Film

Meryl Streep is without question an actress of extraordinary and seemingly limitless talent who was recently recognized as one of our national treasures. Her portrayal is so uncannily believable we are persuaded Streep is Margaret Thatcher. She is truly a phenomenon, convincing us what we see is actual reality, not virtual reality. That the famed Weinstein brothers — whose Weinsten Co. made the film — have used the greatest living actress to humiliate Baroness Thatcher is both disgraceful and unforgivable.

COSTA MESA — U.S. Open of Surfing winner Rob Machado on Friday will host a 7 p.m. screening of his most recent film, "Melali: The Drifter Sessions," accompanied by his band at the Hurley Headquarters in Costa Mesa. The film follows his 2009 big screen debut in "The Drifter," which told the story of the nomadic, solitary lifestyle of a surfer through Machado's travels searching for the perfect wave. His second film came out in July and focuses on the best surf sessions taken during the filming of "The Drifter," many of which ended up on the cutting room floor.

With the legendary DreamWorks studio behind "Megamind," you know this animated offering will have first-rate special effects and production values. The studio fully delivers this film's expected technical quality. The movie won the weekend with almost $50 million in box office receipts and the promise of family-friendly entertainment. The plot features silly super heroes at odds with each other. They have common human flaws that interfere with their ability to have successful relationships.

The 1st Battalion, 5th Marines is the adopted U.S. Marine Corps unit of Costa Mesa. "Patrol Base Jaker" is a documentary of the deployment of the 1/5 to Afghanistan in 2009-10. These films usually center on combat operations. But this one zeros in on the vital aftermath of combat: helping the local population to build a secure life. This film pulls no punches in presenting the complaints of the villagers. The Marines have pushed out the Taliban fighters who took over the area, but severe challenges remain.

"Atlas Shrugged" may serve as a quasi-bible to many objectivists, but the film adaptation of the novel, which came out Friday, isn't rousing more than a nod from some Ayn Rand fans. The film took creator John Aglialoro, a former Wall Street trader, nearly 20 years to make. After close calls with studios, Aglialoro went solo, recruiting a horror writer and producer and putting its direction in the hands of former "One Tree Hill" actor Paul Johansson. Ayn Rand's 1957 novel, set in a futuristic Depression-era U.S., questions governmental regulation of business, as embodied through the main characters, steel magnate Hank Rearden and Dagny Taggart of Taggart Transcontinental Railroad.

Andrew Edwards Not all adventure movies are based on space travel, robots or mysterious realms. Some are true stories. Tonight will be the sixth year Orange Coast College will host a stop of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, college librarian and event organizer Carl Morgan said. The show will include a sampling of movies exhibited last fall at the festival in the Canadian Rockies. Morgan described the festival as being "like Sundance in a way, except they're all outdoor adventure films."

"Lucky Number Slevin" transplants the snappy dialogue form a '40s noir film and places it in a hip, stylish crime movie. If you like your movies to come at you swinging wildly, this one is a fun ride. Josh Hartnett plays Slevin, who, after losing his job, apartment and girlfriend in a stretch of bad luck, decides to skip town and visit his friend Nick. Once there, the streak continues. He gets mugged, finds his friend missing and is accosted by hired goons who have been ordered to grab Nick.

Elia Powers When former Corona del Mar resident Caryn Waechter came across the script for "God is Good," she immediately signed on to the project. "I was drawn to the film because of the possibility for great imagery," said Waechter, 27. "I felt it was a universal story that needed to be told." Her task: to tell it in less than the time it takes to watch a sitcom. Using skills she learned at Columbia University's graduate film school, Waechter completed the 23-minute film for her thesis project.

Do you enjoy laughing at the expense of another man's shortcomings? If so, you'll enjoy "The 40 Year Old Virgin." If you're easily offended by sexual humor and crude language, take your money elsewhere. I like laughing at other people and sometimes I even make my living doing this and therefore, I highly recommend this movie. Guess what? "The 40 Year Old Virgin" is about a guy who is 40 years old and a virgin. I bet you didn't see that one coming.

Today could not come too soon for Adam Genzink and Sunny Peabody. The two Vanguard University seniors are eagerly awaiting thepremiere of a short film they directed and produced for Genzink's senior project. The eight-and-a-half minute silent film, "A Hero's Heart", will debut tonight at the campus' Lyceum Theater. What the audience won't see however, are the blood, sweat and tears that went into making the film on a tight deadline and an even tighter budget.

The world of nature is coming to the big screen this month. Orange Coast College is hosting the Wild and Scenic Film Festival at 7 p.m. May 30 in the Robert B. Moore Theatre, 2701 Fairview Road. The festival, which is sponsored by the OCC Friends of the Library and Food Riders Club, will feature films about nature, outdoor adventure and community activism. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door. Patrons can save $2 at the door by donating two or more books, DVDs or CDs. All proceeds benefit the OCC library.

Mary O'Hara's popular novel "My Friend Flicka," a beloved, coming of age family classic about a rider's passionate connection with a wild horse — has enchanted children and adults for more than 70 years. And now, the next chapter of the saga unfolds with "Flicka: Country Pride," the third installment of the contemporary film adaptations. Back by popular demand, "Flicka: Country Pride" galloped on to Blu-ray and DVD on May 1 exclusively at Walmart, Sam's Club and Walmart.com , courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Here is the official list of award winners for this year's Newport Beach Film Festival, which wrapped up May 3 after screening some 450 films from 50 countries: * Jury Awards Best Feature Film: "Apartment In Athens" Best Actor: Gerasimos Skiadaresis ("Apartment In Athens") Best Actress: Mélanie Laurent ("The Day I Saw Your Heart") Best Director: Jennifer Devoldère ("The Day I Saw Your Heart") Best Cinematographer: Vladan Radovic ("Apartment In Athens" Best Screenplay: Ruggero Dipaola, Heldrun Schleef ("Apartment In Athens")

The foreign feature film "Apartment in Athens" won big during the 13th annual Newport Beach Film Festival juried competition, taking away four awards in multiple categories. The film, also known as "Appartamento ad Atene," won for Best Feature Length Film, Best Actor (Gerasimos Skiadaresis), Best Cinematography (Vladen Radovic) and Best Screenplay (Ruggero Dipaola, Heldrun Schleef). "It is an immense joy, both for me and the screenplay [writer], the director of photography and the actor," Dipaola, the film's director and co-writer, said via email from Italy on Thursday.

The 2012 Newport Beach Film Festival overcame an opening weekend plagued by late starts, eventually sorting out the technical difficulties that gave projectionists trouble, organizers said. The festival was to wrap up on Thursday night, but the large majority of showings since Monday were trouble-free, festival co-founder Todd Quartararo said. "After the few bumps during the opening weekend, technical problems have been at a minimum or nonexistent," he said. Theaters at Fashion Island and Triangle Square reportedly had some of the worst difficulties.

I've been going to the Newport Beach Film Festival since its inception, and I have to say that this year's crop of films has been the best yet. I hope these two will find their way to more movie theaters soon: "Mariachi Gringo" - with this title, I expected a satire. But I loved this tale of a blue-eyed Midwest dude who becomes fascinated with the guitar playing at a local Mexican restaurant. The owner takes Edward (Shawn Ashmore from "X-Men") under his wing and teaches him the true artistry of mariachi music.

The 13th annual Newport Beach Film Festival will close Thursday night to a sold-out crowd at the world premier of "Shanghai Calling" at the Regency Lido Theatre. Written and directed by Daniel Hsia, the romantic drama stars Daniel Henney ("X-Men Origins: Wolverine," 2009), Eliza Coupe ("What's Your Number?" 2011), Bill Paxton, Alan Ruck, Geng Le and Zhu Zhu. The story follows Henney as Sam, a young Chinese American lawyer, who must go to Shanghai on business where cultural differences and a dramatic event threatens his career and love life.

"Songs for Amy," the debut feature film from Irish director Konrad Begg that premiered this week at the Newport Beach Film Festival, opens with a quotation. "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. " Begg treats Aldous Huxley's epigram more as hypothesis than comment. His movie is as much about that silence as it is about the music. His protagonist, Sean O'Malley (played by Sean Maguire), is an inarticulate singer-songwriter. Sean falls in love with a girl called Amy (Lorna Anderson)

While most parents think to check the liquor cabinet or smell their teen's breath after a party, some are realizing that youths are turning to a much more elusive drug. Without a thought, you see it everyday when you open the medicine cabinet and brush your teeth: prescription drugs. "Behind The Orange Curtain," Brent Huff's first documentary to hit the big screen, examines the abuse of prescription drugs by chronicling the stories of 15 Orange County families, and speaks to addicts and parents.

"The Ice Dragon" is a family movie. That doesn't mean the same thing to Swedish director Martin Högdahl as it might to an American audience. For one thing, no American family movie would have an 11-year-old protagonist so often by name refer to his dad's heavy metal band, The "M******s. " Högdahl says he's aiming at an "audience of kids aged 8 to 12. Sweden hasn't had many good films in that age group. " " The Ice Dragon " is a family movie not because it's packed with kid-safe genre conventions; it isn't.