Gravity
Film Review by Kam Williams

Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) is set to retire following a distinguished career as a NASA astronaut. The veteran captain is currently in command of his final flight of the Space Shuttle Explorer with a primary mission to replace solar panels on the Hubble Telescope.

Upon rendezvousing, the spacewalk proceeds so routinely that devastatingly-handsome bachelor is comfortable engaging in flirtatious chitchat with attractive Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), a medical engineer on her maiden voyage. But then Mission Control urgently orders them back into the capsule because the debris field from a damaged Russian satellite is headed in their direction at the speed of a bullet.

However, it causes catastrophic damage to the shuttle before they have a chance to reenter it, killing all their crewmates and destroying the vehicle beyond repair. Suddenly, Kowalski and Stone find themselves floating in space, no longer in radio contact with Houston, and with a very limited amount of oxygen left in their tanks.

This is the intriguing premise established practically at the point of departure of Gravity, a gripping sci-fi thriller written and directed by Alfonso Cuaron (Pan’s Labyrinth). What ensues is a desperate race against time in which the unflappable Kowalski does his best to keep the frightened rookie calm while trying to survive more by his wits than by the book.

The impromptu plan involves using their thrusters to reach the International Space Station 100 kilometers away before the shrapnel returns upon completing another orbit of Earth. This is just the first of many challenges to be faced successfully if the protagonists’ are ever to feel solid ground under their feet again.

Rather than ruin the plot’s unpredictable developments for you one iota, permit me to heap praise on a pair of nonpareil performances by Oscar-winners George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. Of equal note are the picture’s breathtaking 3D cinematography and the magical way in which weightlessness is convincingly created onscreen.

Buckle up for a relentlessly-riveting, roller coaster ride through a deceptively-close outer space you can virtually reach out and touch!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for intense peril, disturbing images and brief strong profanity

Running time: 90 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for Gravity, visit

Rush
Film Review by Kam Williams

Back in the Seventies, a couple of racecar drivers as different from each other as Dudley Do-Right and Snidely Whiplash became sworn adversaries on the Formula 1 circuit. England’s James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) was a brash daredevil willing to put his life at risk every time he drove around the track. By contrast, Austria’s Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) was a technical genius who invariably employed a relatively-scientific strategy.

The pair were also polar opposites afterhours, with handsome Hunt being a flamboyant playboy who liked the limelight, while relatively low-key Lauda preferred to spend his free time in peace and quiet with his socialite wife, Marla Knaus (Alexandra Maria Lara). The bitter rivalry between the two came to a head during the 1976 season, when both were in contention for the coveted title of world champion.

That cutthroat quest is the subject of Rush, a character-driven drama

directed by two-time Academy Award-winner Ron Howard (for A Beautiful Mind). Based on a screenplay by two-time Oscar-nominee Peter Morgan (The Queen and Frost/Nixon), the picture’s engaging plotline repeatedly juxtaposes the personas of the leads, painting the hunky Brit as a lovable bon vivant on a crusade to wrest the crown from a defending champ portrayed as just too methodical a nerd to root for.

The movie masterfully depicts the cat-and-mouse mental as well as racecar jockeying which transpires, with the tension mounting at adrenaline-fueled contests staged in international ports-of-call ranging from Brazil to Spain to Monaco to Germany and inexorably leading to a white-knuckle showdown in Japan.

Along the way, we’re treated to the sight of chain-smoking Hunt’s substance abusing and womanizing, as he all but makes a mockery of uptight Lauda’s Spartan regimen. The emotional build-up subtly suggests that getting the checkered flag at Fuji will serve as a confirmation of the eventual victor’s approach.

A compelling, high-octane thriller, literally and figuratively!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity, nudity, sexuality, smoking, disturbing images and brief drug use

In English, German, Italian and French with subtitles

Running Time: 123 minutes

Distributor: Universal Pictures

To see a trailer for Rush, visit

Linsanity
Film Review by Kam Williams

Jeremy Lin came very close to abandoning his lifelong dream of playing in the NBA after a couple of unremarkable seasons spent mostly in the developmental league as an undrafted free agent. He had been released by both Golden State and Houston after brief stints, but was picked up by the New York Knicks in December of 2011 when the team was suddenly in need of a backup point guard due to an injury.

Still, at fourth on the depth chart, it looked very unlikely that Lin would ever get to play except during garbage time when the outcome of a contest was no longer in doubt. But he did get a chance in a February 4th game against the then New Jersey Nets where he made the most of the opportunity, scoring a surprising 25 points, grabbing 5 rebounds and making 7 assists.

Furthermore, he went on to prove that that feat was no fluke, as he averaged over 20 points per game while leading New York on a 13-game winning streak. As a Harvard grad and the only Asian-American in the NBA, Jeremy caused quite a stir as fans flocked in droves to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks’ new sensation.

Directed by Evan Jackson Leong, Linsanity chronicles the Palo Alto product’s path from high school standout to Harvard Ivy League star to obscure journeyman in the pros until miraculously becoming a household name virtually overnight. An Evangelical Christian, Jeremy freely credits the Lord for his unprecedented emergence in the NBA, saying “I know that God orchestrated this… There was just too much out of my control.”

A moving biopic about a humble underdog who surmounted overwhelming odds with the help of family, friends and a strong faith.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

In English and Mandarin with subtitles

Running time: 88 minutes

Distributor: Ketchup Entertainment

To see a trailer for Linsanity, visit

Watch a short clip

THE ANONYMOUS PEOPLE IS A FEATURE DOCUMENTARY FILM about the over 23 million Americans living in long-term recovery from alcohol and other drug addiction. Deeply entrenched social stigma have kept recovery voices silent and faces hidden for decades. The vacuum has been filled with sensational mass media depictions of people with addiction that perpetuate a lurid fascination with the dysfunctional side of what is a preventable and treatable health condition. Just like women with breast cancer, or people with HIV/AIDS, a grass roots social justice movement is emerging. Courageous addiction recovery advocates have come out of the shadows and are organizing to end discrimination and move toward recovery-based solutions.

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Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Film Review by Kam Williams

Eco-Conscious Sequel Pits Flint and Friends against Evil Agri-Corporation

            When we first met Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader), he lost control of a contraption which turned water into food and triggered a foodalanche which wreaked havoc all across Swallow Falls before being turned off. At the point of departure of this worthy sequel, we find the young inventor being duped into relocating from his hometown to the impersonal confines of San FranJose based on a promise of employment as a “thinkquanaut” from his idol, Chester V (Will Forte), the Chairman of Live Corporation.

            Flint is so gullible that he is initially blissfully unaware of his new boss’ secret agenda. But Chester has emptied Swallow Falls entirely of its residents under the guise of cleaning up the once idyllic island.

            Truth be told, the conniving CEO has managed to get Flint’s food machine going again, and has hatched a diabolical plan to repopulate the place with about 40 varieties of sentient creatures. Each of these “foodimals” has a name which is a punny play on words, such as shrimpanzees, watermelophants, cheespiders, hippotatomuses, pb & jellyfish, flamangos, buffaloaves and wildebeests, to name a few.

            Eventually, Flint wises up to the fact that he’s been manipulated and that something evil is afoot. Soon, accompanied by his pals and his meteorologist girlfriend, Samantha (Anna Faris), he returns to Swallow Falls where they find themselves attacked by tacodiles and stampeded by a flock of bananostriches.

            Will Flint and company figure a way to subdue the menacing, manmade menagerie before their beloved city is totally ruined? That is the question at the heart of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, another inspired animated adventure with an eco-conscious theme.

            Co-directed by Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn, the film features the distinctive voice work by a veteran cast which includes returnees Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Neil Patrick Harris, Andy Samberg, James Caan, Will Forte and Benjamin Bratt, as well as a critical new addition in Terry Crews as the motor-mouthed Earl Deveraux.

            A dazzling and delightful sequel every bit as charming as the original!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG for mild rude humor

Running time: 95 minutes

Distributor: Sony Pictures  

To see a trailer for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNiVB_d_z4k