Matthew R. Reis: Film and TV Critic

Don't go looking for things you don't want to know the answer to... 3 1/2 stars Blog Exclusive! I didn't get to writing a full review of Prometheus, but maybe I will post one later this month. It's been out for a little while now and I definitely would describe it as a must see picture. It sits nicely with the other Alien flicks, despite being more of a stand-alone picture than a true prequel. I'd rank it 3rd behind Alien and Aliens as the best in the franchise. One issue people may have with the flick is that each character other than Shaw played by Noomi Rapace and David the Android (Michael Fassbender) are more filler then substance. You don't really relate to anyone and you don't learn there names (or I could have just forgotten them...). Of course being that it's a Ridley Scott flick the visuals are top-notch and the mood is very somber, very noir. While the individual elements don't stick out as much as they should the movie is memorable ...

Scuba divers trapped in a cave filled with water. What? 2 1/2 stars As featured in: "The Ithacan" What can go wrong diving in caves echoes throughout the spooky underground adventure of “Sanctum,” a 3D saga where one wrong turn could lead to death. Whether it’s getting lost in uncharted territory, going crazy or swallowing its pride, the largely unknown cast of “Sanctum” gets showered in a sea of hurt. “Sanctum” takes place almost entirely in a vast network of subterranean caves in Papua New Guinea. Richard Roxburgh plays Frank, a character akin to a modern day Indiana Jones. However, Frank isn’t afraid of snakes like Indie was. In fact, hardly anything makes him skittish. Frank revels in the unknown and along with a group of highly trained climbers, divers and waterproof robots, sets out to finish mapping the rest of the largest cave system in the world. The first twenty minutes of “Sanctum” are terrible. Director Alister Grieson makes absurd decisions that he seemin...

Cobb takes the cake. Blog exclusive! The 2010 summer movie season started off in a slumber, but it's ending on a high note. With films such as "Iron Man 2" leading the way there have been plenty of thrills and ammunition expended. However colossal bombs surfaced like SNL alum Will Forte's "MacGyver" parody "MacGruber". Funny man Steve Carell fared much better than his comedian counterpart Forte. Carell had not one, but two films debut to great openings ("Despicable Me" and "Dinner for Schmucks" which I reviewed ) and they continue to make waves overseas. Kids weren't forgotten by Hollywood either. In fact, younger audiences were treated to the best "Toy Story" movie yet . Disney-Pixar's "Toy Story 3" is a polished and endearing animated film. Your little ones with enjoy watching it just as much as you do. And it's one of the best sequels I've laid my eyes on. Amazingly, the summer isn...

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...