THE REVIEW CORNER

Starring: Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Joseph gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman Directed by: Christopher Nolan Screenplay by: Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan      Let me begin by saying simply that this is absolutely one of the best endings to a trilogy ever!      It's been eight years since the death of Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent.  But it's also been eight years since anyone's seen Batman or Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale).  Gotham City has essentially been rid of organized crime and has returned to a more peaceful place.  Until now.      There's a new player this time.  Bane (Tom Hardy) is the most powerful and most feared villain that the city has seen since the Joker.  Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) isn't sure that Gotham will survive much longer without the return of Batman.  Slowly, the city is falling apart and lawlessness is taking over everywhere.  The police won't be e

Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, Blake Lively, Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, and John Travolta Directed by: Oliver Stone Screenplay by: Shane Salerno, and Don Winslow      Two friends, Ben (Aaron Johnson) and Chon (Taylor Kitsch), are running a low-profile but very profitable marijuana operation in Laguna Beach, CA.  At the same time, they're both in love with the same girl, Ophelia (Blake Lively).  Just as the three of them have learned to live together peacefully and operate their business, a Mexican drug cartel that's moving north into California wants to buy into Ben and Chon's operation.  When they refuse to give up the business, it's war between them and the cartel.  And somebody's going to get hurt.      This is an interesting movie on many levels.  The story isn't all that predictable, even though you can probably guess what happens at the end of the movie after about half an hour.  But you have to watch all the way to the end because the fi

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, and Rhys Ifans Directed by: Marc Webb Screenplay by: James Vanderbilt and Alvin Sargent     If you're wondering why a remake of Spider-Man (2002) had to be done only ten years after the original came out, you're not alone.     Similarly to the 2002 film, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is trying to find out why his parents disappeared when he was young.  A clue his father left behind leads him to his father's genetic research partner, Dr. Curt  Connors (Rhys Ifans).  And then, Parker gets bitten by a spider Dr. Connors is researching, giving Parker all these new abilities and thus becoming known as Spider-man.  Will Parker use his powers for good or for evil?     While the storyline is much of the same in terms of its major plot points, many of the smaller details have changed.  Remember Mary Jane Watson?  She is non-existant in the new film.  Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) is Parker's new girlfriend.     Another major difference is