Robert Koehler of Variety reviews Midnight Clear, the latest movie to be produced by Left Behind co-author Jerry B. Jenkins: Until it reveals its actual Christian purpose in the final minutes, “Midnight Clear” will easily fool many viewers into thinking they’re watching a modest Coen brothers-style comedy-thriller. This conventional but sensitively observed tale, drawing together disparate and mostly lonely lives on Christmas Eve, is a religiously motivated pic (and winner of the debut film prize at Cinequest) that could play... Read more

My review of The Invisible is now up at CT Movies. Read more

Here are the figures for the past weekend, arranged from those that owe the highest percentage of their take to the Canadian box office to those that owe the lowest. Hot Fuzz — CDN $1,620,000 — N.AM $12,447,000 — 13.0%Fracture — CDN $2,490,000 — N.AM $21,336,000 — 11.7%The Condemned — CDN $442,099 — N.AM $4,000,000 — 11.0%Blades of Glory — CDN $9,720,000 — N.AM $108,086,000 — 9.0%Next — CDN $643,057 — N.AM $7,200,000 — 8.9%Vacancy — CDN $1,210,000 — N.AM... Read more

Variety covers the re-release of The Other Conquest (1998): Though most studios have cleared far out of the path of “Spider-Man 3,” there will be a bit of counterprogramming available for non-Spidey fans. Warner Bros. is releasing “Lucky You,” a romancer with Drew Barrymore and Eric Bana. And, reflecting the growing demand for Spanish-language pics, Union Station Media will re-release Mexican epic “The Other Conquest” on 50 prints in the U.S. on Cinco de Mayo weekend — seven years after... Read more

Variety reports that Ridley Scott, having directed Russell Crowe in Gladiator (2000; my review), A Good Year (2006) and the upcoming American Gangster, has signed up to steer the actor through his latest project, a movie called Nottingham: Crowe stars as the Sheriff of Nottingham in a revisionist take on the Robin Hood tale, with Nottingham as a noble and brave lawman who labors for a corrupt king and engages in a love triangle with Maid Marion and Robin Hood.... Read more

Remember that biblical epic that Darren Aronofsky — director of Pi (1998; my review), Requiem for a Dream (2000; my review) and The Fountain (2006) — said he wanted to make? He recently spilled a few more details about it to The Guardian: In the Romanian mountain resort of Sinaia, two hours north-west of Bucharest, the film-maker Darren Aronofsky is contemplating the extinction of mankind. An extreme response, you might think, to a few uncomprehending reviews of his last movie,... Read more

Are movies shot in Vancouver because they are set in Seattle? Or are they set in Seattle because they are shot in Vancouver? Lots of movies are filmed here, but a lot of them — like Night at the Museum, which takes place in a New York museum and was shot mostly on a soundstage, and Pathfinder, which takes place over a thousand years ago — are set in other times and places, so there’s no point in expecting Vancouver... Read more

My review of Next is now up at CT Movies. Read more

Mike White, writer and director of the funny, unsettling, thought- provoking Year of the Dog, talks to the National Post: In the case of Year of the Dog, the ultimate message revolves around the need for control and structure, but also the need people have to devote themselves to something in order to find happiness. “You get to a certain age and suddenly your life choices have become your religion in some sense,” he says, “and you invest so much... Read more