Sunday, May 12, 2013
This fearless interpretation by director Luhrmann is well worth seeing. Leonardo di Caprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan star.
The Great Gatsby has opened in theaters nationwide. Here are the showtimes at the movie theaters showing The Great Gatsby closest to McLean: ----- REVIEW No question whatsoever, director Baz Luhrmann is someone who elicits strong opinions with his every movie. Moulin Rouge draws forth a swoony sigh from its biggest fans and an eye roll from its detractors. In an industry that often plays it safe, creating movies like Fast and Furious 6 to keep the easy money flowing, it is always refreshing that someone is taking chances, and certainly Luhrmann has built his career subscribing to the "go big or go home" school of filmmaking. His new film The Great Gatsby is no exception. Not only does he create the sort of visually over-saturated …
Sunday, April 21, 2013
This PG-13 film starring Tom Cruise opened 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…
Saturday, April 13, 2013
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. 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 hate it kind of flick. Whether it will be enjoyable for…
Sunday, March 10, 2013
How the wizard came to be the man behind the curtain.
Oz the Great and Powerful is playing on two screens this weekend at the AMC Tysons Corner 16. It is not playing at Regal Ballston Common 12 this weekend. Watch the official trailer for 'Oz the Great and Powerful' in the media box to to the right. ----- "I don't want to be a good man, I want to be a great one!" This declaration by James Franco as the title character of Sam Raimi's new Disney prequel could just as easily be a hope of the director's as well. Is the movie great? Is it even good? Oz the Great and Powerful is entertaining and you could do worse than to spend your time watching this interpretation of L. Frank Baum's world flash flowers and toss monkey wings in your face. But the weaknesses of it make me walk all the way to …
Saturday, March 2, 2013
... doesn't amount to a hill of beans.
Jack The Giant Slayer, which was slated for last summer and tellingly sat on the shelf until now, is exceedingly straight-ahead, uninventive and laden with special effects. It leaves the audience feeling like it spent an evening at an expensive restaurant expecting to taste some delicious, innovative dish only to find themselves digesting a bland, flavorless Betty Crocker casserole. Not only is the cuisine uninspired, ultimately, it doesn't amount to a hill of beans. Something new? Not hardly. Jack buys beans, a stalk grows into the sky, where a land of giants just biding their time for another chance to take over the world below awaits. There is the addition of a princess who yearns for adventure, runs away from the castle and the tool of…
Sunday, February 3, 2013
'Zom-com' film rated PG-13 for zombie violence and language.
No, it's 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 AMC Tysons Corners 16. To all those who have heard or bought into the press about it being a wannabe Twilight clone, I say yes, the Twihards …
Sunday, January 27, 2013
R-rated film released Friday in movie theaters nationwide.
Sometimes a movie is just...bad. We can all watch it and see what they had in mind, how the pitch went, how the director and producers signed on and talked some pretty big stars into taking part. And we can see the whole thing derail through to post production, delayed release, and as we watch the finished product with an ever-dwindling vestige of hope. Such is the case for Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. Why Cinema Siren is reviewing this movie at all is a fair question. I go on record as saying there is always a chance a good movie will find its way to the multiplex in January. Not the ones that were in limited released in LA and New York in December to qualify for the Oscars….Those are the movies everyone is busying themselves with …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Director Kathryn Bigelow overlooked for Oscar in Best Director category.
"Zero Dark Thirty," which brought in $24 million in its first two days of wide release, has been lauded worldwide and almost universally as an impressive piece of filmmaking. It's a movie that is anything but formulaic. It is always very different for those of us who live in the Washington area. Our experience of anything political is amplified. The headquarters of the CIA and FBI, not to mention the White House, are all within driving distance. It is nearly impossible not to have heard about the controversy surrounding this film. Sens. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz., denounced the film, for its depiction of torture. “We believe the film is grossly inaccurate and misleading in its suggestion that …
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Great acting makes you join in their crusade.
The film makers want to ask you, "Will you join in their crusade?" After much promotion and fanfare a new musical film interpretation of Les Misérables is opening nationwide. For you non-"Mis" folk, the story is 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. The 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 has also …
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Film has its roots in Virginia.
Coming to the big screen this week is the story of three brothers who made and ran moonshine in Franklin County, Va., based on a book by local novelist Matt Bondurant with a screenplay written by Nick Cave. This indie release, directed by Aussie John Hillcoat, brings together a stellar cast in what ultimately is a beautifully filmed ultra-violent action drama but a missed opportunity to go deeper. What we get is a temporarily diverting two hours, but a film that doesn't really stay with you or scream "classic'" after the credits roll. One thing does stay with you long after the twitch-inducing violence recedes from your memory: the acting. Tom Hardy as the laconic and mythically indestructible head of the family is compulsively magnetic …
T-Bird
12:01 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
Bummer. The prequil to one of the greatest movies of the last century shouldn't be half hearted, which it seems. Then again, at least it didn't have a Jar Jar "Mee-sa goin to the Wizz-ard". Ugh. more ›