Star Trek Into Darkness is an explosive, action-packed, sci-fi thriller filled with aliens, spaceships, intergalactic war, combat, and a nonstop space adventure. From director J.J. Abrams, Star Trek Into Darkness is a great film for Stark Trek fans or anyone who appreciates the sci-fi fantasy genre, and includes everything and more than its predecessor, Star Trek (2009). Star Trek Into Darkness features a complex, highly intelligent story with stunning visuals, further character development, friendship, honor, loss, loyalty, and sacrifice.
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Star Trek Into Darkness opens with immediate action as the crew of the USS Enterprise find themselves trying to save a nearby planet from a volcano. Although violating several space-military rules, the crew escapes from the planet unharmed and stops the volcano just in time. After the Enterprise returns home, they find themselves in the midst of a great terror as an unstoppable force from inside their organization attacks the fleet with a bomb. Failing to capture this fugitive, Captain Kirk (Pine) and his crew embark on a manhunt to a space war-zone to capture this new threat. Lives are lost, relationships are challenged, and sacrifices are made as the Enterprise crew does everything they can to stop their villain in a combat-heavy space adventure. (more…)
The 12th annual 24-Hour Video Race ended Monday night, May 20, with teams piled into the Angelika Film Center-Dallas for final judging.
Bart Weiss, Video Association of Dallas’ Artistic Director, said, “I was amazed at the level of creativity in the city from such a diverse group of filmmakers. From nearly every sector of the city, and from various age groups, the ways these makers reinterpreted our prompts were inspiring.”
“It is amazing what can these teams can create in just 24 hours, and it was a tough job for our judges to evaluate them,” Weiss concluded. “There were twice as many high school teams in the past 2 years with 24 teams competing, comprised of more than 125 kids, in the student division, Pixelvision. Some came from as far away as Mansfield.”
The finals judges were broken up in to two shifts this year. The judges for Pixelvision (High School), Futurevision (College) and Auteur (a single member) categories included Casey Gooden, producer of UPSTREAM COLOR and PRIMER; CultureMap Dallas’ associate arts and entertainment editor, Alex Bentley; Steve Alford, president of Alford Media Services, Inc.; and Lee Papert, President and CEO of the Dallas Film Society.
Judging the Guerilla (2-5 members) and Hollywood (6-plus members) categories were Angie Bolling, “Mrs. Robocop” in all three ROBOCOP movies; Erin Prather Stafford, executive producer of the winner of VideoFest 25 Documentary: WONDER WOMEN! THE UNTOLD STORY OF AMERICAN SUPERHEROINES; Ya’ke Smith, award-winning filmmaker of WOLF, and Paul Salfen, Dallas-based editor and media entrepreneur, host of “Drew Pearson Show” on Fox Sports, managing editor of Flavorpill Dallas, and the entertainment and travel editor for ScoreBoard.
The participants had 24 hours to make a video, which was required to include the following elements:
Theme – Recycling
Prop – Phone Book
Line of Dialogue – “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
Location – B_G: the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau’s new brand campaign recognizing locals as the catalyst behind making “BIG Things Happen in Dallas.” (more…)
Steve McCurry is a name that is probably unfamiliar to most people outside of photography circles but his images are instantly recognizable to millions across the world. A master at capturing the human condition through vibrant images that come alive with color and energy, McCurry has been featured countless times in National Geographic and other international publications and has won many of photography’s top honors throughout his career.
“His career was launched when, disguised in native garb, he crossed the Pakistan border into rebel-controlled Afghanistan just before the Russian invasion. When he emerged, he had rolls of film sewn into his clothes of images that would be published around the world as among the first to show the conflict there. His coverage won the Robert Capa Gold Medal for Best Photographic Reporting from Abroad, and award dedicated to photographers exhibiting exceptional courage and enterprise. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including Magazine Photographer of the Year, awarded by the National Press Photographers Association. That was the same year in which he won an unprecedented four first prizes in the World Press Photo Contest. He has won the Olivier Rebbot Memorial Award twice.” (via)
The latest release of Walt Disney and Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 3 marks the third installment in the Iron Man/Tony Stark saga. Like any fantasy film, audiences must suspend their belief of traditional reality. Similar to previous Marvel films, Iron Man 3 has a lot of intense action, special effects, and ingenuity combined with superhuman abilities. Based on previous and current box office numbers, Marvel knows what they’re doing.
Iron Man 3 continues the long list of large-scale, superhero/comic book, fantasy blockbuster films from Marvel, including past films such asIron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers, and future films like Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Avengers 2, and more. Iron Man 3 does a great job of making the audience feel like they are in the right place and time following the events of The Avengers. This film is also the first of the Iron Man series available in 3D, creating a darker and different experience than before.
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Iron Man 3 takes place after the events of The Avengers, with New York City recovering from the aftermath of an alien invasion and the departure of the rest of the superheroes as they’ve gone back to their respective homes or planets. The film begins with Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) speaking to the audience and quickly flashing back to Stark’s younger party years, where he overlooked several people eager for his attention. Tony has no idea that these relationships will someday come back to haunt him. The audience is then taken back to present day, where Stark is tinkering in his workshop.
Soon after these events, a new threat presents itself to humanity: the Mandarin (played by the hilarious Ben Kingsley), who seems hell-bent on seeing man suffer and surrender as he carries out a series of terrorist attacks. At first, Stark is too preoccupied to interfere, but when his friend, Happy Hogan (Favreau), is caught in one of the Mandarin’s attacks, Iron Man must suit up to save the day. Stark quickly sends a public message to the Mandarin, including an invitation to come to Stark’s mansion along with his address, and the events that follow send Tony on a journey of rebuilding and retribution.
I recently got a chance to see Michael Bay’s newest film, Pain & Gain. This film is classic Michael Bay with his explosive nature, but it is more about chaos and stupidity than aliens and guns. Think Bad Boys on steroids without the smoothness. It’s actually hard to decide if this film was so wild that it made it good, or if it was just plain bad (aka Spring Breakers syndrome). Bottom line, Pain & Gain is at best, an entertaining, over-the-top, humorous guilty pleasure.
In Pain & Gain, Whalberg, Johnson, and Mackie are the personal trainers who decide they can pull off the score of a lifetime by extorting one of their clients for everything he owns. When the job doesn’t go according to plan, things quickly get ugly for our main characters as they embark on a “no-turning-back” series of one incompetent act after another. If this film says anything to the audience other than chaos, it is that anyone can pursue the “American dream”, but depending on their chosen path, things do not always end well. Add rising comedian Rebel Wilson and veterans Harris, Shalhoub, Joeng, and Corrdry, along with a lot of profanity, violence, sex, and drug use, and you’ve got yourself a film, if you can call it that. (more…)
The new Danny Boyle film, Trance, is about a fine art auctioneer, Simon, played by James McAvoy, who teams up with a gang in order to steal an expensive painting, but after suffering a blow to the head, forgets where he hid the painting. As a result, the gang’s leader, Frank (Vincent Cassel), hires a hypnotherapist, Elizabeth Lamb (Rosario Dawson) to look into Simon’s mind. As Simon’s mind begins to unravel, it is soon very unclear who is good or bad, who is lying, and what is real.
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Trance is reminiscent of Inception or the recent film, Side Effects, in the way that it’s filled with very complex, in depth content, with many twists and levels to uncover. The film utilizes flashbacks/forwards, filling in pieces like a puzzle until everything ultimately comes together. Trance is a film that makes you think. It demands your attention; without it you will quickly be lost. The hypnotherapy is very interesting, and it seemed to work well within the film. However, we quickly learn how manipulative and deceiving Dawson’s therapist can be.
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The unique look captured in Trance is in keeping with a Boyle film (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, 28 DaysLater, and Trainspotting). The film is very violent, with a lot of blood, gore, and multiple shocking scenes that can make you feel as though you’re the one being tortured. There is also a significant amount of nudity and sexual content. (more…)
Recently, I had the opportunity to see Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers at the SXSW premiere event of the film. In attendance were director/creator Harmony Korine and several members of the cast, including James Franco, Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, and Rachel Korine. This event was about as crazy as the movie itself, as Hollywood celebrities, press, and SXSW attendees had the chance to see Spring Breakers for the first time. To say this film is over-the-top, wild, and crazy would be a vast understatement. Spring Breakers is a vulgar, provocative, unique film with many “wow” moments throughout. This film features Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine, and James Franco in the epitome of taking spring break to the extreme.
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Spring Breakers begins with footage of real spring breakers on a beach drinking, tearing off their clothes, and dancing to loud music. The audience is then taken to a college where the four girls mentioned above are in school, anxiously awaiting spring break. When they learn they don’t have enough money to make it through the trip, three of the girls decide to rob a restaurant. After obtaining the money needed for their vacation, they embark on a drug and alcohol infested trip to the beach. Soon after they begin having the time of their lives, the girls are arrested for too much partying. A drug dealer (Franco) who wants to help them continue living it up during spring break soon bails them out, and the real party begins. It quickly becomes clear how far these girls will go to have fun and experience a spring break they will never forget. (more…)
Every year in March, creative minds gather in Austin, Texas to share their ideas and inspire future filmmakers and creators. The SXSW Film Conference and Festival gives thinkers and innovators the opportunity to present their ideas to the entertainment and media culture, and pave the way for the future of film and entertainment. I attended the festival over the weekend on behalf of YouPlusDallas and covered the film portion of SXSW to present you with a description of the major events.
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On Friday, March 8th, I attended the premiere of The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, featuring Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde, Jim Carrey, James Gandolfini, and Alan Arkin. This film sets Carell and Buscemi as aging Las Vegas magicians, Burt Wonderstone and Anton Marvelton, respectively, who soon have to dig deep for a better act once Carrey’s character (Steve Gray) begins to steal the spotlight as a fresh street magician. From a critics standpoint, this film is very unimpressive, being described by some as “instantly forgettable” and “yawn-inspiring”, while others describe it as “periodically chuckle-worthy” and “just amusing enough to pass the time”. Only time will tell if this film becomes a hit, but I’m not counting on it. Some of the cast was also in attendance for this film. (more…)
Dallas, TX, March 11, 2013 – The Dallas International Film Festival presented by AutoNation Volkswagen Dealers announced today its full list of features and shorts that will be screened through the Festival’s 11-day run (April 4 – 14, 2013).
For the 2013 Festival, more than 160 features, documentaries, shorts and student films representing 28 countries make DIFF truly an international Festival. Of the feature films at the Festival, 11 will see their world premieres and two are North American premieres—all represent some of the best in the art of filmmaking. These films were selected from more than 1,300 submissions from around the world.
The 2013 Festival is featuring one country in particular for its contribution to the art of film: Italy. From classic films to new works, the cinematic achievements of Italian filmmakers are being highlighted as this year’s DIFF cultural spotlight.
“From family-friendly fare featuring girls with their dogs and a cup-stacking contest to challenging documentaries that bring you into the daily lives of some of the world’s most interesting people—well known and unknown alike—the variety of films offered truly define our Festival,” said James Faust, Artistic Director of the Dallas International Film Festival.
“They range from funny and light-hearted to thought-provoking and generation-defining. The one thing these diverse films have in common is that these filmmakers are telling stories with the spirit and creativity that is the hallmark of independent filmmaking,” Faust concluded.
Oz the Great and Powerfulis a fresh, exhilarating fantasy adventure, loosely based on the 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz. Oz the Great and Powerful tells the story of how the Wizard first came to Oz, and the trouble he finds himself in. Directed by Sam Raimi (The Spiderman Trilogy) and offering everything a fan could want from the original story, Oz the Great and Powerful stars James Franco, Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, and Zach Braff in a fascinating tale of magic and the fight for good.
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Oz the Great and Powerful begins with the same classic black-and-white format as the original “Oz”, while setting Oscar Diggs (Franco) in Kansas as the conniving and questionably ethical, circus magician looking for greatness. When Oscar must escape the trouble he finds himself in, his hot air balloon is lost in a tornado. After surviving the tornado, Oscar discovers a world he has never seen before, the Land of Oz. While in Oz, Oscar meets three witches, Theodora (Kunis), Evanora (Weisz), and Glinda (Williams), and he must choose between good and evil, and whether or not to save Oz from a great darkness. As his journey in Oz hits its climax, Oscar puts on the greatest act of his life using his bag of tricks, illusion, and ingenuity, transforming himself into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz. (more…)
