It’s a review-heavy show this week as we offer up our opinions on three of this weekend’s new releases; we didn’t see Journey 2 but do discuss Safe House, The Vow, and enjoy a rather lengthy deconstruction of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. We briefly turn our attention to the music world with the death of Whitney Houston and Madonna’s Super Bowl performance... 

Listen up Hollywood directors: we’re tired of the “realistic” approach to action. Cut the crap, get rid of the shakey-cam, knock off the frenetic editing, and pull the damn camera back far enough that we can see what’s going on. You know that person on your staff who choreographs the combat and actions sequences? We want to see their work; you are paying them, after all, so why mar their work... 

Two years ago Duncan Jones grabbed many critics’ attention with his independent picture Moon, a meditatively-paced, original contribution to the science-fiction genre steeped in the traditions of the past. While Source Code may be faster paced with a bit more action, it still shows Jones’s respect and admiration for the craft he’s continuing to make significant contributions to. With sweeping... 

Closing Tabs started as a weekly look at news we didn’t cover on the site throughout the week. As the site has grown, however, we’ve moved away from reporting most news (you can catch most of it regurgitated on other sites anyway) in favor of more original opinions and editorials. Still, that news is out there, clogging up the tabs on our browsers, so now we offer the column as a Tuesday/Thursday... 

Initially, Up in the Air carried no appeal for me. Despite high praise from just about everyone I know in the movie community, the movie looked like standard Oscar fodder, with an unimpressive ad campaign. Even with Jason Reitman at the helm, a filmmaker I usually enjoy immensely, I didn’t expect much from the George Clooney picture, and expected this to be the first Reitman project that left me...