“The Innkeepers” is earning some praise for its lack of gore, but it’s the lack of content that left me struggling to stay awake. Even the music sounds like it’s been pulled from an after school TV movie soundtrack. A movie that might’ve been about bff’s planning a party, not…
Read More“The Grey” Wolfs Down Horror Movie Cliches
“The Grey” with Liam Neeson won the weekend box office, and earned plaudits from all corners of the critical universe…but not from me. What starts out as a classy, enigmatic film ultimately ends in a formulaic, paint by numbers, trudge through frozen tundra and icy clichés. Liam Neeson’s voice overs…
Read MoreMovie Review: “A Separation” , One Of The Year’s Best, Opens In The DC Area
So far, the Iranian film, “A Separation” is two-for-two, winning both the Critic’s Choice and Golden Globes statues for Best Foreign Language Film. Expect the trip to continue all the way to Oscar night. Set in present day Iran, this story goes places you never see coming, after starting with…
Read MoreThe Ten Best Films Of 2011
My Favorite Films of 2011 Why does Hollywood make us go through 10 months of hit and misses before back-end loading the year with all the good stuff in December, with releases that continue into January? The short answer is that the studios want their most “Award Worthy” films fresh…
Read MoreReview: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I
Just the title, “Breaking Dawn: Part 1” appearing on the screen was enough to start the girls’ squeal s at the 2.5 second mark of the film. At approximately 27 seconds into the film, and I swear I’m not making this up, “Jacob” (Abs of steel owner Taylor Lautner) rips…
Read MoreMovie Review: “J. Edgar” All Dressed Up With No Place To Go
Like I have several times previously, I initially doubted that the still baby-faced Leonardo DiCaprio would be able to play a much older character of gravitas, but DiCaprio’s turn as the revered and reviled J. Edgar Hoover in his late 70’s is both a technical marvel and proof that it’s…
Read MoreInterview: Elizabeth Olsen, Rising Star From “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
When Elizabeth Olsen walks into the room, she is both confident and gracious. It’s hard to believe that the well-spoken woman before you just graduated high school four years ago. But then again, this 22 year old is the younger sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, she has a lifetime…
Read MoreReview: Paranormal Activity 3. Bored To Death.
If there’s one thing you’ll need to make it through the Paranormal Acitivity movies. Just one thing? It’d have to be patience. What else will get you through three movies that have a net total of, say, 15 minutes of “action” or “scares”? Not even a large soda was enough…
Read MoreRavi Kabob in Arlington. If You Can Find A Better Kabob In The Area, Call Me
Don’t you love finding great food in unlikely places? Ravi Kabob boasts, perhaps, the worst ambience of any eatery in Arlington. The lighting is dingy, the linoleum floor depressing, and the guy at the cash register does Not-Have-Time for you to glance at the menu and decide what you want,…
Read More“Merzi” Restaurant In DC Is Good and Fast. Imagine A Chipotle In Bombay.
I had about an hour to kill before the play at Woolly Mammoth Theatre in the Penn Quarter district of DC was to begin. I was starving, but knew I wouldn’t have time for a “sit-down” meal. I also knew that I was tired of fast food and figured I’d…
Read MoreMovie Review: “The Thing” It’s A Decent Ice-Breaker
Okay, here’s the thing about, um, “The Thing”…it does what it’s supposed to do for its intended audience. Nothing more, nothing less. I am not going to waste space comparing this to any other version that’s been made because,well,who cares? You’ve already decided whether The Thing is, um, your thing…
Read MoreWhy Do Shows At The Birchmere Always Sound So Great?
[bliptv AYLVn2cA] A quick look behind the scenes at the guys responsible for making the house sound amazing every night at The Birchmere in Alexandria VA Tweet Pin It
Read MoreReview: Contagion. Catch It This Weekend
Firstly, forget the over-amped ads that have titles like “Pulse Pounding” pushing out of the TV screen and into your lap. “Contagion” is smarter than that, even if it isn’t quite as exciting as the commercials will lead you to believe. You see, they underestimate you, those movie-selling folks—they think…
Read MoreReview: Bret Michaels At The Birchmere-Look What The Cat Dragged In
You can speculate on just how far his hairline recedes beneath his ever present bandana, and you can slag off his band Poison, now celebrating 25 years as one the 80’s most loved and loathed “Hair Metal” bands. But what you absolutely cannot do, ever, is suggest that Bret Michaels…
Read MoreFive Questions With Octavia Spencer and Director Tate Taylor From “The Help”
“The Help” is a rather nice movie about an ugly subject. Based on the bestselling book by Kathryn Stockett, and directed by her personal friend, Tate Taylor, it tells the story of African American “domestics” who, with the encouragement of a young white woman, recount their personal stories of…
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