DEATH OF TRADITIONAL CINEMA

Count on Denzel Washington to play a despicable antihero that you will actually end up rooting for in the end. In FLIGHT, Washington plays William "Whip" Whitaker, an airplane pilot who's so unfit to fly a plane you wouldn't want to board a plane that he's manning. But the genius of FLIGHT is that with Whip's alcoholism and drug dependency and ego, he still manages to maneuver upside down and save a lot of passengers onboard.  FLIGHT is a must-see if only for Robert Zemeckis' return to live-action feature. We miss Zemeckis of CAST AWAY and FORREST GUMP days. His characters always deal with an upheaval so personal it connects with us in such a way that we identify with the characters' struggles. Whip's demons in FLIGHT is not alcoholism, or drug dependency, but himself. He is at war with himself. He lies his whole life about his drinking problem that sooner or later (as he says in the film) he reaches a threshold that he cannot lie no mo...

Way to go John Moore raising our hopes unbelievably high and burning them down to the ground, faster than you can say "Yippie-ki-yay, mother******". DIE HARD, one of the barometers of the action movie genre, and the film that launched Bruce Willis into stardom, became a cult classic because the story of one lone hero , who is in the wrong place at the wrong time became the textbook definition of cinematic cool. In fact, the 1988 original and the three other sequels it spawned were guilty pleasures of slam-bang action and memorable villains (Alan Rickman and Jeremy Irons at least) that every DIE HARD movie becomes a class in itself.  Sadly, such characteristics do not apply to the fifth movie, which although riddled with explosions per minute, is actually hollow inside.  First of all, nobody wanted a father-son bonding moment for John McClane. Second, Jai Courtney who plays McClane's son Jack, is so forgettable I almost mistook him for Henry Cavill, or Sam Worthin...

Crazy is just a state of mind, at least that's what SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK tells us. A superstitious father who believes that his favorite football team lost because his son wasn't present during the game may be considered crazy; a guy who runs around town wearing a black garbage bag, and who cannot recover from his wife's adultery in most communities will be referred to as crazy; a married woman, who has a hot husband and cheats with the unattractive co-worker is definitely crazy.  David O. Russell spins us all for a humorous and often emotional journey of family, loss, and finding joy in the smallest things. As the title suggests, the story is concerned with finding the "silver lining" in every opportunity, as if a playbook exists-like one that would be used in professional sports, like football. But the catch is, there's no playbook at all. You learn through your mistakes, and hopefully you get to pay importance to essential things in front of you...

At many times in Ruben Fleischer's GANGSTER SQUAD does the film THE UNTOUCHABLES by Brian De Palma gets referenced- from the composition of its main characters (the titular gangster squad), the ruthlessness of the villain, and most evidently, the final shootout scene in the hotel lobby which mimics the staircase scene in THE UNTOUCHABLES, complete with slow motion gunfights.  But as an escape vehicle, GANGSTER SQUAD delivers. There's plenty of gunfire and the path to rid the streets of Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) is thrilling. All of the cast members do their best, but it is Mireille Enos (from TV's THE KILLING) who plays wife to Josh Brolin's cop character who delivers the most laudable performance. Sean Penn may have outcrazied De Niro as Al Capone in THE UNTOUCHABLES, but his portrayal of Mickey Cohen is one-sided: we never really learn anything from the guy except he's a greedy, vengeful, egotistic bastard. And he will kill to take which is his.  A...

One thing better about watching a great movie, is watching a movie about the creation of that great movie, and in Sacha Gervasi's HITCHCOCK which sees the tumultuous birth of PSYCHO, we are along for the bittersweet, often sarcastic but always fascinating journey of Hitch and his wife Alma Reville as they pushed to have PSYCHO made and released while trying not to fall apart as husband and wife. Anthony Hopkins (in a performance clearly robbed of an Oscar) is magnetic as Hitchcock, who is so deep in his performance he becomes Hitch himself. Every mannerism, stride, and even the voice is imitated, or rather portrayed with precise quality. Equally of caliber here is Helen Mirren who plays Alma Reville, with balls of steel and guts and wits to match that of her onscreen husband who is usually stealing the spotlight.  What HITCHCOCK ultimately achieves is a throwback to the age of Hollywood when Hitch's films existed, and every love for the material, and for the period...

WARM BODIES works primarily because it spins both the zombie and the romantic-comedy genre on its heads, and takes a lot of fun with the joyride. Its undead protagonist, who looks like the sixth member of One Direction is easily likable, and when you reference Shakespeare in the midst of a zombie movie it's worth the watch. The world as we know it has succumbed to its end. Zombies prowl the Earth, while a band of humans in a walled community struggle to survive. The undead outnumber the living. This is where we meet "R" (Nicholas Hoult), who doesn't remember his name, so he calls himself R because his name sounded like it started with an "R". We hear his thoughts (because zombies cannot speak, they just snarl) and through this voice over- sometimes sentimental, oftentimes funny that we are able to navigate the progression of the plot. R dwells on the tediousness of his daily existence, and unlike any other zombie he appreciates good music and wants ...

"I am President of United States of America, clothed in immense power. You will procure me these votes," exclaims Daniel Day-Lewis as a battle-weary Abraham Lincoln during an intense scene in Steven Spielberg's stirring biopic. And indeed, do not dare deny Mr. President of his prized 13th amendment, otherwise find yourself reminded one way or another who he is. But unlike any other leader, Lincoln got what he wanted by the power of his persuasion, and he reasoned his way into eventually abolishing slavery and ending the civil war.  At first, LINCOLN may be hard to sit through, with Tony Kushner's lengthy dialogues and Spielberg's long takes. However as the story unfolds, Spielberg unveils his subject to actually be a normal human being not only on the verge of the most important milestone in his career, but also trying to reconcile the dissenting wants of his son and wife. A civil war rages on and his son (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) wants to do his part fo...

Stallone is already 66. His director, Walter Hill is 71. Despite these ages, both have been able to deliver a gritty enough movie which although cliche-ridden, is satisfying. Walter Hill is best remembered for his 80s films 48 HRS (and its sequel ANOTHER 48 HRS), THE DRIVER, and the 90s action-packed LAST MAN STANDING starring Bruce Willis. Stallone needs no introduction. Catapulted to stardom with his ROCKY and RAMBO films, Stallone recently made a career resurgence with THE EXPENDABLES and THE EXPENDABLES 2. BULLET TO THE HEAD is the first movie he's made in years where the protagonist is him and him alone, and whether or not it was worth the comeback is up to the fans. Stallone plays a hitman named Jimmy Bobo, who along with an out-of-town cop (Sung Kang) investigates the death of his partner, and in the process uncovers a big bag of corruption and conspiracy. But Jimmy isn't after the socio-political whatsoever; as what we find out he's driven by cold-blood...

DJANGO UNCHAINED has been a long time coming for Tarantino, because he's been planning to do a spaghetti western for ages. Lucky for us, it's already here. You might remember traces of the spaghetti western in KILL BILL (the scene at El Paso, the music by Chingon, and basically the whole Vol. 2) and for loyal followers of Tarantino, DJANGO UNCHAINED is a wet dream come true.  Familiar elements of the genre abound: guns, cowboy hats, horses, whips, standoffs, and yes, the pursuit of vengeance (or justice, whichever you might label it). DJANGO UNCHAINED first introduces us to a traveling bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) who is on the prowl for the notorious Brittle brothers. He enlists the aid of a slave named Django (Jamie Foxx) and on begins a colorful journey of moneymaking and revenge seeking. As usual, Tarantino's lengthy dialogue and extended conversational skills are on full display here, which might make unrest for the unprepared viewer ...

Disaster films are always expected to be tearjerkers, but THE IMPOSSIBLE ups the ante of the genre by wasting no time and going straight into the devastating 2004 tsunami in Thailand right away. By then, the story deals quickly with the aftermath of nature's wrath, in particular the journey of one family to survive and find each other despite the impossibility of their situation. Director J.A Bayona carefully tells his tale of hope and humanity against a backdrop of chaos, and fleshes out a compelling human drama from the personal struggles of his main characters. Naomi Watts, in an Oscar-worthy performance as Maria, the mother capably handles fear and bravery with chilling effect on the viewer. Ewan McGregor who plays Henry, the father is also stirring. But what steals the movie are the three children, especially the eldest one Lucas (Tom Holland) who have to deal with the tragedy in all childlike unpreparedness, physically and mentally. At various points, Lucas feels...