Short version: The Stoning of Soraya M. is an important film that needs to be watched – especially considering the current world political climate.

Screen Rant reviews The Stoning of Soraya M.

The Stoning of Soraya M. is based on a true story and a book by Iranian-French journalist Freidoune Sahebjam. It is about the stoning death (murder, more accurately) of a 35 year old woman in a small village in Iran during the rule of Khomeini in 1986.

Short Version: UP is arguably Pixar’s finest achievement to date, and is surprisingly mature (and moving) in its subject matter. Oh, and the 3D visuals are pretty awesome too.

Screen Rant Reviews Pixar's UP (in digital 3D)

There’s nothing better than an easy review: Pixar’s latest summer offering, UP, is a fantastic film. Simply fantastic. Seriously, if Ratatouille and Wall-E deserved to be in the running for Best Picture of the Year (as many said they did at the times of their releases) then UP certainly does.

It’s that good.

Short Version: Let The Right One In is one of the greatest vampire movies ever made; a worthy Oscar contender for International Film of the Year.

Screen Rant Reviews Let The Right One In

I just had to see  Swedish director Tomas Alfredson’s adaptation of the John Ajvide Lindqvist novel, Let The Right One In, as soon as it hit American theaters this past Friday. There had been such fervent buzz about how good this film was that I, as a fanatical follower of the vampire genre, could not ignore the opportunity to see if the film lived up to the hype.

Well, having seen the film and already scheduled a second viewing, I can tell you that Let The Right One In deserves every amount of praise it’s earned: it sets new standards for what a vampire movie should be, and how horror movies should effect us.

Short version: It’s really very simple: If you’re a Clint Eastwood fan going way back, you’re going to LOVE Gran Torino.

Screen Rant reviews Gran Torino

You know I’m getting pretty used to taking heat for my movie reviews, and I have no doubt that it’ll happen again for this review of the Clint Eastwood written and directed film, Gran Torino. But you know what? I don’t care, and I don’t apologize for my reviews. You may be entitled to your opinion, but you know what? So am I – like it or not. So… onward.

Gran Torino is the story of Walt Kowalski, an old veteran of the Korean War. As the film opens we see that his wife has just died, and within seconds of his appearance we know exactly what sort of character Walt is: a cranky, grizzled (and racist) old timer who despises what’s become of the people in the world around him.

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: A fantastic send-up of loner cop action hero movies, with a final half hour that makes it the funniest thing I’ve seen this year.

Hot Fuzz is the funniest movie that most people haven’t seen this year. Sure, everyone is fawning over Superbad, which was OK, but if you’re an action movie fan, especially of stuff along the lines of Die Hard or Lethal Weapon you really need to see this movie.

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: The Bourne Ultimatum hits it out of the park as a smart, action-packed and compelling spy thriller which puts the series at 3 for 3.

Rarely do you get a movie trilogy where all three films are fantastic. Actually, the only other trilogy that comes to mind that fits that description is Click to continue "Review: The Bourne Ultimatum"

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: A powerful documentary about a young woman who risks her life for human rights in Afghanistan and gives insight into what daily life is like there.

Regardless of which side you are on in regards to the current war, you will be entranced by Enemies of Happiness. It is an important film which humanizes the people of Afghanistan by showing the daily struggles of everday people and how the lingering ways of the previous regime still hover over their lives.

The films opens at a government meeting in 2003, where Malalai Joya, then a 25 year old woman and outspoken critic of the Taliban (which marks her as incredibly brave right from the start) is given the opportunity to speak to the hundreds of people present. She criticisizes the government for still allowing tribal warlords to be in power and function as part of the government, pointing out the atrocities that they have committed, particularly against women, over many years. Although we are shown some nods of agreement with her statement in the audience, the official presiding over the meeting has her thrown out and banned permanently from any future meeting of this type.

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: A gripping, realistic portrayal of the events of 9/11 centered on the passengers of United Airlines flight 93 that’s hard to watch but must be seen.

Where to start with this one? A sense of anxiety would be a good place… as in the feeling I had come upon me from the very first frame of United 93, lasting all the way through to the very last frame of the film where the screen abruptly goes black.

There’s no question that this is a very powerful, and important film covering what happened on September 11th, 2001 and focusing on the passengers and crew of the one airliner that did not make it to its intended target. Some have said that it’s too soon for a movie depicting these events, but I disagree. It seems to me that just enough time has passed to where the events of that day… the crystal clear memories of the emotions we felt, have started to fade. Sure, we all remember what happened, but the raw emotion of it has been blunted by the passage of time. No, this is the right time for this film, as both a tribute to those who died and their families, and a kick-in-the-gut reminder to the rest of us of what that day felt like.

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: If you’re yearning for some great sci-fi, you owe it to yourself to get to know the crew of Serenity, based on Firefly, the little sci-fi show that wouldn’t die.

In case you haven’t heard, the history of the TV show Firefly (upon which Serenity is based) harkens back to that of a little known television show from the 60’s. You may have heard of it… it was called Star Trek.

Like the original Star Trek back in the 60’s, Firefly gained a strong, hard-core following right from the outset. The problem was that the show (brainchild of Joss Whedon whose previous huge hit was Buffy the Vampire Slayer) aired on FOX network. It wasn’t the fact that it was FOX so much as the fact that they showed episodes out of the intended order and instead of giving the show a chance cancelled it after only 11 episodes had aired.

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: A hyperkinetic, Looney Toons inspired combination of kung fu, comedy and action that will leave you alternately awestruck and laughing out loud.

I often comment that I find it much more fun to write reviews of a bad movies than of good ones. Well folks, here’s a definite exception to that rule. Kung Fu Hustle starred, was written and directed by Stephen Chow, and if there is any justice at all, this film will make it to U.S theaters in it’s current form. Stephen was also the writer and director of last year’s Shaolin Soccer (which I have decided I must go out and rent immediately), a movie that was “improved” by studio execs with dubbing and recuts and died a quick death at the box office as a result.

On the surface, the plot of Kung Fu Hustle is pretty simple: Chinese gang terrorizes local towns except for the poorest, which offer no profit. One day they decide they want to take over the town of Pig Sty (really) but things don’t turn out as they expected as they are met with resistance and defiance by the local townfolk.

I really don’t want to give too much away as that would spoil it for you, and I absolutely insist that if you are at all a fan of martial arts, action, or superhero movies, you must see this film once you have the opportunity to do so.

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: A family-friendly, funny and heartwarming holiday film with a great heart that is well worth watching more than once.

When was the last time that you’ve seen a movie that completely and utterly surprised you?

Last year a friend of mine and I left the wives at home, rounded up our kids and took them to the movies, as has become our annual Thanksgiving tradition. Around the holidays at least, it is possible to find family-friendly G or PG rated movies. Whether they will be any good is another story entirely.

Lacking any other holiday movies to which I could bring my then 7 year old, we settled upon Elf. Will Ferrel? Yet another “Saturday Night Live” alumnus? I figured hey, even if I think it stinks, at least the kids will probably find it funny.

Imagine how stunned I felt when this movie actually turned out to be great!

By Vic Holtreman

The short version: You REALLY need to watch this movie before you go through another fast food drive-thru: It’ll cure you of “Mac Attacks”, guaranteed.

Super Size Me is the brainchild of Morgan Spurlock and it’s a heck of a concept: Eat nothing but McDonald’s food for 30 days straight… breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If it ain’t on the menu, he won’t eat it. He sparked to this idea one Thanksgiving as he was lying on the sofa post-dinner and happened to see a news item about the two teenaged girls whose parents were suing McDonald’s for making them obese.

In light of today’s 60% obesity rate in the United States this is an extremely important documentary. It’s an eye opening and shocking look at the effects of fast food on the body.

Spurlock lays the groundwork for gathering some good empirical data: Before he starts his experiment, he visits not one, but three doctors (each practicing a different specialty) and has each of them conduct a battery of tests and get baseline measurements of his overall and specific health status. He also consults a dietician and a personal trainer.

He starts out as a healthy guy, actually above average. He is 6′ 2″ and weighs approximately 185 lbs. His cholesterol is well under 200, and his body fat is a well below average 11%. Each of the doctors he informs about his upcoming experiment predicts minor effects: Triglyceride levels will increase along with cholesterol.

Another thing he decides to do is emulate the exercise levels of the average American, which is to say that he won’t do any exercise.

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: Slow paced with spurts of intensity that will suck you in due to the excellent acting by Cruise and Foxx make this a must-see.

I have not yet read any reviews of Collateral so you’re getting this fresh, without any subconscious influences concerning what others are saying, and I’ll say this: Collateral has… weight.

By that I don’t mean that it’s heavy, but that it feels like it has substance, it draws your attention. Sure, that’s what a movie is supposed to do (dramas, anyway) but how many times have you sat through a film that feels more like the Cliffs Notes version of a movie? Kind of like “Movie-Lite”? That’s certainly not the case here.

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: A definitive action/spy movie with a cool lead character and a plot that won’t insult your intelligence.

In preparation for the release of the upcoming film The Bourne Supremacy I decided to sit down and have another look at The Bourne Identity. I have to say that the second film in this series has a lot to live up to.

Bourne Identity opens with our unidentified protagonist afloat in the Mediterranean, presumably dead. He is picked up (unconscious) by a fishing boat where immediately it’s apparant that he is not just a regular shmoe. The closest the boat has to a doctor pulls bullets out of our mystery man’s back, as well as an implanted capsule containing what seems to be a bank account number saved in a rather ingenious way. Mystery man (Matt Damon) awakens briefly, groggy but immediately aggressively defensive, and it’s divulged that he does not know who he is.

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: Better than the original on most every level.

So I’m a little late to the Spidey 2 party, what can I say? Life gets in the way, and being out of my teens and twenties, I’m over the “stand in line the night before the big blockbuster movie premieres” syndrome.

Ok, so I even did that in my thirties, but The Phantom Menace cured me of that forever. On to the review….

If I were one to give movies ratings, which I generally don’t, I’d have to give Spiderman 2 five stars out of a possible four. It was incredible, not just as a superhero movie, but against any action/adventure film. (No, it’s not Citizen Kane, all right?)

I went in with high expectations due to all the positive buzz, and I was not disappointed. Spiderman 2 grabbed me right from the opening credits, where an overview of the first movie was shown via a combination of live action shots and Alex Ross renderings. It was a great refresher to prepare us for what was ahead.

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: Just go SEE it!

Let’s just get this out of the way: Return of the King was awesome.

There, I’ve said it. Now we can move o?n….

First thing you need to know is that if your date takes too long to get ready, then you hit traffic o?n the way to the theater, and your date annoys you again by wanting to stand in line for popcorn….. it’s OK. Why? Because if you miss the first 30 or 40 minutes it’s not that big a deal.