Movie Review: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Newcomer Asa Butterfield stars as the young Bruno, son of an SS Officer (palyed by David Thewlis, Harry Potter) who is stationed at a Nazi concentration camp. Bruno's family includes his mother (Vera Farmiga, Nothing But The Truth) and his sister Grettel (played by Amber Beattie who's also in her first major role).
From his window Bruno notices a "farm" with people wearing "striped pyjamas". There he meets a boy named Shmuel (played by Jack Scanlon who again is new) and they become friends. Another key character is Lt. Kotler, a young SS officer played by Rupert Friend (The Libertine).

The movie has an interesting story, and is well done.

Acting: 7/10
Story: 7.5/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Overall: 7.5/10
Rated 14-A (ONT)* PG-13 (USA) Overall a good movie

P.S. Spoilers: I was left wondering if the father really did get the point? That what they were doing was evil? Or was he just sad because his son died?

*I couldn't find this so that is my best guess, though it could be PG

Movie Review: Year One

Year One stars Jack Black as Zed and Michael Cera, his sidekick, as Oh. They start off as small time hunterer/gatherers at a tribe and dream of going over the mountains, which Oh believes is the end of the world. After eating the forbidden fruit and being banished they are exiled from the tribe and begin their journey.

David Cross (Kung Fu Panda) plays Cain (of the famous Cain and Abel brothers). Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad) plays Issac and Hank Azaria (Godzilla) plays Abraham, his father. Juno Temple (Atonement) and June Raphael (Bride Wars) play Eema and Maya, Oh and Zeds love interests from the tribe. Oliver Wilde (House M.D.) plays the Princess of Sodom and there are several other small parts and cameos throughout the movie.

The one who steals the show is Cera with his Eore like attitude, which make every line he says pretty funny. I'll admit the movie is far from perfect. There's a couple of gross moments. But overall I thought it was pretty good.

Acting: 7.5/10
Story: 7.5/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Overall: 7.5/10
Rated: 14-A (ONT) PG-13 (USA) If you like Jack Black or Michael Cera you'll probably like this movie

Movie Review: The Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 revolves around Ryder (like train rider) played by John Travolta (Hairspray, Wildhogs) who takes over a train, full of hostages, and demands a ransom. The man he talks to over the radio is Walter Garber, a man who's worked on the subway system for years, played by Denzel Washington (Deja Vu, American Gangster).

Ryder's motive is unclear, but what is clear is that he has a beef with the Mayor of New York City (played by James Gandolfini, the Sopranos) and the "man" in general. The main problem with the movie is that there's only a few "tense" moments. And even they seem contrived, and some don't even involve the characters in the movie. The movie doesn't really go anywhere until the end as well.

The second big problem is that this has already been done. And done better. The Italian Job, Phone Booth, Die Hard and many others have tread these grounds before. Heck, Inside Man was released in 2006, so even Denzel has been here before. Denzel and John both do well but there isn't much to work with.


Acting: 7/10
Story: 4/10
Atmosphere: 5/10
Overall: 5.5/10
Rated: 14-A (ONT) R (USA) Exciting at parts but not enough

P.S. A lot of the "twists" could be seen from miles away

Movie Review: Terminator Salvation

The movie stars Christian Bale (The Dark Knight) as John Connor, leader of the resistance against the robot overlords (i.e. Skynet). Sam Worthington (The Great Raid) plays Marcus Wright, a man who was on deathrow in the past but doesn't remember anything now.

He finds a young Kyle Reece (played by Anton Yelchin) and they, along with Star (played by Jadagrace). Michael Ironside seems wasted as a leader of the resistance. Moon Bloodgood plays a pilot who also plays a key part in the story. The rest of the characters play minor parts.

Overall the movie had some great cinematics. The gas station scene was epic in my opinion. Also if your going to compare to the previous movies, keep in mind that this one had to play a different tune and couldn't just go with the "single terminator going after Connor" theme.

Acting: 7/10
Story: 7.5/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Overall: 8/10
Rated 14A (ONT) PG-13 (USA) I thought it was definitely worth seeing

P.S. I thought I saw a seen where there were people watching them go to the death areas. If true, what could it mean?

Movie Review: Bottle Shock

Bottle Shock is a movie about the taste testing contest between French and Californian wines in 1976. The movie stars Chris Pine (Star Trek) as Bo Barrett the son of Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman, Independence Day) who is following his dream of owning a successful winery. Rachel Taylor plays Sam (fitting perfectly as a California girl) an intern at the winery. Freddy Rodríguez play a young man who has a passion for wine and is friends with Bo. Eliza Dushku plays a small part as a local bartender.

Finally the one who steals the show is Alan Rickman (Harry Potter) as an English "wine snob" trying to run a wine store in France. He comes up with the idea to do the blind taste contest and begins searching California for the best wines. Every scene he's in is excellent

However most of the movie revolves around the troubles of the Barrett winery and the relationship between Bo and his father. There's also a small love story but it seems kind of uneccessary.

Overall the movie is great.

Acting: 8/10
Story: 8/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Rated 14A (ONT) PG-13 (USA) Very interesting movie

P.S. Alan Rickman is also in one of my favourite movies Galaxy Quest

Movie Review: Revolutionary Road

Revolutionary Road starts off with the Wheelers, Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio, Titanic) and April (Kate Winslet, Titanic also), having a fight, and you immediately know that the gloves are off for this movie. The movie for the most part revolves around them. The other standout performer was Kathy Bates. The rest play more minor roles but do well none the less.

April has dreams of going places, not staying in your standard 50s suburban neighbourhood. Frank, also had these dreams but that part of seems has given in to the pessimism of working at his job (the same company that his father did too).

Both Leo and Kate do exceptional here. Director Sam Mendes (Jarhead, Road to Peredition) does a great job with the camera. The fifties clothing and settings were also done very well.

Acting: 9/10
Story: 7/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Overall: 8/10
Rated: 14-A (ONT) R (USA) Well done movie

P.S. Didn't realize this was based off a book

Movie Review: Crossing Over

Crossing Over is several stories about immigrants in the United States. The first is Harrison Ford as Max Brogan, a immigration officer who tries to get an illegal immigrant her young boy back.

The second is Claire Shepard (played by Alice Eve) an Australian actress who wants to make it big in the U.S. and meets Cole Frankel (played by Ray Liotta) an immigration official.

Another story is Gavin Kossef (played by Jim Sturgess, Across The Universe) a friend of Claire, also seeking citizenship, and is using his Jewish faith to get in.

Taslima Jahangir (played by Summer Bishil) is a member of a family who is partly illegal and ends up being arrested for a school report she did. She is taken care of by Denise Frankel (Ashley Judd, Double Jeopardy) who is an immigration lawyer and takes care of another immigrant child.

Finally Cliff Curtis plays Hamid Baraheri who is involved with a death in a family. And the last story is an Asian family, who's eldest son is getting involved with gangs, only weeks before he's to become a citizen.


Overall they're all kind of enjoyable, but it doesn't really stand out on it's own.


Acting: 8/10
Story: 7.5/10
Atmosphere: 7.5/10
Overall: 7.5/10
Rated: 14-A (ONT) R (USA) Good stories

P.S. I was annoyed with the opening speech by Taslima. Also I didn't realize that Austrailia was such a hell hole.