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Reviews for DVD Releases

Robin Hood
Jack Rico
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2010/09/21 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

Robin Hood

09.21.2010 | By |

Rating: 3.0

Rated: PG-13 for violence including intense sequences of warfare, and some sexual content.
Release Date: 2010-05-14
Starring: Brian Helgeland
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.robinhoodthemovie.com/

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The new adaptation of Robin Hood, directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator) and starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett hits the big screen after much anticipation and hype. Is this the definitive version to ever be done by Hollywood? Not by far, but it is a noble intent. This adaptation is a prequel, that is, an account of the origins of the green hero before he stole from the rich and helped the poor. The film has some fine moments but also lacks of a fresh new approach to an old story.

The plot begins with the death of King Richard of England (Danny Huston) and Robin Longstride (Crowe) traveling to Nottingham, a city that suffers from corruption and oppressive taxes from the sheriff, to start a new life. There, Robin falls in love with the widow Lady Marion (Blanchette), meets Friar Tuck (Mark Addy) and fights in the war against the French.

To be fair, I found the film to be entertaining and visually absorbing, but due to weak development of the story and shortcomings of some secondary characters, there were moments of confusion in several of its sequences. For example, for most of the film, I could not distinguish who were the British or the French, I couldn’t understand the dialogue very well at first due to the rough and the villains motives weren’t fleshed out properly.

However, if you’re looking to entertain yourself, any imperfections the film might have are put aside for the high level entertainment value. I particularly left satisfied enough to recommend it for a few reasons: one because Crowe and Blanchette are tremendous actors, second because the director Ridley Scott captured beautiful scenes, and third, the locations and details of the movie transport you to back to that period. Robin Hood is worth the watch.

Solitary Man
Jack Rico
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By

2010/09/09 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

Solitary Man

09.9.2010 | By |

Rating: 4.0

Rated: R for language and some sexual content.
Release Date: 2010-05-21
Starring: Brian Koppelman
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.solitarymanmovie.com/

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The veteran actor Michael Douglas takes heads the indie route to star in one of my favorite films of 2010 – Solitary Man. The film reminds me of Ben Stiller’s ‘Greenberg‘, about a man who is trying to find meaning in life, except that Douglas is far better and much more appealing.

The plot, infused with comic moments tells the story of Ben Kalman (Douglas), a renown businessman who owns a chain of car dealerships, whose career and marriage are being ruined by his constant indiscretions both professionally and personally. Will he be able to rescue himself from the abyss into which it is located? The story also weaves questions about death and the fragility of the human psyche in a very entertaining way.

How many times have you heard of people being in situations where they has lost everything or about to lose everything, but refuse to see the gravity of the situation; a person who never learns from his mistakes, who prefers to apologize before asking permission first. This is one of Douglas’ best performances in years. It’s full of a rogue charisma that he has perfected throughout his career. One of the salient features of Douglas is his charm and outside of Gekko, he’s never played a role like this one.

Michael is accompanied by a cast of heavyweights such as Susan Sarandon, Mary Louise Parker, Danny Devito and Jesse Eisenberg. It is a pleasure to see this cast work together in this genuine, witty and heartfelt film about the ups and downs of a man. I think we all know people like Kalman – or maybe one might look in the mirror and see none other than… Ben Kalman himself.

The Back-Up Plan
Jack Rico
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By

2010/08/24 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

The Back-Up Plan

08.24.2010 | By |

Rating: 3.0

Rated: PG-13 for sexual content including references, some crude material and language.
Release Date: 2010-04-23
Starring: Kate Angelo
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.theback-upplan.com/

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Puerto Rican actress Jennifer Lopez makes her long awaited comeback to the big screen in the New York romantic comedy ‘The Back Up Plan’. Lopez is back to form in what is, in my opinion, a charming and pleasant cinematic experience. Any thoughts on Lopez being washed up will have to wait since she can still carry a film on charm alone even with a modest B list cast. The movie possesses appeal, mostly from its star, but also from its relevant and topical plotline.

Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) has been on hundreds of dates looking to find a prince charming whom she can fulfill her life long dream of starting a family with. Regrettably, she discerns her time has past and resorts to what she feels is her ‘back up plan’ – artificial insemination. As fate must have it, Zoe meets the man of her dreams (Alex O’Loughlin) on the same day she submitted herself to the procedure. Will she tell her shining prince that she’s pregnant with some unknown man’s sperm? Will he feel he has to father kids that aren’t his own? How will it all end for Zoe?

Jennifer Lopez’s movie career spiraled down a bit when El Cantante was released in 2006 (the film only generated 7.6 million dollars). For those who have followed her career since Money Train we have noticed her strengths lie in the romantic comedy genre and even perhaps in action films. When she naturally decides to branch out into more demanding genres such as drama, her deficiencies as an actress are magnified. I disagree with people who say she isn’t a good actress. She is not an Oscar caliber actress, but she is a good one. You might think it’s easy to play cutesy and adorable in a movie. But she makes it look that easy. That’s her gift. I compare her to Sandra Bullock and put her in that range set. You never know Jennifer Lopez might have one Oscar win in her.

 

Nevertheless, most women will love this film, at least the ones that are suckers for romance. Men will barf at it because Alex O’Loughlin, the male lead, portrays a character at the end of the film of a man that doesn’t seem to exist in real life. The implausible fantasy is a bit too much to bear. It is a fantasy film full of romance though, full of hope and obviously a feel good sentiment. That is what you’ll be buying for the price of a movie ticket, and that is not bad. I liked it, it made me like that world a bit better than ours, even if it’s just for an hour and a half.

 

To follow Jack Rico’s film reviews check him out on Twitter at @jackricofficial

Survival of the Dead
Jack Rico
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2010/08/23 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

Survival of the Dead

08.23.2010 | By |

Rating: 2.0

Rated: R for strong zombie violence/gore, language and brief sexuality.
Release Date: 2010-05-28
Starring: George Romero
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://magnetreleasing.com/survivalofthedead/

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George A. Romero, known as ‘the godfather’ of zombie movies, is releasing his new deadhead movie called ‘Survival of the Dead’ about two families who live in an island plagued by zombies.

 

The story centers on an island in the middle coast of North America where dead people are beginning to rise from their graves to eat their own offspring. The leaders of the two families on the island then quarrel about how to go about their strange situation… do they kill their deceased relatives, or would it be better to try and find a cure that could return them to a normal life. Many decisions are explored in this film.

 

If you’re going to see this film to entertain and frighten yourself, you will be very disappointed. Romero has long said he does make these films to scare his audience, rather he uses the horror genre to communicate a social and political message through the stories. Survival of the Dead is more given to devotees of the cult films of Romero and not so much to new audiences. Stay away.

The Last Song
Jack Rico
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By

2010/08/17 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

The Last Song

08.17.2010 | By |

Rating: 2.0

Rated: PG for thematic material, some violence, sensuality and mild language.
Release Date: 2010-04-02
Starring: Nicholas Sparks & Jeff Van Wie
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://touchstone.movies.go.com/thelastsong/

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Of his six titles sent to the big screen, ‘The Last Song’ is Nicholas Sparks worst film. Most of the drawbacks hinge on Miley Cyrus’ acting. She is officially on my list for a 2011 Razzie for worst actress. But perhaps the biggest problem with the film is the calculated, manipulative script that delivers phony, inorganic moments that don’t seem plausible enough for any teenager or adult to believe. It has some feel good moments, but not enough to deserve praise. This is definitely not a date movie adults will enjoy, but rather a transitional primer young fans of Cyrus will be expecting from her in the near future.

‘The Last Song’ centers on a rebellious girl (Miley Cyrus) who is sent to a Southern beach town with her brother (Bobby Coleman) for the summer to stay with her father (Greg Kinnear). Through their mutual love of music, the estranged duo learn to reconnect, but in typical Sparks fashion, some sort of calamity strikes.

I’ve seen Miley’s work on TV and I’ve seen her in concert. Her work seemed to embody the desires and ambitions of her contemporaries and it fit perfectly well within those parameters, but now her and her team of agents and managers are treading treacherous territory to put her in the same dramatic genre where the likes of Carey Mulligan and Anne Hathaway feast on. She isn’t ready to act in these roles that demand so much of her limited emotional range. As a result, the scenes where she has to push and drive the emotional guts of the film fall flat. The rest of the cast do well, but Kinnear and Coleman are the highlights. Kelly Preston was probably the most irrelevant character in the film, she was never around.

Nicholas Sparks is a co-screenwriter here and once again we see the trail of sentimental tragedy he has left in his way. His recent ‘Dear John’ from last month, doesn’t help either, if it hadn’t been for actor Richard Jenkins’ gravitas and acting credibility, it could have been a low point for all involved.

Bottomline, you can find this schmaltz for free on Lifetime or Oprah, don’t pay to see it here.

Repo Men
Jack Rico
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By

2010/07/27 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

Repo Men

07.27.2010 | By |

Rating: 3.0

Rated: R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, language and some sexuality/nudity.
Release Date: 2010-03-19
Starring: Garrett Lerner, Eric Garcia
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.repomenarecoming.com/

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The first hour of the new futuristic action film Repo Men, one of the most violent and bloody films I’ve seen since Ninja Assassins, is a slow, gouge-your-eye experience that has you asking for a refund. But the second hour really picks up and it is where the true entertainment value of the film lies. The story is very compelling tied with a dose of dark comedy, but the dialogue is vacuous and there were some major miscasting calls with Jude Law and Forest Whitaker.

In the future humans have extended and improved our lives through highly sophisticated and expensive mechanical organs created by a company called “The Union”. The dark side of these medical breakthroughs is that if you don’t pay your bill, “The Union” sends its highly skilled repo men to take back its property… with no concern for your comfort or survival. Former soldier Remy (Law) is one of the best organ repo men in the business. But when he suffers a cardiac failure on the job, he awakens to find himself fitted with the company’s top-of-the-line heart-replacement… as well as a hefty debt. But a side effect of the procedure is that his heart’s no longer in the job. When he can’t make the payments, The Union sends its toughest enforcer, Remy’s former partner Jake (Whitaker)4, to track him down.

What will be most talked about Repo Men is the high level of graphic violence and gore it possesses. It is really a cringing, hands-over-your-eyes type of brutality that takes place in the scenes when these repo men are extracting organs from their clients who are late on their bills. Violence is used very gratuitously here and it wouldn’t surprise me people being repulsed by it. Does it help push the story forward? No, its purely for shock value.

The film suffers from a variety of problems commencing with the first hour which is filled with contrived situations, bad dialogue, a slow, churning pace, and in my opinion, a miscasting of the protagonists. Am I really supposed to believe that pretty boy Jude Law and plump Forest Whitaker are vicious, intimidating animals? Hardly, all their roles are mainly summed up as bewildered, warm and fuzzy characters. Credibility here was an obvious issue. I couldn’t take their roles seriously.

Nevertheless, the film was made to entertain people and make tons of money at the box office. If it weren’t for the first hour being so off, we could have been talking about a better reviewed movie. Go watch it if you like uber-hyper violence that will make you squirm in your seat, but stay away if you’re sensitive to heads being squashed.

Jack Rico
0

By

2010/07/27 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

Repo Men

07.27.2010 | By |

Rating: 0.0

Rated: R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, language and some sexuality/nudity.
Release Date: 2010-03-19
Starring: Garrett Lerner, Eric Garcia
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.repomenarecoming.com/

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Entre Nos
Karen Posada
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2010/07/20 at 12:00am

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Entre Nos

07.20.2010 | By |

Rating: 2.0

Rated: Not available
Release Date: 2009-04-25
Starring: Gloria La Morte, Paola Mendoza
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.entrenosfilm.com/

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If this moving story would have been more developed and the ending wouldn’t have 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, this could have taken it farther and it would be a better film that I could recommend.

The protagonist and producer  Paola Mendoza plays a convincing role, she is a woman who suffers a lot because she is married to a man that’s worthless, he can’t settle anywhere. They’ve lived in Bogotá, Medellín, the coast of Colombia, and after only living two weeks in New York City he decides to move to Miami and leave his family behind. Mariana (Mendoza) tries all sorts of things for her family to have a good future and to follow her husband to Miami, she tries selling empanadas, washing dishes, but nothing works as well as recycling cans; this is the only way she can work and be with her children at the same time. Her children Gabriel (Sebastian Villada) 10 years old and Andrea (Laura Montana) 6 years old, take their mother’s work as a game and have fun recycling. Thanks to her children Mariana is able to surpass some of the hardest moments of her life. They are her strength. Gabriel understands a lot of what’s going on and when they are kicked out of her apartment for not paying the rent he goes and works recycling by himself when he’s able, to help his mom; as a kid sometimes he’s rebellious and gives her headaches but he has good intentions.

Some of the strongest points in this movie is the family connection, it shows how far we can get if we have the support of our family even if it’s only made up of three people. Gabriel’s behavior melts anyone’s heart, although he wants to study and play he understands that helping his mom is more important. The kindness of strangers is another strong point that is shown, a woman who rents out rooms (Sarita Coudhury) who feels pity for Mariana offers her friendship and support to her when she needs it the most.

Since this story is based in Paola Mendoza’s mom real life and her own it has a lot of real elements. These elements work well and create an honest environment full of harshness with which many can identify with. Unfortunately these elements are not squeezed to its greatest to create a movie that leaves you with something. As the other producer said Gloria La Morte, they wanted to make a film that would show the real side of New York City, that wouldn’t glamorize the american dream. This was accomplished until a certain point. The rushed ending ruins the rhythm of the movie and it’s essence in itself, because suddenly it becomes a fairy tale and from one moment to the next everything is ok and they are not poor anymore and we suddenly arrive to a summery of their lives up to adulthood without a warning.

The Losers
Jack Rico
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By

2010/07/20 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

The Losers

07.20.2010 | By |

Rating: 3.0

Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, a scene of sensuality and language.
Release Date: 2010-04-23
Starring: Peter Berg, James Vanderbilt
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.the-losers.com/

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An action film with some heart, family values and a Latino flair is the way I would describe WB’s new film ‘The Losers’. The genres, though, do not necessarily fit well together. It’s a fun movie, but somewhere along the way it goes through a bit of an identity crisis. Does it want to be an action film or a family film? The producers seem to think both.

Based on the 1970 comic book of the same name, The Losers is about 5 members of a CIA black ops team who are betrayed and left for dead. Their mission now is to find out who wanted them killed.

This revenge film means well. It has a cast of characters comprised of a diverse and simpatico bunch (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Óscar Jaenada and Jason Patric) that draws you into them and their plights. What most vexed me was their jobs – they’re killers for the government who have hearts of gold? Not sure verisimilitude played a role there, or at least, I don’t think director Sylvain White pulled it off well. You hate to be gripped into a storyline to then detour somewhere opposite. It’s not good storytelling and it’s what happened here. In the end, The Losers is hit and miss and it has more hits than the latter. You can forgive some of its deficiencies for some laughs and charm and some old PG-13 action.

On a side note, just like Fast and Furious, this movie has a very big Latin American feel to it that begins with the opening credits in Bolivia and lasts throughout the ending. Most of the film was shot in Puerto Rico, which we hope they film there much more. Stay for the closing credits, there some funny sketches that belong to the storyline of the movie.

 

To follow Jack Rico’s film review check him out on Twitter at @jackricofficial

The Greatest
Namreta Kumar
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By

2010/07/13 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

The Greatest

07.13.2010 | By |

Rating: 2.5

Rated: R for language, some sexual content and drug use.
Release Date: 2010-04-02
Starring: Shana Feste
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.thegreatestthemovie.com/

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The best parts of “The Greatest” are also its worst. Unfortunately, Shana Feste has created a film about spectacular moments but she failed to connect them.

This family drama is all about life and death. It is about loss and strength. Allen (Pierce Brosnan) and Grace Brewter (Susan Sarandon) are faced with the death of their son, Bennett. At that moment walks in Rose (Carey Mulligan), pregnant with Bennett’s child.

What stays with me after the end of the film are some very distinct moments. The honesty with which Shana Feste crafts her scenes is remarkable and is the high point in the drama. Each character has their own catharsis, distinct of the rest. For a second it seems to fool you into thinking that you are with them. However, as you move to the next scene that link is broken. The overall film suffers from this disconnect.

The most powerful connection the audience does make is between Allen and Rose when Rose takes Allen to a “Wouldn’t Be Caught Dead In” party. This is one particular moment to watch out for Brosnan and Mulligan’s performance and the layers that Feste has created in this moment of joint abreaction. Another powerful moment of association to watch out for is between Brosnan and Sarandon at the beach.

The greatest moments of the film are the ones that bring more than one plot in face of another, and unfortunately the lack of those moments leaves to many holes in the film. Unlike films like Crash and Babel, that have multiple stories that connect to some end, this film has a constant connection that does not justify parallel plots.

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