Blog by Don Kennedy
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The Last Exorcism has a cast of barely knows including star
Patrick Fabian as Cotton Marcus, a charlatan evangelist taking over
the family ministry from a long line of bible thumpers many of whom
claim to have exorcised demons. Cotton was a child preaching
prodigy and although his faith is waning he continues for pragmatic
reasons which he justifies on camera in documentary style. Although
n ...
Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist, and Rebel
August 29th, 2010
Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist, and Rebel on the surface might
almost be mistaken for a somewhat self serving legacy piece somehow
funded by the iconic octogenarian but when you follow the money it
leads nowhere near Hef. This documentary is funded by Canadian
dollars some of which originates from Astral Media. This helps to
objectify this well made film with the objectifier of women at its
c ...
Lebanon
August 29th, 2010
Lebanon doesn't have much in the way of anything Lebanese -
language or gentry. It's 1982 and the start of "First Lebanon War"
routinely glimpsed claustrophobically through the periscope of an
army tank manned by four reluctant Jewish conscripts. This vehicle
is stencilled with the Hebrew phrase "men are made of steel, tanks
are just junk". Maybe not so much in this armoured personnel
carrier ...
Nanny McPhee Returns
August 22nd, 2010
Nanny McPhee Returns bring back that stern but kind hearted
governess with the startlingly bad dental work even by British
standards. She left last time when she was wanted and not needed
and here comes to stay when needed but not wanted by Isabel Green
(Maggie Gyllenhaal issuing a spot on Brit accent) a weary shop
keeper and farmer's wife whose husband is off to war. At her wits
end trying t ...
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
August 22nd, 2010
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work had a reality show like inception and
ended up as a documentary of a TV reality show star. Not that she
wasn't a star already but through the footage captured during
fourteen months of the 76th year of her life interspersed with file
footage we get a revealing look at some dramatic points in
television history. There's her departure as permanent guest host
as anoi ...
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
August 15th, 2010
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World stars Canada's Michael Cera who does a
subtle stretch in acting style to inch past the terminally virginal
alter ego he's constantly cast to play. Scott Pilgrim is a 23 year
old slacker who at least appears to have had some success with
women even if the relationships all ended badly. Cera must have
been thrilled to be set in his actual home town of Toronto where
h ...
Eat Pray Love
August 15th, 2010
Eat Pray Love would be an enthralling but a little far fetched
romantic novel - if it were fiction. However it's actually the
memoirs based on a year in the life of author Elizabeth Gilbert
which dominated the New York Times best seller list for years. At
32 New York starts to feel surprisingly small with her ex husband
Stephen (Billy Crudup) and fading boy-toy David Piccolo (James
Franco) st ...
Animal Kingdom
August 15th, 2010
Animal Kingdom is a tense Aussie underworld flick that takes place
on the mean streets of Melbourne (why does that just sound odd?).
Joshua 'J' Cody (James Frecheville) at eighteen is a bit slow so
when his junkie mother OD's he's really at a loss. Although
estranged he calls the only help he can think of - his grandmother
Janine (Jacki Weaver) who is affectionately called Smurf and looks
eve ...
The Other Guys
August 8th, 2010
The Other Guys are what they call third string paper pushers in the
NYPD, diametrically opposed to the precinct heroes. In the New York
precinct where P.K. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Christopher
Danson (Dwayne Johnson) are kingpins, Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell)
and Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) are very much the other guys and
they get zero respect. In the case of Hoitz who was an up and ...
Step Up 3D
August 8th, 2010
Step Up 3D has dynamic narrative but third rate choreography - NOT!
No longer centered in Baltimore this unnecessary outing in even
more unnecessary 3D has the action moves to New York City. Moose
(Adam G. Sevani) from Step Up 2: The Streets and Camille (Alyson
Stoner) from the original Step Up movie are the only vaguely
familiar principles but who knew they were an item (albeit
platonic) thr ...