Movies

What if you could record all your brain activity on tape for anyone in the world to experience? The same smells, tastes, even emotions just as you felt them. Sure you could experience things like skydiving without ever having to leave your couch. Or scale the Himalayans while riding the bus. But then there’s that stench filled cab ride you had last week where your friend threw up on your docker pants. Now a total stranger can enjoy that too. You could even eat a glazed donut burger and still technically be Vegan thus keeping your hipster street creed… because much like your hipster street cred, it’s all in your mind. In 1983’s Brainstorm, Christopher Walken plays Dr. Michael Brace an eccentric scientist who hangs out with his Chain smoking lab partner Lillian (Louise Fletcher.) Most of their day is spent poking monkeys and wearing wired up space helmets while playing rock em’ sock em’ robots. Normally this is where government grants go to die but one day they discover they can actually record a persons memories on laser tape. It’s the Facebook of the future.They decide to take the invention on the road and record everything they can find with a lab tech wearing a recording helmet. There’s racing cars, going down a waterside, having sex, trying out some equestrian (not necessarily in that order.) Things you could have never experienced yourself without the aide of “TECHONOLOGY!” Their boss loves the demo tape but then boots from the project so it can be packaged up and sold as a home console and to military contractors. Michael with some free time on his hands uses the new invention for some couples therapy. His wife Karen is played by Natalie Woods and she’s just about to sign the divorce papers until he makes a memory tape for her showing all the good times from their marriage. Scrapbookers eat your heart out. Meanwhile Lillian has a heart attack back at the lab but records her death for scientific study and likely some smut sections at Thailandese video stores. The tape is put under lock and key while the government also takes over the technology to use it for “peaceful military purpose.” Peaceful in that they’ll peacefully torture and brainwash any suspecting commies they can hook it up to. Michael’s son accidentally tries one of these brainwash tapes making him wacko so Michael goes on a crusade to destroy the project. His robot war knowledge comes in handy as he hacks into the lab computer causing the robots to go on a rampage destroying the brainstorm assembly line. He then gets access to his lab partners death tape so that he can experience some extreme chest pains and the ending to 2001: A space odyssey. While plugged into the death tape at a pay phone, his wife shows up, they hug and he mumbles something about the stars, the Wright Brothers and needing more cowbell. Wow, the hippies were out in full force on this one folks. Barry Goodall says get plugged in with Brainstorm so that you too can experience a couple hours of brainwashing torture.  Let’s just hope that Apple or Google doesn’t make one of these things anytime soon. DOS Intrigue interactive all you can eat buffets giant brain helmets virtual ardvarking interactive chimpanzee multiple heart attacks Lost IMAX footage chainsmoking lab technician 2 BLOOD just a nose bleed 5 BREASTS Virtual nookie stuck on loop 2 BEASTS Just a chimpanzee 2.7 OVERALL Check out this trailer for “Brainstorm”

I love you, I hate you, I’ll kill you. That’s the lurid premise of “Murder Ballad,” the hot and sticky rock opera that made auds sweat when it opened six months ago at Manhattan Theater Club’s studio space.  Reconfigured for a commercial transfer in a larger theater, this hot-blooded property written by Julia Jordan and... Read more »

"Ain't Them Bodies Saints" stars Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara discuss the IFC drama at the Variety Studio in Cannes.

.As I said earlier when the trailer for Joseph Gordon-Levitt's new movie Don Jon first popped up I had to wait for a YouTube copy to show up before I could gif it proper-like... and here we are. Ahh yes, that will do.

The Dark Horse Comics character was previously adapted into a 1994 feature

Warner Bros. kicks off what could be a record-breaking Memorial Day weekend, with “The Hangover Part III” launching Wednesday night headed toward a potential $75 million to $85 million five-day gross. SEE ALSO: ‘The Hangover Part III’ Blasted By Critics But the three-quel competes squarely against Universal’s Friday opener, “Fast and Furious 6,” which tracking... Read more »

Red band trailer for We're the Miller. A veteran pot dealer creates a fake family as part of his plan to move a huge shipment of weed into the U.S. from Mexico. Filed Under: We're the Millers Tags: Warner Bros. Pictures, Comedy, Red Band, Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Emma Roberts, Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn, Will Poulter, Ed Helms

In case Man of Steel excitement levels were starting to drag just weeks before release, the most recent Zod-centric trailer helped build buzz among some fans who were still skeptical. But for any Superman story to succeed, the meaning has to go deeper than special effects or an impressive suit. In a recent interview, Zack Snyder, Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer opened up about what the hero means to them, and without naming names, why Snyder is less than impressed with recent portrayals of the character. Not known as a man to bite his tongue for fear of offending, Snyder explained to the NY Times that his enthusiasm for Man of Steel‘s take on the hero’s mythology is needed now more than ever. Not only Smallville, but some of DC’s own comics, ...Click to continue reading ‘Man of Steel’: Snyder, Nolan, & Goyer Talk Fatherhood, Aliens & More

The third film in the series has redneck teen Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) being sent to Tokyo to live with his father. Once there he gets mixed up with another high school punk who just happens to be the nephew of a powerful gangster (Sonny Chiba). The first film in this series was good and the follow-up wasn’t too bad when you considered everything that it was. This third film, however, is a complete disaster from the word go and it’s rather shocking that this here didn’t put an end to the entire series. Even more predictably Sean’s forbidden romance puts him in the middle of rival Yakuza drift racing gangs. Moving the story to Japan is reasonable because it will change many aspects of the previous films, but sadly isn’t enough to make the movie good. Too bad the only things that I really enjoyed about this experimentation project are the soundtrack and the racing scenes, since the cheesy dialogs and the campy characters ruined many minutes of this movie. The most important part of The Fast and the Furious is inarguably the racing sequences and their overall effectiveness. I will admit that the sequences themselves are well-filmed and eye catching, highlighting the cars, as they should. However, except in a few fleeting moments, they are not as enthralling as they should be and this is one of the most disappointing aspects of The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift. The final confrontation, for me, is pretty good to watch, but only arouses the senses once in a while. The fact that you see confident Asian characters portrayed by talented Asian American actors, while smoothly giving the audience the feel of what it is like for an outsider to visit Japan. I would also like to add that it was actually Lin himself who volunteered to take on this project when he realized that it was the only major Hollywood theatrical film to predominantly feature an Asian American cast in 2006. Lin read the script, realized it was riddled with stereotypes. Lin just could not bare to see the fact that a film with this much exposure around the world was going to misrepresent Asians and Asian Americans, so he bit the bullet and took one for the team, and decided to take this on as his next Hollywood directorial assignment. Although Lin could not get his way in casting Sung Kang as the lead for “Tokyo Drift,” because the studio specifically wanted a white actor for the lead role, Kang was still given a prominent role as the non-stereotypical Asian American mentor for the male lead. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-EheX9m-dE Also, the big “final race” occurs, and the hero’s dad has the body of a classic 60s Mustang in his garage (a somewhat unlikely situation in Japan — not just the car, but the idea that he has a entire garage for this purpose in one of the world’s most expensive and crowded cities). So Sean and his friends take the engine out of one of the Japanese cars he has wrecked earlier in the film, and in a few hours they manage to install this into the 60s muscle car. I admit I am not a mechanic or specialist, but it does not seem logical that you could retrofit a Japanese front wheel drive engine into a vintage 60s American rear wheel drive car….if it could be done AT ALL, it seems to me that it would take a long time and involve a lot of custom parts. That’s not even considering that they drive on the opposite side of the road in Japan, or that a 60s era car would be much heavier than a current model Japanese car. There are too many other absurdities to list, along with the inclusion of the Yakuza (Japanese mafia). I wish I could say that “Toyko Drift” was campy, or that you could have a good time just laughing at the many absurdities, but actually its fatal flaw is that it is extremely dull.

Since the beginning of time, women have always been competitive creatures. Female drama begins at early stages in life, and only get worse with age. It seems they will do just about anything to get what they want, and bullying happens to be the solution. Men, fashion statements, money and a proper title are the main targets when it comes down to it. In the strange world of woman, its all about competition and being the best of the best. Many women may deny this until they’re among trusted friends sipping on their tea, but what happens when keeping quiet is no longer an option. Yukihiko Tsutsumi’s 2LDK is the story of Nozomi (Eiko Koike) and Rana (Maho Nonami) who are competing for the same movie role. While waiting to see who gets to be a Yakuza wife, they’re fixed in the same apartment over night. Nozomi is a quiet yet determined girl from a little town, who’s striving to make something big of herself, while also proving she’s not as timid as she looks. Rana is a high maintenance-pageant girl with a dark secret, hoping to win the role to fix her reputation and damaged self esteem. While one believes she has what it takes, and the other feels that she deserves her big break, you’ll begin to wreck your own brains wondering who’s gonna get the part. Other then the obvious food labeling and marking territories, it starts with simple eye rolling, mind gossip and sarcastic comments. But when one is overcoming their own personal battles, keeping sane becomes a difficult task when your competition is in the next room. It doesn’t take long before the girls really start to push each others buttons, but when they realize they’re both fighting for the same boy’s affection, all hell breaks loose. Simple poking, prodding and hair pulling is now the stuff of child’s play. Only one can get the role. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUXUkb34Dms Along with Ryuhei Kitamura’s “Aragami”, 2LDK became apart of the Duel Project and was filmed within an astounding eight days. There’s even a supposed American remake in post-production staring the cute Alexa Vega; but as we all know, nothing tops an original. Winner of the Jury Award’s best director, 2LDK is a mesmerizing tale that can make the simplest everyday girl question who’s friend and frienemy material. No doubt, it’s the perfect flick for a girls night in, you’ll surely laugh and rekindle old memories. Just hope when you’re hugging it out, your bestie doesn’t chop off your ponytail.