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E.J. reviewed...

American Gangster (2007)

The great director Ridley Scott has three masterpieces behind his… More

2 days ago via Flixster

E.J. reviewed...

The Hunger Games (2012)

Aside from a few story changes that don't really affect the overall… More Aside from a few story changes that don't really affect the overall outcome of the narrative, the film adaptation of Suzanne Collins' brilliant novel, The Hunger Games, captures the political and social undertones while making a fast paced sci-fi action picture that doesn't exploit the idea of kids being trapped in an arena to fight to the death. Director Gary Ross knows what he's doing. It helps that he had Ms. Collins as a co-writer and producer to help him accurately portray the novel in the way she envisioned it. That doesn't necessarily make for a good film; The Hunger Games is a great film because of its pacing, its focus, the performances, and the way the film skims over the violence of the novels for a more accurate portrayal of a nation that governs its people through fear and fascism. Front and centre to all this is Katniss Everdeen, the young heroine played by Jennifer Lawrence. Lawrence may be a bit old for the part, but she understands every little conscious and subconscious motive of her character. Just the slightest look from her communicates an entire page of inner monologue from her character in the book. Equally great are her romantic supporting characters, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and Gale (Liam Hemsworth). The focus is not on them, but their limited screen presence adds to the complexity of the story and Katniss' plight. Woody Harrelson deserves a best supporting actor nod for his work as the always drunk but very smart Haymitch Abernathy. And the ever great Donald Sutherland portrays President Snow as the ideal villain who will have a very big roll in the films to come. The film has a more epic focus than the novel, which focused solely around Katniss. It would have been too difficult and too shallow to make a film that satirizes reality tv without multiple perspectives. Ross and Co. remarkably succeed in adding new scenes and finding new ways of communicating all the things that happen apart from Katniss, making the nation of Panem seem as believable and real as the danger in which these children have been forced to be in. The summer has started early, and The Hunger Games sets the bar astonishingly high for this year's blockbusters. This is a film with intelligence that understands that films work when the action and effects serve the story, not the other way around.

2 days ago via Flixster

E.J. reviewed...

Goon (2012)

Goon is the kind of oddball, potty mouthed yet heartfelt comedy that… More Goon is the kind of oddball, potty mouthed yet heartfelt comedy that the Judd Apatow gang lovingly churns out at least once a year. Except Goon is undoubtedly a Canadian product - despite being co-written by Superbad's Evan Goldberg - and it portrays a romantic view on hockey fighting, one that indirectly perceives the game as something of a poor man's UFC. Real hockey aficionados might criticize that the hockey portrayed in this movie isn't real hockey, and no one would disagree. But that's the charm of the movie. Writer/producer Jay Baruchel definitely exaggerates the most appealing aspect of the game; I mean, let's face it, a person who watches hockey with hoping a fight doesn't break out is about as realistic as a person who watches Nascar hoping nobody crashes. And yet, though this exaggeration, the script and the film reveal what is so great about this game in the first place. Hockey is a tough as nails game, fast paced, dangerous, and played by people who have nothing but a love for it. At the front and centre of the story is Sean William Scott who plays Doug Glatt, a mentally slow bouncer who has one hell of an ability to brawl. Put it this way; if Doug hits you, you'll be lucky if all you get is unconscious. His buddy, Pat (Baruchel) runs a foul mouthed radio show. One day on Pat's radio show, Doug gets a call from a scout to play hockey. Despite the fact that he can't skate or handle the puck, Doug gains fame because of his ability to beat the crap out the other team's enforcers, hereby protecting his teammates and making them feel safer when trying to score. Doug is scouted to play for the semi-pro Halifax team. From there, the usual sports movie cliches abound, but what elevates this film is how likable all the characters are. From the tough as nails coach to the team's Quebecois captain, you want to cheer for every one of these players that glory comes their way. For all the brute force, aggression, and instability these guys possess, they're just a bunch of big, sensitive softies with hearts of gold. That's where the charm of Goon really shines through. It's full of coarse language and crude jokes that will have you on the floor laughing. But like the Paul Newman classic Slap Shot - a huge influence on this film - Goon will have you cheering to the very end.

2 months ago via Flixster

E.J. reviewed...

John Carter (2012)

Roger Ebert's opening line to his Star Wars Episode II Attack Of The… More Roger Ebert's opening line to his Star Wars Episode II Attack Of The Clones review reads, "It's not what's there on the screen that disappoints me, but what's not there." The exact same sentiment can be said about Disney's new over bloated, $300 million dollar (including marketing costs) gamble, John Carter. CGI has been done again and again. We live in an age now where there are no limits to what can be put on the screen; this is no longer something to marvel at, it's more of a given. My expectations in 2012 are far higher than they were in 1993, and while I acknowledge the amount of work required to create CGI, I'm just not impressed with it anymore. Nor am I any more impressed with 3D. Avatar, Hugo, Beowulf, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, and Pixar's latest releases have all pretty much displayed the strengths and limitations of the technology. It's not enough for a film like John Carter to boast lavish visuals, scenery, computer animated characters, epic fight sequences all exhibited in 3D. It needs an intriguing story to work. And it's in this regard that the film fails. No amount of special effects can make Taylor Kitsch any less awkward in his role, or spark any chemistry between Kitsch and his female co-star Lynn Collins. No amount of CGI can cover up the cliche story of a renegade anti-hero who falls in with the enemy only to learn and respect their ways and lead them into battle. No amount of 3D can make up for the story's lack of focus, character development, or just plain uninteresting characters. This film is based on a series of popular science fiction books, written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, books that pretty much are the inspiration for so many similar stories like Avatar, and writers such as Robert A. Heinlein and Alan Moore. Unfortunately, the novelty of these books does not come across in the film. There is very little in the movie John Carter that hasn't been done before, and this is it's biggest weakness. I know how this kind of story pans out. This character, this world, and these situations are just not as good as the ones they take their cues from. The producers have seen too many other movies, and are simply copying what they liked into their own work, albeit lacking all imagination.

2 months ago via Flixster

E.J. reviewed...

Incendies (2011)

When films span multiple time periods and have several main… More When films span multiple time periods and have several main characters, you can be sure that everything will come together in the most contrived way, often revealing things that are less shocking than intended simply because of their lack of believability. Incendies is one such film, but it manages to overcome the limitations of this narrative structure because of its compelling subject matter and stunning lead performances. Twins Jeanne and Simon Marwan sit down to hear the will of their mother, Nawal, who has recently passed away. They are shocked to learn that Nawal's final wish is for the pair to deliver envelopes to two people they didn't know prior to this - their father and their brother. Simon refuses to do so, but Jeanne feels compelled to learn more about her mother's past, something that is now a complete mystery. So she leaves Canada for Lebanon. Meanwhile, the story also tracks Nawal as a young student caught up in a rising war between Christians and Muslims. This leads her to commit an act for which she's caught an imprisoned in the most horrific of conditions for well over a decade. On the surface, Incendies embraces the usual thematic principles that war is hell and it cuts promising lives too short. But writer director Denis Villeneuve manages to elevate his story above the usual cliches that Hollywood war films love to embrace. Villeneuve's eye is on understanding and watching these characters as they try to come to terms with the unforgiving world they have been born into, and how that world shapes them. The detail that goes into re-creating the Middle East conflict for this film is precise yet unobtrusive. Incendies manages to create an epic scope of Lebanon and Canada while limiting the audience's perspectives strictly to that of its main protagonists, Nawal and Jeanne. Both actors - Lubna Azabel and Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin respectively - are expected to communicate much to the audience through their silence and restrained reactions. The camera maintains a lot of focus on their faces, capturing the subtle hints that suggest their characters are trying to figure everything out. Such performances are always challenging for actors and one of the reasons why so many poorly made movies often have their actors speaking how they feel out loud. Denis Villeneuve is too skilled for such nonsense and so are his actors. As I mentioned earlier, Incendies runs a little too long, and it's twist ending feels very contrived and predictable long before it's even revealed. But that should not deter any audience member from wanting to experience this powerful film, a genuine highlight of contemporary Canadian cinema.

2 months ago via Flixster

E.J. reviewed...

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

My personal belief is that in about ten or twenty years from now, The… More My personal belief is that in about ten or twenty years from now, The Bourne Trilogy will be regarded as one of the all time greatest action sagas. The intriguing setup from The Bourne Identity, the conflicting morals of The Bourne Supremacy, and now the balls to the wall climax of The Bourne Ultimatum. If I could describe this action masterpiece in one word, it would be - in all caps - EXHILARATING!! Picking up a few weeks prior to the end of The Bourne Supremacy, Jason Bourne is trying to escape Moscow. Meanwhile, in London, a journalist named Simon Ross (Paddy Considine) is publishing stories that slowly reveal Operation Blackbriar - a more lethal offshoot of Treadstone, and the CIA essentially want him dead or silenced. Once Bourne learns about Ross, he seeks him out hoping to find the missing piece of his identity: who recruited Bourne and who made him the precision killer that he is today? Realizing just how much of a threat Bourne is to the CIA, the new agent Noah Vosen leads the chase in trying to catch him, against the persuasive influence of Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) who is in some indirect way Bourne's ally. Both of these characters create just as much excitement in the scenes behind computer screens and controlled towers tracking Bourne's whereabouts as the scenes where Bourne is fighting his assassins. And what fight scenes they are!! The choreography is more complex, faster, and constrained to even tighter quarters than in the previous film. The camera has an even shakier, documentary styles look, resulting in jaw dropping, exhilarating (there's that word again!) car chases, hand to hand combat, gun battles, rooftop chases, and seek and destroy sequence with Bourne and Ross in a crowded mall that will have your eyes glued to the screen. Nothing more can be said about Matt Damon other than a lame joke like "he was 'bourne' to play this role". Without Damon's likability this trilogy would not have worked half as well as it has. He has helped create one of the most fascinating and legendary on screen assassins that have graced the screen since James Bond. Simply put, The Bourne Ultimatum is the very definition of a perfect action picture. It's the most fitting end to a great trilogy, and an action film to which all espionage action films from this point on will be compared to.

2 months ago via Flixster

E.J. reviewed...

The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

It's not often that a sequel can actually be called a better film that… More It's not often that a sequel can actually be called a better film that the original, but The Bourne Supremacy improves in every way upon The Bourne Identity, an impressive feat considering the quality of the latter. The film pushes the character of Jason Bourne into franchise territory, where Bourne will encounter more people who want to kill him as he continually attempts to figure out more about his past. Matt Damon's second time around as the lead character elevates him into a bona fide action star. He walks through this picture with a real confidence in Bourne's strengths and weaknesses. But unlike other actors like Jason Statham or Jet Li, Damon doesn't try to take over the film. He embodies Bourne as a smart, captivating protagonist but doesn't try to overshadow the other characters, which include Joan Allen as a CIA Agent investigating a murder of two of her ops, allegedly performed by Bourne, Julia Stiles as Nicky Parsons, a young analyst who has more to do with Bourne's past than he may realize, Karl Urban as a Russian assassin, Franka Potente as his lover, Marie, and Brian Cox as the head of the Treadstone Project who means to put Bourne away for good this time. The story does what the story of a sequel is required to do. It reveals more about the Treadstone Project. It places the lead character closer to reaching his motivations. It creates a more complicated plot that will allow for even more elaborate and bar-raising action sequences. It's also a lot more assured of itself, probably because it's written solely by Tony Gilroy, who's really good at these kind of plots. Paul Greengrass takes over the director's chair, replacing Doug Liman, but ignites the same visual flair and pacing of the original. He opts for a more documentary style look for this film. The camera is almost always handheld, and shots are taken mostly from passenger seats in cars, behind or beside characters involved in the action, or placed among bystanders to give that "you are there" look. It does wonders for a film that also spans multiple locales like Berlin and Moscow, and in a climactic car chase sequences that I seriously would rank as one of the top ten car chases ever put on film. I don't want to reveal anything else or talk up this great film any more. The Bourne Supremacy is without a doubt the action picture of the year, and elevates Jason Bourne into an action hero to remember.

2 months ago via Flixster

E.J. reviewed...

The Bourne Identity (2002)

The Bourne Identity is without a doubt one of the coolest CIA… More The Bourne Identity is without a doubt one of the coolest CIA espionage thrillers that I've seen in a long time. It outdoes most of the James Bond and all of the Jack Ryan movies with its fast paced storytelling, amazing action sequences, and gripping, edge of your seat drama that is the staple of all the best action pictures. Matt Damon is perfectly cast. The movie starts with Damon as Jason Bourne, shot twice in the back and left for dead in the ocean. Waking up on a shipping vessel, Bourne has no idea who he is but realizes he possesses the ability to speak multiple languages, can analyze every room he's in to the most minute detail, and could kick the crap out of pretty much anybody, even if they were to gang up on him. As he tries to figure it all out, the CIA realizes he isn't dead and commences a plan to dispose of him before his memory returns. But Bourne is too smart despite not knowing his real identity. He pays a German invalid named Marie Kreutz (played by sexy Franka Potente) to drive him to Paris. From there, they are pursued by assassins from all over, and as they struggle to avoid being captured or killed, a romance blossoms. The chemistry between Damon and Potente is great. Both actors are able to tap into the vulnerability of their characters and their own individual wants. Of course it's an action movie and it's typically formulaic for the guy and the girl to fall hopelessly in love, but the actors make it much more believable, so it doesn't feel like the film is just going through the motions. Much credit goes to the director Doug Liman who is very proficient at balancing all the aspects of the cat and mouse chase between the CIA and Jason Bourne. This film spans a lot of locations - from Zurich, Paris, to Virginia - and it never once feels convoluted or confusing. The audience is never confused as to how each character fits into the puzzle, and just enough information is left out to hold interest for the outcome. And of course the fight scenes are simply astounding. The choreography involves a lot of hand to hand combat that moves fast and is often staged in close quarters, keeping Bourne and his adversaries trapped in an enclosed area that warrants such close hand to hand combat. It's almost like elements of a martial arts film have been lifted into the espionage plot, creating a movie that you can watch for its exhilarating action scenes as much as for its intelligent story.

2 months ago via Flixster

E.J. reviewed...

Congo (1995)

1993. Jurassic Park is the hottest movie of the year and the film's… More

2 months ago via Flixster

E.J. reviewed...

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (1990)

Growing up as a kid, I had two obsessions: Star Wars and Teenage… More Growing up as a kid, I had two obsessions: Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And of these two, the latter practically consumed me for the first five years of my life. I had countless TMNT toys and would spend hours playing and making up my own adventures. When I discovered the show and the movies, well let's just say the hours I spent not playing with my TMNT toys were spent watching TMNT. Twenty years later, I'm all grown up, but I still look back on the heroes in a half shell with a nostalgic admiration. And I'll even defend this first live action movie as a legitimately good film. The costumes are remarkably well done, from the design to the people underneath the turtle suits. The action is lots of fun while not being too overly violent. Shredder is as much a badass here as he is in the cartoons, and even for an 80s film the story is well told and relevant. The Turtles have always had underlying themes of family and brotherhood. Possessing excellent martial arts skills, they fight only in self defense and to help those who can't fight for themselves. Beyond that, the Turtles are very much like kids, having much to learn about life and looking up to a mentor and role model in their Master, Splinter. I think the whole idea lends itself well to kids because there is so much that they can relate to, especially if they come from broken or single family homes. This film really confronts this kind of subject matter by showing a lot of homeless runaway teens, some no more than 8 years old, finding solace in the wrong place due to a lack of guidance and parents but nevertheless being tempted by the notion of belonging to a family. Even among the comedy, silly Turtle antics, and Elias Koteas' amazing performance as Casey Jones, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has a lot of heart. It bugs me that so many parents were outraged by the dark tone of this film. Its story allows kids to escape from reality while confronting some of the harsher aspects of it. I would have loved to see more films like this one rather than Turtles in Time or Vanilla Ice's Ninja Rap.

2 months ago via Flixster

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