 ‘‘The Sorcerer and the White Snake‘ is a fantastical movie that features Jet Li, Raymond Lam, Eva Huang, Charlene Choi, and Zhang Wen. With a simple story of good versus evil, a couple twists and turns and strict rules, the movie is easy to understand and quite funny. The visual effects in making the snakes and fight scenes overly dramatic is something Chinese fantasy films excel in, though not quite on the same level as epics like ‘The Hobbit‘ or ‘Life of Pi‘. Read more on The Sorcerer And The White Snake (**½)…
Read more on The Sorcerer And The White Snake (**½)…
Unlike the one-sided views of the tormented Holocaust victims and their suffering during Hitler’s terrifying reign, ‘Lore’ brings the audiences into the lives of a German family after the removal of Hitler from power. Winner of countless film festivals and an official selection for the 2013 Academy Awards in the category of Best Foreign Language Film, from Australia, from Music Box Films, ‘Lore’ is a breathtaking film adapted from the book, ‘The Dark Room’ (Rachel Seiffert). Read more on Lore (***½)…
 Laurence Anyways (****)
I can count on one hand the amount of times in my life when I’ve left a cinema buzzing from what I’d just watched; exhilarated by the cinematic journey that had unfolded before me and once more head-over-heels in love with those too often insignificant things we call movies. Laurence Anyways had that effect on me today.
If I Killed My Mother was the eye-opening semi-autobiographical debut, and Heartbeats was the difficult sophomore effort born on a whim but executed with distinguished clarity, then Laurence Anyways is Xavier Dolan’s true work of art. Although his first two movies showed vast quantities of talent and untapped potential, this really is Dolan’s most complete, daring, ambitious and ultimately satisfying film yet.
Read more on BFI London Film Festival – DAY 3…
Categories: Film Reviews Tags: Beasts of the Southern Wild, Behn Zeitlin, BFI, BFI London Film Festival, Cinema of Canada, film review, Laurence Anyways, LFF, LGBT, London Film Festival, Melvil Poupaud, Quvenzhané Wallis, REVIEW, Suzanne Clement, Transsexualism, Xavier Dolan
 Celeste and Jesse Forever is a melancholy, but delightful romantic comedy with a sharp script by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones and two great lead performances. The film stars Jones and Andy Samberg as Celeste and Jesse, a couple in the midst of a divorce, but who still spend all of their time together. This, naturally, annoys their friends and when they encourage Jesse to start dating again, Celeste doesn’t take it well. Throw in Celeste’s dealings with a tween pop star who her company is representing, and the character takes off on a journey of self sabotage that ultimately leads to self discovery and a bittersweet resolution.
Read more on Celeste and Jesse Forever (***)…
 One of the more interesting events I attended while at Comic-Con was the screening of the first 10 episodes of Tom Hanks’ Electric City, a new animated series that will premiere today, July 17, exclusively at Yahoo. While the series has some issues, it does a pretty admirable job of telling the tale of crooks, government operatives, and dystopia. Tom Hanks voices Cleavland Carr, a grid operative who works for a group of older women, survivors of an untold apocalypse, spying on and eliminating threats to the precious commodity, electricity. Hilariously, the women are seemingly tame (other than ordering hits on people), knitting most of the time we see them on-screen. But it’s revealed that they once used those needles for far more sinister purposes as shown in some of the shows goriest sequences.
Read more on Comic-Con Review: Tom Hanks’ Electric City (**½)…
 THE DESCENDANTS
Directed by Alexander Payne
Once again I find myself returning to The Descendants, which I have recently seen for a third time, a superlative film that at this writing is far and away the very best of 2011, granted an opinion that might change by years end. Brimming with humanity, overflowing with a deep generosity of spirit, I believe The Descendants is an American masterpiece, a film that will endure for years to come, and will be looked upon as the finest work of both actor George Clooney and director Alexander Payne. Somehow these gifted artist have created a picture that gently strokes your soul with its brilliant depiction of forgiveness and humanity. Anyone committed to another will find deep connections within the film, and understand exactly what Matt is going through. Anyone who has ever loved someone will understand everything Matt is going through, and those unfortunate souls who have lost someone they love deeply, will see themselves on screen. Perhaps that is Alexander Payne’s greatest gift as a director, we look at his characters in his films and say to ourselves, “i know that man…I am that man”.
Read more on The Descendants…Again (****)…
"J. Edgar" seems to be a real Oscar contender.
J. EDGAR
Directed by Clint Eastwood
There is little doubt in my mind that like Oliver Stone’s brilliant Nixon (1995) there will be critics who admire Eastwood’s J. Edgar and those who do not. They will each have their own reasons and be downright passionate about their opinion, because Eastwood’s work, and the subject of Hoover brings out such emotions.
Count me in as one of the critics considering this an American masterpiece (however flawed) and brilliant study of a man’s tortured soul. Oddly though he hated President Richard Nixon, the pair had more in common than either would liked to have confessed. Daringly, writer Dustin Lance Black, who won a well deserved Academy Award for Milk (2008) and Clint Eastwood have explored Hoover’s life warts and all, focusing on his huge contributions to law enforcement in the United States, but not forgetting what a cruel, vicious and vindictive man he could be. The film is also about power, how to build it, keep it insulated, keep yourself in a position where you are not only respected but feared, never recognizing what you are doing to be an abuse of that very power. For fifty years he held the position of FBI Director, in some cases because Presidents feared replacing him because of what he might had on them. Presidents, the highest office in the land, feared J. Edgar Hoover, and they were right to do so because he was sometimes vicious in his zeal to protect the fabric of America, never really understanding that often he was he people needed protecting from.
Read more on J. Edgar (****)…
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