UP IN THE AIR ★★★★
Blu-Ray ★★

A slightly predictable but endearing Drama (with a few generous dashes of comic seasoning), Jason Reitman’s third and slightly overrated directorial offering falls a tad short of his previous successes. Heralded by some as the “Best Movie of 2009″, UP IN THE AIR falters under such hyperbolic pronouncements. While the the film features great performances from George Clooney (who’s starting to look really OLD), Vera Farmiga (looking hotter than ever), and Anna Kendrick (almost stealing the show completely from her more experienced co-stars), a slew of familiar faces (and a few non-actors) also provide welcome support for our main cast with glorified cameos that rarely feel disingenuous (there are maybe a couple that ring a bit false). And thanks to a saccharine-lite conclusion that refreshingly leaves at least one character’s future “Up in the Air”, Reitman’s latest effort continues his winning streak if not his perfect game.

Sadly the Blu-ray doesn’t fare as well, featuring pretty anemic features like Deleted Scenes (which at least showcases a Spacesuit Dream Sequence that should have stayed in the final cut), an unimaginative music video that consists of a song cut to a montage of scenes from the flick, an odd Gag Reel that only has one gag, the theatrical teaser and trailer, and a Commentary Track with the director that I wasn’t compelled enough to listen to. The disc however gets points for Audio/Visual presentation, featuring a sharp and bright transfer and appropriately low-key DTS track. Worthy of a rental, but probably wise to hold off until a Special Edition arrives.

Splice is an odd film. Mixing elements of both science fiction and horror the results of which are of something quite different than what your basic theatergoer may be expecting. Instead of taking the easy route of creating a monster that lays waste on the humans that created it, Splice instead goes down a different path that reveals more about its creators than one may surmise beforehand. Not that there isn’t any waste to be laid, it just takes a while to get there… (more…)

Not that this year has been bursting at the seams with hilarious comedies or anything, but Get Him to the Greek is by far the funniest one I’ve seen thus far. A boozy hybrid of a road (or in this case sky) movie and farce, Greek gives Apatow regular Jonah Hill a chance to shine in a role where he must get a washed up rocker played by Russell Brand from jolly old England to Los Angeles for an anniversary show that will in turn rejuvenate his career. Alas, it’s never that simple… (more…)

Hey there everybody! Another week into what Bobert has referred to as “The Summer of Suck!” This weekend we have four (count them) four major releases and there’s a distinct possibility that a couple of them are not horrible. But before we get into that rigmarole, let’s gaze over at the new smaller releases that are currently being held captive in Sacramento shall we? It appears we only have one movie to speak on and it’s Ajami, a film about a revenge killing that takes place in Tel Aviv in a Pulp Fiction jumbled narration fashion. I hear it’s pretty great. Hopefully, I’ll get around to checking it out soon. OK, so that’s out of the way lets get into the meat of the week. It’s just beyond the break… (more…)

After more setbacks than a Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill cleanup, Splinter Cell: Conviction has finally arrived. Was it worth the wait, or is Sam Fisher showing his age? Go beyond the break to find out… (more…)

MacGruber is a loud, dumb and at times brilliant homage to the cheesetastic action shows and films we were bombarded with in the 80’s. If the name isn’t a dead giveaway of this then I don’t know what is. Based on the SNL skit, Will Forte has completely left all dignity at the door to maximize his mullet headed awesomeness. This is most certainly the most consistently funny SNL film since Wayne’s World and in some areas it surpasses it. But MacGruber doesn’t make one recall those types of films immediately. This film’s style feels more like the Mike Myers vehicle Austin Powers for sheer audacity and genius stupidity… (more…)

Hey everybody! We are week three into the summer movie season and so far so good. This week we have everyone’s favorite green ogre back in theaters along with the first SNL movie in about a decade. By the time this gets posted, I would have already seen both films. Yay for me! Before we get into all that craziness though lets see what new delights are awaiting us in the Sacramento art film district shall we? Over at both Century Ethan and Century Folsom we have Kites a Bollywood spectacle involving budding love, Mexican deserts, and kites! Sounds about as fun as any Bollywood film I hear about. At The Crest you have Vincere, a political melodrama with Mussolini as one of the main characters. On top of that, we have Princess Kaiulani: a true story about some woman who was the princess of Hawaii or something. Actually, that Bollywood flick isn’t sounding so bad after all. Everything else is beyond the break… (more…)

Halo Beta is like Crack. No, not introduced to the ghetto by the government in order to control minorities. It’s highly addictive and tough to put down. Does it have the staying power to be your drug of choice? Go beyond the break to find out… (more…)

Another weekend is behind us and we are no worse for ware (I would assume). Iron Man 2 stayed strong enough to keep its spot atop of the charts even though it faltered close to sixty percent in its second week. Though the word of mouth has been mostly positive (by critics and the general public), the consensus remains that this film is not as good as the original. This may have caused a few stragglers who are on the fence to see it to stay put. At the same time, there doesn’t seem to be any urgency from people to give this film any repeat viewings. It will cross the 300 million mark with sheer will. Anything beyond that will be tough to manage. Meanwhile, there were three major releases that made various amounts of noise. Want to learn how they did?  Just go beyond the break… (more…)

Hello film fans! I’m back with you with another delicious round of potential summer blockbusters to feast on. Yes the nourishment of summer is here! This week we have three wide releases to speak on and absolutely nothing limited. I’m going to make a safe assumption that a lot of smaller movies are going to be hanging back for the next couple of months while the Hollywood machine does its thing. That said there are a couple options for the Sac Town posse looking to see something outside of your basic multiplex fare. Over at The Crest we have A Town Called Panic which is a French film that revolve around the adventures of a cowboy, indian and horse. Did I mention they are all toys… and no I’m not talking about some Toy Story stylings here? This is a stop motion film using some quaint figurines. It doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen before. Hopefully, I’ll find time to watch it. Over at the Tower Theatre the Best Foreign Film Oscar winner The Secret in Their Eyes makes an appearance. I hear good things but does it have any crazy French toys in it? Didn’t think so! As for the big releases, go beyond the break to read on… (more…)