End of Watch perfectly embodies writer-turned-director David Ayer’s crime movie formula (Training Day, Harsh Times, etc). You take a basic crime movie premise, twist it initially in an intriguing way, populate it with talented actors, tease out some unexpectedly dark drama, toss in a few brutal set pieces, and then slowly let it all slip away as the film becomes increasingly conventional in a race to the finish line.
In what feels more like a passion project for former athlete turned health advocate Christopher Nowinski than a proper feature from Hoop Dreams co-director Steve James, the documentary Head Games nonetheless offers compelling insight into the hot button issue of concussions in sports just in time for football season and something we probably would be talking about in hushed tones if there was a hockey season to immediately look forward to when discussing the status of Sidney Crosby.
Several months after winning the best actress award in Berlin for it's leading actor and hot on the heels of its announcement as Canada's official entry for contention at this year's Oscar race, Kim Nguyen's Rebelle (War Witch) has been building considerable momentum in recent weeks and rightfully so.
The good news about House at the End of the Street is that it’s not the aggressive swell of haunted house horror clichés that the trailers promised. Nope, this is actually somewhat of a traditional thriller that has more in common with a certain Hitchcock movie than it does with the latest direct-to-DVD genre rehash. Unfortunately, it’s not a very good thriller and the suspense/scares are doled out in such a dreary “slow burn” way that about as much time is spent developing a “battle of the bands” subplot as building up dread or atmosphere.
Making the jump from the computer and television screens of Canada to the big screen, sketch troupe Picnicface makes its first foray onto the big screen with the roller disco opus Roller Town, a funny and appropriately silly send up of 70s disco movie conventions that never lapses into outright nostalgia for the bygone days of bell bottoms and mirror balls.
It might not be too debatable that Dredd 3D works as a more faithful introduction to the cult comic lawman from the future than the character’s Sylvester Stallone vehicle from 1995, but it’s not better by much.
The Trouble With the Curve isn't the worst movie ever made, nor is it even close to the weakest movie of Clint Eastwood’s career. It might be dull and old fashioned, but I suppose it's perfectly watchable for passive viewers who like baseball or the aging movie star. It's just instantly forgettable and brings nothing new to the baseball movie genre that’s already overstuffed with these cliched entries.
The Master might be a movie of uncertainties, but it’s guaranteed that it will be the most widely discussed movie of 2012. Easy to admire, yet made in such a way that defies full comprehension (at least in a single viewing), folks will line up to spit out grand statements or theories about it’s greatness while haters will delight in tearing it down as a big beautiful beast of a movie signifying nothing. It reaffirms Paul Thomas Anderson's status as easily being one of the most intriguing (perhaps frustratingly so for some) directors around today.
With his best film to date, Quebecois wunderkind Xavier Dolan still doesn't overcome his excessive love of style, but he assuredly makes his mark as a masterful storyteller in the lengthy Laurence Anyways.
Resident Evil: Retribution sadly takes a turn for the worse despite some grand action sequences, strong female characters, and great use of 3D. It simply makes the storyline far too complicated for its own good; jerking the audience around like it’s… well… a bad video game.
Since we don't get days off on weeks like this, here's part five of our TIFF 2012 coverage with looks at The Place Beyond the Pines, Seven Psychopaths, Hotel Transylvania, A Royal Affair, Thermae Romae, Smashed, Rebelle, and Laurence Anyways.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the worst of movies... it was the worst of movies.
With the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival kicking off this Thursday, Dork Shelf begins their coverage of the Festival of Festivals with our look at Dredd 3D, The Sessions, Krivina, Rust and Bone, I Declare War, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and the huge opening night gala, Looper.
Acting almost like the pottymouthed big sister of this year's Magic Mike, For a Good Time, Call... sends the summer out on a high note with witty banter, sly observations, and great performances.
Compelling and emotionally devastating, the documentary In My Mother's Arms tells the stories of Iraqi war orphans and one person's uphill battle to help save them from crime and an inefficient government.
