07.7.2009 | By Jack Rico |
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and terror, disturbing images, thematic material and language including some sexual references.
Release Date: 2009-01-09
Starring: David S. Goyer
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Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.theunbornmovie.net/
07.4.2009 | By Mack Chico |
Rated: PG for some mild rude humor and peril.
Release Date: 2009-07-01
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Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.laeradelhielo3.com/
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With each release, Pixar explores new themes and ideas. Meanwhile, animation studios like Fox retread tired “franchises” like Ice Age. Never representative of more than mediocrity from a technical or story-based standpoint, the Ice Age series has reached a new nadir with its third entry. Rather than adding an extra dimension to the entertainment, the decision to release Dawn of the Dinosaurs in 3D merely gives the animators an opportunity to be more slipshod in their design and execution. For the most part, the movie plays out like a demo for the video game, careening from one improbable action sequence to the next. I can see how the challenge of mastering some of these puzzles might be fun in an interactive forum, but they’re deadly dull in a movie.
The story has Manny the Mammoth (voice of Ray Romano) and his mate, Ellie (Queen Latifa), about to embark upon parenthood. Diego the Sabertooth Tiger (Denis Leary), feeling he has lost “it,” elects to leave behind the herd and strike out on his own. And Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) decides that, like Manny, he wants a family of his own. He achieves this goal not by finding a female and doing it the old fashioned way but by discovering three unhatched dinosaur eggs. Soon, he is being followed by three newly hatched T-Rexes, which is okay until a perturbed mother shows up wondering where her babies are. It turns out that there is a lost world of dinosaurs under the ice and, when Mama T-Rex kidnaps Sid and transports him down there, Manny, Ellie, and Diego follow. They are soon joined by a crazy weasel (Simon Pegg) denizen of the underworld who spends his days and nights hunting the biggest, baddest dinosaur of them all: a gargantuan carnivore called “Rudy.”
In the previous Ice Age movies, the best reasons to watch were related to the misadventures of Scrat the Sabertooth Squirrel, the prehistoric equivalent of Wiley Coyote. In Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Scrat is the only reason to watch.
Very little happens over the course of the film. What passes for a “story” is nothing more than a thinly-veiled excuse to incorporate dinosaurs into the proceedings, presumably because they’re popular with little boys.
The most disappointing thing about Dawn of the Dinosaurs is the movie’s look. Everything in this world is bland and generic. There’s no texture in the foreground and no detail in the background. It’s a small step up from Saturday morning cartoon quality. The excuse, I suppose, is that the “3D experience” compensates, but it also mutes the colors and dims the brightness. Dawn of the Dinosaurs looks awful. If I was one of the CGI animators, I’d be embarrassed to be associated with the film. I have seen amateur filmmakers do better work on their Macs.
Like Madagascar and Shrek (both Dreamworks properties), Ice Age is a brand-name and people will see it for that reason alone. Quality doesn’t come into it. It’s another example of something that offers a passable diversion for kids and a restless 90 minutes for the adults who accompany them. The 3D surcharge is a rip-off: the movie doesn’t do anything with the effect and there are even a few instances when it appears to be improperly applied. The best option is to ignore the existence of Dawn of the Dinosaurs altogether and see Up a second time. A repeat viewing of the Pixar film will be more rewarding than a first viewing of the latest Ice Age entry.
06.29.2009 | By Ted Faraone |
Rated: R for gangster violence and some language.
Release Date: 2009-07-01
Starring: Ronan Bennett, Ann Biderman
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Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.publicenemies.net/
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“Public Enemies†is a romanticized account of the last 15 months of bank robber John Dillinger, America’s first “Public Enemy Number Oneâ€. At 143 minutes, it feels as if one has seen it in real time. Pic, which follows Dillinger from March 1933 to July 1934, when he was killed by G-Men in an ambush leaving Chicago’s Biograph Theater, depends largely on Johnny Depp’s star power as Dillinger. Depp is compelling. Also compelling are Christian Bale as G-Man Melvin Purvis who led the trackdown, and Marion Cotillard (“Piafâ€) as Dillinger’s love interest, Billie Frechette. Making FBI founder J. Edgar Hoover out to be a self-serving careerist is easy, but at least Billy Cudrup attacks the caricature with gusto. His advice to Purvis to follow Italian Fascists and “take the white gloves off†is priceless. Diana Krall does a superb but uncredited “Bye, Bye, Blackbird†in the scene where Dillinger and Frechette meet.
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There is a problem in retelling history on screen. Most already know the ending. Dillinger’s story has been retold in no fewer than five theatrical and TV movies since 1945. In the interest of drama, helmer Michael Mann (who also gets screenwriting credit) and writers Ronan Bennett and Ann Bidermann take liberties with facts and timeline. The doomed romance between Dillinger and Frechette gets as much screen time as the robberies and gunfights – which seem to use as much ammo as the Bosnian war.
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Pic hinges on moments brought to life by key players – mostly Depp and Cotillard. Their scenes together fairly radiate love. Depp delivers a finely nuanced Dillinger (full of loyalty, bravado, charm, even compassion) who is ultimately very sympathetic… for a killer. This is in keeping with the era wherein Dillinger was revered as a sort of Robin Hood by many. Cotillard’s Frechette takes a beating for him under interrogation, the halting of which is a redeeming moment for Purvis. There is a suggestion that the G-Men had help in ambushing Dillinger from Frank Nitti’s (Bill Camp) gang. John Ortiz as Phil D’Andrea, Nitti’s chief bookie provides a clue: The gambling racket, he explains to Dillinger, rakes in more cash in one day than Dillinger stole in his most lucrative bank job. Having Dillinger around can draw attention from the law. Ultimately Dillinger, hiding in plain sight, is ratted out by madam Anna Patzky (Emilie de Ravin) in an effort to stave off deportation to her native Romania, an act which pic ties to Nitti’s gang.
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Tech credits are excellent except for sound recording. Several key lines of dialogue are inaudible. The heavy Midwestern accents don’t help. Period costumes, settings, and props do the trick but for the automobiles. It is doubtful that G-Men drove Pierce Arrows. The make was more likely to be found in the White House garage.
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It would be nice to give filmmakers credit for making Dillinger’s final movie at the Biograph “Manhattan Melodrama,†a gangster flick in which Clark Gable bravely faces execution, but this is one instance where they stuck to facts.
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“Public Enemies,†based on the book by Bryan Burrough (“Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34”) is rated “R†largely for violence. There is some sexual content and a bit of innuendo.
06.26.2009 | By Mack Chico |
Rated: PG-13 for mature thematic content, some disturbing images, sensuality, language and brief teen drinking.
Release Date: 2009-06-26
Starring: Jeremy Leven, Nick Cassavetes
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Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.mysisterskeepermovie.com/
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“My Sister’s Keeper” is two straight hours of emotional torture. Melodramatic in its essence and shamelessly exploitative in its purpose.
Based on the best-selling novel by Jodi Picoult, the film tells the story Sara (Cameron Diaz) and Brian (Jason Patric) who live an idyllic life with their young son and daughter. But their family is rocked by sudden, heartbreaking news that forces them to make a difficult and unorthodox choice in order to save their baby girl’s life. The parents’ desperate decision raises both ethical and moral questions and rips away at the foundation of their relationship.
There are so many holes with this movie and so many questions that arise from them, that the crying your eyes out is just one way of expressing your dissatisfaction with it.
There is also the greater question of the ethics of bringing one child into the world simply to help keep another one alive, even though you may be putting that child through enormous amounts of pain and stress as a result–what would happen if that child finally decided that enough was enough and that she wanted to have some say in the matter as well? These are all intriguing questions and a smart movie would have been willing to deal with them in a thoughtful manner.
On the acting front, Cameron Diaz’s acting was stretched beyond its dramatic ability, but Alec Baldwin’s presence, as the attorney engaged by Anna to pursue her case, no matter how brief, invigorated the screen with some life and needed dry humor. Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) acts saintly and not at all real, while Joan Cusack, in an uncomfortably odd cameo, twitches and blinks as a judge with her own private tragedy.
All in all, this film will be appealing to those who have a flare for dramatic and love crying at a whim. Most will just be crying to get their money back.
06.24.2009 | By Alex Florez |
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, language, some crude and sexual material, and brief drug material.
Release Date: 2009-06-26
Starring: Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci
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Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.transformersmovie.com/
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‘Revenge of the Fallen’ falls somewhere between ‘American Pie’ and ‘Terminator’. Yes, I know that covers the gamut of movie genres, but that’s exactly the situation at hand. Director Michael Bay’s follow up to the blockbuster film based on Hasbro’s action figures, is clearly targeting the graduating class of 2009. School is out, summer is in and screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman turn the first half of the movie into a teen-sex comedy, something most fans of the original cartoon series from the 80s won’t really care for. But somewhere beneath all the sophomoric double entendres, lies a story-line with the potential of whipping fanboys into a frenzy by shedding light onto the ancient origins of the Transformers.
Optimus Prime, leader of the ‘Autobots’ (the good ones), is the ultimate hero to rally around but it is Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBoeuf) the boy responsible for discovering the alien race, who will hold the fate of the world in his hands. Together with the help of the humans, the ‘Autobots’ engage in a battle of biblical proportions against the evil ‘Decepticons’. The action here is certainly impressive and the special effects out of this world but it is difficult to enjoy when you can’t quite tell what’s going on – also my biggest concern with the first film. With the exception of Optimus Prime, the hot-rod semi-truck and Bumblebee, the golden Camaro, telling some of these robots apart is a mounting challenge especially during combat scenes.  Â
At the end of the day, there’s a lot of fat that can be cut out of the film to make it a leaner action-packed extravaganza. I’d start by eliminating a series of extraneous characters that add very little. John Turturro as Agent Simmons, for instance, feels as out of place as the late Richard Pryor in ‘Superman III’. And we all know how that franchise turned out.Â
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06.19.2009 | By Jack Rico |
Rated: PG-13 for sexual content, nudity and language.
Release Date: 2009-06-19
Starring: Pete Chiarelli
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Country: USA
Official Website: http://touchstone.movies.go.com/theproposal/
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The Proposal is a formulaic romantic comedy that offers nothing remotely fresh or new while following a very predictable outcome. For some people, that’s enough. Some will think its enough, but the film is mediocre at best and hoping its anything else are just false expectations.Â
Not much in the sense of a plotline – A pushy boss (Sandra Bullock) forces her young assistant (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her in order to keep her Visa status in the U.S. and avoid deportation to Canada.
It should not be considered a spoiler to reveal that the two actually fall in love. After all, that’s the point of the movie, and the only reason any percentage of the population will see it. (Also, once you’ve watched the three-minute trailer, there is no point in seeing the 108-minute film – not only does the trailer tell the whole story, but it includes all the best comedic material.)
The problem, which I alluded to earlier, is that the romance falls flat. It has nothing to do with chemistry. Bullock and Reynolds don’t burn up the screen, but they’re nice enough together. The movie doesn’t give us enough to go on to believe that these two have fallen in love. Those who buy it will do so because the formula demands it, not because the movie has succeeded in closing the sale.
There are some funny moments, chief of which is the overhyped “nude” scene in which Margaret, fresh from the shower and wearing nothing (but with arms and hands strategically positioned so the rating can remain PG-13) collides with an equally in-the-buff Andrew. It’s more amusing than laugh-aloud funny, and it’s about as naughty as things can get without crossing the line into R territory. Most of The Proposal‘s jokes are like that in that they provoke smiles and chuckles but fail to generate any really good laughs.
The cast isn’t populated by heavyweights. It has been a while since Sandra Bullock has been in the fast lane, and it’s been about a decade since she was a prime romantic comedy actress. Ryan Reynolds, who showed flashes of genuine talent in Adventureland, is back to phoning it in. (Although, to be fair, his flummoxed expression when Andrew “learns” he’s engaged to Margaret – which carries through more than one scene – is possibly the film’s funniest element.)Â
The Proposal will give you a bland taste of romance this weekend. We rather you cozy up to one of the classic Tom Hank romantic comedies on DVD this weekend than endure the regurgitated, cardboard taste of The Proposal.
06.17.2009 | By Jack Rico |
Rated: R for some sexual content and language.
Release Date: 2009-06-19
Starring: Harold Ramis, Gene Stupnitsky, Lee Eisenberg
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Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.yearone-movie.com/
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‘Year One’ was a big yawner, actually, I’m being too nice, it’s competing with ‘Land of the Lost’ for worse movie of the year. The idea of Michael Cera playing a caveman is not funny, just bad, and once again I see myself writing a consistent review on Jack Black, “he has got to be one of the most annoying comedians in Hollywoodâ€. The film has several funny moments at the beginning, but dies out halfway through. It has no real grasp of where its story is going; it feels lost and all over the place.
The premise of ‘Year One’ looked bad from the start – two cavemen buddies (Jack Black and Michael Cera) in ‘year one’ of Earth set their sites to explore the world and end up living the Genesis and subsequent chapters of the Holy Bible – well because of them, holy no longer.
Harold Ramis, one of the original Ghostbuster actors, has teamed up with Judd Apatow (who is producing) to direct this fragmented film which has to do more about the Bible and religious jokes than the primitive man. Indie director Kevin Smith, once experimented with the comical side of religion with a film called, ‘Dogma’ starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and it went nowhere fast at the box office. I wonder what will happen with this one? (exuding sarcasm).
I’ll be honest with you guys, religion isn’t everyone’s cup of joe and making someone laugh already is hard enough; combining the two can mean a recipe for disaster. Only Mel Brooks, Monty Python and some of the other greats have managed to do it well, but I’m not sure if anyone today can pull it off with success. Ramis sure didn’t and neither did Bill Maher with his ‘Religulous’. They were forgettable.
But to be fair, the acting wasn’t bad at all (except for vexing Jack Black), and the dialogue was funny at times. The problem, which is too troublesome to overcome, is the  direction and pacing of the story along with the verisimilitude or implausibility of the adventures our protagonists go through. It distracts us from enjoying the funny moments.
When we interviewed Ramis for this review, he seemed like a hell of a nice guy. He possesses tremendous acumen about the history of film comedy and has an awareness of his place in it. That said, I don’t think he an Apatow seemed to be on the same page. Way too many flaws in the film for two very smart icons to get it wrong.
Nevertheless, ‘Year One’ isn’t what you’d expect from a Cera, Black comedy. They look out of place and the subject matter is tough to digest if you’re unfamiliar with the biblical texts. This film needs a rewrite and a recast really bad.
06.12.2009 | By Mack Chico |
Rated: Not available.
Release Date: 2009-06-11
Starring: Francis Ford Coppola
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Country: USA, Argentina
Official Website: http://www.tetro.com/
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Meet Francis Ford Coppola 5.0: The Interesting Failure phase. Which certainly beats 4.0, the paycheck period of 1990s films like “Jack,” in which Robin Williams made the stretch of reverting to childhood. But “Tetro,” the second in Coppola’s new line of low-budget art films (following last year’s headache factory “Youth Without Youth”), is hard to take seriously.
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In La Boca, the café quarter of Buenos Aires, a grimacing, unsuccessful writer named Tetro (Vincent Gallo) on the run from his own nonlegend is hunkered down with his girlfriend Miranda (Maribel Verdú) and working as a light man in the theater. He receives an unwanted visit from his younger half-brother, who works on a cruise ship and cherishes a mistaken view of the older sibling as a generous soul.
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This movie will be remembered, perhaps, for the little brother, who is played by newcomer Alden Ehrenreich, an effortlessly appealing youngster who strongly resembles Leonardo DiCaprio.
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Coppola, working in creamy black-and-white that suggests 1960s French and Italian films, wrote his own original screenplay for the first time since the 1970s. Opera is his inspiration — or possibly his infection — as he unloads an elaborate tale of celebrity, sexual revenge and family secrets that creep out of the expressionistic shadows.
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The brothers, especially the older one, have been poisoned by the renown of their father (Klaus Maria Brandauer) and by the gruesome fates of their mothers.
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The gorgeous look of this frazzled, fractured monster is enough to hold your interest, for a while at least, and Gallo radiates the appropriate level of crazy for his part.
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Still, the more dramatic revelations and tragic inevitabilities that turn up, the harder it is not to laugh. Give credit to its maker for directing with an earnestness suggesting a pretentious 22-year-old. Having passed through the phases of Interesting Apprentice, Mad Genius, Chastened Bankrupt and Shameless Wage Slave, Coppola at 70 may be the world’s oldest student filmmaker.
06.12.2009 | By Mack Chico |
Rated: PG for some mild language and brief questionable behavior.
Release Date: 2009-06-12
Starring: Ed Solomon, Chris Matheson
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Country: USA
Official Website: No disponible.
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Watching Imagine That, I was beset by a feeling of intense depression. Is this what Eddie Murphy has become? Once moviedom’s most high-octane comedian, a combustible mixture of raunchy, non-holds-barred verbal repartee and kinetic physical mayhem, Murphy has now become a sad parody of his former self. If the failure of the comedy isn’t reason enough to avoid the movie, its dramatic missteps are even more unforgiveable.
Evan Danielson (Murphy) is a financial analyst at a Denver investment firm that is about to undergo a major restructuring. Longtime CEO Tom Stevens (Ronny Cox) is selling the company to a Donald Trump figure, Dante D’Enzo (Martin Sheen), who intends to fold the new acquisition into his empire. He initiates an Apprentice challenge to Evan and his biggest in-house competitor, Johnny Whitefeather (Thomas Haden Church). Whoever impresses him the most will get a top position in the conglomeration. Evan’s situation is complicated by the presence of his seven-year old daughter, Olivia (Yara Shahidi), who is staying with him for the week while her mother (Nicole Ari Parker) is otherwise engaged. Desperate for her father’s attention, Olivia dips into her make-believe world and consults a group of princesses about how certain stocks and corporations will fare. At first, Evan ignores her advice but, when the predictions start coming true, he re-evaluates the validity of her imaginary friends. Although he can’t see them, he starts to play along, and soon becomes obsessed with spending time with his daughter not because of who she is but because of what she can do for his career.
While Murphy’s recent resume (excepting Dreamgirls) might lead to low expectations for his cinematic endeavors, the involvement of director Kary Kirkpatrick could have been a cause for limited optimism. Kirkpatrick’s resume is solid. His only previous directorial outing was Over the Hedge, an amusing animated effort, but he has written a number of noteworthy screenplays, including those for The Spiderwick Chronicles and Chicken Run. Perhaps the problem with Imagine That is that he wasn’t involved in the writing. Whatever the case, this is as disappointing a live-action debut as one can envision.
Still, it’s hard to consider Imagine That an unmitigated failure. It will probably entertain the most undiscriminating and uncritical portion of its target audience: young children, most of whom will sit through anything featuring live-action figures imitating cartoon characters. They’ll love Eddie Murphy’s trampoline encounter and his pancake meal. For parents absorbing the blow necessary to entertain their offspring, it will take more than an active imagination to make believe that Imagine That is anything more than two hours of torture.
06.11.2009 | By Jack Rico |
Rated: R for violence and pervasive language.
Release Date: 2009-06-12
Starring: Brian Helgeland
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Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.catchthetrain.com/
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“The Taking of Pelham 123” is good summer film fare, but it isn’t great. Not that this is a bad thing. The only reason you should go out and see this film is if you are a fan of either Denzel Washington or John Travolta, and are looking for some respectable acting. Otherwise, the action sequences are scant, and even though the premise is captivating, some implausible moments occur that deter you from investing too much of your time and brain power.
Denzel Washington stars as New York City subway dispatcher Walter Garber, whose ordinary day is thrown into chaos by an audacious crime: the hijacking of a subway train. John Travolta stars as Ryder, the criminal mastermind who, as leader of a highly-armed gang of four, threatens to execute the train’s passengers unless a large ransom is paid within one hour. As the tension mounts beneath his feet, Garber employs his vast knowledge of the subway system in a battle to outwit Ryder and save the hostages. But there’s one riddle Garber can’t solve: even if the thieves get the money, how can they possibly escape? That is what the film is all about.
If you ever had the chance to see the original ‘The Taking of Pelham 123’ with Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw, you’ll see in this new version that there are many changes to the storyline. Director Tony Scott, who we spoke to in New York before the release of the film, commented how this project is not a remake but a new movie altogether. The changes do make the film better, but there is something to be said about the tone of the original that made it a good watch. Nevertheless, both stand on their own as good films, not great.
Latin actors Luis Guzman and Ramon Rodriguez played role characters and had some visible screen time, but not enough to for me to engage you in this particular review.
If I had to pick from the original and the new version to watch tonight, I’d go with the new one, because it provides more entertainment than the first. It won’t blow your mind away, but it’ll keep it from getting bored.
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