Stonehearst Asylum:  

Based on a little-known Edgar Allen Poe story, this thriller has a great cast of UK actors, and some real thrills as the action plays out.  Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas) is Edward, just out of med school, and taking on an assignment in a mental hospital where nothing is quite as it seems, beginning with the reason for the staff opening in the first place.  As a chilling turn of events makes him question everything around him, the true horror begins to creep in.  Kate Beckinsale, Brendan Gleeson, Michael Caine, and Ben Kingsley flesh out a great group of players all of whom know what’s next.  It’s just the audience and Edward who don’t see it all coming. Rated 14A.

The Good Lie:  

This exceptional story, based on actual events, didn’t get into most theatres, but was a hit at several film festivals including TIFF in Toronto.  Reese Witherspoon is Carrie, an employment agency counsellor who makes a tremendous difference in the lives of a group of African children orphaned during the genocides in Sudan.  Some were child-soldiers, some the victims of horrific atrocities, and others the purveyors of such atrocities, recruited by adults who treated them in horrific fashion.  Relocated to Kansas City, Mo, Carrie tries to help this shattered group of young people make sense of their lives. Rated 14A.

The Trip to Italy: 

A movie spinoff of the British TV series “The Trip,” in which real-life writer Steve Coogan and teamed up again with Rob Brydon as they are assigned a restaurant review tour of Italy in which they try out a number of establishments in sequence throughout the country, and along the way make some friends, some enemies, and tickle the fancy of fans of the TV series.  Coogan who wrote and starred in Philomena, is excellent here essentially playing himself. Rated 14A.

Argo (2012):

Ben Affleck directed this Academy Award winner based on the book by Tony Mendez about his adventure in Iran during the 1980 American hostage crisis.  Canada played a significant role in the actual events which was downplayed somewhat in the film, resulting in actual intervention from our Government to try to set the record straight.  Ben Affleck, who also stars, admitted that this was not a documentary, but a drama inspired by actual events.  Canadian Ambassador Kenneth Taylor is played by London, Ontario's Victor Garber, and stars include Alan Arkin and John Goodman as part of a plot to convince the Iranians that a movie was being shot in their country, as a way to get the hostages out.  The dramatization works - it's a terrific film!  Rated 14A.

Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas (2012):  

Kids will enjoy this Christmas-themed movie in which Martin Short provides the voice of the Cat who discovers, after the big Christmas party is over, that there is one little reindeer who didn't find his way home.  Little Ralph the Reindeer is from the faraway town of Freeze-Your-Knees and it will be a challenge for the Cat and his pals to help make Christmas complete for the little guy.  Andrea Martin provides voices as well for this animated special that was made for TV two years ago with the participation of a variety of Canadian partners.  Rated G.