Category: MAIN

By Laurie Coker Rating: D- With all the goings on and debate about surveillance, loss of privacy, terrorism and stolen freedoms, I assumed a film like Closed Circuit might impress me with a crisp thematic connection to current events. Although the film begins well enough, it soon fizzles out into a sputter of predictability and… Continue reading Review: CLOSED CIRCUIT

By Laurie Coker Rating: A+ Breaking all my owns rules when picking favorites, like Cabin in the Woods did last year, by all accounts I should hate You’re Next, but even with its gratuitous bloodletting, insane amounts of violence and campy storyline, it engaged me from start to finish and I didn’t even cover my… Continue reading Review: YOU’RE NEXT

By Laurie Coker Rating: D- When Kick Ass premiered at SXSW a couple of years ago, it surprised me. I never thought I would get in to such a wild, farfetched film, but I did – for good reason. The story, the cast, the excitement of SXSW all worked to enhance the experience and it… Continue reading Review: KICK ASS 2

By Laurie Coker Rating: B+ It is easy to love a film, in spite of a sometimes heavy handed director, if for nothing more than an exceptional cast. Scripted by Danny Strong, Lee Daniels’ civil rights era film meanders perhaps a bit too much in places, but because of the talents of Forest Whitaker and… Continue reading Review: THE BUTLER

By Laurie Coker Rating: C- In a season of sci-fi thrillers, like Oblivion, World War Z, in my book, Eyslium fails to deliver.  An over bearing soundtrack, limited character connections and poor pacing makes Mat Damon’s newest venture a dull, misadventure.  Having loved District9, another film from director/writer Neill Blomkamp, I hoped for better. I… Continue reading Review: ELYSIUM

By Laurie Coker Rating: C+   Sex, seduction, booze, debauchery and strangeness all take place aboard Peninsula Flight 2549 as it heads to Mexico City from Spain. An interesting group of first class passengers, three flamboyant fight stewards and an unusual cock pit team get into all sorts of odd and sometime sexual situations, as… Continue reading Review: I’M SO EXCITED

By Laurie Coker   Rating: F   I’ve grown too old, I think, especially as a parent and as a teacher. As I sat through To Do List, I cringed at almost every scene. When I watched Brandy Klark (Aubrey Plaza), the class valedictorian graduating from high school, spend her last summer before college checking disgusting… Continue reading Review: To Do List

By Laurie Coke Rating: B+ There is one phone call parents never want to receive. Fruitvale Station brings to life one mother’s nightmare, a daughter’s loss and the story of a life cut short. After celebrating New Year’s Eve with friends in 2009, Oscar Grant III died when a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) police… Continue reading Review: FRUITVALE STATION

By Laurie Coker Rating: A- Everyone who knows me knows I am NOT a fan of horror films. Very few actually scare me and most just gross me out. Still, a friend of mine, who loves to hate horror, really wanted to see The Conjuring, starring Patrick Wilson, Vera Farminga, Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor,… Continue reading Review: THE CONJURING