Movie Reviews http://MovieReviews101.com Movies Reviews, New, Quotes, Gallery, Stars, Previews, Disney Channel and lots more at moviereviews101.com en-us Copyright 2007, Movie Reviews team. 240 No place like home: Toronto film fest opens new HQ http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=96754 Fri, 10 Sep 2010 08:21 GMT http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=96754 The overseers of the glossy new home of the Toronto International Film Festival have two key aims: to infuse their building with the spirit of cinema's future and the ghosts of its past. The festival, which gets under way Thursday for an 11-day run, opens the doors this weekend to the Bell Lightbox, a $181 million headquarters housing theaters, film lab facilities, art gallery space, restaurants and offices for its staff.

Located a few blocks from Roy Thomson Hall, a huge auditorium where the festival's key premieres take place, Bell Lightbox is meant to provide a focal point for a cinema showcase whose events and screenings are spread throughout the city. The festival began in the 1970s as a local celebration of Canadian film but has grown into a world-class spot for major Hollywood releases and premieres from around the world.

]]> Serial killer stalks teens in `Fever of the Bone' http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=96637 Thu, 9 Sep 2010 08:11 GMT http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=96637 Serial killer stalks teens in `Fever of the Bone'Fever of the Bone" (HarperCollins, $14.99), by Val McDermid: When serial crime fiction is done well, readers can drop into any installment and within a few chapters, understand nearly everything about the primary characters and their relationship with one another.

And so it is with Val McDermid's Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series, of which "Fever of the Bone" is the sixth book. (Readers unfamiliar with the series might know the BBC's "Wire in the Blood," which is based on these novels.)
Hill is a brilliant criminal profiler, if a little socially inept. He knows what's expected of him in conversation and interpersonal relationships, but he isn't always able to give it. This hasn't harmed either his working or personal relationship with Detective Chief Inspector Jordan, who heads up a special investigative team with the Bradfield Police. There's a hint of sexual tension between Hill and Jordan, but it skims the surface of a deeper connection between them.

In "Fever of the Bone" (the title, as with the other Hill/Jordan books, comes from a T.S. Eliot poem), McDermid takes what is by now a fairly familiar (and possibly tired) plot: an Internet predator preying on teenagers — and gives it a good yank.

]]> Machete proves Lindsay Lohan can cut it ... but for how long? http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=96553 Wed, 8 Sep 2010 14:56 GMT http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=96553 If you look at the US box office this morning, you might think Machete's successes have been modest – it opened at No 3 behind George Clooney's The American and the week-old The Takers, grossing roughly a tenth of what Toy Story 3 took in its opening weekend – but for Lindsay Lohan, it is a massive victory.Commercially, Machete is Lohan's biggest film since Herbie: Fully Loaded five years ago. Nothing she's done since – not Just My Luck or A Prairie Home Companion or Bobby or Georgia Rule or I Know Who Killed Me or Chapter 27 or the direct-to-cable comedy Labour Pains – has come close to matching Machete's $11,300,000 opening.

Machete proves Lindsay Lohan can cut it ... but for how long?

But, even better, people don't actually seem to hate her in it. Admittedly this might be because she's playing an exaggerated version of herself – a gun-licking, drug-obliterated party girl in a nun's outfit – but reviews have been favourable, none the less. What's more, Lindsay's co-star Jessica Alba has repeatedly found room in her promotional schedule to call her a "brilliant actress" and director Robert Rodriguez was so impressed by her performance he's hinted at an entire spin-off movie for her character.

]]> King's Speech wins early Oscar buzz at Telluride http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=96393 Tue, 7 Sep 2010 08:55 GMT http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=96393 Has Telluride done it again? As the film festival wrapped its 37th year in Colorado's San Juan mountains Monday, the prevailing wisdom was that the event had launched yet another serious Oscar contender in the British royalty drama "The King's Speech."

The film, which stars Colin Firth, Helena Bonham-Carter and Geoffrey Rush, had its world premiere as a sneak peek on Saturday morning, five days before its higher-profile screening at the Toronto Film Festival.

]]> 'The American' reigns at weekend box office http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=96245 Mon, 6 Sep 2010 07:44 GMT http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=96245 'The American' reigns at weekend box officeSpy thriller "The American" rocketed to the top of the North American box office to beat out crime action flick "Takers," preliminary figures showed Sunday.

The debut weekend for George Clooney's atmospheric thriller, hailed by critics as a visually captivating but restrained departure for the Hollywood star, took in 12.3 million dollars in US and Canadian theaters this weekend, according to figures from industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Last week's winner "Takers," starring Hayden Christensen, Idris Elba and singers Chris Brown and T.I., earned 11.5 million dollars and fell to second place in its second week of release.

In third position was "Machete," mixing violence with a campy tribute to 1970s exploitation movies from directors Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis for an opening weekend take of 11.3 million dollars. Fourth place went to the gruesome documentary-style horror movie "The Last Exorcism," which fell back from its competitive runner-up spot last weekend to take 7.6 million dollars.

]]> Review Movie Of The American http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=95989 Sat, 4 Sep 2010 12:57 GMT http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=95989 The American Movie Review – George Clooney stars in “The American,” a movie about a mysterious individual who fends off killers in a sort of “Bond-like” fashion. With brooding music in the backdrop, it is hard to take your eyes away from Clooney’s masterful acting. Although we never get to learn much about his character, we do find out that he is a loner and that is enough to pique our interest.

The film almost feels like a throwback to the 70’s paranoia psychological thrillers, and the tension builds throughout the movie. “The American” starts with our main characters on a Swedish vacation and being interrupted by individuals with guns who are apparently after Clooney, setting the stage for the paranoid danger that is present throughout the film.

]]> MOVIE REVIEW: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=95760 Thu, 2 Sep 2010 07:27 GMT http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=95760 In Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, a flashy, video-gamey film based on the Scott Pilgrim comic series written by Toronto’s Bryan Lee O’Malley, the titular character discovers that he’ll have to fight for his own life to win the heart of the girl he loves.  

Being involuntarily forced to leave his ordinary life behind, Scott Pilgrim soon finds himself facing an entire league of evil exes and he’ll need to defeat them all to be with Ramona Flowers, the girl of his dreams.

]]> The American: Movie Review http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=95589 Wed, 1 Sep 2010 07:35 GMT http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=95589 The American: Movie ReviewThe American: Movie Review: Hidden from critics until just before its release, the dirty secret about "The American" turns out to be that it's an "art film." Heavens, no! Director Anton Corbijn has crafted a quiet, haunting European thriller, drained of emotion and moving to its own deliberate pace.

It's the second film from Corbijn, a famed photographer and music video director who's closely associated with the bands Depeche Mode and Joy Division (among others). His first film, "Control," was a beautiful, austere black-and-white biopic of Joy Division's Ian Curtis.

]]> Predators - Movie Review http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=94701 Mon, 9 Aug 2010 12:12 GMT http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=94701 Nimrod Antal’s Predators is a pseudo-sequel/reboot of the sci-fi action franchise that manages to pump new life into a series that many left for dead. Working from a story idea by producer Robert Rodriguez (Planet Terror)

The film takes the action back to a locale similar to the one in the Arnold Schwarzenegger cult classic as it amps up the action and gore. To be sure, these are cosmetic concerns but what really makes the film work is its veteran cast and a clever script that’s far more entertaining than it has any right to be.

]]> MOVIE REVIEW - Inception http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=93330 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 08:48 GMT http://MovieReviews101.com/article.asp?articleid=93330 The biggest blockbuster of the summer is released this weekend, and it’s not even the best movie released this weekend (that would be The Kids Are All Right, my favorite of the year). Since Inception was 2 ½ hours long, I figure I can write a slightly longer review.

MOVIE REVIEW - Inception

There are so many things about this film I’d like to cover. Director Christopher Nolan spent $160 million on this, and you can see every bit of that on screen. It’s surprising the studio let him run with this. After all, it’s not like his expensive Dark Knight. Since that’s a Batman film, it was a safe bet. I enjoyed Nolan’s Dark Knight, but I didn’t care for Insomnia.

And I thought Memento (the movie that plays backwards) brilliant. This guy can obviously write and direct interesting stuff. But the king of the $150 million budgets, James Cameron, did a movie called Strange Days which tackles a few of these similar themes (and is better in many ways).

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