THE REVIEW CORNER

Starring: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey, and Rodrigo Santoro Directed by: Noam Murro Screenplay by: Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad      Ladies and gentlemen, Xerxes has returned!  An important note:  if you have not seen the first 300,  leave this page, watch the film, and then read my review for this film.      The Persians are attacking Greece.  Their army is so vast it seems almost infinite compared to the small Greek army.  On the Greek side, Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton), attempts to unite all of the city states of Greece to form a united army to defend their land against the Persian army, whose goal it is to conquer Greece for the god-king, Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro).  Xerxes's naval commander, Artemisia (Eva Green), leads the attack against Themistokles and his army.  Artemisia is a Greek expat who seeks vengeance for the death of her family.  Will Themistokles be able to unite Greece and def...

It’s that time of year again, where Hollywood honors its best movies of the year, the ones that inspired us, made us think, and made us wonder.   But the show itself is entertainment all on its own.   This year, Ellen Degeneres hosted the Oscars, filling the show with lots of laughs throughout the night.   The pizza delivery?   One of the best moments of the entire show by far!!!   Brad Pitt’s picture of him eating a slice?   That was just perfect!   And how about that selfie Ellen took with all those celebrities?   That picture set a record for most retweets EVER!   And it happened before the show even ended!   For nearly three and a half hours on March 2, Ellen Degeneres entertained us all as we watched some of the best movies of 2013 win well-deserved awards.   Here are some of my thoughts about the awards themselves. Blue Jasmine Woody Allen’s latest film showcases some of the best acting performances ...

Starring: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Chris Cooper, Ewan McGregor, Margo Martindale, Abigail Breslin, Dermot Mulroney, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Sam Shepard Directed by: John Wells Screenplay by: Tracy Letts Based on the play by Tracy Letts      Let me begin by stating that there really isn't much better casting than this.  If you want to see a movie that has great acting performances across the board, you won't want to miss August: Osage County.        The Weston family is a very divided family.  Everybody lives in different parts of the country, and they all have different views of the world.  A crisis has occurred.  The patriarch of the family, Beverly Weston (Sam Shepard) has passed away.  Just before his death, he hires a housekeeper to take care of his wife, Violet (Meryl Streep) who has mouth cancer, and a prescription drug abuse problem.  Violet is often quite irrational and difficult to be around.  You...

Starring: Bruce Dern, Will Forte, and June Squibb Directed by: Alexander Payne Screenplay by: Bob Nelson      Let me begin by saying that if you don't like black and white movies, Nebraska is not the movie for you.      Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) has won $1 million.  At least, that's what he thinks.  We first meet Woody Grant on the side of the highway in Billings, Montana, where he is walking (or at least attempting to walk) to Lincoln, Nebraska to collect his winnings.  He's a pretty old man with some other issues in his life and walking there isn't the smartest idea, even for any young person.  His son, David (Will Forte) and his wife, Kate (June Squibb) think he's crazy and assume that his potential winning of $1 million is all a hoax.  But Woody believes it to be true.      So, David gets in a car with his father and they drive all the way to Lincoln to collect the winnings.  Along the way, they stop in ...

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, and Donald Sutherland Directed by: Francis Lawrence Screenplay by: Simon Beaufoy and Michael Arndt Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins WARNING:  IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FIRST HUNGER GAMES FILM OR READ THE BOOKS, GO SEE THE MOVIE AND THEN COME BACK TO THIS REVIEW!!!!!      This is one of my most anticipated films of 2013.  How does it stack up with the first one?      President Snow (Donald Sutherland) has a problem.  After Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) won the 74th Hunger Games, there have been rumors of a possible rebellion in the 12 districts of Panem.  The Hunger Games were set up by the Capitol in order to prevent a rebellion such as this from happening, but so far, it's looking like the districts are ready to rebel against the Capitol once more.      This year is the 7...

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Christopher Eccleston, and Anthony Hopkins Directed by: Alan Taylor Screenplay by: Christopher Yost and Christopher Markus      I have to say, that if I were a person in the world where The Avengers exist, I'd wonder about why aliens love to attack Earth of all places.  It seems like Earth is being attacked so much throughout all of these movies.  Wouldn't you agree?  It would seem quite strange to live on a planet that gets attacked by some weird threat every few months.      But more importantly, we have heroes like Thor (Chris Hemsworth) to save the day from enemies we know nothing about.  After the battle of New York in The Avengers, the 9 realms of Asgard have fallen into chaos and Thor must make peace among them before the worlds align in what's called the Convergence, an event in which a portal opens linking all of the worlds, including Earth.      Me...

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Viola Davis, and Ben Kingsley Directed by: Gavin Hood Screenplay by: Gavin Hood Based on the novel by Orson Scott Card     Long before this story begins, aliens known as the Formics have come to invade and colonize Earth.  Humanity just barely survives and wins the war.  But now, there is a fear that the Formics will return, and it is up to the International Fleet to make sure that the humans are ready for a second war.     Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield) is only a child, but the hope of winning the next war rests entirely with him.  He is offered a chance to defend the human race from the Formics, and leaves his family behind in order to take it.  He is taken to Battle School off planet where he learns to fight, and then to Command School where he learns to lead.  What he experiences at Battle School and Command School will turn him into something he's not sure...