The Paperboy (2012)

A reporter returns to his Florida hometown to investigate a case involving a death row inmate.

Review: 8/10

After watching the movie I was asking myself what the heck did I just watch, but whatever it was I liked it....Now first off this movies is not for everyone, it's extremely sexual, violent, and at times confusing, but it is never dull or plotting. The story is captivating and the actor/actresses pull you in right from the start and never let go until the ending credits roll. The storyline is unique and original with it's crazy cast of characters. Don't try and out think this one, go with the flow and let this backwoods swamp tale take you on an mesmerizing journey into a world you'll be glad you were able to glimpse.

Safe (2012)

Mei, a young girl whose memory holds a priceless numerical code, finds herself pursued by the Triads, the Russian mob, and corrupt NYC cops. Coming to her aid is an ex-cage fighter whose life was destroyed by the gangsters on Mei's trail.

Review: 8.5/10

After watching the trailer when it was first released, I didn't feel what I always feel when I see Jason Statham in an action movie, which is giddy. There was something missing, but how can I say no to Jason Statham in an action packed movie? I just can't. 'Safe' ended up being good. Not great, just good. The beginning was a little slow, but the way they told the story, was a bit of bouncing back between Luke Wright (Jason Statham) and Mei (Caroline Chan), so it didn't really come out running, but I guess I can't complain too much about it because it definitely picked up after. 

Nitro Circus: The Movie (2012)

Travis Pastrana and his tight-knit, highly-skilled, adrenaline-addicted friends bring their impossible, ridiculous, insane and hysterical adventures to the big screen for the first time.

Review: 8/10

Let me start off by saying I've followed fellow-Marylander Travis Pastrana since his big FMX debut in 1999. Having just purchased 199 Lives, I was afraid his stardom would overpower the remainder of the cast - thankfully this was not the case. In fact the film did an excellent job of not singling out any one of the performers.

Lockout (2012)

A man wrongly convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage against the U.S. is offered his freedom if he can rescue the president's daughter from an outer space prison taken over by violent inmates.

Review: 9/10

Lockout has only the barest sense of a coherent plot. It’s haphazard and silly, and there are quite a few plot threads that simply never get resolved, Very Important Discoveries that clearly aren’t that damn important since they’re mentioned once and then forgotten. It’s ten pounds of dumb in a wet five pound bag, practically bursting at the seams with stupid. But here’s the thing — Lockout? Kind of a shitload of fun. Oh, you’re not going to like yourself afterwards, but damn if it doesn’t manage to engage and entertain every now and then. We’re left with a B-movie in the truest sense of its modern definition. It’s cheap and dumb and clumsily written, less homage and more cinematic hustle job. It explodes all over the place, big scary dudes beat the fuck out of the good guy, and he beats just a little bit more fuck out of them.

The Imposter (2012)

A documentary centered on a young Frenchman who claims to a grieving Texas family that he is their 16-year-old son who has been missing for 3 years.

Review: 9/10

The best documentaries show us just how true it is that life can be stranger than fiction. The Imposter is here to show you that life isn’t just stranger than fiction; life sometimes comes up with the kind of crazy sh*t that fiction can’t even dream of. In fact, 2010’s The Chameleon is based on the story documented by The Imposter and part of why that movie failed (but by no means the only reason) is because the story just seems so preposterously unbelievable. The Imposter is about Nicholas Barclay, a 13-year-old blonde boy from San Antonio who went missing in 1993. Three and a half years later, his family gets a call telling them that Nicholas has been found in Spain. But the Nicholas who comes home to the Barclay family isn’t a 16-year-old boy. He’s a 23-year-old man. With poorly died blonde hair. And a French accent.

Haywire (2011)

A black ops super soldier seeks payback after she is betrayed and set up during a mission.

Review: 8.5/10

The bright spot in the film is the presence of Gina Carano, an MMA fighter whose physical energy and skills in the Octagon were what inspired Soderbergh to make the film in the first place. She’s the focus here, and her prowess as a combatant allows for some of the most realistic, impressive fight scenes in a long time. In terms of performance, Carano succeeds by being allowed to focus her time and energy into moving fluidly through her environment and fighting her way out of it. She’s surrounded by an impressive crew of men who do their best to halt or kill her, including Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, and a sketchy Antonio Banderas who actually strokes his beard while plotting evil schemes, but they’re all support. Carano’s the real star, and she brings the perfect tone of predatory nuance to the role. She’s not just good for an athlete; she’s a good performer, period.

Goon (2011)

Labeled an outcast by his brainy family, a bouncer overcomes long odds to lead a team of under performing misfits to semi-pro hockey glory, beating the crap out of everything that stands in his way.

Review: 8.5/10

I hadn't read or heard much about Goon before I went to see it; all I'd seen was the trailer. I didn't even realise that it was based on a true story. I wasn't expecting it to be that good, but was pleasantly surprised. 

I was expecting that the funny bits in the trailer were all that would be on offer but the whole film was seeped in that simple (albeit sometimes unnerving) comedy that had the audience laughing out loud often. 

Hunger Games (2012)

Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to compete.

Review: 9/10

It’s rare that a director can successfully adapt a novel — especially one with as big a following as The Hunger Games — in a way that both thrills new audiences and satisfies the textual purists. Gary Ross, however, knocks it out of the outdoor arena, extracting brilliant performances from his cast, perfectly rendering the words from the page into images on the screen, and capturing the exact tone of the book: Somewhere between sickly grim and supremely entertaining. The Hunger Games does more than live up to the hype; it makes the hype an afterthought.

Fat Kid Rules the World (2012)

A dropout comes to the aid of a chubby and suicidal high-school kid by recruiting him as the drummer for his upstart punk-rock band.

Review: 8/10

Jacob Wysocki is the kind of actor where, the minute look into his soul-penetrating eyes that say more than words ever could, his sympathy begins to tug at your fragile heartstrings, and after spending an hour and a half with his character, rarely leaving the frame, you feel shaken and riveted. He's playing a character seemingly more in-tuned with life than his character in Terri, his acting debut, and in certain stretches, he appears more comfortable and confident as an actor.

Cabin in the Woods (2011)

Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin in the woods, where they get more than they bargained for. Together, they must discover the truth behind the cabin in the woods.

Review: 9/10

The Cabin in the Woods is a spin on the horror genre from writer's Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, without giving away the spoilerish parts of the plot, I'll simply say that it involves 5 friends who fit the horror movie stereotypes (Jock, Slut, Party-Guy, Nerd, Virgin) who go to a cabin in the woods to party and get away from it all. Trouble is, its never really safe to go to a cabin in the woods is it?

This is England (2006)

A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends even like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows.

Review: 8.5/10

I was lucky enough to attend the first UK screening of Shane Meadows' latest offering, THIS IS ENGLAND, last Tuesday at the London Film Festival. Having been a fan of Meadows' work since seeing TWENTYFOURSEVEN in 1998, I have anticipated each of his new films with excitement and great interest. Meadows' films defy categorisation and always exceed expectation, as anyone who has seen A ROOM FOR ROMEO BRASS or DEAD MAN'S SHOES will attest. THIS IS ENGLAND had a lot to live up to… 

Mary and Max (2009)

A tale of friendship between two unlikely pen pals: Mary, a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a forty-four-year old, severely obese man living in New York.

Review: 9/10

There's a constant stream of animated films these days, but mostly they're either glossy Hollywood product (Pixar/Dreamworks), or Japanese anime. For adults wanting something different we have to wait for the likes of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Waltz With Bashir, Persepolis, or Aardman's films to turn up. Mary & Max is one of these films that comes as a complete departure from all the others, both in visual and storytelling style, and sticks in the mind because of it. 

I Saw The Devil (2010)

When his pregnant fiancee becomes the latest victim of a serial killer, a secret agent blurs the line between good and evil in his pursuit of revenge.

Review: 9/10

Whenever I see a negative review of "I Saw the Devil", the critic always mentions (scornfully) that the movie is ultra violent and portrays women in horrifying circumstances. Yes it is, and yes it does.

The Chaser (2008)

Joong-ho is a dirty detective turned pimp in financial trouble as several of his girls have recently disappeared without clearing their debts. While trying to track them down, he finds a clue that the vanished girls were all called up by a same client whom one of his girls is meeting with right now.

Review: 9/10

What a movie. When I rented this movie I didn't know what to expect. It is usually is a hit or miss for Korean movies but this was a grand slam out of the park type of movie. The film is about a former detective turn pimp trying to catch a serial killer who is killing his prostitutes. It's a big cat and mouse game between the two throughout the whole movie. 

The Man From Nowhere (2010)

A quiet pawnshop keeper with a violent past takes on a drug- and organ trafficking ring in hope of saving the child who is his only friend.

Review: 9/10

Simply wow.

A lot of people are put off by foreign language films and I hope people don't let that stop them from watching this.

It has all the panache of a typical Hollywood film and I have to disagree with some comments that the back-story aspect is lacking compared with the action; my exact thoughts when watching this film were along the lines of "I cannot believe how genuine the character-development is". The bond between the two main characters is extremely believable (huge props to the actress who played the young kid.) I thought the fact that the film wasn't edited down to the hour-and-half standard probably gave them room to develop more and for an action film, there was much more intelligence than I was expecting to the story.

One of the best films I have seen in a long time.

Clue (1985)

Six guests are invited to a strange house and must cooperate with the staff to solve a murder mystery.

Review: 9/10
This is easily Tim Curry's best role (yes, even better than Frank from RHPS). He is dry and quick to a level that I have never seen topped, and with an all star cast to support him, this is easily my favorite pun filled, fast paced comedy. The beginning of the story begins slow and exponentially increases til the very end. The speed at which the actors are delivering their lines is staggering at some points, and goes to the technical grace of the actors like Christopher Lloyd and Leslie Ann Warren. Also, the late great Madeline Kahn produces a hilarious Ms. White who shall be remembered as her second greatest role (under Young Frankenstein). I cannot say enough about this movie, the script and its wonderful actors.

13 Assassins (2010)

A group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord.

Review: 8.5/10

This film was a dark-edged delight from beginning to end when I saw it at the 2010 edition of TIFF. The audience there loved it too, breaking out into spontaneous applause during several scenes.

Solid direction by Miike, great characters, beautifully shot and simply some of the best and most intense action sequences put on film - ever! It does have it's obvious influences, such as Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai", but damn, this one kicks ass mightily! You've never seen Shogun like this! And something else to point out: the sound on this film was thundering, shaking and stellar! THIS is the kind of film that reminds us why we go to a movie theatre to enjoy a film on a big screen, why we turn off our cell phones and immerse ourselves in the experience of cinema-going, as opposed to staying home on our couches.

I'll go see it again on the big screen when it hopefully returns to town - you can bet on that!

Dead Man's Shoes (2004)

A disaffected soldier returns to his hometown to get even with the thugs who brutalized his mentally-challenged brother years ago.

Review: 8/10

On paper I can see the argument that there is little morally redemptive quality to a film like Dead Man's Shoes, no diamond polished by the end credits to reward an audience going through the trauma. But to actually sit through the film, and most importantly, to be subjected to another of Paddy Consadines' electric performances, is an extra-ordinarily vital, if viceral experience.

In 'A Room for Romeo Brass' Considines character shifted from comical to threatening in a truly unsettling way, although in the end his promise 'to go dark on you' is easily thwarted by the decisive action and confidence of a father-figure. In this film, again, there is some uncertainty on the audience's part as to how far the character will go, as until the end, we are uncertain of exactly what he is revenging. 

Rest-assured, Considine delivers an absolutely convincing depiction of a man struggling to balance his desire for revenge and redemption, he invokes sympathy and fear from the audience in a performance to rival DeNiro in 'Taxi Driver'.

I judge a film on the value of the experience it gives you, and 'Dead Man's Shoes is more than worthy of your time.

Timecrimes (2007)

A man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.

Review: 8.5/10
This movie proves what Hollywood does not practice. A great movie (like this one) does not need: famous name actors, good-looking/sexy protagonists, stupendous sets, expensive special effects, gratuitous violence, & violent shocks to be a successful, entertaining, and provocative movie, which this is in every respect. All it needs is good writing, capable direction, plausibility in terms of premises and plot turns, and decent acting. This has it all. And it's a great movie. The actors are all average looking. The sets look like a normal environment. The special effects are nothing special at all. And yet, there is not a dull moment in this extraordinarily good film. Saw it at the Cleveland International Film Festival this year. It stood out from the crowd as an exceptional film.

Man From Earth (2007)

An impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he never ages and has walked the earth for 14,000 years.

Review: 9.5/10

This is by far the most unusual movie I have ever seen. I am a die hard Sci-Fi buff and found myself wondering why no one has released a movie like this before. I was totally engrossed... the story pulled me in like a Black Hole, I found myself wanting more and more.

This film is tantalizing, not to your eyes, not to your ears, but rather where it counts the most...your brain. What a breath of fresh air, I felt satisfied in the end and invigorated. If I had paid 50 dollars to see this film I would not have been disappointed.

For anyone who has an intellect, is open minded and ready for an adventure born of thought, Ideas and possibilities, make absolutely certain you do not miss this film.