“Star Trek: Into Darkness”     film review by Gary Chew Maintaining linkage with itself has to be one of the underlying secrets of success for the durable “Star Trek” franchise. The linkage with all the star trekking from its outset when Gene Roddenberry got the space fable launched in 1966 to the very motion picture that's just been released (“Star Trek: Into Darkness”) makes it clear its genesis was in broadcast television. The Trek characters continue, even if they are now younger and played by others who, in many instances, weren't yet born when the series began. At present, we remain in the prequel mode of this enduring future of which Jim Kirk and Mr. Spock --- as well as the rest

 “The Great Gatsby,” a film review by Gary Chew   The most salient point in F. Scott Fitzgerald's great novel, “The Great Gatsby,” comes when Nick Carraway admonishes Jay Gatsby: “You can't repeat the past.”   Making sure to abide by that admonition had to be what Baz Luhrmann was up to when he co-wrote and directed the Fitzgerald classic now opening across the nation. Although the story takes place as the twenties roared, this “Gatsby” has much that makes it seem as though it's actually 2013 and a grand, splashy embellishment of “Gatsbys” of the past.   That's because of the film's visual effects of recent vintage. Not only are the lavish parties thrown by Gatsby and the entire film in 3

“Mud” film review by Gary Chew   Imagine if you can, a film actors’ school for men only. The primary acting coaches at the school are Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall ... and maybe Sam Elliott.   Now you have a good impression of how most of the men in “Mud” talk and act. “Mud” was a contentious film at Cannes last year; written and directed by native Arkansan, Jeff Nichols. His earlier film was “Take Shelter” (2011).   Two of the males in “Mud” who seem as though they might have been influenced by Jones and Duvall are in their early teens. Tye Sheridan (“The Tree of Life”) plays 14-year-old Ellis and Jacob Lofland (from Yell County Arkansas) plays his best bud, Neckbone, the same age. Th

“The Company You Keep.” film review by Gary Chew   Robert Redford's new movie, “The Company You Keep,” needs a larger plate. It's more than dinner for Thanksgiving and Christmas, combined. Good things are on the plate but, some intended for the film, spill, in considerable measure, onto the tablecloth. The main course cast is a gourmet repast that would waft an aromatic varietal through any movie house. Director Redford plays an anonymous, liberal attorney in upstate New York who used be a Weather Under-Ground Guy of the early 70s. Susan Sarandon has the role of Sharon, a middle-aged wife and mother in Vermont, who was, back then, a compatriot of Redford's character. He was Nick then; i

“Oblivion” film review by Gary Chew   The only thing there's more of in the IMAX movie “Oblivion” than mind-blowing computer-generated imagery are cliches. But the CGI and the, sometimes, almost deafening sound effects and music are worth the watch and listen. This elaborate production—written and directed by Joseph Kosinski— has similarities with a less grandiose space movie from 2009 called “Moon,” directed by Duncan Jones. In either futuristic yarn, this device is used: there appear, on screen, two men who are the same person simultaneously. In “Oblivion,” it's Tom Cruise (Jack); in “Moon” the two men seen at the same time are Sam Rockwell. And in each movie, both pairs—or should I

“Trance”               film review by Gary Chew Director Danny Boyle, who gave us “Trainspotting” and “Slumdog Millionaire,” is back with another visceral romp that may be the product of Boyle watching “Inception” too many times. Also titled in a single word, “Trance” uses hypnotherapy as its conceit instead of dreams, as Christopher Nolan did for “Inception.” Either dreams or hypnosis used in a screenplay can be awesome for keeping a moviegoer tricked and, hopefully, astounded.   Tricked I was watching “Trance,” but not so much astounded. I did feel a mild touch of shock at some of Boyle's devices to hold my attention. One that was really catchy is when a leading player in the film is s

“On The Road” film review by Gary Chew When Jack Kerouac began scribbling down things in a notepad that found their way into his novel, “On the Road,” he had not a notion about whether what he was creating would make a good screenplay for those flyby moments in the late 1940s of his short life . That’s one reason I found “On the Road,” the stalled and finally available film of the same name, to linger in my head well after seeing it. It’s now showing at the Crest Theatre, downtown near 10th and K streets. “On the Road” is another road movie from the Brazilian filmmaker, Walter Salles, who gave us that memorable two-wheeler rendition, “The Motorcycle Diaries.” Salles’ film of the Kerou

The Sacramento International Film Festival will be continuing its legacy on April 20. This annual event will start with the 48-Hour Film Festival and close with the Digital Odyssey Conference on April 28. There will be numerous film screenings held each day during the week with films from all over the world.  This is an event that you definitely do not want to miss. Join as a member on www.sacramentofilmfestival.com for more information! The biggest event in the Sacramento area is just three weeks away! Hurry and purchase your tickets before they all run out! Editor’s note: Every Thursday we deliver a local event guide straight to your inbox, right on time to make your weekend plans.

“Stoker,” a review by Gary Chew “You have to do something bad before you might do something worse,” is a good way to begin a review of a really well-made film called “Stoker.” It stars Nicole Kidman as Evelyn Stoker, the mother; Mia Wasikowska as India, the 18-year-old daughter; and Matthew Goode as her Uncle Charlie. He's the younger brother of India's father, who has just died in an auto accident as the film begins. One of the early scenes in “Stoker” is the funeral of Richard Stoker, played by Dermot Mulroney. Very “upper middle-class” would be how to best describe the Stokers. At their lovely rural home in Connecticut, Evelyn doesn't do much. She sleeps in every morning, is well-educ

As I watched the latest online trailers of soon-to-come-out movies, I dropped into the flow of sequencing from the first trailer onto four or five more. “The online set up for 'trailer-watching' has been given some thought,” I thought. I was able to click ahead to the next coming attraction, if the current trailer was becoming a drag. I can usually make such a decision in no more than 10 to 12 seconds. That happened on the third trailer. I won't say what kind of movie it was because you'll know my bias and form some kind of opinion as to why I don't like a particular kind of motion picture. What I'm writing about in this space is much more important than what kind of movies I like, altho

  “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” film review by Gary Chew   “That Old Burt Magic” would have done nicely for the title of the new film “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.” Much of the magic being performed in the film is done by a guy named Burt, and the 1942 song “That Old Black Magic,” would have done nicely on the soundtrack to make the connection between the “Burt Magic” title and the well-known song itself; maybe even a little Louis Prima and Keely Smith doing their recorded version of the Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer standard.   But even without the suggested re-titling, “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” allows for some good entertainment with a very solid cast of well-knowns wh

  And … the winners ARE ...Jennifer Lawrence for moving up to the stage with such grace – ultimately. ...Seth McFarland for telling his “joke” about President Lincoln being shot in the head reminding me of a jerk record salesman who told me, one day in my office not long after the presidential assassination in Dallas, “That JFK got it through his head that he wasn't welcome in Dallas.” (Presidential assassinations aren't funny, from any century, Seth.) ...Chris Terrio for getting through (sort of) an acceptance speech for a best writing award (“Argo”) while being drunker than anyone ever in Hollywood. Chris' performance would've made Norman Mailer jealous. ...Meryl Streep for really c

"West of Memphis": film review by Gary Chew Equal justice under the law is the reason for the documentary, “West of Memphis.” Many are familiar with this recently resolved example of shoddy police work and justice in Arkansas. West Memphis is a short drive into Arkansas from Memphis, Tenn. Three teenage boys were arrested in 1994 for the 1993 murder and bodily mutilation of three other 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Ark. The case, which has no racial aspect to it, was complex and saw no complete resolution - with regard to the young men convicted - until 2011. The film was directed by Amy Berg, who also did the 2006 documentary, “Deliver Us From Evil,” about a pedophile Catholic pries

Although I've often needlessly harped about the term “safe haven” being redundant, the new, so titled Lasse Hallström film is all fuzzy with warmth as well as being edgy, scary stuff that's surely an attention-holder for its two-hour run. The Swedish director is a favorite of mine. Hallström's sentimentality occasionally gets waist deep, but I always tend to keep a spot in my head for films of his – “The Cider House Rules,” “What's Eating Gilbert Grape?” and his more recent “Salmon Fishing in Yemen” will stay with me until the synapses unplug. The busy Nicholas Sparks wrote the novel which gave rise to the “Safe Haven” script. Sparks, who grew up some in Fair Oaks, is keen on romance tha

 “Amour”       film review by Gary Chew Austrian director, Michael Haneke's worthy film “Amour,” to use a terse description, defines love; the kind that is real love; totally committed and long suffering. Georges and Anne Laurent (Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emanuelle Riva) are retired teachers of consummate pianists. Both are in their 80s. Their retirement looks comfortable in their comfortable, spacious Paris apartment. After we get to know the married couple, Anne suffers a stroke which, even with subsequent surgery, nudges the gentle and gracious woman toward her demise. What happens between the moment when Anne is first struck by the malady and up to her death is where the film stay

‘Rust and Bone’ film review   By Gary Chew     If your favorite kind of film is one that has poetic elements, yet seems almost random as it realistically unwinds, depicting hard-scrabble living, then have I got the movie for you: Jacques Audiard's “Rust and Bone,” also called “De rouille et d’os.”   A lower middle class Belgian named Alain van Versch (Matthias Schoenaerts) moves with his young son to Alain's sister's home in Antibes. It's on the French Mediterranean, about equidistant from Cannes and Nice.   Alain is scuffling for income. He's not even above thievery. But he seems to be a good father, and his sister (a working stiff) is helpful with caring for Sam (Armand Verdure), as wel

    Zero Dark Thirty’ film review   By Gary Chew   It came over me as I left the screening of “Zero Dark Thirty” the other evening. I had this sudden, silly urge to quickly whisper at two or three people working the concession stand, “The bad guy gets killed,” but thought better of it and, without a word, went outside to my car.   But as I walked across the lot, I thought to myself: “I wonder about the life histories and personal conflicts of the U.S. personnel depicted in this new film by Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”). “What is it that motivates them to such courage and risk? How much of it is for the right stuff, or is it … for stuff that isn't?”   That also ran through my mind

‘Not Fade Away’: a film review by Gary Chew Coming-of-age films are as common a genre as a staged car chase on a hilly street in San Francisco or anywhere else in United States. This latest one, “Not Fade Away,” occurs on the other end of the continent near the Jersey Shore. David Chase (there's that word again) is at it again … not with a successful long-running series about wiseguys in Jersey, but a two-hour feature about British-Invasion-obsessed teenage Jersey guys smitten with Mick, Dylan, the blues, long hair and amplified guitars. Our story begins on the day a president is assassinated in Texas. A New Jersey family sits at the kitchen table, listening to and watching the aftermat

“Promised Land” film review by Gary Chew “Promised Land” is not an effort to revive big screen bible epics. The land promised is that which is likely to have millions of dollars worth of natural gas in it. The people who own the land are being paid to promise (sign on the dotted line) that what lies below goes to a large natural gas corporation. That's where Matt Damon and Frances Mc Dormand come in. As Steve and Sue, they're salespersons of a global-sized gas company. Their job is to persuade locals who live in natural-gas-rich regions that allowing the energy firm to bring up what's locked in the rock will make property owners wealthy. Extracting natural gas this way has come to be cal

Django Unchained Film review by Gary Chew If revenge is really sweet, then Quentin Tarantino has a sweet tooth. He's really indulged himself in the writing and directing of his latest screen splatter, “Django Unchained.” But Quentin has never been known to not overdo things. Fortunately though, he does make for a broader diversity of movies. Tarantino is the movie freak's movie freak. He knows more about movies and directors, probably, than the likes of 10 Pauline Kaels. Two strong influences in “Django” are borrowed from directors Sam Peckinpah and Mel Brooks. At a recent screening of “Django Unchained,” I had to remind myself more than once that I wasn't watching “The Wild Bunch” and