Mirror Mirror: Movie Review

Visually inspiring a new generation of princesses.

“Mirror Mirror” opens with The Queen (Julia Roberts) insisting that this story is about her even though the King and former Queen had a daughter (with the most pretentious name ever) called Snow White. Roberts added a very humorous tone to the narration and livened up an otherwise very tired story. The random strange characters there to support her are for laughs, but she handles it fine on her own.		2012 Directed by: Tarsem Singh Screenplay by: Jason Keller and Marc Klein Starring: Julia Roberts and Lily Collins

God Bless America: Movie Review

Hilarious cynicism so accurate and extreme that no target is left alive.

Frank (Joel Murray) hates his neighbours. He thinks they are rude, inconsiderate, selfish buffoons who lack any comprehension of how their actions may affect other people. Frank wants to kill them, especially the crying baby. Frank hates his co-workers. He thinks they are celebrity-obsessed morons who no longer have any real thoughts of their own and just regurgitate everything they hear on the TV and radio. He would want to kill them too except he just got fired.		2011 Directed by: Bobcat Goldthwait Screenplay by: Bobcat Goldthwait Starring: Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World: Movie Review

 

Clever and witty dialogue turn this romantic comedy disaster into a charming comedy. 

I’m liking this recent trend to start Steve Carell movies with hilarious car scenes. In “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” when his wife asks for a divorce and she won’t stop talking, he jumps out of the car. Now, in “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” when an asteroid is about to destroy Earth, his wife gets out of the car and runs away, literally, on her feet, as fast as she can.		2012 Directed by: Lorene Scafaria Screenplay by: Lorene Scafaria Starring: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley

Moonrise Kingdom: Movie Review

 

Young, yellow love finding happiness in the world of Wes Anderson.

Like all Wes Anderson films, “Moonrise Kingdom” has its own specific colour palette. This time it’s yellow. Yellow can symbolize wisdom, joy and happiness but also the conflicting traits of cowardice, loneliness and deceit. All of which can be found in the characters that inhabit this world. “Moonrise Kingdom” takes place in the 1960s on a remote island of New England, but I’m pretty sure it’s set in a time and place that doesn’t exist and never has.		2012 Directed by: Wes Anderson Screenplay by: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola Starring: Jared Gilman, Kara Haywood, and Bruce Willis

The Decoy Bride: Movie Review

A disheveled romantic comedy featuring predictable romance and stifled laughter.

A Scottish, independent romantic comedy is hard to come by (at least here in North America). Usually when you find such a movie, it’s really good. Unfortunately, The Decoy Bride isn’t great. The premise of a Hollywood star running away from paparazzi and getting married on a remote Scottish island but with a stand-in bride for disguise has numerous routes to provide both romance and comedy.		2011 Directed by: Sheree Folkson Screenplay by: Neil Jaworski and Sally Phillips Starring: David Tennant and Kelly Macdonald

Jeff, Who Lives at Home: Movie Review

Lazy and incompetent, Jeff is actually one of the better comedic characters of the genre.

Jeff (Jason Segel) approaching 30 still lives at home. That’s because he’s lazy, indolent and incompetent. However, just a few more viewings of M. Night Shyamalan’s “Signs” and he might be on to something. You see, Jeff is looking for his life’s mission, he’s looking for a sign. Once he finds it, he might move out of his mother’s house. Maybe. “Jeff, Who Lives at Home” introduces us to one of the best characters of the genre.		2011 Directed by: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass Screenplay by: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass Starring: Jason Segel and Ed Helms

Rock of Ages: Movie Review

 

Comedy, singing and rock Gods, but it's not the musical of the ages.

Tom Cruise channeling Axl Rose? I am so there. It has been rumored that Cruise’s inspiration for his fictional character Stacee Jaxx came from the Guns N' Roses frontman. After seeing “Rock of Ages”, I’m pretty sure we can claim that is a fact. Everything that we expected out of this movie was there. Cruise was undeniably the rock God that we have always wanted him to be, and our small town girl and city boy sang and danced to their hearts’ delight.		2012 Directed by: Adam Shankman Screenplay by: Justin Theroux, Chris D'Arienzo, Allan Loeb Starring: Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise and Alec Baldwin

Jesus Henry Christ: Movie Review

 

Eccentricity and precociousness put to the paternal test with hilarious results.

“Jesus Henry Christ” is a quirky indie comedy with a genetics, homosexuality and heresy bent. It starts off with heavy ‘70s-influenced comedy which you just have to hustle through to get to the heart of the story. The plot might seem a bit eccentric, but that is probably necessary if the comedy is going to be actually funny. Henry is a genius test-tube baby. He might be a freak but his mother (Toni Collette) wants to raise him normally.		2012 Directed by: Dennis Lee Screenplay by: Dennis Lee Starring: Jason Spevack, Toni Collette, Samantha Weinstein and Michael Sheen

Hysteria: Movie Review

 

"Hysteria" is not historical but it is hysterical.

There are a number of genres that are hard to write well: the horror-comedy; the tragedy-comedy; and the historical comedy. It’s not a coincidence that comedy is featured in all of them. “Hysteria” belongs to the historical comedy category. The part it does well is the comedy — it is pretty damn funny even when I wasn’t expecting it to be. Historical, though, it is not.		2011 Directed by: Tanya Wexler Screenplay by: Stephen Dyer and Jonah Lisa Dyer Starring: Hugh Dancy, Maggie Gyllenhaal