Movies
Movies
Fast and Fantastic
The sixth times the charm for this frenzied car-chase franchise
May 24th, 2013
Fast & Furious 6, which surely maxed out Universal’s tank-top budget for the year, and sustains its joyful, unpretentious ridiculousness so perfectly that I secretly hoped the “6” meant “hours long,” ends with a disclaimer, the sort of legalese that typically arrives at the tail end of the closing credits. To paraphrase: On the way out of this theater, should you get the urge to drive your tank into traffic across a towering bridge in Spain, or feel the need to race a Dodge Charger down a runway and bring down a military transport with harpoons, Universal Pictures will not be held responsible. Read more »
Movies
'The Hangover Part III' is Forgettable
The trilogy that spawned a thousand bachelor parties has lost steam with its final installment
May 24th, 2013
Slow, sentimental and somewhat sedated, the third Hangover movie isn’t so much exhausted of outrageous “Oh no, they didn’t!” ideas as it is spent of energy. And they knew it, too. The only raunchy moment is stuffed into the closing credits, a “we forgot to do that” afterthought. Read more »
Movies
Third Time’s the Charm
The Hangover’s hilarious Ken Jeong opens up about the Tao of Chow
May 21st, 2013
Not many people can say that jumping naked out of the trunk of a car changed their life forever. Even fewer people can claim that they jumped naked out of the trunk of a car onto Bradley Cooper’s face. And yet for Ken Jeong, whose breakout role in The Hangover series (the anticipated third and final installment of which hits theaters May 24) as the flamboyant, drug-addled gangster Leslie Chow has earned him a not-so-cult following as the funniest character actor in Hollywood—both of these things are true. Read more »
Pop Culture
Liberace and His Rhinestone Rappers
On the eve of a Soderbergh biopic, looking back to the OG of ghetto glitter
May 21st, 2013
When Macklemore raps, Yo, that’s $50 for a T-shirt, of his Gucci-sporting contemporaries in newfound cultural touchstone “Thrift Shop,” he just sounds so damn sad. Read more »
Movies
Apocalypse Soon
According to seven movies this summer, we’re on borrowed time. But don’t fret—'Linda Lovelace' and the 'Smurfs' are here to distract you.
May 21st, 2013
Since “summer” is swiftly ceasing to mean anything as a time of year, what with the soaring temperatures from April through October and the ever-increasing chance of giant ice-ball rain (also known as hail) in July, it is all the more crucial that we take our cues from popular culture, letting the most anticipated movies act as our seasonal barometer. Three-hour historical biopic starring Philip Seymour Hoffman? Wear a sweater; it’s getting nippy. Really horrible-looking thriller starring a Wahlberg? Happy President’s Day! The Hangover Part III followed by a reboot of the Superman franchise? Slap on some sunscreen, because it’s time to stick an upside-down Corona in your frozen margarita. Read more »
Movies
‘Star Trek’ is Fleet Footed
J.J. Abrams’ reboot is fast and fun
May 17th, 2013
It’s lame and sort of geeky to compare franchise apples to oranges. Oh, well. Star Trek Into Darkness does everything Iron Man 3 tries to do, in the realm of global terrorism imagery reprocessed for popcorn kicks, but with a little more style, a dash more brio and invention. Read more »
Movies
Funny ‘Peeples’
‘Meet The Parents’ knock-off follows a charming formula
May 10th, 2013
Peeples is an African-American Meet the Parents that slips funnyman Craig Robinson into the Ben Stiller role. Casting the musically minded Robinson in this formula comedy about screwing up your first encounter with your potential in-laws is like replacing Stiller’s Greg Focker with Jack Black. Read more »
Movies
The Not-So-Great ‘Gatsby’
Baz Luhrmann’s novel adaptation chooses 3-D style over substance
May 10th, 2013
Even if it’s true, let’s forget the “great American novel” business regarding The Great Gatsby for a minute. What makes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, published in the spring of 1925 but set three years earlier, such a haunted portrait of a time, a place and a Lost Generation dream? Read more »
Movies
UNLV Prof Helped Keep 'The Great Gatsby' Costumers Accurate
May 7th, 2013
Deirdre Clemente combined her passion for vintage fashion with her love of Jazz Age chronicler F. Scott Fitzgerald to become the leading expert in the topic. Little surprise that the associate director of the UNLV public history program was tapped to costume-consult on the upcoming The Great Gatsby. No literary purist, Clemente loves director Baz Luhrmann and can’t wait to see his interpretation of the classic book. Fans of fashion past can visit Clemente’s website FitzgeraldAndFashion.com, or her Vegas Style show at Nevada State Museum at the Springs Preserve through May 31. And, no, she didn’t get to meet Leonardo DiCaprio. Read more »
Movies
Iron Man 3 Offers Enough Fun to Keep Series Alive
May 3rd, 2013
A little too much and a little not enough, director and co-writer Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 nonetheless has everything Disney and Marvel need to keep the Avengers superhero constellation shining and regenerating well into the 23rd century. Read more »
