How To Train Your Dragon/The Secret Of Kells
I’ve been spoiled, as we all have. Since the first Toy Story, well, even since The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, I find it difficult to settle for flat cartoons. The only ones that I suffer now are The Simpsons, Spongebob Squarepants and Futurama. And now that 3D has been perfected and gone really deep – from just molded, shaped and shaded, to actual depth via glasses – I find myself squirming in my seat with impatience and boredom if I can’t reach out and try to grab something coming at me or wafting past me, as I felt when I viewed The Secret of Kells. And Kells’ animation is rather simplistic with few frames per second. What makes it even more difficult to... READ MORE >>>

The Runaways
The Runaways is a biopic that follows the true stories of Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) and Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning), as they became members of the first all girl rock band in the 1970s.  I love rock and roll music, especially many of the classics by Joan Jett herself; however, I was uncertain of the history of The Runaways. I found it very interesting following through the start and end of the bands short-lived stardom. Starting with Joan approaching the famous music producer Kim Fowley about her desire to start an all girl rock band, to their success and failures.     The film was written by and was also the directorial debut of Floria Sigismondi. Sigismondi is a successful music video director, and her talent in... READ MORE >>>

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Books often make great source material for movies, especially international best sellers.  Swedish author Steig Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the latest book to be transferred from the page to the screen.  I am a huge supporter of all things Swedish, from the convenience of IKEA furniture to the delightful whimsy of Swedish pop music (Peter Bjorn and John, Little Dragon, or ABBA anyone?), Sweden rarely let’s me down.  In cinema, the illustrious Ingmar Bergman hailed from Sweden, and more recently, the acclaimed vampire thriller Let the Right One In (based on another best-selling Swedish book) by director Tomas Alfredson was well-received by American film-goers.  That’s why watching Girl with a Dragon Tattoo is so disappointing: it just doesn’t live up to... READ MORE >>>

Our Family Wedding
As a young dude, I admit that movies about weddings are not my favorite. They seem to be put together like Mad-Libs: there’s a word bank the filmmaker draws from to fill in the blanks, the zanier the better. Characters can include a racist grandma, dysfunctional bridesmaid/groomsman, alcoholic or painkiller abusing parents, etc., while the story always takes a dramatic twist towards the end that tests the integrity of the institution of marriage.  However, like in any genre, it’s the deviations from a familiar story that can make or break a film. Our Family Wedding succeeds straying far enough from the wedding-movie mold to be fun, and even endearing.    Set in Los Angeles, Our Family Wedding is about two young lovers, Lucia Ramirez (America Ferrera),... READ MORE >>>

Prodigal Sons
You can’t make up this stuff! That’s why documentaries were invented – because if you saw a narrative movie with a similar plot line, you’d say, “This is ridiculous – too far fetched to be believed. Stop it, already.” Prodigal Sons, though starting out as a documentary about a son who decides to return to hometown Montana for the 20 year high school reunion, has so many extreme and unexpected twists and turns to it – from the introduction of high school football hero, Paul McKerrow, the prodigal “son” returning home as a women, filmmaker Kimberly Reed, and all the background that goes along with having made that decision, to adoptive older brother Marc who not only has childhood jealousy issues and a history of... READ MORE >>>