TOY STORY 3 USA 2010) ****
Directed by Lee Unkrich

Directed by first timer Lee Unkrich but who has worked before as co-director in other PIXAR movies, Unkrich uses formula, inventiveness and risk to prove that good things do come in threes.

YEAR OF THE CARNIVORE (Canada 2009) **
Directed by Sook-Yin Lee

Writer/director Sook-Yin Lee was the main actress in the decadent almost pornographic exercise of love and sex in the recent Canadian SHORT BUS which grabbed major attention because of its content rather than merit.  It is of no surprise then, that Lee’s first directorial attempt follows the same lines as SHORT BUS.

WINTER’S BONE (USA 2010) ****
Directed by Debra Granik

Based on the novel and written by Granik and Anne Rosellin, WINTER’S BONE traces the journey of a 17-year old Ozark Mountain (Missouri) as she hunts the whereabouts of her drug-dealing father in order to keep her family intact.

JONAH HEX (USA 2010) *
Directed by Jimmy Hayward

The word HEX in the title might be unlucky for the film at the box-office.  But if the film bombs at the box-office, it is not because of the word but because the film is really awful!  Running at only 80 minutes, it is clear everyone has given up early on this film.

SOUNDS LIKE A REVOLUTION (USA/Canada 2010) ***1/2
Directed by Summer Love

What better film to open NXNE music festival in Toronto?  SOUNDS LIKE A REVOLUTION charts the rise of activist musicians struggling for social change for the benefit of the world.  Inspiring, breathtaking and riveting, this documentary is proof that good in the world still exists.