Under the Sea 3D

Under the Sea 3D; An entire world comes alive right in front of our faces, giving sights unseen from the ocean floor, depth & beauty instilling vast wonderment. Even w/comedic narration by Jim Carrey and an environmental message, it never loses focus that the ocean’s majesty is a sight to behold; A

Becoming Led Zeppelin

Becoming Led Zeppelin; There’s not much insight shared about the evolution of Zeppelin, as the film fails to convey the magic of its legendary riffs. It comes off pedestrianly ordinary, for music that moves like no other. The film wraps up way ahead of what we want to hear, hoping for a follow up; B-

Little Shop of Horrors

Little Shop of Horrors; An insane amount of talent combine to lovingly craft a fitting version of a bizarre off-Broadway B-movie love story. Oz at the helm, enlisting the genius duo of Ashman & Menken, stuffing comedic greats in bit roles doesn’t diminish the sweet tale of two lovers. Cult gold; B+

Death of a Unicorn

Death of a Unicorn; A wild premise thinly executed, quickly veers into horror when greater themes and angles could be explored. Still, the ensemble is incredible and play off each other fantastically well. A trailer that intrigues but ends up half baked, with some great moments, lines and sights; B

Memento

Memento; A mind shifting experience for the audience, put in the conceit the main character lives through, readjusting our readings of scenes every 5 minutes. The extremely talented cast sell the film noir roots, acting seedy while sewing uncertainty of their true intentions. Brilliant editing; A+

Frankenstein

Frankenstein; An absolutely gorgeous rendering of the classic tale. One of those rare films where every single shot is a frame worthy capture of glorious production & camera execution. Bolstered by an exquisite score and powerful performances, this film is a juggernaut, albeit sweet in its themes; A

The Commitments

The Commitments; A solid romp that revolves around the moments lived by these disparate characters thrown together, driven to deliver the great music of what became an iconic soundtrack. Thoroughly enjoyable, yet mildly depressing, as the music uplifts the sad train wreck of the lives on display; B+

Jurassic World: Rebirth

Jurassic World: Rebirth; Like Jaws, essentially B-movies done well, this instalment of Dinosaurs come to dinner can’t decide between family or scientists in peril, so does both. Uses water danger to a greater degree. Still doesn’t have much to offer beyond the original. Solid, standard frights; B-

Mario

Mario; Viewing this in its horrible English language dub makes it seem like Mario’s Elijah Wood lookalike brother Simon is a crazy, deranged person with fantasies in his head. The scenery is nice but the scenes are oddly cut and amount to one bizarre moment after another. Strange heap of garbage; D

All the President's Men

All the President’s Men; Seems almost tame and quaint by today’s standards but thrills through the use of dynamic framing, stellar acting and stark realism. A lot of type and talk manages to maintain momentum by the mesmerizing star power of Hoffman and Redford and great costars. A true classic; A-
 

A River Runs Through It

A River Runs Through It; Quiet, albeit boring meditation on life, family, growth, and its parallels to fly fishing & fighting against or flowing w/(one’s) nature. Spectacular scenery and nature vistas lovingly captured, give cinematic treatment to a book that seems mostly better read than viewed; C

Jaws

Jaws; Excellent filmmaking pairs w/fantastic character acting to elevate what is a thread bare B-movie plot. Brass orchestration strikes more fear and suspense than a giant rubber prop with teeth, resulting in some clever shots and spooky jump scares. The humour peppered throughout lands nicely; A-
 

The 400 Blows

The 400 Blows; Kinetic filmmaking captures misguided youth and an energy of Paris in beautiful black and white. The young lead captivates from his first transgression, winning over the audience as his life’s influences and disappointments come clearer. Moments will stick in your mind forever; A

Highest 2 Lowest

Highest 2 Lowest; Another tight wire act by Spike & Denzel, serving up an amazing performance in a stylishly tense morality play. The shots of New York in newly minted opulent or more worn down locales are stunning and parallel the film’s themes. Confounding at times, but ultimately entertaining; B

Blue Valentine

Blue Valentine; Falling in love with Ryan Gosling isn’t that hard but seeing him and Williams fall out of love is heart wrenchingly powerfully expressed in this intimate, realistic pastiche of life. Intercutting across moments of time lends intrigue to the amazing performances. A true hidden gem; A-
 

My Beautiful Laundrette

My Beautiful Laundrette; Raw glimpse into Thatcher era immigrant experience along w/what would have been at the time, groundbreaking gay representation. Seeing a young Daniel Day Lewis displaying undeniable screen presence is a bit jolting, as the tone & execution shifts wildly, yet effectively; B+

Sign 'o' the Times

Prince: Sign ‘o’ the Times; Goofy attempts to string barely a narrative across stellar live performances looks and sounds phenomenal in IMAX close to 40 years later. A clear reminder of the powerfully dynamic troupe of musicians Prince spotlighted alongside him while delivering iconic rock shows; A
 

The Cameraman

The Cameraman; Another classic from Buster Keaton, showcasing his skills thoroughly with gags galore and hard hitting emotional beats. Starts off as a rom com and ramps up the stunts, surprises and thrills as it progresses. Scenes point directly towards inspiringTom Cruise, Rowan Atkinson & more; A+
 

The Bad Guys 2

The Bad Guys 2; Fun little film that utilizes its great voice cast to power the quirky characters through animated hi-jinx. Revisiting the group for a sequel roots it with built-in love and concern for the characters, raising the emotional stakes a bit more right off the bat. Well animated fun; B

The Naked Gun

The Naked Gun; Does a great job mirroring the tone & gags of the OG series, but doesn’t quite feel as laugh per minute as the originals. Neeson & Anderson work well as leads, playing it straight amongst insanity. Some crazy stretches pay off for big laughs. Nice to have this comedy style revived; B