Spellbound: 8 out of 10. In "Spellbound" we get to know eight competitors in the National Spelling Bee and follow them as they aim for the title.  It's a great documentary and you quickly see why it was nominated for best doc at the 2003 Academy Awards. Often times fact

Ladder 49: 4.5 out of 10. I found "Ladder 49" so utterly forgettable, I forgot to write this review yesterday despite the fact I watched it Saturday night.  I'm tired of these formulaic flicks where you can predict everything that's going to happen.  "Ladder 49" wasn't a particularly bad

Napoleon Dynamite: 6 out of 10. Is it possible I'm just too old for "Napoleon Dynamite"?  I had heard great things and settled down to watch what has become somewhat of a cult classic.  I was disappointed.  I just wasn't very funny.  In fact, it's rather slowly and a little

Going the Distance: 5.5 out of 10. "Going the Distance" is brought to you by the good people behind MuchMusic.  There's no way you could miss that fact because it's all centered around a road trip to the MuchMusic Video Music Awards.  Hell, it's practically an infomercial for the

The Aviator: 7 out of 10. "The Aviator" could have been exceptional, but it's too long and drags in spots.  It tells an interesting story with good acting, but it fails to kick it into that extra gear. Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn is a scene stealer and Alan Alda,

Little Black Book: 2 out of 10. I'm giving this movie a two because they had the good sense to cast Ron Livingston and make him a scout for the New Jersey Devils.  There's a little hockey talk and they even mention former members of the blue and white Joe

March of the Penguins: 8 out of 10. As mentioned, I ended up at the Cumberland watching "March of the Penguins" because it's rated G.  Of all the movies rated G now playing in the GTA, I didn't think there was another I could stomach. It worked out nicely as

The Manchurian Candidate: 6 out of 10. Jonathan Demme has done much better work than this.  This remake is really far-fetched and confused, but surprisingly better than I expected.  That's not to say it's good, only that I was expecting another "The Stepford Wives".

Cellular: 3.5 out of 10. I tried to get into "Cellular", but I found it really boring and uninspired.  It was predictable and one convenient occurrence after another.  When you're stuck in traffic and in need of a battery charger, there's always a huge "Everything to do with Cell

The Barbarian Invasions: 8.5 out of 10. "The Barbarian Invasions", or "Les Invasions Barbares" if you prefer, not only cleaned up at the Genie Awards last year, but it won  Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.  I'm not surprised as it's exceptional, telling a thought provoking emotional story

Silver City: 6.5 out of 10. John Sayles wrote and directed one of my favourite films of all time, "Lone Star".  Unfortunately, "Silver City" is not "Lone Star", although it could have been close. The idea is good, the message was smart, the timing was right and Chris Cooper

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle: 6 out of 10. It really wasn't that bad.  Harold and Kumar are not without their charm and there were lots of shots of Toronto thrown in for good measure.  Taryn hated it and didn't even finish it, but it really wasn't that

Runaway Jury: 7 out of 10. You can't go wrong with Gene Hackman, right?  Throw in a little John Cusack and Dustin Hoffman and a half decent script, and you're well on your way to a good flick. I'm an anti-gun kind of guy, but I'm still deducting points from

Before Sunset: 7.5 out of 10. It has been a while since I had seen "Before Sunrise", but last night Taryn and I sat down and watched the sequel, "Before Sunset". The entire movie is basically a couple of people talking.  It's one long conversation as a couple walks

The Clearing: 5.5 out of 10. This movie was missing something. I'm not sure what, but it lacked something that would have propelled it beyond such an average score.  It's well acted and not bad at all, but it's a little uneventful for a kidnapping flick.  It's a slow,

The Big Bounce: 2 out of 10. I had heard the ending to this movie sucked.  If you can get to the ending of this movie, you deserve some type of reward.  It's a horrible script. The entire time I just felt sorry for Morgan Freeman.  Red deserved better.  Not

Open Water: 5.5 out of 10. I should preface this mini-review by telling you that Taryn thought this was a really scary movie.  I, however, didn't, and that's why I didn't score "Open Water" higher. It's actually not a bad effort.  It's shot minimalistic style, with few actors, nobody

The Stepford Wives: 3 out of 10. "The Stepford Wives" is shockingly bad.  I had low expectations when Taryn said she wanted to check it out last night, but I wasn't expecting this.  It's just 93 minutes of unfunny, uninteresting boredom.  It's garbage. I don't understand how such big names

Saved!: 5.5 out of 10. I enjoyed the first thirty minutes of this flick.  It was a fairly likable send up of those ultra Christian communities out there.  You know the WWJD - Dubya voting - left behind - holier than thou people that are begging to be satired

Elf: 5 out of 10. Admittedly, this is probably the worst weekend possible for watching a Christmas movie.  It's the May 2-4 and we're celebrating the end of a long winter and the beginning of patio and bbq season.  In this spirit, last night I watched this Will Ferrell flick

Soul Plane: 2 out of 10. "Soul Plane" made "White Chicks" seem more like "Citizen Kane".  This movie was one African-American stereotype after another, flung towards you at warp speed.  It's entirely offensive without any sly satire or commentary in the mix. Seriously, they covered every stereotype in the book

White Chicks: 4 out of 10. "White Chicks" was dumb, but not as painful to watch as you might suspect.  If it seems I'm being kind that's probably because my expectations were extremely low when I sat down to watch this Wayans vehicle. I had read somewhere that "White Chicks"

The Bourne Identity: 7.5 out of 10. As I mentioned below, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.  It's an interesting premise that's well filmed and intriguing throughout. There's even a role for Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje who I know best as Simon Adebisi in the series "Oz".  It's the first time I've

Melvin Goes to Dinner: 7 out of 10. "Mr. Show" was a comedic series starring Bob Odenkirk and David Cross and it might be one of the funniest things ever produced.  Prior to this series, I knew Bob Odenkirk as Larry Saunders' agent on that great series and now I

S.W.A.T: 3 out of 10. The dialogue is brutal, the story line is scattered and uninteresting and the talented cast is completely wasted.  I gave S.W.A.T two hours of my life because it starred Samuel L. Jackson.  I'll never see those two hours again