbelievable. Though I will say... [Read more]
Moon
Duncan Jones has captured the term Sci-Fi in this tiny film that lacks all of the laser shootouts, stunning phasers and starfighter battles that the genre is known for. Notably fans of Sci-Fi will tell you that Science Fiction is beyond the action of the Star Wars and much more than the drama of the Battlestar Galacticas. Sci-Fi for true fans is a bit of everything but mostly the “what... [Read more]
Orphan
Yet another gem of 2009, Orphan seemed to be firing on all cylinders with the excellent visual effects, acting, score and most of all direction. Not once could I peel my eyes from the screen after the first half of introductory setup had been established. Isabelle Fuhrman is absolutely frightening as the mysterious Esther and Aryana Engieer gets the “cutest kid of the year award”... [Read more]
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
With heavy emphasis on attractions to the opposite sex and the jealousy that comes with it, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a transitional tale of both the children’s growth and the breaking of light for darkness. The once lively halls of Hogwartz, lined with young children practicing their magicks and playing games with one other has been swapped for dark foreboding paths,... [Read more]
Angels & Demons
Where The Da Vinci Code introduced us to Dr. Robert Langdon and his knack for solving puzzles, Angels & Demons ups the ante by providing a huge puzzle with an eight hour limit. With a cast of award winning actors, Ron Howard does a good job of directing a story that was easy to follow and even easier to accept. The Da Vinci code threw so many angles at you in such a short time that... [Read more]
Knowing (2009)
When I finished watching Knowing, I turned and stared at my friends in disbelief at how ridiculous I found the ending to be. Starting out strongly, Knowing shows a father and son struggling with the loss of his mother as they carry on their daily lives. After an hour and a bit more, the main underlying plot of it all is revealed to be a loaded religious tale hidden in a nice shiny thriller... [Read more]
Quarantine
Quarantine is by far the greatest modern-day horror movie I have seen to date. It defines “horror” and breathes life into a genre that has gone the way of shallow popcorn gore flicks and corny, noisy snoozers. Taking the approach of the 1st person camcorder view made popular by classics like The Blair Witch Project, Quarantine steps it up a notch and delivers. No worries my sea-sick... [Read more]
