“In a country that doesn’t discriminate between fame and infamy, the latter presents itself as plainly more achievable.” ― Lionel Shriver, We Need to Talk About Kevin

There’s a moment in Sofia Coppola’s fascinating new film, “The Bling Ring,” in which Emma Watson (née Hermione) learns that her friends have been looting the vacant homes of young celebrities, and – with a reflexive vacancy – immediately declares, “I want to rob!” Watson is playing a thinly veiled fictionalization of teen fameball Alexis Neiers, a home-schooled reality TV star at the periphery of the crime spree that briefly enjoyed national attention circa the series finale of “The Hills” (or, as historians refer to it, 2010). Her lust for fame wasn’t necessarily…

There is a lot of seemingly inexplicable behavior in this movie: why would rich kids who want for nothing rob famous people? Why would they be so brazen, leaving fingerprints and evidence everywhere, while never bothering to mask their identities? Why would famous people buy so much stuff? Why would they leave it all so unprotected? And why would celebrities like Paris Hilton allow Sofia Coppola to recreate the real life burglaries in her house?

The answer in all of these cases: the characters' (and the real life participants') obsession with exhibitionism, which is the singular motivation of everyone onscreen (and even some of the actors who are burgled but don't appear in the flesh). It's not enough to be…

As film it doesn’t have much that will live long in the memory.

As a send up of white girl culture, celebrity culture, celebrity fandom, the need to acquire wealth & stuff and just vapid morons it’s pretty good.

I think the fact Sofia Coppola even chose to work on this material suggests she’s willing to send herself up a bit for her loyalty to wealthy people and fancy possessions in her films.

I didn’t think it was unbiased and just presented the characters as morons who we should seriously dislike. 

However aside from the way the Austin’s Partridge robbery was shot there wasn’t anything cinematic about it, which is unusual for a Coppola film.

I watched this just after watching…

"You can follow everything about me and my journey at nickimooreforever.com."

This is phenomenal.

When even a trial is glamorous, when a DUI car crash is worn as a badge of honor, when the nightclubs and beautiful things sparkle so brightly, it makes you start to wonder if you should break into some celebrity houses.

This film paints its protagonists, not as robbers or criminals, but as a group of unlikely adventurers, delving into forgotten vaults of hidden treasure.

The film is cynical as hell, but in such a way that you don't really care. It draws you in to the lifestyle, makes you yearn, makes you realize that you'd do the exact same thing, given the chance.

The film…