By Laurie Coker

Rating: A-

Not every film released warrants me driving over 40 miles round trip for a 9:00 PM screening (I have done such for some real stinkers), but a Star Trek movie does fuel my desire, if not my car. Since my youth, I religiously watched the first run series with a good friend and neighbor of mine, while she was far more of a Trekkie than I,  I have followed all the films since. Star Trek: Into Darkness reunites the cast (2009) of the Starship Enterprise, for a rip-roaring, action-packed, special effects, 3D extravaganza! Read more »

By Laurie Coker

Rating: B-

“Old dead white guys – that’s all we read!” These words have come from countless students of mine over the past 25 years. While we have worked to change that, some “old white guys,” will always be on high school reading lists. Thousands of teens across the nation read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and for decades their teachers have capped off the unit with a film version of The Great Gatsby starring Robert Redford. Well, move over Redford, DiCaprio and Baz Luhrmann bring us a Gatsby to tantalize and titillate our senses. While Lurhmann makes some odd and aggravating changes to Fitzgerald’s story, he creates a wild, emotionally charged, visually stunning affair that manages to engage, in spite of flaws. Read more »

By Laurie Coker

Rating: C-

Broken people make for extremely interesting stories to watch.  Like a train wreck, their lives, dysfunctional and desperate, are difficult to turn away from. Colin Firth and Emily Blunt star in Arthur Newman, and their powerful performances make up for a dreary tale, one with little going for it and an ending that leaves one asking “so what?” Read more »

By Renee’ Collins

Rating: 3.5 (Out of 5 Reels)

Believe it or not, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s THE GREAT GATSBY was not required reading for me in high school, so I went into this film with an open mind and no expectations. Mr. Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), is an eccentric millionaire who throws extravagant party’s every weekend at his mansion outside of New York City. The problem is that he is still deeply in love with Daisy (Carey Mulligan), his former girlfriend whom he lost because he went away to war and to earn his fortune. When he returned Daisy was engaged and about to marry a rich man named Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). Gatsby decides to befriend Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), a would-be writer who recently arrived in New York City in the spring of 1922 who lives in a cottage next to his estate. Read more »