A Royal Affair: Movie Review

Love, power and enlightenment in the Royal Court of Denmark.

A young princess, Caroline Matilda (Alicia Vikander), lived an affluent lifestyle in 1760s England and at age 15 she was shipped off to Denmark to marry King Christian VII (Mikkel Folsgaard). Christian was mentally ill and Caroline did not know. Upon arrival at the castle in Copenhagen, it wasn’t long before she understood his mental state. He took to her with force, spoke bluntly and rudely and acted like a child. As soon as Caroline conceived a son, she retreated internally.		2012 Directed by: Nikolaj Arcel Screenplay by: Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel Starring: Alicia Vikander, Mads Mikkelsen and Mikkel Folsgaard

Zero Dark Thirty: Movie Review

An interesting thriller told from the perspectives of unknown characters.

“Zero Dark Thirty” is the ten-year long hunt for Osama bin Laden. There are a number of issues with the film, let's say minor editing issues, all stemming from the fact that this is 10 years cut down to three hours based on real people whom we really don’t know. I wouldn’t know how to tell that story either and that realization makes it much easier to appreciate the film at hand.		2012 Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow Screenplay by: Mark Boal Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke

Django Unchained: Movie Review

Django’s story of revenge, romance and redemption.

It’s time to take a step backwards – for humanity that is, not for anybody involved in the making of “Django Unchained”. Quentin Tarantino’s newest film is an homage to spaghetti westerns including “Django” (1966), but it’s a masterpiece all on its own and one does not need to have seen or even have an interest in the Western and Samurai films that came before it. This is how you tell the story of a slave.		2012 Directed by: Quentin Tarantino Screenplay by: Quentin Tarantino Starring: Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson

Hyde Park on Hudson: Movie Review

Through one affair, one perfect friendship is formed at the beautiful Hyde Park on Hudson.

In 1939, King George VI (Samuel West) and Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman) made the trek across the ocean to visit American President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Bill Murray) at “Hyde Park on Hudson”. It was the first trip of its kind and tensions were high. First Lady Eleanor and Mother Roosevelt expected perfection, and the Queen (the eventual Queen Mother) also expected perfection. Roosevelt was in no shape to deliver perfection.		2012 Directed by: Roger Michell Screenplay by: Richard Nelson Starring: Laura Linney, Bill Murray, Samuel West and Olivia Colman

Anna Karenina: Movie Review

A beautiful production that transforms Anna Karenina into a modern woman.

Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats; the play is about to begin. And thus, with the curtains drawn back, the ingenuity, creativity and brilliance of Joe Wright's “Anna Karenina” begins. By taking it out of an unforgiving landscape and placing it inside a theatre to unfold on an infinite stage, but keeping it in 1870s Russia, we have a true-to-source story that can be adapted for our modern enjoyment.		2012 Directed by: Joe Wright Screenplay by: Tom Stoppard Based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy Starring: Keira Knightley, and Jude Law

Silver Linings Playbook: Movie Review

Showing us the silver linings of life with funny, entertaining and inspirational results.

Pat (Bradley Cooper) has just been signed out of the Karel Psychiatric Facility by his mother in Baltimore, Maryland after an 8-month court-ordered stint from bipolar disorder with mood swings. But it’s okay, he’s good now (at least he insists that he is). He has a plan for his life — his “Silver Linings Playbook”. He thinks he just has to get in shape, read Nikki’s entire high school syllabus, get his job back, and then he’ll get back together with his ex-wife.		2012 Directed by: David O. Russell Screenplay by: David O. Russell Based on the novel by Matthew Quick Starring: Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Jennifer Lawrence and Jacki Weaver

Life of Pi: Movie Review

Telling a life story with imagination and visual entertainment.

Life of Pi is better than “this year’s Hugo”. It has a story. A simple story but a global one that pulls you in and then lets you marvel at the epic cinematography and impressive visuals. Pi (Irfan Khan), as a middle-aged man, retells the story of how he became the man he is today, and how he got the name “Pi”. He was named after a swimming pool in Paris, the Piscine Molitar. This has brought him both grief and happiness.		2012 Directed by: Ang Lee Screenplay by: David Magee Based on the novel by Yann Martel Starring: Suraj Sharma, Irfan Khan and Rafe Spall

Flight: Movie Review

Character study boldly blurring the lines of life, happiness and right and wrong.

Beginning Awards Season with a crash (in a good way), “Flight” eschews the general desire to turn a plane crash into either a dramatic sob-fest or a suspenseful thriller. What we have here is a character study, plain and simple. It doesn’t cower under the idea that your lead character needs to be sympathetic. He’s not. It’s dramatic but it’s also ambiguous without ever purposely leading the audience astray. I can’t say the same about the trailer.		2012 Directed by: Robert Zemeckis Screenplay by: John Gatins Starring: Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly and Don Cheadle

The Paperboy: Movie Review

In southern Florida where a racial murder case turns into a coming-of-age character study.

“The Paperboy” has received some harsh criticism, not just divisive but mostly negative reviews. I’m happy to provide an opposite perspective but it is worth mentioning that most critiques seem to come from a superficial point-of-view. Anita (Macy Gray) as the narrator takes us down to small town life in Florida in the late 1960s where she worked as a maid for the white, upper class Jansen family. Nothing is as it seems.		2012 Directed by: Lee Daniels Screenplay by: Lee Daniels, Peter Dexter Based on the novel by Peter Dexter Starring: Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey, and Nicole Kidman

Arbitrage: Movie Review

Intelligence of a character study and the intrigue of a thriller.

In “Arbitrage”, Robert Miller (Richard Gere) is a rich, successful business man and family man. Except he’s not as perfect as he seems. He’s involving his business in illegal fraudulent activities and he has a mistress on the side. While everyone is singing his praises at his 60th birthday party, and news journalists want to do reports on how smart, business-savvy and successful he is, Julie (Laetitia Casta) is complaining that he isn’t with her when she wants him to be.		2012 Directed by: Nicholas Jarecki Screenplay by: Nicholas Jarecki Starring: Richard Gere, Brit Marling, and Susan Sarandon

Seven Psychopaths: Movie Review

Finding the middle ground between comedy, violence and psychopaths.

Depending on how you count, there really are seven psychopaths. Also depending on how you count, there could be more, which is a good thing because Marty – the lead character played by Colin Farrell not the screenwriter Martin McDonagh – can use as many as he can find. Marty (Colin Farrell) is an alcoholic Irish screenwriter suffering from writer’s block since Hollywood’s needs and his ideals do not match up at all.		2012 Directed by: Martin McDonagh Screenplay by: Martin McDonagh Starring: Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken

Argo: Movie Review

Marriage of history and entertainment as Argo becomes a run-away hit.

“Argo” starts with the history of the Iran hostage crisis of 1979 when Islamist students and militants stormed the American Embassy in Tehran and 6 American diplomats escaped with their lives and found temporary salvation in the home of the Canadian Ambassador. It was enough history to educate us but not too much to lose viewer’s interest. Like most stories, things start getting entertaining when the film moves to Hollywood.		2012 Directed by: Ben Affleck Screenplay by: Chris Terrio Based on an article and book. Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston

The Master: Movie Review

 

Destructive forces taking us on an historical ride through the allure of cults.

Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) is a sexually-frustrated World War II Navy vet who struggles to find his place in the world when he returns to America. He excels at mixing highly-toxic liquids into consumable alcoholic concoctions and seducing women, but neither are self-fulfilling careers. Then he meets The Master, Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a charismatic cult leader perfecting his writing and theories.		2012 Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson Screenplay by: Paul Thomas Anderson Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams

Pitch Perfect: Movie Review

 

Romance to cheer for, low-grade comedy, but musical numbers both predictable and perfect.

“Pitch Perfect” is kind of like taking “Glee” and putting it into a college environment, but is more like mixing the popularity of “Bridesmaids”-styled humour and the popularity of a cappella singing. The Barden Bellas are a struggling all-girl singing group trying to succeed with old-school female pop songs and bikini bodies, but after an on-stage meltdown, the team is left with two high-strung seniors and is forced to rebuild.		2012 Directed by: Jason Moore Screenplay by: Kay Cannon Based on the novel by Mickey Rapkin Starring: Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, and Rebel Wilson

Killer Joe: Movie Review

 

Perverted maturity and twisted humour take us through Texas and the chillingly evil plot.

A dirt road at night in Texas; the sky is dark blue, pitch black, and a streak of lightning flashes across the sky. A clunker of a car rumbles down the road and turns into a trailer park. An under-fed dog, chained out front, barks his head off, and Chris (Emile Hirsch) is banging on the door in the pouring rain, demanding Dottie to let him in. Dottie (Juno Temple) is pretending to sleep, a desire to be innocent keeping her in bed.		2011 Directed by: William Friedkin Screenplay by: Tracy Letts Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Juno Temple, and Emile Hirsch

Virginia: Movie Review

Undertones of mental illness, religion and politics take Virginia to interesting places.

Virginia (Jennifer Connelly) is one seriously disturbed woman. One possible look at it is that she was screwed over by having an affair with an aspiring Senator, Dick Tipton (Ed Harris), who left her pregnant and alone to raise her son as a single mother. “Virginia” has a number of storylines, some in present time, some in flashbacks, but all resulting from the affair between Virginia and Sheriff Tipton.		2010 Directed by: Dustin Lance Black Screenplay by: Dustin Lance Black Starring: Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris

Bernie: Movie Review

True crime comedy, Texas-style.

A dark comedy, "Bernie" is a mix of true crime and documentary. It's based on a true story and weaves a tale of a character both sympathetic and guilty, and supporting characters who are stubborn and compassionate. Grab your cowboy hats, belt buckles, and King James Bible because we are off to Carthage, Texas for a story about funerals, murder and homosexuality.		2011 Directed by: Richard Linklater Screenplay by: Richard Linklater Starring: Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey

To Rome with Love: Movie Review

All of your heart's fantasies played out in Rome with love, celebrities, death and opera.

“To Rome with Love” is a fantasy film; a comedy about people living out their fantasies. The great thing about it is that it’s subtle enough that you don’t recognize the fantasy element in all of the relationships until later on in the film. The obvious one is when native Roman, Leopoldo Pisanello (Roberto Benigni), becomes a celebrity over night. “It’s better to be a celebrity than an unknown.” And as Benigni shows, way funnier too.		2012 Directed by: Woody Allen Screenplay by: Woody Allen Starring: Roberto Benigni, Alison Pill, Woody Allen and Jesse Eisenberg

Take This Waltz: Movie Review

A marriage and its possible demise as seen from three artfully crafted characters.

“Take This Waltz” is a relationship drama, a romantic comedy, or a character study, depending on how you look at it. It's about marriage; it's about the individuals in a marriage; it's about the individuals involved in the destruction of a marriage; and it's about one individual in particular. It's funny, sad, and revealing. It's heartbreakingly hilarious, conflictingly optimistic and pessimistic, and perfectly Canadian.		2011 Directed by: Sarah Polley Screenplay by: Sarah Polley Starring: Michelle Williams, Luke Kirby and Seth Rogen

God Bless America: Movie Review

Hilarious cynicism so accurate and extreme that no target is left alive.

Frank (Joel Murray) hates his neighbours. He thinks they are rude, inconsiderate, selfish buffoons who lack any comprehension of how their actions may affect other people. Frank wants to kill them, especially the crying baby. Frank hates his co-workers. He thinks they are celebrity-obsessed morons who no longer have any real thoughts of their own and just regurgitate everything they hear on the TV and radio. He would want to kill them too except he just got fired.		2011 Directed by: Bobcat Goldthwait Screenplay by: Bobcat Goldthwait Starring: Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr