Boy, this is going to be one short review. This movie has more spoilers than the 1967 Enterprise had Tribbles…and in the interest of full disclosure, this is written by the Cinema Siren who owns chairs from the Voyager show, can list the original episodes in order of appearance, has a T-shirt with a quote in Klingon, and a model of the Enterprise signed by all the original cast members. That is to say, fandom lives here. Any experience of watching the new release by director J. J. Abrams would naturally be filtered through a brain steeped in Star Trek knowledge and lore. That being said, …

Let's face it. Those of you who are interested in films of Iron Man's ilk and have waited through a year of Comic-Cons dressed like your favorite Marvel superhero, do not need Cinema Siren to tell you whether to head out this weekend to keep one of Hollywood's biggest studio franchises alive and Robert Downey Jr. out of the poorhouse.   You already have your tickets. It is the souls who usually stay home with a glass of wine watching Downton Abbey, and occasion the multiplex only for the most hyped and well reviewed blockbusters they want to charm into theaters. Iron Man 3 is playing at Rave …

By the time the bombastic yet tragic minor-keyed Lord of the Rings-type theme music swelled to accompany Jack The Giant Slayer's climactic battle scenes, I was tempted to flamboyantly roll my eyes in slow motion. I couldn't have cared less.   This new release, that was slated for last summer and tellingly sat on the shelf until now, is exceedingly straight-ahead, uninventive and laden with special effects. It leaves the audience feeling like it spent an evening at an expensive restaurant expecting to taste some delicious, innovative dish, only to find themselves digesting a bland, flavorless …

LONDON — Cinema Siren is writing from London this week, and preparing to see James McAvoy in Macbeth at Trafalgar Transformed. A fan of his work for years, I jumped at the chance to see a new and exciting version of the play put together by the famous British stage director Jamie Lloyd with production design by Soutra Gilmour, who won the 2012 Evening Standard award for Best Design.   It got me thinking about the many cinematic versions of Shakespeare's work in film history. Shakespeare never goes out of style, as witnessed by the recent release directed by Ralph Fiennes, Coriolanus in 2012. …

  Sometimes a movie is just...bad. We can all watch it and see what they had in mind, how the pitch went, how the director and producers signed on, and talked some pretty big stars into taking part.  And we can see the whole thing derail through to post production, delayed release, and as we watch the finished product with an ever-dwindling vestige of hope. Such is the case for Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.   Why Cinema Siren is reviewing this movie at all is a fair question. I go on record as saying there is always a chance a good movie will find its way to the multiplex in January. Not …

  January — everyone knows it is when the mediocre to the truly awful hobble off to die a quick death after beating each other senseless for a quick buck in the box office arena. When a film gets slated for release it is because there are no other contenders to fight for those dollars, or it won't survive any other time anyway.  After all, everyone with any sense is scrambling to see the Oscar nominees. So one approaches January movies with a mix of optimism and dread. Two genre-specific movies are being released this week. If you are a fan of horror or ultra-violent action flicks, the …

The 85th Academy Awards…These Oscar noms are full of the biggest surprises and snubs in a while, although there are still going to be some complete shoe-ins.   Let's get to it! Will Affleck forever pay for Gigli? Argo and Zero Dark Thirty are both movies that have been highly lauded, with multiple nominations. That doesn't happen in a vacuum. What sense does it make for the directors not to get nominated as well? I speak of Ben Affleck of Argo and Kathryn Bigelow of Zero Dark Thirty, the latter of whom's exclusion is truly shocking.  These directors spend the entire time the film is being …

  The box office receipts didn't automatically match studio expectations in 2012. For once, some of the most lauded movies took money away from the mediocre ones. This year we saw superheroes, grown-up movies, genre mash-ups and cartoons scoring places at the top of the box office. Much was made about big flops, from the divisive John Carter and ridiculous Battleship, both of which starred the same unlucky actor. This topsy turvy year in the world of film is likely to lead to some interesting shifts in focus for actors and filmmakers alike. Out of respect and a hope for healing I'm sure we …

"Django Unchained" is playing in Centreville. See showtimes here. If at this point in the season, dear reader, you are still hankering for Hallmark holiday rom-coms or your umpteenth viewing of "Rudy", let me suggest you give this review nothing more than a scan and toss away any thoughts of seeing Quentin Tarantino's latest. If however, you passed the worst dysfunctional family holiday in recent memory, "Django Unchained," the spectacularly politically incorrect and beautifully acted mash-up of revenge fantasy and spaghetti Western may be the perfect antidote.  If you are a fan of the …

The film makers want to ask you, "Will you join in their crusade?"  After much promotion and fanfare, a new musical film interpretation of Les Misérables is opening nationwide.  For you non-"Mis" folk, the story is of Prisoner 24601 Jean Valjean, who breaks parole, is hunted relentlessly by Inspector Javert and encounters various troubled and impoverished characters in post-revolutionary France.  Based on the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo, it is beloved by generations of musical theater fans. The musical version of the movie was a risky undertaking, but now promises a huge pay-off to the studio, …

The Washington West Film Festival has come once again to its home in Northern Virginia, playing new documentaries, shorts and feature films through Sunday. With the tag line "Story Can Change the World," WWFF is unique in all the festival circuit by donating 100 percent of all profits every year to a charity.  This year they will aid in Hurricane Sandy relief.   This year's showings are in Reston Town Center, Reston's Center Stage and at the Angelika Mosaic Film Center in Merrifield.   Cinema Siren is on the jury to vote for the best documentary feature, so I won't say yet what I think of …

  Cinema Siren stumbled off a plane from Paris and stumbled into a darkened movie theater Saturday afternoon to see actor/director Ben Affleck's great new fall release, Argo. This highly entertaining movie was made all the more fun by being in a sold-out theater with a crowd entirely made up of people over 30 at 1:50 in the afternoon. When was the last time any of you have seen that? Our thanks go to Ben Affleck, who has turned into quite a force in Hollywood, offering a smartly entertaining movie that is both fast-paced and extremely exciting. You'd think anyone in Hollywood who got the …

PARIS — This week, Cinema Siren is writing from France, land of unpasteurized cheese, Jerry Lewis obsession, well-behaved dogs in restaurants and a great appreciation of auteur film directors. I'm here for the opening of a Star Wars toy exhibit at the Louvre that involves some film art friends of mine.   Nowhere would there be a better place to speak of the gorgeous piece of animated film-making that is Frankenweenie than where there is in fact no literal translation for "director's cut," because it wouldnt occur to the French that there would be any other version of a film. Tim Burton is …

  Looper is an ambitious and deeper take on time-travel and the future than the usual sci-fi action flick, and if approached with patience and an open mind, it will blow yours away at least as much as the oft-featured blunderbuss in the film. It starts slowly. In fact, it maintains a decidedly European style in its ambiguity and attention to character detail. Although the fashion in France and greater Europe of late has been toward all flash and no substance (Banlieu 13, The Horde), Looper recalls the type of art house vibe that made Blade Runner, for example, the top of its genre.  There are…

The Angelika at Mosaic, a new art house theater that will offer independent, foreign and classic films, opens this weekend in Fairfax at Lee Highway and Gallows Road, 2911 District Ave.   The upscale setting for the Angelika Film Center and Cafe includes swanky cocktails, craft beer, specialty wines, "global fusion cuisine" by chef Lee Anne Wong of "Top Chef" fame and a twist on the usual concession snacks. There will be a variety of special programming to enhance their opening weekend, and it will represent what they expect to feature with future film releases going forward. Fans of films …

The box office for last weekend is in, and it is an interesting statement on the need for escapism that Resident Evil: Retribution (the fifth in a franchise I once upon a time very much enjoyed) roundhouse kicked Finding Nemo 3D at the box office, with $21 million to Nemo's $16.6 million in ticket sales.  While it is true that Nemo is a movie many have already seen, it also boasts a 99 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a rating few movies of any kind attain, while the most recent trip back deep into the bowels of the Umbrella Corporation starring Milla Jovovich fighting brainless zombies …

If Cinema Siren had a dime for every time a perfectly down-to-earth average adult said Finding Nemo is one of their favorite movies, I might have a yacht as big as Steven Spielberg's. The Siren knows animation. Alter ego Leslie Combemale owns a gallery that has specialized in animation and film art for 19 years. When I say "I know Nemo," I mean I've seen it at least 20 times, and have met and spoken to Pixar animators and directors many times. I remember the way they spoke of Finding Nemo in hushed tones in 2003, just before it was released. The artists knew they had something spectacular. It…

"Moonrise Kingdom" is coming to theaters in a much wider release this Friday.  Cinema Siren places this film as one of the top of 2012, and shows in this case the director's genius for creating a mythic, nostalgic world vaguely tethered to reality that is thoroughly engaging and wholly charming.   Wes Anderson's latest and best effort stars two newcomers as young lovers running away together who must be found before a historic storm reaches landfall on the isolated island that is their 1965 home. Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray and Frances McDormand are all players in the ensemble …

In Greek mythology, Prometheus got in big trouble for handing over the secret of fire to mere mortals. In modern day, he represents the quest for human knowledge and achievement. Of course, he wound up tied to a rock and having an eagle peck his guts out every day. Apparently the team who embarks on their own quest for knowledge in the spacecraft that supplies the title of Ridley Scott's highly anticipated new film hadn't gotten the foreshadowing memo. For them, asking questions about human origin, and actively seeking answers, is the beginning of Bad Things happening, but then we audience …