Movie Reviews by Cinema Siren

Animated Film 'Epic' by Director Chris Wedge: Fail

'Hiring big names was not in the best interest of the film.'

  To be fair, director Chris Wedge (of Ice Age and Rio) has created a nature-based fantasy engaging enough that it will find an audience, but when one changes the name of a movie from Leaf Men to Epic, one better come with one's A+ game, no? Epic qualifies for a solid C, which is still a passing grade, but if you brought that home to mom, she would be displeased. This over-plotted muddle with under-drawn characters is saved by a handful of characters' well-defined personalities and the beautifully rendered environments in which they interact.  It doesn't help that director Wedge was comparing his newest with the grandiosity of Star Wars and Avatar. While both those incredibly successful action-ers demonstrated numerous breakthroughs in …

• Videos (1)

Review and Trailer: 'Star Trek Into Darkness:' Excitement at Warp Factor 10

Film is rated PG-13.

Star Trek Into Darkness has opened in theaters nationwide. Here are the showtimes at the closest movie theaters showing Star Trek Into Darkness: --- Boy, this is going to be one short review. This movie has more spoilers than the 1967 Enterprise had Tribbles…and in the interest of full disclosure, this is written by the Cinema Siren who owns chairs from the Voyager show, can list the original episodes in order of appearance, has a T-shirt with a quote in Klingon, and a model of the Enterprise signed by all the original cast members. That is to say, fandom lives here. Any experience of watching the new release by director J. J. Abrams would naturally be filtered through a brain steeped in Star Trek knowledge and lore. That being said, there…

• Photos (1)
• Videos (1)

Weekend Planner: Concerts and a Farmers' Market

Check out these events happening this weekend in Northern Virginia.

The weekend is upon us in Northern Virginia and it's time to start making plans for some fun. Patch has compiled a list of events that the whole family can enjoy. Have a great weekend! Mary Bragg and Carl Anderson at Jammin’ Java Check out Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Mary Bragg at Jammin’ Java in Vienna on Friday night. Mary Bragg attracted overflow crowds for a residency at NYC’s famed venue The Living Room. Her latest recording, Tattoos and Bruises, grew out of that series of shows.: Friday, May 17, 7 p.m. Want to post your own event this weekend? Click the Events tab above to get started! Yoga for Kids Bring your kids to East Meets West Yoga Center for a playful, fun yoga class. Space is limited to 12 students, so be sure to …

• Photos (1)

High School Student to Join City Band On Stage Saturday

Andrea Hsu won the opportunity to join the band on stage for a special solo performance.

  The City of Fairfax Band will have a very special guest solost for its concert this Saturday night - a high school student. A senior at Chantilly High School, Andrea Hsu will join the City of Fairfax Band on stage at 8 p.m. this Saturday, May 11 at WT Woodson High School as this year’s Young Artist Competition winner.  Andrea Hsu has a deep love of music and enjoys sharing that love with others. “Playing for others gives me a rush because I love knowing that the music you help bring to life could really have an effect on someone,” she says.  Since its creation in 1996, the City of Fairfax Band Association’s Young Artist Competition (YAC) has encouraged the development of stand-out high school musicians from throughout northern Virginia …

• Photos (1)

Fairfax Academy Students Host Fashion Show

The show features looks from nine high school students.

  A year's worth of work comes to a head for Fairfax Academy high school students next week, when their clothing lines will take the stage in a community fashion show. “Everyone has little struggles with their collections, so the coolest thing will be able to see all of our friends come together and see that it was all worth it,” said Sarah Dowell, 17.  Fairfax Academy’s Fashion Design program trains students for a career in the fashion industry. The program, housed within Fairfax High School, is one of six academies in the Fairfax County Public School System (FCPS). Students in academies take these advanced career elective courses to prepare themselves for careers in their chosen field. Juniors or seniors from about 20 different high …

• Photos (4)

A 5-Minute Cinco de Mayo Meal

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with these two recipes - one quick and easy, and one more elaborate and traditional.

Catch 'Hello Dolly' at Fairfax High School This Weekend

Students from the 'FX Players' present the musical this weekend and next on the main stage.

  Transport yourself back to the 1900s. Matchmaker Dolly Levi - a character made popular by the iconic Dolly Parton - is trying her hand at pairing up the wealthy and poor alike in bustling New York. A widow, Dolly has found herself in love with a "half-a-millionaire," Yonkers merchant Horace Vandergelder. So, she proceeds to weave a web of romantic complications involving him, his two clerks, a pretty milliner and her assistant. Eventually, of course, all is sorted out, and everyone ends up with the right person. Locals on Facebook are already calling The FX Players' Hello Dolly "the funniest show around." Don't miss the talented students from the production company The FX Players at Fairfax High School as they present this "whimsical and…

• Photos (2)

Spotlight on the Arts: City of Fairfax Band Association

An inside look at one of the City's premiere features of the annual Spotlight on the Arts series.

  As you may have heard, the City of Fairfax's annual Spotlight on the Arts series is underway. Held each spring, Spotlight on the Arts features three full weeks of music, dance, theater, art, and choral concerts, spread out in venues all over town. The festival aims to enhance the community’s awareness of the many arts and cultural opportunities in Fairfax and encourage expansion of the arts through supporting fledging arts organizations in the community. Here at Fairfax City Patch, we are eager to help shed some light on the wonderful examples of local visual and performing arts that Spotlight on the Arts is all about.   Read all about it Today, we are happy to introduce a brand-new blog on Fairfax City Patch - the City of Fairfax Band …

• Photos (1)
• Videos (1)

Top 16: Tornado Hits, Smithsonian Fraud, School Rankings, Dulles Tolls and Mark Wahlberg

Top news of the week from our Patches around Virginia and DC.

  Patch has 31 community sites in Virginia and D.C. Here are some of the top stories from around the region over the past week.  16. Mark Wahlberg Visits: Actor Mark Wahlberg visited T.C. Williams High School on Wednesday morning for an assembly presented by Get Schooled, a nonprofit that aims to engage high school students in an effort to improve graduation rates and empower more students to achieve in college. “I had to work really hard to get where I’m at,” Wahlberg said. “And I don’t mind working really hard to try and maintain it." 15. Runner Pledges 30 Races: Arlington resident Lauren Bailey is halfway through a personal challenge that has been daunting and exhilarating — running 30 races in one year, the year of her 30th birthday. …

• Photos (2)

Weird Virginia: Naked Driver, Forgotten Weed, High-Tech Art and High-End Funny Money

Plus, Iguana models, cell towers in disguise, a Ladybug exodus and two birds ask, "Who cooks for you?"

  Editor's Note: Patch has 31 sites in Virginia and D.C., and not a day goes by that something weird isn't happening somewhere in the area. Here's a look back at some weird goings on over the past week. Drivers at the Lake Ridge commuter lot near Interstate 95 saw more than the road crews and heavy machinery that have become standard commute scenery. Prince William County Police arrested a man April 19 when they found him dancing naked on the hood of his car.  Without question, you should surrender to authorities when police have identified you as the suspect in a grand-larceny case. But we feel compelled to caution suspects about checking their pockets after a 27-year-old Annandale man turned himself in. Police in Falls Church say they …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)