Simon's Movie Reviews

As of 2013, it is two years from the release of the new “Star Wars” trilogy and eight years since the release of the last prequel, “Star War Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.” George Lucas got a lot of flack for going back to the past with his new trilogy and doing what many fans, most notably Patton Oswalt , would say was a poor job. However, of those three films most people would agree Episode III is the best one. We finally get to see the rise of the evil empire, Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader and we get a great lightsaber battle between good and evil on a volcanic planet. I’ve watched these movies at various points of my life. My parents showed me the original trilogy on recorded VHS tapes while we were living in Newfoundland in the early 90s. The new trilogy started coming out in 1999, when we were living in South America. By the time the final episode came out, we were back in Canada, so it all came full circle. I saw Episode III in theatres in Quebec...

Stephen King is known around the world for his tales of horror and the supernatural, but every now and then he can write very compelling tales of drama and hope. Two of them are set in a prison and were adapted to the screen by director Frank Darabont. “The Green Mile” (1999) was the second adaptation after “The Shawshank Redemption” and stars the late great Michael Clark Duncan as John Coffey, a giant of a man on death row in 1935 Louisiana. Ironically for a man condemned to die, Coffey has the power to restore life. This film was a holiday film released in December and it eventually became part of one of my family movie nights. Back in the early 2000s when my family and I were living in Lima, Peru, my dad bought the VHS, I am guessing after he had seen the movie in theatres and liked what he saw. This was right around when I was starting to develop my love affair with cinema, so just seeing that new box was enough to make me excited. I do mean box, because you will re...

The movie that kick started M. Night Shyamalan’s career and featured THAT twist ending, “The Sixth Sense” (1999) is the best kind of ghost story there is. It relies on environment and tension, not gore, to scare its audience. Its protagonist is a nine-year-old boy haunted by spirits, making him a very vulnerable victim. His mother of course attributes his behavior to hallucinations and has a psychologist try to help out, but the doctor himself is unsure if he can do anything. That kid is in for some wild nights. Of course “The Sixth Sense” is known for its twist ending that put a whole new spin on the story. In case you are one of six people on Earth who have not seen it, no spoilers from me. Unfortunately, I accidently read the ending on a movie web site that listed the twist endings from Shyamalan’s three best films since 1999. This is why I always try to watch as many movies as possible over the weekend: you never know when you are going to miss one that everyone wil...