THE REVIEW CORNER

Starring: Scarlett Johansson Directed by: Jonathan Glazer Screenplay by: Walter Campbell Based on the novel by Michel Faber      Be careful folks, Scarlett Johansson is an alien!      She calls herself Laura.  She has fallen to Earth and has assumed the form of a human.  There isn't a whole lot of a story here, but basically she goes around Scotland preying on young, hitch-hiking men.  She picks them up in her van.  If you're one of these guys, you don't want to get in that van.  Creepy and strange things happen.  There's also a guy who's on a motorcycle, riding around Scotland, whose role isn't exactly clear.      There is very little dialogue throughout the film and most of the story is told through silence.  There is almost no action in this film either, and when something is happening, it usually isn't that interesting.      Scarlett Johansson delivers a strong performance even tho...

Starring: Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy, Kate Mara, and Morgan Freeman Directed by: Wally Pfister Screenplay by: Jack Paglen       Ah, the joys of technology...       Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is on the verge of something huge.  He is the leading scientist in the field of artificial intelligence in this not too distant future.  His goal; to create a sentient computer whose intelligence and "analytic power [are] greater than the collective intelligence of every person born in the history of the world".  He's already created a computer that's part of the way there, called PINN.  With the help of his wife, Evelyn (Rebecca Hall), and fellow researcher and friend Max (Paul Bettany), it looks like they could be on the verge of creating this superhuman computer hybrid very shortly.       The problem is that Will is dying.  He's been shot by someone in an anti-technology group called RIFT (...

    By now, you might have seen the movie Noah.   Director Darren Aronofsky takes audiences through an exhilarating ride through the story of Noah and how he built the ark to save himself and his family, plus all the innocent animals, from the great flood that destroyed the world.  The story makes us wonder about the world we currently live in.     In the story, God floods the world to destroy humanity and all the corruption and wickedness that it has brought to the world since God created it.  God created man in His image and it is important that humanity respect that image.  We are to be righteous people, not wicked people who corrupt and destroy the only world that we have.  If you read the Bible, the story of Noah occurs in the book of Genesis.  Perhaps there is a link to another passage that can be explained.  That passage occurs in the book of Exodus, chapter 20.  Verses 1-17 explain the Ten Commandments, and this is in ...

Starring: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Douglas Booth, Logan Lerman, and Anthony Hopkins Directed by: Darren Aronofsky Screenplay by: Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel          So the  Lord  said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth  the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them. ”  (Genesis 6:7)        The story of Noah is the first apocalypse story ever told.  Humanity has become corrupt and vain and now must be destroyed as punishment.  In this version of the tale, Noah (Russell Crowe), is the last descendant of Seth, Adam and Eve's third son.  He is a righteous man tasked by the Creator to save the innocents from humanity's impending doom.  The rest of the world is made up of descendants of Cain, Adam and Eve's first son.  They are wicked and have corrupted ...

    I grew up in Los Angeles, a city in which car culture is the name of the game; a place where a lot of people know and love their streets, highways, and especially their cars.  I’m also kind of a car guy.  I love cars.  I love looking at them and learning about them.  But I’m also a movies guy, and so when cars are put into movies, naturally, I’m drawn to them.        Since The Fast and the Furious came out in 2001, the series that has followed has been about cars; not just any normal cars, but cars that are made for street racing.   On March 14, a new film came out (that’s sure to have its share of sequels), Need for Speed, that’s sure to compete with The Fast and the Furious series that we are all quite familiar with by this point.   Both of these stories offer similar things, like cars and street racing, but they’re a lot more different than you might think.       The first Fast ...

Starring: Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Cobie Smulders, and Robert Redford Directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo Screenplay by: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely      And here we have the newest installment of the Avengers series.  While I don't believe it is mandatory to watch The Avengers before watching this film, I strongly recommend it for some background information that you might not have otherwise.  Certainly watch the Captain America: The First Avenger before this film.      Let me begin by saying that Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) is a really awesome 95 year old.  He currently lives in Washington, D.C. working for SHIELD, whose headquarters, the Triskelion is just across the Potomac River from D.C.  He is called on a mission to rescue a SHIELD vessel in the Indian Ocean that's been taken over by Algerian pirates.  Onboard, he finds Natasha Romanoff, ...