Valkyrie

Valkyrie

It is a shame that there is poor public opinion on Tom Cruise, since I thought Valkyrie was quite a good movie. It would be stretching it to say that it is a film that would receive Oscar recognition, but I thought that the film was a great return to thrillers for director Bryan Singer,…

Yes Man

Yes Man

Jim Carrey has had a very interesting career, which I essentially grew up to (Ace Venture: Pet Detective came out when I was 11). You had this guy, who was relatively unknown, except for being “the white guy” on In Living Color. Suddenly he appears in three hit comedies in 1994, is cast as The…

The Reader

The Reader

I probably wouldn’t have been that compelled to check out The Reader if it wasn’t for the fact that it had just received four Golden Globe nominations, including Best Picture (drama). I would have to say that I found it a decent enough film. I don’t know if I would go as far to say…

The Day the Earth Stood Still

The Day the Earth Stood Still

This film probably had two stigmas going against it long before any trailers were released: one was the stigma against remakes and the other was the stigma against Keanu Reeves. I will first address the remake issue, since it is the most poignant. No matter what word is used to describe them (remake, reboot, reimagining,…

Four Christmases

Four Christmases

Every year always adds at year one more holiday film to the large list that receive high rotation on TV at this film of the year. Of course, it’s a mixed bag, since for every Elf there is a Christmas with the Kranks. In the more high profile of the two holiday films opening this…

Milk

Milk

Gus Van Sant returns somewhat to the mainstream (for the first time since 2000’s Finding Forrester with this biopic about the assassinated politician Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay man elected into public office and fought hard for gay rights in the United States. The film is presented using both documentary and filmed…

Australia

Australia

Before this film, Baz Luhrmann was known for the Red Curtain Trilogy, of which I’ve seen two: Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge! Both of those films feature extravagant ideas. One being a modern version of Shakespeare’s play, while using the original text, and the other being a period musical using modern music. Now with…

JCVD

JCVD

Jean-Claude Van Damme. He will probably always be remembered as the “other guy” behind the killer action trio of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis. He made an impact in Hollywood during the 80s and 90s before seemingly vanishing after 1999’s Universal Soldier: The Return. This film sees Van Damme playing himself as he…

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire

While it may sound cheesy using Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? as the basis for a story about finding a lost love in India, but it actually works out. The story takes place mainly in flashbacks. as the main character, who is being interrogated by police on suspicion of cheating on the game show,…

Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace

I guess it can agreed that the James Bond series would seem a little dated with newer action-packed spy films like the Jason Bourne films showing up. However, I never expected the producers to try and combine the two. There are many times throughout the film that seems to borrow from the Bourne films (including…