Green Zone – You call that anti-American? Really?!

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Jun 302010
 

Green Zone is an interesting film for Canadians to watch; just like The Hurt Locker before it we’re watching a current world event that we very well could have been part of. Both of those films carry a meaning for Americans that isn’t a reality for most Canadians: this isn’t our war. It’s chilling to think how different things could have been if we had been taken in by the same deception (or mistakes, depending on who you believe).

The plot of the film center on Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller, a man tasked with finding the weapons of mass destruction that the American Army was sent to war over. When his unit is sent on yet another fruitless search for WMDs, a local man alerts then to a meeting of high value targets taking place only a few kilometers away. This sets events in motion that  lead Miller across Baghdad and against his own comrades in arms in an effort to find the truth.

Green Zone plays like a Tom Clancy thriller, with fast moving shots, explosions, and Matt Damon playing Jason Bourne light. It’s well framed and the action moves well, without ever feeling like it’s overstaying its welcome. The dialogue is sharp and well written, and performances from the principles are good. Continue reading »

 Posted by Graham at 12:08 am  Tagged with: ,

[Blu-ray Review] Life

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Jun 212010
 

DSC01272I’m a big fan of BBC documentaries. There’s something about them that’s so uplifting, so utterly positive, that even in a world where the Gulf of Mexico is disappearing, possibly forever, and the Great Barrier Reef is being chipped away at year by year, and the East coast of Africa is a toxic dumping ground, you can still take a moment and appreciate the beauty that this planet does have left.

When you consider the quality of most BBC Blu-ray sets and the quantity of video you get in them, the prices are actually an incredible bargain. I felt that way about Planet Earth and I feel that way about the latest Beeb series to hit shelves: Life. Continue reading »

 Posted by Graham at 11:47 pm  Tagged with: ,

[Blu-ray Review] The Book of Eli

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Jun 192010
 

The Book of Eli

The post apocalyptic world of The Book of Eli will be familiar to those who have played the classic videogame series Fallout. Denzel Washington plays Eli, a lone walker carrying a book that is precious to him, on a mission that only he knows about. It is a world where the sky has been torn open by nuclear war, leaving the Earth desolate and empty. Bandits and thieves harass and murder innocents on the road for basic supplies; Eli is clearly a tough individual to have survived.

Gary Oldman plays Carnegie, running a small town like his personal empire. Oldman delivers (as usual) through a combination of subtle prosthetics and an incredibly convincing performance. Mila Kunis is serviceable as the film’s requisite damsel/companion.

There film hints at metaphysical elements while keeping things believable. If you want to watch the film with the idea that a higher power is involved, you can do so. Likewise, there are logical explanations for everything that happens, making viewing The Book of Eli an interesting journey for those who might disagree on how to interpret it. I can’t get into the plot without spoiling more details, so I’ll finish this summary by saying I liked the movie, and what I took from the ending made the the time I spent with it worthwhile. Continue reading »

 Posted by Graham at 12:29 pm  Tagged with: , , , ,

UFC Undisputed 2010 knows its audience.

 ps3, reviews  No Responses »
Jun 172010
 

With the tail end of UFC 115 on the way out of Vancouver, it’s a great time to dig into the action with UFC Undisputed 2010. This was an incredibly easy game to review: if you like UFC you can stop reading now and go buy it.

For the rest of you: if you buy UFC Undisputed 2010, be prepared for a steep learning curve, an insane amount of customization, and more depth than you ever thought could possibly be applied to a game where to men kick the crap out of each other.

Above all, UFC Undisputed 2010 is technical. Fighters are no longer limited to a single style, and the options for fighting, for improving skills, and for maintaining those skills are incredibly deep. If you’re looking for a simulator that’s going to draw you into its world and keep you there for weeks and/or months at a time, this is it. Continue reading »

 Posted by Graham at 8:07 pm  Tagged with: , , ,

Blu-ray Review: The Wolfman

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Jun 072010
 

It’s rare that you can actually point to a single element in a film and say “if this wasn’t here it would be a much better movie”. In the case of The Wolfman it’s Benicio Del Toro; I enjoyed everything else but I was so completely underwhelmed by the lead that it was an effort to look past him to see a movie I wanted to enjoy. Fortunately the Blu-ray version of The Wolfman has a great deal more to offer on top of the film, making it a pretty cool disc to have in your collection.

The plot.
The movie itself is good; the plot is intriguing and has a tasty twist that, while not telegraphed, is fairly predictable. Del Toro plays Lawrence Talbot, a boy raised in America and returning to his family’s home in England to investigate the disappearance of his brother, Ben. The patriarch of the family, Sir John Talbot (Anthony Hopkins) plays host to Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt) the wife his missing son. When Ben’s body is found, torn to pieces by something, Lawrence seeks out a local gypsy clan in search of answers. The camp is attacked by something, and Lawrence’s tribulations take on an entirely new dimension when he is bitten, beginning his transformation into a wolfman. Continue reading »

 Posted by Graham at 10:35 pm  Tagged with: , , ,
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