Mini Reviews
Polisse (out Jun 28) is a French drama shot like a documentary. It takes us inside the lives of a group of people who work for the Child Protection Unit within the Paris Police Department. It tries to cover a few too many stories but this is still an eye-opening subject matter filled with interesting characters. Grade: B+.
Where Do We Go Now? (out Jun 28) is a nice, albeit simplistic tale, of a group of women in Lebanon who come up with a cunning plan to stop the men in their community from fighting. It’s a crowd-pleaser (no question about that) and whilst I don’t agree with the decision, I can why it won the Audience Award at Toronto last year. Grade: B+.
Ice Age 4: Continental Drift (out Jun 25) is ho-hum stuff. The series is looking tired and they're low on ideas. In this instalment, our friendly animals find themselves on the open water and battling pirates. There are only a handful of decent laughs and the story isn't that flash. Grade: C+.
That's My Boy (out Jun 14) has been trashed by most critics but hey, I'm not afraid to admit that I enjoyed it. This new Adam Sandler comedy is so silly and offensive, that I laughed quite often. I'm not sure if this was WITH the film or AT the film but regardless, I had fun. Grade: B.
Snow White & The Huntsman (out Jun 21) is great! I love how they've turned the story into an epic adventure. This is significantly better than Mirror Mirror (released earlier in the year). The production values are superb and Charlize Theron's chilling performance as the evil Queen will be remembered. Grade: A-.
Brave (out Jun 21) is another superb animated film from Pixar. So many animations today focus on easy laughs. This epic story is more than that. It has a heart and a soul. It's set in the 10th Century and follows a young Scottish princess who has a fight with her parents after they try to force her into a marriage. Grade: A-.
A Royal Affair (out Jun 21) is set in Denmark in the late 18th Century and follows a physician's efforts to influence the King and use science (as opposed to religion) to guide public policy. It's an interesting story and we see things from the perspective of many characters. An enjoyable period piece flick. Grade: B+.
Elena (out Jun 21) is a simple story but it has been wonderfully told by Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev (The Return). A married woman finds herself struggling when her husband has a heart attack and her son is in desperate need of money. Grade: B+.
Rock Of Ages (out Jun 14) is based on the successful musical that was nominated for 5 Tony Awards. This film version sees a bunch of fake-looking people pretend to sing 80s rock songs with little narrative connecting them. I was not a fan. Grade: C.
Le Chef (out Jun 14) is a silly but still likeable French comedy about two controlling chefs who are forced to team up in an effort to save their careers. It's only 84 minutes too - the perfect length for such a film. Grade: B.
The Cabin In The Woods (out Jun 14) finally gets its Aussie release this week and given its a horror-thriller, the less you known the better. It certainly goes down some unexpected paths... that's about all I'm willing to reveal. Grade: B+.
