Movies Scheduled July 28- Aug. 4

Ok it is that time again and I am noticing people are just grabbing passes to trade. Please only take the movies that you are going to make, sure I know stuff comes up but don’t get them just to trade. Let others that can make that movie get the passes.



Please make sure when you are at the movies that you are respectfully of everyone around you. Don’t be talking throughout the movie. I know I am bad and need to watch myself on saying hmm. I don’t realize I am as loud as I am until the person next to me gets on to me, ok really she doesn’t she knows me well enough to know I am usually respectful. But sometimes you just have to hmmm when Hugh Jackman takes his shirt off. Yes you really do!


As always you can email me any questions you have damitdaina@hotmail.com.


See you at the movies



July 28st
Sunday

Smurfs 2 Noon at Northpark



July 29th
Monday

Smurfs 2 7pm TBA



July 30th
Tuesday

We Are the Millers 7:30 Northpark
2 Guns 7:30 Cinemark 17
Crystal Fairy 7:30 Angelika Dallas



July 31st
Wednesday

Kick Ass 2 4pm West Plano
Spectacular Now 7pm TBA
2 Guns 7:30 Norhtpark
Battle of the Year 7:30 West Plano



Aug. 1st
Thursday

Blue Jasmine 7:30 Angelika Dallas
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters 7 pm Cinemark 17


Aug. 2nd
Friday


Aug. 3rd
Saturday

One Direction: This is Us 10 am
Men In Black 8:45pm Main Street Garden

The Wolverine

Hugh Jackman is THE man. A perfect human specimen of machismo manifested as the immortal mutant, Wolverine. The indestructible Marvel comic character would not be as interesting if he wasn't suffering some emotional dilemma like outliving everyone he cares about, especially his beloved Jean Grey who he killed in X-Men: The Last Stand. Director James Mangold and writers Mark Bomback and Scott Frank start the story shortly after the events in that last movie. Living as a recluse in the Yukon, Logan harbours a death wish as he's being haunted by his dreams. It's a story of redemption and repentance and you don't know what you got til it's gone.

Yukio (Rila Fukushima), a young quirky red headed Japanese woman helps out Logan before he can do too much damage to some hunters who had killed a grizzly. Yukio has been searching for him for her employer Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi), the rich and powerful owner of Yashida Industries. Her boss is dying and charged her with bringing Logan to Japan to thank him. During WWII, Logan as a prisoner in Nagasaki, saved Yashida the day the atomic bomb fell. He witnessed Logan's amazing regenerative powers. Yashida offers to give Logan what he wants more than anything else...to become mortal. To live a normal live, grown old and die. Part of Logan is tempted, but suspects something is seriously wrong. His interest is peaked by Mariko (Tao Okamoto), Yashida's granddaughter and heir to his fortune. It seems her father and fiancé have some other plans. Mariko's life is in danger and Logan can't help himself but to protect her.

An attempt to kidnap Mariko and they go on the run. There's some fast paced battles involving samurai, ninjas, and Yakuza with swords, arrows and everything else. The filmmakers took every genre of Japanese action movies and dumped it together. It's hard to tell who's is fighting who. In Wolverine mode the clawed Logan battles his way to Mariko's capturers. The guys with the arrows seem to be helping them out or are they? They are being led by Harada (Will Yun Lee) a childhood friend of Mariko. There's a great battle on top of the bullet train as it speeds through the city. When they finally reach safety he notices something wrong. His injuries are not healing.

Obviously there's going to be a little something something going on with the lovely Mariko and the guilt tripped Logan. She brings out the humanity and innocence for him so that the epic battle at the end will a have more bittersweet meaning. Svetlana Khodchenkova as the tall blond Viper gets to wear some interesting skintight outfits with her slithering tongue, and poisonous breath and almost seems out of place as the only other mutant in the film except for that Silver Samurai, a giant robotic Samurai made of the indestructible metal adamantium.

While the movie seemed to lack the usual wall the wall action of the previous films, it did offer a different look for Wolverine and his angst. Plus more that one can wish for of Hugh Jackman's sculpted physique. Please wait for that extra scene during the credits for a tease that was probably the best part of the whole film.
(Review by reesa)

Movies schedule for July 21st - 27th

Before everyone starts asking for passes for Wolverine please make sure you reply to the person offering and not the whole group. If you do it correctly the first time then you are more likely to get the passes and not have to wait for me to reject it. I want everyone to be able to see the movies they want!


Please make sure only to get passes that you will be able to attend. I know there are a few people out there that always seems to have passes but yet they always offer them up the day of the screening. I understand if you have plans that come up but really some have plans every single movie. I know I look at the date to see if it is a work night for me or not.

Kind of light on movies this week.

As always you can email me any questions you have damitdaina@hotmail.com.

See you at the movies

July 21st
Sunday



July 22nd
Monday

Spectacular Now 7:30 pm Angelika Dallas
The To Do List 7:30pm Cinemark West Plano



July 23rd
Tuesday

The Wolverine 7pm Cinemark West Plano



July 24th
Wednesday



July 25th
Thursday

We Are The Millers 7:30 AMC Northpark
At The World’s End 7:30 Alamo Draft House



July 26th
Friday



July 27th
Saturday

The Goonies Dusk Alamo Draft House
Aguirre:The Wrath of God (1972) 7pm Kimbell Art Museum

VIDEO ASSOCIATION OF DALLAS PRESENTS DALLAS VIDEOFEST 26 AT NEW VENUE

VIDEO ASSOCIATION OF DALLAS PRESENTS DALLAS VIDEOFEST 26 AT NEW VENUE

DALLAS, TX – July 19, 2013 – The Video Association of Dallas is pleased to announce Dallas VideoFest 26. The long-standing, 26-year old Fest will be the inaugural Festival for a much-anticipated new kid on the block: Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas Richardson.

VideoFest opens at its old home Angelika Film Center Dallas on Wednesday, Oct. 9. It will move to Alamo Richardson Thursday, Oct. 10 and screenings will happen exclusively in Richardson until Sunday, Oct. 13.

“One of the things we have strived for since the inception of the Fest was to create an environment that somehow spoke to the material we are showing and the culture it comes from. We have always wanted a Fest location that has been more than a black box with another film next door. We are so excited to have a partner in the Alamo that has made of business model of creating a culture for film and the people who love film,” said Bart Weiss, artistic director and founder, Dallas VideoFest.

“The Alamo is a great addition to the rich cinema culture we have in Dallas, and the VideoFest is so happy to be the first festival held there. Each theater will have 4k projection. If that doesn't mean anything to you, just know that it is awesome,” Weiss declared.


In case you haven’t heard about Alamo Drafthouse Richardson yet…
Dubbed by Entertainment Weekly, as “The Best Theater in America,” by Time Magazine as “The Best Theater Ever,” and by CNN International as “One of the Top 10 Theaters in the World,” Alamo Drafthouse offers a movie-theater experience unlike any other in the world.

The extensive menu features an array of freshly prepared food made in-house from scratch with a wide selection of craft beers, great wines, cocktails and adult milkshakes. Alamo’s attention to detail in film presentation and programming has made it a second home to movie fans all over the world, and Dallas/Fort Worth’s first Alamo opens in Richardson Friday, August 9, 2013.

“We couldn’t be happier that VideoFest is the first Festival featured at Alamo Drafthouse Richardson. Their mission, their Festival goers, their content is so in line with what Alamo Drafthouse Richardson will do, it is a perfect fit. Our goal as a company is to preserve film and help emerging filmmakers. And much like VideoFest screens videos that other festivals may overlook, Alamo Richardson will pride itself on finding an audience for obscure titles from time to time that a lot of people don’t get to see because so many theaters won’t play the content,” said Bill DiGaetano, COO, Alamo Drafthouse DFW.


Passes and Tickets
Available online at http://videofest.org

All-Festival Pass: $150
Half priced All-Festival Passes between August 9 - Sept 9

Day Passes:
Saturday or Sunday: $25

Seniors (60 or older) and students with ID: $10 off

Individual tickets: $8/program
Seniors and students tickets: $6/program

VideoFest 26 $25 Special Package:
5 Films for $5 each; see any 5 films during the Fest’s 5 days
(package available at the door and online at videofest.org)



Dallas VideoFest 26 Sponsors
Texas Commission on the Arts
Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs
Dallas Film Commission
Visit Dallas!


ABOUT VIDEO ASSOCIATION OF DALLAS
The mission of the Video Association is to promote an understanding of video as a creative medium and cultural force in our society, and to support and advance the work of Texas artists working in video and the electronic arts. The Video Association of Dallas (VAD) is a 501(c)(3) organization incorporated on April 25, 1989. It began in 1986 as a weekend event, “Video As A Creative Medium”, presented at the Dallas Museum of Art by independent curators Barton Weiss and John Held. That first event, which included two nights of video by selected local and national video artists, was a great popular success, which led to the founding of the Dallas Video Festival (DVF) in 1987. Video Association of Dallas also presents the 24 Hour Video Race, the Texas Show Tour, North Texas College Film Festival, Texas Independent Film Network screenings, Texas Fllmmakers Production Fund workshops, Three Star Cinema, and other programs throughout the year.




DALLAS VIDEOFEST 26
Fact Sheet

WHAT:
VideoFest 26 presented by the Video Association of Dallas

WHERE:
Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas Richardson
100 S. Central Expressway #14, Richardson, Texas 75080
Opening Night only – Angelika Film Center – Dallas
5321 E. Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, Texas 75206


WHEN:
Wed., Oct 9 Opening Night at Angelika
Thurs., Oct 10 7:00-11:00 p.m. at Alamo
Fri., Oct 11 7:00-11:00 p.m. at Alamo
Sat., Oct 12 noon-11:00p.m. at Alamo
Sun., Oct. 13 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. at Alamo


Sign up for the Video Association Newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/DVFNewsletter


Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dallas-VideoFest/192194875617


Twitter:
https://twitter.com/videofest


Tumblr:
http://videoassocdallas.tumblr.com/


Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/dallasvideofest/boards/

###

Fruitvale Station

Fruitvale Station is based on real events and I thought the filmmakers handled it well. The movie follows Oscar Grant who was murdered at a train station on the last day of 2008. The movie takes place the day before and we get to see Oscar's family, daughter and friends and we get to feel for him but here is the problem. The movie really sells this based on real life scenario and it's made by the Weinstein Company and you know they will be campaigning this for the Oscar's. It just felt like it was forced. The acting was good. You really see this movie for Michael B. Jordan who plays Oscar. He was in the movie Chronicle and he was god in that and this is the movie that tests him as an actor. Did he pull it off? Yes, he did. The cinematography felt gritty and realistic and served as a key componant to the atmosphere of the movie. It's a really short movie but it keeps your attention to where it flies by. I give Michael B. Jordan props for showing his acting chops and can't wait to see what he does next but this movie just felt a little empty for me. But it's still a good movie. 8/10
(Review by Chase Lee)

Red 2

Red 2 is directed by Dean Parisot (Home Fries and Galaxy Quest). It starts off with Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) having as much fun as you can have in a warehouse store when his old partner Marvin (John Malkovich) finds him and wants him to team back up with his ex-CIA buddies and help save the world from a nuclear device. Frank insists he is out of the business of being in the CIA and is over protecting his girlfriend Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) who really wants him to go back to work. While coming out of the warehouse store they see a car exploded. Next thing you know they are at Marvin’s funeral and Frank has a hard time thinking his long time friend has passed. When Frank realizes that Marvin isn’t dead and with Sarah’s pleading he finally gives in and goes back to work. Sarah even likes the fact Marvin always lets her in on everything and even gives her a gun, which she doesn’t know how to shot or let alone where the safety is at. You learn very quickly the title really fits this movie well Retired, Extremely, Dangerous!

They go globe trotting from Moscow to Paris and even to London all while Frank realizes that a bounty has been put on his head. Frank teams up with an ex love interest who is Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and his old buddy Victoria (Helen Mirren) Sarah isn’t very happy about Frank and Katja reunion but she gets him back when they try to torture some info out of The Frog (David Thewlis) and Sarah is the only one who can get the info from him by almost kissing him herself. Then she gets caught kissing while she is guarding a door to a computer room in the Kremlin. One of the assassins, Han Cho Bai (Lee Byung-hun) isn’t a big fan of Frank’s since Frank stole his plane and keeps trying to get his plane back. After a huge fight Frank realizes he needs Han’s help in all this.

Victoria and Frank go find Bailey (Sir Anthony Hopkins) who has created this nuclear device but to find him in a loony bin. Only to find out that he has locked them in, but don’t worry they soon get out and back on the road they go! The gang finds themselves at the Kremlin and that is where they finally find the nuclear device only to have it stolen from them by the crazy Bailey whom they find out really wants to set the bomb off! You will have to go watch the movie to find out if he will set it off!

Sure this movie has some over the top stunts but isn’t that what you want from a summer movie? It also gave me a few good laughs. Sure I didn’t see the first film but I really enjoyed this film and say see it at least as a matinee.
(Review by Daina Moseley)

RIPD

This is a movie that isn't bad but isn't very good. I felt neutral. That is something you don't want to feel. The directing is ok and I will give him points for trying to create this insane world of what was a comic book series. There was a lot of action which made up for the very bland script. The writing was cliche'd and didn't provide much but some very unfunny lines and forced humor. The actors could only do what was given to them and they tried and made it work. I love Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges to death but this was not a good movie choice for them. I mean come on they are Van Wilder and the Dude...that would have been a funnier concept. The cinematography is ok and seems a bit wild and sporadic sometimes but in some scenes it worked. The movie is only an hour and half long but it felt like two hours. The special effects were actually good in some scenes and in some cases looked realistic. Those are the only points I will give it. It's just an average movie. There is nothing spectacular in this summer movie. It should have been released in January. 4/10
(Review by Chase Lee)

The Conjuring

There hasn't been a truly satisfying scary movie since Insidious which was also directed by James Wan, who is also known for his torture porn Saw series. Based on the real life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, the movie was in development for about 20 years. The original treatment was written by producer Tony Derosa-Grund, then the brothers Chad and Carely Hayes (Whitehouse) changed the point of view from the from beleaguered family to the Warren's. The demonic possession genre was popularized with the Exorcist, but lately re-runs of the film seem almost cheesy by today's standards. The Conjuring is for all those too young to remember being seriously freaked when seeing that little girl in that movie hurled pea soup, raised beds, and turned her head 360 around her neck.

The story begins in the early 70's with the Warren's giving a lecture on the Annabelle doll that was being used by a demon to find a human host to inhabit. Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) is a clairvoyant and Ed (Partick Wilson) is the only non Catholic demonologist who assists with exorcisms sanctioned by the Church. They keep a locked room in their suburban home all the artifacts collected from their investigations. Including the creepy Annabelle doll which sits in a glass case with a big sign not to open. The Warrens are begged by Carolyn Perron (Lili Taylor) to please check out their house. She and her husband Roger (Ron Livingston) had just moved into this old farmhouse in the country. The family that includes their 5 daughters have been experiencing some unusual activity like doors opening and closing mysteriously, Carolyn waking with bruises on her body, the youngest daughter talking to a boy she can see in an old music box, someone pulling on their feet and telling one of the girls that they are all going to die. Strange stuff like that.

Farmiga and Wilson spent some time with the Warrens getting to inhabit some of their personal auras, so to speak. As Lorraine, Farmiga is a source of calm and understanding. She is not afraid of the phenomena like the lights exploding, or a ball suddenly bouncing off a shelf. The Warrens endeavor to contact the spirits by filling the house with motion capture cameras like those SciFi Channel ghost chasers only not in digital. Their crew includes Drew (Shannon Kook) who is the tech, and Brad (John Brotherton) a cop who is reminded that one can't shoot a ghost. The family who have been camping out in the living room are reassured by the Warrens. But of course, that's when things start getting more interesting.

Allegedly this is supposed to be a true story, but at times it's hard to believe some of the scenes if that is the case. But it has plenty of old school jump in your seat hair raising moments. There are times when you want to say, “turn on the dang lights!” but then it wouldn't be that spooky, eh? The music is a nice mood elevator setting up the chill factor hitting at the right levels like with that old piano tuning a random note on it's own. Overall, it's way better than those Paranormal Activity series. If you believe in ghosts, then you will love this.
(Review by reesa)

Girl Most Likely

Imogene Duncan is one of the everyday women, who are filled with possibilities, but has not lived up to her potential. In fact she's failed miserably and fakes her suicide to get her Dutch ex-boyfriend to come rescue her. Directors of American Splendor, The Nanny Diaries, and Cinema Verite Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini collaborate again on Michelle Morgan's screenplay in a funny but uneven film with the promise of Kristen Wiig and Annette Bening that doesn't quite live up to it's expectations.

Wiig is great as Imogene who in a brief span of time loses her boyfriend and her job writing blurbs on Broadway plays for a New York magazine. At one time she had won a $30,000 prize to write a play and the chance to have it produced. Instead she spent the money with her new found uptown friends. She is put on hold at the hospital due to her supposed attempt on her life. She even left a note which everyone complements was well written. But they need the beds and she's turned over to the care of her estranged mother who she hasn't seen in years. Mom, Zelda (Annette Bening) is addicted to gambling living with her boyfriend George the Bousche (Matt Dillon). He says he's in the CIA and can't reveal his real name. Imogene's room at their New Jersey Ocean Side home is now occupied by Lee (Darren Criss) a Yale graduate who works in a boy band cover group at the casino. Her younger brother Ralph (Christopher Fitzgerald) has a kiosk on the boardwalk selling hermit crabs. He's even invented a human crab shell. It's bad enough that Imogene must endure the eccentric family, but she's been also locked out of her New York apartment and she's forced to wear her high school wardrobe she left behind. And if that wasn't enough, she discovers that her beloved father didn't die and is actually alive and a successful author and authority on colonial America!

Wiig inhabits Imogene as a passive aggressive trying to fight her way back to her old life in the big city. Most of her characters have these same traits and it's become something to expect from her. Bening basically steals the show as the floozy mom in her leggings and flashing tops. Dillon is a hoot as “The Bousche” who spins these yarns that has everyone captivated except for Imogene. Darren Criss gets to do his Glee thing and sing a 90's Backstreet Boys imitation. Later he takes off his shirt for those that care. There is so much happening, but there's some real heart going on between Imogene and her brother who has been waiting patiently for his sister to come back home.

It's hard to imagine that a woman like Imogene would be so thrown off when her boyfriend leaves her that it would cause her to lose her job and self respect. Whatever happened to breaking up then having drinks with friends and dissing the S.O.B, before promising to become successful and making him sorry for ever leaving them in the first place. The connect with Imogene's plight is somewhat difficult, but her family is the right kind of weird, and more fun to hang out with.
(Review by reesa)

Turbo

Dreamworks new animated adventure directed by David Soren who also wrote the story with Robert Siegel and Darren Lemke centers on the saying that no dream is too big and no dream is too small. The big being the Indy 500 and the small being a simple garden snail. Land snails are terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. They are slugs with shells. They leave slime trails and not exactly the kind of fuzzy hero one will find as the new cute fast food kids meal toy.

Theo, aka Turbo (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) likes watching video tapes of the Indy 500 in the garage of the humans' house. He dreams of speed and races along a yardstick breaking his time of 17 minutes from one to 36 inches. His brother Chet (Paul Giamatti) wants him to forget about it and become a more productive snail harvesting and eating the tomatoes in the garden. Forget about the impossible and be disappointed when your big ideas never work. Nip it in the bud now, conform and accept your fate as another working snail in the community. It takes almost being mowed down by the gardener before Theo's dreams comes crashing down. He takes off to the bigger world when he's sucked up by a racing car engine and dosed with some nitrous oxide that transforms his DNA. He finds he's supercharged, lit up like headlights, and able to broadcast radio stations. His brother feeling bad about arguing with Theo comes to find him and the brothers are captured by Tito (Michael Peña) who has snail races with his snail team of Whiplash (Samuel L. Jackson), Ben Schwartz (Skidmark), Michael Bell (White Shadow), Burn (Maya Rudolph) and Smoove Movie (Snoop Dog). When Tito discovers Theo's new powers he tells his brother Angelo (Luis Guzmán) in their taco business (“Dos Bros” that the little snail will make them rich. Angelo like Theo's brother Chet have both been worn down by life and lost their ability to think beyond the box. Tito talks the other vendors in the strip mall (Richard Jenkins, Michelle Rodriguez, Ken Jeong) to kick in the entry fee to the Indy 500 race. Obviously entering a snail in a race is no small thing. But the French Canadian champion Guy Gagne (Bill Hader) is challenged by the attention given to the plucky taco man and his trick snail, so he encourages the race officials to let him compete.

The POV images of the race are really quite good. Kids will love and cheer for the snail as he weaves around cars, tries to deal with is brother, as does Tito with siblings who don't support their efforts. The humans and snails don't exactly communicate with each other, but it works pretty seamlessly as they live out each other expectations. The artwork is bright and colorful, and the characters even the so called “bad guys” will not frighten the little ones. It's hard to make snails cute and lovable, but Turbo and his race crew will make you root for the mollusks.
(Review by reesa)

Only God Forgives

Nicolas Winding Refn made one of my favorite films and that's Drive. Then he made this. Does he have an eye for great cinematography, music and talent, yes. But your story still has to be good and this one fell a little flat. Refn brings us a visual, eye candy experience that I won't forget. This man knows colors and how to make people feel a certain way because of color. The story is lacking and feels like it is missing that extra push to make it better. The acting is fantastic as Ryan Gosling delivers yet another great performance. Kristen Scott Thomas does well as his mom and brings a different take on how a mother is loving towards their children. The cinematography is beautiful and light to near perfection creating the mood for this film. The film is edited well and keeps you glued to it for it visual aspect. This is a good movie. Is it better than drive? No, but it's close. I think what is lacking here is story and if you don't have a great story it will fault any movie. However it is still a visual treat. 7/10
(Review by Chase Lee)

Movies scheduled for July 14-20th

Ok now if I post a contest about passes doesn't mean I have the passes. I have to enter the contest just like everyone else and I don't always win just like y'all. I always make sure to include who has the contest so the best way is to go to them and enter and not email me and say you want the passes. I will not be entering the contest for you. I try to be helpful but I can't do it all for you.


Don't forget to thank the source you got the passes from. I know I have to remind myself of this. The guys work so hard for us and they don't get paid to do it.


Kind of light on the movies this week but hopefully there is something for everyone.


As always if you have a question just send me a email to damitdaina@hotmail.com



See you at the movies!!



Sunday
July 14th
Ausangate 2pm Kimball Art Museum


Monday
July 15th
Sunset Boulevard 7pm Highland Park Village Theater
Red 2 7:30 SMG Spring Valley


Tuesday
July 16th
The Conjuring 7:30 Northpark
Red 2 7:30 Angelika
Beneath 7:30 SMG Royal


Wednesday
July 17th
Beneath 7:30 SMG Royal


Thursday
July 18th
RIPD 7:30 pm Northpark


Friday
July 19th


Saturday
July 20th
The Lost Boys Dusk Alamo Drafthouse

Pacific Rim

Guillermo Del Toro is without a doubt a true visionary and crafts beautiful and colorful films. And Pacific Rim is no exception. The world created is fun and vibrant and has plenty of eye candy. The monsters look great and the robots look even better. Del Toro knows what he is doing. The acting is great as well. Charlie Hunnam plays the main character and he portrays him very well carrying most of the film. Charlie Day provides us with comedic relief, a Del Toro regular pops up and Idris Elba kills it as the person in charge of the robots and gives a a great speech towards the end. The cinematography is beautiful and well framed, but did you expect anything less? See Pan's Labyrinth and you will know what Del Toro does. The special effects are out of this world and some of the best I have seen. The movie clocks in at a little over two hours but it flies by because you will have fun. Is it oscar worthy, no? Will you have fun? Hell yes you will. This is the most fun I have had all summer so far. Who doesn't want to see a movie about robots versus monsters? You will have fun too. I guarantee it. 9/10
(Review by Chase Lee)

The SPECTACULAR CLASSICS Screening Series

THE SPECTACULAR CLASSICS SCREENING SERIES:
Taking place in 9 national markets, the series will present an iconic coming-of-age film each week during the month of July for the four weeks leading up to theatrical release of THE SPECTACULAR NOW. An exclusive video introduction will precede each screening by screenwriters Michael Weber and Scott Neustadter. Audience members will receive a ticket to an advance word of mouth screening of THE SPECTACULAR NOW in their market.

The films to be featured are:

Tuesday, July 9 SAY ANYTHING 7:30PM (in Dallas)
Tuesday, July 16 DAZED AND CONFUSED 7:30PM (in Dallas)
Tuesday, July 23 ALMOST FAMOUS 7:30PM (in Dallas)
Tuesday, July 30 BREAKFAST CLUB 7:30PM (in Dallas)

Movies scheduled for the week of July 7-13th

I hope everyone had an enjoyable fourth of July and got to spend time with friends or family. Hopefully you were not like me and had to work it, oh well someone has to make the donuts.

Looks like we have a week full of movies. I hope everyone gets to see the movie they want. Please don’t forget to hit reply to sender or copy the email address and paste it in your email. You would not believe the amount of emails I have to reject. If you do it correctly the first time the more likely you will get the passes and not have to wait on me to reject it. I go back to being a daywalker on my off days so I am more likely to see the emails then.

Please enter the contests before asking for passes. If you don’t know who has a contest then check out the calendar. We have links in there for every contest.

As always if you have a question just send me a email to damitdaina@hotmail.com

See you at the movies!!


Sunday
July 7th


Monday
July 8th

The Conjouring 7:30 pm Angelika


Tuesday
July 9th

Pacific Rim 7:30 Cinemark West Plano
Byzantium 7:30 Magnolia


Wednesday
July 10th

2 Guns 4pm Cinemark West Plano
The Conjouring 7:30 AMC Northpark
Grown Ups 2 7:30 SMG Royal
Grown Ups 2 7:30 AMC Valley View
Red 2 7:30 Cinemark West Plano


Thursday
July 11th

Fruitvale Station 7:30 Angelika
The Conjouring 7:30 TBA


Friday
July 12th


Saturday
July 13

Turbo AmStar

The Lone Ranger

The masked warrior of the old west has been around since 1933 when it was a radio show in Detroit. The characters spawned comic books, movies and a television series. The catch phrases still endure today with “Hiyo Silver! Away!” and Tonto's name for the Lone Ranger as Ke-mo sah-bee. The basic story of how the two meet is sort of intact with a manic revision by writers Justin Haythe, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio under the direction of Gore Verbinski. Since he also directed Johnny Depp in The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, it's hard not to notice the similarities of Tonto and Jack Sparrow with the affectations and costume accessories. The movie should have been called Tonto and his trusty sidekick the Lone Ranger.

Armie Hammer is John Reid, the straight laced prosecutor is returning home by train to Colby, TX. The railroad has come to town in the form of progress. Tom Wilkinson plays the railroad representative Cole, who promises to hang Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) who is also on board in chains and guarded. Next to him is an eccentric Comanche with a raven on his head (Depp). The opening action piece involves Cavendish escaping and Reid trying to stop him. Reid's brother Dan is the Texas Ranger in town. He's married to Rebecca (Ruth Wilson) but with John they seem to have lingering feelings towards each other. Dan and the Rangers take off to chase Cavendish unfortunately like the original story, they are ambushed and all are lost. That is except John who is saved by Tonto because the Spirit Horse Silver selects John as his harbinger of justice.

It's after this, the movie seems to start veering off into some tangents. The unique and odd Tonto which is introduced at the beginning of the movie as a mannequin in a wild west show in 1933...yeah, hard to explain, is relaying the story of the lone ranger to a young kid. The story is told from his perspective and even to the young boy it seems somewhat suspect. John Reid keeps trying to keep his sense of justice and honor in the law to the point where he refuses to man a gun. Tonto guides John on the ways of the Comanche despite the foolishness he feels of the horse's choice. There is so much going on trying to set up the story be giving Tonto some back story, the railroad abolishing the treaties to take the train through Indian lands, the Calvary soldiers, and Cavendish who Tonto thinks is some sort of possessed creature that must be killed with a silver bullet.

The performances are good. Depp is always brilliant even when playing a riff of the same kind of character. The big pay off is the Lone Ranger theme song or AKA the William Tell Overture when the masked man finally grows some balls and accepts his fate. The long running time of the film is all really to set up for the best train chase ever. The exciting moments are big and noisy and way over the top. Just what you would expect. But don't be faked out by that extra scene during the credits. Or maybe go ahead. When you think about it, it's hilarious.
(Review by reesa)

Despicable Me 2

Kid/family movies walk a fine line when it comes to whom exactly it attracts. If the humor is too stupid or slapstick, the kids will generally be the only ones entertained by the movie. If the humor is too “old”, the parents are going to understand but it will leave the children bored and rowdy. When Despicable Me was released back in 2010 it was a huge hit for the whole family, because it walked that line perfectly. By attracting audiences both young and old, the film was able to attain a great mass of viewers and happy spectators.

It wouldn’t be a huge stretch to say that the biggest draw to the film was the Minions, the adorable, yellow creatures that Gru (the film’s protagonist) had working for him. It was because of the huge success of the Minions that I was pretty leery for Despicable Me 2. I feared that the makers of the movie would try TOO hard at bringing in the Minions more, and thusly ruining what made the first Despicable Me so loveable. But within the first 15 minutes of the movie, all of my fears had vanished. My friend and I were laughing so hard at every little thing that occurred, (most of it having little to do with the Minions), that we knew we were in for a treat.

This movie had all of the same elements as the first one: cuteness, family-friendliness and most importantly hilarity. Now, keep in mind that my friend and I are both college-aged people. So, for our laughter to be just as loud as the 100+ kids in attendance at the screening must say a lot. From a filmmaker’s standpoint, it wasn’t too bad of a movie. It became a tad bit predictable as well as slow towards the middle of the film, the amusement of the movie had worn off by this time and it seemed as if it was just going through the motions of every other movie. However, that only lasted for about 20 minutes before the familiarity of Despicable Me returned and sparked the theatre back up with laughter.

As the movie ended and I walked out, I stood outside for a little while and overheard several families exiting the theatre with a laugh and thrill in their voices. Everybody seemed to enjoy it, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t have been. This movie was cute, hilarious, did not disappoint and despite dragging for a little bit and becoming dull, it ended on a high note. Despicable Me 2 is definitely a must see for the ENTIRE family and should not be passed up this summer.
(Review by Weston Baker)

Despicable Me 2

The directing team of Despicable Me Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud are back with the same writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio to continue the adventures of the former super villain Gru and his minions. What made Despicable Me into one of the biggest animated movies ever seems to have lost it's steam. Seems suburban dad life with his 3 adopted daughters can find Gru still cranky, rude, and cantankerous but in a more lovable way just less despicable.

Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) is throwing a princess party for his youngest charge Agnes (Elsie Kate Fisher). While Gru dressed as a fairy princess as to not disappoint her, a mysterious villain has stolen a secret lab where a monster making serum was being developed. Gru, Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) and the minions have been living the straight life in the jam making business. Dr. Nefario decides to quit because he got an offer he can't refuse to go back to his evil ways, besides his jams are pretty foul tasting. The head of the Anti-Villain League Silas Ramsbottom (Steve Coogan) decides to recruit Gru's for his knowledge of the underworld and sends him agent Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig) to assist while they search to discover the missing serum. Gru's daughter's are happy with the young, peppy new friend in their dad's life because they have been attempting to sign him up for some Internet dating sites. There's also an expected romance to form between Lucy and Gru. The story does do a flashback as to why Gru is love challenged and went down the wrong path.

AVL has tracked down some clues that suggests the perps are operating in the shopping mall. Lucy and Gru must work undercover in a cupcake shop as they investigate possible suspects like Mexican restaurant owner Eduardo (Benjamin Bratt). Gru believes he may be El Macho, a masked daredevil villain who had died while riding a shark into a volcano. To involve the daughters into the plot, Eduardo's son flirts with the oldest daughter, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove).

There must have been some intense feedback from the fans of the first movie to involve more of the minions. Indeed there are plenty on the life of the little yellow guys as baby sitters, jam makers, housekeepers, and gofer for Gru. They are fun little things that do their masters' bidding, but they still manage to break out and party at a moments notice. The story involves some craziness happening to the yellow ones turning purple and hungry, that hopefully won't frighten the really little tykes.

This is a nice family movie that will have some amusement for the parents and will delight the kids. If you liked the first, you may enjoy this time around. Maybe not as much, it's still fun. The short bit as the credit rolls is probably the best part of the whole thing so stick around.
(Review by reesa)