Reviews

When Clary Fray's house is turned upside down and her mum is nowhere to be seen she learns that she descends from Shadowhunters who protect the world from demons. She joins forces with them to discover who she really is and find her mother.

Starring Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Jemima West, Kevin Zegers, Jared Harris, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Lena Headey, Aidan Turner, and Godfrey Goa.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is a book to movie adaptation based on the worldwide best-selling fantasy book series by author Cassandra Clare. It is a film many fans have anticipated, and it's finally here! I feel like I have had a baby because I have been waiting nine months to see the film! I went to the premiere and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this!

The film version of The Mortal Instruments is a well made supernatural fantasy thriller that captures the beauty of Clare's extraordinary and unique Shadowhunter world. It boasts a brilliant cast, great action sequences, dark cinematography, and a strong witty script. It is actually not a simple film, as you can tell from this rather extensive and complex review where I have attempted to shed light at some of the films intricacies. So, as one of the film's stars Jamie Campbell Bower would say in his English accent, grab yourself a cup of tea (or a cappuccino with an angelic rune design in it), relax, and have a read!

Clarissa "Clary" Fray (Lily Collins) is the empowered female protagonist at the center of the story. She is an artistically gifted teen living with her single mother Jocelyn (Lena Headey) in New York City. On her birthday, she finds herself a part of a dark and mysterious world unknown to her, or rather, hidden from her. If you thought New York was bustling metropolis before, just wait till you see this movie!

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I always enjoy a good animal movie and have always loved circus movies since Big Top Pee Wee! This film has both and tells the story of a BIG friendship! It also has a bit of a love story weaved in thanks to the talented Augustus Prew, who I didn't know could do air-ballet!

It was actually really cute and a well done film the whole family can enjoy. Maybe I am just biased because August Prew could recite the phone book and keep my attention! One big problem I had with it was the ending. (Spoiler) Sophie ships Sheba back to her "home" of Africa. I thought this was inconsistent as her parents own a zoo, and thus she is saying that all the animals in her parents zoo should be shipped back to their "home" too. I am not sure why this film is so underrated, I think it is just as good as any other animal movie and had a fresh story.

Good | 7/10

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Since I am a fan of off-the-cuff, non-mainstream movies, I decided to give this one a try. I wasn't disappointed. It was a great film on many levels. The entire cast worked together to paint a picture of pain and discomfort, and shinned a light on taboo subjects with beauty.

Directed by Ron Brown, Consent tells the tragic tale of a wealthy Manhattan family wading through the emotional wreckage of a recent death. By failing to face their heartache as a united front, each family member is sent down an individual path of self-destruction.

The teen siblings attempt to conquer their grief by confiding in drugs, alcohol and sexual taboos. Their parents also go about relieving their grief in all the wrong ways. Mostly by disconnecting from their own feelings, and ultimately, their own children. The parents are cold to each other and wrapped up in their own pain. They blame themselves by knowing their inattentiveness partly caused their oldest child's death.

Between her junior and senior years of college, before anyone knew her as one of the Pretty Little Liars, Troian Bellisario spent a summer in New York City, filming this intense indie drama.

Trojan plays the damaged, desperate and unformed character of high school junior Amanda. This is definitely a dark role for her, but she portrays it incredible well.

Amanda is spiraling down a dangerous path with an abusive boyfriend. She looks for love in all the wrong places. Her emotional handicap creates a particularly awkward situation for her older brother Josh, who is played with brilliant vulnerability by Peter Vack. Josh is the one constant in Amanda's life that she can always turn to and he finds himself on the receiving end of his sister's misguided search for love.

This is what the tragedy has done to them, but they have to go through these obstacles in order to discover themselves and heal.

Josh deals with the loss of his oldest sister Samantha by visualizing she is still with him. Josh sees her everywhere, and his grief is palpable in the fact that he can't let her go. He starts hallucinating and having conversations with her like she is really there.

"I hope that my fans support me in all of my work," Troian said in an interview with Hollywood Life. "While a lot of people may not be dealing with matters of incest, they are perhaps dealing with loss or sadness or simply trying to find themselves in high school, where everything is so grey. I hope my fans like the movie, and I think a lot of people will." "They have nobody else to turn to; they need each other," Troian says of Amanda and Josh's relationship. "And through them, you see how Amanda's version of love is so skewed. Some people might call it perverted, but it's really not her need for love that's perverted. It's just the way she seeks it." "None of these people are more equipped to help their own family than each other," Troian explains. "What's so tragic is that if they would simply speak about it — the loss, the grief, the heartache — so much of this would be avoided." The title of the movie is about the "consent" the parents have given themselves to ignore their children and wrap themselves up in a tragedy that's taken over their entire lives.

"It isn't necessarily about Josh giving consent to Amanda, but it's really abut the parents giving consent to their children to behave in these ways," Troian explains. "Without parental guidance, what are you saying is OK for your children to do in the world? What's most interesting about Amanda's character is seeing how far she'll go, and what toll it will take on her emotionally and mentally." The way the film is shot, and because the cast threw themselves into their parts, the film feels very real and documentary like. You feel like a voyeur where you sit and watch a family fall apart and ultimately hope that they come out of the darkness.

Consent is an important film because it speaks volumes of what could happen in any family if you live with your eyes closed and have no communication. If you have dealt with a close death or gone through dark times yourself, you will appreciate this underrated film.

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I don't believe in call waiting because I rushed to the theater to see The Call during opening weekend.I went and saw it in an absolutely jam packed theater on my birthday, and I must say my expectations were pretty low because I didn't find the trailer that captivating. I thought it was going to be a "Speed" wannabe and have a typical, predictable plot. Boy was I wrong! It was freaking awesome and way better then trailer lets it out to be. It looks like it is just going to be a car chase movie with a kidnapped girl stuck in the truck the whole time (and while that is also true) it is so much more then that. Be sure not to answer your phone during this movie. You won't want to miss a second.

If you think this is a Scream copy think again - although you might find yourself screaming! There are some similarities however between The Call and Scream like the phone connection, one of the main characters being called Casey, the recurrence of a one liner ("do you like scary movies"/"it's already done") and even the poster is a bit reminiscent.

This film has everything a good thriller should have - amazing acting, thrills, and great character development on both sides of the "good" and "evil" spectrum. There are some really scary and intense scenes a horror fan will also love, the woman in front of me kept going "oh my god!" The film delivered on the real substance of being a 911 Dispatcher, something rarely shown in thrillers. It gave the audience a look into the real moment to moment split second decisions made by these seldom praised messengers of help. Halle Berry was spot on in her portrayal of Jordan - the 911 operator.

Berry, who has a knack for finding the toughness beneath vulnerability, and vice versa delivers a tense and unfussy performance. She gets support from Denise Dowse as a co-worker and Roma Maffia (Nip Tuck, Nick of Time) as her supervisor. Jordan is a cop's daughter who's dating Paul (also a cop) and following their make-out session on the balcony of the call center during her break, Jordan receives an emergency call from a terrified girl whose home is being broken into. Jordan does her best to help, but after a series of instructions and a fatal mistake, the killer takes the phone and speaks words that will be repeated throughout the film - "it's already done." Later we find out that the girl has been murdered, as a news clip shows her dead body at the scene of the crime (which I have never seen in real life on the news yet!) Of course Jordan blames herself and this riveting scene pulls you into the story and hooks your attention for what's to come.

Jordan returns to the high-wire stress of the phones when teenager Casey Welson (played by Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin) calls from the trunk of a car. We find out later, that she has been abducted by the same deranged man with a plan. Conveniently for the film, Casey is using a prepaid and disposable phone, making her location harder to trace and thereby drawing out the tension. Listen for fitting music like "Puttin' On the Ritz" to be thumping inside the car (this also is useful as the kidnapper can't hear the 911 calls Casey is making).

This lifeline connection between Jordan and Casey is the heart of the film. Jordan talking Casey through this harrowing nightmare doesn't even begin to describe the 96 minutes of insanity you're in for when you go see The Call. Most of the film takes place in either the 911 call center (aka "the hive") or the inside of the trunk, yet the film is never dull with action being delivered by the second.

What I really enjoyed about the film was how they had an interesting back story for the "bad guy" Michael Foster, played by Canadian actor Michael Eklund. I recognized him right away from his work in Blood Ties, Walk All Over Me, and The Divide. This sort of Norman Bates mentally unstable character is really fun to watch. He was really believable (as he always is) as the sick and twisted abductor and serial killer. They could have just had it be a random killer with no motive, no back story, and whom lived alone in a rundown apartment. Instead it was more chilling because the psycho was a suburban family man, a seemingly "normal" guy.

When Casey gets abducted I knew he had some reason to want girls with blonde hair, because as his previous victim had blonde hair as well. He could have easily killed her many times during the drive, but he didn't. It is also interesting why he went for her and not her friend, since her friend left alone too - I guess she wasn't blonde enough!

The film takes huge turn (and becomes reminiscent of House at the End of the Street) when we learn Michael had a sister he was very close to.

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Really great idea, it would be really neat to travel to the past. I am so fascinated right now with period TV shows like The Borgias, etc so I was really looking forward to seeing a film like this where a modern person could go back in time. Although the science behind how they got there didn't make much sense, the movie was good. I didn't quite understand how the artifacts they found in the future had to stay how they were in the past, I guess showing how destiny is pre-written? The battlegrounds and the sets themselves weren't as great or cinematic as Game of Thrones or The Borgias, and these are TV shows. For a major motion picture, I found it was lacking in these respects. It is still worth a view if you are even remotely interested in time travel or history.

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Liberal Arts is a refreshing and very simple film that felt more like a moving conversation or documentary about university, work and life. Josh Radnor did a great job writing, producing and acting in the film. The film shows you are never finished learning, whatever your age. It was very insightful and made you question the choices that you make in life. Everyone should see this, but especially if you are in university or graduated. The main character, and I too, feel at times like you sort of take for granted when you are actually in university (probably because you are so overwhelmed with the work load) to really appreciate it. When you get out you think the world will be your oyster and that you can do anything. Only to realize you are in the real world now and things might not turn out the way you wanted it to or expect. This film makes you feel like you are not alone in this situation, that other people too are trying to figure out there next step. Even the university professor in the film feels like this as he is trying to retire.

It was so ironic that they go quite heavily into Twilight. Questioning if it is a good book or not, and how people in the world today are liking things that are "not good." They casted Elizabeth Reaser who is all the Twilight films and this just added to the inside joke! I thought that was smart and funny. Zac Efron also makes an appearance as a full on hippie.

I think the love story at the end sort of ruined the film, because it played into the typical Hollywood stereotype of him finding the right person at the end. Life rarely plays out this perfectly in real life; that there is a perfect person down the street at the local independent bookstore (and how many of those are left?) It is great that he found love, but what about Elizabeth Olsen's character, what if he was her match? I liked the quote "every place you don't leave is a prison." That is so true. For more truth, view the film and keep turning the pages in the book of life.

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Life doesn't always go according to plan. Pat Solatano has lost everything – his house, his job, and his wife. He now finds himself living back with his mother and father after spending eight months in a state institution on a plea bargain. Pat is determined to rebuild his life, remain positive and reunite with his wife, despite the challenging circumstances of their separation. All Pat's parents want is for him to get back on his feet – and to share their family's obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles football team. When Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own, things get complicated. Tiffany offers to help Pat reconnect with his wife, but only if he'll do something very important for her in return. As their deal plays out, an unexpected bond begins to form between them, and silver linings appear in both of their lives.

Very enjoyable, great story, great cast. A simple movie, but very effective. I wasn't expecting it to be so funny! It had everything you could want in a movie, it was even a dance movie! The only think I could really complain about it, is like so many movies it ended too abruptly. There was so much build up and you wanted so much for these two characters to end up together, and when they finally do it doesn't show what else happens. Do they buy a house, what do they do for work..? All in all a good film worth watching.

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I was looking forward to seeing DARK TIDE because I love shark movies, even though typically you've seen one, you've seen them all! I have even tried to see some of those ridiculous B shark movies where you wonder how they ever got the funding to be made! The same question is posed to this film, and why Halle Berry (an Oscar winner) signed on. The film isn't terrible, but it fails to bring much new new to the table.

Unlike "Deep Blue Sea," a good shark movie since "Jaws," this one ends leaving you almost frustrated. Berry plays Kate Mathieson, a marine biologist who was once called "the shark whisperer," but hasn't been back in the water since the death of her mentor. That is until a rich Englishman and his son wants to pay her $100,000 so they can swim with sharks. Her husband (Martinez) talks her into it, and while she doesn't promise the Englishman exactly what he wants, she still takes the loonies out on the boat with her crew and from there just make a series of stupid choices. She is supposed to be our movies heroin, a smart woman, yet she agrees to this even though she has already lost someone to a shark. Why would she want to be responsible for more? I am sure she could have found the money another way. While the story isn't exactly predictable you still don't know why they are even in the water in the first place dealing with this stubborn man whom they know nothing about, amidst the sharks mating season. Then after an argument breaks out they decide to go to the most shark infested area of all. Stupid! By this point you really don't care that much about its characters since there development is only paper-thin.

I like the fact that "Dark Tide" takes place in South Africa instead of the typical US beach locations. Unknown to me, it has the largest shark population in the world. There are times during the film where you are not sure what kind of film you are watching - a drama? a thriller? a love story? If it was supposed to be a thriller it had some shocking moments but not scary enough to really break new ground. Nothing in regards to shark attacks we haven't already seen before. I am not sure why two great actors signed off on this film, it wasn't a waste of time but it wasn't the best either.

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