08.18.2010 | By Jack Rico |
*Updated April 2026
Vampires Suck directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer plain ol’ sucks. Now don’t get me wrong, I like spoof movies, but ones that are full of hilarity such as The Naked Gun, Hot Shots and the Scary Movie series to name a few. The level of creativity to get this film off the ground is elementary, nothing seems to be out of the box thinking and 10 year old girls must have been consulted. Read More
08.13.2010 | By Namreta Kumar |
*Updated March 2026
Although Eat Pray Love promises a heartwarming search for meaning, the adaptation unfortunately fails to reach deep enough. Read More
08.13.2010 | By Ted Faraone |
The Dominican Republic boasts many achievements in addition to its natural beauty, but film arguably is not one of them. That’s why La Soga (The Noose), a 2009 effort by helmer Josh Crook, comes as such a welcome surprise. In the Spanish-speaking world, one tends to think instead of Spain, Argentina, and Mexico as hotbeds of cinema. Read More
08.7.2010 | By Ted Faraone |
The Other Guys, like almost every good picture in which Will Ferrell has starred, is a vehicle for his comic genius. The plot is preposterous. There is adequate vulgarity to please teenage boys. Read More
08.6.2010 | By Jack Rico |
The pornography premise for ‘Middle Men’ will be a main attraction for many male moviegoers who enjoy a good dose of sex plot to their movies with a touch of humor. It chronicles the rise and fall of three entrepreneurs who create the first legitimate porn website.
The film is “inspired by a true story†and that tagline held my interest throughout most of the 1hr and 45 minute duration. Part of my interest stems from its dramatic and almost absurd incidents about ludicrous business decisions that took place with copious amount of sex and drugs passed around. The acting by the cast was very good, in particular, Luke Wilson, who showed a dramatic presence absent from his previous roles. Giovanny Ribisi, delivered an interesting character, but I felt a bit over the top.
The film has enough drama, humor along with twists and turns to keep the interest level very high. If you want to see something under the radar, filled with sex, drugs and more sex, Middle Men has to be on the top of your list this weekend.
07.29.2010 | By Karen Posada |
One thing I can say about Dinner for Schmucks is that it was well developed. It is not sloppy in a way a lot of comedies tend to get, but it is a bit too long for a comedy. It was funny although its humor is not clever, it is more ridiculous and idiotic than anything. Nonetheless, it will make you laugh and maybe even crack up a few times. I wouldn’t rush to the movie theater to watch it, waiting for it on DVD would be the smarter option. It is inspired by a French comedy Le Dîner de Cons, which was quite successful.
The movie develops with Tim Conrad (Paul Rudd) who is working hard to get a promotion and making his almost perfect life completely perfect. He steps to the plate when one of the main guys at his office is fired and he is offered his position after a bold presentation; the catch is that he has to join his boss and the other big shots at a secret dinner to get the new position. This isn’t just any dinner, everyone must bring an extraordinary person a.k.a schmuck meaning idiot and whomever brings the most strangest specimen wins; while their idiot gets a trophy and is “released back into the wild”. Tim’s better half, whom he’s proposed to several times Julie (Stephanie Szostak) is appalled when Tim tells her what he has to do and she puts some sense into him. Unfortunately, by a chance encounter Tim is blessed with one of these rare people, Barry Speck (Steve Carell) and he is not able to turn away from this easy opportunity. Barry is an amateur taxidermist, he uses dead mice to create art pieces and his naivety pushes him over the edge to idiocy.
Barry takes over Tim’s life, he’s trying to help him but he ends up destroying every aspect of Tim’s life and plans. The more Barry “helps” the worse things get for Tim. The easy promotion is not so easy anymore. Barry forces his friendship upon Tim and teaches him that nothing is more important that sticking to one’s values and appreciating someone for who they are.
I don’t believe Steven Carell to be one of the funniest comedians of today, in this role he is the same character as in Anchorman and a bit less clever than his character in The office. The same goes for Rudd, he’s always the passive aggressive guy with a girlfriend that has to put up with the dummy. Although these are not refreshing roles for them they do fill the shoes well, Carell does a great innocent idiot. Another comedian that appears here and always does a great psycho is Zach Galifianakis. Finally, Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Concords completes the movie with his wild character.
If you’ve seen director Jay Roach‘s work such as Meet the Parents and the Austin Powers movies then you probably know what to expect. It is not a hilarious movie, except for a couple of scenes/jokes but it will give you a good giggle all throughout with its silliness and absurdity. If you want to watch a witty comedy then this would be the wrong movie to choose.
07.28.2010 | By Ted Faraone |
Sometimes quirky works. Aaron Schneider proves this in his feature film directorial debut, Get Low. While the film faced a scattered release schedule, this Southern fable offers a texture that many modern productions lack. It serves as a showcase for a veteran cast working at the top of their game. Read More
07.21.2010 | By SBC Staff |
Salt is THE summer’s action flick. No other actress can do an action film like Angelina Jolie, she gives an amazing performance in this one. We haven’t seen a movie by her since Wanted and that was pretty much a preview to what you can expect from her in Salt. The script was made originally for a male lead, it is rumored that Tom Cruise turned it down, which is a good thing because I doubt a male lead would have made it as successful. The movie will keep you guessing the entire running time up to the end. The one question running through your mind at every turn of the movie is: how will she get out of this one?
Since the beginning we realize that CIA officer Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is a tough female, the movie begins with her capture by the North Korean government, they try to beat the loyalty out of her, but can’t. We shortly meet Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber)her boss at the CIA and friend, he’s along on her side throughout most of the movie trying to help her. After we get a brief backstory on Salt’s life both the private and professional sides of it, we are in Washington D.C. in CIA headquarters where we meet Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor). As a CIA counter-intelligence agent he is not sympathetic to anyone specially to Salt after she is accused of being a sleeper Russian spy and she runs away to avoid being captured. This is when the action begins and where we are left to wonder: ‘who is Salt?’
Salt is married to an entomologist who is fully aware of her career path and the risks that are involved. He is one of the few reasons we ever see this character be soft, the rest of it is all tough CIA training from the fights to her assertive actions.In fact, this female character is the one that carries all the action of the movie, the other two secondary characters Winter and Peabody do very little physical work. Salt’s independence and kick-ass attitude is what keeps her going.
Jolie prepared for this character by talking to former CIA agents such as Melissa Boyle Mahle who worked for the force for 16 years. She spoke of Jolie’s relentlessness of getting every aspect of the character right, asking her how she felt and what she went through; she learned how spies live. Although Mahle says Jolie in the film makes it look way more fun and glamours than it really is. Oleg Kalugin a former KGB member and spy said Salt is very real, and she is tough like a Russian spy. Tom Ridge former Secretary of Homeland security spoke of the realities of the film as seen by current events and how the government has dealt with it since the Cold-War.
If you are into action films this one is for you, it is pure entertainment. There’s bits and pieces of romance in the way but it doesn’t disrupt the action. You can compare it to current events but remember this is hollywood, which means that nothing is to be taken to heart. The main subject here is loyalty, towards family, country, beliefs etc; which is what keeps the movie going and will keep you wondering.
07.20.2010 | By Karen Posada |
*Updated November 2025
Verdict: If the moving story in Entre Nos had been more developed and the ending had not been rushed, it would be worth watching. When the filmmaker Paola Mendoza told us that the movie was made in only 18 days, this explained why it was so short and felt so rushed. The emotional connection is very strong, and with more development it could have gone farther and it would be a better film that I could recommend.
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07.16.2010 | By Jack Rico |
*Updated 2026
In 2026, when puzzle movies and online theory culture are everywhere, Inception still feels like the rare blockbuster that made audiences work and rewarded them for it.
