Yearly Archives: 2010

The Kids Are All Right review

As the year dawdles its way to an end, I'm starting to consider my Best of 2010 list. In order to feel as though myselection has some credibility, I'm keen to catch up on some of the well-reviewed movies I missed in theatres or that just didn't open in Halifax. So, here come thoughts on…Read More

U2 360° At the Rose Bowl review

I've been a longtime fan of the Irish band U2. I guess by some estimates I'm a latecomer, having gotten into them on Rattle and Hum, but I swiftly purchased the back catalogue and have enjoyed every record since. They still amaze me with their consistence. Like Springsteen, I do believe they want to make…Read More

How Do You Know review

Written and directed by James L. Brooks Lisa (Reese Witherspoon, perky and adorable as a shih tzu) is an American softball star—if such a thing can be said to exist. At 31 she's just a little past her prime, dealing with being cut from her team. She meets Matty (Owen Wilson, who, to continue the…Read More

True Grit review

Directed and written for the screen by Joel and Ethan Coenfrom a novel by Charles PortisThe first thing to note here is this western isn't a remake of the John Wayne picture, the one for which the Duke won his Oscar. The Coens have gone back to the novel, which I hear they liked due…Read More

Tron: Legacy review

Directed by Joseph KosinskiScreenplay by Edward Kitsis and Adam HorowitzStory by Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, Brian Klugman, Lee SternthalThe mountain of hype around Tron: Legacy has reminded all of us, if we didn't already remember, that there was a Disney science fiction picture in 1982 called Tron. Though it wasn't a huge box office hit,…Read More

Black Swan review

Directed by Darren AronofskyScripted by Mark Heyman, John McLaughlin and Andres Heinz,from a story by HeinzOh melodrama. Such a dirty word these days, except in places like France and Italy, where plays and films pitched at the ragged edges of emotion are considered at least a laudable storytelling expression. Because Hollywood does it so infrequently,…Read More

The King’s Speech review

Directed by Tom HooperScreenplay by David SeidlerWell, isn't this a good time at the movies. It's been rare enough this year to have a good story well told, but when the beats hit the mark so flawlessly, well, I'm prone to hyperbole, I have to admit. Shockingly, The King's Speech is a biopic I really…Read More

Fourteen Actors Acting

Two friends who don't know each other posted this link on Facebook this afternoonwithin an hour of each other, which tends to suggest it's gone viral and doesn't needmy help. Still, here it is: From the New York Times, 14 short films under a minute, featuringa number of very recognizable actors playing a number of…Read More

Love and Other Drugs review

Directed by Edward Zwick Written by Zwick, Charles Randolph and Marshall Herskovitz from the novel Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman by Jamie Reidy I'm surprised that Love and Other Drugs is being buzzed about with potential Oscar consideration. Maybe the performances have a shot, but I'd say it's a long one. I…Read More