Tag: Movies

By Silvia de Somma

T he Book of Eli tests you from the beginning. How many different ways can the title be twisted — at least three, it seems, until the very end. Eli (Denzel Washington) is a lone wanderer of the wastelands headed west on a mission. He also happens to be carrying a very valuable and powerful… Continue reading Eli is badass but preaches to the choir

By Richard Lam

High Life is a breezy crime comedy well aware of its influences and unafraid to pay them tribute. The light tone of Canadian director Gary Yate’s film is set from the opening scene, with a clumsy street-side shootout and voiceover nod to Goodfellas: “For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be… Continue reading High Life cliched but fun crime caper

By Misha Carlson

The Road is based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name, a powerful and dark book that won critical acclaim and the 2007 Pulitizer Prize. Another of McCarthy’s books, No Country for Old Men, was the inspiration behind the Academy Award winning film of the same name. Needless to say, because of the pedigree,… Continue reading The Road is worth its long journey

By Amy Badry

Global injustices don’t always impact us in Calgary. The Marda Loop Justice Film Festival hopes to open Calgarians’ eyes. The fourth annual festival will showcase 11 films from November 20-22 in the River Park Church Auditorium. This year’s fest features engaging documentaries meant to raise awareness on justice issues in Canada and abroad, ranging from… Continue reading A local way to see large scale injustices

By Jordyn Marcellus

Amreeka is a film about the beauty and the pains of the Arab experience in a post-September 11 world. The film, Palestinian-American filmmaker Cherien Dabis’ debut effort, is a strict by-the-numbers drama about a Palestinian immigrant moving to a still emotionally raw post-9/11 Chicago suburb, alternating between middling melodrama and good-natured comedy. After winning the… Continue reading Amreeka details the trials and tribulations of a post-9/11 world

By Jordyn Marcellus

To call Paranormal Activity the most frightening movie in recent years is more an attack on the modern horror genre than a compliment to the film. Though it has been hyped to be one of the scariest films of the decade, as a theatrical experience it sadly lacks anything approaching thrills. With the recent shift… Continue reading Not Paranormal at all

By Ryan Pike

Since winning a slew of awards for No Country for Old Men, including four Academy Awards, the Coen brothers have settled into a more restrained mode of storytelling in their recent fare. Their latest film, A Serious Man, is representative of this more mature style, although it does betray flashes of their previous comedic features.… Continue reading Coen bros latest too serious

By Kirsten Varsek

Get the shot glasses out, kiddies, ’cause we’re about to play another game of “Where Have I Seen That Before?” with perennial magna favourite, Astro Boy. After the death of his son, Dr. Tenma (Nic Cage) hopes to temper his grief by creating a Stepford robot imbued with the DNA of his lost progeny. Powered… Continue reading Astro Boy built from bits and pieces of better films

By Hoang-Mai Hong

Ever since Where the Wild Things Are’s heartrending, perfect trailer was unveiled, expectations have been very high. Not that this full-length feature, which pulls its story straight from a beloved children’s book that was a perfect and very brief 300 words, wasn’t already highly anticipated. Being directed by Spike Jonze (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich and… Continue reading Beautiful Wild Things breathtaking

By Laura Bardsley

Woody Allen once dreamed that his soul was the shape and size of a chickpea. Cold Souls isn’t as colorful a dream, but the basis is similar. The movie stars Paul Giamatti as himself, struggling with the role of the very passive Uncle Vanya in the titular Checkhov play. Giamatti then becomes overwhelmed by the… Continue reading Cold Souls delivers on its high-concept