Upside Down is one of the most visually arresting movies to come out so far in 2013 (second to Stoker), and the visuals are endlessly beautiful. The problem is, that while director Juan Diego Solanas has spent a lot of time and energy on the eye candy, he could have spent just as much time crafting a better story to surround them.
Writer/director Niels Arden Oplev made a name for himself in Denmark with such films as Portland and The Eagle, but it was his version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which really catapulted him to international success. The success of his adaptation of the infinitely popular Stieg Larsson novel has now led him to make his first English language movie in Dead Man Down.
Diector Steven Spielberg made a very special appearance at The Chandler School in Pasadena last week to celebrate the 20th anniversary of one of his greatest and most important movies, Schindler’s List, and to announce the launch of the USC Shoah Foundation’s IWitness Video Challenge.
21 and Over is a new comedy from Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the writers of The Hangover, and it follows its characters on a similarly crazy adventure. It tells the story of Casey (Skylar Astin) and Miller (Miles Teller), two guys who arrive in town to take their best friend, straight-A student Jeff Chang (Justin Chon), out for his 21st birthday.
Safe Haven is the umpteenth adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel and the second that has been directed by Lasse Hallström (who previously made Dear John). This one is a little different from the other Sparks stories though in that it is a mystery as well as a romance. But those going into Safe Haven expecting The Notebook redux will come out of it terribly disappointed as it quickly degenerates into a Sleeping With The Enemy rip-off and is undone by a convoluted story, contrived characters and a lot of shameless manipulation on the part of the filmmakers.
John Moore, the director of Behind Enemy Lines and Max Payne, finally got to realize his big dream this year when he was able to direct a Die Hard movie, A Good Day To Die Hard. The fifth films in the long running series which has John McClane (Bruce Willis) traveling to Russia to help his wayward son Jack (Jai Courtney). Though not the strongest film in the franchise, it was still packed with enough action, explosions and badass moments to make it an enjoyable watch.
Join us as we chat with Bruce Willis and Jai Courtney, who were in town to do a press conference for A Good Day To Die Hard. This time, we see New York Detective John McClane traveling all the way to Russia to help his estranged son Jack who has been arrested for attempted murder. But once John arrives, he discovers that Jack is actually a CIA agent who is working undercover to foil a terrorist plot that could have serious repercussions on the rest of the world.
