Movie Reviews by Cinema Siren

Review and Trailer: 'Star Trek Into Darkness:' Excitement at Warp Factor 10

Star Trek Into Darkness is directed by J.J. Abrams and stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana.

Star Trek Into Darkness is playing now at the Regal Ballston Common Stadium 12 and at the AMC Courthouse Plaza 8. Watch the trailer in the media box to the right.  -----     Boy, this is going to be one short review. This movie has more spoilers than the 1967 Enterprise had Tribbles…and in the interest of full disclosure, this is written by the Cinema Siren who owns chairs from the Voyager show, can list the original episodes in order of appearance, has a T-shirt with a quote in Klingon, and a model of the Enterprise signed by all the original cast members. That is to say, fandom lives here. Any experience of watching the new release by director J. J. Abrams would naturally be filtered through a brain steeped in Star Trek knowledge and …

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Rosslyn Outdoor Film Fest Starts Friday: DC-Area Outdoor Movies Guide and Schedule

Find out what movie is showing in Rosslyn at the Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival this Friday and beyond, plus info on Crystal Screen and summer outdoor film showings in DC.

A great summer tradition in Arlington and beyond: watching movies outside. Here's a round-up of what's coming in 2013 in Arlington, DC and Alexandria. Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival — Rosslyn’s Business Improvement District presents movies every Friday at dusk from May 17 to Aug. 30. Movies are at Gateway Park, 1300 Lee Highway, in Arlington.  Click here for the schedule of Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival movies. Crystal Screen Outdoor Film Festival — The Crystal City Business Improvement District presents movies at sundown Mondays from June 3 – Aug. 26. Movies are shown near the Crystal City Metro. Click here for the schedule of Crystal Screen Outdoor Film Festival movies. Summer Outdoor Movies in DC Screen on the Green — Screen on the Green…

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'Rock at the Row' Summer Concert Series Returns in June

'70s, '80s and '90s cover bands, tribute bands will play outside at Pentagon Row Thursday evenings.

Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars to Play Artisphere on June 1

Band's 'Radio Salone' was named 2012 World Music Album of the Year by CBCRadio Canada.

The acclaimed Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars will play the Artisphere in Rosslyn on June 1. The band, whose formation in West African refugee camps and subsequent struggle to return to a home ransacked by war was documented in the 2006 film that bears their name, has won awards around the world. They are known for optimism and positivity in their songs, feelings that are often juxtaposed against stories of the struggles of people living in poverty. “It’s been a long struggle out of the war, out of miserable conditions,” founder Ruben M. Koroma said on the band's website. “We try to bring out sensitive issues that are affecting the world. It is all of our responsibility that the masses are suffering. We bring our positive messages into the …

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Talking Trash with Noah Williams

The Arlington artist, who turns found objects into art, has an exhibit opening in May.

The old adage “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” has many meanings, but in Noah Williams’ case it’s literal. Williams, of Arlington, is set to have an art show at The Art League Gallery in the Torpedo Factory from May 9 through June 3, drawing on his talents and his experience garnered as a former trash collector. Williams grew up in the Bucknell area of Fairfax County, just south of Alexandria City, and he graduated from West Potomac High School. “I love art. It’s part of my life…I love colors. I love folk art. I love artists who are trying to step out of the box,” he told Patch. Williams uses recycled materials with a focus on recycled metal. “Sometimes I am driving down the street with my kids (ages 15, 11 and five) in the car …

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Top 16: Tornado Hits, Smithsonian Fraud, School Rankings, Dulles Tolls and Mark Wahlberg

Top news of the week from our Patches around Virginia and DC.

  Patch has 31 community sites in Virginia and D.C. Here are some of the top stories from around the region over the past week.  16. Mark Wahlberg Visits: Actor Mark Wahlberg visited T.C. Williams High School on Wednesday morning for an assembly presented by Get Schooled, a nonprofit that aims to engage high school students in an effort to improve graduation rates and empower more students to achieve in college. “I had to work really hard to get where I’m at,” Wahlberg said. “And I don’t mind working really hard to try and maintain it." 15. Runner Pledges 30 Races: Arlington resident Lauren Bailey is halfway through a personal challenge that has been daunting and exhilarating — running 30 races in one year, the year of her 30th birthday. …

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Weird Virginia: Naked Driver, Forgotten Weed, High-Tech Art and High-End Funny Money

Plus, Iguana models, cell towers in disguise, a Ladybug exodus and two birds ask, "Who cooks for you?"

  Editor's Note: Patch has 31 sites in Virginia and D.C., and not a day goes by that something weird isn't happening somewhere in the area. Here's a look back at some weird goings on over the past week. Drivers at the Lake Ridge commuter lot near Interstate 95 saw more than the road crews and heavy machinery that have become standard commute scenery. Prince William County Police arrested a man April 19 when they found him dancing naked on the hood of his car.  Without question, you should surrender to authorities when police have identified you as the suspect in a grand-larceny case. But we feel compelled to caution suspects about checking their pockets after a 27-year-old Annandale man turned himself in. Police in Falls Church say they …

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Arlington Library Welcomes Pulitzer Prize Winner Junot Díaz

The author of 'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao' will speak at Arlington's Central Library. 

Arlington County is welcoming Pulitzer Prize winning author Junot Díaz later this month. Díaz, the author of “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” which won the Puliter Prize for fiction in 2007, will discuss his work from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday at 1015 N. Quincy St., Arlington’s Central Library. Oscar Wao features a Dominican “ghetto nerd” who tries to find love and the American experience, according to the publisher’s description.   Admission for the event is free and is available a first-come, first-served basis. Books will be available for sale and signing at the conclusion. The library system is hosting Díaz as part of Arlington Reads 2013 initiative to promote reading.

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Movie Review: 'Oblivion' Stunning Yet Flawed Sci-Fi

PG-13 film starring Tom Cruise opens Friday in theaters.

In director Joseph Kosinski's Oblivion, you can see a love for and desire to expand on the great classics of science fiction on film. With the most impressive use of IMAX for a feature film to date, in that respect he has created something new and exciting, with what is essentially a 3-D movie where you don't need the glasses.   Production esigner Darren Gilford (of TRON: Legacy) and cinematographer Claudio Miranda (Oscar winner for Life of Pi) make, to quote the movie, "an effective team." The visual landscapes of the film and the meticulousness taken in the action sequences are extraordinary. Here, the integration of CGI (computer-generated imagery) and live filming is another indication of the rapid advancements happening in moviemaking…

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Movie Review: Trance a 'Genre-Bending' Thriller

Trance, directed by Danny Boyle, is rated R for language, violence, nudity.

Director Danny Boyle, fresh off being dubbed a national hero for his triumph directing the Olympic ceremonies in London, took another big directorial risk with his new release Trance.  It is a frenetic, haunting genre-bender that grabs hold of and keeps your attention from its first moments to its last with such force you'll feel like you're falling through Alice's rabbit hole after being hurled into it by two burly six-foot bunnies in kilts.  | See What is Playing at the AMC Courthouse Plaza 8 | This cinematic journey is one filled with confusion, illusions, violence and moral ambiguities, and not a head trip everyone will be willing to surrender to or appreciate. Much like the somewhat similarly convoluted Inception, it is a love it or …

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