The GATE

The Avengers
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders
Director: Joss Whedon

In the hands of your average director, The Avengers could have been ridiculous. There are long stretches of conversation where superheroes just talk to each other in small spaces, loads of complicated special effects, and the film is a whopping 2 hours and 22 minutes. On top of that, The Avengers is charged with bringing together three heroes from their respective blockbusters, and giving them some sort of likable chemistry together with new characters we don’t know all that much about.

As helmed by Joss Whedon though, The Avengers is a superhero-sized adventure, among the top ten comic book movies of all time, and proof that Whedon needs to be handed a lot more projects like this one.

Written by Whedon and X2 writer Zak Penn, the movie starts with Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston, breaking into a top secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base where he steals the Tesseract, an all-powerful energy source that the demi god plans to use to enslave the planet. Maniacal laugh.

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1 month ago

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# The Avengers

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After watching so many slasher movies, monster films, and gory extravaganzas, it’s easy to forget there is such a thing as horror with a new perspective, but The Cabin in the Woods laughs its way through a bloody story that is filled with surprises that you likely won’t see coming until they’ve grabbed you by the throat.

Toying with the conventions we’ve become used to–not to mention the gimmicks, the stereotypes, and the plot points–Cabin in the Woods is a deliriously funny film, peppered with tongue-in-cheek asides, that still manages to stack up a decent body count.

From the start, director Drew Goddard makes it clear that this is not the horror film you may have expected. In the opening scene we meet Richard Jenkins playing a scientist named Steve, and Bradley Whitford as his partner, Richard, as the duo prepares for their very unique line of work. That work turns out to be guiding five 20-somethings into a specially outfitted cabin where unknown horror awaits.

1 month ago

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# Cabin In The Woods

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# Kristen Connolly

Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz in Dream House

Between his films In the Name of the Father and Brothers, director Jim Sheridan has shown that he is a director with uncommon skill who knows how to deliver films on difficult topics that also have powerful mood-driven stories. In particular, In The Name of the Father is a classic from the nineties that still carries just as much weight today as when it was released.

Dream House is a contrast to Sheridan’s career, however, because of its tone, and the fact that it’s a fairly straight-up thriller, but also because of the relatively muddled progress of the story, and because it lacks the cohesive power of Sheridan’s other work.

Everyman Daniel Craig stars as Will Atenton, a big city publisher who has left New York City behind to live with his wife, Libby, played by Rachel Weisz, and two children in a small, New England town. Their life in their new home seems picturesque until they discover that they’re living in a former crime scene where the previous tenants were brutally murdered.

As Libby and Will try to uncover the story behind the murders, Will discovers a connection to their next-door neighbour, Ann, played by Naomi Watts–a connection that will lead Will to painful revelations he can no longer ignore.

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3 months ago

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# Dream House

# Daniel Craig

# Rachel Weisz

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Haywire
Starring: Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum, Michael Angarano, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Rated: 7/10

Screening Haywire tonight brought me to a sad realization. Under pressure, the most I could count would be a total of five ultimate female action stars who, time and again, have proven themselves as powerhouse fighters on screen.

That list would clearly include Sigourney Weaver, Kate Beckinsale, and I would even say Milla Jovovich, plus you would have to include Angelina Jolie, and the runner up, who still has a lot to prove, is Zoë Saldana.

That makes Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire a welcome sight since it potentially introduces a woman who could make a name for herself as an action star, if Haywire proves itself to audiences.

Former mixed martial arts star Gina Carano is Mallory Kane, a freelance hired gun who works for governments to deal with tough situations, like hostage situations where normal covert tactics are not possible. As we first see her, waiting for someone at a small diner in the middle of nowhere, Mallory ends up getting the crap beaten out of her as an ex-coworker shows up to drag her back to her boss.

Following her story back through the last few weeks, Mallory takes a hostage as she explains her story to him, and explains how she found herself double-crossed with killers on her tail who are trying to clean up the unsightly loose ends.

4 months ago

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# Haywire

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# Gina Carano

# Steven Soderbergh

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New releases in theatres this weekend: Hugh Jackman shows off his parenting and boxing skills opposite his young co-star Dakota Goyo in Real Steel; and George Clooney and Ryan Gosling star in the intense political drama, The Ides Of March.

7 months ago

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# Real Steel

# Hugh Jackman

# Film Friday

# review

# Film

Anton Yelchin and Colin Farrell in a scene from Fright Night

New arrivals in a theatre near you this weekend: Colin Farrell stars as a blood-sucking monster in the remake, Fright Night; the great warrior of the eighties returns in Conan The Barbarian; plus Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess try to make their relationship work over the years in the drama, One Day.

9 months ago

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# Fright Night

# Colin Farrell

# Film

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# Anton Yelchin

Opening at a theatre near you: Ryan Reynolds stars as the one-and-only Hal Jordan in Green Lantern; Jim Carrey is playing with animals again in Mr. Popper’s Penguins; plus a look at Mike Mills’ new dramedy, Beginners.

11 months ago

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# Green Lantern

# Ryan Reynolds

# Film

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Opening in a theatre near you this weekend: James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender star in the comic book reboot, X-Men: First Class; Owen Wilson stars in Woody Allen’s latest romantic comedy, Midnight in Paris; plus a look at the dramedy, Submarine.

1 year ago

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# X-Men: First Class

# Film

# James McAvoy

# Michael Fassbender

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Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

New arrivals in theatres this weekend include: Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides starring Johnny Depp as the one and only Captain Jack Sparrow, hunting this time for the fountain of youth; and the drama Last Night, starring Keira Knightley and Sam Worthington.

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1 year ago

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# Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

# Film

# Johnny Depp

# Penélope Cruz

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Biffy Clyro
The Garrison, Toronto
February 16, 2011
By: Christine Estima

Live, Biffy Clyro sound exactly like their records. This is a trip, and worth mentioning, because their latest effort Only Revolutions is a blind and fearless leap into that monoaural 14th Floor Records sound that mummifies budgetrock ethos with their golden gospel. They do goonish, lairy pop that sounds like a Seventies rock rarity you just found in some Scottish yard sale, alive with crackle, gold-dust furring the needle and coaxing up some gauzy, soft-focus vibe where bum notes and musical primitivism are an aesthetic, an integral part of the group’s charm. And don’t ask me how, but in this sardine-can The Garrison in Toronto’s Little Portugal, rubbing shoulders until sparks fly with curious hipsters, gothy-punks, and those garage rock freaks usually found lurking at The Mod Club, Biffy Clyro perfectly translate their hi-fi charisma and dirty-vinyl warmth.

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1 year ago

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# Biffy Clyro

# Toronto

# The Garrison

# music

# concert

# review