Category Archives: Movie Review

Black Swan (Movie Review)

Movie Review
Black Swan
2010
Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel
Directed by: Darren Aronofsky

Black Swan is a tale of two movies. There’s the movie that Darren Aronofsky wanted to make and envisioned and there’s the movie I saw. Black Swan is not a horrible movie but it misses the mark several ways. It’s obvious that Aronofsky was aiming for something but the film never seems to end up where the filmmaker wanted it to go. It’s not a train wreck but it’s not a train I would want to board again anytime soon.

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Barney’s Version (Movie Review)


Movie Review
Barney’s Version
2010
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Dustin Hoffman
Directed by: Richard J. Lewis

There’s nothing particularly amazing about Richard J. Lewis’s Barney’s Version. It’s a story about a guy who falls in love with a woman and their life together. On paper, it doesn’t exactly look like a film of the year candidate. However, this film is a finely crafted piece of cinema and is beautiful in its simplicity. It may seem like an easy film to overlook but this a movie that no one should miss.

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Incendies (Movie Review)

Movie Review
Incendies
2010
Starring: Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve

Chances are you’ll find yourself feeling very frustrated after watching Incendies. This is not because Denis Villeneuve did a horrible job directing the film; in fact, it’s one of the best films to come from Quebec in the last couple of years. It’s because you can’t help shake your head at the senseless violence that takes place in the movie. We’re not talking about the normal senseless violence that is pumped into high-octane thrillers but the senseless violence that still exists today in the real world.

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The King’s Speech (Movie Review)

Movie Review
The King’s Speech
2010
Starring: Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush
Directed by: Tom Hooper

A special award needs to be given to the person who spoke up and said the world needs a movie about stuttering. Surprisingly enough, not only is Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech actually a good movie considering its main theme but it’s actually quite brilliant. Aside from the problem with the ending lacking any real significance, everything about this film is incredibly well done.

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Madness Brewing–Oscar Live Blog

11:43 – The final stats are four apiece for Inception and The King’s Speech. The big loser was True Grit as it picked up a grand total of zero Oscars despite having ten nominations. The film with the best winning percentage was Alice in Wonderland with 67% (two wins with three nominations). Inception performed better than The King’s Speech; even though the two films had four victories each, Inception did so with only eight nominations compared to twelve for The King’s Speech

There will be more Oscar discussion on Tuesday’s Weekly Movie Podcast and I’ll look at the entire awards season in Friday’s Weekly Movie Newsletter.

11:37 – Not my choice for Best Picture (I would have picked Inception or Barney’s Version had it been nominated) but it still was a solid pick. It’s a great film and chances are most people will enjoy this film if they take the time to watch it.

11:36 – WINNER FOR BEST PICTURE: The King’s Speech

11:34 – Way to show the ending to several of the Best Picture nominees in that montage, you goofs.

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Robin Hood (Movie Review)

Movie Review
Robin Hood
2010
Starring: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett
Directed by: Ridley Scott

The world didn’t need another Robin Hood movie but that’s what we have thanks to Ridley Scott. Thankfully, it’s pretty good but it could have been better. There were some pacing issues and it’s obvious that they were writing this movie with a sequel in mind. Still, it’s a very interesting take on the lore of Robin Hood that may feel a bit unconventional but is still quite enjoyable.

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Grown Ups (Movie Review)

 

Movie Review
Grown Ups
2010
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Salma  Hayek
Directed by: Dennis Dugun

It’s hard to dislike Dennis Dugun’s Grown Ups. It looks like everyone involved is having fun making the movie and there are some really funny scenes. However, when it is all said and done, it does feel like a ninety minute reunion between a bunch of New York based comics. It’s fun to sit through but there’s not much substance to the movie to make it worthwhile to go see.

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The Other Guys (Movie Review)

 

Movie Review
The Other Guys
2010
Starring: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg
Directed by: Adam Mackay

Will Ferrell and the people of his ilk need to be stopped. They should be banished from Hollywood and never be allowed to make any more movies. The Other Guys is a ridiculously bad movie. Adam McKay’s film is another copycat Will Ferrell film. It’s so bad, it’s not even enjoyable to watch as a cheesy bad movie.

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The A-Team (Movie Review)

 

Movie Review
The A-Team
2010
Starring: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel
Directed by: Joe Carnahan

Somewhere, if George Peppard actually cared, he’d shed a tear over The A-Team. The 2010 film adaptation of the TV series that starred the deceased Peppard is a total mess. The story is dumb, the action looks faker than a wrestling match, and some of the acting of the main characters isn’t less than mediocre in quality. If Joe Carnahan’s goal was to take one of the most successful television action shows from the 80s and take away all the good things about it and add a whole bunch of garbage, then he’s succeeded. He should sit by the phone right now and wait for his Oscar nomination to come in.

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Get Him to the Greek (Movie Review)

 

Movie Review
Get Him to the Greek
2010
Starring: Jonah Hill, Russell Brand
Directed by: Nicholas Stoller

If there’s one word that could perfectly describe Get Him to the Greek, it would be harmless. Nicholas Stoller’s comedy isn’t all that funny and has too many scenes in the film that should have been left on the cutting room floor but it’s not a movie that will frustrate you for having watched it. Some people my find the humour appealing and that’s all well and good for them. Judd Apatow-produced movies have their audience. However, this movie feels tired and that everyone involved is just going through the motions. We’ve seem to have hit that point where if you’ve seen one Apatow movie, you’ve seen them all.

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