Hitchcock: A film review

- Vancouver, British Columbia - When I was fairly young, my Dad showed my older brother and I some classic Alfred Hitchcock movies. I don't remember how old exactly, but I remember watching The Birds and Vertigo and possibly Rear Window, though that one may have been at another time. Having mostly been raised on Disney movies and Star Trek, the Hitchcock films were not like anything I had seen before. Dark, suspenseful... adult, but not full of blood and violence. They just mature themes and ideas, which stimulated the mind, but didn't force feed it. Only a few years ago did I watch Psycho, one of Hitchcock's most famous films and was thrilled at how daring it was, taking risks that many film makers wouldn't dare do even now. I'm actually a little surprised that a movie hasn't been made about him until now.

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The Avengers: A film review

 - Vancouver, British Columbia - There is every likelihood that this review will not determine whether or not you see The Avengers because chances are, you already have. This film is well on its way to becoming one of the highest grossing movies of all time and broke the US domestic opening records set by The Dark Knight and the most recent Harry Potter film. I'm not here to tell you that The Avengers is the greatest film ever made so if you want to read a review that says that, I'm very sorry, you'll have to read some fan boy's blog. But I will say that it was a brilliant marketing set up that had a pay off that does feel well worth it. Marvel never shied away from the fact that they were planning this big move since they released the first Iron Man movie back in 2008. And it was a brilliant plan to connect the movies together, teasing audiences for this big moment. It was a big risk because if The Avengers underwhelmed moviegoers in any way, it damages the possibility of not just a sequel to this movie, but the separate characters as well. But all of the Marvel films connected to it were all fairly well made and financially successful. I actually enjoyed all of them to some extent.

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We Bought A Zoo: A film review

 - Vancouver, British Columbia - When we last saw Cameron Crowe at work, it was 2005 and Elizabethtown hit the screens. Sadly, this film was not thoroughly embraced by many mainstream film fans. It stands as one of Orlando Bloom's finest performances, where Crowe demanded something more significant of Bloom unlike many other directors who have seemingly agreed to cast him for his marketing appeal. Nearly six years later, Crowe returns to the director's chair with We Bought A Zoo, which I must confess seemed like an odd choice for a man who is known for such films as Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky, and Almost Famous. I like it though when a director takes a chance on something that wouldn't normally fit the mold of his or her career.

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