Zero Dark Thirty Review

With “Zero Dark Thirty” the virtuoso team of Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal, who delivered a groundbreaking Iraq war film with their Academy award winning “The Hurt Locker”, now follow it up with another powerful, gripping and intense film: this time it’s the hunt of Osama Bin Laden.

“Argo”: a nail biting political thriller of the very best kind

  Actor turned director Ben Affleck continues the fantastic winning streak he began with his debut film “Gone Baby Gone” carried over with “The Town” and now delivers his third film “Argo,” a tense and great thriller that immerses you in the ‘70s and the Iranian Hostage Crisis.

‘The Master’: Challenging, beautiful and fascinating

                After the tremendous success that acclaimed writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson enjoyed with his 2007 American epic “There Will Be Blood” there was a lot of speculation as to what he might do next.

Life of bootlegger brothers is beautiful and bloody

”Lawless” is violent entertainment with excellent character performances and a bold direction, what Michael Mann attempted to make with “Public Enemies” (2009) but fell short of doing. Although the film is modestly budgeted, it delivers a great amount of action and drama.

The Expendables 2: Boom Time

  After the worldwide blockbuster that was the “The Expendables,” directed by Sylvester Stallone, the studio eventually started working on a sequel and decided that they would make it everything that the first one was but bigger. “The Expendables 2” is big, it’s dumb, it’s over the top, but oh is it crazily entertaining and a whole lot of fun.

'Beasts of the Southern Wild' is a force of nature

In “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” the allegorical tale of a group who refuses to relinquish independence to government or nature, Hushpuppy, the 6-year-old protagonist, makes her way across the swamped land listening to animals’ hearts beat. She goes to school, feeds the animals, arm wrestles her dad and cooks her own dinner—a seemingly simple life for a 6-year-old living with a rough and tumble dad, except it’s all told with such intensity and powerful grandeur through her eyes.

Plaza Classic Films collective blog

Student film enthusiasts share their thoughts on films shown at the 2012 Plaza Classic Film Festival

  By Oscar Garza Aug. 13, 2012 As I write this I realize it’s kind of bittersweet, but the Plaza Classic Film Festival is now over. Sadly this means no more great classic movies on the big screen. More than 80 films later the festival is now over. It’s amazing that it’s already been 5 years since this festival started.

Good visuals don't make 'Total Recall' remake memorable

 To describe the latest “Total Recall” (2012) as Jason Bourne let loose in Blade Runner's dystopian future, would give a pretty good idea of where this remake fits in. The story departs from the original in ways that don't necessarily destroy the story, but they don't improve it either.

Alien invasion offers some laughs but little more

  Aliens are taking over the neighborhood again. This is a story that's been told before, but it doesn't fool anyone into thinking it’s an action comedy—it is primarily a comedy with moments of violence and alien stuff going on.  “The Watch,” directed by SNL writer Akiva Shaffer, attempts to approach this story like no one has before, but fails in its originality.

'Dark Knight' does little rising in convoluted last entry

Editor's note: This review includes spoilers. Refer to previous review for briefing of the film.  The legend ends. “The Dark Knight Rises” is the final installment in director Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. It is important to understand the film as part of a trilogy; that is, only part of a whole, to correctly appreciate what it is attempting to accomplish in this final outing of the caped crusader.

'The Dark Knight Rises' caps trilogy in triumph

Editor’s note: We are saddened by the recent Aurora, CO events and respect the victims and their families.  Editor’s note: This is a spoiler-free review. Check back for an in-depth analysis of the film (with spoilers).  Eight years have passed since the events of Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning superhero epic, “The Dark Knight.

Allen's got charm, even in Rome

Fantasy, surreal humor and lessons about thinking outside the box collide in writer/director Woody Allen’s  charming new comedy, “To Rome with Love” set in the enchanting city of Rome. Told through four vignettes, Allen effortlessly recycles much of his trademark humor and themes, but does it in such a funny and magical way that it’s hard not to be charmed by it.

Well-cast Spider-Man reboot proves amazing

  Five years after Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 3”, the wildly successful Marvel franchise gets rebooted with a whole new cast, a whole new look and a brand new director.  The latest, “The Amazing Spider-Man” is directed by Marc Webb  (“(500) Days of Summer”), who proves that he can reboot the franchise with great action sequences and a great sense of character development.

Soderbergh’s naked truth about stripping

  Steven Soderbergh’s “Magic Mike” isn’t a stripper movie, it’s more of a movie about strippers—a good and a bad thing.  Loosely based on Channing Tatum’s brief stripper past, the film follows Mike (Tatum) as he takes a troubled newcomer stripper, Adam (Alex Pettyfer), under his wing.

Wahlberg, McFarlane shine in outrageous comedy

  What happens when you combine the friendship between a 35-year-old man and a talking teddy bear, with the humor of Seth McFarlane? You get “Ted,” an outrageous comedy with a lot of pop culture humor and a surprising amount of heart. As the unpopular kid at school, John Bennet wished to have a best friend.

The kingdom is unbelievable but cute

  Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” is an adorable little gem. One that is too lovely and too whimsy, but this—wistful childish nostalgia, wrapped-up in lovely art direction and muted yellows— is expected of Anderson (“Rushmore”, “Fantastic Mr. Fox”), and there’s something wonderful in that.