Jumbo Video - Gerrard Square Mall Toronto: New Releases

Hi again, one or two interesting films this week, but let me tell you, next week's going to be a real treat with the likes of Coraline, Pontypool, and Watchmen. For the time being, we've got the psionic action-thriller/new franchise bid Push, which isn't all that bad really, but still doesn't live up to its potential. We also have The Haunting in Connecticuit. Let's just go through the prestige horror checklist, shall we? Based on a true story? Check. Lots of jump scares? Check. Poor critical appraisal? Check. Box office success regardless? Check. Honestly, I have nothing against this film, but the one I'm looking forward to is 'The Skeptic' (trailer Here) All I'm saying is that it's a well-proven fact that even in the highest-budget horror film, less is usually more. Finally, we have Chocolate, which is probably my top recommendation this week. If you haven't heard, it's a Thai film by the director of Ong Bak, about an autistic girl who intuitively learns martial arts and uses her skills to extort money from gangsters to pay her mother's hospital bill. It's not perfect, as the martial arts aren't quite up to the ridiculously high standard of physical ability that we've come to demand from the genre, standards established thanks in no small part to the efforts of Thailand's own Tony Jaa, but in terms of storytelling, creativity and originality, it's way up there with the best in the world. I will say I liked the first half of the film more than the second, but that first half is as close to perfection as I've seen out of a martial arts movie since, say, Ong Bak. Check it out. We also have Part 1 of Steven Soderbergh's Che biopic, the second season of Mad Men, the HBO production of Grey Gardens, and a few other things which may amuse you. Read on.

New this week:

Push