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Showing posts from January, 2010

Review: Uncertainty

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'Uncertainty' is a fitting name for this film. When I was watching it I was uncertain if I was enjoying it or now. When I look back on it now, I did. For the most part. This film obviously had some good intentions, but it wasn't executed like that. The film follows a young couple, Bobby (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Kate (Lynn Collins) We meet them on July 4th on the Brooklyn bridge. A flip of a coin decides their fate. We see them run in opposite directions to start our stories. We never hear who calls heads or tails, but we see two different scenarios of their day. Separated by color. a "green" story and a "yellow" story. We are shown serious decisions in both stories. Green involves an un-planned pregnancy, while Yellow involves a missing BlackBerry and some unwanted company. One is thriller-ish, the other is an interesting character study. Like I've said many times, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a phenomenal actor. He's so good that his co-star h

BAFTA Nominations

2010 BAFTA Awards Winners to be announced on Sunday, February 21st. Best Film Nominees:Avatar (2009) An Education (2009) The Hurt Locker (2008) Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009) Up in the Air (2009/I) Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year Nominees:An Education (2009) Fish Tank (2009) In the Loop (2009) Moon (2009) Nowhere Boy (2009) Best Actor Nominees:Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart (2009) George Clooney for Up in the Air (2009/I) Colin Firth for A Single Man (2009) Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker (2008) Andy Serkis for Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2010) Best Actress Nominees:Carey Mulligan for An Education (2009) Saoirse Ronan for The Lovely Bones (2009) Gabourey Sidibe for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009) Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia (2009) Audrey Tautou for Coco avant Chanel (2009) Best Supporting Actor Nominees:Alec Baldwin for It's Complicated (2009) Christian McKay for Me and Orson Welles (2008) A

Review: The Lovely Bones

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If anyone could adapt a book and make it into a film, I thought Peter Jackson would be the one to do it. The Lord of the Rings trilogy were some of the best adaptations of books to films I've ever seen (Brokeback Mountain being the best) So when I heard Jackson took on the role of director for Alice Seibold's 'The Lovely Bones'. I was pretty excited. I remember way back in pre-production when Dakota Fanning was rumoured to play Susie. That was fine with me, I do love Dakota but when I saw she was replaced with Soairse Ronan I got even more excited. This girl was brilliant in 'Atonement'. They add Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Rachel Weiz and I was set. That's a great cast. The Lovely Bones follows Susie Salmon. She's 14 years old, and is murdered by her neighbor Mr. Harvey (Stanley Tucci) She watches over her family from heaven and watches her parents (Wahlberg, Weiz) struggle to cope, and her little sister Lindsey (Rose MvIver) grow up to be the wom

Screen Actors Guild Winners

Here are the winners! Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series WINNER :Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock" (2006) Steve Carell for "The Office" (2005) Larry David for "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (2000) Tony Shalhoub for "Monk" (2002) Charlie Sheen for "Two and a Half Men" (2003) Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series WINNER :Tina Fey for "30 Rock" (2006) Christina Applegate for "Samantha Who?" (2007) Toni Collette for "United States of Tara" (2009) Edie Falco for "Nurse Jackie" (2009) Julia Louis-Dreyfus for "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (2006) Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series WINNER: "Glee" (2009) "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (2000) "Modern Family" (2009) "The Office" (2005) "30 Rock" (2006) Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role WINNER: Christoph Waltz for Inglo

Review: Up in the Air

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Jason Reitman is an extraordinary director. He can take things that might seem simple and make them unique. He gets the best performances out of his actors (In his 3 films, 'Thank you for Smoking'. 'Juno' and now 'Up in the Air' all of his leads got Golden Globe noms for example) Speaking of Globes, he made a good point in his exception speech (for best screenplay) he always gets told he writes great female characters. He does, I found myself adoring Anna Kendrick's character in the film, when I went into it with the whole "wow I really hate Twilight" thought. 'Up in the Air' centers around Ryan Bingman (George Clooney) a jet setter that's job is to fire people from companies when there bosses are (as quoted in the film) "too big of pussies to do it themselves". It's not all bad, he helps them figure out their futures. He has a personal goal of getting 1 million frequent flyer miles. He enjoys this lifestyle, he even m

Review: The Book of Eli

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Oh Denzel Washington, you have so much talent, you carried this film. It's a shame I had to sit through the painful 2 hours of this film to once again be baffled about how this film could've appealed to anyone. I'm not exactly in the demographic that this film is aimed for, but since I'm married to one (adult males) I went along, hoping it would turn out to be a decent action movie. What I came out with was a film so bland that I actually had to get up and leave the theatre for 10-15 mins and sneak a peak at "The Lovely Bones" instead. When "Lovely Bones" turns into the "feel good movie" for a quick getaway we know where in trouble. "The Book of Eli" takes place in a post apocalyptic U.S.A. It's referred to as "the war", "the accident" etc etc, but we're never really told what happens. Eli (Denzel Washington) is carrying the last known bible across the country, trying to get it to a place where it

Golden Globe Award Winners

Here are the winners for tonight's Golden Globe awards. There were some surprises (Hangover winning best comedy) and some givens (Avatar winning best drama) There were a few personal disappointments (No Joseph Gordon Levitt or Anna Paquin wins) and some amusing moments (Thanks Paul McCartney and Robert DeNiro) Ricky Gervais, who is usually very amusing was a terrible host. That was a bit of a let down. Best Motion Picture - Drama Winner: Avatar (2009) Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama Winner: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart (2009) Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy Winner: Robert Downey Jr. for Sherlock Holmes (2009) Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama Winner: Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side (2009) Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy Winner: The Hangover (2009) Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy Winner: "Glee" (2009) Best Director - Motion Picture Winner: James Cameron for Avatar (2

DVD Review: Moon

Moon has an interesting appeal. Directed by Duncan Jones (son of David Bowie) and starring Sam Rockwell (Choke, Snow Angels) 'Moon' is one of the best sci fi flicks I've seen in recent years. Not to mention the small budget, and the fact that the film was shot during the writer's strike. This film is a perfect example of how people can band together and create a great thing even in tough circumstances. Sam Bell (Rockwell) is a scientist doing a 3 year stint on the moon. He's farming helium-3, which is being used on Earth. He's alone, the only contact he has is with his computer that assists him, GERTY (voice by Kevin Spacey) and the occasional video message he receives from his wife. We meet Sam at the end of his 3 years, with a few weeks to go Sam begins to doubt his sanity. He's seeing things, he ends up in an accident while working and awaits a team called ELIZA to come from Earth to assist him. Then things begin to take an interesting turn for Sam. I

Indie Gems: Mouth to Mouth

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Like many people, I first took notice of actress Ellen Page in a brilliant film she did called 'Hard Candy'. I'll save that review for a later date, but after viewing that film I fell in love with Page and was determined to find her earlier work. The first film I came upon was 'Mouth to Mouth'. A small film shot in Europe in 2004. This little scene film packs quite the punch. It has an important message. Sherry (Page) is an Canadian student in Germany. Like many teens, she's lost, moody and desperate to fit in. She joins a small gang/cult/random group of teens called SPARK (Street People Armed with Radical Knowledge) She's drawn in by the group's leader Harry (Eric Thal). She travels across Germany with them, but eventually realizes she's in too deep. She has bad relationship with her mother, Rose (Natasha Whiteman) in an effort to find her she eventually locates Sherry and joins SPARK to win her back. I thought it raised a good point about how

Review: Sherlock Holmes.

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Those of you looking for a more traditional Sherlock Holmes will be disappointed. Guy Richie's Holmes is a fresh new take on everyone's favorite detective. Diving deep into the old stories, Robert Downey Jr's Holmes is more badass, slicker and funnier than what we're used to. Yet still was witty as we have always known. The story is simple. Holmes and constant sidekick (and bromantic?) partner Watson (Jude Law) just finished a grueling case only to have the man, Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) return and wreak havoc on 1880's London once again. Ritche throws a little "supernatural" in there, but always keeps Holmes feeling like Holmes. Casting Robert Downey Jr was a great choice. (He got a Golden Globe nom!) The man is a genius, and morphs into each character so easily we never second guess him. Jude Law was a refreshing choice for Watson. The two men had a lot of chemistry together..surprisingly more chemistry then romantic lead Rachel McAdams had with

Indie Gems: Let The Right One In

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Foreign Edition! 'Let The Right One In' was technically a made-for-tv movie from Sweden. It came to the States a year later as an independent feature, and made waves as one of the best vampire movies ever made. The film follows a young boy named Oskar (KÃ¥re Hedebrant) he's 12 years old, bullied at school and doesn't really have any friends. He lives in an apartment complex with his mother (and visits his father every now and then) he has a strange obsession with knives and collects newspaper clippings of murders and trageties. Soon a man and a young girl move in next door and change his life forever. He soon meets Eli (pronounced like Ellie and played by Lina Leandersson). Outside in the snowy courtyard they meet, Eli wearing no coat, hat or mittens yet doesn't feel the cold. She's forgotten how. At first Eli advises Oskar they can't be friends, though Oskar who is no intrigued ignores the matter and politely offers his Rubik's Cube to Eli to play