Photo: Contributed

New out on DVD/Blu-ray for Tuesday May 21.

     Side Effects

This provocative new thriller is about Emily and Martin (Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum), a successful New York couple whose world unravels when a new drug prescribed by Emily's psychiatrist (Jude Law) - intended to treat anxiety - has unexpected side effects.

With Side Effects, director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Erin Brockovich, Ocean's 11) has made a methodically paced and compelling psychological thriller that plays out somewhat like a film noir, albeit one with some social commentary about the state of mental health in America and the dependence on pharmaceuticals thrown in for good measure. Rather than getting too preachy about the subject matter, however, Soderbergh chose to make a twist filled mystery that actually delves into sleazy b-movie territory at one point, and that's a good thing. Side Effects is definitely not predictable and the film goes in some very intriguing directions.

Featuring stellar performances from Rooney Mara, Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Side Effects is an intelligently written mystery thriller that is sure to keep you guessing throughout how the whole thing will play out and who the main antagonist is.

It's been reported that this may be Soderbergh's last film and if that is true then at least he is going out on a fairly high note.

Seek out Side Effects.

     The Last Stand

Sheriff Owens (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a man who has resigned himself to a life of fighting what little crime takes place in sleepy border town Sommerton Junction after leaving his LAPD post following a bungled operation that left him badly injured and most of his team members dead. After a spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy, the most notorious, wanted drug kingpin in the hemisphere is hurtling towards the border at 200 mph in a specially outfitted car with a hostage and a fierce army of gang members. He is headed, it turns out, straight for Sommerton Junction, where the whole of U.S. law enforcement will have their last opportunity to make a stand and intercept him before he slips across the border forever. At first reluctant to become involved, and then counted out because of the perceived ineptitude of his small town force, Owens ultimately accepts responsibility for the face off.

After a decade long hiatus from the movie industry, Arnie returns to doing what he does best - kicking butt. Featuring plenty of bloody shootouts, car chases and high octane action sequences, The Last Stand is the proper vehicle to showcase what the Governator is capable of. He's an action star pure and simple and even at his advanced age he still reminds us what made his movies so much fun to watch in the 80s and 90s. He has a certain charm and charisma with his broken English accent, and even though he is a little bit more subdued in this film, he still gets to crack off a few of his signature one-liners, many of them having to do with the fact that he is old.

Korean director Kim Jee-Woon (I Saw the Devil, The Good, The Bad, The Weird) has basically made a modern day version of Rio Bravo mixed with elements of High Noon. It has a bit of a western feel to it, albeit one with automatic weapons and a lot more stunts and carnage.

The Last Stand is all about fun, popcorn entertainment though and in that regard it succeeds quite well. If you are in the mood for some really good action and thrills then check out Arnold's latest. It's pretty good!

     Beautiful Creatures

A supernatural love story set in the South, Beautiful Creatures tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers: Ethan (Alden Ehrenreich), a young man longing to escape his small town, and Lena (Alice Englert), a mysterious new girl. Together, they uncover dark secrets about their respective families, their history and their town.

Thanks to the enormous success of that darn Twilight franchise (blech!), we are going to be inundated with a whole slew of these paranormal teen romance movies for quite some time. This particular teenage love story shrouded in supernatural hokum is based on the novel by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

The filmmakers have included a strong cast of supporting stars such as Jeremy Irons, Emma Thompson, Viola Davis and Emmy Rossum in order to lend some dramatic weight to the film, but sadly it fails miserably.

Beautiful Creatures is just a mess of a film. It's too long and draggy and I never felt the slightest bit of investment in any of the characters or the situations that they get themselves into. I just didn't care about anything happening in this movie.

Beautiful Creatures is totally lame and uninspiring. Don't bother!

     Parker

A thief with a unique code of professional ethics is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead. Assuming a new disguise and forming an unlikely alliance with a woman on the inside, he looks to hijack the score of the crew's latest heist.

Parker once again finds star Jason Statham in his comfort zone doing what he does best, being the action hero. Even though I like Statham and think that he is well suited for these types of roles, I found Parker to be a pretty generic and standard formula picture. It wasn't really that bad, but there was nothing overly special or memorable about it either.

Parker also stars Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis and Nick Nolte and it is directed by longtime filmmaker Taylor Hackford (An Officer and a Gentleman, The Devil's Advocate, Ray).

If you are a big Jason Statham fan then you might want to check this out, otherwise you'd be better off with The Last Stand if you are in the mood for fun action.

     Stand Up Guys

Val (Al Pacino) is released from prison after serving twenty-eight years for refusing to give up one of his close criminal associates. His best friend Doc (Christopher Walken) is there to pick him up, and the two soon re-team with another old pal, Hirsch (Alan Arkin). Their bond is as strong as ever, and the three reflect on freedom lost and gained, loyalties ebbed and flowed, and days of glory gone by. But one of the friends is keeping a dangerous secret - he's been put in an impossible quandary by a former mob boss, and his time to find an acceptable alternative is running out. As the sun rises on the guys' legendary reunion, their position becomes more and more desperate and they finally confront their past once and for all.

You'd think with the presence of Pacino, Walken and Arkin that you would get a pretty decent and entertaining film. Well, where Stand Up Guys is concerned you'd be wrong. This flaccid and lame comedy drama just meanders along full of tired geriatric jokes involving viagra and how things were better in the good old days. Everything about it just seemed forced and contrived.

This movie is a real waste of the fine talents of Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin. It must have been a paycheck for them.

Stand Up Guys just plain sucked!

Also out this week is the highly acclaimed documentary directed by Sarah Polley called Stories We Tell, the PBS nature documentary, Cuba: The Accidental Eden, and the stand up comedy special, Jim Jefferies: Fully Functional.

New out on DVD/Blu-ray is brought to you by Leo's Videos, 2680 Pandosy St. (250) 861-8437

I find myself faced with a bit of a conundrum. In order to fully describe the new movie Star Trek Into Darkness and truly give my detailed thoughts about it, I would need to reveal massive amounts of spoilers. Now there's likely only 5% of the intended audience that doesn't already know the film's big twist, but for those few out there that want to go into this cold, I certainly don't want to be the jerk that ruins it for them. So with that being said I'm going to provide you with some spoiler free ramblings about the latest adventure of Captain Kirk and crew.

First off, let me just say that Star Trek Into Darkness was an absolute blast to watch. Chock-full of action, adventure and wonderful science fiction escapism, it's the perfect piece of summer popcorn entertainment. This film should appeal to fans both young and old alike, whether you are a Trekkie or not. And a note to some of the more fervent and nit picky Trek fans; please check your preconceived expectations and ego at the door and realize that J.J. Abrams is playing around a bit with the canon of the original series, and that's ok. He has set out to make his own version of a thrilling space adventure involving beloved characters and there is no rule that states he needs to adhere to a strict set of guidelines in doing so. I personally love his version of Star Trek and I can't wait to see many more adventures in the future from him, providing he has time after signing on to tackle the Star Wars franchise.

The new film kicks off with a bang as we see Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and Bones (Karl Urban) being chased through a forest by the strange looking natives of a primitive planet called Nibiru. The Enterprise has been sent there on a mapping expedition as well as to defuse an active volcano that could destroy the civilization. When Spock (Zachary Quinto) risks his life to save the planet, Kirk violates the Prime Directive (Starfleet's guiding principle that dictates that there can be no interference with the internal development of alien civilizations, nor any exposure of advanced technology to primitive cultures) by exposing the Enterprise in order to save Spock. After being called back to Earth, Kirk is demoted to first officer and Admiral Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) re-assumes command of the Enterprise.

An emergency meeting is assembled at Starfleet Command after a terrorist attack on an archival station in London, perpetrated by a former Starfleet agent named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch). After the meeting is ambushed by Harrison resulting in multiple casualties, Kirk is tasked with a special mission from Admiral Alexander Marcus (Peter Weller) to hunt down and kill Harrison with the use of 72 photon torpedoes. They track him to the Klingon planet of Kronos whereupon a landing crew consisting of Kirk, Spock and Uhura (Zoë Saldana) end up in an action-packed battle with the Klingons until Harrison essentially saves them and wipes out the Klingons. Upon learning the exact number of torpedoes that the Enterprise has, Harrison decides to surrender peacefully and is taken captive aboard the Enterprise. And this is the point where I can't tell you anymore about what happens because it would ruin the thrill of discovery. And trust me when I say that the really good stuff occurs from this point on in the story and I was totally engrossed in every thrilling minute of it.

Once again the cast does a tremendous job portraying these iconic characters. While the heart of the film is the ever growing friendship and mutual respect developing between Kirk and Spock, the other characters get plenty of wonderful moments to shine throughout the film. I loved Karl Urban's take on Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy. He exhibits the requisite amount of cantankerous surliness that truly captures the essence of DeForest Kelley's original series role. Simon Pegg is great as Scotty. His character gets a really fun arch in this film and he once again provides us with much needed levity throughout. Sulu (John Cho) and Chekov (Anton Yelchin) get their little moments to shine as well, even if they are relegated to secondary status.

The real revelation to me though was Benedict Cumberbatch as the villainous John Harrison. He simply commands every moment that he is on screen with his deep, resonant voice and ominous presence. He is easily one of the most compelling villains in Star Trek history and his performance is incredible. If I were to choose one actor from this film who deserves an Oscar nomination, it would easily be Cumberbatch.

J.J. Abrams once again nails it. He's created a visually spectacular, fast-paced, thrilling space adventure full of action, humour and plenty of peril for our beloved characters to face. The consequences are steep in this one and the film actually has some weight to it. He also includes some nice homages to the original series for the hardcore fans who are really paying attention. I can't imagine anyone who liked his 2009 film not enjoying the heck out of this. I think I may have even enjoyed this one slightly more.

Star Trek Into Darkness is a rousing, slam-bang piece of sci-fi entertainment that is sure to be an enormous blockbuster, ensuring that audiences will continue to be treated to more adventures of the Starship Enterprise for many years to come. I look forward to it.

What are you waiting for? Go see Star Trek Into Darkness!

I give Star Trek Into Darkness a 9.5 out of 10.

Greetings movie lovers, it's time to take a look at what the cinema has to offer us this weekend.

     Star Trek Into Darkness

When the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

     My Take

While I wouldn't quite go as far as to say that I am a Trekkie, I am definitely a big fan of Star Trek, specifically the original series from the 60s. I love the characters from that era such as Spock, Kirk and Bones, so I was really happy when director J.J. Abrams decided to go back to these iconic characters for his reboot of the franchise in 2009. The last time we had seen the original cast all together was in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country back in 1991. After that film the studios decided to start making Trek movies featuring the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, a show that I never really got into for whatever reason. I still went to see the big screen adaptations with these characters but I just wasn't as invested in them and kept wishing that we could see the old gang again. When the tenth film in the series, Star Trek: Nemesis, was released in 2002 to both critical and commercial failure, many thought that this was a dying franchise.

Thankfully J.J. Abrams gave this series the shot in the arm that it needed to please the old fans as well as introduce a new generation of fans to these great characters. His version of Star Trek was the perfect summer popcorn film filled with incredible action, adventure and excitement, not to mention loads of humour and nods to the original series that made many fans smile in delight. I know some of the older generation of fans bemoaned the fact that he toyed with the canon of the series, but I thought that it was clever of him to set the film in an alternate timeline so that he could free the franchise from established continuity constraints while simultaneously preserving certain original story elements.

They also did a bang up job casting this film. The standouts to me were definitely Zachary Quinto as Spock and Karl Urban as Bones. Those two in particular really nailed their characters and you can tell that they clearly studied the mannerisms of Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley. For the benefit of anyone that is less than familiar with the principal characters in Star Trek, here is a roll call for you to get to know them better.

Chris Pine - Captain James T. Kirk - Commanding officer and captain of the starship Enterprise, he's brash, cocky and a hit with the ladies, but also possesses the qualities that make him an exceptional leader.

Zachary Quinto - Spock - The Enterprise's half-Vulcan, half-human commanding science officer, Spock displays little to no emotional response to anything, instead deeming a given situation as either logical or illogical. He essentially serves as Kirk's right hand man and most important ally.

Karl Urban - Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy - The Enterprise's chief medical officer, Bones is an intelligent but surly individual who won't ever shy away from a good bout of verbal sparring, especially with Spock.

Zoë Saldana - Lieutenant Uhura - The ship's primary communications officer, the beautiful and brilliant Uhura has a knack for foreign languages and an eye for a certain Vulcan (if you know what I mean).

Simon Pegg - Lieutenant Commander Montgomery "Scotty" Scott - The chief engineer and second officer of the Enterprise, Scotty treats the ship like it's his baby and he knows every square inch of her. If anything needs fixing then he is your man.

John Cho - Lieutenant Sulu - Third officer and helmsman of the Enterprise, it's usually up to him to maneuver the ship out of dangerous situations. In addition to being a skilled pilot, he also has a penchant for fencing.

Anton Yelchin - Ensign Pavel Chekov - The ship's navigator and weapons officer, Chekov's thick Russian accent often creates humourous miscommunication issues.

Bruce Greenwood - Rear Admiral Christopher Pike - The original captain of the Enterprise who relinquished his position to Kirk after getting seriously injured by a Romulan attack.

New characters being introduced in Star Trek Into Darkness include:

Benedict Cumberbatch - Commander John Harrison - The villain of the film. Do yourself a favour and don't read any spoilers about this character.

Alice Eve - Dr. Carol Marcus - A scientist who joins the crew this time around.

Peter Weller - Starfleet Admiral Alexander Marcus - Dr. Carol Marcus' father.

Star Trek Into Darkness is easily one of the most anticipated films of the summer and definitely one that I have been looking forward to for the past four years now. The advanced buzz has been tremendous so far and it appears that J.J. Abrams has hit this one out of the park once again. Trek fans and science fiction fans in general are surely going to want to check this one out when it opens tonight. I have no doubt that it's going to be a rousing, rip-roaring fun time at the movies. Get your popcorn ready!

Have a wonderful long weekend everyone, see you at the movies.

New out on DVD/Blu-ray for Tuesday May 14.

     Cloud Atlas

Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave dramatically through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Each member of the ensemble appears in multiple roles as the stories move through time.

I, as well as many others, have often lamented the sad state of the film industry and how there isn't anything original being released anymore. We are constantly bombarded with reboots, remakes, sequels and uninspired adaptations, so it is extremely exciting and refreshing when a movie comes along that alters our perception of what a film can be. Cloud Atlas is such a film.

This is an extraordinary film filled with big ideas, grand ambition and enormous scope, and I assure you that you have not seen anything like it in quite some time, if ever. Now I must warn you, however, that this is not a film that you can just simply watch and enjoy. It must be experienced, pondered and digested. You may find yourself still thinking about it days after you've seen it and trying to piece things together and analyzing the meaning behind some of it. I happen to love that aspect of the film because I want a film that can not only stimulate my visual and auditory senses, but my mind and heart as well. Cloud Atlas succeeds on all fronts.

Based on a dense novel by David Mitchell, the film is co-written and co-directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski (The Matrix Trilogy, Speed Racer) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, Heaven, Perfume: Story of a Murderer), and it features a tremendous ensemble cast that includes Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Ben Whishaw, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, Hugh Grant, Doona Bae, James D'Arcy, Keith David and Susan Sarandon.

This film incorporates a multitude of different genres so there is literally something in it for everyone no matter where your interests lie. It's also a film about metaphysical ideas and it brings with it inquiries into philosophy, religion, déjà vu, destiny, fate, karma, reincarnation and cosmic forces. I personally didn't get too caught up in trying to dissect the meaning of it all and what certain things are metaphors for. I looked at it as a film about love, compassion and the interconnectivity of humans all over the world. All human beings are bound to one another - past, present and future - in such a way that the fact that we ever set foot on this earth will have a ripple effect on the world for all of eternity.

Cloud Atlas is a monumental achievement in filmmaking with its spectacular visuals, splendid performances and interconnecting storylines that I found to be endlessly compelling. It took me on a journey where I never knew what would be around the next corner and I was not bored for a second of its nearly 3 hour long running time. This is most definitely a film that demands repeated viewings though in order to fully absorb all of the wonders contained within.

If you are looking for something groundbreaking and totally different, then I suggest that you seek out this visionary film. It's really quite special.

Cloud Atlas was one of my favourite films from last year.

     Texas Chainsaw 3D

A young woman travels to Texas to collect an inheritance; little does she know that an encounter with a chainsaw-wielding killer is part of the reward.

This latest entry in the Texas Chainsaw franchise is completely pointless. It isn't so much of a remake per se, instead picking up right where the original 1974 film leaves off. That would have been fine if they had gone in a different direction with the story, but instead they decide to give Leatherface a backstory, even going as far as to make him somewhat of a sympathetic anti-hero. What a joke! The script for this movie is just stupid, the film itself is riddled with continuity errors, and basically it's just a big old mess.

Horror fans, you'd be far better off just watching the 1974 original rather than this crap.

Also out this week is the weird comedy A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III starring Charlie Sheen, Jaosn Schwartzman and Bill Murray, the comedy drama Lay the Favourite featuring Bruce Willis, Rebecca Hall, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Joshua Jackson, the comedy Frankie go Boom with Charlie Hunnam and Chris O'Dowd, the Norwegian action thriller Escape, and the 7th season of the popular TV series Dexter.

     Blast From the Past

Since Cloud Atlas really blew me away with its lofty ideas and unique style it got me thinking about some of the most groundbreaking films in the history of the science fiction genre; films that truly set the standard for all which followed and opened up new ideas for both audiences to ponder and filmmakers to further pursue. So with that in mind, here are 10 of the most important and groundbreaking science fiction films ever made.

Metropolis (1927) - Widely considered to be German director Fritz Lang's masterpiece, this expressionist silent film is set in a dystopian future and features very elaborate sets given the time period in which it was made. It was the most expensive film ever produced up to that point in time and remains one of the most influential science fiction films ever made.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) - One of my favourite films of all-time, this was one of the first landmark movies to deal with humans first contact with aliens. It was a socially conscious film that featured a peaceful race of aliens urging humans to control their use of nuclear weapons. Sure the special effects may seem cheesy and dated, but the message of the film remains as powerful and relevant even today. Besides, what self respecting sci-fi geek isn't familiar with the classic phrase "Klaatu barada nikto" ?

Forbidden Planet (1956) - Another all-time classic, this hugely influential film was pretty much based on Shakespeare's The Tempest. It contains some pretty lofty ideas about the collective subconscious of living creatures and it also happens to be the first science fiction film that was set entirely on another planet in deep space, away from Earth. It also featured the first fully realized robot supporting character named "Robby the Robot", one of the most iconic robots in film history. The cast is excellent as well and includes Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis and a young Leslie Nielsen long before he was goofing off in those Naked Gun movies. Forbidden Planet is simply brilliant!

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - While many may dispute its place amongst the greatest films of all-time, no one can deny its importance in the pantheon of the science fiction genre. It is considered to be director Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, however, it garnered strong mixed reactions upon its release due to its slow moving, hypnotic, and some might say, artsy style. Personally, I love the way he incorporated copious amounts of beautiful Strauss music throughout the film, in particular the gorgeous Blue Danube, and I still get kind of freaked out by the idea of the evil sentient computer Hal 9000. 2001: A Space Odyssey is the film usually cited by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Ridley Scott as being the most influential and groundbreaking film that inspired them to make science fiction movies. In that case, thank you Mr. Kubrick!

Planet of the Apes (1968) - I love the Planet of the Apes movies. The first in a series of five films made between 1968 and 1973 is the best one of the bunch and its influence is still felt today with remakes, prequels and whatnot still enormously popular. The idea that apes have assumed the role of the dominant species and that humans are now mute, subservient creatures is fascinating. This film featured one of the best twist endings ever done up to that point when Charlton Heston discovers the fallen remnants of the Statue of Liberty, thus revealing that they are not on an alien planet, but in fact on post-apocalyptic Earth. One of the best time-travel films ever made.

Star Wars (1977) - What more can I say about this film that hasn't already been said? Star Wars absolutely defined a generation. I was too young to have seen it upon release in 1977, but I distinctly remember going to see The Empire Strikes Back at the age of 6 and it completely altered my world. Wow! This was the most amazing thing in the history of Earth to my 6 year old eyes. A little over 2 years later I was fortunate enough to be able to see a double feature of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back in the theatre with the added bonus afterwards of being treated to an early teaser trailer for the following year's Revenge of the Jedi (later changed of course to Return of the Jedi). In my opinion the original Star Wars trilogy still remains the greatest trio of space fantasy films ever made and I highly doubt they will ever be topped. Arguably the greatest phenomenon ever created in the history of motion pictures.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) - As much as I adore Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, it was this film that showed me that aliens don't have to be scary creatures, and can in fact be quite benevolent. John Williams once again creates a super memorable musical score with his "five-tone" motif that the scientists use to communicate with the alien visitors. It is so ingrained in pop culture that if you hum it to someone they will instantly know it's from this film. Close Encounters is a wonderful piece of science fiction storytelling.

Blade Runner (1982) - Ridley Scott's visionary classic was another film that wasn't exactly well received upon its initial release. The benefit of time, however, has catapulted it to masterpiece level. Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer are great in what is essentially a film noir thriller with incredibly imaginative ideas. It's one of the most influential films of its genre and I just love everything about it, from its look and feel, to the style and pacing of it. Blade Runner is a cult hit that will truly stand the test of time.

The Matrix (1999) - Even though I enjoyed the first Matrix film, I had no use for the sequels so therefore I'm not the biggest fan of this franchise. That being said, however, I can't deny the influence that this film has had in the industry. At times it is an ingenious blend of martial arts action cinema with imaginative science fiction storytelling surrounded by incredibly innovative visual effects. The special effects were so groundbreaking that it spawned a plethora of copy cats in the years that followed. Whether you are a fan or not, The Matrix still belongs on this list.

Avatar (2009) - I doubt that there is anyone left out there that hasn't already seen this towering achievement in cinema. It is, after all, the highest grossing film of all-time amassing over $2 billion. This epic science fiction adventure from director James Cameron was quite the event movie when it came out and it still remains the best use of 3D technology ever put on the big screen. It was a totally immersive experience and really transported the viewer into another world. This is a fine example of the magic of cinema and what can be achieved when the right people are involved. Avatar is an incredible film that will lead the way for visual effects in the future of the medium.

New out on DVD/Blu-ray is brought to you by Leo's Videos, 2680 Pandosy St. (250) 861-8437