Sunday, May 19, 2013
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 …
Monday, April 22, 2013
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…
Monday, April 15, 2013
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 …
Monday, February 18, 2013
Still celebrating Valentine's Day?
Cinema Siren is a big fan of love. There's nothing more wonderful than being around those in love. It brings everyone around them up, even if the experience can be a bit of a sap-fest. Anytime I can play Cupid with a well recommended rom-com movie or charming little cafe for a Paris visit, I'm right there for it. I'm back from London just in time to help the romantically inclined or challenged. Sadly, Valentine's Day is only once a year. That doesn't mean we shouldn't be prepared to do the aural equivalent of tossing rose petals at our significant others, or put ourselves in a loving and romantic mood. I've put together a collection of scores very specifically chosen for romantic interludes. For that time you've spirited away to a bed …
Monday, February 11, 2013
Cinema Siren showcases her favorite films influenced by the Bard.
Cinema Siren is writing from London this week, and preparing to see James McAvoy in Macbeth at Trafalgar Transformed. A fan of his work for years, I jumped at the chance to see a new and exciting version of the play put together by the famous British stage director Jamie Lloyd with production design by Soutra Gilmour, who won the 2012 Evening Standard award for Best Design. It got me thinking about the many cinematic versions of Shakespeare's work in film history. Shakespeare never goes out of style, as witnessed by the recent release directed by Ralph Fiennes, Coriolanus in 2012. Joss Whedon is about to release a home movie version of Much Ado About Nothing (it was filmed at his house) on June 7, starring his usual suspects including …
Monday, February 4, 2013
The Zombie film is rated PG-13 for zombie violence and language.
No, Warm Bodies not an ode to necrophilia. It is a charming and whimsical movie that goes deeper than anyone would expect about connectedness, trust and a willingness to change. I never thought I'd say "this zombie flick is a great date movie," but now I have. As a matter of warning, it should be rated "Z" for brain-eating zombies. Still, a large cross-section of movie lovers will enjoy it, making it a far better choice February 14th than that new Diehard (coming out that day! Wah?), for everyone from girlfriends hanging out and Twihards, to couples who don't mind a bit of edge in their flicks. Playing at the AMC Courthouse Plaza 8 To all those who have heard or bought into the press about it being a wannabe Twilight clone, I say yes, …
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Django Unchained a great, but ultra-violent genre buster.
"Django Unchained" is playing in Arlington. See showtimes here. If at this point in the season, dear reader, you are still hankering for Hallmark holiday rom-coms or your umpteenth viewing of "Rudy", let me suggest you give this review nothing more than a scan and toss away any thoughts of seeing Quentin Tarantino's latest. If however, you passed the worst dysfunctional family holiday in recent memory, "Django Unchained," the spectacularly politically incorrect and beautifully acted mash-up of revenge fantasy and spaghetti Western may be the perfect antidote. If you are a fan of the director's work, able to quote the lawn storage line from Pulp Fiction, run—don't walk—to your nearest theatre. You'll be talking about this movie for months …
Monday, December 24, 2012
Great acting makes you join in their crusade.
The filmmakers want to ask, "Will you join in their crusade?" After much promotion and fanfare, a new musical film interpretation of "Les Misérables" is opening nationwide on Christmas Day. For you non-Mis folk, this is the story of Prisoner 24601, Jean Valjean, who breaks parole, is hunted relentlessly by Inspector Javert and encounters various troubled and impoverished characters in post-revolutionary France. Based on the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo, it is beloved by generations of musical theatre fans. A musical version of the movie was a risky undertaking, but now promises a huge pay-off to the studio, cast and crew, thanks largely to a career-topping job by several of the lead actors. The endless marketing about the actors singing live…
Sunday, December 9, 2012
The holidays are a great time to get a head start on Oscar viewing.
December is Oscar time. Filmmakers need to get their movies under the wire so they'll be in contention for this year's awards. Consequently, this month is a weird mix of crowd-pleasing mediocrity and painfully long masterpieces that mix horribly with a need for fluff. But what is a movie lover to do? Gotta see them! Having only viewed two of these films (Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook), I'm as in the dark (as it were) as you all are about how truly great these movies are, and how they measure up to each other as far as acting and scripting are concerned. All I know is what I hear, and I'm hearing a lot. All the critics associations are putting together their lists of bests, and they all influence how the Oscars go. So far, these are…
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones elevate what should be called ‘Mope Springs’: Marriage Melancholia.
In a world where teenagers are the stars and films are green-lit based on the number of explosions, it behooves us adults to put our cinematic money where our mouths are and support films with actors who stand for the older members of the audience — especially when these actors represent the very height of thespian prowess. Hope Springs is about a couple, played by Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones, who have been married for 31 years. They venture (at the behest of Streep's character) to Maine to attend a week of intensive marriage counseling to try to bring back the intimacy missing in their relationship. Make no mistake. This is a movie that has the single worst marketing campaign of the year to date. Hope Springs is less Woody Allen …
