Review: Day of Wrath (1943)

* * 1/2
Director: Carl Theodor Dryer
Starring: Lisbeth Movin, Preben Lerdorff Rye

I think that Carl Theodor Dryer's The Passion of Joan of Ark is one of the best silent films ever made (top 5, definitely) and probably one of the best films ever made period. Fifteen years - and only one film, 1932's Vampyr - later, Dryer made Day of Wrath, filming during the Nazi occupation of Denmark. The two films explore similar themes, so similar that it's almost impossible not to think of the first film while watching the second, which is somewhat unfortunate since the second film lacks the impact of the first.

Review: Our Idiot Brother (2011)

* * 1/2
Director: Jesse Peretz
Starring: Paul Rudd, Emily Mortimer, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel

Before even getting started with Our Idiot Brother, I feel the need to talk briefly about one of the trailers attached to it, the one for the Adam Sandler film Jack and Jill, wherein Sandler plays the protagonist Jack as well as Jack's twin sister, Jill. I have a lot of questions about this film. Specifically, I would like to know Why? and How is this a movie? If you haven't had the pleasure, please watch the trailer.

Great Last Scenes: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Year: 2004
Director: Michel Gondry
Great Because...: Not only does it bring everything around full circle, but it perfectly encapsulates the old adage that it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Joel and Clementine know that they'll end in disaster but are willing to accept the pain that will come at the end in order to experience the happiness that comes at the beginning.

Friday's Top 5... My Favourite Paul Rudd Performances

#5: Wet Hot American Summer

Three reasons why this character and performance are great: 1) it's proof that there's no problem that can't be solved by simply packing a kid into a van and then pushing him out in the middle of nowhere; 2) the cafeteria tantrum; 3) "You taste like a burger; I don't like you anymore."

Canadian Film Review: Men with Brooms (2002)

* * 1/2
Director: Paul Gross
Starring: Paul Gross, Molly Parker, Leslie Nielsen

Not too long ago I caught a few minutes of the television version of Men with Brooms and thought, "Wow, this is really broad and simplistic," and it caught me off guard because I'd always heard generally favourable things about the movie version. Having now seen the film, I have to say that the TV series, while broader and more simple-minded, really isn't that far off, though it does lack the film's scrappy charm.