Category: Culture watch
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…
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…
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…
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….
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….
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…