"Shorts" 20 Aug 2009, 12:04 pm

Wishing for a innovative and imaginative family film? Look no further than Robert Rodriguez's Shorts. The visionary director has crafted a 21st century fairy tale that's cool enough for the kids and smart enough for the adults. The cool factor comes from Rodriguez's fast-forward and rewind narrative structure that nods to Pulp Fiction with a big grin. Shorts is basically a cinematic playground for Rodriguez and the child stars, and that's why it's so fun. This is a fairy tale for the iPhone generation. Toe Thompson (Jimmy Bennett) discovers a rainbow-colored "wishing rock" that grants any wish he can come up with. The rock can summon pint-size alien friends or an endless supply of chocolate bars. Toe is in desperate need of friends when the movie kicks off. His parents, the hilarious duo of Jon Cryer and Leslie Mann, are too tied up in their jobs working at the company that made the BLACK BOX—the ultimate all-in-one device to truly give Toe time. The BLACK BOX is a phone,

"Inglourious Basterds" 20 Aug 2009, 12:01 pm

Quentin Tarantino's long-awaited Inglourious Basterds is a fairy tale. The movie even begins with the line "Once upon a time…" With that choice of opener, Tarantino calls attention to the fact that this is, in fact, fantasy. It's really about a boy's love for classic cinema—The Dirty Dozen, Sergio Leone, etc. From that love, Tarantino has pieced together his most epic and intimate work yet. Basterds is the first classic film of 2009, and it illuminates the legendary filmmaker at his best. There are various narrative threads to Tarantino's WWII tapestry. Each one is equally important and, in true Tarantino fashion, they all weave together seamlessly at the end. There are the eponymous "Basterds" who occupy a sizable segment of the film. Led by Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine, his best performance thus far, the Basterds are behind enemy lines with one purpose—to kill and scalp Nazis. "The Germans will be sickened by us," says Pitt in his hilariously confident Southern drawl. As

"(500) Days of Summer" 18 Aug 2009, 6:17 pm

On the 500 Days of Summer soundtrack, the sound of unrequited love is oh so beautiful. This generation's cinematic ballad for the broken-hearted sees Joseph Gordon-Levitt endlessly pursuing every hipster's crush, Zooey Deschanel. The movie's soundtrack couldn't be more gorgeously heart-wrenching either. Of course, the master of pop sorrow, Morrissey, shows up on two classic Smiths tracks "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" and "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out." Somber modern fare like Doves' "There Goes the Fear" sits alongside Morrissey and Simon & Garfunkel's warm "Bookends" comfortably. Regina Spektor adds some unique levity—but the true highlight is when Deschanel busts out her own rendition of "Please, Please, Please…" for She & Him's album closer. Getting your heart broken never felt so good.—Rick

"The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard" 14 Aug 2009, 1:10 pm

By the end of The Goods [Paramount], you're going to love Don Ready. This used car salesman is easy to root for because he's so slick and sharp. However, Don isn't simply a rehash of Jeremy Piven's now iconic Ari Gold. Whereas Ari is the ultimate suit-and-tie wearing Hollywood mastermind, Don Ready is a modern cowboy. With his paisley sleeves rolled up and his vest thinly veiling a wifebeater, he goes from town to town selling cars, breaking hearts and inspiring those around him to, as the movie poster says, "Live hard, sell hard." The Goods works so well because Piven breathes an immense amount of life into Ready. It's an unorthodox performance for sure. Piven acts cool but he never comes off as cocky. Rather, there's a certain charm to his pickup lines. Take one especially funny quote, "How much does a polar bear weigh? Enough to break the Ice! I'm Don Ready." He's got a '70s sense of swagger and a modern penchant for profanity. He tells the employees of Selleck

"The Ugly Truth" 28 Jul 2009, 6:14 pm

"It's a matter of looking chaos in the eye and telling it to F-off," exclaims Katherine Heigl's Abby Richter early on in The Ugly Truth. That's an important quote for a few reasons. It doesn't simply apply to the chaos inherent in Richter's job as a news show producer for a local Sacramento channel. It's actually more applicable to modern dating. Dating is chaotic. Many young professionals are fickle and driven by whim. So how do you navigate those murky waters and hold onto your sanity? You have to understand The Ugly Truth, which according to Mike Chadway—a fantastically funny Gerard Butler—is that all men are dogs. Mike has become the new hot-button risqué anchor of Abby's news program and she couldn't hate him more. However, she reluctantly begins to realize that he may be right. After he bets her that he can fix her dating life, she takes some notes from him. That's when the real fun begins. The premise of the film is simple but smart. Abby must rely on Mike to get

"Pray for Villains" by DevilDriver 27 Jul 2009, 2:27 am

You don't wanna fuck with Devildriver. On Pray for Villains, these five Southern California cowboys from Hell have their six guns drawn and aimed right at the competition. They blow absolutely everyone away too. The international heavy metal hype machine never gave them the credit that they deserve. The media has always been way too busy blowing the horn for the likes of Lamb of God, Mastodon, Suicide Silence and Job for a Cowboy. However, Pray for Villains is a metallic masterpiece—one of the only records from the "New Wave of American Heavy Metal" that you'll want to play for your kids someday. Pray for Vilains allows each member of Devildriver the space to shine. These five men all deserve the devil's due. On tracks like "Pure Sincerity" and "Forgiveness is a Six Gun," John Boecklin's drumming simply destroys. He can shift from incendiary, demonic double bass to polyrhythmic madness seamlessly. In fact, Boecklin combines Dave Lombardo's penchant for percussive pummeling with

"Orphan" by DevilDriver 24 Jul 2009, 11:45 am

There's something beautifully terrifying about Orphan. It's a chilling psychological thriller that creeps inside the viewer's psyche and doesn't leave without a fight. Everything goes down in a gorgeous snowy setting, and the white-out isolation contributes to the film's ere of evil. From the opening dream scene, it's hard to turn away. Vera Farmiga's Kate Coleman is wheeled through an overly sterile hospital. She's on her way to give birth to her third child. However, something is going very wrong. Director Jaume Collet-Serra's crawling camera shows a trail of blood on the floor beneath the creaky wheelchair. The blood remains ominous, and what happens next is completely unnerving—setting the tone for the entire film. Jaume's filmmaking channels Italian horror maestro Dario Argento—juxtaposing dreamy darkness with real life tragedy. The results are pure horror gold. Back to reality, Kate and her husband John—a fantastic Peter Sarsgaard—have lost their third child Jessica, and

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by DevilDriver 15 Jul 2009, 12:05 pm

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the Hogwarts gang's Empire Strikes Back. It's a very dark film, but it's the most engrossing and enchanting of the series thus far. Director David Yates pulls the audience deeper into Hogwarts than ever before as Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and Co. start really growing up. Everyone's favorite school for witches and wizards is undergoing all kinds of changes, and metamorphosis is the name of the game this time around. Voldemort's Death Eaters are causing all kinds of trouble, and it's apparent that the dark lord is closer. So Headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) employs Harry's help once more. This time, Dumbledore needs Harry to unearth a secret about Voldemort from returning Potions Professor, Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbont. However, that's only the tip of the iceberg. Harry discovers a surprisingly potent potions book that once belonged to the mysterious "Half-Blood Prince," while his closest friend Ron Weasley (Rupert

"This Is Jim Jones" by Jim Jones 6 Jul 2009, 6:43 pm

"I'm not really famous, but I bet all the famous people know me. I guess I moved past that," declares Jim Jones" as he exhales a plume of smoke at the beginning of the new documentary This Is Jim Jones. He's moved past all of that Hollywood glitter for sure, and that statement rings out louder than shots from a drive-by. If you know who Jim Jones is, you can't deny him. Jones is an icon in the best way possible. The rapper/label exec/video exec doesn't try at all. He just is Jim Jones. Similar to his current masterpiece, Pray IV Reign, there's no pretense, no bullshit, no façade and absolutely no pulled punches in this film. This phenomenal down and dirty documentary shows Jim to be the man he claims to be—Harlem's most passionate and determined Capo. This is Jim Jones traces Jim's journey from growing up surrounded by drugs and addiction in Harlem to his first taste of success with Cam'Ron and The Diplomats to becoming a solo artist to releasing Pray IV Reign on Columbia

"Public Enemies" by Jim Jones 1 Jul 2009, 2:30 pm

Johnny Depp is the perfect John Dillinger. In Public Enemies, Depp gives Dillinger depth. He understands the nuances of one of America's most famous outlaws, and he doesn't play him as good or bad. He plays him as real. Dillinger is a complicated cat. During "The Golden Age of Bank Robbery," he reigned supreme. He was cool, cold and calculated, and Depp embodies each quality flawlessly on film. Much of the character's complexity comes from how conscious Dillinger was about his public image. In one scene Depp mentions, "The public don't like kidnapping." Bank robbery is fine; just don't steal anybody. Dillinger wanted to be a celebrity, so it makes sense that one of the biggest celebrities on the planet should play him, but Depp brings this iconic figure to life. His awareness of Dillinger's intricacies leads to the creation of an intriguing character that will draw viewers back again and again. Depp shows every side of Dillinger—the suave lover, the ruthless killer, the