TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

Several weeks ago in early July, I claimed that this film would  be the next big thing in science fiction. Was I right? Well not exactly. Here's something I didn't take into account for: the budget. When your budget enters the nine digits you know sometimes that size and scale will come before the characters and storytelling. But wow, with "Elysium," what size and scale. Still retaining the gray and brown color palate for a ravaged Earth as he did in his directorial debut "District 9," which shocked everyone with four Oscar nods, Neill Blomkamp displays what he does best (well, with two movies anyway) a dystopian universe with an underdog hero who becomes strapped with some serious tech. But that's where the similarities end. I have deep respect for any writer/director who can craft a movie solely out of their imagination, and not rely on any other sources. Blomkamp partly does this; he takes the decidedly American topics of  healthcare, the 1%, etc....

Science fiction peered over its glasses in interest when the seventh "Star Wars" movie was announced in what feels like years ago. The genre, and let's be real here, has had only a few gems in the past few years, obviously "Inception," "Avatar" and "I Am Legend" have provided memorable genre astounding moments, but movies like "Prometheus," the grandson of the "Alien" series was received lukewarmly with critics and fans alike. Remakes last year like "Total Recall" and "Dredd 3D" underwhelmed audiences, perhaps because they don't want to see retreads of their science-fiction staples on the big screen. Before "Inception" and "Avatar" however, was "District 9." A wholly original sci-fi tale cleverly wrapped with themes including xenophobia, poverty issues and social problems, "District 9" also provided gorgeous (if grotesque) special effects and a riveting stor...

Suffice it to say Mr. Jeremy Renner is having a moment.  After 2 Oscar nominations for work in action films, Hollywood clearly knew where to put him.  In a matter of recent months Renner has established himself as Hawkeye, the successor to Tom Cruise if he ever leaves the "Mission: Impossible" series (which he probably won't, now that he's got some free time on him) and now the successor to Matt Damon in the Bourne movies I've been watching in this last month to prepare myself for "The Bourne Legacy." These spy-action movies are one of the best franchises put to film, and the hard work shows if you ever look at a Bourne behind-the-scenes extra, they actually go to these places Bourne goes: Paris, Tangier, Madrid.  It's hard work, especially for Damon, who was probably tired of playing his never-smiling (seriously, look it up, he doesn't smile at all for the last two movies) rogue agent who just wants to find out who he is.  America obviously wi...