THE REVIEW CORNER

Starring: Jason Bateman, Andrea Riseborough, Alexander Skarsgård, Paula Patton, Hope Davis, and Jonah Bobo Directed by: Henry Alex Rubin Screenplay by: Andrew Stern     Yes, you read that right.  Jason Bateman is actually in a serious movie this time!!!     In this day in age, it seems like it's becoming increasingly more difficult to truly know who is on the other side of your computer screen talking to you in a conversation on the internet.  This is the story of three cases of people not knowing who is on the other side of the conversation, and how it gets them all into trouble.     Cindy (Paula Patton) and Derek Hull's (Alexander Skarsgård) marriage is falling apart, and it's not helped when their identities are stolen, and their personal information leaked onto the internet, putting them in dangerous positions.  Nina Dunham (Andrea Riseborough) is a reporter for a local news channel who starts an online relationship with an 18 year old performer on an adult only w

Starring: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, and Melissa Leo Directed by: Joseph Kosinski Screenplay by: Joseph Kosinski and Karl Gajdusek      I don't think I've seen more trailers for a single movie than for Oblivion .  I've seen a trailer for it before almost every movie I've seen for the last six months.  Now that the movie's been released, how does it stack up to the hype?      Earth, 2077:  The entire planet lay in ruins and is almost entirely uninhabitable, 60 years after a war with an alien race that destroyed the entire world and forced humans to leave the planet.  Jack (Tom Cruise) and Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) are part of the mop up crew.  Their job is to extract any resources still available on Earth for the off world colony of survivors, and to repair any of the drones or sea water collection rigs that have problems.  It's only two weeks before Jack and Victoria are to go to the colony themselves, but Jack is st

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, and Nicole Beharie Directed by: Brian Helgeland Screenplay by: Brian Helgeland     The number 42 will always have a special place in baseball.  Jackie Robinson was the first black baseball player to play in the Major Leagues.  At the time, he was the only black player in an entirely white league.  With the help and guidance of Brooklyn Dodgers general manager, Branch Rickey, Robinson was able to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball, which allowed America's past time to become what it is today.      I'm a pretty big baseball fan.  So when it comes to making a movie about baseball, I am usually pretty interested.  This time, my attention was definitely grabbed when I heard about this movie.  Even though I am white, Jackie Robinson is one of my heroes in baseball.  I believe he is the most influential player to ever play on the diamond.  And since he was a pretty monumental person in life, this film should have been prett

     It's almost summer time.  It's soon going to be time to go to the beach (if you live near one), or just sit by the pool (if you have one), or just have some fun in any way, shape or form.  It's time to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the good weather.  And when the weather gets too good or too unbearably hot, there's places to go to cool off, like the movies.  Summer is always a great time to go to the movies because it's when all the giant blockbusters and the biggest action movies of the year are released.  Often, the highest grossing movies of the year are released during the summer, like last year, when The Avengers grossed over $200 million during it's opening weekend.  I'm predicting some pretty big hits this year, but nothing quite like The Avengers.   So now, here are some of my thoughts on what to expect over the next four months at the movies: May      May is going to be far and away, the best month of the summer to go to the movies.  It

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, and Amanda Seyfried Directed by: Tom Hooper Screenplay by: William Nicholson and Alain Boublil Based on the Broadway musical and on the novel by Victor Hugo It’s post-revolutionary France, and our story follows the life of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman).  He has been released from prison and breaks his parole, which would send him back.  He instead flees and is hunted by Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe).  While a fugitive, Valjean must create a new life for himself wherever he goes.  A few years have passed, and we meet Jean Valjean again.  He has become the mayor of a town called Montreuil.  There is an incident at a factory, where one of the workers, Fantine (Anne Hathaway), has been arrested by Javert.  Because Javert does not recognize Valjean at first, he convinces Javert to release her, and Valjean takes care of Fantine after that.  He finds her in poor health and that she has a smal

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, and Eva Mendes Directed by: Derek Cianfrance Screenplay by: Derek Cianfrance and Ben Coccio     What is the place beyond the pines?     Motorcycle stunt driver Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling) comes to Schenectady, New York only once a year.  One particular year, he finds that one of his previous lovers, Romina (Eva Mendes), now has a son, his son.  So, he stays in town to try to provide both for her and the boy, but has very little money.  He resorts to bank robbing in order to get the money he needs to provide for them.  One of his robberies goes wrong and he runs into the cops, one of whom is Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper), who is looking to climb the ranks within a corrupt police department.  Their run in with each other will have an incredibly powerful impact on both of them, and their families, for years to come.      Normally in movies, when there are multiple story lines and multiple main characters, a director will often cut between all o

Starring: James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, and Vincent Cassel Directed by: Danny Boyle Screenplay by:  Joe Ahearne and   John Hodge      Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to potentially have your mind blown.      Stealing art worth millions of dollars isn't something I would call easy.  So when art robbers team up with a fine art auctioneer to steal a Goya painting worth over $25 million, it shouldn't be quite as difficult.  But then all this crazy stuff happens.      Simon Newton (James McAvoy) is the fine art auctioneer in our story.  Since he's teamed up with a gang led by a man named Franck (Vincent Cassel), all he has to do is give Franck the painting when Simon is supposed to take the painting to a safe location.  During the robbery, Simon loses the painting.  A dangerous blow to the head from Franck leaves him unable to remember how he lost the painting or what he did with it just before he lost it.  When all forms of interrogation fail to produce the painting, Franck

Starring: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, and Morgan Freeman Directed by: Antoine Fuqua Screenplay by:  Creighton Rothenberger and   Katrin Benedikt      The White House, the most protected building perhaps in the entire world, is under attack!!!      Now that I have your attention, let me begin.      Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), is a former secret service agent now working a desk job after a tragic incident involving the First Lady.  Lucky for Banning on a nice, seemingly normal afternoon, his office isn't far from the White House.        The South Korean Prime Minister arrives at the White House for an important meeting with the president (Aaron Eckhart) along with all of his security detail.  But one of them isn't exactly who he appears to be.         A North Korean military plane flies over Washington and attacks the White House, and the president, the prime minister, and everyone in their security forces go to the bunker deep beneath the White House, the perfect pla

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, D.J. Cotrona, Channing Tatum, Adrianne Palicki, and Byung-hun Lee Directed by: Jon M. Chu Screenplay by: Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick      I'll be honest, I've waited for this movie for a while.  Was it worth it?  You'll just have to read on.      In this sequel to the 2009 film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, the G.I. Joe division of the United States military is terminated.  In a brutal sneak attack, almost all of the Joes are killed, but some survive.  There's only one man who can order an attack like that, and it's the President of the United States.  When the surviving Joes discover that the President is actually being held prisoner by the evil organization, Cobra, and being played by an imposter, things get ugly, not just for the Joes, but for the entire world.      Cobra has an intense plan for world domination.  Since one of it's operatives is playing the part of the President of the United States without anybody except the J