Three And Above

The Expendables 3  (2014) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Patrick Hughes Written By: Sylvester Stallone,  Creighton Rothenberger,                   Katrin Benedikt, and Dave Callaham Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger,               Antonio Banderas, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson Rating: PG Release Date: August 15th 2014 Jason Statham & Wesley Snipes compare 'knife size' in The Expendables 3 © 2014 - Lionsgate      In the late 1980's just one of the stars of The Expendables 3 would have received an eight figure salary. To make a movie this size back then would have been astronomically expensive. Today, while it was by no means an indie film,  Expendables 3 was made with more heart than cold hard cash. With most stars doing the film for their love of machismo cinema , the latest Expendables film is the most fun in a franchise of ridiculousness.        Where previous Expendables films have carefully straddled the line be

Hard Core Logo  (1996) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Bruce McDonald Written by: Noel S. Baker, based on                   Michael Turner's novel Starring: Hugh Dillon,  Callum Keith Rennie,                 Bruce McDonald Rating: 14A Release Date: October 25th, 1996 Hugh Dillon and Callum Keith Rennie in Hard Core Logo © Copyright 1996 - Miramax Films - All rights reserved.       Hard Core Logo  is essential Canadian cinema - a mockumentary, in the cruelest sense of the word - this is the film Guy Maddin has been trying to make his entire career, (Maddin's somewhat similar  My Winnipeg was whimsical as well as funny, but ultimately pointless and meandering). Bruce McDonald's punk-opus is not only essential canuck cinema, but quintessential punk rock cinema. No film before or since has so perfectly captured the rebel-without-a-cause spirit and devil may care attitude.        Hard Core Logo follows the eponymous band on their last ever tou

22 Jump Street  (2014) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller Written by: Oren Uziel, Rodney Rothman,                   Michael Bacall,  & Jonah Hill Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube,                Jillian Bell, Nick Offerman Rating: 14A Release Date: June 6th 2014 Jonah Hill, Ice Cube & Channing Tatum in 22 Jump Street Photo by Glen Wilson - © 2013 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved. IMAGE IS THE PROPERTY OF SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT INC.      22 Jump Street is the most ridiculous movie of the year. In a cinematic landfill of remakes and sequels, 22 Jump Street gleefully sits on the top, keenly aware of it's position. The difference between this raucous sequel and others, is it knows exactly what it is, and how overwhelmingly ridiculous it is.  While some self aware sequels and satires run thin, 22 Jump Street doesn't even bother to pretend its story is real. Nick Offerman

Guardians of the Galaxy  (2014) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: James Gunn Written by: James Gunn & Nicole Perlman, from               the comic by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista              Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, John C. Reilly Rating: PG Release Date: August 1st 2014 Zoe Saldana, Bradley Coope r, Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel & Dave Bautista in Guardians of the Galaxy © 2013 - Marvel Studios      People approach comic book movies like Gospel. Like they mean something. The pseudo-intellectualism and self seriousness of Marvel Studios is absolutely suffocating as an filmgoer. Some claim that Captain America is a post-modern dissection of american politics or that Iron Man is a character study of technological genius, like a superhero Steve Jobs. They're not. The vast majority of comic book movies are big, extremely dumb, and bombastic. The saving grace of Guardians of the Galaxy is that i

Fruitvale Station  (2013) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Ryan Coogler Written by: Ryan Coogler Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz,                Octavia Spencer, Kevin Durand Rating: 14A Release Date: July 26th, 2013 Michael B. Jordan in Fruitvale Station  © 2013 - The Weinstein Company. All Rights Reserved.      The story of Oscar Grant is becoming all too commonplace in the United States; Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and 12 year old Tamir Rice have all been killed by security guards or police officers. Nearly all of the shooters were white. It could be coincidence, but statistics like the following show us that the judicial system in the United States is racially biased. The documentary  The House I Live In states , "e ven though White and Black people use drugs at approximately equal rates, Black people are 10.1 times more likely to be sent to prison for drug offenses. Today, Black Americans represent 56% of those incarcerated for d

Prisoners  (2013) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Denis Villeneuve  Written by:  Aaron Guzikowski Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Terrence Howard,              Paul Dano, Maria Bello, Viola Davis, Melissa Leo Rating: 14A Release Date: September 20th, 2013 J ake Gyllenhaal & Hugh Jackman in Prisoners © 2013 - Warner Bros. Pictures      2013 was a fantastic year for film; 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street, Frozen, Philomena, Lone Survivor and Nebraska were all brilliant films from visionary filmmakers. Prisoners is better than all of them. Likely the best film in cinemas last year, Prisoners was virtually ignored at the Academy Awards. Yet, it features a multitude of career defining work from all areas.      While this is not a film for the squeamish or easily disturbed, Prisoners is required viewing for any film lover. The story centers around Keller Dover, (Hugh Jackman), and Franklin Birch, (Terrence Howard), whose daughters g

Words & Pictures  (2013) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Fred Schepisi Written by: Gerald Di Pego Starring: Clive Owen, Juliette Binoche,              Bruce Davison Rating: PG Release Date: September 7th, 2013 Clive Owen & Juliette Binoche in Words and Pictures Source:  http://static.tumblr.com/t5nyzow/pUVn4q7ty/wp_02456.jpg       Fred Schepisi is not a household name. Like the story in Words and Pictures , he`s told stories that we've all heard before, one way or another. But occasionally, when using the tired language of our ancestors, we fall upon some truth that`s been sitting in front of us all along, just waiting to be uncovered. Schepisi found this truth once, in the groundbreaking adult drama that made Will Smith a household name: Six Degrees of Separation.  Earlier too, he found a humanity in a small town romance that would have been swept under the rug under a less studious eye in the Steve Martin vehicle, Roxanne . Through t

This Is the End  (2013) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Evan Goldbreg, Seth Rogen Written by: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen & Jason Stone Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco,               Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride Rating: 18A Release Date: June 12th, 2013 Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco & Craig Robinson in This Is the End © 2013 - Sony Pictures       One would think it's pretty easy to make a funny movie. You come up with a funny premise, stick a couple comedians in front of a camera, and voila! If only it were that easy; Going Overboard, Ed, Baby Geniuses, The Adventures of Pluto Nash  and The Master of Disguise  prove that simply throwing comedians in front of a camera and drowning them in money does not a funny movie make. Thankfully the brains behind This Is the End  thought about their premise before they began shooting on a minuscule budget. As well, the performers in front of the camera aren't ju

Gone Girl  (2014) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: David Fincher Written by: Gillian Flynn Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike,               Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris Rating: 14A Release Date: October 3rd  Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl Merrick Morton - © TM  © 2014 Twentieth Century Fox and Regency Enterprises.     While there are no huge spoilers here, I did find it was best to approach  Gone Girl knowing nothing about it, so keep that in mind before you read on.        Like it or not, David Fincher is an  Auteur. The New Oxford American Dictionary defines an auteur as " a filmmaker whose personal influence and artistic control over a movie are so great that the filmmaker is regarded as the author of the movie." Ever since his beginning as an original filmmaker with Se7en*, he's been showcasing gritty, twisted stories that either define originality, or redefine a genre. With Gone Girl , Fincher slyly subverts the mystery genre in