ShowbizJunkies

Reviewed by Kevin Finnerty “I request permission to go after him,” says James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) to Starfleet Command after an attack from within their own organization has left the fleet without many of their commanders and incredibly weak in director J.J. Abrams sequel to his 2009 summer blockbuster, Star Trek Into Darkness.   [...]

Reviewed by Ian Forbes, Sobering Conclusion It’s not a really well kept secret what J.J. Abrams and company were planning to do with the sequel to their successful reboot of the Star Trek movie franchise. If there’s one movie in the canon that stands out and has engendered both more parody and more devotion than [...]

Reviewed by Kevin Finnerty “Jay, you can’t repeat the past,” says Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire). “Can’t repeat the past? Of course you can,” responds Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) to his one and only true friend in Baz Luhrmann’s screen version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel The Great Gatsby.   Nick Carraway has left [...]

Reviewed by Kevin Finnerty “I’m not afraid of you. You’re a coward. No politics here, just good old fashioned revenge,” says Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in a media blitz to the terrorist known as The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) after an attack has left a close friend of Tony’s on the critical list in the [...]

Reviewed by Ian Forbes, Sobering Conclusion Hello there. You’re at the beginning of a review for Iron Man 3 … which I’m not sure why you’re reading because this isn’t the kind of movie affected by critics. Fanboys and fangirls have been squeeing with delight ever since the first teaser trailer hit the Internet; their [...]

Reviewed by Ian Forbes, Sobering Conclusion Loyal readers know that if I could inject one emotion into a film, it would be melancholy. I love a good wallow and if there’s one thing that Arthur Newman is able to do, it’s allow the main characters to feel, experience, and dwell on their pain.   Starring [...]

Reviewed by Ian Forbes, Sobering Conclusion The most interesting thing about Pain & Gain is that it’s based on a true story. Back in 1994, a couple of gym trainers decided to make a huge score and kidnap a rich businessman. It didn’t all go to plan.   What followed was a succession of terrible [...]

Reviewed by Ian Forbes, Sobering Conclusion 2011 was the breakout year for writer/director Jeff Nichols. His film, Take Shelter, received a lot of critical notice (deservedly so) and cinephiles probably wondered whether he could follow it up adequately. Audiences wouldn’t have to wait too long, as he’s back now with Mud.   Although the movie [...]

Reviewed by Kevin Finnerty “I’ve been watching you, Jack. You’re curious. What are you looking for in those old books? Do they bring back old memories?,” asks Beech (Morgan Freeman), a mysterious leader of what appears to be a large group of human survivors on an Earth that’s supposed to be vacant of all human [...]

Reviewed by Ian Forbes, Sobering Conclusion Director Joseph Kosinski’s first and only other film was TRON: Legacy. It’s a pretty film but completely devoid of substance and relies on using images and themes from not only TRON but a host of other science fiction films (most notably Star Wars Episode IV). It’s basically what happens [...]