01.29.2011 | By Jack Rico |
En lo que se puede describir como un sueño realizado, los dos más grandes titanes del cine hispanoparlante, el actor español y ganador del Oscar, Javier Bardem, y el director mexicano y nominado al Oscar, Alejandro González Iñárritu, se unen por primera vez para traernos ‘Biutiful’, una cruda y trágica cinta que arrolla los sentidos. Read More
01.26.2011 | By Jack Rico |
New York (USA), January 26 (ShowBizCafe.com) – Seems like all of us in the film biz can’t get enough of the new Spider-Man reboot movie pre-buzz. Today we got some new behind-the-scenes photos of the movie to share with you. The paparazzi shots give us a better look at the the costume and action sequences of our New York superhero in and around the streets of Los Angeles (the film will say it takes place in New York).
The man who is in the suit, in case you were wondering, is not the star Andrew Garfield. It’s a stunt double executing all the action scenes, while Garfield, we imagine, is enjoying a cool drink as he relaxes in his hotel room. The costume, from this point of view, looks gaudy. While the fabric is of tremendous quality, the suit itself looks ridiculous, to the point that if someone dressed like that were to run up to us in real life, we’d be laughing our asses off in his face!
‘Spider-Man 4‘ has a cast that consists of Rhys Ifans as The Lizard, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, Martin Sheen as Ben Parker, Sally Field as May Parker, and Denis Leary as George Stacy. The film, directed by Marc Webb, will be released in 3D on July 3, 2012.
01.26.2011 | By Jack Rico |
The 83rd edition of the Oscar Awards ceremony is almost here. It will be held on February 27, 2011 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, to reward the best of the Hollywood film industry during 2010 year.
The nominations were announced recently and we are following that up by giving you a look at the 4 new official Oscar posters.
From the looks of it, the proposed marketing plan is ‘anticipation’. Each poster, culminating with the Oscar standing tall, builds a crescendo starting with the red carpet where all the stars will parade their attire, the anxious moment when the presenter announces the winner on stage, until the very conclusion those words will change their lives forever.
The Oscars, the most prestigious film awards in the world, are awarded annually each February or March by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles, Hollywood, California.
Below are the four posters. What do you think? Do they suck or are they right on the money? Leave your comments in the section below.
01.25.2011 | By Ted Faraone |
Rated: R for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture, and language.
Release Date: 2010-10-29
Starring: Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://saw3dmovie.com/
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James Frey, whose fictional autobiography, “A Million Little Pieces,†got him roasted on Oprah Winfey’s sofa for 48 minutes, got off easy compared to Bobby Dagen, ably played by Sean Patrick Flanery, who is tortured (along with the audience) for 90 minutes for concocting a fictional best seller about surviving the Jigsaw killer in “Saw 3D†or “Saw VII†— depending on one’s point of view.
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Horror thriller’s plot is simple. The late Jigsaw John (Tobin Bell) who appears in flashback, had an accomplice, which everyone who saw “Saw VI†knows is crooked Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) whose career has not exactly soared since his stint on David E. Kelly’s “Picket Fencesâ€. He may be best remembered by some as the fellow in HBO’s TV series, “Sex and the City,†with a male part too big even for Samantha (Kim Cattrall) to handle.Â
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Bobby Dagen is raking in cash on his book tour. Hoffman gets upset about this (why is anyone’s guess) and sets out to right matters. He also has a beef with Jigsaw John’s widow, Jill (Betsy Russell), who has fingered him to the cops as her late husband’s accomplice and tried to kill him. At least that makes sense.
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Like the rest of the Saw series, “Saw 3D†relies on about one dead body every ten minutes, cheesy special effects, and relentless villains to achieve suspense. The vics are also not guilt free. They mostly (with a few exceptions) did something bad…. In other words, they’re human.Â
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This alleged thriller relies on an extraordinary suspension of disbelief. Hoffman’s traps depend on perfect timing, amazing mechanical perfection, and a puppet showing up on TV at exactly the right moment to move the plot along. The money such a setup would cost would be far beyond the means of a policeman. It would be the kind of cash that would make Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke apoplectic.Â
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By now everyone who knows anything about the Saw franchise knows that its central premise is that life is about choices. Unfortunately for those caught in Jigsaw’s traps, said choices are Hobson’s on steroids. Pic’s second scene is set in an urban storefront in which two guys, both dated by an attractive women held overhead in a sling which emphasizes her most excellent endowments, are chained to circular saws. In order to save the girl, one of them must saw the other to death. If they save each other, the girl gets sawed to death. This is classic Saw. It is also a tad unfortunate since the unaccredited actress is sort of righteous.
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“Saw 3D†also plagiarizes other works. Hoffman stitching his face after Jill’s alleged murder attempt is straight out of Spanish pic “Pan’s Labyrinth.â€Â A bit in which Bobby has to shove hooks into his pectoral muscles was used to much better effect by Arthur Kopit in “Indians,†both on stage and on screen.
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3D is a gimmick that Hollywood tried about 50 years ago.  It coincided with the Hula Hoop.  There is nothing new under the sun gear, as “Road & Track†magazine founder John Bond said. Hollywood is reviving the gimmick to get bodies to shell out money to see subpar films. It will work for a while. Thus far your critic has seen only one picture that benefitted from 3D: It is “Despicable Me†(which is reviewed on this site). Heck, even CBS Sports is toying with 3D to get folks to watch its depleted roster on television. Note to programmers: 3D does not make up for crummy material. A compelling work can be shown on a 13-inch black and white TV screen and hold one’s interest, if not one’s breath.
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Helmer Kevin Greutert was an editor on many of the Saw pictures and directed “Saw VIâ€. Tech credits, save for the cheesy special effects, are adequate. So is sound recording, although “Saw 3D†could be a silent picture and be none the worse for it. Dialogue is at best banal. Performances are almost universally awful. Only Flanery rises above the material, which is not saying much.
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“Saw 3D†is billed as the end of the Saw franchise. That would be a good thing.  With No. 7 it has jumped the shark. But your critic fears otherwise. Pic leaves a number of dangling participles on any of which can be hung “sequel.â€Â Auds do not know if Bobby dies or if Hoffman dies. And it is revealed that Jigsaw John had a second accomplice, a blond haired physician (Cary Elwes) who cauterized his stump after amputating his own leg — pic’s opening scene. Near pic’s end it is revealed that Jigsaw John made the guy his “executor†of sorts. The future will depend on the box office that “Saw 3D†does.
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Released just in time for Halloween, “Saw 3D†is rated R according to its press materials “for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture, and language [sic].â€Â Take a pass. Put the Jigsaw guys out of their misery.
01.25.2011 | By Jack Rico |
The Academy Award nominations, announced this morning in Los Angeles, mostly stuck to the script that Oscar-season observers expected. “The King’s Speech” led the field with 12 nominations, including nods for best picture and director, while “True Grit” galloped close behind with a healthy 10 nominations. “The Social Network” also landed its expected best picture nomination, along with seven other nods.
The official list of 2011 Oscar nominations indicate who will attend the 83rd annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood, to be held on February 27, 2011.
Best Picture
• “Black Swan”
• “The Fighter”
• “Inception”
• “The Kids Are All Right”
• “The King’s Speech”
• “127 Hours”
• “The Social Network”
• “Toy Story 3”
• “True Grit”
• “Winter’s Bone”
Directing
• “Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky
• “The Fighter” David O. Russell
• “The King’s Speech” Tom Hooper
• “The Social Network” David Fincher
• “True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Actor in a Leading Role
• Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
• Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
• Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
• Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech”
• James Franco in “127 Hours”
Actor in a Supporting Role
• Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
• John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone”
• Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
• Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
• Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech”
Actress in a Leading Role
• Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
• Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
• Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone”
• Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
• Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”
Actress in a Supporting Role
• Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
• Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech”
• Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
• Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
• Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”
Animated Feature Film
• “How to Train Your Dragon” Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
• “The Illusionist” Sylvain Chomet
• “Toy Story 3” Lee Unkrich
Art Direction
• “Alice in Wonderland” Production Design: Robert Stromberg;
Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” Production Design: Stuart Craig;
Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
• “Inception” Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas;
Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
• “The King’s Speech” Production Design: Eve Stewart;
Set Decoration: Judy Farr
• “True Grit” Production Design: Jess Gonchor;
Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
Cinematography
• “Black Swan” Matthew Libatique
• “Inception” Wally Pfister
• “The King’s Speech” Danny Cohen
• “The Social Network” Jeff Cronenweth
• “True Grit” Roger Deakins
Costume Design
• “Alice in Wonderland” Colleen Atwood
• “I Am Love” Antonella Cannarozzi
• “The King’s Speech” Jenny Beavan
• “The Tempest” Sandy Powell
• “True Grit” Mary Zophres
Documentary (Feature)
• “Exit through the Gift Shop” Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz
• “Gasland” Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
• “Inside Job” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
• “Restrepo” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
• “Waste Land” Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley
Documentary (Short Subject)
• “Killing in the Name” Nominees to be determined
• “Poster Girl” Nominees to be determined
• “Strangers No More” Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
• “Sun Come Up” Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
• “The Warriors of Qiugang” Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon
Film Editing
• “Black Swan” Andrew Weisblum
• “The Fighter” Pamela Martin
• “The King’s Speech” Tariq Anwar
• “127 Hours” Jon Harris
• “The Social Network” Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter
Foreign Language Film
• “Biutiful” Mexico
• “Dogtooth” Greece
• “In a Better World” Denmark
• “Incendies” Canada
• “Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)” Algeria
Makeup
• “Barney’s Version” Adrien Morot
• “The Way Back” Edouard F. Henriques,
Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
• “The Wolfman” Rick Baker and Dave Elsey
Music (Original Score)
• “How to Train Your Dragon” John Powell
• “Inception” Hans Zimmer
• “The King’s Speech” Alexandre Desplat
• “127 Hours” A.R. Rahman
• “The Social Network” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Music (Original Song)
• “Coming Home” from “Country Strong”
Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
• “I See the Light”
from “Tangled” Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
• “If I Rise”
from “127 Hours” Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
• “We Belong Together”
from “Toy Story 3″ Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
Short Film (Animated)
• “Day & Night” Teddy Newton
• “The Gruffalo” Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
• “Let’s Pollute” Geefwee Boedoe
• “The Lost Thing” Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
• “Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)”
Bastien Dubois
Short Film (Live Action)
• “The Confession” Tanel Toom
• “The Crush” Michael Creagh
• “God of Love” Luke Matheny
• “Na Wewe” Ivan Goldschmidt
• “Wish 143” Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite
Sound Editing
• “Inception” Richard King
• “Toy Story 3” Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
• “Tron: Legacy” Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
• “True Grit” Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
• “Unstoppable” Mark P. Stoeckinger
Sound Mixing
• “Inception” Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
• “The King’s Speech” Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
• “Salt” Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
• “The Social Network” Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
• “True Grit” Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
Visual Effects
• “Alice in Wonderland” Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”
Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
• “Hereafter” Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
• “Inception” Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
• “Iron Man 2” Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
• “127 Hours” Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
• “The Social Network” Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
• “Toy Story 3” Screenplay by Michael Arndt;
Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
• “True Grit” Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• “Winter’s Bone” Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini
Writing (Original Screenplay)
• “Another Year” Written by Mike Leigh
• “The Fighter” Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson;
Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
• “Inception” Written by Christopher Nolan
• “The Kids Are All Right” Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
• “The King’s Speech” Screenplay by David Seidler
01.25.2011 | By Jack Rico |
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence and brief strong language.
Release Date: 2010-10-15
Starring: Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.red-themovie.com/
01.25.2011 | By Jack Rico |
Rated: PG for brief mild language.
Release Date: 2010-10-08
Starring: Mike Rich, William Nack
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://disney.com/secretariat/
01.24.2011 | By Mack Chico |
A so-so movie makes it mark at the box office. “No Strings Attached,” a romantic comedy about friends-with-benefits starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher opened to a solid $20.3 million, according to studio estimates, to win the weekend; 70 percent of attendees were women, exit polling showed. It was the only new picture to open nationwide, continuing what has been a slow January at the box office.
“No Strings Attached” is the first mainstream romantic comedy starring Portman, who also executive produced, and marked a healthy start in the genre. It was the highest opening for the actress outside of the “Star Wars” pictures and comic book adaptation “V for Vendetta.”
For Kutcher, it was a virtual tie for the best openings of movies he has starred in, alongside the romantic comedies “Guess Who” and “What Happens in Vegas.”
“The King’s Speech,” which came in fourth place, demonstrated that it continued to be the hot indie drama of the moment as ticket sales didn’t decline at all from the previous weekend, repeating at $9.2 million, a sign of extraordinary word-of-mouth. Even accounting for the 137 new theaters the Weinstein Co. added to the run of the historical drama, ticket sales at existing locations were down only 9 percent. Its domestic box-office total is now a strong $58.6 million.
Here’s the top 10 at the box office this week:
1. No Strings Attached: Weekend $20.3M
2. The Green Hornet 3D: Weekend $18.1M (-31%), Cume $63.4M
3. The Dilemma: Weekend $9.9M (-33%), Cume $33.5M
4. The King’s Speech: Weekend $9.1M, Cume $58.6M
5. True Grit: Weekend $7.9M, Cume $138.5M
6. Black Swan: Weekend $6.2M, Cume $83.5M
7. Little Fockers: Estimated Weekend $4M, Estimated Cume $140.8M
8. The Fighter: Estimated Weekend $4M, Estimated Cume $72.5M
9. Tron: The Legacy 3D: Estimated Weekend $3.5M, Estimated Cume $163M
10. Yogi Bear 3D: Estimated Weekend $3.5M, Estimated Cume $88.3M
01.20.2011 | By Jack Rico |
The modern romantic comedy ‘No Strings Attached‘ starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman is surprisingly not as bad as I expected. The film benefits from an interesting premise, good chemistry between the stars and appealing situations that will easily engage romantic couples looking for a fun time at theater.
The plot centers on Adam and Emma (Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman), childhood friends who try to maintain a strictly sexual relationship, but it’s not long before they both discover that love is impossible to resist.
The romantic comedies of today, a.k.a rom-coms, tend to be very formulaic, predictable and unoriginal, but this one, because of its R rating, takes advantage of it by being mischievous. Of course, you’ll experience all the typical ploy devices inserted into these movies such as the irritating best friends, the poppy soundtrack, and of course, the ultimate declarations of love at the end of the movie. Nevertheless, the film aims to reach adults, in particular those who have been through experiences like this at some point in their lives. The movie has shades of the recent ‘Love and Other Drugs’ (Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway), whose plot also involved a woman who just wanted a purely sexual relationship. Her reasons were different and legitimate as opposed to Portman’s character. The tone was also more dramatic and not as playful as this.
Much of the upbeat tone of ‘Attached’ comes from the cerebral dallyings of screenwriter Elizabeth Meriwether, who has built a real and authentic narrative that reflects the times we live in today – an ode to a sexual revolution that has become part of the natural order of things. The dialogue is another matter. Phrases like, “I’m warning you… if you come closer one more step, I might never let you go”, sound like scratching nails on a chalkboard. To be frank, no right-minded man would dare say something like that in real life because he runs the risk that the woman who hears it will throw up on him. Defects like these run rampant in every rom-com, but here you get over it because Portman’s and Kutcher’s charm is irresistible.
Portman, a soon to be Best Actress winner at this year’s Oscar for Black Swan, is exploring a new genre with great results. She plays a sexy, beautiful, confident woman who is not shy in proving she has a fun side to her. Mix that in with her dramatic strengths and you have an actress who won’t keep on embarrassing the genre any further. Do not be surprised if we see her in more romantic comedies in the not too distant future. Kutcher on the other hand, is overshadowed by Portman’s screen presence and skill. Even though he looks the part perfectly, his limited acting range fails him time and time again in the climactic moments of the finale.
The director Ivan Reitman, creator of such classic films as Ghostbusters, Stripes, and Twins, in this instance chooses to leave vulgar comedy to the side and focus on the psychology of the principle relationship. As a result, the film feels adult and less silly.
‘No Strings Attached’ is not compelling as ‘When Harry Met Sally‘ or as savvy as ‘500 Days of Summer,’ but it achieves its objective of being a pleasant diversion for a couples night out at the movies.
01.18.2011 | By Karen Posada |
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, a sexual situation/partial nudity and some language.
Release Date: 2010-08-27
Starring: Peter Allen, Gabriel Casseus
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.whoarethetakers.com/
TAKERS is highly entertaining but it is in no way original and 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. The film is easy to follow which gives it a nice easy flow. It is organized, but the fact that there are so many characters and so little character development it doesn’t give the audience time to connect with them although there is sympathy towards the gang of high class criminals.Â
The film shows us the workings of a gang of high class criminals that play by their own rules, such as doing one job a year and not killing anyone; specifically cops. They mean no harm, just gain which makes them likable. The gang love each other like brothers and are successful at what they do by working out every single intricate detail of their jobs in a timely manner. Their leader Gordon Betts or “G” (IDRIS ELBA) is the one to give each of them tasks and they take his advice seriously, but unfortunately he has a downfall his sister Naomi (MARIANNE JEAN-BAPTISTE) a drug addict trying to go clean. His right arm is John Rahway (PAUL WALKER) he executes the important parts of the dirty work. The brains of the operation is A.J. (HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN) he works out the gritty details with great results. Jake Attica (MICHAEL EALY) is the sweetheart of the group, he is the heart of the gang and gives them a human touch; his biggest worry is his brother Jesse (CHRIS BROWN) their father is in jail and he feels terrible for bringing his little brother into the business and therefore wants to keep him out of harm’s way. The bad influence and outsider of the group is Ghost (T.I.), on their last job he’s the only one that got caught and as soon as he’s out of jail he’s ready to execute a new plan. The gang doesn’t trust him but decide to break their one year rule to go along with his risky plan to rob an armored car carrying over $12 million; they only have 5 days to plan the heist.Â
Jack Welles (MATT DILLON) a cop for the LAPD becomes obsessed with catching the criminals after they pull off a $2 million heist leaving very little traces. He brings his troubled partner Eddie Hatcher (JAY HERNANDEZ) along and although Eddie is incredulous, as a best friend he’s trying to help Jack cope with what seems abandonment from his wife because he is so absorbed by his job; this is never clear in the movie.Â
The acting leaves very little to be desired, it was hard to believe Dillion and Hernandez as cops; Dillon does look like he’s going through a major life crisis throughout the movie but he may look like that in real life. One doubts Elba’s British accent when in fact he is a real Brit. Walker plays the same white boy ghetto wanna be as he does in most of his roles. T.I. plays T.I. there are no skills there. I do have to give Brown props for his awesome Parkour performance, that was one of the best scenes of the movie. Finally, our very popular dominican actress Zoe Saldaña was in the film for very short periods and she was just eye candy for the guys; us girls have plenty of eye candy all throughout the movie.Â
The movie picks up right in the middle when you start getting your hopes up but it is killed with a couple of montages that are super corny especially because of the music that accompanies them. The movie reaches its goal, to entertain and although at some points it is overkill it still does the jobs. If you go to watch it knowing that the well developed action scenes are the only things to take from it, then go right ahead otherwise wait to watch it comfortably from your couch.
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