Bullet Train, Review: Brad luck Pitt A Japanese book adapted into an American film, with Brad Pitt in the leading role, set on a high speed train, with armed and dangerous Mafia agents and gangsters on board, seems to be the menu for a high-octane entertainer. And for once, a film delivers most of what it promises. It is a quaint mix of mayhem, mirth and thrills. Bullet Train re-works the gangster genre with a twist that is so obvious that you wonder why did nobody think of it before. And tha...

  by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent   Everybody has their version of who Keanu Reeves is, that airhead guy from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure or the hero from Speed with Sandra Bullock or the enigmatic character in 47 Ronin released last year. And next he will star in and executive produce a TV series called "Rain." But wait, where has he been for the last few years? Noticeably on-and-off the Hollywood radar. Keanu, who turns 50 on Sept. 2, was ...

On a recent wintry night, the 13th snow storm of the season froze the Film Society of Lincoln Center's plans to host Alfonso Cuarón in a conversation about his new film Gravity. The acclaimed Mexican director, whose lift-off to New York was aborted, was instead astral-projected by video Skype. Cuarón is perhaps best known to American audiences for his screen adaptation of the children's book A Little Princess; his Mexican road comedy Y Tu Mamá También; ...

  by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent   When Alfonso Cuarón directed and co-wrote the critically acclaimed Y Tu Mamá También in 2001, it was obvious the Mexican-born director had a few tricks up his sleeve. Last night he paid off those expectations with a huge victory in a tough field as Best Director at the DGA Awards. Cuarón was up against the heavies: Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street), Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), David O. R...

  by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent   This weekend Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock, two screen queens with a long history together, walked the same red carpet separately at the Palm Springs Film Festival. Julia with her Veronica Lake peekaboo combover, and Sandra Bullock doe-eyed in pink and orange. They both looked, well, lovely, relaxed. Yet, there is always that tension. That Sweetheart Question. Nobody was the wiser, except maybe the two of them, that a debate...

Friday night Sandra Bullock received the  25th Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s  American Riviera Award presented by Forest Whitaker on behalf of Chopin Vodka.  The award was established to recognize an actor who has had a strong influence on American Cinema.  Bullock has recently won the Golden Globe and SAG awards for Best Actress. The tribute was moderated by Pete Hammond, Film Critic for Box Office and a columnist for the LA Times-Envelope.   ...

      by Marla Lewin Sandra Bullock continued her remarkable year where she has dominated the box office and been declared the number one top grossing star in the movies today. Bullock has become a serious best-actress competitor in the past month, with her SAG win, a win last week at the Golden Globes and a tie with Meryl Streep in the Critics Choice Movie Awards. The stars seem to be aligning for this well liked actress who has quietly entertained a...