Shrek Forever After (2010)

Genre: Animation/Comedy/Romance/Adventure/Fantasy

Starring (voice): Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Walt Dohrn

I personally felt that DreamWorks should not have ventured beyond Shrek 2, something which got proven right with the fourth installment of the series. Shrek (Myers) the big, fat, ugly, green ogre and Fiona (Diaz) are back and this time they have 3 kid ogres too. Parenting starts taking a toll on Shrek and he soon realises that he cant do the things he loved to do. Scaring the villagers, lazing around, taking mud baths, its a long forgotten life. His frustration peaks and he confesses the he would want to go back to the days before he met Fiona and before all of this started. Back during the time when Fiona was still locked in the tower, Rumpelstiltskin (Dohrn) was closing a deal with the king and queen that he would free Fiona if he got their kingdom in exchange. However, Shrek rescued her and the deal never happened. Rumpel, notorious for creating contracts which have tricky fine prints and very difficult exit clauses, approaches Shrek and offers him a day where he could do all that he liked in exchange for one day of his life. Unknown to Shrek, Rumpel took away from Shrek, the day he was born. With Shrek no longer in this world, Fiona would never get rescued and Rumpel would have the entire kingdom to raise havoc. The story sounds interesting, but that's all there is to it. Ask a 12-year-old what he/she understood out of it and an expressionless confused face stares back at you. The story is a little difficult to fully understand on the first instance, especially for children, their primary audience. The movie does have loads of entertainment but not too much on the lines of humour. We enjoyed watching Donkey (Murphy) and Shrek in the previous movies but the pair loses its fizz in this one. Not bad, but not great either and it would be suicidal to create a fifth part.

Thumbs up: Interesting plot, although slightly unstructured

Thumbs down: Lack of humour

Rating: 6.2/10

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Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Genre: Fantasy/Animation/Adventure

Starring: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathway, Crispin Grover

Based on Lewis Caroll's two very famous children's books, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, the movie narrates the story of a 19 year old Alice who escapes from her wedding and falls into a rabbit hole. She meets a lot of strange characters who doubt that she is the 'real' Alice and is eventually led to the Hatter (Depp) who is having a tea party. The Hatter explains that the land was once filled with piece when a spite between two sisters led to war. The evil Red Queen (Carter) with the help of a beast known as the Jabberwocky wins the war and banishes the good White Queen (Hathway) and takes over Wonderland. It has been foretold that Alice would come and slay the Jabberwocky and put an end to the Red Queen's rein. Alice is now left with the task of fulfilling the prophesy, something of which she hasn't the slightest idea of how to. The story is a big deviation from the actual story which would leave many people disappointed. The White Rabbit and his famous time-piece is missing and a much older Alice is a little hard to digest. Unlike the book, the movie would not appeal to young children due to its slightly complicated and boring plot. Lack of humour or anything that would make the movie even slightly appealing to children is completely missing. What it shines is in special effects and the animation part and Helena Carter's creative look. I expected Johnny Depp to deliver Pirates of the Caribbean or even Charlie and the Chocolate Factory kind of performance but sadly that doesn't happen. His role is over-shadowed by the support cast which just ends up making things worse. Probably if they movie was made in a manner more appealing to young kids, it would have been a different ball game altogether.

Thumbs up: Astounding special effects
Thumbs down: Poor plot

Rating: 6.0/10

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Police Academy (1984)

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Starring: Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall, G.W. Bailey, Bubba Smith, Donovan Scott, George Gaynes

Fed-up with the high crime rate in the city, the mayor enforces a new law where anyone and everyone can apply to the police force and there would be no restrictions for entry. All those people who dreamt of being on the police force but previously couldn't apply, throng the police academy to get their 14 weeks of police training. Carey Mahone (Guttenberg) always seems to get himself into trouble and is sent to the police academy as a form of punishment and rectification. The Chief of Police orders Commandant Lassard (Gaynes) that the training should make these misfits want to leave the academy since they cant be thrown out. Lt. Harris (Bailey) in faced with the daunting task of training the most diverse group of eccentrics ever. From a sex-obsessed Spaniard and a blundering geek to a an over-enthusiastic army man and an over-weight sissy, he sees them all. The movie is a fun watch and gives you more than once occasion to laugh. It does not have the roll over your seat humour but yet makes the movie a pleasurable watch.

Thumbs up: Nice plot 

Thumbs down: A bit more humour perhaps

Rating: 7.3/10

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Kites (2010)

Genre: Romance/Drama/Action

Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Barbara Mori, Nicholas Brown, Anand Tiwari, Kiran Bedi, Kangana Ranaut

There is a standard rule when it comes to Bollywood. The amount of hype a movie creates is inversely proportional to its success. My self-made statistics reveal that 99.99% of the viewers preferred to expose themselves to third degree torture rather than watch this movie. The remaining 0.01% comprise of people like me who sit through the entire movie and write reviews. Jay (Roshan) is a Casanova living in Vegas who tries to make money by doing green card scams. He falls in love with a multi-millionaire casino owners daughter Gina (Ranaut) simply for her money. Gina's brother Tony (Brown) is all set to marry his girlfriend Linda (Mori). Linda has once married Jay in order to obtain a green card and is now marrying Tony only for his money. Jay and Linda slowly and steadily fall in love with each other, something which Tony eventually learns about and despises. What ensues is a wild goose chase across half of the United States with almost the entire police force hot on their tail. Their needs no explanation that the movie is a damp squid and the sexy Barabara Mori repeatedly in a bikini does little to improve things. Poor acting and a hopelessly boring, slow and dragged plot adorn 2 hours of your life which go as a complete waste. 'Sucker' is the only word that comes in my mind.

Thumbs up: A super-sexy looking Barabara Mori

Thumbs down: Everything else

Rating: 4.6/10

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AGORA

Written by Mateo Gill and Alejandro Amenabar

Directed by Alejandro Amenabar

Starring Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella and Oscar Isaac

In 391 A.D., people still believed that the Earth was not only flat but that it was also the center of the universe and that the sun, along with the other wanderers, known to the Pagan Greeks of the time as the other planets, revolved around the Earth. How could one not have an ego with beliefs like that? It has been over 1600 years since then and it’s strange to see that AGORA director, Alejandro Amenabar, still has a bit of that same ego driving his filmmaking.

Generally considered to be the first female authority of mathematics and astronomy, Greek philosopher, Hypatia (played by a bold but overly confident Rachel Weisz), has always tried to teach her pupils that all humans are brothers; that between three people, if two of them are are of the same mind, then so is the third as this is what bonds them as brothers. Increasing shifts in religious beliefs shatter her faith as she must be subjected to watch the quickly growing Christianity crush her Paganism and move on past that to Judaism in Egypt, one of the last thriving places in the Roman Empire. The story is both huge in scope and vision but it is dragged down by focusing on the the petty problems of the people and the often poor acting performances afforded to these plotlines.




One automatically sees the correlation between religion being a serious driving force in keeping man divided, often violently, both then and now. Amenabar tells his story with such grandiose gusto though that it seems his ego is just too big to see that his point is monumental only to him and not only obvious to the rest of us but wearing thin as well.

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SEX AND THE CITY 2

Written and Directed by Michael Patrick King

Starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon

Carrie Bradshaw: That’s the thing about tradition; when you’re not looking, it just sneaks in.

When I first discovered the “Sex and the City” television series, I saw it as a tiny, little gift from heaven.  This series about adult women looking for love and refusing to settle for anything less in the big, beautiful city of New York was as insightful as it was titillating.  Being a young, single person myself at the time, I drew a lot of inspiration from the character of Carrie Bradhsaw.  I know she’s fictitious and that her entire life is scripted but her pursuit of happiness, whether single or not, helped empower me to find strength as a single person as well.  It’s been six years roughly since the series closed and I’m sad to say, the show that once inspired so many lost single souls to find their way has officially lost its own.

SEX AND THE CITY 2 picks up the lives of Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha (Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis and Kim Cattrall, respectively) two years after Mr. Big (Chris Noth) left Carrie at the alter only to have her channel her inner masochist and marry him anyway.  At the time, the four leading ladies had said that they would not have even considered the first movie unless the story was one that warranted being told.  I guess a “big” wedding is a natural progression of the story but I cannot see what exactly drew them back this time other than continued success in the only characters that have worked for them.  Carrie’s marriage is getting stale; Miranda’s job is stressing her out; Charlotte is having a hard time with motherhood; and Samantha struggles to remain sexual during menopause.  It seems to me that it isn’t her marriage going stale that Carrie should be worried about.

Writer/Director, Michael Patrick King directed some of the best episodes of the series but he needs the restrictions of television structure to control himself.  The first film ran way too long and this one is no different.  At a two and a half hour run time, even King knows that his old married people troubles are incredibly dull so he picks up the foursome and drops them in Abu Dhabi. Here, despite making respectful comments previously about the American economy, the ladies are immersed in extravagance.  They each have their own car, their own butler and three separate costume changes for one simple lunch in the desert.  Carrie runs into former lover, Aidan (John Corbett), in a market randomly (that may be the most understated usage of the word, “randomly” ever), and it isn’t long before she resorts back to being a 12-year-old.  Story, or at least a remotely believable one, is no longer a priority for King, it would seem. 

SEX AND THE CITY 2 is like getting together with friends you haven’t seen in a long time to catch up over brunch.  Sure, you’re happy to see them and sure you laugh some but when you leave, you know that your lives have grown apart and there is a reason you don’t see each other that often anymore.  I am still single, unlike three of the four characters in this film.  When I read on the screen that Carrie’s latest book was dedicated to all the former single girls out there, I couldn’t help but wonder if the show that once played like an anthem for modern singles everywhere had turned on its own and was now shunning those who hadn’t been lucky enough to fall in love.  What once made me feel like being single meant a world of possibility was now reminding me that time was running out.  And unfortunately, I had just wasted two and half hours of that time on this movie.

PS. Ladies, do not bring your men to see this movie.  You might have gotten away with it last time; this time, they may break up with you.

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Best of Black Sheep: SEX AND THE CITY

Written and Directed by Michael Patrick King
Starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristen Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Chris Noth


Carrie Bradshaw: You know that this is a fairy tale, right sweetheart? Things don’t always work out like this in real life.

It’s important to state right away that I am a devout fan of the “Sex and the City” television series. I have seen the episodes countless times and they still tickle me almost as often as they touch me. Clearly, what you’re going to get out of the SEX AND THE CITY movie depends on what you’re going in with. For anyone who cares as much as I did, and there are more than enough in my boat to sink it, these girls have been sorely missed. It has been four years since the boy who called love, Mr. Big (Chris Noth) found a crumbling Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) in Paris and told her finally that she was the one. Subsequently, it has been just as much time since Carrie foolishly believed him capable of feeling such things and forewent all her single sensibility for a crapshoot she called love. (It figures the one part of the series I would not like would be its conclusion). Who cares though? I still want more. When the lights went down and the sounds of that familiar theme began to rise (albeit just as a sample in some overwrought Fergie song), my romantic heart sped up just a little and an inevitable smile took over my face. But as the credits gave way to a recap of the characters’ arcs whittled down to their barest bones, I couldn’t help but wonder, who does director, Michael Patrick King think is seeing this movie that doesn’t already know all of this as well as the fit of their favorite shoes?


If you were not a fan of the series, this film will do nothing for you but remind you why. If you were a fan, you may feel some varying degree of disappointment but you’ll still likely see it and love it more than once. How could you not? I was mildly disappointed and I still cried at least three times. I missed these girls. They kept me company on so many restless nights. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) taught me how to let go of life long enough to let love in. Charlotte (Kristen Davis) taught me that you might not recognize love when it finally comes to you. Samantha (Kim Cattrall) taught me that old habits eventually need to be left behind if your life is ever to become what it could. And Carrie … oh, Carrie. Carrie taught me about the constant struggle to find happiness in yourself and your own life regardless of whether you’re fortunate enough to be sharing that with another person. So often did her poetic musings give me calm and resolve that the show became a necessary fix whenever I lost hope that love still knew where to find me.


Though the ladies may mean different things to different people, the need for the SEX AND THE CITY movie is palpable within its devoted fan base. The movie itself however creates none of its own urgency and does little to justify its own existence. Yes, I wanted the girls back but it would have been nice if they came back for a reason. Without divulging too much (as I believe the fate for spoiling this film is castration), the good times pick up again four years after we last left the streets of New York City. Miranda’s busy married life with Steve (David Eigenberg) has gotten stagnant; Charlotte lives in bliss with her husband Harry (Evan Handler) and their adopted girl, Lily; Samantha has made a life of monogamy and management with her young stud, Smith (Jason Lewis)in Los Angeles; and Carrie has somehow managed to domesticate Mr. Big, now known as John James Preston. It would even seem that they are headed toward wedded bliss. The big day comes though with expected big disasters and Carrie gets exactly what she should have seen coming all along.


As I was never happy that the quintessential single girl settled for a man who hurt her repeatedly and consistently, it was hard to feel satisfied watching her make the same mistakes on the big screen. On such a grand stage, I wanted to see Carrie blossom into the true state of confidence and individuality that her character was destined to, if only just to remind myself that I have that same capacity. Instead, her small screen magnificence only half fills the new digs and left me feeling rushed and unfinished instead of post-orgasm elation. And with the last round of cosmos now behind us, I got my much needed fix but I can’t tell whether SEX AND THE CITY (the movie) will keep the love flowing far into the future or finally put "Sex and the City" (the phenomenon) to rest.

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Taking Chance (2009)

Genre: Drama/War/Biography

Starring: Kevin Bacon

US Marine Lt.Col. Michael Strobl (Bacon) has served in the US Army for almost his entire life but has seen little field action. Apart from a short stint in Desert Strom he hasn't seen much and has been confined to a desk job. He feels that he hasn't done enough for his country and volunteers to become an escort for a young marine who was killed in Iraq. Although he never knew 19-year-old Chance Phelps, he felt a connection and a strong urge to serve him. He has been assigned the task of protecting and delivering the body to his parents with honour and dignity that he rightfully deserves. Throughout his journey he sees an America and humanity that he thought never existed before. Everyone just seemed to know exactly what he is doing and they all went the extra mile to contribute their bit. From airline staff upgrading him to first class to truck drivers saluting him on his journey, everyone respected America's brave-hearts who went and sacrificed their lives for the nation. The plot is amazing and is truly touching and can bring forth a tear from even within the stone-hearted. Kevin Bacon single-handily manages to execute the entire script with precise perfection and his absolute control over his emotions make him a phenomenal actor. The movie might be a bit slow at parts but that doesn't let it down any which ways. A recommended watch for everyone reading this.

Thumbs up: Great plot and an even better Kevin Bacon

Thumbs down: Slightly slow at times

Rating: 8.4/10

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Black Sheep @ Inside Out 2010

It is a beautiful day out there, Toronto!  If there is one thing you need to do today, it is to get outside.  And while you're out there, why don't you head on over to the lovely Isabel Bader Theatre to get yourself into the RUSH line for Inside Out's centrepiece gala presentation of Jvier Fuentes-Leon's CONTRACORRIENTE (UNDERTOW).  The film is completely sold out but fortunately I was able to catch this tender film at home thanks to a screener the festival organizers provided.  I sat down to watch it yesterday and had to share what a special film it is with you in hopes that you can score yourself tickets to the screening tonight at 9:30 PM.

Fresh from its win for the dramatic world cinema audience award at the 2010 Sundance film festival, UNDERTOW makes its Canadian premiere as part of the Inside Out LGBT film festival.  Strikingly shot, this is the story of Miguel and Santiago (Christian Mercado and Manolo Cardona), two lovers in a tiny Peruvian village.  Homosexuality is not discussed here unless through biting gossip and it is most certainly no practiced.  Miguel knows Santiago from his childhood and he is now married and expecting his first child shortly.  That doesn't stop Miguel from falling completely in love with Santiago.  While he most certainly falls, he is not capable of admitting it to himself or standing up for what he values.  Through tragedy though, life forces Miguel to take a long hard look at who he really is and what he is truly afraid of.

UNDERTOW is unexpected and sensual - although I must complain about the people who threw this screener together ... did you really need to have your watermark come up during both beach sex scenes?!  C'mon!  Give a boy a break here!  Anyway, it is well worth waiting in line to see and a great film for Inside Out to showcase as its centerpiece.

For more information on Inside Out 2010, just click here.

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Black Sheep's Blu-Tuesday

This week's new releases are a delicious bunch, stuff you can really sink your teeth into.  And I do mean your teeth.  Specifically, I mean yours and not my teeth as I already sunk mine into the big release this week once before and I think I may have chipped a tooth.  It was definitely way too hard to swallow for me, but you all love it.  I don't see why you do but you do.  I am speaking of course of ...

TRUE BLOOD SEASON 2

I know you are probably expecting me to tell you what lies in store for Sookie and friends in the second season of the crazy cult hit, TRUE BLOOD but the truth of it is, I have no idea and I just don't care.  I watched Sookie go from a brave and interesting character at the beginning of the first season to a complete joke like everyone else on this show by the end of it and subsequently, I could care less what comes of her or of creepy, unattractive vamp boyfriend, Bill.  I want to see this season about as much as I want to drink the bottle of TruBlood I have in the fridge.  I got it at a promotional event and I can only imagine that it must be pure syrop sickness.  Still, it can't be any worse than the show itself.  I know you guys are fans though so enjoy!  I will be over here, watching another cult favorite instead ...

DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG

Originally conceived as an online project, DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG has become an underground musical sensation.  It has been available on DVD for some time now but today it makes its BD debut.  There isn't anything new on the BD but if you have never heard of this three act musical before, just pick it up.  Directed by the adored Joss Whedon, and starring Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible and Nathan Filion as Captain Hammer, this farce is far too savvy to miss.  The songs, written by Whedon and his brother, Jed, are complicated constructions but also hilarious and infectious.  Good vs. Evil has never sounded so great and also never been this gray for that matter.  BD extras include behind the scenes footage, commentary and a full length musical commentary, which features all new songs.  Give it a try!

THE ROAD

This little seen film is a haunting tale of one man and his boy struggling to survive after the apocalypse.  Sure, we've seen a lot of post-apocalyptic films these days.  Everywhere you look, the sky is falling.  The sky has never looked so many shades of dust and grey though as it does in this John Hillcoat picture.  Viggo Mortensen is the man in this movie (that is actually his character's name - its a "this could happen to anyone" thing).  His performance is haunting, heavy and was sorely overlooked during awards season.  Whereas most end-of-the-world movies heighten the sense of urgency and danger by having characters in perilous nature situations, THE ROAD allows for basic human needs to demonstrate the depravity of mankind.  It is certainly not an easy film to enjoy but definitely easy to appreciate.

ALSO NEW THIS WEEK:The supposedly gorgeous, Channing Tatum, goes to war and gets by with letters from his girl at home, the supposedly popular, Amanda Seyfried, in DEAR JOHN.  If you're looking for something more substantial, you could rent pretty much anything but more specifically, look for classics, SPARTACUS and STAGECOACH, to make their way to BD for the first time.

Source: blu-ray.com

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New Moon (2009)

Genre: Romance/Drama/Fantasy

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattison, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Michael Sheen

The Twilight saga continues into its second installment, the New Moon. Bella Swan (Stewart) is madly in love with the vampire Edward Cullan (Pattison) and she realises that Edward will remain the way he is for all his life but Bella being a mortal will age and eventually die. Bella and Edward both realise this shortfall in their relationship and Edward decides to move out of Bella's life before things get worse. Heart-broken, Bella starts confiding in Jacob (Lautner) who secretly loves her but never confessed it. Bella is torn if she should love Jacob back or crave for Edward the rest of her life. The movie is a great improvement when it comes to the plot from the previous movie. The romance is nothing great and whatever little fights scenes exist have been toned down to fit better in the movie, which sadly doesn't have the expected impact. Performance are nothing to talk about and the movie gets slow and boring on multiple occasions. Might appeal to the romantic teenage girl but definitely not to anyone else. Seriously, what is all the hype  on Robert Pattison and Taylor Lautner all about?

Thumbs up: Improvement from the previous movie

Thumbs down: Slow and boring

Rating: 5.4/10

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Omkara (2006)

Genre: Action/Crime/Drama/Romance

Starring: Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Naseeruddin Shah, Bipasha Basu, Deepak Dobriyal

Set in rural north India, an area where corruption, outlaws and politicians rule the land, Dolly (Kapoor) a young beautiful girl elopes with one such outlaw. Omkara (Devgan) kidnaps her just before her marriage with Raju (Dobriyal). Omkara supports the local politician Bhaisaab (Shah) and manages to trounce his opponent for the upcoming parliamentary elections. Happy with his work, Bhaisaab promotes Omkara as the candidate for the upcoming elections and Omkara promotes his aide Kesu Firangi (Oberoi) as Bahubali who would soon take his place. Omkara's faithful sidekick Langda Tyagi (Khan) is hurt that he wasn't made Bahubali and plans to topple Kesu as a form of revenge. He teams up with Raju who too is seeking revenge from Omkara for stealing his would-be wife from under his nose. They hatch a plot to bring Kesu and Dolly close and thus making both of them fall in the eyes of Omkara and eventually succeeding in their plan. What ensues is the most rotten politics all for the lust of power and money. The movie is plagued with rural slang and abuses and if you get hold of the sarcasm you might just snicker else you'll be dumbfounded. What makes the movie shine out is not the plot but the phenomenal acting. The extra efforts of the entire crew can be seen but Saif Ali Khan is exceptionally brilliant. The manner in which he delivers the dialogues in the perfect manner and the precise expression make you wish for more. The biggest let down though is the stretched plot which gets slow around the half-way mark. The climax is good but not as impressive as I would have expected it to be. Nonetheless, a lovely movie with a cult following in Bollywood. Vishal Bhardwaj's adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello.

Thumbs up: Fabulous acting, Saif Ali Khan in particular

Thumbs down: Slow and lengthy plot

Rating: 7.2/10

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Black Sheep @ The Box Office

When is $71.25 million not worth shaking a big, green stick at?  When the fourth Shrek installment makes more than $50 million less than the previous installment, that's when.  Studio expectations were already very conservative, expecting SHREK FOREVER AFTER to pull in approximately $100 million, $20 million less than the record SHREK THE THIRD holds for the highest animated opening weekend in history.  I'm certain that this last Shrek tale will earn back its budget globally but it seems that Dreamworks is getting out of the Shrek business just in time.  The green has been made.

Still, it could be worse ... much worse.  You could be MACGRUBER.  This "SNL" skit inspired film inspired very, very little interest at the box office this  week.  It's a shame really as it was pretty funny but people assume the worst when it comes to these kinds of films.  With a per screen average of $1.6K, MACGRUBER may go on to make back its relatively small $10 million budget.  At least things didn't go the route of IT'S PAT!  That "SNL" film pulled in $60K in its entire run.

Sneaking into the Top 10 at number 10 is the multilingual film, KITES, in which a mortally wounded man left for dead in the desert keeps himself alive by focusing on winning back the love of his life.  Filmmaker, Brett Rattner, threw his name behind the film to get more people to see it and they did, with a decent per screen average of just under $5K.

NEXT WEEK: There will be no box office review next week as I will be in Montreal for the weekend but there will still be movies coming out.  Opening to early previews on Wednesday and officially on Thursday is the hotly anticipated SEX AND THE CITY 2.  I am very curious to see if the girls can pull it off a second time on 3400 screens.  I am also very curious to see for how much of PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME Jake Gyllenhaal is shirtless.  The video game inspired film opens on 3500 screens on Friday.  Art house films include MICMACS from the director of AMELIE, festival hit, AGORA, with Rachel Weisz and a re-issue of one of my favorite films, Jean-Luc Godard's A BOUT DE SOUFFLE (BREATHLESS).

Source: Box Office Mojo

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X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Genre: Fantasy/Science-fiction/Action

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Leiv Schreiber, Danny Huston, Lynn Collins, Taylor Kitsch

The origination of Wolverine (Jackman) was a well-kept secret, even from Logan himself. Logan had an elder brother Victor (Schreiber) who was also a mutant like him and has similar powers. The brothers enlist themselves in the army and take on a secret mission under Colonel William Stryker (Huston). Victor slowly loses his humanity and becomes more animal day-by-day whereas Logan tries to refrain himself from becoming a creature. Logan does not like the way the mission is going and quits to lead a quiet country life with his girlfriend Kayla (Collins). Logan's past comes back to haunt him with Victor going on a killing spree and Col. Stryker offering him help to get even with his brother. The movie plot is different from what we have previously been seeing in the X-Men movies but its still not completely different. Although the movie tries to shed the super-hero image and look more like a conspiracy, it still looks like a super-hero movie and would always look like one. Thankfully, one doesn't really have to be familiar with any of the previous movies to get a hold of the story of this one.

Thumbs up: Good action, interesting plot
Thumbs down: Poor climax

Rating: 7.2/10

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MACGRUBER

Written by Will Forte, John Soloman and Jorma Taccone

Directed by Jorma Taccone

Starring Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Philippe and Val Kilmer

MacGruber: There's a big difference between winging it and seeing what happens.

On “Saturday Night Live”, MACGRUBER, a throwback to the 1980’s television series, “MacGyver”, is played up every now and then as a skit where a hapless dope (played happily by Will Forte) has to diffuse some bomb in some dire scenario at the last second.  Of course, he never succeeds and is constantly blowing himself up but he still comes back kicking even harder the next time around.  Now that MACGRUBER is hitting the silver screen, he goes very big and I see no reason why he should have to go home again to that tiny little set.

Under the direction of “Saturday Night Live” regular director, Jorma Taccone, “MacGruber” is a film that is serious in its conviction to the complete buffoonery of its title character but not at all serious about anything else.  There is nothing believable about a failed explosives expert who hasn’t progressed in the least since the 80’s  but by taking his joke of a life seriously, MACGRUBER becomes real.  More importantly, MACGRUBER is really funny.  Forte is unflinching as MacGruber and that can’t be easy to do when you have to strut like a chicken with a piece of celery sticking out of your butt.  Honestly, doesn’t that one sentence alone make you want to run out and see this movie already?  What if told you Val Kilmer plays MacGruber’s arch nemesis, Dieter Von Cunth? It’s completely asinine, yes, but that’s what makes it funny.  Still not good enough?  Kristen Wiig!!  C'mon!

How long has it been since we last saw a “Saturday Night Live” inspired film that was actually watchable, let alone funny?  Like most "SNL" films, you would think MACGRUBER would blow up in its own face.   Just like the character himself though, MACGRUBER the movie has shown up at the last possible second to save the “SNL” films from oblivion and this time, he manages to make it out before the bomb blows everything in sight.

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The Killing Fields (1984)

Genre: History/Drama/War

Starring: Sam Waterson, John Malkovich, Haing S. Ngor, Julian Sands

The Vietnam War spilled over its boarders and reached the neighbouring countries of Cambodia and Laos. New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg (Waterson) is sent to Cambodia to cover the war. A Cambodian journalist Dith Pran (Ngor) is appointed as his interpreter and assistant. The communist rebels known as the Khymer Rouge are invading the city. Sydney, Dith, Rockoff (Malkovich) and a British Journalist Jon Swain (Sands) take refuge in the French embassy. The Khymer Rouge threaten to bomb the embassy if all Cambodian nationals are not surrendered to them. Dith, who was posing as a British national is compromised and sent out of the embassy. Sydney returns to America and looks after Dith's family but is unable to locate Dith himself. Dith, meanwhile, is being held in a Khymer Rouge labour camp where he is been made to rough and barbaric labour. As per history, the Khymer Rouge killed almost 2 million educated Cambodians, deeming them as 'unwanted civilians' and went about propagating 'Year Zero' and brain-washed young children to make them future communist leaders. The movie explores a good piece of history and would appeal to those who like to watch historically accurate movies. On the flip side, the movie is slow and drags on and tries to encompass too many things making it a little too lengthy. Perhaps if the plot focuses only on one aspect of the war, it would have been far more interesting and not as heavy. Fantastic performances by Ngor and Waterson and a cult classic.

Thumbs up: Amazing performances
Thumbs down: Slow and lengthy

Rating: 7.4/10

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Black Sheep previews Inside Out 2010

The first time I ever came to Toronto was to attend INSIDE OUT, Toronto's LGBT film and video festival.  It was about ten years ago so the festival was half as old as it is now.  And to be fair, INSIDE OUT was not my original reason for visiting Toronto for the first time.  No, that would have to be because I had tickets to see Mariah Carey's "One Night Only - Rainbow Tour" at the Air Canada Centre.  If this were ten years ago, this would make me about 23.  I was a Mariah fan for ten years before that and had never had the chance to see her in concert.  Unfortunately, diva ate some bad oysters a few days before the show and had to reschedule it for the one night all month that I could not go.  I would be lying if I said I did not cry at home that night like a teenage girl.  Anyhow, I couldn't get the deposit back on my bed and breakfast reservation so I switched the dates and decided to come in for INSIDE OUT instead.

As I eluded to earlier, INSIDE OUT turns 20 this year!  To celebrate, they are bringing back some past favorites as well as a slew of new pictures that will certainly honour this benchmark as it deserves.  The opening night gala is this evening actually.  By the time you read this, it will likely have already finished but don't worry; it was sold out anyway.  It isn't surprising considering the opening film is the first narrative work by Academy Award winning documentary filmmakers, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (THE CELLULOID CLOSET, PARAGRAPH 175, THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK).  Their first foray into fiction filmmaking is called, HOWL, and centers on poet, Allan Ginsberg and his poem, "Howl".  Ginsberg is played by James Franco and HOWL will be released later this year by the good people at Mongrel Media.  On a side note, THE CELLULOID CLOSET, a brilliant exploration of the history of gay cinema, is being screened on Saturday at Buddies at 3:00 for donations.  The directors will be present at both screenings.

First run features that I am most looking forward to include I AM LOVE, UNDERTOW and GOING SOUTH.  I AM LOVE is a critical darling that has played intensely to festival audiences the world over already.  The Italian film stars Tilda Swinton as a Milanese aristocrat and from the look of the trailer, it is going to be a gorgeous effort from budding filmmaker, Luca Guadagnino.  UNDERTOW is the festival's centrepiece gala presentation.  From director Javier Fuentes-Leon, this Spanish language film tells the story of a hidden affair between two men in a Peruvian village.  GOING UNDER doesn't sound that different than Sebastien Lifshitz's previous masterpiece, COME UNDONE, but if it is anywhere near as good as that French film, I will be a very happy man.  If it is anywhere near as hot, I will be even happier.

Other classic films being screened at the festival include the 1958 German groundbreaker, MADCHEN IN UNIFORM, the Quebec classic, LILLIES and a restored print of the 1986 film, PARTING GLANCES will screen on the eve of its 25th anniversary at the Bloor Cinema.

Other festival highlights include Hot Docs leftover, JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK, TIFF leftover, LE REFUGE, from French director, Francois Ozon,  another Hot Doc film. MARK, about s local activist and how he changed lives with his beautiful spirit and PRIMA DONNA: THE STORY OF RUFUS WAINWRIGHT'S DEBUT OPERA (pretty self explanatory).

INSIDE OUT runs from May 20 to May 30 at a variety of different screening venues in Toronto.  For more information and for tickets, please click the following link: INSIDE OUT

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MAO'S LAST DANCER

Written by Jan Sardi

Directed by Bruce Beresford

Starring Chi Cao, Bruce Greenwood, Kyle MacLachlan and Amanda Schull

Li Cunxin: When I dance, I dance for them.

In 1972, in the Shandong province in the People’s Republic of China, a young boy of no more than eleven years old, was chosen. Exactly what he was chosen for was not made so clear at that point. There is no way that a young Li Cunxin could know at that point, when he was separated from his family to go to the Beijing Dance Academy simply because he was technically limber enough to become a potential ballet dancer, that he would go on to cause an international scandal that would in turn make him MAO’S LAST DANCER.

Director Bruce Beresford tells the true story of how Li (played in the film as an adult by the skilled Chi Cao, who incidentally also trained at the same academy in Beijing) came to spend a summer in Houston, Texas on an exchange program and how that experience subsequently made it impossible for him to return to Communist China afterward. While in America, Li has extreme culture clash at first, shocked when his guardian, Ben Stevenson (played by Bruce Greenwood, who could not be any lighter in his loafers if he tried) drops hundreds of dollars in a day of shopping when his parents had never seen that much money in their lifetime. The shock wears off though and Li comes to see that democracy might actually make him a freer dancer as well.

Beresford bounces back and forth between Li’s back story and his time in Houston in the late 1970’s. The contrasting experiences are drastic and it makes it a little too easy to side with the American idealism that supposedly promotes freedom of expression instead of the strict home Li came from. Still, the story is a true one and a difficult one at that, with plenty of emotional payoff in the end. What makes MAO’S LAST DANCER memorable though, aside from its truths and struggles, is all the beautiful dancing in between. We may not be watching Li himself dance on screen but we do get to see exactly what he was fighting for.

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How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Genre: Animation/Fantasy/Action/Adventure/Comedy

Starring (voice): Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera

Welcome to the Viking village of Berk. Most villages have mosquito's and houseflies as pests to deal with but the people have Berk have dragons. The dragons burn down the village and steal the sheep's and the villagers desperately try to get rid of them. Hiccup (Baruchel) is the son of the Viking chief Stoik (Butler) and wants to try his hand at killing a dragon. However, Hiccup is too young and doesn't have the physical fitness of a normal Viking and is hence kept away from the line of action. A particularly dangerous dragon known as the Night Fury has never been seen by any living person because it moves too fast and is too dangerous. Out of sheer luck, Hiccup manages to capture the Night Fury and when he tries to kill it, he realises he doesn't have the heart to do so. The Night Fury is injured and cant fly and Hiccup starts nursing him. Slowly the two become the best of friends and Hiccup realises that the dragons need not be killed but can instead by trained. He now has to simply convey this to his father before he goes on a killing spree and kills every one of the dragons. The movie is different and thrilling right from the word go. A fresh and highly entertaining plot is just what the doctor ordered. Most animation movies try to improvise on graphics and make them come as close to reality as possible. Thankfully, the movie doesn't look too realistic and it feels like an animation movie and not a movie that tries to be life-like. Its not just for the young but appeals to people of all ages. A must watch with the entire family.

Thumbs up: Thrilling and entertaining
Thumbs down: Some more humour perhaps?

Rating: 8.4/10

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Black Sheep's Blu-Tuesday

A couple of weeks back, I focused on the new BD book release of DOCTOR ZHIVAGO.  I did not get my screener copy on time to review it but I received it shortly afterward.  I wasn't having the greatest of days and a three-hour plus film seemed like the perfect way to get lose for an extended period of time.  Watching the classic made me realize just how much I love grand, epic romances, especially if the love meets a tragic end.  Honestly though, when does the love survive in these scenarios anyway?  Julie Christie is just as gorgeous in this movie as the breathtaking scenery.  If you have not had the chance to see DOCTOR ZHIVAGO and are looking for a good, long trip down Film History Lane, pick this one up.

Moving on to the week at hand ...

VALENTINE'S DAY

It's a good thing this Garry Marshall crammed almost every likable star in Hollywood into this two hour tribute to a day that ordinarily annoys me.  I can't say the filmic ode annoyed me any less but there were a few moments that made it passable.  Highlights include Anne Hathaway as a girl in a fresh and potentially satisfying relationship that has to hide her moonlighting job as a phone sex operator; Jennifer Garner and Ashton Kutcher are actually pretty adorable together as friends who could be more; and this one scene between Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo caught me completely off guard and had me weeping.  Essentially, I learned that to love someone means loving them for the parts that are hard to love just as much as the parts that are easy.  Mind you, I'm not sure how much advice about love I should be taking from Hollywood.

THE MESSENGER

If it weren't for the two unexpected Oscar nominations this Oren Moverman film earned this year, this quiet commentary about casualties of war may have fallen entirely into obscurity.  Instead, after picking up a Best Supporting Actor nod for Woody Harrelson and a screenplay nomination, it managed to pull in a little over $6 million at the box office.  It doesn't sound like much but given how limited it played and how bleak the subject matter is, it's not bad at all.  Harrelson's nod is well deserved and in any other year, Ben Foster would have joined him amongst the nominees.  Foster is usually a little over the top but his restraint here offers a perspective that is cutting and moving.  The entire case delivers actually with Samantha Morton rounding out the team with another incredible performance as the widow of a fallen soldier.  For the full length Black Sheep theatrical review, just click this link.

INVICTUS 

Two very talented actors, Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, give great performances in this Clint Eastwood picture but once again, Eastwood himself is his own film's worst enemy.  Honestly, this historical account of how the South African soccer team helped its country unify during a controversial period that found Nelson Mandela as its first black leader, opens with Mandela being driven down a road in a cavalcade with black soccer players on one side of the road and white ones on the other side.  Could this new leader divide the gap between these races?  Eastwood is a genius ... at being ridiculously obvious in his intentions, that is.  He is almost incapable of subtlety and he looms over all his projects with an air of enlightenment when all it really is ignorance for just how delicate these situations really are.  It isn't his worst picture but you can miss it and not be any worse for it.

ALSO NEW THIS WEEK:

Harrison Ford and Brandan Fraser try to collectively cure some incurable disease in what looks like an overglorified made for television movie called EXTREME MEASURES.  Criterion goes on WALKABOUT with the 1971 Nicolas Roeg film.  Michael Winterbottom makes what arguably could be classified as art house pornography with 9 SONGS.  And Al Pacino favorite, CARLITO'S WAY makes its way to BD for the first time.

Source: bluray.com

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