movie review

The blockbuster film "The Hunger Games," now at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City, is an entertaining sci-fi film that has broken box-office records nationwide.

Make no mistake about it, "John Carter," playing now at the Fandango multiplex in Carson City, is a film with a nine-figure budget that takes itself seriously, although audiences may not. It's ripped from the pages of a 1912 newspaper series by Edgar Rice Burroughs of "Tarzan fame" (newspapers ran fun things like that in better times).

The teen-comedy "Project X," currently at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City, is clearly aimed at high school teens, despite its R rating. It's a wild party scene that is the ultimate teen aspiration, including plenty of drugs, booze, nudity and destruction.

The romantic comedy "Wanderlust," now playing at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City, is an R-rated outing that has plenty of the dirty words, touch of nudity and Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston as a married couple in New York City. He loses his job and her film idea for HBO is rejected.

They have to move out of their 'micro loft" to fall on the hospitality of his brother, a super yuppie in Atlanta with a business of supplying toilets to events.

The action-thriller film "Act of Valor," now playing at now the Galaxy Fandango cineplex in Carson City, merges real-life SEALs (we all know who the SEALs are, thanks to the Osama bin Laden assassination) with Hollywood actors in action photography taken during maneuvers at the SEAL training grounds.
No SEALs are identified by name, although there is a surprisingly length listing of SEALs who have died in action at the end of the film.

The action-Satanic film "Ghost Rider, Spirit of Vengeance," currently booming away at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City, stars Nicholas Gage as Johnny Blaze, motorcycle stunt rider with a hangup that puts him in seclusion until summoned again to ride his motorcycle blazing with fire and to don his alter ego at Ghost Rider, with the burning skull.

Right off, this is a lousy movie from the making sense point of view and it is the latest in Gage's series of flops. But he keeps trying and his grimaces are standard stock from the past.

The film "This Means War," currently on view at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City, stars Reese Witherspoon as Laure Scott. Which is good because she almost brings this turkey of a romantic comedy to life all by herself.

The film"The Vow," currently on view at the Fandango Galaxy theater in Carson City, is a good bad film. The bad is the sweetness-loaded script and the apparently rock-dumb male lead, Channing Tatum, as Leo Collins. The good is co-star Rachel McAdams as Paige Collins. This is billed as a romantic comedy, ideal as a "date" outing. Maybe, but ...

Movie opens with a brief scene of now then goes back to five years earlier when Paige and Leo exchanged vows in a yuppie-like wedding. Thus, "The Vows."

"Safe House," an action thriller on view at the Fandano Galaxy cineplex in Carson City, is the latest in the parade of suck movies from Hollywood.

It has all the requisite features — explosions, car chases, a plethora of violence and a couple of stars. Denzel Washington stars as Tobin Frost, a rouge CIA agent in possession of a secret file that makes him a CIA target. Ryan Reynolds plays Matt Weston, an active CIA agent in charge of a safe house in Cape Town, South Africa.

I was busy some other place when "Star Wars, The Phantom Menace" opened in 1999 in the USA. Lucky me. Not so lucky now when I went to see the reworked original decked out in 3D. It's a corny movie and the 3D adds little to the viewing except for the $3 extra per ticket. At the Galaxy Fandango in Carson City you can see the release without 3D and you won't be missing much.

The sci-fi thriller "Chronicle," currently showing at the Fandango Galaxy multiplex in Carson City, explores the world of ESP in general and telekinesis in particular. The explorers are three teens, Andrew (Dane DeHaan), Steve (Michael B. Jordan) and Matt (Alex Russell). Most of the movie is composed of film clips from Andrew, a nerd and unpopular at school.

The three pals ask Andrew, who records everything, to video a hole in the ground. The three enter the hole and find a blue rock which glows as they touch it. Quickly their noses begin to bleed.

I know most movie goers don't care about three-year-old movies, but if they have a chance to see "Rachel Getting Married" and pass it up they are making a mistake. This film by Jonathan Demme is perhaps the ultimate tribute to American originality with its jazz-like, free-moving cameras and background music made up as the film was shot.

It's the way the film was made and the way it comes to life that is important. It's like real life in accented syllables that lift it out of the ordinary.

I'm afraid that I haven't got a lot to say about the horror film "The Woman in Black," currently on display at the Fandango Galaxy movie house in Carson City. I read the book on which it is based years ago and only recall that the Lady in question was not very happy.

So watching the dour film I was a little lost as Arthur Kipps (Daniel Redcliff of "Harry Potter" fame) set off on his lawyerly duty to evaluate a mansion now in disrepair. His firm is to wind up the estate and depending on how well he does Kipps may keep his job.

The thriller "Man on a Ledge," running in Carson City a the Fandango Galaxy movie house, is a neat little thriller with a solid cast headed by Sam Worthington as jailbird Nick Cassidy and Elisabeth Banks as cop Lydia Mercer.

Movie opens with Nick checking into a New York hotel, having a meal with champagne before he goes out the window and stands on a ledge.

Flashback to Nick in Sing Sing prison for the heist of a giant jewel (he was framed). He escapes in a nice car chase after the funeral of his supposed father. He makes some plans and we get back to the man on the ledge.

The action-thriller film "The Grey," currently on view at the Fandango Galaxy theaters in Carson City, is a stark story of men in wilderness and their efforts to survive.

The Academy Award nominated film "The Descendants," now playing at the Fandango Galaxy movie house in Carson City, is a hard-eyed romantic comedy with an ensemble cast headed by George Clooney, the only name star aboard.
Doesn't matter, this is a fine cast from Clooney as Matt King to Judy Greer as Julie Speer, wife of a real estate salesman who … but let's let that wait.
The film opens with a scene of an attractive woman riding a boat. She's laughing in the wind. This is before an of the opening credits. No explanation given or needed.

The movie "Haywire,"currently screening at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City, is a spy thriller with a twist. The top spy is a woman, Mallory Kane, played by Gina Carano, in her first major starring role.

Those who know the Northern Nevada area might recognize the name Carano from the casinos the family owns and operates. Gina's father Glenn Carano was a backup quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, and no doubt passed on some toughness to his daughter.

Mallory opens the movie with a expletive that is repeated at the close. Can't say director Steven Soderbergh isn't neat.

The new film "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" by director Stephen Daldry ("The Hours") playing at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City a story about a 9-year old boy Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) who loses his father in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. He suffers perhaps from Asperger's and a clear case of overwhelming anxiety.

The sci-fi-horror film "Underworld Awakened" screening at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City is the fourth iteration of the series, in this case starring Kate Beckinsale as Selene for the third time.

Selene hs been in suspended animation in a freezer for 12 years bust breaks out to find that humankind is at war with the vampires in the population a well as the werewolves.

Well, she isn't going to sit still for this and with super athleticism leaps off buildings and bumps of a bunch of cop-soldiers (hard to tell them apart but they all have machine guns).

There are several things wrong with the music comedy "A Joyful Noise," now playing he Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City and elsewhere.

But those faults are outweighed by the music, a contemporary kind of gospel that moves nicely but lacks the true feeling of gospel singing. And the leads are just fine — Queen Latifah as Vi Rose Hill, Dolly Parton as G.G. Sparrow and the exuberant and lovely Keke Palmer as Vi's daughter Olivia.

The action-thriller "Contraband," now playing at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City, stars Mark Wahlberg as Chris Farraday, a reformed former ace smuggler living in New Orleans with with wife Kate (Kate Beckinsale) and two sons (largely ignored) making home burglar alarms as a business.

Then his brother-in-law Ben Foster (Sebastian Abney) screws up a drug deal and Chris has to step in to save him and his family from the drug boss Tim Briggs' (Giovanni Ribisi) murder threats.

The "found footage" film (whatever that means) "The Devil Inside" now playing at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City and elsewhere, is another exorcist adventure of sorts — mostly disparate parts.

A quick warning: if you suffer from motion sickness that is one good reason to skip this movie. Most of it was shot by handheld cameras, resulting in nausea in some cases, like mine. There are other good reasons to see "Hugo" or even Desi and Luci reruns instead.

Direcor-producer Steven Spielberg's film "War Horse," currently showing at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City and elsewhere, is fine movie making, with a splendid cast. If it sinks into sentimentality at times, bear with it because the story, from a British children's book of 1982.

In pre-WWI Britain, Albert Narracott (Jeremy Irvine, well cast) is out to buy a plow horse for his father's farm but winds up with a stallion of beauty and intelligence. Albert teaches the horse, named Joey by Albert, to comae when he hoots a signal.

The film "The Darkest Hour," flickering at the Fandango Galaxy in Carson City and elsewhere, is a desperate stab at making a movie. It had little intelligence, a poor cast and a lot of scientific hokum that apparently depends on audiences being to poorly educated to know when the science is all goofy.

Director David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," currently showing at the Fandango Galaxy multiplex in Carson City, is an exciting thriller with dramatic overtones. It's based on the novel by Stieg Larsson which was a big best seller.

Daniel Craig stars as a Swedish journalist facing a big fine over slander in an article he wrote about a Swedish industrialist. Rooney Mara plays Lisbeth Salander, computer wizard and extreme individualist tendencies.

Sometimes watching a dreck movie and enjoying it can be embarrassing. Such is the case with "New Year's Eve," a multifaceted comedy of sorts playing at the Fandango Galaxy cinema in Carson City. The cast is all-star, from Hilary Swank to Robert De Niro. And while the film is pure twaddle, director Gary Marshall keeps all the balls in the air. And he should be able to; he made the same movie last year on a Valentine's Day theme.

"The Sitter," billed as a black comedy and currently flickering at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City, is mercifully only 81 minutes long, but that's long enough to spell disaster to any discriminating movie goer.

It stars comic actor Jonah Hill as college failure Noah forced into baby sitting three of the most repellent child actors in living memory. He is also pursuing a blonde who is suggesting intimacy that night.

Glory be, what's going on in Hollywood? First there was Scorsese's "Hugo," an excellent non-Christmas homage to a French motion picture innovator. Now there's "Arthur's Christmas," in 3D that actually uses that medium to enhance a fine animation updating of the Yule story. It's playing at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City and well worth your visit.

The motion picture "Hugo," now playing at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City, is a holiday movie that kids and adults can enjoy. It's Martin Scorsese's homage to film pioneer Georges Méliès, a French innovator who created much of the library of movie techniques back before World War I only to be forgotten amid the strife on combat in France. His films were largely destroyed to make such things as guitar picks.

The latest take on the popular teen-aimed "Twilight" sci-fi-fantasy-horror film series is in town and it's playing at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex.

It's called 'Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn Part 1," and it brings back most of the cast of the earlier movies, although this is P-13 stuff with a lot of eroticism as well as all those fanged wolves. A teen film it is not, but you can bet a lot of teens are going to see it.