21 Jump Street: A film review

 - Vancouver, British Columbia - At times, it appears that Hollywood has run out of new ideas. Old television series have been re-hashed for film adaptations, when the originals weren't that great to begin with. Worse sometimes, the film adaptation was even worse; you know who you are, Dukes of Hazzard and Starsky and Hutch. You know it is bad when an old board game like Battleship is turned into a movie, which bares very little resemblance to the original game itself. 21 Jump Street is another foray into old ideas, this time by MGM, who hopes to develop a new franchise out of something that once was. Was it needed? Not so sure. Should we be surprised? Definitely not.

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Jack & Jill: A film review

 - Vancouver, British Columbia - As an 11-year old, Happy Gilmore was among the funniest films that I had ever seen. It was my first introduction to Adam Sandler, which solified him as one of my favourite actors in my pre-teen years, but that probably isn't surprising. Sandler's brand of comedy has changed much since then, though he has made several courageous moves such as Punch Drunk Love. When I heard how awfully Sandler's latest, Jack & Jill, was doing with the critics, I felt like I really must see what the fuss was about it, or if it was even as bad as people were saying.

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The Rum Diary: A film review

 - Vancouver, British Columbia - I have to admit that I have a weak spot for films that take its audiences to exotic locales, and one that I have never seen in film yet is Puerto Rico. The Rum Diary is one such film that takes us there, though it is under the auspices of a film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's fictionalized account of his time there as a struggling journalist. Admittedly, I hadn't quite made up my mind about Hunter S. Thompson and his style of Gonzo journalism before seeing this film, and while it isn't Thompson himself, per se, that we see on the screen, it is hard to not come away from this film without some sense of respect for the man and his principles.... even if he struggled with alcohol, drugs, and eventually offed himself.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: A film review

 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Jack Sparrow is back, but this time without a few of his old friends, and that is to his credit. In Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, we are re-introduced to pirate lore with Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) taking an even more prominent role as the film's central focus. Few of the old faces are here with the exception of Gibbs (Kevin McNally) and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), though we are given the fearless Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and Angelica (Penélope Cruz).

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Rango: A film review

- Vancouver, British Columbia - I don't know if you've been paying much attention to movies lately, but animated features are in. Pixar and Dreamworks Animation are combating for top spot, while other studios are still finding their footing. 5 of the 10 top grossing films of 2010 were animated, and every animated film was released in 3D. One could argue a connection. Though, as much as studios think 3D has “caught on” and plan to continue the release of 3D features, animated or otherwise, I actually have noticed a trend that audiences are bemoaning it rather than reveling in it. Can they say that it has become popular if they're hardly giving audiences a choice? If everything is in 3D, doesn't that spoil the novelty of the big event movies where it's justified? What about all of those movies where it just looks awful? I think we've seen more of those than films where it works.

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