HOOT is well-intentioned family fare with the environmental theme of saving the natural breeding grounds of a rare wild life species – the night owl.  The villain is the conglomerate Paula’s Pancake House, personified in the form of one of its top executives, Mr. Muckle (Clark Gregg last seen in WHEN A STRANGER CALLS) intent on opening up its hundredth restaurant on the owls’ habitat.  In Florida!  Where HOOT’s young hero and protagonist, Roy Eberhardt (Logan Lerman) now resides after the family relocates from scenic Montana.

M:I-3 is starkly different from the other two Mission Impossible films, primarily for the 3 different directors.  Number 3 is directed by J.J. Abrams, making his first full length feature debut after pal Tom Cruise offered him the job, impressed with an episode Abram’s creation, ALIAS.  Though I love the films of Brian De Palma (the first M:I) and dislike most the films of John Woo (M:I-2), I have to say that M:I-3 is the best of the three. 

When I interviewed director Chen Kaige during the Toronto International Film Festival for THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN, Chen kept emphasizing the amount of research that went into the making of that film.  By contrast, his latest feature THE PROMISE appears to be the antithesis of that historical epic.  THE PROMISE is an action fantasy adventure concocted entirely from his mind.  Set in a fairy tale era when Gods and humans live side by side, armies are clothed in bright red (red are the good guys) with total disregard for camouflage.  The armour and cloaks worn by the generals and king are of the caliber of D&G or Versace designs.  Barren and pastureless lands are replaced by expansive waterfalls and fields of cherry blossom trees.  The ground is often littered with white petals or yellow flowers.  And for what THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN lacked – poor storytelling technique and emotionless characters – THE PROMISE has improved on the previous’ faults.  THE PROMISE also happens to be more satisfying than Zhang Yimou’s colourful but empty HERO and HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS in that it contains lots of feeling and spectacle. 

UNITED 93 has probably the most intriguing tagline for a movie this year.  September 11, 2001. Four planes were hijacked. Three of them reached their target. This is the story of the fourth.

When you are in the movie auditorium and have not glanced at the time until an hour or so of the film has passed, the film has got to be quite engrossing.  And after a sleepless night of (..don’t ask!..), I was also wide awake at the early morning press screening of SLITHER, both laughing out loud while being pleasantly terrified simultaneously.