Catfish (Movie Review)
09.19.2010 | By Jack Rico |
*Updated 2026
In 2026, when online identity is inseparable from dating, friendship and scams, Catfish feels less like a novelty and more like the beginning of a language everyone now understands.
09.19.2010 | By Jack Rico |
*Updated 2026
In 2026, when online identity is inseparable from dating, friendship and scams, Catfish feels less like a novelty and more like the beginning of a language everyone now understands.
09.17.2010 | By Jack Rico |
*Updated 2026
In 2026, when contained horror still thrives on one clean idea, Devil remains easy to revisit as a small thriller that knows the value of a tight premise.
09.16.2010 | By Jack Rico |
In his second effort as a director, actor Ben Affleck tackles another Boston theme film in ‘The Town,’ about a romance that stems from a bank heist. This sophomore project is not as enthralling as his first film ‘Gone Baby Gone,’ yet, it is perhaps one of the better films of the 2010. Come Oscar time, it wouldn’t surprise me if it is elected to the ten best films of the year. The acting is wonderful yet again, the story is as interesting as any other this year and its entertaining enough to keep you from ever thinking of ‘Gigli’.
On the surface, ‘The Town’ is a bank heist film and a darn good one too, but at its core, it is about a guy who’s trying to get out of the slum, and more importantly, the life of crime he’s inherited from his father. The premise follows Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck), a ‘good guy’ bank robber who is the leader of a crew of ruthless bank robbers, who pride themselves on taking what they want and getting out clean. However, everything changed on the gang’s last job when Jem (Jeremy Renner) briefly took a hostage: bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall). Doug unfortunately crosses the line and becomes romantically involved with the hostage. Yes, he’s crazy, but it’s part of the thrill of the tension-filled film. Don Draper (cough), I mean Jon Hamm, decides he’s Melvin Purvis and Eliot Ness combined and is on a mission to get Doug and Jem. So what’s it going to be Doug? Betray your friends or lose the woman you love?
Compared to other recent crime dramas, like Brooklyn’s Finest or Pride and Glory, this one stands higher because the characters feel more real, like they could exist in real life, except of course, Don Draper who is a walking comic book.
Affleck co-wrote, directed and acted in this film, which is not an easy task for anyone, just ask Woody Allen and Quentin Tarantino. He is establishing he has a skilled and adroit hand at the camera, emotional depth as an actor with each passing film and a keen and intuitive sense for story selections.
The film has very good entertaining value. It has sequences full action and suspense worthy of knots in your stomach. If you like bank heist films this will definitely be on the top of your list along with ‘Inside Man,’ but without the rapid cutting, loud thumping explosions helicopter scenes. This is slower paced, the characters are more thoroughly developed, almost methodically. The Town is a fantastic selection for this weekend and any other time you want to see a film that is a bit better than the rest.
09.15.2010 | By Karen Posada |
‘Never Let Me Go‘ is based on a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, the drama is followed by a sci-fi twist that can be perceived as realistic. It is developed over three different chapters narrated by Kathy (Carey Mulligan), who tells the story retrospectively, which should give you a better sense of the story but still leaves some gaps in it. The film has a nostalgic feel all throughout, the characters are seen smiling on screen briefly; the pained feeling is always floating in the atmosphere. This thriller/drama is well done, but if it wasn’t for the ambiguity of key points to the movie it could have been better.You will be left with a hollow feeling after watching it and after being hit with a very strong closing line.
The story is set in England, it revolves around Kathy and her two childhood friends Ruth (Keira Knightley) and Tommy (Andrew Garfield), who grew up in a boarding school for special children called Hailsham. The school seems to be an orphanage as the only adults are the teachers better known as ‘guardians’, here the children are taught to take care of their bodies and obey all rules without questioning them. The children’s faith is revealed pretty early in the story and that is what sets the mood for the rest of the film. The love triangle that is formed and continues to follow the children into their adulthood is meant to be a strong aspect of the movie and although it is easy to sympathize with it, their naivety and innocence which brings them together takes away from the strength of this bond.
These three children are forced into companionship by their own loneliness and fear of a world that they don’t know. When at 18 they leave the premises of Hailsham knowing the purpose for their existence they try to explore the world around them and figure out where they came from. Kathy becomes isolated by the relationship between her friends and she suffers silently until she makes the decision to change her life, even if it is still within the realm of what she is allowed in the few opportunities they are given. When they reach adulthood they try to fix mistakes made in the past and try to change the path they were given.
Knightley’s casting as a secondary character was surprising, but by the nature of the character it is understood, she gives a good performance and even makes us pity her. Mulligan’s innocence is really convincing and her sweet and obedient attitude keep the mood of the movie steady and at some points you just want to shake her to give her some confidence. Garfield is just there, but he does play one of the strongest moments of the movie remarkably. For director Mark Romanek this is definitely a step up from One hour photo.
The movie questions ethics, humanity, relationships and how much we really understand about our own lives and our purpose on earth as well as our time in it. The story line is good but it is not strong enough to be convincing. It is worth a watch specially for the hopeless romantics, but it is also worth the wait on the DVD.
09.10.2010 | By Jack Rico |
I have seen some really putrid films in my life (i.e: Punisher: War Zone, Miss March, All About Steve, I Love You Beth Cooper, Year One, to name just a few). ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’ is not one of them. It is a highly stylized movie that borders on the absurd, yet it has moments of pure entertaining 3D sci-fi action bliss.
This time around, Alice (Milla Jovovich) fights off mean deadheads and continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to Arcadia, a safety zone somewhere in the Arctic.
This is the fourth installment of the Resident Evil series and it can still deliver a good dose of action. This one, unfortunately, didn’t indulge as much in that department as the previous efforts. We got more dialogue than needed. The 3D experience was top notch though and it made up for the sluggish and sedate middle act. It was definitely the highlight. If you are still interested in seeing the film after this review and were wondering on spending a few more extra dollars to see it in 3D, I say go for it. It is money well spent.
As for the rest of the film, let’s be honest – you don’t go see these films for their cinematic achievement. You go see it to laugh with your buddies at the ridiculous over the top posing done by B and C list actors (obviously requested by the B director). Oh and yes, how could I continue without mentioning the obligatory relentless mass killings, death defying jumps, inconceivable far-fetched escapes and slow motion backflips. A great example of those delicious and ludicrous, cheezy, risible scenes include Ali Larter’s character Claire Redfield. She flees a giant wielding axman to only do a backflip at the last second, against a wall, and land perfectly on the floor with a smile as if she was posing for a Maxim magazine cover – oh wait, didn’t she already do one of those? Nevertheless, that scene alone merited a hearty laugh out loud moment on my behalf. There were a plethora of those scenes throughout the film that doomed it from being the best of the four. But alas, this is the type of movie that Paul W.S. Anderson creates. Interestingly enough, he was the director of the first Resident Evil film.
Perhaps one of the most laughable characters of the film was Albert Wesker – the villain. I’m not sure if actor Shawn Roberts was deliberately trying to do his best Agent Smith impression from the Matrix movies or what, but it was embarrassing. Once again, I laughed, laughed, laughed every time he came on the screen. Be original for christ sakes! Then there is the issue with the token Latino (Sergio Peris-Mencheta) and black guy (Boris Kodjoe). From those two, I dare you to take a wild guess at who dies and who lives. Most likely your first gut answer is right.
Yes, most of this review harps on the bad. But as you can tell, the bad is adjoined with laughter, good laughter that serves a purpose – to escape reality for a bit and share the lampooning with your friends. ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’ is a good bad movie. Go see it and stay for the credits – there is a surprise if you’ve seen the previous three parts.
08.27.2010 | By Karen Posada |
*Updated December 2025
Takers, starring Idris Elba and Paul Walker, is highly entertaining, but it is in no way original. Because of this, it is very predictable. The action scenes are what makes the movie worth watching, especially the one with Chris Brown. This film is like a roller coaster. One second you are thinking it is one of the best movies this year, the next it is one of the worst, so it ends up just being a mediocre film. Read More
08.24.2010 | By SBC Staff |
Flipped will take you back to your Junior High School years, to your first crush. One of the nicest things about it is that we get the boy and the girls point of view on different situations and we get to analyze and see how often human interactions are misinterpreted, specially when it comes to the opposite sex. The movie is set in the early 60’s giving it an all American feel to it, this helps it be so innocent which is what makes it so real an relatable. The main characters are so opposite to each other that the contrast is one of the entertaining features of it. It’s a good family film from Junior High School kids to adults.
Our female lead, Juli Baker (Madeline Carroll) is not your regular teenage girl, she’s confident and hardheaded; she’s practically an adult trapped in a girl’s body. Juli falls in love with Bryce Loski (Callan McAuliffe) the second she stares into his dazzling eyes when they are 7 years old and his family moves across the street from her. Bryce is not happy with Juli crushing on him, she doesn’t get the hint and follows him and idolizes him for years, even when he starts going out with her worst enemy. Juli is just like the rest of her family, free spirits; nature and animals are her drives. She falls in love with a sycamore three and she spends endless hours on it starting at the horizon and the beauty of it, she protests when they want to chop it down and she expects Bryce to come to her rescue; when he doesn’t she starts questioning her obsession for him. Juli’s father (Aidan Quinn) is the one that gets her, he advices her on how to perceive people and teaches her kindness by showing her how he supports his brother that is mentally retarded. Juli is grateful to have such a close bond with her family and to see that despite of the fact that they are lower middle class the one thing that matters and she doesn’t lack is love. The Loski’s are completely opposite, Bryce’s father (Anthony Edwards) is always drinking and never has anything positive to say, specially about his neighbors. Bryce looks up to his dad and takes on some of his attitude but does start to question it slowly. Bryce is also influenced by a boy he befriends in school, that talks him into disliking Juli even more. When his grandfather Chet (John Mahoney) comes to live with them he immediately realizes what an amazing girl Juli is and spends more time with her than with his own grandson. This starts changing Bryce’s outlook on the girl he’s ignored and been annoyed by for so long.
The director Rob Reiner decided to bring this touching story to life after it was given to him by his son who was reading it for school.The acting here is sensational, our lead characters are so believable and so real that they take us in all too easily. The setting of the period fits in great and gives it a homey feel to it, along with the beautiful sceneries of the country side. For its proposes having us focused on the main characters is a good tactic, but a little more background on the other characters and the not so jolly reality that they live in the sixties would make the movie more real.
The movie is enjoyable and easy to follow, it has some laughs as well as sad moments. It does teach us good values on how a family should be supportive of one another, that we should stand up for what we believe it and not let anyone step on our dreams or make us question who we are. You will come out reminiscing and with a smile on your face. Â
08.20.2010 | By Jack Rico |
‘The Switch’ could have been very good but ends up being just okay. Jennifer Aniston has more of a supporting role here while Jason Bateman is clearly the star of the film. The chemistry between them is non existent and the story, although intriguing, fails to compel because of an over-extension of plot. This is a clichéd trick screenwriters use to fill gaps of time in the middle of a movie to build ‘momentum’ for the final scenes. Case in point, writer Allan Loeb over-extends the inevitable confrontation scenes between Bateman and Aniston so much that when it arrives, you’re annoyed and ultimately uninterested.
The premise is a good one though… A single 40-year-old woman (Aniston) turns to artificial insemination in order to become pregnant. Seven years later, she reunites with her best friend (Bateman), who has been living with a secret: he replaced her preferred donor’s sperm sample with his own.
At its best, The Switch is reminiscent of About a Boy starring Hugh Grant but it never goes deep enough to illicit a tear. If something could be praised about the film is the acting by the supporting cast. Jeff Goldblum who plays Bateman’s cynical and wise cracking friend still can deliver a funny line. I don’t know why he’s not working more frequently but he is a delight on screen. And we can’t forget young actor Thomas Robinson who plays Bateman’s 6 year old son Sebastian. The kid has the goods and delivers some true acting as a melancholic pessimist who thinks he has hypochondria.
The Switch generates some occasional cheap laughs, but it doesn’t come together. It feels generic. There are two directors on the film, Josh Gordon and Will Speck, and if two people couldn’t get this right, then its probably not worth the theatrical viewing. This film might play better on a Saturday night at home on DVD.
08.19.2010 | By Jack Rico |
In today’s Hollywood spectrum it seems that the best family films are animated. There are some live action fare that reached critical praise such as Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Karate Kid, but none can be compared to what I believe to be the best family film of 2010 so far – ‘Nanny McPhee Returns’ starring Emma Thompson.
In this sequel, Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) arrives once again to help a harried young mother, Mrs. Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal), with running the family farm while her husband is away at war. With Mrs. Green’s children waging a personal war with their two spoiled rich cousins, Nanny McPhee comes to the rescue using her magical cane to teach the kids five important new lessons.
It might not seem that difficult to the novice eye, but blending in comedy, action, drama and special effects to create a family film with an affecting message is tougher than one might think. The original film, though sweet and endearing, was much more targeted to seven year olds while dismissing adults. Not so in this follow up where director Susanna White and screenwriter Emma Thompson delve death into the parameters of the story with panache and care.
It cannot go unsaid how remarkable the cast is, in particular the child actors Eros Vlahos and Rosie Taylor-Ritson who play the spoiled, rich cousins from London. Their acting skill is leagues apart from the rest of the young cast, which you could argue, might be a detriment to the picture. Nevertheless, it is rare to see actors this young being this good. It is a rare treat to see and enjoy. Maggie Gyllenhaal on her part, who is a true blue American, makes us forget she is from the States with an uncanny authentic British accent. It is perhaps better than Gwyneth Paltrow’s. Ewan McGregor is barely seen in the film but his scene is perhaps the most moving.
‘Nanny McPhee Returns’ is a delightful experience, but different than the original film, I believe adults will be able to indulge a bit more in the story. Leave no bones about it, kids are going to like this charming sequel.
