for February 22

  • Vantage Point

    Dennis Quaid in a terrorist thriller

  • Be Kind, Rewind

    Jack Black in a different take on the movie rental business

  • Charlie Bartlett

    Robert Downey Jr. in a high school story of a student who sets up a psychology business in the bathroom.

  • 1 . AMERICAN GANGSTER:

    An Oscar-nominated film, this one tells the true story of Harlem gangster Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) and the cop, Det. Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) who hunted him down.  During the Vietnam War era Lucas figured out how to cut the middle man out of the drug trade and made a fortune doing so.  Great movie! Rated 18A. 

  • 2. MICHAEL CLAYTON:

    Another Oscar-nominated film, George Clooney plays a corporate lawyer who is a “fixer” getting people out of trouble and putting out big-business fires. When a key attorney melts down and later is found dead, a huge conspiracy is uncovered – but it may be too late. One of the best films of this genre ever, and Clooney is superb! Rated 14A.

  • 3. RENDITION:

    A box-office flop because of its subject matter, Reese Witherspoon stars in a tale of political intrigue that parallels the Maher Arar case … here, an American of Arabic extraction is seized at a US airport suspected of terrorist ties, and is sent to Syria for torture. Well-acted, but a little too relevant for US audiences. Rated 14A.

  • Rick´s Pick: In The Valley of Elah:

    Another box-office flop that didn’t deserve it … and for the same reason as the above movie – too relevant. Tommy Lee Jones plays a father who learns that his son, a returned soldier from Iraq, has gone missing. The military doesn’t seem cooperative, so he goes on the hunt himself with frightening results. An excellent film, but too sensitive and too anti-war to play well in the States.

NETWORK (1976):
Howard Beal is mad as hell and he’s not going to take anymore. The network anchorman’s meltdown parallels that of the character in Michael Clayton and things don’t end much better for him. An insightful look at the world of big-time television, this is the only film to win three Oscars for acting.

  • Jumpers

    Hayden Christianson is fine in this nifty sci-fi drama that has been largely misunderstood by most reviewers

  • Definitely, Maybe

    Vancouver’s Ryan Reynolds nicely underplays his character, a single dad explaining life and love to his 11 year-old daughter

  • The Spiderwick Chronicles

    A nice fantasy much like Bridge to Terebithia, or the Golden Compass

  • Step up 2: The Streets

    For hip-hop aficionados only!