Film

RHEMA CHRISTIAN CHURCH

(THE SOLUTION CENTER)

120 W. TAYLOR STREET, RENO NV 89509 (775) 772-5283

WWW.RHEMACHURCHRENO.ORG WORSHIP WITH US AT RHEMA CHRISTIAN CHURCH, A PROPHETIC PLACE OF DEVINE REST WHERE NOBODY IS ALLOWED TO SUFFER, OR PERMITTED TO FAIL. IT IS A GREAT COMMISSION CHURCH WHERE EVERYBODY IS SOMEBODY AND JESUS IS LORD OF ALL... OUR MEETING TIMES: SUNDAYS: 9:30AM

(SUNDAY SCHOOL/WORSHIP) WEDNESDAYS: 6:00PM

(INTERCESSORY PRAYER MEETING) EVERY LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH

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(BIBLE STUDY/FELLOWSHIP) JESUS IS LORD!

Think Free

Northern Nevada 8th Anniversary

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA & NEVADA CHAPTER & DINNER CHAIR NORM DIANDA CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO JOIN THEM IN

HONORING The Dolan Family

Thursday, August 21, 2014 5:00 pm cocktails 6:30 pm dinner The Silver Legacy Resort Casino Reno, NV

The Dinner of Champions, honoring community leaders, The Dolan Family, raises critical funds for cutting-edge MS research for better treatments and a cure, as well as services to help people with multiple sclerosis and their families to move their lives forward.

Southern California & Nevada Chapter

Gun show

The Purge: Anarchy

Last year’s The Purge was a good premise backed up by a boring slog of a movie. The Purge: Anarchy, a sequel delivered just a year later, is a better movie. I’m not saying it’s a good movie, for it is not. It’s a better movie with a lot of problems. The film starts mere hours before the annual Purge, a one-day holiday where citizens of the United States are allowed to put their cherished arsenals to use. Yes, murder is legal for a day in this universe, although certain types of explosives are strictly prohibited. This is sort of the Magnolia or Crash of Purge movies in that we see a lot of story lines involving multiple characters eventually converging. While the first Purge gave us Ethan Hawke and his family moping around inside their house as the annual blood fest took place outside their doors, this one takes the action outside and into the streets. Admittedly, this is a better move. In one plot thread we get the mysterious Sergeant (Frank Grillo) gathering up some heavy artillery and taking to the streets on Purge night, looking for some revenge on a dude who did him and his family wrong. In another, we get a mother and daughter, Eva and Cali (Carmen Ejogo and Zoe Soul), who must leave their apartment after they are attacked. They get close to death via big machine gun when Sergeant, passing by, chooses to interrupt his vengeful mission and lend the ladies a hand.

Another scampering couple (Kiele Sanchez and Zach Gilford) joins the fray, and the band of strangers join together to face off against gangs of masked marauders and, eventually, agents of the very strange government. The government here is depicted as the New Founding Fathers, a clear jab at the current Tea Party by writer director James by Bob Grimm DeMonaco. The New Founding Fathers have concocted the Purge as a means to get rid of bgrimm@ the poor and elevate the rich. Only the rich newsreview.com can afford the heavy artillery, giving them the upper hand on Purge night by virtue of their 2 wallets. While the first Purge had far too little going on, this one suffers a bit from overkill. Some of the characters and their boring problems get a little too much screen time. Additionally, everything that happens in this movie feels glaringly obvious. It offers little in the ways of genuine surprises or scares. The set pieces, which often consist of dark city streets, have the look of art design done on a miniscule budget. Granted, action on a larger scale is welcomed in this franchise, but there’s something very flat about the look of this movie. When the band of survivors eventually finds themselves being hunted for the amusement of an elite dinner party, the attempts at dark humor fall flat. It’s an interesting idea to have a sequence like this, reminiscent of The Most Dangerous Game, but it comes late in the film and feels like it is an element being shoehorned into the movie. Grillo (so good in The Grey with Liam Neeson) is the strongest link in the movie, although he overacts a bit in his attempts to elevate the script he’s been given. I also liked Michael K. Williams as Carmelo, leader of an underground force standing up to the New Founding Fathers. The whole affair feels like a bit of a John Carpenter rip-off, and not the good John Carpenter, but the fair-to-middling John Carpenter. Now, that’s better than watching Ethan Hawke mope around his house and having tense conversations through his front door for an entire film, but it still doesn’t feel fresh. No doubt, there are more Purge movies on the way. If The Purge: Anarchy is indicative of the franchise improving gradually from movie to movie, then perhaps we will finally get a good Purge somewhere around 2017. Ω

"That's the last Purge script he'll ever write!"

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422 Jump Street Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, an unlikely duo if there ever was one, basically repeat the same steps of their very funny 21 Jump Street, and they do it in a way that keeps things fresh while knowingly recycling the same plot. This film acknowledges what it is, a run-of-themill sequel, for its entire running time. It’s a selfmocking technique that works well thanks to its stars and the deft comic direction of returning directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who are on a roll, having also directed this year’s The Lego Movie. This one picks up where the first film left off, with Captain Dickson (Ice Cube in serious comic overdrive) assigning Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum) to college. In college, they will do exactly what they did undercover in the first movie: Infiltrate the dealers, find the supplier. They get the laughs the same way, through Hill’s self-deprecating, rat-a-tat delivery, and Tatum’s dumb lug shtick. It worked well the first time, and it works well again.

4Dawn of the Planet of the Apes The motion-capture apes take another step toward world domination in a sequel just as good as its predecessor, and certainly a step forward when it comes to pure, unadulterated ass-kicking ape action. The movie picks up 10 years after a well-meaning doctor played by James Franco first shot an experimental drug into a chimp and unintentionally initiated the end of the human race. Caesar (Andy Serkis doing his motion-capture best) is leading a group of genetically modified apes in the redwoods near the Golden Gate Bridge. Life is good, and the humans have seemingly disappeared thanks to the Simian Flu brought on by the Franco character’s experiments. As it turns out, some humans have survived, led by Gary Oldman’s frustrated Dreyfus, who fears the humans will soon run out of fuel for their generators. There’s a chance for some hydraulic power via a dam in the woods, a dam that just happens to be near the apes compound. A band of humans led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke) sets out to repair the dam, stumbles upon the apes, and those apes aren’t happy to see them. Koba, an ape who figured prominently in the first film, returns, and he has no interest in a peaceful existence with humans. So, they fight, and they fight in glorious and exciting fashion. Matt Reeves, who directed Cloverfield, Let Me In and the vastly underrated The Pallbearer, proves a more than ample choice for this movie. He’s already been announced for the sequel, due two years from now.

5Life Itself Roger Ebert saw a lot of documentaries during his reign as the world’s most renowned movie critic. It’s only fitting that one of the last things he did in his life was take part in a documentary that will certainly stand as one of 2014’s best. This gives us the full story on Ebert, retelling the days before he started writing about movies for a living, his Pulitzer Prize-winning career as a critic, and his painful, yet amazingly graceful, last days. Director Steve James had permission to film Ebert in his hospital rooms as he battled cancer. It’s hard to watch what he’s going through, but it’s inspiring to see how Ebert handled his obstacles. Oh sure, James probably shows us some of the more pleasant, upbeat footage, but Ebert’s passion for life was a most genuine one, and no trick editing is required to show us that. The film touches upon two very important partnerships in Ebert’s life: his marriage to Chaz Ebert—who appears often in the film—and his work with the late Gene Siskel. While watching the movie, it seems as if Roger Ebert is narrating, but the voice is that of an impressionist named Stephen Stanton. The resemblance is incredible, as if Roger somehow found his voice again in time to tell us his story. This is sweet, scary, funny, sad and surprisingly entertaining and uplifting. It’s also revealing (I didn’t know he was an alcoholic), uncompromising (some of the medical moments are very hard to watch), and brutally honest. While I give it my highest endorsement, I think Ebert would’ve given it 3 and a half stars out of 4. Hey—he was a tough critic. (Available on VOD, Amazon.com and iTunes during limited theatrical release.)

2Maleficent Angelina Jolie plays the title character, the infamous horned villain from Sleeping Beauty. There’s a little bit of revisionist history here, with Maleficent portrayed as more of a fallen angel rather than a straight up baddie. The whole thing almost works because Jolie is damned good in this film, especially when the script allows for her to bellow curses and just act devilish. It gets a little sleepy at times when it deals with, well, Sleeping Beauty (Elle Fanning), the young woman who stands to have a very bad 16th birthday thanks to a Maleficent curse. Jolie has a creepy getup that I thought would bother me, but I kind of liked looking at it after a while. It’s the world surrounding her that I found a bit pedestrian. Director Robert Stromberg worked as a production designer on films like Alice in Wonderland, Avatar and Oz the Great and Powerful. I didn’t like any of those movies and, in the end, I don’t really like this one. At this point in watching Stromberg’s work, I’m just not taken by his weird visual worlds. They put me off for some reason, and have a choppy pop-up book feel to them. On the plus side, it is better than Alice and Oz, and perhaps even Avatar. On the negative side, it’s still not all that good.

1Sex Tape Once upon a time, there was a director with a very promising career. In 1998, Jake Kasdan made his directorial debut with the excellent Zero Effect, one of that year’s best movies. It still stands as one of Ben Stiller’s best efforts, and Kasdan even wrote the thing. Since then, I’ve been following all of his releases and they have gotten progressively worse (Orange County, Walk Hard, Bad Teacher). Now comes this mess starring Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz, an ugly comedy that tries to get laughs out of people being very, very uncomfortable. The two play a husband and wife who don’t know how to have sex with each other anymore, so they make a video using an iPad. Then, that video syncs up with a bunch of other iPads that they gave away as gifts, so a bunch of friends and family are at risk of seeing them naked and sweaty. Somehow, Kasdan manages to work in an overlong bit of Segel getting attacked by a dog, while supporting stars like Rob Corddry and Rob Lowe labor for laughs. The film feels like a flat, dated and shameless piece of advertising for Apple—who must be seriously regretting the decision to allow their product placement in this movie—and internet porn. Let it be known that Diaz and Segel look and sound absolutely disgusting when they are making out.

2Tammy Having co-written this movie, Melissa McCarthy can take a lot of the blame for yet another bad comedy featuring her playing an uninteresting mess of a human being. She stars as the title character, a fast food worker who wrecks her car, gets fired and finds out her husband (Nat Faxon) is having an affair in the same day. She winds up hitting the road with her alcohol-swilling, diabetic grandma (Susan Sarandon), and virtually nothing works as far as laughs are concerned. McCarthy and Ben Falcone’s script (Falcone also directs) tries to mine laughs out of grandma being a trashy party girl and Tammy eating too much pie. It wastes the talents of everybody involved, including Gary Cole as a philandering barfly and Mark Duplass as Tammy’s love interest. When Tammy holds up her former burger joint employer, it’s almost funny, but most of that scene was covered in the preview trailer. McCarthy can be hilarious—her best film moment may always be the outtake during the This is 40 credits—but she can also be tedious as she is in this and last year’s Identity Thief. Her next film is St. Vincent co-starring Bill Murray, a film that will hopefully erase this one from our memories.

1Transformers: Age of Extinction Director Michael Bay seems to be taunting his haters at this point, employing all of those things that sicken his detractors, and cranking everything up to disgusting levels. Replacing Shia LaBeouf is Mark Wahlberg. He plays Cade Yeager, a crazy robot inventor living on a farm with his smoking hot daughter, Tessa (Nicola Peltz). After inadvertently buying Optimus Prime from an old guy at an abandoned movie theater (yep!), Yeager and his daughter wind up fighting alongside the Autobots as they battle an evil race of American-made Autobot clones courtesy of a Steve Jobs-like mogul (Stanley Tucci). The movie is a billion hours long, and none of those hours are ever any good. Some of the visuals pop, but you won’t care because you will be glazed over by the time most of the big action kicks up. If you should choose to see this one, make sure all of your bills are paid, and you’ve winter-proofed your house before you sit down, because you aren’t getting out of that theater for a very long time. 90 Auto Center Dr.

Itʼ s happening in

ACTIVITIES

ONE IS SILVER, THE OTHER IS GOLD

This special NV150 exhibit celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Nevada Arts Council’s Folklife Apprenticeship Program. It features 22 award-winning Nevada artists from the indigenous Paiute, Shoshone and Washoe peoples and the skilled ranchers, miners, loggers and railroad workers who have long been a part of the state’s history. Tu, Th, F, 11AM4PM through 7/29 and Sa, 1-4PM through 7/29, $5 adults; free for museum members and children under age 12. Sparks Heritage Museum, 814 Victorian Ave. (775) 355-1144

CONTAINER GARDENING

Presented by: Mark Mercier. Learn what’s available in containers and raised beds to grow vegetables in. Learn the simple secrets to have a fabulous garden. Sa, 7/26, 11AM & 1PM, Free, but a donation of a can of food for the local food bank is appreciated. Rail City Garden Center, 1720 Brierley Way, (775) 355-1551

VOLLEYBALL SUMMER CAMP FOR GIRLS

This camp is designed to teach the fundamentals of volleyball. The basics as well as game and play strategies will be practiced. M, 7/28, 9AM-1PM, $130. Edward Reed High School, 1350 Baring Blvd.,(757) 353-5700

XERISCAPING

Presented by: Mark Mercier. The modern solution for low maintenance, water effi ciency and low cost landscaping. Plant choices and techniques will be discussed. Please RSVP. Sa, 8/2, 11AM & 1PM, free, but a donation of a can of food for the local food bank is appreciated. Rail City Garden Center, 1720 Brierley Way (775) 355-1551

RENO SKI AND RECREATION CLUB

The Reno Ski and Recreation Club holds its general meeting. Hear the most current information about the Reno Ski & Recreation Club’s upcoming activities. Second Tu of every month, 6PM, free. Cantina Los Tres Hombres, 926 Victorian Ave (775) 356-6262

SCHEELS RUNNING CLUB

Run with expert pacers and enjoy running in a group Tu, 6:30PM through 12/9, free. Scheels, 1200 Scheels Dr. (775) 331-2700

SHIRLEY’S SPARKS FARMERS’ MARKET

This 22nd annual farmers’ market features fresh local produce, arts and crafts, specialty foods, prepared foods and children’s activities. Th, 3-8PM through 7/24 and Th, 3-8PM through 8/21, free. Victorian Square, Victorian Ave

CROCHET CONNECTION

Learn to crochet or share tips with other crochet enthusiasts. Th, 4-5:45PM, free. Spanish Springs Library, 7100A Pyramid Lake Highway (775) 424-1800

FOUR SEASONS BOOK CLUB

The book club meets the fi rst Saturday of each month. Call to fi nd out each month’s book title. First Sa of every month, 1-2PM, free. Sparks Library, 1125 12th St. (775) 352-3200

CONVERSATION CAFE

The drop-in conversation program meets on the fi rst Saturday of each month, 2-4PM, free. Sparks Library, 1125 12th St. (775) 352-3200

FOOD TRUCK DRIVE-IN

Food Truck Drive-In comes to Victorian Square on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month through October. 5PM to 9PM. Enjoy the fi nest in mobile cuisine including Hawaiian fusion, desserts, hot dogs, pulled pork nachos and much more!After dinner, head to Saint Mary’s Ampitheater for a free movie at 8PM. This week’s movie (July 26) is Raiders of the Lost Ark. Victorian Square, Victorian Ave, free.

CLICKETS KNITTING GROUP

This class is for knitters of all ages and levels. Yarn and needles are available. First and Third Su of every month, 1:303PM, free. Spanish Springs Library, 7100A Pyramid Lake Highway, Spanish Springs (775) 424-1800

PERFORMANCE AND MUSIC

ERIC ANDERSON AND JOEL ACKERSON

Th, 7/24, 7PM, no cover. Great Basin Brewing Co., 846 Victorian Ave. (775) 355-7711

METAL ECHO - “WE’RE BACK” SHOW!

It’s been a while since we’ve played at one of our favorite spots, Sidelines Bar in Sparks! F, 7/25, 9:30PM, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030

ARNOLD MITCHEM

F, 7/25, 8PM, no cover. Great Basin Brewing Co., 846 Victorian Ave. (775) 355-7711

CHAD BUSHNELL

Th-Sa, 7PM through 7/26, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300

RICK HAMMOND BLUES BAND

Sa, 7/26, 8PM, no cover. Great Basin Brewing Co., 846 Victorian Ave. (775) 355-7711

THE BEATLES FLASHBACK

W, 7/30, 7PM, no cover. Great Basin Brewing Co., 846 Victorian Ave.(775) 355-7711

JUSTIN SHANDOR FEATURING ELVIS

Justin has been making a living impersonating Elvis since he was 16 years old. In August of 2010, he won the Ultimate Elvis Contest in Memphis, Tenn., securing an endorsement from Graceland. F, 8/1, 7 & 9PM, $25 per person. Bourbon Square Casino, 1040 Victorian Ave. (775) 997-7177

BIKINI BULL RIDING

DJ and Bikini Bull Riding Competition. Su, 5 & 9PM through 12/28, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300

LOCALS NIGHT

Locals Night, DJ. M, 5PM through 12/29, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300

LIVE MONDAYS WITH TANY JANE

Open mic night every Monday at 8PM, hosted by Tany Jane. M, 8PM, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030

CLASSIC ROCK NIGHT

Classic rock night with DJ. Tu, 5PM through 12/30, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300

OPEN JAM WITH TAZER & FRIENDS

W, 8PM, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030

LADIES NIGHT & TOUGHEST COWBOY

Ladies Night w/live music and Toughest Cowboy Competition. DJ breaks until midnight. W, 7 & 9PM through 12/31, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300

ERIKA PAUL

Enjoy Louisiana-style food and the soulful, breathtaking jazz sounds of Erika Paul on keyboards and vocals. Th, 6PM, no cover. Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, 1180 Scheels Dr. (775) 657-8659

A SINGERS-SONGWRITERS SHOWCASE

Bring you, your instrument and your song. We look forward to hearing and seeing you there! Th, 8PM through 12/18, no cover. Paddy & Irene’s Irish Pub, 906-A Victorian Ave. (775) 358-5484

LIVE MUSIC & LATE NIGHT DJ

Live music with late-night DJ. F, 5PM-2AM & 7-11PM through 12/26, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300

LIVE JAZZ

Vocal and instrumental jazz from “The Great American Songbook”, performed by First Take featuring Rick (SAX) Metz. Fridays, 6PM, no cover. Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, 1180 Scheels Dr. (775) 657-8659

BILL DAVIS

Sa, 6PM, no cover. Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, 1180 Scheels Dr. (775) 657-8659

LIVE MUSIC & LATE NIGHT DJ

Live music with late-night DJ. Sa, 5PM-2AM & 7PM-midnight through 12/27, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300

KARAOKE

KARAOKE WITH BOBBY DEE

Tu, 8PM, no cover. Morelli’s G Street Saloon, 2285 G St. (775) 355-8281

KARAOKE

Th-Sa, 9PM, no cover. Bottom’s Up Saloon, 1923 Prater Way (775) 359-3677