Unknown is the kind of plot-twisting action thriller that I used to love watching (still do, but good ones are not as common these days). Liam Neeson stars as Dr. Martin Harris, a scientist visiting Berlin with his wife (played, quite poorly I might add, by Mad Men‘s January Jones) for a biotech conference. He…
Category: Reviews
The Bourne Legacy – Movie Review
From the opening scene of a silhouetted man floating in the water, The Bourne Legacy begs for comparisons to the first movie, The Bourne Identity (as well as its two sequels). Similarly, Jeremy Renner’s Aaron Cross fights to live up to Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne as the rogue government-programmed assassin du jour. Renner did a…
Movie #28: Fright Night
When charming, mysterious bad boy Jerry (Colin Farrell was born for roles like these) moves into a sleepy Las Vegas neighbourhood on the outskirts of town, some people start to wonder what he’s up to. He’s living next to Charley (played with bashful heroism by Anton Yelchin) and his mom (played by the slightly-too-young-to-be-his-mom Toni…
Movie #27: Fast Five
After 10 years, it is no surprise that the film series which has perfected the “cartosterone” sub-genre of action flick is back for a celebratory fifth instalment, but in honour of its love of number-play, here are Five Things that did surprise me about Fast Five. Casting Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the nemesis was…
Movie #26: Another Earth
I didn’t know what to expect from this movie, but I’m a sucker for indie sci-fi movies. I think sci-fi concepts open up a huge realm of storytelling — it’s a great way to explore dramatic and philosophical questions. Anyway, in this case, Another Earth is mostly a human drama about a teenage girl, Rhoda,…
Movie #25: Cowboys & Aliens
I’ve never been a fan of westerns (they are my second-least favourite genre, next to mob movies). However, when I heard about this western-sci-fi mash-up, I was intrigued. When I learned that Daniel Craig was going to star as the mysterious lead character, I was downright excited. Like many westerns (not that I’m any kind…
Safety Not Guaranteed – Movie Review
I had not heard anything about Safety Not Guaranteed before stumbling upon it in the theatre listings. It got great ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, and I love discovering indie-movie gems (especially when they have a sci-fi twist). When the following ad appears in the local classifieds, some writers from Seattle Magazine are intrigued enough to…
Movie #24: Conan the Barbarian
In light of all the “reboot” controversies over the last couple of years, it’s interesting that no one seems to care about Conan the Barbarian coming back to theatres. This time, the title character is played by Jason Momoa. It’s kind of odd casting, since he was quite memorable in a very similar role as…
Movie #23: The Expendables
I’m not quite sure why I watched this movie. Even though I was not really a fan of those old testosterone-fueled movies from the 80s and 90s, I guess there’s something intriguing about gathering together Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Steve Austin into a single movie. Add to that minor roles for…
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 