Month: June 2013 (Page 6 of 15)

Movie Review: “World War Z”

June 20, 2013 / Jason Zingale

Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Fana Mokoena, Sterling Jerins, Abigail Hargrove

Marc Forster

“World War Z” has gone through a battle of its own just to make it into theaters. In addition to rumors of a bloated budget and unrest on the set between director Mark Forster and star Brad Pitt, the film’s original release date was pushed back six months to accommodate major rewrites and additional shooting. The studio may not have been able to keep the behind-the-scenes drama under wraps, but it doesn’t seem to have affected the final product, because you honestly wouldn’t know there was even a problem to begin with from watching the movie. Although fans of Max Brooks’ bestselling novel will undoubtedly be disappointed by how much has been changed during the adaptation from page to screen, “World War Z” is an immensely entertaining film that also happens to be much smarter than your average summer blockbuster.

Pitt stars as Gerry Lane, a former United Nations worker who specialized in averting international disasters. These days, however, he’s just an ordinary stay-at-home dad living with his wife (Mireille Enos) and two kids in Philadelphia. During a routine trip into the city one morning, all hell breaks loose when people suddenly start attacking others on the street like feral animals, transforming the victims into similar monsters within seconds of being bitten. Gerry and his family barely manage to escape the chaos and are eventually rescued by helicopter and transported to an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean after his old U.N. buddy Thierry (Fana Mokoena) pulls some strings. Of course, Thierry has ulterior motives for saving Gerry’s life and wants him back in the field immediately to help track down the cause of the zombie epidemic, and if he refuses, his family will be swiftly booted off the VIP-only vessel.

Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

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Movie Review: “The Bling Ring”

June 20, 2013 / Jason Zingale

Katie Chang, Isreal Broussard, Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien

Sofia Coppola

Sofia Coppola was once heralded as one of Hollywood’s most promising young directors, but over the years, she’s looked more likely to follow in the footsteps of her famous father’s recent work than his celebrated early films. After duds like “Marie Antoinette” and “Somewhere,” Coppola needed to deliver something great to get her career back on track, but while “The Bling Ring” offers an interesting commentary on America’s fame-obsessed youth culture, it’s an incredibly shallow exposé that barely skims the surface of what could have been a fascinating drama. Based on Nancy Jo Sales’ Vanity Fair article “The Suspect Wore Louboutins,” there’s no real point to the movie, unless it’s to say that stealing from B-list celebrities will make you equally as famous, in which case, isn’t it just contributing to the problem?

Though all of the names have been changed, Coppola doesn’t shy away from the fact that it’s based on a true story. If only the studio was as upfront about Emma Watson’s involvement, because despite being marketed as the star of the film, the actress plays a surprisingly small role. Instead, the story is centered on a gay outcast named Marc (Israel Broussard), who meets type-A bad girl Rebecca (Katie Chang) during his first day at a new school and is promptly taken under her wing. After wetting their feet with some petty thefts, Rebecca convinces Marc to break into Paris Hilton’s house when they read on a gossip website that she’s out of town for the night, leaving the pair free to go on a mini shopping spree of the hotel heiress’ massive wardrobe.

When they boast about how easy their conquest was to friends Nicki (Watson), Sam (Taissa Farmiga) and Chloe (Claire Julien), the group of teenage kleptomaniacs returns to Hilton’s house to indulge in their celebrity fantasies, leading to a series of burglaries in the homes of other Hollywood Hills residents like Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox, Miranda Kerr and Rachel Bilson. (In every instance, one of the doors was either unlocked, or in the case of Hilton, a key was left under the doormat.) And since Coppola intercuts the main narrative with scenes of the rich kids preparing for their big day in court, it’s not a spoiler to reveal that they were eventually caught.

Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

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R.I.P. James Gandolfini

June 20, 2013 / Gerardo Orlando

James Gandolfini passed away in Rome, Italy due to an apparent heart attack. He was only 51 years old.

Gandolfini became famous with his portrayal of Tony Soprano. “The Sopranos” is one of the best and most influential dramas in TV history, and the success of the show hinged on Gandolfini’s role as Tony. In many ways the Tony Soprano character lived up to the stereotypes of a New Jersey mob boss, but the brilliance and appeal of “The Sopranos” derived from showing every aspect of Tony’s life, including the small challenges and joys of everyday life. The hook was the idea that this mob boss was seeing a psychiatrist to deal with his panic attacks, but that was just the device to help David Chase flush out this complex and fascinating character.

The writing on the show was brilliant, but it would have gone nowhere without Gandolfini in the lead role. The Tony he created was real, so all the tough guy mob scenes seemed authentic and believable, just like his interactions with his family and friends. Of course, he and the show benefited from an amazing cast, with Edie Falco as Carmela in an equally compelling role. With the two of them, we saw all of the conflicts and contradictions of the lives they lived.

“The Sopranos” helped bring about the revolution in television that saw an explosion of creativity on cable TV, a process that is now broadening even further to streaming original shows on Netflix. Forget about broadcast TV and even most movies – the best stuff is all happening on cable, and that’s been the case for years. In a world where we can access all of these shows on multiple formats and on multiple devices, viewers are much better off watching series like “The Sopranos,” “Breaking Bad,” “The Wire,” etc. over the latest movies. You can’t underestimate the influence of “The Sopranos” and James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano.

Entertainment

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The Light from the TV Shows: A Chat with Kelly Lynch (“Magic City”)

June 20, 2013 / Will Harris

I can’t vouch for anyone else’s experience with the phenomenon of “going viral,” but in mine, when you collaborate with someone and the resulting effort ends up being viewed by literally millions of people, it creates somewhat of a bond between you, mostly because…well, it’s just weird, y’know? Or maybe it’s just weird for me because more people know about a story Kelly Lynch told me in our Random Roles conversation for the AV Club – you know, the one about how Bill Murray or one of his brothers will call Lynch’s husband, Mitch Glazer, whenever “Road House” is on, just so they can say, “Your wife’s having sex with Patrick Swayze right now” – than have ever read any other interview I’ve ever done in my entire career.

Either way, I’ve kept in touch with Ms. Lynch ever since that phone interview, getting to meet her and Mr. Glazer in person a few months later and earlier this month I was even invited to ask her and Danny Huston a few questions when they made an appearance on Huffington Post Live. After we wrapped up that brief virtual encounter (they were in the studio, I did my bit via Google+ Hangouts), I sent her a hopeful Tweet, saying, “Maybe we can still do a proper interview to talk about Season 2 of ‘Magic City.'” The next thing you know, we were back on the phone with each other, talking about where we’ll see her character, Meg Bannock, headed this season, how she handles work-related discussions with her husband, and how awesome it is to see Sherilyn Fenn turn up on the series.

Bullz-Eye: How are you?

Kelly Lynch: I’m good! Well, I’m surviving. Mitch had a big party up at our house last night for his post-production group, who are some of the best post people I’ve ever been involved with. I mean, from sound to the music to the CG…they’re just amazing. A lot of them have never done TV, don’t want to do TV, and won’t do TV, but they’ve been Glazed, as we say. [Laughs.] He’s a beloved guy, and they just fell in love with the show and fell in love with Mitch. So we had a food truck and a bar with mojitos and margaritas and stuff. We still have a pitcher of margaritas in my fridge that’s calling my name. I keep going, “No!” So I’m surviving, but needless to say, I had a few more margaritas last night, and I may yet have a few more today. But it was really fun, and it was really great to be able to say “thanks” to all those guys and gals. Half of the show is putting it all together.

Entertainment, Interviews, News, Television

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Car Review: 2013 Kia Optima SX Premium

June 18, 2013 / Staff

For Kia, the Optima has been somewhat of a trailblazer, as many cars on the road today seem to incorporate something from the Optima in their design cues. Since being completely redesigned in 2010, Kia’s dramatic and eye-catching Optima midsize sedan has become a sales leader for the brand and garnered a long list of awards and accolades. Optima returns to the lineup in 2013 with the same unbeatable combination of head-turning design, fun-to-drive performance, modern amenities and long list of standard safety features, in addition to strong consumer appeal and record sales. We were looking forward to a week behind the wheel of the 2013 Kia Optima SX Premium to see first-hand if all the hype was warranted.

EXTERIOR

The 2013 Kia Optima SX Premium is such a striking looking vehicle and with the snow white pearl paint that our test model was sporting, I couldn’t help but admire this flashy set of wheels. The 2013 Optima projects a refined, performance-oriented aesthetic with a sleek silhouette, aggressive stance and sculpted elements that evoke passion and communicate Kia Motors’ dedication to creating stylish and dynamic vehicles. The Optima’s aggressive face proudly features the brand’s signature tabbed grille complemented by projector headlamps, while Optima’s coupe-like profile is accentuated by a sweeping chrome arc that flows seamlessly from the A through C pillars – a distinctive design element that visually lowers the car while enhancing its proportions. Optima’s roofline connects with its pronounced shoulder line, leading to its sculpted flanks and accentuating its extended wheelbase. Boldly flared wheel arches and a raked cabin create a sedan with a graceful muscular presence. Many have tried to replicate this look, but there is only one Optima from the front to the rear.

Every 2013 Optima comes well-equipped with a generous roster of standard features, with the LX trim offering dual exhaust with chrome tips, solar glass, exterior mirror turn signal indicators, front fog lights, exterior heated mirrors, chrome accented exterior door handles and 16-inch alloy wheels fitted with 205/65R16 tires and a six-speed automatic transmission. The volume-leading EX trim offers larger 17-inch alloy wheels fitted with 215/55R17 tires. Moving to the SX, consumers will find stylish 18-inch polished alloy wheels with 225/45R18 tires, unique front and rear lower bumpers and side sills, a rear lip spoiler, aero wiper blades and HID headlights with auto leveling. Elevating to the all-new top-of-the-line Limited trim that Bullz-Eye tested brings Optima to another level of sporty refinement, adding unique and luxurious 18-inch chrome wheels, daytime running lights, red brake calipers, chrome accented side sills, chromed side mirrors and rear spoiler.

INTERIOR

Ever since the new Kia Optima launched in 2010, the folks at Kia have continuously improved the interior cabin, and 2013 is no different. With sleek modern lines and a host of thoughtful features, the interior of the Optima exudes performance and was designed with drivers in mind. From the instrument panel that’s contoured toward the driver to create a cockpit-like feel, to the precise gauges and steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters, Optima’s interior provides the experience of a performance vehicle without sacrificing comfort or roominess. A sport-inspired Sportmatic shifter delivers crisp shifts, while an available panoramic sunroof provides an open-air feeling.

Car Reviews, Cars

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