Articles by Diana beechener

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 11/3/11

Puss in Boots

This sexy take on a children’s story is sure to bring up some uncomfortable questions

Antonio Banderas burst onto the American film scene in 1995 with his star-making turn as El Mariachi in Desperado. Since then, he’s added a few more Latin lovers to his filmography, with the latest an orange tabby cat. Beyond retelling the Zorro mythos — which Banderas also tackled in the ’90s — Puss in Boots lets you know that the Puss, voiced with breathy charm by Banderas, is one sexy kitty. By the time the opening credits roll, Puss has had a one-...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 10/27/11

Paranormal Activity 3

Discover how one family began their unhappy haunt

Sisters Katie (Katie Featherstone) and Kristi (Sprague Grayden: 24) have terrible luck. In Paranormal Activity, elder sister Katie is terrorized by a glass-breaking, door-slamming demon that wants to possess her. In Paranormal Activity 2, it’s little sister’s turn to meet this property damage-obsessed dark entity. Now in the third things-that-go-bump-in-the-night installment, the filmmakers go back to the beginning to tell us exactly how these sisters had the misfortune to...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 10/20/11

The Ides of March

George Clooney is mad as hell, and he’s going to make a movie about it!

Steven Meyers (Ryan Gosling: Drive) is on the fast track to political supremacy. He’s the social media director for the presidential campaign of Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney: The American). Morris seemed to be a long shot, but his rhetoric of hope and change has struck a chord with Americans sick of their government. Sound familiar? It should. In fact, the governor should have been named Barack Edwards Dean, but I suppose Mike Morris flows off the tongue more...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 10/13/11

Real Steel

Father and son come together over the clash of steel in this charming robotic boxing film

You guys, in the future Rock’em Sock’em Robots are intense. In the latest CGI opus from director Shawn Levy (Date Night), the year is 2027, when blood-and-guts boxing has been replaced by the more brutal sport of robot boxing. Now trainers use remote controls to send eight-foot, 2,000-pound robots into the ring for nuts-and-bolts mayhem that doesn’t end until one of the bots is vivisected. Think of it as the Roman arena for the iPod age...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 10/6/11

50/50

Something funny happened on the way to chemotherapy

Cancer isn’t inherently funny. Yet somehow 50/50 maintains a Mel Brooksian level of levity in the face of tragedy without cheapening the struggles of those battling cancer. Not bad for a Seth Rogen movie. Twenty-seven-year-old Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt: Inception) has been having back pain for months. When it starts to effect his jogging, he goes to a doctor. There, Adam gets his diagnosis: He’s got a rare form of spinal cancer that will...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 9/29/11

Killer Elite

A trio of killers leaves a bloody path and a pretty entertaining movie in their wake

Let’s get this out of the way now: Killer Elite is not high art. Though veiled under the pretense of a globe-trotting spy thriller, the movie is basically an excuse to watch attractive men beat the heck out of each other. And that’s fine. In fact, it’s pretty fun. The movie follows mercenary Danny (Jason Statham: Gnomeo & Juliet) as he leaves the gun-for-hire business and tries to start over after nearly killing a child on his last...

Article - Creature Feature; by Diana Beechener - 9/29/11

This Week’s Creature Feature ... All Hail the...

Catch one last glimpse of these orange beauties before they head south for the winter

Each year as the leaves turn orange in Maryland, orange-tinted butterflies turn south. Monarch butterflies, easily recognizable in bold orange and yellow hues, visit Maryland each spring and summer to enjoy nectar and liquids from fruit. While the monarchs might be fun to spot in your garden, make sure to keep pets and children from trying to sample the insects. As larvae, the monarchs eat a strict diet of only milkweed, which helps them develop cardenolides — a poison...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 9/22/11

Drive

A Hollywood stuntman moonlights as a wheelman but winds up in the mob’s crosshairs after a heist goes bad

Los Angeles stunt driver, Driver (Ryan Gosling: Crazy, Stupid, Love.), isn’t above moonlighting to make a little extra cash. He offers his services as a wheelman to robbers in the greater L.A. area. He lives a monk-like existence, moving from one Spartan apartment to another and speaking with no one but his manager/boss/agent Shannon (Bryan Cranston: Contagion). Driver is content with that existence until he meets shy waitress Irene (Carey Mulligan: Never Let Me Go)...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 9/15/11

Warrior

A trio of great performances beats sports movie clichés to make a knock out

The Conlon boys were born to fight. Father Paddy (Nick Nolte: Zookeeper) devoured their youth training young Tommy for wrestling matches and beating the life out of the family while drinking away his Vietnam flashbacks. After years of abuse, his wife makes a plan to run and takes Tommy. Older brother Brendan chooses to stay. The boys grow into very different men. Brendan (Joel Edgerton: Animal Kingdom) married his neighborhood sweetheart, enjoyed a brief...

Article - History & Lore; by Diana Beechener - 9/15/11

Reviving the Past

Chesapeake Beach Resort unveils its all-new historic band shell for outdoor concerts

When Otto Mears first brought the railroad to Chesapeake Beach in 1900, he spent $6 million to build his dream town, a Monte Carlo on the Bay. More than a century later, Chesapeake Beach Resort partner Gerald Donovan is keeping that dream alive by rebuilding one of Mears’ original attractions. “Mears built this huge boardwalk on the Bay, so people would come from around the D.C. area,” says Donovan. “He advertised it as one hour to the sea. It was...