Let’s get this out of the way: the premise – a science-fiction/action version of Ground Hog Day – is dumb. This is basically the film version of playing a video game, albeit condensed into 2 hours. But if you can get over that (and over the presence of Tom Cruise)… SPOILERS!
Tag: 2014
Boyhood (2014, Richard Linklater)
Like most people who have seen this film, I have never seen anything like this before. Making a film over 12 years is impressive in and of itself, but it would be nothing if the film that Linklater made wasn’t worth watching. But is it ever worth watching.
Backcountry (2014, Adam MacDonald)
This review contains SPOILERS.
Whitey: United States of America vs James J Bulger (2014, Joe Berlinger)
Somebody once said, it’s not integrity that matters, it’s the perception of integrity. One of the reasons people freak out at the more minor of political scandals – the ones where there are only hints of impropriety, or where bureaucrats or politicians are accused of over-spending tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars when the …
Merchants of Doubt (2014, Robert Kenner)
This is a compelling film about how corporations and lobby groups use pundits to undermine scientific consensuses that would otherwise hurt their profits. The film examines the bag of tricks both the tobacco industry and the oil industry have used to fool the American public about both the short and long term health risks of …
The Quest for a Moral Compass (2014) by Kenan Malik
I have been reading Malik’s blog for more than a few years at this point (I think), in part because I feel like he has much greater insight into the issues around jihadism than most of the people writing in North America (who I’ve had a chance to read). I find his approach not only …
Mad Men (2007)
I watched Mad Men over an even longer period than most of you, so my memory of the individual episodes is not perfect. I know there were some weaker ones in there, and there even parts of seasons – perhaps even whole seasons – that I didn’t enjoy on the level of the best parts …
Big Game (2014, Jalmari Helander)
One day, I really will live tweet or live blog a movie, instead of posting my comments after the fact. I’m sorry to say that my comments below don’t have time stamps. SPOILERS! (As if that matters…)
The Babadook (2014, Jennifer Kent)
Hype is a dangerous thing, as I have noted more than a few times in the past. Hearing too much about a movie ahead of time can unwillingly alter your expectations, even without your knowledge. And so I find myself watching yet another movie I’ve heard too much about, with out-sized expectations. Maybe if I …
The Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014, Chapman Way, Maclain Way)
This is a sub-30 for 30 quality sports documentary (or low end 30 for 30) that makes up for its lack of film quality with the incredible story of the Portland Mavericks, possibly the most popular single A team of all time and the only independent baseball team of its era.
The End of Absence (2014) by Michael Harris
The End of Absence is a thoughtful and sometimes thought-provoking examination of my generation – the last generation to remember life before the internet – and the consequences of technological change for this generation and subsequent generations. It is entirely too personal a work for me – it reminds me a little too much of …
Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014, Ridley Scott)
Hollywood maybe the only film industry that could view Exodus as the premise for an action movie. And make no mistake, that’s what this is. Sure, we get attempts at making this about something else – faith vs. reason, appears to be a poorly stated theme, for example – and there is character development in …
A Guide for the Perplexed (2002, 2014) by Werner Herzog with Paul Cronin
Werner Herzog is probably my favourite filmmaker. It’s not that I think he’s “greater” or “better” than others, but that when I see a Herzog film, I know I’m going to see something different, whether it’s his newest film, or some old short of his I managed to find. His films are always provocative, usually …
The Maze Runner (2014, Wes Ball)
Thoughts (Including major spoilers, but I don’t care because you should not watch this piece of shit):
Whiplash (2014, Damien Chazelle)
I need to see hyped movies either right away or years later when I’ve forgotten about them. Inevitably, whenever I see a hyped movie after I’ve been inundated by hype but before I’ve forgotten the hype, I am disappointed.
Altman (2014, Robert Mann)
Calling this a documentary would be something of a misnomer, it’s more of a love letter. The film is not much concerned with who Altman was as a person, it is rather concerned with who he was as an Artist and what his Art means to both the film industry and his family. And it …
Gone Girl (2014, David Fincher)
This review contains some fairly serious SPOILERS. Before I get to talking about this excellent film, which I liked very much, I suppose I have to address the thing that must be addressed, namely the apparent misogyny. Had this movie been released 20 or even 10 years ago, I suspect nobody would have said anything. …
Fargo – Season 1 (2014)
I normally review a TV series after I’ve watched all the seasons. However, given that the second season of Fargo will consist of an entirely new cast and plot, I am reviewing them separately. Needless to say, SPOILERS!!! I was really, really skeptical of this idea, not only because I was once a gigantic Coen …
Boardwalk Empire (2010)
SPOILERS!!!
Joseph Haydn: Die Sieben letzten Worte (2014) by Cuarteto Casals
This is supposedly an “instrumental” oratorio. Haydn first wrote it for orchestra (with no vocals!). Then he adapted it for String Quartet. Then he adapted it for Choir (as if it was an actual oratorio). Then he “approved” an adaptation for solo piano, but apparently didn’t write that one himself. This is the String Quartet …
Your 2014-15 Toronto Raptors
Last year, as the Raptors neared setting a record for regular season wins in a season, I wondered which was the best Raptors team ever. A weeks later I concluded last year’s edition ranked among the best. But at the beginning of this calendar year, I was optimistic that we were seeing the best team …
War of Lies (2014, Mathias Bittner)
Let’s get this out of the way: This is a student film. The director freely admitted last night that he made this as his graduation “project” for film school. When he said that before the movie, my expectations lowered considerably. I am always wary of first time directors. And there are definitely signs that this …
Your 2014-15 Toronto Maple Leafs
I watched as little of the Leafs this year as I have since I was 16, more than half my life ago. I did this because Burke and then Nonis killed my passion for the team after JFJ made me more passionate, albeit passionate as to wanting him fired. I’m sort of kidding. I was …
2014-15 NHL Awards
I watched as little hockey this season as I have since I was 16 (i.e. half a lifetime ago) in part because Nonis was still in charge of the Maple Leafs until very recently and in part because basketball is slowly winning the battle of allegiances in my heart. So I’m not making any post-season …
Killer Legends (2014, Joshua Zeman)
I remember sort of enjoying Cropsey, finding it kind of frustratingly made, but compelling enough to give it a pretty decent rating. I didn’t write a review, so I have no idea exactly what I liked/disliked about it. But watching this film, which could be called Cropsey II, I worry I was far too generous.
Noah (2014, Darren Aronofsky)
I have long been a fan of Aronofsky’s, even of his misses – though I have yet to see The Fountain – because he has always made me think. His films provoke thought and discussion, and are also usually full of inventive direction and cinematography. I am not sure I can think of another example …
Frank (2014, Lenny Abrahamson)
Frank has a premise like so many other recent indie dramedies: the premise is just a touch too wacky for belief and everyone is just a touch too eccentric to exist in reality. There has been a rash of these films in the last 15 years or so, and I have to say I’m getting …
House of Cards (2013)
The following review contains major SPOILERS!!! Do not read it if you haven’t finished Season 3.
Virunga (2014, Orlando von Einsiedel)
This is an important film that is only slightly marred by it’s clunky approach but is nevertheless essential viewing and an important document, not just of one of the innumerable conflicts between conservation and natural resource development, but also of the bravery required to to do the “right thing” in the face of overwhelming pressure …
Frontera (2014, Michael Berry)
The term “liberal propaganda” has always made me laugh for many reasons, such as: it only exists in the States, it’s often just fair or truthful storytelling, etc. As a man once said, the reason wikipedia has a liberal bias is because the facts have a liberal bias.