Category: Culture watch

December 17, 2013

Revisiting The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

by Ted Giese The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is now in theatres but it’s worth taking a closer look at the first movie (An Unexpected Journey)—especially since the first film has just been released in an extended version with lots of great extras and…

Read More

November 18, 2013

Ender’s Game

by Ted Giese Set in the future, Ender’s Game is a film about a young boy—Andrew “Ender” Wiggin—who is taken from his family to be trained for a war against an alien species. Earth had been invaded twice before by the aliens and barely repelled…

Read More

October 16, 2013

Rivalry and racing: Reviewing Rush

by Ted Giese Most movies have a tag line, a catchy phrase that sums up the film and gives the potential audience a good idea of what they’re getting into. The tag line for the film Rush—”Everyone’s driven by something”—is kind of clever since this…

Read More

September 11, 2013

Mental Illness and Redemption: Reviewing Blue Jasmine

by Ted Giese Some people won’t like Blue Jasmine because there are no explosions or epic showdowns between super heroes and super villains; it’s simply a movie about a rather unpleasant woman whose life is unravelling in mental illness, surrounded by equally terrible supporting characters….

Read More

August 29, 2013

Paradise lost: A review of Elysium

by Ted Giese Under the special effects, makeup, and whiz-bang jargon of sci-fi film-making, one often finds popular social commentary. The commentary generally comes in two varieties: prophetic warning of what the future might hold, or a pointed criticism of how things are right now….

Read More

August 14, 2013

Job and the Monsters: A review of Pacific Rim

by Ted Giese Pacific Rim is not a dumb action film. It’s visually sophisticated, complex and—if you like epic sci-fi—it could be the best fun you’ll have in theatre this summer. There’s more to this film than watching giant robots battle giant monsters. As it…

Read More