Is This Thing On? (2025)

After a trial separation with his wife, a depressed man tries his hand at stand-up comedy. He's not so much funny as he is honest and raw as he expresses his feelings in a candid, therapeutic way. It's an often uncomfortable comedy-drama about breaking down a marriage in order to try and save it. Will Arnett and Laura Dern shine. Loosely inspired by the story of comedian John Bishop.

3½ weed cookies out of 5

The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Dir. Joel Schumacher's filmed version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version of Gaston Leroux's famous French novel (1910). I'd hoped for drama, theatrical, fantastical and fraught with emotions, but what I got was half-hearted at best and Baz Luhrmann-esque at worst. There are some neat cinematic tricks on offer, but overall it's not very exciting.
Emmy Rossum (great hair) does okay, and she sure can sing, but, surprisingly, it's Butler that comes closest to displaying any hint of passion, albeit minor; most everyone else is just there, in costume but not so much in spirit.
The memorable part for me was the first half of the cemetery scene that comes late in the running time; the swamped in dry-ice set was beautiful.

2½ strange duets out of 5

SILENCE [2016]

After 27 years of toying with the idea, director Martin Scorsese finally tackles Silence, a film adaptation of Shūsaku Endō's novel of the same name.
Set in 17th Century Japan, a time when the Japanese were brutally exterminating anything or body related to Christianity.  two Jesuit priests quietly sneak into the nation in search for their missing mentor.
It's such a huge story but Scorsese scales it down into such intimacy it's very apparent the director approached the project with immensely personal feelings about it.  However dry the film might be in spots it never stops asking questions with emotional complexity to keep you captivated.  No matter how much it asks it seldom supplies answers and instead begs the viewer to seek out their own, should they ever find the correct one.

4 confessions too many out of 5

The Driftless Area (2015)

In this quirky and understated crime drama, people on the fringe of not only society but reality itself are involved in a relatively simple story. The bare bones plot is slathered in BS filler in the form of reoccurring discussions on the metaphysical nature of the future and predetermined fate. In his feature-length directorial debut, Zachary Sluser achieves an intriguing tone. There is an obvious passion behind the performances but nary a raised voice. Even when shit gets heavy, there's still a calmness to the action. Anton Yelchin and John Hawkes are particularly anemic. There are times when it's difficult to decipher where each character stands; in life or in death, but I believe it adds to the whimsical mystery of the film.

3 lucky rocks out of 5

HITMAN: AGENT 47 [2015]

After the Xavier Gens' shitfest 2007 adaptation of the long-running video game franchise, first time director Aleksander Bach gives the world Hitman: Agent 47, a film reboot of the series that no one asked for.
A great deal more faithful to it's source material than the first film, Agent 47 runs around Eastern Europe diving head-first into adolescent video-game violence for straight-faced shits 'n giggles.  It's a pretty dumb film but quite often it seems to know it and fly that flag with pride and honor, amidst all the jarring product placements in the fancy action sequences.
It's not a very good film but in a weird unexpected way,  it's really not an insanely horrible film either.

2 jet engines out of 5

FROZEN [2013]

Disney loosely adapts Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen for it's 53rd animated film, Frozen.
It goes without saying that it's visually astounding, the voice acting is energetically entertaining and several of the songs are very likeable.
However it lacks in a well-fleshed out story, that makes it very apparent that Disney tried to bury many of the darker undertones and conflicts of the characters underneath a heavy helping of animated glee.  The lack of a memorable villain hurts the impact of the tale as well and in that makes for a boring finale that leaves much to be desired when all is said and done.
Criticism aside, it's a perfectly fine film for the kids and I would gladly watch it again in the company of my niece and nephew.

3 trading posts...and saunas out of 5

THE DEBT [2011]

Director John Madden lays down some effective tension in the British remake of the Israeli dramatic espionage thriller The Debt.
Hopping back and forth through time, the film's cast is probably the most outstanding part of the film as we get to know them during different ages of their lives.  Filled with mesmerizing twists & turns and some excellent tension between the 3 protagonists, The Debt is the type of smart, sleek  character driven thriller that doesn't come around enough.

4 Surgeons of Birkenau out of 5

THE WOMAN IN BLACK [2012]

Daniel Radcliffe steps out of his wizard's cloak and enters into the Gothic horror world of the Hammer films in this effective adaption of Susan Hill's ghost story novel The Woman In Black.

It thrills and chills to the bone and never resorts to gore like most horror films would do today.  It's a good old fashioned ghost story that never really breaks any new barriers or pulls any shocking twists & turns. However it serves it's purpose and does so with incredibly eerie class.

3 Scary ass bunnies out of 5