TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

I'm a sucker for coming of age movies. "Meatballs," "Stand by Me," "My Girl" just to name a few of my favorites. Perhaps it's because I'm not quite done growing up, so I like seeing other go through with that struggle, if not just to confirm I'm not alone. I've been on a Netflix kick of the show "Freaks and Geeks," entirely devoted to chronicling high school children face obstacles in 1980's Michigan. So high school movies especially are my bread and butter (note "Perks of Being a Wallflower") but give me a story where a kid finds himself in a water park and I'm down. I'm especially down if the co-director/writers/actors/executive producers of the movie Jim Rash and Nat Faxon are involved. They co-wrote one of my favorite films of all time, "The Descendants," the gorgeous Hawaiian set tale of a man coming to grips with his comatose wife. This is a pretty big 180 from that film, about a boy nam...

No. The answer is no, but it's an eye-catching headline isn't it? The only legit name that is box office poison right now that comes to mind is M. Night Shyamalan, and the HR for "After Earth" really did try to focus more on the Smiths starring in the movie than the fact that he directed it, and it still bombed. If studios measured critical disdain as much as they weighed box office success to a movie, Shyamalan would've been dead to Hollywood after "The Happening," and it would've prevented him from making "Last Airbender" (still haven't seen it, too good of memories of the show.) But Reynolds isn't like that, though to the shallow eye it would appear. He voices the titular snail in the animated movie "Turbo" and co-stars with Jeff Bridges in "R.I.P.D." They came in third and seventh place respectively, neither pulling any big numbers. In fact, both films cost around $130 million to make, and that is enormous ...

Entertainment Weekly's recent issue unveiled what new villain Electro would look like in the upcoming "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," and I had...mixed reactions. Jamie Foxx's villain resembles a high-tech "Avatar"-like character on meth, certainly a far cry from the original version of Electro I had growing up as a kid, the one with lightning bolts growing from his face in that ridiculous green leotard. I also find it interesting that while they hired a black man to take over the role of the Caucasian comic book antagonist, it looks like he'll be decidedly indigo for most of the film. Just a bit of a difference But those are mostly nitpicks. The fact that Foxx, one of Hollywood's brightest and talented stars, was employed with no outcry from the fans regarding his color shows progress in tolerance for sure. Mega comic book nerds probably have too much to whine about anyway, giving the "The Amazing Spider-Man's" somewhat polarized rec...

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...

I have to confess the only thing I'd ever seen Melissa McCarthy up to this point was her hilarious guest appearances on "SNL," the peak performances trumping with her physical slapstick. I've always wanted to see "Bridesmaids" to see that Oscar-nominated performance of hers, but in all honesty, "Identity Thief" and "Mike & Molly" looked silly to me, and I never watched "Samantha Who" or "Gilmore Girls." All I had to judge on was reviews claiming she carried "The Heat" on her shoulders, and those choice over-the-top delicious roles on "SNL." The verdict: she's hysterical. Indeed McCarthy does something fascinating: everything coming out of her mouth is nearly always funny (to the degree of  funny is debatable), profane and rapidly paced. She is the sole reason the movie works, well, to give her co-star credit, the chemistry between her and Sandra Bullock is pretty darn good too. In a bett...

There are a couple of items to address before going into my review of the highly anticipated "Man of Steel." The first is to pay respects to an actor who's passed, the incomparable James Gandolfini. I didn't have the privilege of watching "The Sopranos," but I thoroughly enjoyed his supporting work in "The Taking of Pelham 1 2  3" and "Zero Dark Thirty." He was a familiar face that'll be missed in the community, and a TV legend in his own right. Second, I haven't written in the blog in a long time; I've been working on a short film with several friends that I wrote and co-starred in, so I've spent a lot of time on that, and will post it as soon as filming completes! Now on to the review: I'd heard polarizing things on this superhero blockbuster, and none of them assured me I was going to love it. I'd listened to mostly good buzz about "Iron Man 3," with raves from my peers in high school, but that obv...

Let me confess my full love of and practice of magic before I continue this review. Magic, well for me mostly card tricks, was a huge part of my life in fifth grade. I got my friends and I to pull them off, amazing (or at least slightly surprising) my peers and adults who were patient enough to tolerate as I carefully balanced where their card was going to be. I even performed a card trick (with a deck of Power Ranger cards, no less) for my sixth grade talent day. Of course, as seventh grade hit, puberty pulled off the evilest trick on me: making my love of card tricks disappear. So I've always been enamored with magic, especially the act Penn & Teller, who aren't afraid to show you how some of their tricks are performed. Unlike Penn & Teller, or me at my sixth grade performance, "Now You See Me" doesn't blow you away with the big reveal. It leaves you confused and mad you sat down for such a long...trick. The Hollywood dazzle, and product placements (...