Awake

Surgery is a frightening event. Doctors cut you open with stainless steel knives, and reach inside to fix what’s hurting you. You are knocked unconscious, so you don’t feel the pain. But imagine something went wrong. Imagine the anesthetic did not put you to sleep, but instead temporarily paralyzed your body. The doctors think everything is fine and continue with the procedure. You feel the pain of every slice, but you are not able...

Enchanted

Most people have no idea who Amy Adams is, but her performance in Enchanted will soon make her a household name.

Adams already has an Oscar nomination on her resume (2005’s Junebug), but deserves another for her turn in Enchanted. She melts hearts with her sweet portrayal of a would-be princess who is lost and alone in a dangerous land.

Beowulf

Robert Zemeckis was on the cutting edge with 2004’s The Polar Express. Motion capture technology allowed Tom Hanks to play six different characters in the charming Christmas film. Zemeckis’ newest film, Beowulf, proves something else – maybe not every story is right for the CG experience...

No Country For Old Men

No Country for Old Men’s standout character is a maniacal killer who challenges his potential victims to a coin toss for their lives. Heads you live, tails you die. Half of the chosen get to walk away not realizing what they could have lost. The other get a jarring shot to the head that they won’t be able to leave behind. No Country for Old Men’s directing team, the Coen brothers, have challenged their audience the same way; Either you miss the point or you will be blown away by the power of one of the best films of the year.

No Country for Old Men comes at a pivotal time in the...

Jay-Z: American Gangster

Jay-Z is the Michael Jordan of hip-hop. The basketball superstar refused to stay retired and made two separate comebacks after claiming his career was over. Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) has released his second comeback album after his initial retirement in 2003, titled American Gangster, but succeeds where Jordan failed. Jordan’s skills deteriorated over time, but Jay-Z has honed his talents and created an album that ranks among the best of his illustrious career.

American Gangster is a concept album based on the...

Breakfast with Scot

In a recent article, Entertainment Weekly posed an interesting question about films being produced in Hollywood. Why aren’t there more gay characters in movies? It was assumed that the commercial and critical success enjoyed by Ang Lee’s 2005 Oscar nominated film, Brokeback Mountain, was going to break barriers and allow more opportunities for openly gay characters in mainstream cinema. But in the years following Brokeback Mountain’s release, there have been few films produced that featured a homosexual lead character. The closest thing was...

Before The Devil Know's You're Dead

Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead is everything a Sidney Lumet film should be: dark, well acted and skillfully told by a veteran director who understands how to focus a complicated story.

Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Hank (Ethan Hawke) are brothers who have more problems than they can deal with. Andy is trying to revive a loveless marriage to his stunning trophy wife. He is a drug-abusing accountant, who supports his addiction by stealing funds from the development company he works for. Hank is the...

American Gangster

American Gangster has all the ingredients of an Oscar contender, but ultimately falls short of greatness.

The true story of Harlem 1970’s crime boss Frank Lucas and narcotics Detective Richie Roberts feels like a concoction of New York crime dramas. It’s a tad French Connection, plenty of The Godfather and a whole lot of Serpico. But Ridley Scott’s American Gangster can’t hold a candle to the many films it draws inspiration from. It is great entertainment, but lacks the muscle...

Gone Baby Gone

Gone Baby Gone is a great directorial debut for Ben Affleck, but it’s his baby brother who steals the show.

Casey Affleck is quickly proving he may be the more talented of the two movie star brothers. Affleck is Patrick Kenzie, a baby-faced private detective who is hired to find an abducted four year-old girl. The girl was stolen from her rundown Boston home while her mother was allegedly watching her favourite t.v show at a neighbour’s house. Through the investigation...