Three And Above

Kingsman: The Secret Service  (2015) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Matthew Vaughn Written by: Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, based on Mark Millar & Dave Gibbons' comic book Starring:  Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Samuel L. Jackson,                Mark Hamill, Michael Caine, Mark Strong Rating: 14A* Release Date: February 13th, 2015 Taron Egerton and Michael Caine share a drink in Kingsman: The Secret Service © 2014 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation      Spies have always been fodder for the most exciting of cinema; The Day of the Jackal, Where Eagles Dare, The Bourne  films, the entire  Bond  franchise, The Eiger Sanction, or even  Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy  are all renowned classics of the genre, and continue to be thoroughly successful, (the last Bond film, Skyfall  grossed $1.1   billion  dollars). Yet, as cinema has been gleefully aware, most spy films are absurd, and most are about as realistic as Mary Poppins.  The greatest s

Whiplash  (2014) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Damien Chazelle Written by: Damien Chazelle Starring:  Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons,                Paul Reiser, Melissa Benoist Rating: 14A Release Date: October 24th 2014  Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons find the right tempo in Whiplash © Courtesy of Sundance Institute      "Don't you think that by pushing people so hard they might get discouraged, and in turn the next Charlie Parker might never be discovered?" Andrew, (Miles Teller), asks his devilish teacher, Mr. Fletcher, (J.K. Simmons). "If they get discouraged, then they're not the next Charlie Parker," is his reply, bookending his comment with his largest blow; "there are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'good job.'" This is the most important scene in the film, and the thesis for it's commentary; through the actions, failures and successes of the teacher and student, the audience

Animal House  (1978) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: John Landis Written by: Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney,                   Chris Miller Starring:  Tom Hulce, John Belushi, Tim Matheson                 Peter Riegert, Kevin Bacon, Donald Sutherland Rating: R Release Date: July 28th, 1978 The Animals of  Animal House  © 1978 - Universal Pictures      "This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time," says the Narrator in Fight Club . It's a powerful statement, that forces the listener to gain perspective of their respective situation. Life is fleeting. But it's in those fleeting moments that we discover the wisdom, ideals and love that echo throughout our existence. Animal House , in its reckless, anarchistic and hedonistic ways, is about capturing those moments, seizing the day, and having one hell of a party.     Animal House follows two young freshmen at their State college; Kent Dorfman, (Stephen Furst), and Larry Kro

The Grand Budapest Hotel  (2014) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Wes Anderson Written by: Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness,                Inspired by Stefan Zweig's writings Starring:  Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham,                Tony Revolori, Edward Norton,                Harvey Keitel Rating: 14A Release Date: March 14, 2014  Paul Schlase, Tony Revolori, Tilda Swinton & Ralph Fiennes in  The Grand Budapest Hotel © 2013 - Fox Searchlight      Wes Anderson has always been an interesting filmmaker. Exploding onto the cinematic landscape with 1994's Bottle Rocket,  Anderson has quickly made a name for himself as an auteur. Swinging from sublime to stupid, Anderson has had as many hits as he has misses. For every Moonrise Kingdom, or Royal Tenenbaums , he's also had style-over-substance misfires like the boring Darjeeling Limited  or the atrociously mishandled Fantastic Mr. Fox. Still, even Anderson's less than ideal misfires

Rosewater  (2014) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Jon Stewart Written by: Jon Stewart, based on                    Maziar Bahari & Aimee Molloy's                   book Starring:  Gael García Bernal, Kim Bodnia                  Claire Foy,  Shohreh Aghdashloo Rating: PG Release Date: November 14th, 2014 Kim Bodnia  & Gael García Bernal in Rosewater      Life is absurd. Human beings help, fight, love, kill, create and destroy, all on a tiny rock that's completely insignificant in the grand scale of the universe. As famed cosmologist Carl Sagan used to say, we're just momentary fragments of dust, aimlessly drifting through space on a pale blue dot.  Jon Stewart, host of the groundbreaking and absolutely ridiculous The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, often taps into this absurdity. Journalism, once a respected and important career , has now become the laughingstock of North American society. With TMZ and Facebook as the leading purveyo

Network  (1976) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by:  Sidney Lumet Written by: Paddy Chayefsky Starring:  William Holden, Peter Finch,               Robert Duvall, Faye Dunaway Rating: PG Release Date: November 27th, 1976 Peter Finch in Network      "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Howard Beale screams to his unseen audience. He tells his audience to pry back the curtains, whip open their windows and scream his mantra out into the street. His broken down rant, on the heels of his firing from his news network is electrifying. He lists street violence, murder, racism, communism and disrespect as the throes of modern life, yet offers no answers but his mantra; "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" But who is he talking to, who is he mad at, and what does it all mean?       Network follows two veterans of the news media industry. Like the Cronkite  or Murrows of their time

Birdman (Or: The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)  (2014) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by:  Alejandro González Iñárritu Written by:  Alejandro González Iñárritu,                    Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander                  Dinelaris & Armando Bo Starring:  Michael Keaton, Emma Stone                Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton Rating: 14A Release Date: October 24, 2014 Michael Keaton, Naomi Watts & Zach Galifianakis in  Birdman © 2014 - Fox Searchlight      Michael Keaton has always been a great actor. Arguably the man that gave the comic book cinema credibility with the stellar Batman and Batman Returns,  Keaton also took creative risks throughout his career; the zany, disturbing Beetlejuice , a wry cop in Tarantino's most underrated film Jackie Brown,  and a touching, heartfelt performance in My Life . Yet, unlike his comic book counterparts, Keaton never really seemed to hit his stride, or find a role that perfectly matched h

Les Misérables  (2014) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Tom Hooper Written by: William Nicholson, Alain Boublil,                    Claude-Michel Schönberg,                   Herbert Kretzmer, based on                   Victor Hugo's novel Starring:  Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway,                Russell Crowe, Eddie Redmayne Rating: PG Release Date: December 25th 2012 Hugh Jackman gets huge, and jacked, man in  Les Misérables © 2012 - Universal Pictures      A lot of people hate musicals. Who can blame them when all they offer is cheery renditions of well known storylines coupled with recycled show-tunes that they're hearing for the hundredth time? Grease, Purple Rain, Anastasia, Jesus Christ Superstar, Moulin Rouge, Chicago, or Mamma Mia all offer either bland, boring or outright goofy storylines and songs. Sure, some of the aforementioned have tragic endings, but it's hard to take any of them seriously when the actors treat the storyli

Fury  (2014) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: David Ayer Written by: David Ayer Starring:  Jon Bernthal, Shia LaBeouf,                 Logan Lerman, Michael  Peña,                 Brad Pitt Rating: 14A* Release Date: October 17th, 2014 Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Brad Pitt, Michael Peña & Jon Bernthal in Fury   © 2014 - Columbia Pictures      "Ideals are peaceful. History is violent" Wardaddy, (Brad Pitt), tells Norman Ellison, (Logan Lerman). David Ayer's Fury  is not a film of ideals. Fury is the story of five men struggling against the insurmountable cruelty of war. Fury is cold, brutal, violent and brilliant;  Fury is one of the best films of the year.      Entering the Second World War in the final year of combat, Fury  follows the eponymous tank squad. Consisting of 5 members; Don 'Wardaddy' Collier, Boyd 'Bible' Swan, (Shia LaBeouf), Trini 'Gordo' Garcia, (Michael Peña), Grady 'Coon-Ass' Travis

The Judge  (2014) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: David Dobkin Written by: David Dobkin, Bill Dubuque                   Nick Schenk Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall,                Vera Farmiga, Vincent D'Onofrio                Billy Bob Thorton Rating: PG Release Date: October 17th, 2014 Robert Downey Jr., and Robert Duvall in The Judge © 2013 - Warner Bros. Pictures      Adult dramas are hard to come by these days; it's either period pictures, comic book sequels, or the umpteenth film in the Transformers franchise. I'm not trying to belittle comic book films- pure escapism is warranted now and then - it's just that the scales have been tipped overwhelmingly in The Avengers'  favour. It's a delight, then, to see Iron Man himself take on a role like The Judge' s Hank Palmer.        The Judge  follows hotshot defence lawyer Hank Palmer, (Robert Downey Jr.), whose only ethical boundaries are of a fiscal nature. D