Stardust is a fantasy tale and a love story about the adventures of a young man called Tristan Thorn (Charlie Cox) and the people he encounters. Tristan lives in the town of Wall and is in love with a girl named Victoria, the town’s greatest beauty. He is not having much success at winning over her heart though, as she seems to be saving her affections for whichever suitor can bring her the best and most expensive presents. The crux of the film starts when Tristan and Victoria see a star falling to earth in the distance, and Tristan promises to bring her back the star in order to win her hand in marriage. To get to the star though, Tristan has to cross the wall that divides his town from a parallel universe called Stormhold and enter this other realm.
Continue reading…

Right behind Gone Baby Gone, this would have to be my second favorite film last year. Juno, starring Ellen Page as the title character, as well as Michael Cera, Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner, is a wonderful comedy that hits the right spot on the intelligent meter, avoiding the pretentious border. The acting, writing and directing—the fundamentals of a good film—all come together.
Continue reading…

I’m not quite sure what message moviegoers are sending Hollywood these days. Or what message Hollywood is sending the audience. Take a look at The Ruins, a horror film based on a best selling suspense novel, written by Scott Smith. Smith, who is also known for adapting his book A Simple Plan to the big screen. The suspense is there, the mystery is present, we get an R rated horror film…and in its opening weekend in the US, almost nobody shows up. For years, there have been watered down horror films and thrillers where “fans” moan about the genre not being R rated anymore. Then there’s a backlash over the sub-genre of horror dubbed ‘torture horror’ or ‘torture porn’. Now Hollywood listens, and seats are empty. What is more troubling than the studio not giving screening to critics? The film isn’t that bad. In fact, it’s rather good.
Continue reading…

Jodie Foster has, in some way, come full circle with The Brave One. Ever since her performance in Taxi Driver, Foster has proven herself to be a versatile actress that can headline a studio film. In Taxi Driver, Foster plays a prostitute imprisoned by circumstances only to be rescued by a deranged vigilante killer. In The Brave One, Foster plays a victim who becomes a vigilante killer. Both films take place in New York City and both are compelling in their own ways.
Continue reading…

IMDB list ‘biography’ and ‘drama’ as the genres for this movie, but this definitely one of the better comedies I’ve seen in a long while. I was expecting a pretty serious political movie, but this story is so absurd it would have been funny even without all the great jokes this movie has to offer. And considering how this movie is based on a true story which has had some pretty serious effects on recent history, one can only conclude that this is an interesting movie in every sense of the word.

Continue reading…