Full of whiz-bang special effects, plentiful explosions, and pithy one-liners, G.I. Joe: Retaliation is slightly more fun than its predecessor, but it also has way too much going on in too short of a time frame to actually be a truly great movie.
Calling Romanian director Cristian Mungiu's latest film Beyond the Hills an exorcism film might be a bit misleading, but it's certainly one of the most harrowing dramas of the new year.
Despite the genius of casting Tommy Lee Jones as famed American military icon Douglas MacArthur in a small supporting role, Emperor is a disappointing historical drama that wastes too much time on a useless love story instead of the more interesting and thoughtful issues at hand.
The actual concept behind the Dutch drama A Good Death (based around legal assisted suicide) couldn’t easily be translated to audiences here, but the emotions and depiction of familial relations in a time of crisis are universally understandable.
Did you miss almost all of our theatrical coverage around the holidays? Well this week we look at some of the biggest late 2012 releases including The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Lincoln, Les Miserables, This is 40, and Zero Dark Thirty. Also, looks at Killing Them Softly and the Canadian made sci-fi romance Mars et Avril.
This week in archival DVD land, we take a look at new Blu-Rays for the Canadian classic sex comedy Porky's, Criterion treatments for Terrence Malick's Badlands and Fritz Lang's Ministry of Fear, and a Steven Seagal TV show that was re-edited into a movie with the hopes no one would notice.
Admission might be high minded fluff, but with the talents of Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, and a great supporting cast, it's some of the best fluff one could hope for.
Far from the “Ice Age with humans” pitch made by the film’s ad campaign, The Croods is an exceptional family adventure that rises above a plot cribbed from countless Disney films to create something special. It’s a funny, vibrant, and surprisingly thoughtful and sincere effort from the makers of the equally great How to Train Your Dragon with action scenes as good as anything that wowed audiences in Rango.
New World is ultimately just a slice of stylized gangster movie fun with delusions of crime epic grandeur, but it's an exquisitely crafted piece of entertainment from South Korea.
It's somewhat disappointing to report that From Up on Poppy Hill is a pretty looking, but boring and gutless romance, more akin to hundreds of other sappier anime tales of lusting than the touch of magic the wizards at Studio Ghibli are renowned for.
A decade after his impressive and heartbreaking gay romance Yossi & Jagger, Israeli filmmaker Eytan Fox returns to the first half of his title characters to tell a tale of emotional adjustment and sexual reawakening. It’s a somewhat problematic tale to tell from a narrative perspective, but it’s a faithful follow-up in terms of tone and emotion.
The latest 'Vania installment is a welcome addition to the series, but does the litany of technical problems mar the return to Dracula's Castle?
No DVD column this week, but we'll return with it next week. Instead, we take a look at a whopping FIVE film festivals kicking off in Toronto this week: the 7th annual Canadian Film Fest, the Canadian Music Week Film Fest, Water Docs, the 13th annual aluCine Latin Film Festival, and Creepy Christian Cinema.
This week we look at some Blu-Ray and DVD reissues of the iconic Schindler's List and On the Waterfront, the campy fun of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and The Monster Squad, and one of the greatest adventures from the Doctor to occupy the Tardis the longest.
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is a thoroughly average Hollywood comedy. There are funny moments throughout and it’s a big glossy production that hits all the expected notes before fading to black at this the right time, but it also meets those expectations to the point of reaching wild heights of predictable dullness.
