Posted 11/1/2008
1. THE INCREDIBLE HULK: Edward Norton is David Banner in what many reviewers said was a not-so-good version of the Marvel Comics character. I disagree and feel this one really has it right, hitting right to the heart of the action and the character. Its $150 million budget has generated $250 million so far, and that’s before the DVD. Far better than the 2003 version with Eric Bana, and includes some great trivia including a scene in which a character is watching an old rerun of The Courtship of Eddie’s Father … with a great cameo by Robert Downey, Jr. at the end. Rated PG.
2. THE STRANGERS: This horror-thriller with Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman as a couple terrorized in their deserted neighbourhood by hooded strangers is only for the most desperate-for-a-horror-thrill of viewers. I found it a sadistic and unrewarding film with an ending that mae me feel ...
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Posted 11/1/2008
1. JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 3D: Brendan Fraser is a professor with a young nephew with a taste for adventure. This very loose treatment of the Jules Verne classic was passable in theatres because of the novelty effect of the 3D … how that will play on DVD is in the eye of the beholder – but this one needs the big screen to be film worth watching … and it’s geared for a family audience, particularly kids from about 8 to 12 or 13. Rated PG.
2. BEAUFORT: If you would like a different perspective on war in the Middle East, try this Israeli made film that looks at terror from the skies with a distinct point of view in the months before Israel pulled out of Lebanon. It’s not a tale of war, but of retreat. The movie was submitted by Israel in the Best ...
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Posted 10/19/2008
1 THE HAPPENING: One of the most disappointing films of the past year or two, this from M. Night Shymalin of Sixth Sense fame continues to fail to live up to his previous work, or any work for that matter. Mark Wahlberg is a school teacher caught up in an event that causes people to commit suicide in horrible ways. Trying to save his family, he hits the road, attempting to stay ahead of the spreading horror … what will it be – aliens? Armageddon? A Biblical plague? By the time we get to the answers … it’s just too late to save this movie. Rated 14A.
2. YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN: What’s with Adam Sandler? Here he is an Israeli spy who decides to leave that life, where he is a national hero, and come to America to be a hairdresser. While there are some funny moments, ...
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Posted 10/19/2008
1. INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL: He’s older, he’s wiser, but he’s still the one to call when there’s trouble. Harrison Ford is back as Indy along with an outstanding villain in the person of Cate Blanchett, and a young sidekick, Mutt Williams played by Shia LaBoeuf. What are the Crystal Skulls? What secrets do they hold? And why are the Russians so interested. Set at the height of the Cold War in the 50s, this stuff just never gets old. Rated PG.
2. WAR INC. : A film that didn’t find its way into many theatres, it’s still a good suspense/action thriller with John Cusak, Ben Kingsley, and Dan Aykroyd. Set in the near future when wars are run by private corporations, in this case, by a company headed by a former president, Cusak plays a hired gun, a hitman brought in to set things ...
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Posted 10/5/2008
1 SEX AND THE CITY: If you’re a fan of the series, you’ll get full value from the movie in which Carrie Bradshaw and her pals Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda pick up a few years after we last saw them on the small screen. Chris Noth is back as Big, and there is a wedding in the works … or is there? Best thing I can say for the movie is that I was not a fan of the TV series – didn’t hate it, just ignored it – but I picked up the thread of the movie story and enjoyed it despite myself. Rated 18A.
2. DECEPTION: Ewan McGregor stars as an accountant who gets caught up in what at first seems to be a sex club, and later becomes a murder. This movie isn’t certain what it’s supposed to be – a whodunit or a character study. It ...
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