Let me just begin by saying “No, I did not see this in 3D.” During its theatrical run (which lasted a pitiful 56 days), the film featured 3D visuals (with the purchase of 3D glasses of course) in an attempt to have the action ‘leap out’ at the audience and add to the scares. Whether or not this added anything to the film, I can’t say, however I’m quite certain it would have novelty, short lived or otherwise.

What I CAN say, is that this was a surprisingly well acted, well shot film, with an unfortunate plot. As the story goes… 10 years ago, a miner decided to go crazy and kill his co-workers while working deep in a mine. He was presumed dead, only to return a decade later to kill again. For what reason? I was never entirely sure, even though the film drags you back through the entire film putting together the pieces of the puzzle and showing why everything happened. Watching a horror film for the plot though is like eating taco bell because of the fibre. The gory death scenes are what shine here.

With the exception of the Final Destination films, the deaths in this film were some of the most creative I’ve ever seen. At one point (I’m not joking) you see a jaw FLY towards the screen as its pulled off the victim. This definitely isn’t for the squeamish, however Peter Jackson may get a kick out of it as Bad Taste and Dead Alive are two films that quickly come to mind regarding original death scenes.

The performances were surprisingly decent, especially with a relatively unknown cast working with such tongue-in-cheek material. The dialog helped to fill the gaps between the inevitable murders, of which there are plenty.

SYNOPSIS : If you are looking for a very basic horror film with some extra gruesome murder scenes and to have a laugh with your friends, give this a whirl. If you are looking for ANYTHING beyond that, don’t bother. The story is absurd and there will be the occasional groan as the plot holes start to show up.

After finally hitting wide release, this latest depiction of the Iraq “war” delivers one of the most exhilarating films of the year.

Led by an amazing performance by Jeremy Renner and sharp direction by Kathryn Bigelow, you aren’t so much shown a day in the life of a bomb defusal unit, as you are dragged through it whether you like it or not.  Speaking of which, after briefly looking around the theater, I can’t remember the last time I saw so many people lurched forward, eyes locked on the images on the screen, literally sitting on the edge of their seats.

It’s difficult to pinpoint a plot to the film as it’s more of a visual diary, showcasing the emotions of soldiers on the front lines, as well as the inner demons that come with the jarring imagery and choices they make every day.  Will (Brenner) is the new addition to a team and does things his way, which never really gels with Sanborn (played by Anthony Mackie).  He’s a wild man that gets the job done, but with a price as he feels like it’s the only thing that gives his life meaning.

Whenever he’s hovering over a bomb examining the components, the sequences are often tightly shot and you are brought as close to the action as possible.

It must be said that there is a degree of predictability during certain portions of the film, however it really didn’t take anything away from the package as a whole.  It was just a shame to see such obvious blemishes, as slight as they may have been, on an otherwise perfect slate.

SYNOPSIS : An incredibly intense and at times humorous look at the lives of a group of special team soldiers, one of which likes to live on the edge and shows you the repercussions of his actions.  There are predictable scenes from time to time, but you will be glued to the screen waiting to see how Will (Renner) gets himself out of his  current jam.

After finally finding a theater playing this nearby (a total of 3 in all of Ontario it seems), I did not hesitate to get out and see what I thought was going to be one of the best movies of the year.

Well, I was not disappointed.

Every minute of this epic oozed sci-fi goodness, made even better with an incredible score by none other than Clint Mansell (composer of one of the best soundtracks ever).  Duncan Jones made me feel as if I were right there alongside Sam Bell on the Lunar Industries station, with a set and effects rivaling those of films with MUCH higher budgets (Moon reportedly cost $5 million to make).  By using models and limiting special effects, it makes some of the shots even more impressive.

Sam Rockwell pulled off what might be one of the best performances I’ve seen in years. I’ve always liked him, even if he did pull off an average Zaphod Beeblebrox.  Kevin Spacey, as the voice of GERTY, did as good a job as you can expect voicing a robot with limited facial expressions.

The film quickly turns when Sam crashes one of the lunar rovers into a harvester unit and is knocked unconscious.  Upon his revival, he ventures out to see what had happened, however upon arriving at the scene of the accident notices a body in the crashed rover which is  eerily similar to his own.  Inevitably, Sam has a handful of questions, none of which GERTY is authorized, or programmed, to provide answers to.  The film takes on a mystery-thriller aspect at this point and it is where the striking resemblance to 2001 : A Space Odyssey is clearly apparent.

As far as science fiction films go, this is easily one of the best of the last decade.  Any true fan of film owes it to themselves to see this original masterpiece.

Synopsis : A fantastic first effort by Duncan Jones and another stellar performance by Sam Rockwell, perhaps one of his best.  Even if you aren’t a fan of sci-fi, the atmosphere and performances will keep you glued to the screen and with the rumour of a trilogy in the works, I couldn’t be happier.

Let me just begin by saying this movie will stick with you.  Whether you want it to, or not.  However, it will leave you smiling AND looking down your hallway making sure that noise you heard was just the fridge kicking in.

I haven’t been so utterly amused and terrified with a movie since, ironically, the Evil Dead series.  Drag Me To Hell tends to lean towards the more terrifying end of the spectrum more often, however there were a few laughs to be heard in the theater.  There are a few soul possessions in particular, which I won’t go into any more, except to say they will put a smile on your face.

The lead character of Christine Brown (played by the wonderful Alison Lohman of Matchstick Men and Big Fish) becomes the victim of a gypsy curse, given to her by a bitter, elderly woman Mrs. Ganush (played by Lorna Raver).  This is not just any curse.  It will torment its victim for 3 days, mentally and physically, after which, will ensure they end up in a rather nasty place.  You can take a wild guess where.  Christine’s boyfriend Clay Dalton (played by everyone’s favorite Mac, Justin Long) tries to understand what she’s going through and even enlists the help of a fortune teller, all of who which are determined to eradicate the curse.

Not since The Haunting (yes, the terrible remake) have I felt dread and the sense of terror, through sounds and noise alone.  Raimi does what he did in the Evil Dead series and what many horror directors can only dream of, and that is instill fear before anything has actually happened.  Once it does happen… he scares you some more. Sure, there are some cheap scare tactics used here and there, but movies are supposed to be fun, right?

The reason I continue to go back to Evil Dead, is because you cannot escape the fact that this feels so similar, thankfully in the best ways possible.  If you are a fan of the ‘Dead’ series, you will find a handful of tongue-in-cheek references, including some very obvious ones.  If not, this film may convince you to go back and give them a watch, to see what Raimi did pre-Spidey.

Synopsis : A stellar horror film.  It has everything you can possibly ask for : great acting, tongue in cheek humour, geniune scares and some memorable characters.  Not including one of the best endings I’ve ever seen.  You will be talking about this for days after you see it, I guarantee.

I am not a “trekkie” by any means and if you ask, I prefer the ‘Wars’ to the ‘Treks’, Jar Jar and all. However, the feature length Star Trek films have always been interesting, sometimes even very enjoyable. I tried, as hard as I might, to lose myself in the series, but something about the embarrassing uniforms and generally wooden acting cause the remote to magically change channels.

A bigger budget has always allowed the big screen adaptations to showcase their strengths, those in my eyes being sci-fi immersion and the villains. The latest iteration, helmed by the ever improving JJ Abrams, was by far my most anticipated film of the year. No expense was spared and it’s immediately apparent, from the slick camera shots to the seamless CG. Surprisingly, the cast was relatively low-key, especially for such a huge blockbuster, which I always like.

With Chris Pine‘s real first feature role, he pulled off Kirk with aplomb, making the character his own, while still maintaining some of Shatner’s earlier charm and physique. Harold & Kumar’s John Cho and Simon Pegg were my only real two concerns, only because I feared they would not mesh with the rest of the cast. Those worries were soon put to rest, however Pegg’s Scotty was only in the film for what seemed like the last 15 minutes. I’m sure he’ll be back in the inevitable sequels.

Eric Bana continues to provide solid roles, delivering exactly what’s expected. His role as Nero was not what I would career-defining, but it was very convincing as the time traveling Romulan. Every time I looked at Nero’s right hand man, Ayel (played by Clifton Collins Jr.) however, all I could see was his role from Crank 2 and I’ll admit it took me out of the movie every once in a while because his role in Crank 2 was so over the top.

As far as prequels go, I wish more time was spent in the early years of other characters, defining who they were growing up and why they’ve chosen what they have.  Movies such as Spiderman and Batman Begins really help define the characters (albeit they are individuals), where Star Trek spends 10-15 minutes on character development then throws you into the fray.

SYNOPSIS : I loved nearly every minute of Star Trek, but I think I will be looking forward to the sequels even more.  Developing the crew of the Enterprise will be something everyone will want to see, and I can’t wait.