A streetwise, charismatic teen unintentionally falls for a good-hearted, introverted girl who teaches him a thing or two about young love in The Spectacular Now. John Lennon‘s solo hit, “Beautiful Boy,” includes the lyric, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” Those words perfectly encapsulate the overriding theme of the latest romantic […]
A frustrated tech employee wants his shot at the big time and gets his chance — and all that comes with it — in Paranoia. Adam Cassidy (Liam Hemsworth) works for one of the biggest mobile companies in the world. The problem is that he’s not content to slowly work his way to the top, hoping against […]
New York’s crime-fighting high schoolers return with a vengeance in Kick-Ass 2. Three years after the original story, the heroes and chief villain have all had some time to grow up and evolve — for better or worse. Their efforts have paid off by empowering new would-be crime fighters to take up the cause and […]
When I think of paranoia, I imagine a nagging feeling that someone is watching me or that something is going to happen or go wrong. You would think that the title Paranoia would lead to a film with someone who’s out of control mentally and afraid of something. Well, that’s not the case with this […]
I guess it’s a reflection on our society today that the original Kick-Ass had characters obscuring the large logo on the poster to not offend anyone, whereas there’s no attempt to cover up the movie name now. Also, there were numerous complaints about Chloë Grace Moretz’s age because of the language and violence of her […]
Woody Allen‘s latest film bounces between New York and San Francisco as it follows a one-time wealthy socialite who has to come to terms with her new, less fortunate, reality in Blue Jasmine. Jasmine French (Cate Blanchett), is an invented name as fake as the person who created it. Jasmine has always seen herself above […]
On a devastated futuristic Earth, an ordinary man’s dream to cross the literal divide between classes comes to the forefront in Elysium. Matt Damon stars as the ordinary man, Max Da Costa, who grew up in the early 22nd century on an Earth that’s overpopulated, unhealthy and dangerous. It’s so bad that the richest populace […]
Some sequels are logical extensions of other properties. Think of how the X-Men movies led to the Wolverine films. Planes is also an offshoot of another popular property. Billed as “From above the World of Cars,” it does truly concentrate on the aerial citizens of that universe. That doesn’t limit the characters to those of […]
There have been a lot of disappointing movies in the summer of 2013 — especially comedies that ranged from awful to mildly hilarious. The standout comedy for me in recent memory is This Is The End. We’re the Millers entertained me almost as much as that romp. The sign of a great comedy is that you […]
A new documentary called Blackfish takes an in-depth look at the world of killer whales in captivity. Most everyone I know has been to SeaWorld at one time or another. It’s nearly impossible for them to come away from it without feeling drawn to the killer whales and other marine animals they encounter. It’s in our nature […]
A group of friends and a local hippie they pick up along the way search for the ultimate high and some meaning in their lives in Crystal Fairy. There are great films. There are lousy films, and then there are films that remind me why I felt I had something to contribute to the glut […]
Passengers and crew consider their options on a potentially doomed flight in the new offbeat comedy from Spanish writer/director Pedro Almodóvar. Imagine taking the antics of 1980’s Airplane! and mixing it with the eroticism of 1986’s 9 1/2 Weeks then have it come from Spain. The result wouldn’t be that dissimilar from what we get with […]