Mini Movie Review - Eagle Eye.

The only movie critic I normally read is Roger Ebert. I almost always agree with him. However this is one of those occasions where I didn't . He gave it two stars and a rather tepid review.

Basically Eagle Eye is a movie, it makes no sense, would never work in the real world, has way too many things happen just right at just the right time. In spite of all of that and maybe because of it's sheer audacity I found it very entertaining. Shia Lebouf and Michelle Monaghan are both good as the lead characters. It's is a bit predictable and movieish, when machinery has moving parts that it doesn't need you know someone is going to break them. There was a little bit of a tacked on ending that didn't quite work. Overall it was a fun little movie, and things get blown up real good.

This film will be playing at Western Film, probably as a late show.

Mini-Movie Review - My Best Friend's Girl

I did an earlier post on how the marketing for this film couldn't seem to decide if it was a romantic or raunchy comedy. Turns out it tries to be both and doesn't entirely fail. I enjoyed it well enough, it had some funny bits. I would recommend that anyone who doesn't like Dane Cook not see this film. He's playing an even more exaggerated version of the character he always plays. This will probably play at Western Film. It won't be my first choice but I think it will do alright.

Mini - Movie Review - Death Race.

I was looking forward to this film because I tend to like mindless action films and Jason Statham. I was somewhat disappointed. Jason was Jason as usual. However, I was sitting there trying to keep myself from looking at my watch. I couldn't figure out how a movie with so much action could be almost boring. It's basically one big race with lots of explosions and car wrecks and the occasional dialogue scene. Joan Allen is pretty good but does seem a bit out of place, she also needs to see a better plastic surgeon, it's becoming obvious. I liked the movie okay but was hoping for more. I thought it might be just me but Roger Ebert gave it a half star. I can't remember the last time I saw him do that.

Death Race wouldn't have played at Western Film anyway, it's a kind of film we don't do well with, even if it was better.

Movie Review - Doomsday.

The ads for this made it look like a standard scf-fi apocalypse thriller. The movie seemed to be composed of equal parts Mad Max and Escape From New York with a female lead. The Mad Max influence was so obvious and blatant the director must be a fan of the series. Normally I would assume he was a hack director but also did the movie The Descent, one of the genuinely scary flicks I've seen in a while.

Overall it was a fun action movie with occasional horror thrown in. It was better than I expected. The lead actresses Rhona Mitra probably has quite a future as an action heroine.

Movie Review - 10,000 BC.

The first I heard about this film was when I checked into what films actor Steven Strait had coming up. I liked him in The Covenent. 10,000 BC sounded interesting and Roland Emmerich was directing. Emmerich has had a spotty career with both good and bad films, I think Independence day is one of the best popcorn movies ever made. Popcorn movies tends to mean big budget, special effects driven spectaculars. His movies tend to be big and loud without a lot of substance but usually exciting. I was expecting something similar from 10,000 BC.

It was fairly obvious Warner Bros was hoping for a hit similar to 300 from last year, same release date, same genre, similar marketing.

Unfortunately the movie sucked. It was almost boring, only had a couple big action sequences which were obviously computer generated, didn't make sense and even stole a couple scenes right out of 300!? Steven Strait did a fine job with what he was given to work with, he looked pretty good shirtless for most of the movie.

I'd love to see the outtakes from this, the dialogue was so corny I bet they had a lot of takes where the actors couldn't keep from laughing.

I don't think this will play at Western Film. Not just because I didn't like it but for a couple reasons.

-it's getting negative buzz

-these kind of action films don't tend to do great at Western Film even when they are hits and considered good.

I might play it if I have an opening in the schedule.

Western Film Movie Review - Vantage Point.

The trailers for this film were really well done. I really wanted to see it and it looked really good. Unfortunately the movie didn't quite live up to the trailer. It was still a good, interesting, fun film but not as good as I had hoped. It used a somewhat unconventional narrative form which some of the audience members seemed to have trouble with. It was one of those films where the elements of a great movie all seemed to be there but weren't quite put together right. It's still worth seeing though. I don't think it will play at Western Film even if it was a better film. The kind of mid-range action films it represents don't get well attended at Western Film any more. I might try it as a late show if I have an opening.

Movie Review - Beowulf

I've been wanting to see this and finally got to see it plus a bonus. The second trailer for a movie called Cloverfield I've been wanting to see. The first trailer played in front of Transformers. It's some sort of monster movie. The 2nd trailer made it look cool, but predictably still doesn't give a lot of concrete info.

Beowulf was done in an interesting style. It was shot with motion capture technology then animated over. The same technique was used in Polar Express. It still has some of the same problems with the characters looking waxlike. Personally I think they should stick to unfamiliar faces. I didn't recognize the actor that played Beowulf so I didn't have a problem with him but the characters played by Robin Wright and the others I recognized looked weird except for Angelina Jolie, maybe she already looks like a cartoon.

The story was quite interesting. Some people are upset it differs from the original source but I don't know how the story goes so that wasn't a problem for me.

Overall it was a good fantasy film with some epic action scenes. It's showing in some places in 3-D which was obvious sometimes when things were flying at the camera. It was gorier than I thought it would be. It will be playing at Western Film, probably sometime in January. We are only open for 4 more weeks then we shut down for the holidays.

Movie Review - Michael Clayton

I booked this movie for next week so I thought I'd post my review. I heard a lot of good things about this film. I heard George Clooney did an Oscar caliber performance. It was a really good movie, quite intriguing. I think Tilda Swinton is a great actress so her part was well done. There wasn't anything really exceptional about the film but it was well done and worth watching. The last shot is quite interesting.

Movie Review - The Heartbreak Kid

This film looked so promising. It reunited the team that brought us There's Something about Mary which I would consider a minor comedy classic. The premise looked interesting. However overall the movie wasn't very good. It was only sporadically funny and some of the jokes were really forced. Ben Stiller was Ben Stiller as usual but started to get on my nerves more than usual. Until I saw it (and read the reviews) there was no question whether this film would play at Western Film but now I don't think it will. It's a well-known movie with a fairly big star but it's got that bad movie vibe so I don't think it would do well at Western Film. I'd maybe play it if there's nothing else available that week.

Movie Review - Eastern Promises

This is the new film from director David Cronenberg starring Viggo Mortensen who was was also in Cronenberg's last film A History of Violence. The film is a bit slow but has really well developed characters. Viggo does great job of making his character truly scary. There was one plot twist that I saw coming. It's also extremely violent in a very realistic way that some people won't like. One of it's best known parts is a several minute fight seen in a sauna with Viggo totally naked. It was an interesting choice. They avoided the movie cliche of him wearing a towel which miraculously never falls off. There's also an extra dimension showing the vulnerability of the naked body. It was edited in such a way that Viggo's 'bits' as the British call them were not shown much. I booked it for next week so it's going to play at Western Film.

Movie Review - Elizabeth The Golden Age.

I'm way behind on my movie reviews so I'm going to do a bunch of short ones to catch up.

Elizabeth I was really looking forward to, I remember the first one being really good, I'm pretty sure it was the first time most people had heard of Cate Blanchett. The new one was not as good as I expected but was still good. Cate was really good, I see possible Oscar nomination. The sets and wardrobes were the most spectacular part of the film. I found it similar to the first film in having a hard time following the story. I also got the impression I was supposed to know things and recognize people I didn't, possibly from the first movie. Still worth watching. it will be playing at Western Film.

Movie Review - Across the Universe

When I first saw the the trailer for Across the Universe I had two thoughts. I want to see this movie and it's going to be one of those movies where some people will really like it and others won't 'get' it. I was right on the second point and I pretty much didn't get it. However other people have really liked it so this is one movie where a person really has to make up their own mind. I heard some of the other people in the audience as we left saying how much they liked it.

If I had to sum up the film in one sentence it would be Rent with Beatles songs.

I liked the movie but not as much as I thought I would, the story was interesting and I thought it was creative the way they intertwined the names, characters and story lines of various Beatles's songs. Part of the reason I didn't like it as much is my personal preferences as far as music goes. I tend to like faster music with a beat and music that reaches a crescendo or some sort of energy level. The songs in the film seemed to be slowed down and never got above a certain energy level that I wanted. Honestly it could just have been the volume was too low though. The visual sequences were quite wild and personally, I think the movie may have been designed to be watched while stoned.

As an example of the music issue I have embedded the trailer below. I like the part where it reaches a crescendo just after Hey Jude starts. The original song does something similar. However the movie doesn't.

This film will most likely be playing at Western Film. I think there will be enough people who want to see it and it's the kind of movie some people will want to see more than once.

Movie Review - Mr. Woodcock

This was one of those films that it was hard to tell from the trailers whether it was good or crap. There was some good stuff in the trailer that suggested it could be good but maybe all the good stuff was in the trailer? I like Seann William Scott as a comedic actor and Billy Bob Thornton plays a good slimeball. The final product was somewhere in the middle. I enjoyed it but it wasn't the funniest movie I'd seen recently. The ending was kind of week. Still worth watching. I don't think it will be playing at Western Film. Comedies that don't get good buzz generally don't do well. The closest comparison is the similar School For Scoundrels from last year. I played that at Western Film and it didn't do very well.

The poster sucks. Not interesting and very obvious photoshopping.

Movie Review - Shoot 'em Up.

I've been looking forward to this film since I saw the trailer. It looked like a lot of fun. It's basically a live action Bugs Bunny cartoon including carrots and 'What's Up Doc?'. It's sheer over the top, campy fun. The level of suspension of disbelief required has rarely been higher than in this film. I've talked to a few people who've seen it and some loved it, others thought it was too over the top. It shares many of the aspects of cartoons, logic problems such as how the bad guys keep knowing where Mr. Smith is and a certain amount of bending the laws of physics and time/space.

I quite enjoyed the film. It did lack something that I can't quite define, something that would have made it even better. I think it may have had something to do with the direction.

Western Film may play it. We don't normally play smaller action films but I think this one is sufficiently different that it would do well here. It'll depend on what else is available.

Movie Review - Balls Of Fury

This will be a short one. The trailers made this film look like a stupid film with some funny bits. That's pretty much what it delivered. I'm willing to bet the script was bet for Jack Black. The lead actor was basically doing a Jack Black impersonation. Christoper Walken was funny. He was in it more than I expected.

Personally I think the only reason this film didn't go straight to video is Christoper Walken. This won't be playing at Western Film.

Movie Review- Superbad

I did an earlier post about this film. The subject was how different the regular and R-rated trailers made the movie look. When I first saw the regular trailer I though the movie looked bad. Then I saw the R rated version on the Internet and the movie looked a lot funnier. Now I know why, because 95% of the funniness in the movie couldn't be shown in a regular trailer.

Superbad was one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long while. If you thought Knocked Up was raunchy then you ain't seen nothing yet. Superbad was really raunchy, it probably wins or comes close to #1 in a contest to fit the most swear words in a movie.

It was similar to Knocked Up but a more juvenile sense of humour. It took me a while to get interested but the high school types around me seemed to love it. There were a few segments that were really, really funny. It was also one of those movies where you miss parts because people are still laughing at the previous stuff.

I will say I though some of the jokes went a little too far. I would imagine some of the women in the audience were uncomfortable with some of the jokes and I wasn't crazy about the gay jokes either.

This will be playing at Western Film in a month or so.

Movie Review - Stardust

I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie. The trailers were iffy, it looked like it could be bad. The special effects looked iffy etc. However I was very pleasantly surprised when I saw it today. It was a lot of fun and quite funny which hadn't really come across in the trailers. Pretty straight forward action/fantasy with a story that was fairly easy to figure out. Michelle Pfeiffer did a great job as the wicked witch and Robert DeNiro was priceless in his performance. The effects were for the most part well done and there was a certain amount of spectacle. Overall I recommend seeing it. I'm pretty sure Western Film will play it. It'll depend on how it does first run and what other movies are available when it comes available.

Movie Review - Hot Rod

This review will be short. Hot Rod was over-the-top and ridiculous but really funny at times. I wasn't expecting much because I thought the trailers were a little weak and might contain all the funny stuff. However the film was quite funny in places. Some of the bits went on a little too long and some just plain didn't make sense. The filmmakers had their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks.

I don't think the film will play at Western Film. It's a 'small' film and isn't really aimed at the crowd we get.

Trivia Contest: I have a Hot Rod tank top I received at ShowCanada to give away. The first person who leaves a comment saying what movie gets an extended parody scene in Hot Rod wins it. I'll update the post in a few days with the answer if no one posts it.

New Policy on movie reviews.

I've decided I need to approach movie reviews differently if I'm going to do them. I'm in a bit of a conflict of interest since I run a movie theatre I don't want to write reviews that keep people from seeing the film.
This was brought to the fore with the review I wrote for Evan Almighty. It was pretty negative.

One thing about films is they are so subjective, a movie one person loves another hates. There is usually a general consensus though. There are exceptions though. I can think of a couple examples.

Waitress- I've heard people say this was their favorite movie and I think I've decided I hated it. As an example read the user reviews at tribute.ca for Waitress. Talk about differing opinions. I think the gap is along gender lines.

Little Miss Sunshine- I heard this was one of the best movies ever etc and I went to see it and thought it was alright but didn't understand the hoopla.

Grease 2- considered one of the worst movies ever made but one of my favorites. Please don't tell anyone.

So this is my new policy on movie reviews. Let me know if you disagree.

I'm only going to do reviews for movies I liked or at least didn't hate or films I know won't be coming to Western Film. If I don't review a movie I either didn't like it or didn't see it. There's few movies I don't see and few movies I don't like in at least some way so I'll probably still review most films.

Western Film mini movie review - Transformers

I have been wanting to see this movie for a while even though I had never watched the TV series. I'm a sucker for spectacle and sci-fi films and despite what some people think of him Director Michael Bay makes spectacle movies. Note I said spectacle, not spectacular. If I had to sum up this movie in one line:

The epitome of (possibly perfect) summer popcorn movie.

It was big, loud, funny, tons of action and as Roger Ebert said ' stuff that blows up real good'. The special effects were incredible, the machines look totally real. There was a strong female lead. There's only a few things I didn't like. There's some logic flaws I would have liked answered like why some of the machines can take more than one form and other can't. The action was edited at such a frantic pace I had trouble following what was going on at times. Related to the prior point was that the robots looked fairly similar and I sometimes wasn't sure who was fighting who. I'll watch it again when it comes to Western Film, I'll catch more detail.