Matthew R. Reis: Film and TV Critic

Risen. From the ashes. 5 Stars Blog Exclusive! The best way to describe "The Dark Knight Rises" (TDKR) is by analogizing it to that of a train leaving a station. It starts off slow and steady, gradually building up steam. When it's operating at full tilt anything can happen. In "Rises" Bruce Wayne/Batman (played by Christian Bale) has to overcome demons starting from the somber opening sequence all the way through a twist filled conclusion. Along the way he meets alluring personalities such as the devious, sexy criminal Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) and Bane (Tom Hardy), a ruthless mercenary threatening to become Gotham's reckoning. Batman stands in his way, but Bane's his strongest adversary yet. Only the will of ordinary people banded together can help save the city. Aiding TDKR story are many grandiose set-pieces, Wally Pfister's flawless, sweeping cinematography and Hans Zimmer's genre bending score. Even minor details even feel like they...

Don't wake up, Inception is a really good dream. 3 1/2 Stars Blog exclusive! In a slumber of a summer movie season it’s hilariously ironic that the best film revolves around dreaming. Inception’s director Christopher Nolan likes to bend the rules when it comes to linear story-lines. Like Tarantino in the 90s, Christopher Nolan is a master of time manipulation. Inception revels is Nolan’s bag of tricks from start to finish. The plot centers around a dream thief, a highly skilled extractor named Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his team of assistants seeking to plant a idea into an unsuspecting energy company executive. Inception’s plot elements are folded like an accordion, one intriguing bit on top of another. The gist of the story is accessible through a single viewing, but I recommend seeing Inception twice. My second viewing didn’t unearth any significant new information, but it really enabled me to focus on the characters and how they deal with their emotions and each oth...