J.J. Abrams, the man who rebooted the Star Trek film franchise four years ago to widespread and well deserving acclaim, has done it again with a new and exciting concept in this second installment. One could say that he has singled-handedly picked up the franchise and blew the dust of off it and given it relevance and appeal. It seems as though he embraced the chance to insert his magic in to part two of his mission to make Trek viable, vibrant and cool again. After the confident take-off of part one, I like how he keeps this franchise flying with a much faster, better paced, logically sequenced sequel that makes for the most thrilling Star Trek since First Contact. Also, there’s the sense of an expanded universe in this one, where the characters and plot are much bolder and mature, and might somehow indicate the direction of future installments.

Naturally Kirk and Spock are back, with Chris Pine (This Means War, 2012) and Zachary Quinto (Heroes – TV Series) still fitting the roles as comfortably as their Ly’cra-material jumpsuits. Then there’s Simon Pegg (Mission Impossible IV – Ghost Protocol, 2011) back in a much bigger, much funnier role as engineer Scotty (complete with a cabbage-headed sidekick), dropping exasperated one-liners that are off-the-cuff hilarious. He’s backed by Karl Urban (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) as medical man Bones, chiming in with his constant colorful metaphors (“You don’t rob a bank when the getaway car has a flat tire!” lol). Sulu, Chekov and the others are onboard also, but what’s most notable about the crew is the return of sexy Zoe Saldana (Colombiana, 2011) as Nyota Uhura (Spock’s love interest) and Alice Eve (Men in Black III, 2012) playing the sexy Dr. Carol Marcus: Weapons specialist. Wow, what eye-candy! Lastly, but certainly not least, we have Benedict Cumberbatch (The Hobbit, 2012), playing the badass rogue Starfleet officer called John Harrison. I thought his villainous role was awesome, but believe that they could have come up with a more outlandish name than that for a Star Trek villain. READ FULL STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS FILM REVIEW >>

The time is the roaring 20s. The place is none other than New York, Long Island specifically. The who is pretty obvious. The what could be considered an obsession perhaps. The how is all about the Benjamins baby . . . money. The why is the same reason for so much in life, love. Many of us read this story in High School, but to be honest, I hardly remember a full sentence. What I do remember is that it is a good story written by a good author. After seeing this film, it just confirmed the fact. Now the movie is listed as an adaptation of the novel so it might not be exactly like it, although I would have to say that it does it justice. What a literary work it is. It is a love story and a tragedy. It is larger than life and grandiose, and yet takes you to the core of human passion and desire. In this film, the story is masterfully presented and displayed. The beautiful Art Deco style is rampant throughout along with the overall decadence of the era. This movie is truly a visual spectacle as it would need to be to properly bring this story to the big screen. The visual aspect is arguably the best aspect of the film. Now, there is some debate as to the use of 3D for this movie. Priscilla and I saw it in 3D and even though, sure, it made it a little more spectacular, we wonder if it is really necessary. We think it could have been just as good without it. Keep that in mind when you’re at the box office. Another part of the visual treat is the costumes/wardrobe. It wouldn’t surprise me if it gets a nomination. Oh yeah, and another thing, I love that font used in the title screens and posters.

So the star of the show is the visual, followed closely by the story. Coming in third in this tight race is the performances. Within that category, the star of the show is undoubtedly Leonardo DiCaprio. Leo was perfectly cast for this role. READ FULL THE GREAT GATSBY FILM REVIEW >>

Tyler Perry is at it once again. This time attempting to bring us a purely tongue-in-cheek romantic comedy, that delves in to a very much chartered territory. He produces this one, but he didn’t write the screenplay or star in it despite the fact that we have pretty much become accustomed to his multi-layered talents and multi-layered involvement. Consequently, I hate to say it, but this latest effort would probably have been a stronger film if he did follow his usual MO and involvement by playing a bigger part. 

Craig Robinson (The Office – TV series), in his first starring movie role, plays the somewhat awkward, badly dressed, but calm cool and collected Wade Walker, who’s meeting the family of his girlfriend for the first time. He does a somewhat mediocre job with the part and doesn’t seem to fit in quite well with the lead role in a romantic comedy. I would go as far as to say that the role would have been better suited to someone like Martin Lawrence (Bad Boys, 1995) or Will Smith because Robinson is neither funny enough nor is he diverse enough, in range.

On the other hand, Kerry Washington (Django Unchained, 2012), plays the daughter of a ball-busting federal judge and patriarch played by funny-man David Alan Grier (In Living Color – TV series). She takes on the role of a seemingly innocent and charming, Grace Peeples and is poised, sexy and brings lots of convincing charm to the role. She is certainly a pleasure to watch bringing her character to life; Though, I didn’t feel that her sweet little-sister character was a good match for Robinson’s clumsy character that at times did not play off of each other quite well romantically. READ FULL PEEBLES FILM REVIEW >>