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Latino movie news, reviews, trailers, and festival coverage

woman with short hair looks at reflection in mirror
SBC Staff
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2010/04/19 at 12:00am

Movies

Godard’s ‘Breathless’ to be re-released in theaters!

04.19.2010 | By |

Godard's 'Breathless' to be re-released in theaters!

Jean-Luc Godard is still living and he is now 79! God bless him. A living icon. I was planning on seeing it on DVD this weekend, but hell, if I can catch a restored version in theaters then screw the DVD!

For the 50th anniversary release, Rialto has made new 35mm prints from a restored negative supervised by the film’s director of photography, Raoul Coutard – the first restoration of BREATHLESS ever.  Rialto has also added completely revised English subtitles by Lenny Borger, capturing Godard’s playful language like never before.  Borger has just finished working with Godard on the subtitles for the director’s latest film, “Film Socialisme,” which will be shown in the “Un Certain Regard” section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Rialto Pictures will open the 50th anniversary restoration of BREATHLESS on Friday, May 28 at Film Forum in New York [and at Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles], followed by additional cities.

Based on a treatment by François Truffaut and photographed by New Wave legend Raoul Coutard, with no less a crime specialist than Claude Chabrol as technical advisor, Godard’s jazzy riff on American Film Noir features iconic performances from Belmondo, as the on-the-run Bogart-inspired small-time hood, and Seberg as his American, Herald Tribune-hawking girlfriend, who ultimately betrays him.  With a pace that’s non-stop, thanks to its startling new editing techniques, BREATHLESS reinvented the grammar of movies and almost instantly changed the course of international filmmaking.

Hit-Girl in purple wig punches man in suit in fight scene
Jack Rico
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2010/04/19 at 12:00am

Movies

Flip flop at the box office: ‘Kick-Ass’ #1 now

04.19.2010 | By |

Flip flop at the box office: 'Kick-Ass' #1 now

The action/comedy Kick-Ass emerged from a neck-and-neck box office race to claim the #1 spot from the 3D animated family feature HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. Director Matthew Vaughn’s critically lauded, R-rated film took in $19,828,687 for the weekend.
 
Based on the groundbreaking, best-selling comic by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., KICK-ASS stars Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong and Chloë Grace Moretz, and features Nicolas Cage.  The screenplay is written by Vaughn and Jane Goldman.  The producers are Matthew Vaughn, Brad Pitt, Tarquin Pack and Kris Thykier; Millar and Romita Jr. are co-producers.  Lionsgate acquired North American distribution rights for $15 million last year.

Said Joe Drake, Lionsgate Co-Chief Operating Officer and Motion Picture Group President, “KICK-ASS is fantastic, highly original entertainment, and our marketing and distribution teams have brilliantly positioned it for a long and successful run.  That kind of run is precisely what we are seeing on the international front, where KICK-ASS has demonstrated a very strong hold at the box office; in Great Britain alone, it’s taken in nearly $13.8 million in 17 days.”
 
Lionsgate’s upcoming releases include: Robert Luketic’s romantic comedy KILLERS, starring Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl, opening June 4; Sylvester Stallone’s action/thriller THE EXPENDABLES, with an all-star cast including Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Eric Roberts and Mickey Rourke, opening August 13; and Daniel Stamm’s horror movie THE LAST EXORCISM, produced by Eli Roth (HOSTEL), starring Patrick Fabian and Ashley Bell, opening August 27.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Christopher Mintz-Plasse in Kick-Ass
Jack Rico
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2010/04/16 at 12:00am

Movie ReviewsMovies

Kick-Ass (Movie Review)

04.16.2010 | By |

Kick-Ass
Scene from The Secret in Their Eyes
Jack Rico
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2010/04/16 at 12:00am

Movie ReviewsMovies

The Secret In Their Eyes (Movie Review)

04.16.2010 | By |

The Secret In Their Eyes
Four people stand smiling outside large house with The Joneses title
Promotional image showing four cast members posing outside a mansion for The Joneses.
Jack Rico
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2010/04/15 at 12:00am

Movie ReviewsMovies

The Joneses (Movie Review)

04.15.2010 | By |

*Updated April 2026

We all know the phrase “Keeping up with the Joneses,” and so does first-time writer and director Darrick Borte, who uses it as the basis for his debut The Joneses. Borte highlights modern society’s materialistic obsessions while postulating how out-of-control marketing campaigns have become. Consumers have become like children, seeing something and immediately wanting it. Read More

Black-and-white headshot of Oscar Jaenada as Cantinflas
Oscar Jaenada confirmed to portray Cantinflas in exclusive announcement
Jack Rico
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2010/04/14 at 12:00am

Movies

Exclusive! Oscar Jaenada is confirmed to be ‘Cantinflas’!

04.14.2010 | By |

Updated March 2026

It is now official. Spanish actor Oscar Jaenada, who will be starring in Warner Bros. The Losers this year, has been tapped to play Mario Moreno, Mexico’s most famous comedian, in the biopic Cantinflas. My source, who is directly involved in the casting of the film, has confirmed the choice for the lead. Read More

Man in cowboy hat holding cigarette and looking to the side
Jack Rico
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2010/04/14 at 12:00am

Latinos In HollywoodMovie NewsMovies

Sony Releases 11 Cantinflas Films on DVD

04.14.2010 | By |

Updated April 2026

I was just sent this press release for the new Cantinflas box set coming out on May 11th. Sony is distributing it and we’re talking about it. After my exclusive scoop on Oscar Jaenada playing Cantinflas on the biopic movie, the buzz on Cantinflas has officially started! Read More

Baseball team in The Perfect Game
Jack Rico
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2010/04/14 at 12:00am

Movie ReviewsMovies

The Perfect Game (Movie Review)

04.14.2010 | By |

The Perfect Game
A scene from La Mission
Jack Rico
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2010/04/08 at 12:00am

Movie ReviewsMovies

La Mission (Movie Review)

04.8.2010 | By |

La Mission

‘La Mission’ is by far one of the best feel-good movies of the young year. The charm and warmth of its ensemble cast sets it apart from the rest of the films I’ve seen of 2010. Benjamin Bratt delivers what I consider the best performance of his career, and even though Ben’s writer/director brother, Peter Bratt’s direction doesn’t raise eyebrows, the script holds an allure that is contagious and genuine.

‘La Mission’ is the story of Che Rivera, played wonderfully by Benjamin Bratt, a San Francisco bus driver respected in his Mission district barrio for building beautiful low rider cars, yet feared for his tough and machismo ways. A reformed inmate and recovering alcoholic, Che’s path to redemption is tested when he discovers that his pride and joy– his only child, Jesse (Jeremy Ray Valdez) is gay. In a homophobic rage, Che violently beats his son, disowning him. Out of pride, Che loses his son – the “best friend he’s got†– and once again loses himself. Emotionally broken and vulnerable, Che is left isolated and alone. In a cathartic moment on the mean streets of the Mission, Che realizes that his patriarchal pride is meaningless to him, and that in order to maintain it, he has sacrificed the one thing that he cherishes most – love.

For those thinking that this is a Latino film, it is not. It never felt like one. It is just an American story about a specific subculture of people, in this case Chicanos, going through issues in their neighborhood of Mission, San Francisco. That they happen to be of Latino descent is irrelevant. Anyone, of any background can enjoy this film. It’s actually as American as it gets. My view of America isn’t ‘Leave it Beaver’ or ‘Father Knows Best,’ it’s this movie.

The story’s genuineness and humility pierces right through the screen. Its simplicity should not be taken as a defect, but should be viewed as its strength. Some of my favorite movies possess some of the simplest stories I’ve seen such as Vittorio De Sica’s ‘The Bicycle Thief,’ Giuseppe Tornatore’s ‘Cinema Paradiso’ and Michael Radford’s ‘Il Postino.’

You’re going to fall in love with this film – the characters are easy to like and the vibe is cool. This is a movie that comes from the heart and it’s those projects that stay with you long after you left the theater.

Tina Fey and Steve Carell in Date Night
SBC Staff
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2010/04/07 at 12:00am

Movie ReviewsMovies

Date Night (Movie Review)

04.7.2010 | By |

Date Night

The new action comedy ‘Date Night’ unites two of the funniest comedians in Hollywood in their peak form – Tina Fey and Steve Carrell. Too bad the script wasn’t as funny they are in their respective TV shows. It really is all about the writing. Some jokes worked, other didn’t, therefore it felt choppy and inconsistent. The leads and cameos, by well known stars, were by far the highlights and the action sequences were mildly entertaining. Overall, not a bad film, but it could have been better.

The premise is very empathic. A case of mistaken identity turns a bored married couple’s attempt at a glamorous and romantic evening in New York City, into the most thrilling and dangerous night of their lives. Mark Wahlberg guest stars as a security expert that helps them in their plight. James Franco and Mila Kunis do a cameo as a drug dealer named Taste and a stripper called Whippit, known as ‘The Tripplehorns’, amongst others. The scenes in which they were in were by far the most electric and laugh out loud funny.

Fey is one of the most charming, yet sexy comediennes I have ever seen. Her television show ‘30 Rock’ exudes the best of what she has to offer. Carrell’s brand of sentimental comedy has come into its own and its visible here. His self deprecating sketches really connect. Regretfully, Date Night doesn’t showcase their complete arsenal of comedy. Some secondary roles like ‘Gossip Girl’s’ Leighton Meester, Taraji P. Henson, were underutilized and I ask why even have them there? They’re strong presences on camera.

The script, by Josh Hausner, looks influenced by scads of films such as Doug Liman’s ‘Mr. And Mrs. Smith,’ Hitchcock’s ‘North by Northwest’ and Martin Scorsese’s greatly underrated ‘After Hours.’ All wonderful films that have established directors attached to them. Not really the case here with director Shawn Levy. He lacks the technical skill and magic to create something last long after you’ve left the theater.

Towards the end, the movie delivers more action than the beginning, including a fun car chase sequence that is over the top. It’s these moments when you feel that the movie lunges from one big moment to the next and it never takes sufficient time to create a consistent pattern of action or comedy. It’s a mix that was good, not great.

All in all, go see it and have fun. Fey and Carrell is a comedic dream team that amuse and entertain, sort of the way Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn did in films like ‘Holiday’ and ‘The Philadelphia Story’.

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