RIP, Shirley.

I'm a big fan of Canadians. They tend to bring more joy into my life than one would expect. And today, perhaps my favorite Canadian of all has passed away.

Legendary Director Irvin Kershner Dies at 87

Irvin Kershner, celebrated director of The Empire Strikes Back passed away today after a three and a half year battle with lung cancer. He'll be remembered as the director of what is widely considered the greatest sequel of all time.

May the force be with him.

Jeremy Renner to Take Over Mission: Impossible Franchise

It looks like Tom Cruise is done with Mission: Impossible (even though he turned down Salt because he thought it was too similar...)

Luckily it looks like he won't be taking over Tom Cruise's whole character. I hate re-casting.

More news as it breaks.

Review: I LOVE YOU PHILIP MORRIS

Once I learned that most of the events of I Love You Philip Morris are completely factual, I liked the movie a bit more. I scoured the internet after the film ended searching for more information about Steven Jay Russell. Everything I read only made Jim Carrey's portrayal of him even more fascinating.

Review: 127 HOURS

There are a ton of ways this story could have been told, and there are a ton of ways this film could have been directed. And Danny Boyle went with one that, to me, implicates what directing feature films is all about. Boyle took what could have been a plain old psychological thriller vaguely reminiscent of a biopic, wove a true artistic vision into it, and created an incredible movie. 127 Hours is, without question, one of the most spectacularly directed films I've ever seen.

Review: TANGLED

When I say Disney's back, I very much mean it. Ever since the renaissance of Disney animation ended in 1999 with Tarzan, and Disney Feature Animation fell into a mediocre movie slump people began to ask the question - "When will Disney get back on its game and dominate the animation industry again?" Clearly, this took a little while, but when Princess and the Frog was released it seemed that Disney was finally getting back on the quality horse. Now, having seen Tangled, I can very happily say that Disney is on that horse and riding it at full force again. Welcome back Disney. We've missed you.

Review: HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1

In full honestly it would be difficult to admit that all the Harry Potter movies one through six were not particularly good movies. But they weren’t; that is the truth. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is by far the best Harry Potter movie; it is also the first in the franchise that you could legitimately call a good movie; it is also just half of a movie.

Review: SKYLINE

I really do not understand why Skyline has gotten so many bad reviews. Yes, the acting sucks. Yes, the dialogue doesn’t help it at all. Yes, we have seen better special effects. And yes, it is a story we have all seen before one thousand times. But it is undeservingly filled with beautiful imagery, and such elegant style it would make experienced big-budget action directors cower with jealousy; the Strauss brothers made this movie with less than 10 million dollars. That has to count for something, or rather everything. They made it back three days after it premiered without ever being in the top five.

"Your Highness" Trailer Surfaces

Well. This looks awesome. "Pineapple Express" in medieval times pretty much it seems.

Review: MORNING GLORY

It's going to be nearly impossible to convince my readers of this little fact, but I'm going to have to try. My enormous crush on Rachel McAdams really takes a backseat to what I thought about her in this movie. Despite my constant ramblings of my love for her, I still believe she is the main thing that makes this movie as good as it is. I know, I have no credibility. But I guess you'll just have to believe me; I objectively loved her performance.

Review: DUE DATE

The first thing I thought about Due Date when I left the theater was that it reminded me of a late 80's or early 90's comedy that I would have grown up watching, and probably loved. It's very funny, and I can imagine it being a memorable comedy if it were made that long ago. Then I realized it was made that long ago. It was called Planes, Trains, & Automobiles.

Cars 2 Trailer Surfaces

Silly Mater. What shenanigans will he get up to next?



July 2011

TRAILER: Winnie the Pooh

The first trailer for Winnie the Pooh was released and boy does it bring back memories.

If Owl sounds familiar, then you need to get more sleep at night. Craig Ferguson joins Jim Cummings, Tom Kenny, Travis Oates and Bud Luckey in the voice cast. The tone is amplified by "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane.

Winnie the Pooh will be in theaters July 15 2011

Review: THE TOWN

Ben Affleck's The Town is just about all you can ask for in a bank robbery crime drama. It's smart, well-written, and it's got its emotion in the right place.

In all the years I've talked about film with people, I've noticed that I tend to linger in a group of people that are severely outnumbered - people that really like Ben Affleck. Affleck often gets badmouthed as being a lousy actor for many different reasons. Sometimes people say he picks terrible movies, sometimes people say he's just reading lines, and sometimes Trey Parker and Matt Stone write songs about how Pearl Harbor sucked, and that Ben Affleck was one of the reasons.

Review: WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS

The most surprising quality about Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is how much of a feel good movie this is; something you could not tell from the poster above or the current world economy. Yet this movie, unlike the first installment of the franchise, belies that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.