Letterboxd — Your life in film

Star Trek Into Darkness has the exact same problem I had with the first installment in the newly rebooted series. Despite its rich characterizations and character development, there is little thematic depth to the story, which is intensely far removed from the philosophical meditations and reflections of the original series. The first film was a dumbed down, but very entertaining action film for the general masses, and this film is not much different. I will give Star Trek Into Darkness…

'The Great Gatsby' is undeniably the most perfect and flawlessly written novel of the last century. The question is, does the movie manage to translate Fitzgerald's wonderful prose to the big screen? I'd say the answer is yes and no.

My issue with the film is not with the cast but with the director. I don't mean to hate on Baz Luhrmann. I appreciate a director with a unique visionary style. However, this film is so Bazed out that it…

One thing is for sure, I am growing extremely tired and annoyed of Robert Downey, Jr's cocky, self-absorbed attitude that is celebrated within these films. A majority of the comedy comes from Tony Stark being an ass to other people. I've seen interviews with him outside his films, and I truly question whether it's part of his characters or not. These superhero movies are what parents take their children to see, and these characters are what they grow up watching,…

Something that was very apparent to me after watching this film only became more apparent last night as I watched A Separation (which I highly recommend you watch, it is certainly one of the best films of the decade so far, if not the best). The artistry, themes and technical creativity come together to make a film that pushes cinema forward as a form of art. There are also other films I have watched recently that, while not breaking any…

The plan to make Warm Bodies a success probably sounded something like "we'll just kill them with cuteness and hope they don't mind we're telling a story that's been told a million times. with zombies." Well, it worked. I didn't mind. They were so dedicated to this concept of being cute, they put  a bunch of goats in it at one point for basically no reason other than to be really cute. 

I can't finish this review because I'm basically…

"Warm Bodies" is a surprising experience. A romantic horror fable (sort of John Hughes-meets-George Romero), the film is built around the premise of a corpse who develops affection for a living girl. In broad strokes, this story has been told hundreds of times; but "Warm Bodies" keeps the formula fresh with honest humor and unexpected warmth.

Cinematically, the film provides standard zombie thrills, and its PG-13 rating keeps the violence to a minimum. It is well cast and features a…

Behold, the first really good movie of 2013. Also, the first one in quite a while that genuinely surprised me. This is because I, like many others, saw the previews and read the premise for this movie and thought that Hollywood was trying to do for zombies what the Twilight franchise did for vampires, capitalizing on the success of the supernatural romance genre. I'm happy to say, however, that the film is nothing of the sort, because while Warm Bodies…

"Les Miserables" is, at once, both old fashioned and contemporary. With its handsomely crafted costumes and period sets, and its operatic story combining epic conflict and personal melodrama, it is a movie musical in the style of the Hollywood prestige pictures of the past. With its swooping cameras, close-shot attention to character and emotion, and refusal to be stagey, it is remarkably fresh.

A story of hope and redemption, "Les Miserables" is quakingly emotional. These emotions are writ large, not…

Seeing "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" is akin to visiting with old friends. Following the familiar narrative beats of "...Fellowship of the Ring," Peter Jackson's most recent trip to Middle-Earth bears the same filmic earmarks of his original trilogy. Jackson's rendition of J.R.R. Tolkien's creation is beautifully immersive and painstakingly crafted. The world of the film is familiar; lovers of Jackson's Lord of the Rings films will feel at home.

Familiarity, however, will only generate so much good will, and…

I can’t remember the last time I was quite so apathetic towards a film.

David O. Russell’s awards bothering movie is perfectly decent, but is it anything more than that? For me the answer is a disappointing no. It’s easy to see why it attracted such attention during awards season as it deals with mental illness (a voter’s favourite) whilst wrapping it up in the safe comforting embrace of a feel-good romantic-drama. Even the loud, showy performances seem carefully engineered…

My ticket stub says that I saw Silver Linings Playbook but it can't be the same film everyone else has seen. It just can't be. This one was supposed to be charming, enjoyable, fun even. It won the TIFF Audience Award. It was supposed to have great characters. Cooper and Lawrence were supposed to have given wonderful performances. DeNiro, it was said, was back. Jackie Weaver, wait, was she in this?

The film I saw was bland and boring. I…