"Lord of War" chronicles the life of Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage), a cocky international arms dealer with charm similar to Frank Sinatra. The movie begins when Orlov sold his first Uzi. His notorious reputation begins to rise with a constant chase by Interpol agent Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawk). "Lord...

What happened this summer? It's the question distributors, producers and movie studio executives are asking themselves and each other. Compared to last summer, the box office has seen a decrease in domestic gross while the marketing, promoting and budget size of each movie has experienced no significant...

And so it begins...the summer blockbuster movies. With a bigger audience in the summer come bigger movies. In an effort to promote one of those movies, Tom Cruise granted a conference call interview with several college newspapers from around the country to discuss the highly anticipated remake "War...

In film, everybody hates the villain or the "bad guy." But in essence, the villain has always been more intriguing and complex than any other character, especially the hero. We wonder why he does this, what made him this way, etc. Either way, I enjoyed their performances from minute one. As always, I...

"American Idol" embraces the American Dream: being rich, famous and living the good life. It may be arrogant thinking because everyone in the world longs for that ideal. But where's the reality behind this reality show? "American Idol" is simply a genius marketing strategy. Their tagline, "The Search...

Sequels are usually not as good as the original. This isn't engraved in stone but just a guideline. Don't expect too much is basically it. "Be Cool" is the sequel to 1995's "Get Shorty," where Chili Palmer (John Travolta), a movie loving shylock becomes a movie producer. Now, in "Be Cool," Palmer is...

Romantic comedies just don't do it for me. Why? Well, what's the typical romantic comedy plot? Boy meets girl, they fall in love and live happily ever after. But what drove me to see "Hitch" was its basic premise--"Nice guys finish last"—which I've been a victim of. Alex "Hitch" Hitchens (Will Smith)...

Ed McMahon’s "Her-e e e e 's Johnny!" is a signature phrase for none other than the undisputed King of Late Night talk show, Johnny Carson, who passed away on Sunday, January 23, 2005. He died peacefully surrounded by his family and friends. He had battled emphysema for many years. On October 1,...

"Assault on Precinct 13" is a clash between a cop thriller, a morality tale and occasional humor. These genres work well together and the film gives them their moments. But it also employs an old and reusable storyline which I affectionately call "The Rio Bravo Syndrome." You'll know why in a minute....

Ray Charles: Born September 23, 1930, died June 10, 2004. "Ray" is a heartfelt musical based on the life of the King of Rhythm and Blues and Jazz music, Ray Charles. The film follows the life of Charles (played by Jamie Foxx) from 1930 to 1966. Throughout the film there are numerous flash-backs of Charles...

Mel Gibson: the man, the artist, the icon. Whatever you want to call him, he has ranked number one on the Forbes annual celebrity power list of 2004. His total earnings are an estimated $210 million, mainly from his controversial film "The Passion of the Christ." First and foremost, I consider Gibson...

With the heightened interest of the scheduled appearance of Michael Moore at the Del Mar fairgrounds, and the upcoming election, a screening of the controversial documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" was presented in the Arts 240 building on October 5 Among the audience, was a panel of distinguished speakers...