![\"The](\"http:\/\/www.shockya.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/The_Bling_Ring_Poster.jpg\" "\\"The_Bling_Ring_Poster\\"")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Title: The Bling Ring<\/p>\n
Directed By: Sofia Coppola<\/p>\n
Starring: Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Georgia Rock, Leslie Mann, Gavin Rossdale<\/B><\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bling Ring\u201d isn\u2019t as slick as \u201cSpring Breakers,\u201d but it benefits from a boost in credibility courtesy of its outrageous factual source material. <\/p>\n
Being the new kid at school isn\u2019t much fun for Marc (Israel Broussard) until he crosses paths with Rebecca (Katie Chang). She immediately takes him under her wing, introducing him to her friends, bringing him to parties, and giving him something he\u2019s always craved, a true best friend, so when Rebecca suggests they sneak into Paris Hilton\u2019s house while she\u2019s away, Marc follows right behind. What starts out as innocent albeit very illegal fun turns into a risky habit, Marc, Rebecca, and their friends Nicki, Sam, and Chloe (Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien) returning to Hilton\u2019s home and \u201cshopping\u201d at Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson, Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox, and Audrina Patridge\u2019s places, too, ultimately accumulating over $3 million in stolen high-end goods.<\/p>\n
Just like the Bling Ring\u2019s obsession with celebrity culture, and the world\u2019s for that matter, the concept of a group of kids breaking into A-listers\u2019 homes, enjoying a grand tour, sorting through their personal property and taking what they want has a reprehensible charm to it. Trouble is, if you walk into \u201cThe Bling Ring\u201d blind, the introductory material might not be engaging enough to carry you through to the action.<\/p>\n
Marc is our main man. There\u2019s something innocent and sweet about him, but he\u2019s also painfully superficial, too. While he does seem to have a decent head on his shoulders, writer-director Sofia Coppola is a little heavy handed when it comes to highlighting Rebecca\u2019s toxicity, leaving you wondering what Marc sees in her rather than understanding why he might succumb to the prowess of a popular girl. But even then, both Broussard and Chang manage to deliver strong enough performances that you\u2019re still well aware of the wheels turning in their heads, making the film a little more thoughtful and not just a lengthy music video or sketch trying to pass as a feature narrative.<\/p>\n
Nicki and Sam are another story. These two are reprehensible through and through. They\u2019re snotty towards Nicki\u2019s mother (Leslie Mann), are totally self-centered, shallow, and reckless. Both are entirely one-dimensional and experience no arc whatsoever, but in Watson\u2019s case it works because she\u2019s Emma Watson. While every other member of the Bling Ring is an up and coming young actor, in real life, Watson could very well have been someone the Bling Ring might target. While it does take away from the illusion, it\u2019s still a highly effective and entertaining casting choice.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s really what \u201cThe Bling Ring\u201d is overall, mindless entertainment and nothing more, and in that sense, it works. Who cares if these characters are almost entirely unlikable, feel like caricatures, and don\u2019t seem to learn a single thing from the experience? It\u2019s a blast watching them essentially ruin their lives for the sake of a thrill and fancy pair of sunglasses. Coppola does manage to spice things up further with some novelty shot choices, a stand out of which is one that chronicles Rebecca and Marc\u2019s exploit in Patridge\u2019s home through a single extreme wide shot. Coppola also opts to highlight the film\u2019s catchy soundtrack through a number of music video-esque montages and while they\u2019re all notably absorbing, she falls short of matching Harmony Korine\u2019s handle on the style.<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t necessarily fair to go on comparing \u201cThe Bling Ring\u201d to \u201cSpring Breakers,\u201d but considering the two share so many similarities and arrived so close to one another, it\u2019s impossible not to keep connecting the dots. Points to \u201cThe Bling Ring\u201d for its factual source material, more demanding performances, and a properly formatted script, but it\u2019s glaringly obvious that Korine has a better grasp on this type of material and tone compared to Coppola. That\u2019s not to say Coppola doesn\u2019t put forth some notable achievements in \u201cThe Bling Ring,\u201d but when considering the ups and downs of both films, it\u2019s easy to recognize that \u201cThe Bling Ring\u201d didn\u2019t achieve its full potential and that Korine might have been the guy to get it there.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s no point in wishing or wondering now. \u201cThe Bling Ring\u201d is due for a limited release on June 14th and if you\u2019re looking to watch \u201cSpring Breaks\u201d with characters that could have come from \u201cMy Super Sweet 16\u201d rob celebrities to a soundtrack similar to the one in \u201cProject X,\u201d you\u2019ll be satisfied.<\/p>\n
Technical: B+<\/p>\n
Acting: B+<\/p>\n
Story: <\/p>\n
Overall: B+<\/B><\/p>\n
By Perri Nemiroff<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Title: The Bling Ring Directed By: Sofia Coppola Starring: Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Georgia Rock, Leslie Mann, Gavin Rossdale \u201cThe Bling Ring\u201d isn\u2019t as slick as \u201cSpring Breakers,\u201d but it benefits from a boost in credibility courtesy of its outrageous factual source material. Being the new kid at school isn\u2019t much […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":124965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,1,4],"tags":[30806,6316,8864,30807,30808,2903,49,13737,19812,24137],"class_list":["post-124963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movies","category-news-release","category-reviews","tag-claire-julien","tag-emma-watson","tag-gavin-rossdale","tag-israel-broussard","tag-katie-chang","tag-leslie-mann","tag-review","tag-sofia-coppola","tag-taissa-farmiga","tag-the-bling-ring"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n