The Lumina Theater's Movie Blog

     I am going to state the obvious – A half a billion dollars is a ridiculous amount of money, especially for an entertainment.  As of December 18, 2009 James Cameron’s “Avatar” is officially the most expensive film of all time.  If that isn’t enough, it is also the first feature-length film Cameron has made since 1997’s mega-blockbuster “Titanic”.  Needless to say, expectations for this one are immeasurably high.  Does it meet them?  Well, it depends:

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     I had three totally different reactions from people when I told them I was seeing Michael Jackson’s ‘This Is It’ today. My 24-year-old sister asked me what the big deal was, my best friend said he had no idea a Michael Jackson movie existed and that it was probably exploitation, and a co-worker just laughed and asked what I thought of MJ being a pedophile. While all three responses made me sad, I understood where they were all coming from. After all, Michael Jackson is easily one of the most controversial and fascinating figures of the last century. ‘This Is It’ is a glowing tribute and monument to this amazing artist and I encourage everyone to see it. (continue reading…)

     I don’t think there is a man, woman, or child that has existed within the last 46 years that doesn’t have a special regard for “Where the Wild Things Are”. It is one of those perfectly simple stories that connects with you on a deep and almost primal level. To put it simply: Spike Jonze (director of “Being John Malkovich”, “Adaptation”, now “Where…”) gets it. He has flawlessly adapted a 10 page children’s book into an expressive, powerful feature length film.  (continue reading…)

     Recently a video of a father and daughter at a Phillies baseball game has taken the Internet by storm. In it, a father catches a foul ball to a roaring crowd and in his excitement, gives it to his 3-year-old daughter who, without skipping a beat, goes on to throw it right back down towards the field. You can’t help feel conflicted as you laugh and are horrified as you watch the father’s jaw drop in disbelief. This feeling is more or less how I felt watching “The Informant”. This movie is simply mesmerizing.

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     Well, the summer movie season of 2009 is now officially over. What have we learned?

-          If the original director won’t return for a sequel to a popular franchise, it is probably a bad sign.

-          Big, dumb robots are still big and dumb, and now racist too!

-          Movies that clock in over 2 hours probably shouldn’t.

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