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2012/09/26 at 12:00am

Hotel Transylvania (Movie Review)

09.26.2012 | By Karen Posada |

‘Hotel Transylvania’ is like a kid that’s had too much sugar, since most of the beginning is all over the place, but when it finally settles down it’s somewhat enjoyable. The movie comes just in time before Halloween; giving us a comical glimpse as to what these famous monsters lives would be like in a real world if they existed. There are not many laugh out loud moments, but the story of an overprotective parent that needs to learn to let go along with goofy family members as monsters help keep you interested. If you are able to get past the hyper information overload beginning, then you can sit back and explore the world of Dracula and his monstrous family.

Dracula (Adam Sandler) has created a five star resort where monsters can go relax safely away from humans. All his friends and family such as Frankenstein (Kevin James) his wife Eunice (Fran Drescher), the invisible Man (David Spade), Murray the mummy (CeeLo Green) and Wayne the werewolf (Steve Buscemi);come together for his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) 118th birthday. Dracula knows how to handle a full house but when a human named Jonathan (Andy Samberg) stumbles into the hotel and gets Mavis’ attention, this is a crisis that will be hard for overbearing Dracula to handle.

I saw the movie in 3D, which offered very few scenes that would make the extra bucks worth it. The film has a lot of moments when it really goes out of context and it seems to have lost concentration in the storyline, such as a moment where the main two characters are playing a game of table surfing, which becomes like a video game. Unfortunately, Mavis is really just a secondary character although Gomez is the one that connects the two worlds in the story.

Russian director Genndy Tartakovsky has been involved in kids shows such as ‘The Powerpuff Girls’, ‘Dexter’ and ‘Star Wars Clone Wars’, this versatility is shown here, but not to its full potential. The kids will surely enjoy the array of colorful characters to choose from, funnily enough Samberg’s character is the coolest as he’s able to get monsters interested in the human world and his endless travels and curiosity. Sandler’s character is a puzzle that comes together as the film progresses and he offers the most sensitivity by delivering the film’s most valuable lesson: learning to let go.

This film has a lot of creativity, which gives it a lot of potential that perhaps wasn’t used entirely. The focus of the movie falls in between the cracks more than once, it is only at the end where it all comes into focus in a dramatic way. This definitely isn’t one of the best family films of the year, but if you’ve already seen the latest like ‘Finding Nemo 3D’ and ‘ParaNorman’ and still want to go to the movies this isn’t a terrible choice.

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2012/09/21 at 12:00am

Dredd 3D

09.21.2012 | By Jack Rico |

Con muchas de nuestras mentes aun manchadas con el fracaso desastroso de “Judge Dredd” del director Danny Cannon y protagonizado por Sylvester Stallone en 1995, Hollywood ha decidido hacer una nueva versión del film como si el original nunca hubiese existido. El resultado es “Dredd”, un éxtasis sensorial que deleitará a cualquier fanático de los cómics y del genero de la acción. El 3D es de lo mejor que va del año al igual que su banda sonora y sonido técnico.

A pesar de obvias similitudes con la película Indonesia “The Raid: Redemption”, “Dredd” es mucho más cercano al cómic de los 1970’s que la cinta original de 1995, por eso no se califica como un “remake” por si.

En esta ocasión, el juez Dredd es interpretado por Karl Urban, y toma lugar en un futuro cercano donde existe un Norteamérica páramo asolado por la radiación con una única y gran megalópolis que se extiende a lo largo de su costa este: Mega City 1. Esta inmensa y violenta urbe cuenta con una población de más de 400 millones de personas, cada uno de los cuales es un infractor en potencia. Los únicos que intentan imponer el orden entre semejante caos urbano son los jueces, a la vez agentes de la ley, jueces, jurados y verdugos. Y la perfecta personificación de estos jueces es Dredd (Karl Urban), una leyenda viva de justicia blindada dedicado por entero a hacer cumplir la ley. En una misión aparentemente rutinaria junto a Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thrilby), una juez novata dotada de grandes habilidades psíquicas, se disponen a investigar de homicidio en un peligroso mega-rascacielos de la ciudad, un suburbio vertical de 200 pisos de altura controlado por el clan de la despiadada Ma-Ma (Lena Headley). Pero al intentar arrestar a uno de los principales secuaces de Ma-Ma, ella decide cerrar a cal y canto todo el edificio y ordena a su clan que dé caza a los jueces. Atrapados en una brutal e implacable lucha por la supervivencia, Dredd y Cassandra se verán obligados a impartir una justicia extrema con violencia y sangre al final de su travesía.

Lo que distingue a “Dredd” de muchas de las películas de acción que uno ve es la acción incesante que ofrece el film. Esto se logra porque el director Pete Travis recorta el desarrollo de los personajes y los reduce a sujetos unidimensionales. Esto permite en que el filme solo gire alrededor de la acción y no la historias de los protagonistas. Travis entiende que este tipo de cine es diseñado para entregarle al espectador una gran dosis de escapismo y nada más. Él lo logra exitosamente.

La calidad de las actuaciones aquí se deben de ignorar. Lo único que uno le pide a los protagonistas es que no traten de convertirse en Al Pacino o Tom Hanks en estos papeles. La meta aquí es que ellos nos hagan creer que son estos personajes de los cómics y que nos ayuden a adentrarnos más al universo de Mega City One. Al igual que en los cómics, Dredd aquí nunca se quita la máscara. Además, habla en un gruñido gutural que suena muy parecido al Batman de Christian Bale. Dredd es implacable, no muestra ninguna emoción y, aunque él parezca un asesino en traje de policía, el posee una conciencia admirable.

“Dredd” posee, en mi opinión, el mejor 3D del año. Fue filmado en 3D con espectaculares efectos especiales cargados de escenas en cámara lenta que poco a poco se está usando a pleno por muchos directores. El sonido también es fantástico y asombrosamente es parte protagónico de la película, no solo un acompañante. Yo predigo que la cinta será nominada a varios premios Oscar en las categorías técnicas y visuales.

Si hay una decepción en “Dredd”, es el villano, en este caso, la villana. ‘Ma-Ma’, como se le llama al personaje que interpreta la actriz Lena Headey, no es temible o merecedora de ser una magno contrincante a Dredd. Incluso, la confrontación final es casi irrelevante. De todos modos, es refrescante ver una mujer en estos papeles ya que se le agrega un elemento de impredecibilidad que se genera a la experiencia del público.

En fin, “Dredd 3D” es discutiblemente la mejor película de pura acción del año junto a la película Indonesia “The Raid: Redemption” que quizás sea mejor. No incluyo necesariamente a “Los Vengadores” o “The Dark Knight Rises” en esta conversación porque las susodichas poseen elementos de acción, pero cinematográficamente hablando, son más filmes de ciencia ficción que acción. Los largometrajes clásicos de “Die Hard” o “Lethal Weapon” son más comparables y mejores representaciones del genero de la acción. “Dredd” es la mejor inversión que usted puede hacer con su dinero este fin de semana. No se decepcionará.

2012/09/20 at 12:00am

Trouble with the Curve

09.20.2012 | By Karen Posada |

‘Trouble with the Curve’, Robert Lorenz directorial debut film is an entertaining drama that’s better enjoyed at home. The film offers a middle ground for baseball fans as well as those that don’t care for the sport, which I was very happy about. The biggest quality of the film is that although it is surrounded by baseball, it manages to be a story that’s beyond the sport; it’s about human connections and change with some obvious outcomes. There’s nothing extraordinary about the film, but it’s worth a watch to contemplate our own relationships and lives.

Gus (Clint Eastwood) is a baseball scout that has been in the business long enough that even with his fading eyesight, he’s still able to spot talent. Throughout his whole life he’s pushed his only daughter, Mickey (Amy Adams) away; despite that she still decides to join him in a scouting trip, when she finds out about his health condition and how this could affect his career. One of the few things that help them survive this trip is Johnny (Justin Timberlake) an ex-baseball player who Gus had scouted and is there as friendly competition as a scouter himself; his interest in Mickey spark discoveries about Gus and Mickey’s past and present that will change their relationship completely.

The best acting comes from Adams, as she’s able to hold herself up on the screen against a legend like Eastwood and she even steals the spotlight away from him in some scenes. She also gives her character depth and is the glue to the story as she provides and reveals different aspects of her story without overwhelming the audience. I believe there’s a lot of Eastwood himself in the character he plays, a cranky old man who makes us laugh with his tantrums and ways of saying the truth, yet he does show some of the acting he’s known for in two major scenes where he easily put a knot in my throat.

Timberlake just provides us with a lighter aspect the story needs to not get too dramatic, as he reliefs some of the tension between the father and daughter. Phillip (Matthew Lillard) is the bad guy of the movie, as he portrays the new blood coming into the scouting world where computers do most of the scouting; it was interesting to see Lillard in this kind of role, although he has already shown some versatility in his role in ‘The Descendants’.

Making any sort of transition or change is tough and this film portrays that well, it takes us on a journey where we see how theses characters respond to what life sends their way, but most importantly it shows us that they won’t go down without a fight. Lorenz chose a very safe film as his debut, since this isn’t neither here nor there; but, I think the story can resonate with different members of the audience. It’s not life changing but it might make you ponder and evaluate some of the priorities in your life.

2012/09/14 at 12:00am

Arbitrage

09.14.2012 | By Jack Rico |

Part telenovela, part B Hollywood camp, part Jekyll and Hyde, ‘Arbitrage’ is one of the great surprises of the year. Just like ‘The Grey’ earlier on, ‘Arbitrage’ is one satisfying guilty pleasure you just can’t get enough out of. What unfolds in this sinful motion picture are moments of corruption, murder, infidelity, betrayal, greed, deceit and duplicity. Making it even more intriguing and absolutely engrossing is the acting, led by Richard Gere and a veteran adept cast, that makes every moment just juicier.

Before we get to the detailed synopsis, it is important to tell you what the title of the film means. ‘Arbitrage’ is an economic term that means the simultaneous buying and selling of securities, currency, or commodities in different markets or in derivative forms in order to take advantage of differing prices for the same asset. In other words, the practice of taking advantage of a price difference between two or more markets.

Now that you know that, this summary will make a lot more sense. The feature-directing debut of writer Nicholas Jarecki, revolves around New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Miller (Richard Gere) who on the eve of his 60th birthday, appears to be the very portrait of success in American business and family life. But behind the gilded walls of his mansion, Miller is in over his head, desperately trying to complete the sale of his trading empire to a major bank before the depths of his fraud are revealed. Struggling to conceal his duplicity from loyal wife Ellen (Susan Sarandon) and brilliant daughter and heir-apparent Brooke (Brit Marling), Miller’s also balancing an affair with French art-dealer Julie Cote (Laetetia Casta). Just as he’s about to unload his troubled empire, an unexpected bloody error forces him to juggle family, business, and crime with the aid of Jimmy Grant (Nate Parker), a face from Miller’s past. One wrong turn ignites the suspicions of NYPD Detective Michael Bryer (Tim Roth), who will stop at nothing in his pursuits. Running on borrowed time, Miller is forced to confront the limits of even his own moral duplicity. Will he make it out before the bubble bursts?

It is hard to find a movie today where all the elements are working in unison. The story here is thrilling, gripping, engaging, and fun. The acting is really icing on the cake. The direction is serviceable and manages to bring everything together seamlessly.

Richard Gere for the most part is and has been what Liam Neeson and Nicolas Cage are now – a B actor who does B movies, but not every B movie is bad, just watch most of Jason Statham’s movies to understand that. He is so good here. You love him and you hate him. So which one do you choose to like? He digs deep into his acting arsenal to give us one hell of a memorable performance. His role of Miller is that of a man who lives a double life with moral issues at the end of it. Susan Sarandon also is compelling as his savvy and victimized wife.

But we can’t forget the story. The same way a telenovela from Telemundo has it’s constant twists and turns, Arbitrage offers that and more. The film is never boring and the ride is enjoyable. This movie has the kind of story that keeos you guessing whether Gere will get caught or not or whether he’ll win or lose. However, don’t be fooled. The movie is never given the opportunity to rise above the level of a guilty pleasure B movie. Go have a blast.

2012/09/12 at 12:00am

The Master

09.12.2012 | By Jack Rico |

â€˜The Master,â€™Â Paul Thomas Andersonâ€™s brand new film about the emergence of a new religious cult, is an artistically, stylish film with a mildly interesting plot that is mainly carried on the masterful performance of Puerto Rican star Joaquin Phoenix. If it werenâ€™t for him, the filmâ€™s overall plot would be bland and prosaic. The two time Oscar nominated Phoenix gives, in my mind, the performance of his life as Freddie Quell. Even though the rest of the film possesses strengths in the acting and directing department, it is Phoenix who singlehandedly makes it memorable.Â

â€˜The Masterâ€™ takes place in the atmosphere of spiritual yearning on the cusp of 1950. The film follows the shifting fortunes of Freddie, portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, a volatile former Naval officer unable to settle down into everyday life, and the unpredictable journey he takes when he stumbles upon a fledgling movement known as The Cause. Coming to The Cause as an itinerant and outsider, Freddie will ultimately become a surrogate heir to its flamboyant leader: Philip Seymour Hoffmanâ€™s Lancaster Dodd. And yet, even as The Cause probes the mastery of human emotions, the camaraderie between Freddie and Dodd will mount into a fierce and intimate struggle of wills.

In order to appreciate Phoenixâ€™s performance, we need to look at PTAâ€™s (Paul Thomas Anderson) involvement in the writing and casting. Anderson drew up the character of Freddie Quell with Phoenix in mind from the outset. According to Anderson, heâ€™s been asking him for 12 years to be in his films and Phoenix finally accepted. For this reason alone, the actorâ€™s job is tailor-made to fit his strengths and none of his weaknesses. To say that Phoenix sank his teeth into the role and took it to the nth degree would be an understatement. His performance can only be described as raw and animalistic. Phoenixâ€™s portrayal of Freddie Quell is visceral. He plays him as a grown man with serious emotional issues. In addition to being a drunk, socially inept and sexually perverse, he is subject to frequent emotional outbursts that can alternately result in an explosion of anger. His best scenes are those of him being violent and uncontrollable, cockily offbeat yet vulnerable and juvenile but reasonable. He truly shines above anyone in the film and arguably of anyone else this year.

In a film with obvious strengths, nothing ranks higher in â€œThe Masterâ€ than the quality of the acting. Philip Seymour Hoffman, arguably PTAâ€™s frequent favorite actor, is once again in fine form as Lancaster Dodd, the leader of the â€œCauseâ€ who is friend and antagonist to Phoenixâ€™s character. Hoffman’s performance here is a mix of many of his previous roles fused into one. We see a side of pure charisma and pure ire. The role fits him like a glove, and if it werenâ€™t for Phoenixâ€™s imposing rendition, weâ€™d be talking about Hoffman. Amy Adams is angelic yet tough, but irrelevant within the scope of her two colossal giant colleagues. When it comes to Oscars, the movie will most likely be nominated for acting and directing awards with Phoenix leading the charge. My prediction is that he will win in the Best Actor category with only Daniel Day Lewis in â€œLincolnâ€ posing a serious threat.

In regards to Anderson, he shoots the film masterfully with panache, flair and sentiment.Â The script, which he wrote, is unapologetic in digging deep into the fractures of the human experience and highlighting those susceptible feelings in his actors. But perhaps in its only flaw, and a critical one at that, there is some excess fat that needed to be cut for sake of pacing and flow. At times, the movie is bogged down on an inordinate amount of dialogue that can lead to some restlessness. With that said, the movie doesnâ€™t reach the depths of hardship which it could have. The acting conceals whatever scant pacing issues the film may suffer from. In the filmâ€™s finale, the sequences arrive at a clear decision, but by no means is it satisfying, at least to me.

In the end, â€˜The Masterâ€™ is not a film for everyone. It offers a lot to those who appreciate dramas and acting prowess. The story itself has interesting tones, but in and of itself, it is not the main driver for one to purchase a movie ticket. If you see it for the acting, youâ€™ll walk away pleased with the time and money invested.

2012/09/11 at 12:00am

DVD Reviews Reviews

Snow White and The Huntsman

09.11.2012 | By Jack Rico |

The movie that destroyed two real-life realtionships

2012/09/10 at 12:00am

Finding Nemo 3D

09.10.2012 | By Karen Posada |

Pixar’s ‘Finding Nemo 3D’ directed by Andrew Staton comes to us nine years after it was released in May 30th, 2003. Obviously technology has advanced so much in this amount of time, that Pixar chose the right time to put one of their most successful films in a 3D format. I felt honored to have been a part of a very small group of people that got to see the film in 3D in Pixar Studios’ very own movie theater, before anyone else in the world. We received a presentation before the film by Bob Whitehill Pixar’s stereoscopic supervisor and Joshua Hollander Pixar’s director of 3D production. They explained to us how time staking the process of converting an old film to 3D is. Starting by the fact that they had to convert the files careful not to harm the original, fix colors and mistakes from the previous one, they also had to do a lot of rendering to give it depth. The team wanted to get it just the same but with a higher resolution, to give it about 144% more detail, to bring it to a level of comfortable viewing. It took them about a year and a half to convert the film. Knowing all of this before the film really made me and helped me appreciate it even more.

I felt like this was the very first time I saw the film, it already is so full of color that seeing it in 3D and high definition really takes you into the environment of the movie. A whole new generation of children that haven’t been introduced to this story will get to view it as never before, with its crisp clear colors, depth and beauty. If you loved the movie when it came out in 2003, you will love it even more now; it will feel like you are swimming in the ocean right along the characters. Pixar made a very wise decision to re-release this film in 3D and high definition in theaters September 14th as well as in Blu-ray 2D and 3D December 4th, 2012.

For those that don’t know the story, ‘Finding Nemo’ follows the adventurous journey of Marlin (Albert Brooks) a clownfish who gets separated from his beloved son Nemo (Alexander Gould) from their home in the Great Barrier Reef, where a dentist decides to capture him and give him a home in the tank in his office. In his search Marlin befriends Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a forgetful fish that accompanies him throughout the ocean to rescue his son. Both clownfish find out things about themselves in their journeys and become heroes in their efforts to reunite and get back home.

The reason why ‘Finding Nemo’ was so successful when it premiered wasn’t only because of the beautiful animated images, but most of all because of the amazing journey the story takes us through. Despite of the fact that I’ve seen the film a number of times, I was still fully entertained for the duration of it, it gave me chills of joy and I relieved the whole story as if it were my first time experiencing it. I can certainly say I left Pixar Studios completely satisfied and excited to share with all of you the amazing experience.

‘Fidning Nemo’ was already such a success: having wan the Oscar in 2003 for Best Animated Feature, named among the top 10 greatest animated films ever made by the American Film Institute, being the highest grossing G-rated movie of all time and remaining the fifth highest grossing animated film worldwide. So, why bother converting it to 3D and why even spend money on watching a film your children have probably made you watch countless times? Well they made something that was already close to perfection, completely perfect, this is a whole new way of experiencing the sea voyague. Everyone that worked on this movie to convert it to 3D did such an amazing job and made it’s worth relieving this masterpiece that is completely at home in 3D format. The extra bonus you get from watching ‘Finding Nemo 3D’ in theaters is Mark Walsh‘s amazing short 3D film ‘Partysaurus Rex‘ right before the film, it definitely gets the party started (Click on the link below for a full review of the short film).What’s even better? Pixar is making ‘Monsters Inc.’ into 3D and it will be re-released in December 19th, 2012. There are rumors that more of Pixar’s beloved films will be re-released in 3D, so we have a lot to look forward to!

2012/09/02 at 12:00am

The Possession

09.2.2012 | By Jack Rico |

May people have been asking me if they should go see the exorcism film ‘The Possession’ this weekend. Even though, it is a PG-13 horror film, it is a serviceable film and much better than the desultory, aimless and unscary ‘The Apparition’. The Possession offers a better cast, a better story, a better production and most importantly, more frights for your bucks.

The plot goes like this: a young girl (Natasha Calis) buys an antique box at a yard sale, unaware that inside the collectible lives a malicious ancient spirit. The girl’s father (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) teams with his ex-wife (Kyra Sedgwick) to find a way to end the curse upon their child.

I’m not a fan of PG-13 horror movies. The shocks are not harsh nor violent because they’re geared for someone between 13-18 years to see. I think they should not be allowed a release. They need to be rated R to really maximize their potentials. The Exorcist, with its ten Oscar nominations back in 1973, was rated R. Nevertheless, the reality is that we’re being given PG-13 fright flicks whether we like it or not, so why not sift through them and pick the ones that do the most modest job and The Possession isn’t embarrassing.

The film develops slowly, you have to have some patience for it. But the acting isn’t half bad. It’s my biggest pet peeve with these genre movies, they usually can’t seem to convince any quality actors to perform in them, but I had a good time with it, much like the audience in the theater. Women in particular were screaming and screeching. Of course there are silly moments where you say, “I cannot believe you are SO stupid”, but it is the nature of these films. From 1 to 5, 5 being a masterpiece, I give it a 3 as a modest and not terrible movie. However, Ethan Hawke is starring in Sinister, a rated R film that from the looks of the trailer, does promise a much more horrifying experience on October 5th.

2012/08/29 at 12:00am