Latino movie reviews

Intruders (Movie Review)

‘Intruders’ categorizes itself as a horror film, but I would say it’s more like a psychological thriller; because it has very few scares in it. The film develops in a mysterious way and creates a lot of suspense, which works well. The problem is that when it unwinds although it explains the plot, we are still confused instead of being scared to death. What I like most about this movie is that it’s bilingual; it is half in English and half in Spanish. It has two stories that develop simultaneously which help the public to get sucked in. But, unfortunately it doesn’t reach the goal that it sets to achieve.

The plot of the film focuses on two children, Juan (Izán Corchero) who lives in Madrid, and Mia (Ella Purnell) who lives in London. Both are haunted by a nightmare of a man “hollow face”, who visits them at night coming out of their closets. Mia’s dad, John (Clive Owen) desperately tries to help his daughter, after he himself sees this man who he thought was in his daughter’s imagination. The story is not as simple as it seems and the more it develops the more mysteries it reveals.

When director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo told me in our interview, that he wanted to make a global film, with characters that faced their fears, I immediately understood what he meant because that is something that he clearly accomplished. I have to give him credit for developing the same story in two different countries, with two diverse languages and cultures because he did this in a fluid and organized manner. To me it was a little strange to see Owen playing this kind of semi-vulnerable character, although without a doubt his best characters are always mysterious like this one. One thing we have to mention is the fact that having a big time Hollywood actor in a movie directed by a Spaniard in a bilingual film as the main actor is wonderful, this continues to show the importance and influence Hispanics have at a global level.

The twists in the film are interesting; the psychological part works because it takes the story to a level further than a kid’s story, the same goes for the background of the story. The problem is the connection between these; although it was well formulated they don’t give the necessary explanation or satisfaction.

Very few images in the film are scary, I can think of only two that are creepy, besides that the mystery in the story is what takes it forward more so than the scary scenes. I think Fresnadillo had a good idea and story, but he missed a connection, or explanation or something along those lines for the story and the public to have closure, because they are going to go home scratching their heads considering the contradictions it has. There’s no doubt that this film has good elements to become a good thriller, but it doesn’t have enough fuel to complete the cycle that would make it successful.

Wrath of the Titans (Movie Review)

There’s very few times when a sequel is better than the original, but this is true for ‘Wrath of the Titans’.  This probably has to do with the fact that it has a new director, Jonathan Liebesman, as well as different screenwriters, Dan Mazeau and David Johnson. Obviously, this helped it tremendously as the original ‘Clash of the Titans’ had a flat storyline and other various problems that made it very hard to like. This sequel has a storyline that is more captivating and nutritious, it also has some mighty shots of various horrifying monsters that made the action all the more interesting. The screening I went to was 3D, which didn’t really enhance the movie as the 3D work was not good and this could be because of the fact that it was converted into a 3D film, it wasn’t shot as one.

This second film picks up with Perseus (Sam Worthington) a decade after his last adventure, although he’s a demigod he’s decided to live life as a fisherman and as the single father of Helius (John Bell). His calm life begins to change when his father, Zeus (Liam Neeson) comes to ask him for help, the gods have weakened since people have lost faith and they are losing control of their prisoners in the underworld: Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and the titans. Perseus refuses but is forced to come into action when the unstoppable wrath begins. He recruits the help of Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike) and Agenor (Toby Kebbell). Together they go on a journey in which if they don’t succeed the world will cease to exist along with them and their gods.

We get a couple of new characters in the story; one of the most exciting ones is Zeus’ godly son Ares (Edgar Ramírez). This Venezuelan born actor plays the god of war just how mythology and his title describe it. It is great to see a Hispanic playing a big role in a blockbuster film like this one. Another note worthy fact is that a big portion of the film was shot in the Canary Island of Tenerife, one more reason to like the film. The main actor, Worthington for the most part does well with action films and so this role fits him. I would also say this sequel fits Neeson better, as I thought it was embarrassing that he was involved in the previous film.

One thing I enjoyed about this film more were the monsters, they were so much more real and detailed. The diversity of them also really added to the story, along with the fact that in this film we have more than one fighter getting rid of them. Like mentioned before, the 3D might have been an element that took away from the film. Also, there are certain parts of the story that are supposed to be complicated but somehow end up having an easy solution, which I’m not sure was fitting. The film also should have worked a little more in relationships, as most characters seemed to lack emotion in certain places that merited it.

This film is just fun to watch because you are taken on a mythological journey, where you are surrounded by gods, monsters and powerful humans (both men and women) who together make for a fascinating story. Although this film is much better than its’ predecessor, is not to say it is the best action film of 2012 but nonetheless it is entertaining and will take you on a wild adventure for a short 99 minutes.     

John Carter (Movie Review)

When I first saw previews for ‘John Carter’, I thought it was going to be a confusing mess with mediocre CGI, but boy was I wrong. There is definitely a lot going on in the film and if you get up to use the restroom it might be hard to catch up, otherwise the story unfolds slowly enough for you to not get lost. It is advertised, as it being the predecessor of ‘Starwars’ and ‘Avatar’ and it isn’t a false statement, seeing how this character has been around in comic books for 100 years. This mix of human, aliens, and other weird beings set in the planet Mars gives us an adventure that is sure to become a franchise and it will gain many followers.  

 

The movie beings by giving us a background of the planet Mars and the situation there, then it jumps to New York where John Carter’s nephew comes to his rich uncle’s house and learns about the biggest adventure of his uncle’s life. John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) served as captain in the civil war, we are given very little background information on him, he seems to have shut himself out from the world, to not have many friends, doesn’t want to take part on anyone’s war and only wants to get rich.

 

By chance he is transported to Mars, where he meets aliens and human like beings and he goes back and forth between being a hero and a traitor to all. His main motivation unexpectedly comes from a princess, Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins) who inspires him to fight for a cause against: Sab Than (Dominic West) and a stronger force they barely know exists, the Threns,Matai Shang (Mark Strong) in particular. With the help of the Thark, especially Sola (Samantha Morton) and Tars Tarkas (Williem Dafoe), John Carter gets involved in a story he could have never imagined.

 

There’s no great acting in this film, in fact the dialogue besides the different dialects and weird names of things is very plain and just enough to carry us from scene to scene. What makes the movie is the action and the images, most scenes are full of action and even when there’s not much happening the background and the surroundings are enough to keep you entertained. The 3D certainly enhances the film but I think it would fare probably just as well in a regular screen.

 

My favorite things: The Thark, Woola-Carter’s pet in Mars so adorably ugly, the strength in both sexes throughout the movie, although they do play the damsel in distress angle at times. Lastly, technology mixed in with archaic backgrounds of temples and desert. The love story was one of the things I disliked, simply because it was too predictable, at times it even felt pushed and it wasn’t convincing. Carter is almost cave man like, his strength overpowers logic; he acts before thinking in almost every scene and I don’t know if I can consider that ‘hero’ like qualities.

 

I dare to say that this is as of now one of the best movies 2012 has offered because of all the elements it combines. It has the ability to combine such different scenarios, eras, times, zones, beings, etc.; into one movie without being overly complicated and that is what a good entertaining action film is about. It does start to feel a little long towards the end, but it is able to end the chapter in a very decent and clean way without being overly dramatic. Most importantly it leaves us wondering what will come next.