MOVIE REVIEWS

Movie genre:
 Drama/History/ThrillerOntario Movie Rating: 14AOpening date: October 2012Starring:
 Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John GoodmanDirector:
 Ben Affleck           Tobacco use: Yes, many times Argo is based on the true events that took place in revolutionary Iran during 1980. The film follows Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck), CIA agent as he creates a fake movie, Argo, as an attempt to extract six fugitive Americans who are hiding in the house of the Canadian Ambassador.The film was captivating and real, from beginning to end. Amazing performance from Ben Affleck as well as other cast members. I don’t want to give anything away but there any many scenes in this film that had me on the edge of my seat. The final scene will make you hold your breath. Overall a well made movie and quite possibly the best film I have seen all year (although I throw that phrase around so much it has lost all meaning). Although this is a youth rated film, it does contain mature content, such as violence, war, strong language, and tobacco use.Perhaps in an effort to make a 70’s/80’s movie based on true events appear more believable; there was SO MUCH SMOKING in this film. Smoking in the office, smoking on the airplane, men smoking, women smoking, army men smoking. Our star and director, Ben Affleck, was relentlessly smoking cigarettes throughout the film. Although there was so much emphasis on cigarettes in this film I think that they did a well enough job of convincing the viewers that it was taking place in the 80’s through the huge mustaches, clothing and even the cinematography that cigarettes were completely unnecessary. Society has left this habit in the past so why can’t our filmmakers? Oscar Spotlight: Best Picture, Actor in a Supporting Role (Alan Arkin), Film Editing, Music, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Writing, Adapted Screenplay

Movie genre:
 History/Drama/RomanceOntario Movie Rating: 14AOpening date: November 2012Starring:
 Keira Knightley, Jude LawDirector:
 Joe WrightTobacco use: Yes, many timesAnna Karenina takes place in late 19th century Russia. The main character, Anna Karenina is a Russian aristocrat who finds herself trapped in a suspenseful love triangle.Overall, the acting was very good and the visuals were stunning. I did find however, that the film dragged on a bit and could have been a little shorter. Very ‘pride and prejudice’, so if you like a dramatic, tragic love story. Not bad.Smoking? BAD. There was so much emphasis on cigarettes, cigars and just smoking in general, in this film. Main characters, supporting characters, background characters, all smoking. There were few scenes that didn’t have smoking in them! Women smoking thin, elegant cigarettes and men smoking obnoxiously large pipes and cigars. The director was obviously trying to make the cigarette-smoking look sexy but it was just awkward and unnecessary. The smoking could have been taken out and I wouldn’t have even noticed.Oscar Spotlight: Anna Karenina is nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Music, Best Production Design.

Movie genre:
 AdventureOntario Movie Rating: PGOpening date: November 2012Starring:
 Suraj Sharma, Irrfan KhanDirector:
 Ang LeeTobacco use: NoneLife of Pi is a coming of age story about a young Indian boy who is traveling with his family to make a new start in America, when tragedy strikes. When the ship that is carrying him and family sinks in the middle of the ocean, Pi is forced to fend for himself on a lifeboat, where his only company is an orangutan, a zebra, a hyena and a Bengal tiger.Life of Pi was an overall enchanting film. The filmography was stunning and the story was a tear jerking. With just the right amount of romance and adventure, Life of Pi is suitable for the entire family and one of the better ‘books-to-film” that I have seen in a while.There is absolutely no smoking in this film, which makes it even more appropriate for the whole family to see!  Oscar Spotlight: Life of Pi is nominated for Best Picture and Best Director (Ang Lee).

Movie genre: MusicalOntario Movie Rating: PG 13Opening date: December 25, 2012Starring: Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe and Amanda SeyfriedDirector: Tom HooperTobacco use: Twice Based on the play, Les Miserables takes places in the time of the French Revolution and follows the life of Jean Valjean who is a man on parole given a second chance at life. The movie adaptation of Les Mis was incredible, in my opinion. All of the actors fit their part perfectly and the use of live singing in the movie allowed the audience to feel the true, raw emotions of the characters. Anne Hathaway, who played the character Fantine, completely stole the show and I can predict an Oscar nomination in her near future. However, I felt that the movie was a bit long and some of the camera work in the beginning was a little too “in your face.” Overall, I truly enjoyed the movie and would definitely recommend this film to people who love theatre and musicals.   There was smoking of pipes twice in this film and both parts were when the young men were getting ready to fight the French army. I did not find the smoking at all necessary and I wouldn’t even have noticed it if it had been left out, as I believe it should have been. It did not enhance the scene in any way; in fact it kind of disgusted me that they were showing young males smoking tobacco.

Critic: David ButkoFilm Name: Wreck-it RalphMovie Genre: Comedy, FamilyMovie Rating: PGRelease date: November 2nd 2012Starring: John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer and Jane LynchDirector: Rich MooreA video game villain wants to be a hero and sets out to fulfill his dream, but his quest brings havoc to the whole arcade where he lives.I loved this film so much. This was definitely one of the best animated films of 2012. The creative story and plotline of this film is awesome and the writers obviously worked their hardest on it. Any gamer would also love this movie seeing their favorite characters brought to life and hearing gaming terms and references.Fortunately, there were no smoking instances in this youth rated film.I would give it a 4 out of 5.

Movie Critic: Karissa ManningMovie title: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Movie genre: Drama/Romance

Rated: 14A

Opening date: September 28, 2012

Starring: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson & Ezra Miller

Director: Stephen Chbosky

I am Karissa Manning a member of Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit’s volunteer youth group H.E.A.T. reviewing the movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I have concluded that this movie is SMOKE-FREE and were really impressed with it overall.To see Karissa’s video review of the movie, follow this link: http://youtu.be/e14T7ERTyUE

Movie Critic: Brad DeiterMovie title: SkyfallMovie genre: ActionOntario Movie Rating: PGOpening date: November 9th, 2012Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Javier BardemDirector: Sam MendesTobacco use: Once Skyfall is the third film in the newest of the James Bond films starring Daniel Craig. For the first time this film goes far back into Bond past as we are introduced to Bond’s family estate “Skyfall”. Bond hopes to leave the service for good but as you know someone with that training and that many secrets cannot stay hidden for long. What I loved about this movie was that we got to go back to what James Bond is really known for. The film was kind of Home Alone meets Sherlock Holmes meets Action/Comedy.The movie was witty, full of action and very classic Bond. The film went back to the original Bond roots, even poking fun at some classic lines and scenes from other Bond films. Judi Dench as M rounds the cast off so well and took a much needed main role appearing in most of this film. Overall this was a very well done film however the use of tobacco in this film left this reviewer with a bad taste in his mouth.The suspect in question was the Bond girl of this film Severine (played by actress Berenice Marlohe). During an exchange in a casino Bond and Severine delve into a very in-depth conversation and in order to deal with the stress Severine is smoking. The use of tobacco in this movie was unnecessary and all around unattractive. Personally I feel that characters lose credibility when smoking in movies and so the illusion of what a Bond girl is suppose to be is broken and there are so many other ways that they could have expressed her frustration and stress without using a cigarette!

Movie Genre: Comedy, AnimationMovie Rating: PGOpening Date: 5 October, 2012.Starring: Winona Ryder, Catherine O’HaraDirector: Tim Burton Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog sparky to life, only to face unintended consequences. Victor must later defeat other experiments that have gone wrong. The First thing I must say is, this is not a little kid movie. Honestly, anyone under 9 or 10 years of age should not see this. It has a creepy plot and creepy story. If you need a comparison, it’s exactly like any other Tim Burton Movie, creepy, dark, scary, yet funny and creative. It is definitely a better film he has made since ‘The Nightmare before Christmas’. Frakenweenie will make you laugh then cry, then laugh then scream then do it all over again. I liked it, and I would recommend it to anyone, but it is nothing to rave about. Thankfully, there were no smoking instances in this youth rated film. Rating: 3/5
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Release Date: September 28thStarring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily BluntGenre: Sci-fi/Action                                                              Directed by Rian JohnsonRating: 14A In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to ‘close the loop’ by transporting back Joe’s future self.Looper was the most original movie that I have seen since Inception. The idea was very cool and explained very well in the movie so there was little confusion. It also had some great action sequences. Bruce Willis is back to his old tricks, blowing people away like it’s the easiest thing in the world. It was, in every sense of the word, awesome! I would recommend this movie to anybody, boy or girl. I saw it with a big group of friends and we all enjoyed it.In the movie, there is one character who smokes. A woman in her thirties. Early in the movie she smokes an imaginary cigarette, showing that she is most likely getting over an addiction. Later on in the movie, after she sleeps with someone, she is smoking a cigarette. The smoking did not add anything to the movie, in fact the whole scene in which the couple sleep together seemed really out of place and awkward, and the smoking didn’t make it any more effective or convincing. It seems as though the cigarettes were just put into the scene just for the sake of having cigarettes in it, which really upset me.

Release Date:  August 2012Director: Peter HedgesStarring: Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton and CJ Adams Rating: PG A couple buries a box in their yard, it contains all the things they want in a child. That night, a boy emerges from the garden. His name is timothy. Timothy teaches the couple what it means to be parentsThis Movie could not be any better. The actors were great, the comedy was off the hook, and the story was very creative. The film will make you laugh and cry, then laugh some more. I really wish Disney made more films like this. I think it was the best Disney movie since The Muppets or maybe even Toy Story 3.There were no instances of smoking in The Odd Life of Timothy Green, and there didn’t have to be.