This is 40: Movie Review

Dragging out unfunny comedy with rude characters.

The supporting characters of “Knocked Up” (2007) have matured. Married couple Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) are turning 40. This does not mean that writer, director Judd Apatow has matured. It’s a bit more of a dramedy than some of his other comedic adventures but it’s still his typical low-brow humour spread out for over two hours. The characters are older, more assured in who they are, but their responses to life are less cultured.		2012 Directed by: Judd Apatow Screenplay by: Judd Apatow Starring: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Maude Apatow, and Iris Apatow

Hyde Park on Hudson: Movie Review

Through one affair, one perfect friendship is formed at the beautiful Hyde Park on Hudson.

In 1939, King George VI (Samuel West) and Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman) made the trek across the ocean to visit American President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Bill Murray) at “Hyde Park on Hudson”. It was the first trip of its kind and tensions were high. First Lady Eleanor and Mother Roosevelt expected perfection, and the Queen (the eventual Queen Mother) also expected perfection. Roosevelt was in no shape to deliver perfection.		2012 Directed by: Roger Michell Screenplay by: Richard Nelson Starring: Laura Linney, Bill Murray, Samuel West and Olivia Colman

Looper: Movie Review

Struggles to find anything to ruminate on when using time travel to go from action to drama.

“Looper” has supposedly redesigned the science fiction genre. Maybe it’s just me but I don’t think it’s unusual for such a film to highlight style over substance. Time travelling has been done before, the battle between current self and future self has been done before, and wanting to choose the love of a good woman over a violent career path has been done before. Maybe the style is better, but that is for somebody else to debate.		2012 Directed by: Rian Johnson Screenplay by: Rian Johnson Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt

The Cabin in the Woods: Movie Review

Twisting the horror genre to make it smart and funny as well as gory.

First disclaimer: I don’t like horror movies. Second disclaimer: I had no intention of watching this until it picked up a few original screenplay nominations and under the “comedy” genre. A horror-comedy, now we’re talking. “The Cabin in the Woods” is not just a comedy in the vain of going over-the-top with the horror; it’s a comedy in the sense that they’re insulting humankind, horror filmmakers, and what humankind is going to become because of horror filmmakers.		2011 Directed by: Drew Goddard Screenplay by: Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard Starring: Kristen Connolly, Fran Kanz, Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford

Anna Karenina: Movie Review

A beautiful production that transforms Anna Karenina into a modern woman.

Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats; the play is about to begin. And thus, with the curtains drawn back, the ingenuity, creativity and brilliance of Joe Wright's “Anna Karenina” begins. By taking it out of an unforgiving landscape and placing it inside a theatre to unfold on an infinite stage, but keeping it in 1870s Russia, we have a true-to-source story that can be adapted for our modern enjoyment.		2012 Directed by: Joe Wright Screenplay by: Tom Stoppard Based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy Starring: Keira Knightley, and Jude Law

Cloud Atlas: Movie Review

Three hours with one bad idea and six boring stories does not add up to a good movie.

“Cloud Atlas” is one of those epic movies interweaving completely different vignettes into a seemingly harmonious whole. To me, the big problem comes with the fact that these six stories are not connected by a related, comprehensive story. They are only connected by an idea - a single, religion based, uniformed idea. And that cannot carry an entire movie, let alone a three-hour long movie. And it’s not harmonious. The cutting back and forth of the stories is very uneven.		2012 Directed by: Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, and Lana Wachowski Screenplay by: Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, and Lana Wachowski Starring: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, and Doona Bae

Killing Them Softly: Movie Review

Disguising a brilliant take on the American economy with a convoluted gangster plot.

Set after the 2008 presidential election between John McCain’s “Country first” and Barack Obama’s “Change we can believe in” platforms, “Killing Them Softly” is about living the American dream, the downfall of the American economy, and the difference between a country and a business. But you would be forgiven if you didn’t find that storyline very evident. Those are just ideas not plot lines.		2012 Directed by: Andrew Dominik Screenplay by: Andrew Dominik Starring: Brad Pitt, and Scoot McNairy