DEATH OF TRADITIONAL CINEMA

A FAST AND THE FURIOUS movie isn't whole without Michelle Rodriguez. Let's face it, she's the element that holds it all together, and no matter who you fill in to replace her, it just isn't the same. Plus, her Letty is the yin to Vin Diesel's character Dominic Torretto's yang. I'm sure fans are eager to welcome her return to the franchise, one particular friend of mine included who is adrenaline high right now about Letty coming back. FAST FIVE was crazy exciting enough with the gathering of some of the most colorful characters in the history of the beloved franchise and the inclusion of Dwayne Johnson as a muscle to match Vin Diesel. FAST AND FURIOUS 6 amps up the nitro not only with the return of Letty and the reunion of the gang, but with the arrival of MMA badass babe Gina Carano as an INTERPOL officer, and Luke Evans as a sinister foe deadlier than the gang ever faced, particularly because he's a mean ass driver. Now, every audience member...

As much as we adore Sofia Coppola's LOST IN TRANSLATION, at some point we have to move on. Coppola's fourth baby, SOMEWHERE sticks close with her most widely-regarded film in aspects of tone and subject matter and execution, and one would expect a showcase of grander emotions given that SOMEWHERE is a father-daughter relationship story. However, Coppola once again proves she is a filmmaker capable of making us patiently observe the minutest detail of her visual frame, even when nothing seems to be going on, and in Coppola's lens, something is always going on.  Movie star Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) is holed up in a hotel while recovering from an arm injury obtained while performing a stunt at one of his movies. The unexpected arrival of his daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) brings unknown levels of ambivalence to Johnny, and no amount of alcohol, or pole-dancing strippers, or late night booty calls can fix what's missing in Johnny's life. At a later point in th...

Melissa McCarthy is fast becoming the next big Hollywood comedian. Proving to be a show-stealer despite established comediennes Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph in BRIDESMAIDS, and with the upcoming THE HEAT opposite comedy darling Sandra Bullock, McCarthy fires sarcasm and sight gags without so much as a sweat. In IDENTITY THIEF, she perfectly portrays the character of a sociopath with a heart. In fact, IDENTITY THIEF ought to be credited for humanizing an identity thief, a personality that is condemned by modern society. Jason Bateman is mild-mannered Sandy Patterson, a corporate guy who becomes an unwitting victim of identity theft by plain nature of his gullibility. In this instance, IDENTITY THIEF stands out as a gargantuan visual reminder to the millions of victims of identity theft/online scams and to the millions of potential victims NOT to get fooled (again).  Diana (McCarthy) pretends she's a representative of the credit card company, gets the vital information ...

TRANCE is a welcome return to form for filmmaker Danny Boyle. I love 127 HOURS and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE as much as the next guy, but fans of Boyle's early film TRAINSPOTTING will sure dig what mind games he employs in TRANCE. What starts out as a thrilling heist film becomes a surreal headtrip until the third act evolves into a Korean revenge thriller, only that the punishment is subtler but no less sicker, reminiscent of Kim Ki-Duk's PIETA.  Simon (James McAvoy) is an art auctioneer who gets in deep with Franck (Vincent Cassel), a professional thief. A change of plans results to Simon having loss of memory, and therefore unknown whereabouts of a priceless Goya painting. Franck hires Elizabeth, a hypnotherapist to help Simon recall where he hid the painting. What we uncover from the deepest recesses of Simon's mind are best left to suppression.  Proving to be a psychological playground both with the images and the nature of discussion,  TRANCE invites us into ...

IRON MAN 3 upgrades the successful film franchise both story wise and effects-wise (because this third installment is literally a visual buffet) while taking note of the elements that made the first film a beloved superhero classic.  Most notably, IRON MAN 3 dishes relentless humor from unexpected places, via dialogue, via sight gags, and even by way of Robert Downey, Jr. just making faces. It is the funniest of the three IRON MAN films. Shane Black does to IRON MAN 3 what Barry Sonnenfeld did for MIB3, or Nolan for THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, or Sam Mendes for SKYFALL. In IRON MAN 3, Tony Stark is forced to face the demons of his past, reevaluate his priorities in life, and realize that what he has may in fact be obliterated in a heartbeat (and I'm not just talking about his loft). The story treatment is richly-layered with human emotion and textbook definition of the superhero dichotomy and unfolds in a relaxed fashion that allows us to peek into the things that make Tony...