09.19.2009 | By Jack Rico |
*Updated December 2025
The Burning Plain is a bleak film that is heavy on visceral drama and light on substance. The script is not compelling, nor are the characters, and last I heard, the idea behind creating a movie is to entertain audiences to some degree, not make one miserable and despondent.
09.18.2009 | By SBC Staff |
Jennifer’s Body is a failure on so many levels: as a horror film, a comedy and its acting, but it does manage to be a good teen film due to Diablo Cody’s authentic and irreverent script and dialogue. It is so sumptuous that I haven’t been this excited to HEAR just dialogue since her first work in Juno. Read More
09.10.2009 | By Jack Rico |
Rated: R for violence, grisly images, brief strong language and some nudity.
Release Date: 2009-09-11
Starring: Erich Hoeber, Jon Hoeber
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Country: USA
Official Website: www.whiteoutmovie.com
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Before writing this criticism, I read some reviews from some major outlets spewing diatribes about this film. I just want to say their statements are greatly exaggerated. They just don’t get graphic novels. That is what ‘Whiteout’ is based on via the creative pens of Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber, This is a stomach churning action-thriller that journeys into the depths of ice hell in the Antarctica. Expect a balanced dose of action and drama, but it’s the slow, escalating tension that ultimately maintains you glued to your seat.
Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale), the lone U.S. Marshal assigned to Antarctica, is investigating the continent’s first murder, which draws her into a shocking mystery. Now, with only three days until a calamitous winter, Carrie must solve the crime before Antarctica is plunged into darkness and she is stranded with the killer.
The movie has its deficiencies such as the dialogue (“Doc, this wasn’t an accident!”) and its shoddy denouement that will leave audiences cursing, but it needs to be applauded for creating a tense filled atmosphere through slow paced and eery scenes. I appreciated the twists and turns, which I felt, were unpredictable, yet plausible. Overall that is what going to the movies is all about, experiencing something far from the realities of life.
09.10.2009 | By Jack Rico |
In this review, we take a look at why 9 works as a dark, visually inventive animated film, even if its story could use more emotional depth. Read More
09.3.2009 | By Jack Rico |
All About Steve has to be one of the worst movies of the year and certainly the worst of Sandra Bullock’s career. To make matters worse, she also produced it. Double slap. The comedy is meant to be funny, but instead, it leaves viewers frustrated and irritated. This vapid, insipid story fails to engage and is a waste of a good cast.
The premise is awful and unoriginal. After one date with a CNN cameraman (Bradley Cooper), Mary Horowitz (Sandra Bullock), a brilliant crossword-puzzle constructor, decides he is her true love. As she alienates him by trailing him across the country, she bonds with a group of misfits who appreciate her eccentric nature.
If you’ve seen The Proposal, you know Bullock can shine in a much better comedy. That film was a box office hit on its release. So what happened here? It’s simply a case of a bad script. Nothing and no one can escape that “disease.” All About Steve is a train wreck from the very start, and you should avoid it at all costs.
09.1.2009 | By Namreta Kumar |
Rated: R for language, sexual references and some drug use.
Release Date: 2009-09-04
Starring: Mike Judge
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Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.extract-the-movie.com/
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When you leave this film the first thing that you recall is that it was a comedy; beyond that the characters were peculiarly familiar, and then even the comedy becomes textbook.
Overall this comedy rings through the characters, but unlike “Office Space†this film brings nothing novel to cinema. “Extract†pulls from Mike Judge’s all too familiar space and creates a new score of characters we can all say we have met before.
Jason Bateman plays the “Extract King,†Joel, in this blue-collar comedy that is all about its ensemble of characters and the trouble they brew. From the incorrigible best friend Dean, played by Ben Affleck, down to the gnawing neighbor Nathan, played by David Koechner, each character is a satire all on their own and the film benefits most from the casts’ unison. However, that is about where the fun ends. As one gets to know the little pieces that each character plays the film becomes a little too predictable and even the characters lose their familiar charms.
As the film progresses, the little doses of rolling laughter almost feel typical rather than being synonymous to the anecdotes they all seem to have been created from. The audience may feel swept away for bits as the cast does a great job portraying their little world, however as the film closes there is not much that resonates. The story comes full circle as the satire thins out and the final credits roll in the last little stunts.
Extract can benefit from its release date as summer winds-down and some people look forward to an unassuming film to wind-down with; but this Judge film, much like its predecessor, will more likely find its place in the cable and DVD market.
08.27.2009 | By Alex Florez |
I’ve always felt that Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee can do anything. A director as versatile as they come, Lee refuses to be pigeonholed to any one genre and be restricted by the technological challenges of a film. Read More
08.26.2009 | By Jack Rico |
Rated: PG-13 for brief strong language.
Release Date: 2009-08-28
Starring: Documentary
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Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.theseptemberissue.com/
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Le tenemos la reseña de la película ‘Earth’ y le diremos si merece invertir su dinero en verla.
Inglorious Basterds, reseñas de Inglorious Basterds, resena de peliculas, criticas de Inglorious Basterds
Check out our movie review of Max Payne and we’ll let you know if it’s worth going to or not.
Max Payne, film review, movie review
08.21.2009 | By Jack Rico |
*Updated 2026
In 2026, when Quentin Tarantino’s style is still debated as much as his stories, Inglourious Basterds remains a test of whether bravura scenes can survive the director’s self-consciousness.
