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Youth in Revolt
Jack Rico
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2010/06/15 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

Youth in Revolt

06.15.2010 | By |

Rating: 3.5

Rated: R for sexual content, language and drug use.
Release Date: 2010-01-08
Starring: Gustin Nash, C.D. Payne
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://youthinrevolt-themovie.com/

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One of my favorite films of the year is ‘Youth in Revolt’ from Puerto Rican director Miguel Arteta’s. The premise is simple – boy meets girl, girl meets boy and boy wrecks two cars and goes to jail for his love. But what is most appealing and absorbing is the sophisticated english dialogue written by Gustin Nash, based on C.D Payne’s – Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp. Michael Cera could not have been more perfectly casted as the intellectual, Frank Sinatra loving, sardonic virgin teen who comes from heavily dysfunctional parents.

The film revolves around the life of Nick Twisp (Michael Cera) – a unique, but affable teen with a taste for the finer things in life. He falls hopelessly in love with the beautiful, free-spirited Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday) while on a family vacation.  But family, geography and jealous ex-lovers conspire to keep these two apart. With Sheeni’s encouragement, Nick abandons his dull, predictable life and develops a rebellious alter ego: Francois. With his ascot, his moustache and his cigarette, Francois will stop at nothing to be with Sheeni, and leads Nick on a path of destruction with unpredictable and uproarious consequences.

It is very rare nowadays to see films that dare to challenge young audiences with words through a high level rhetoric. We saw this template used originally by indie director/screenwriter Kevin Smith in ‘Clerks’. A total hit and a great way to pick up the dictionary and see how many ways you can say “let’s have sex” to a girl. This was also part of the success behind the creative strategy that screenwriter Kevin Richardson used for his television series Dawson’s Creek in the late 90’s. I personally love this take on a teen romantic film – ‘Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,’ also with Cera, played with this notion to a degree as well.

The other layer that I thoroughly enjoyed is the worldly and sophisticated tastes that the two protagonists shared in music, film and poetry. Cera loves Sinatra (the first frame opens up with the 1960 album Nice ‘n’ Easy), and he invokes Fellini’s masterpiece ‘La Strada’ in a DVD store as he tries to explain it to a girl he is trying to pick up. Ms. Doubleday loves french standards from Serge Gainsbourg and has an infatuation with New Wave french actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, in particular his breakthrough film ‘Breathless’ from Jean-Luc Godard. It’s this and other highbrow idiosyncrasies that seduced me from the onset.

What didn’t seem to mix well was the roguish alter-ego of Cera’s character Francois, as well as some of the casts contributions. One highlight was that of South African actor Adhir Kalyan, who played Cera’s lascivious friend. Very funny scenes! Does today’s youth really think and act like this today? No, but one hopes it inculcates a desire to explore the arts and culture side of them.

From a Hispanic perspective, it is wonderful to know that a born talent from Puerto Rico directed this film. There is a scarcity of great movies coming from ‘La Isla del Encanto’ these days. Arteta is perhaps more of an American in culture than Puerto Rican, but nevertheless, it is gratifying to hear the sound of a Latino last name next to a good work such as this and his previous (The Good Girl, Star Maps). Actually the last good film I saw come out of Puerto Rico was ‘Maldeamores’ directed by Carlos Ruiz Ruiz. It’s a Woody Allenesque romantic tale with a caribbean twist. A definite DVD rental this weekend.

For those who like teen romantic comedies ‘Youth in Revolt’ is a very enjoyable film peppered with laugh out loud moments. It is rated R so be warned that the sexuality is a bit vulgar and strong.

When in Rome
Jack Rico
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2010/06/15 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

When in Rome

06.15.2010 | By |

Rating: 1.0

Rated: PG-13 for some suggestive content.
Release Date: 2010-01-29
Starring: David Diamond, David Weissman
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://touchstone.movies.go.com/wheninrome/

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‘When in Rome’ is everything that is bad with movies nowadays. A romantic comedy with a recycled and absurd premise, vacuous humor, and a script as predictable as the weather in LA. These are the types of movies that you should never pay to see for many reasons including a lack of soul, depth or real substance to any of these characters. Everything ssems to be a fantasy passed off as reality and the producers must think we are the fools that will buy it.

Here’s the storyline. Beth (Bell) is a young, ambitious New Yorker who is completely unlucky in love. However, when she impulsively steals some coins from a reputed fountain of love during a whirlwind trip to Rome, she finds herself aggressively pursued by a band of suitors with one of them becoming her one true love.

The protagonists seem to be better than what the script constrained them to. Kristen Bell showed promise in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Josh Duhamel (who looks like Joey Lawrence’s long lost twin brother) could be either an action leading man in his future or continue to do rom-com’s. The acting wasn’t the big problem, the screenwriters, David Diamond, David Weissman and the director Mark Steven Johnson are fully responsible for this ignominious failure.

The standard for today’s romantic comedy was set with Rob Reiner’s ‘When Harry Met Sally’ and some would argue Woody Allen’s ‘Annie Hall’. But ‘When in Rome’ looks like a disaster from the onset and should not be worth your time or money at the movies. Perhaps a DVD pick? Not even. It is one of the worst movies of the year.

The Book of Eli
Jack Rico
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2010/06/15 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

The Book of Eli

06.15.2010 | By |

Rating: 3.0

Rated: R for some brutal violence and language.
Release Date: 2010-01-15
Starring: Gary Whitta
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://thebookofeli.warnerbros.com/

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Shutter Island
Jack Rico
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2010/06/08 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

Shutter Island

06.8.2010 | By |

Rating: 4.0

Rated: Not available.
Release Date: 2010-02-19
Starring: Laeta Kalogridis
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.shutterisland.com/

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The new psychological thriller, “Shutter Island,” based on the popular novel by Dennis Lehane, comes from the dexterous and practiced hands of legendary director Martin Scorsese. The film is deluged with a plethora of twists and turns, brilliant acting by Leonardo DiCaprio and jarring scenes of suspense created and framed to perfection by its helmer. You should be excited to see this film… the entertainment value is high and the production quality is of the highest caliber. It’s definitely a must see movie!

For those of you who unfamiliar with the plotline, we’ll reveal only a succinct version.  The film adaptation tells the tale of two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), who are summoned to a remote and barren island off the cost of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a prisoner from the island’s fortress-like mental ward. Not much can else be revealed because anything more can ruin the movie experience.

One thing you will take away from this movie is Scorsese’s prowess in the visual department. Some of the camera shots seen make you wish the projectionist could pause them and play it over and over again. After seeing all of DiCaprio’s films, Shutter Island, in my humble opinion, is perhaps one of the top 3 best performances of his career (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Shutter Island and Basketball Diaries, in order). That is what you await at your local theater this weekend.
 
A major subtext in the movie’s theme is a question asked by all of us, at one point or another in our lives: Am I mad, or is the world around me mad? What’s real and what is not? (I’ve been there before). Just like Hitchcock, the story is constantly deviating us from our path of clarity, creating scenes that don’t really exist and submerging us into a nightmare we can’t manage to wake up from.

At first, the film seems to be just another intriguing noir detective story but it is so much more than that. The references and homages in the film are multiple, everything from “Out of the Past” to “Shock Corridor” and “The Snake Pit” to Hitchcock’s “Spellbound.”

“Shutter Island” is a world where nothing is what it appears to be. It’s suspenseful, mysterious, ambiguous and insane. Now that sounds like a fun movie!

From Paris with Love
Jack Rico
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By

2010/06/08 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

From Paris with Love

06.8.2010 | By |

Rating: 3.0

Rated: R for strong bloody violence throughout, drug content, pervasive language and brief sexuality.
Release Date: 2010-02-05
Starring: Adi Hasak
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: Not available

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When it comes to action movies ‘From Paris With Love’ delivers. It’s not the best action film since Wanted, but it did do a good job of extracting a few ‘ooooohs’ and ‘aaaaahs’ from me. I must confess that according to the trailer, the film looked worse to me than what it was. Perhaps this is why I think better of the film, because I was expecting pure detritus. What you need to know is that John Travolta – though he might look a tad silly, one gets over it quickly – is once again intense, amusing and entertaining. Johnathan Rhys Meyers looks like an amateur actor and disappoints tremendously all the while french director Pierre Morel (Taken) is the new John Woo! When people talk about action directors such as Guy Ritchie, Woo and Luc Besson, Morel has to now be a part of the conversation.

The storyline has some interesting twists and turns, enough to dial you in. While in Paris, a young employee (Johnathan Rhys Meyers) in the office of the US Ambassador hooks up with an American spy (John Travolta) looking to stop a terrorist attack in the City of Lights.

This is the type of film you go to when you had a stressful week at work or at home and feel like seeing someone splatter some person’s brain on the wall with a semiautomatic silencer. Definitely a stress reliever.

Killers
Karen Posada
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2010/06/04 at 12:00am

Reviews

Killers

06.4.2010 | By |

Killers

First thought: What the heck did I just watch? This movie has a multiple personality disorder, it doesn’t know if it wants to be a romantic-comedy or an action/adventure film. It tries to be well rounded by attempting to fulfill all these genres but it fails terribly.

The story is about Jen (Katherine Heigl) and Spencer (Ashton Kutcher). They meet in Nice, France, the beautiful French Riviera gives birth to their romance. Jen is on vacation with her parents Mr. & Mrs. Kornfeldt (Tom Selleck & Catherine O’Hara) who are extremely quirky; the dad is a control freak and the mom is drunk all the time. Spencer being a professional assassin is there on a mission. They have a cheesy first date where we are supposed to believe there are sparks, because Spencer quits his secret life to settle down and live the normal suburban life he’s dreamed of with Jen. 3 years down the line Jen abruptly finds out about Spencer’s secret life and they become fugitives running for their lives. In this journey they find out their lives and friends were not what they thought them to be and it comes to an awkward and sudden end.

If you dreamed of ever seeing Kutcher speaking French and being shirtless at the same time, your dream has come true. Kutcher carries the movie on his shoulders, which is not necessarily a good thing. I was surprised to actually like him in the action scenes, that’s to say the least of his acting skills though. Heigl’s character could not get any more annoying, she’s a spoiled rich girl that whines for most of the movie.

This movie simply isn’t entertaining enough to make it worth your while, it has very few funny moments and the only good scenes are the ones where there are fights. Not even the dark humor helps it and although they try hard to keep us in suspense the predictability is what over kills it.

Splice
Jack Rico
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2010/06/04 at 12:00am

Reviews

Splice

06.4.2010 | By |

Splice

‘Splice,’ is in this critic’s opinion, one of the worst, if not arguably the worst movie of 2010. There are so many wrong things with it on so many levels I don’t even know where to begin. Actually, I do know where to begin. Let’s start with the plotline that Warner Bros. has up on their press website for the film:

Superstar genetic engineers Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) specialize in splicing DNA from different animals to create incredible new hybrids. Now they want to use human DNA in a hybrid that could revolutionize science and medicine. But when the pharmaceutical company that funds their research forbids it, Clive and Elsa secretly take their boldest experimentation underground — risking their careers by pushing the boundaries of science to serve their own curiosity and ambition. The result is Dren, an amazing, strangely beautiful creature of uncommon intelligence and an array of unexpected physical developments. At first, Dren (spelled ‘NERD’ backwards, wink, wink). exceeds their wildest dreams. But as she grows and learns at an accelerated rate, her existence threatens to become their worst nightmare.

The story sounds compelling and gripping, piquing ones interest of the outcome. Regrettably, when you finish experiencing this disjointed effort, the results are baffling and incomprehensible. There are numerous leaps of logic – instances when the protagonists act in a fashion that only characters in a comedy would. It’s as if the screenwriters wanted to hammer home how idiotic these scientists really are. Ultimately, our heroes actions in the second act are aberrations of consistent implausibilities.

The character of Elsa played by Sarah Polley is a vexing figure who is pigheaded, ambitious and arrogant. She’s not a likable character, you don’t root for her but rather against her. Her behavior towards volatile situations and tense moments are obtuse and supercilious. Brody on the other hand is cautious, correct in his ways, but eventually turns out to be a milksop of a man who lets his unstable woman take charge of critical situations and of his morals. The movie finally collapses when several Freudian occurrences transpire without any rhyme or reason. I can only describe them as some of the most preposterous, unlikely and outrageous twists I have seen in movies (‘Orphan’ by Spaniard director Jaume Collet-Serra comes a close second).

The fright horror we were putatively in for was diminished to only special effects editing and dimwitted risible scenes of absurdity, nothing more. Not once was I scared (unlike The Strangers or The House of The Devil recently). I kept placing my hands on my face, but in disbelief for the inanity unfolding before my very eyes. The trailer is partly the culprit. It misleads us into expecting a flat out terror film full of suspense building sequences matched with high-intense graphics. Rather, it delivers a science fiction drama of the likes of Species, to be exact. Horror is only a secondary thought here.

Guillermo Del Toro served as a producer and did a descent job in creating Dren and most of the special effects with the budgets he was provided. Director Vincenzo Natali shot a beautifully dark and mysterious production that is visually appealing, but the payoff is painful not only to the viewing experience but to the pocket as well. If you can, stay away from this film, unless you want to see how bad it is. That sometimes happens to me too.

Get Him to the Greek
Jack Rico
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By

2010/06/04 at 12:00am

Reviews

Get Him to the Greek

06.4.2010 | By |

Get Him to the Greek

‘Get Him To The Greek’ is perhaps the best comedy of the year… so far. It’s competition in 2010 doesn’t match up against it – MacGruber, Hot Tub Time Machine, Cop Out.  Even last year’s ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall.’ is not as good. ‘Greek’ has much more likable and interesting characters and a mix of clever and low brow humor to titillate the senses. Also, the music industry is much more appealing and much more fun than the aforementioned flick.

‘Greek’ has nothing to do with mythology, but instead with a record company assistant (Jonah Hill) who is hired to accompany an out-of-control British rock star, Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), to his 10th anniversary concert at L.A.’s Greek Theater.

I’m not a big fan of British comedian Russell Brand due to the vexing complexity he is. But there is a side to him I like, I just don’t know if it is an act. The first bag of exasperating tricks he bundles is his uncontrollable zest for being annoying (I saw an interview with him on Craig Ferguson, hated him), an accent that doesn’t allow you to understand anything he says and I feel he has no charm on the mike (thought his hosting duties at an MTV Video Music Awards show was pretty lame). So why then did I like him in his first full length feature? Unbelievably, he stops being a bane nuisance and becomes contagiously eloquent with a marvelous rhetoric that can pounce any argument. So which one is he really? I like the Aldous Snow character much better and less the real Brand. But if he continues to create work that resembles Aldous’ nuances, logic and verbiage and dramatic layers, I’ll seriously consider becoming a fan. For now, I’m a swing voter. His character Aldous Snow, a caustic British musician, had his first appearance in ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall.’ He was actually one of the highlights of that film along with Paul Rudd. I thoroughly enjoy his film performances.

Jonah Hill on his part, plays the innocent and impressionable Aaron Green, who is a fan of Aldous. I’ve also never been a fan of Hill, I just don’t think these guys are good actors. But again, Hill’s character surprised me. He nailed the personality of what guys trying to make it in the music industry are like and the humiliations they sometimes have to go through to get there. I worked in radio and MTV for several years and these execs really get a joy in making you suffer. This movie’s comedy relies on those moments that are very funny here in ‘Greek’.

There is this one funny scene in the limo where Hill is taking Brand to the Today Show. It’s perhaps the funniest piece in the film along with the ‘Jeffrey’ moment. You must watch out for them.

P. Diddy is good, but he’s no actor and makes Hill and Brand look like Academy Award winners. He is not as good as other critics and bloggers say he is. He has some good lines, but they could’ve been magic in the hands of a more experienced actor like Michael Shannon in ‘The Runaways’ (he was brilliant in that film).

Judd Apatow and Jason Segel are the producers of ‘Greek’ and did a damn good job. The director Nicholas Stoller created some snappy and attractive shots that I’m sure you’ll guys enjoy whole heartedly. I didn’t necessarily laugh in every single scene, but I must confess I had fun seeing all the tomfoolery unfold on this poor kid Aaron (Hill). The pop-rock soundtrack was infectious and catchy and I entertained myself, which is the point of going to the movies. I recommend you spend your flow and go with your friends. If you don’t like Brand or Hill, you’ll like them after you see this movie. Good times!

Marmaduke
Jack Rico
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By

2010/06/03 at 12:00am

Reviews

Marmaduke

06.3.2010 | By |

Marmaduke

When I was a kid I used to watch ‘Marmaduke’ on Saturday morning cartoons. This film adaptation is not as entertaining as the former, but nevertheless kids should have a frolicking time with it. Marmaduke is not meant to entertain adults, it’s for children who are 7-10 years old or even tweens at 12-14. So any grown men and women who go to see this film need to understand that the gags and dance moves from these dogs are meant for infants. If you enjoy kids movies, more power to you.

The plot. A suburban family moves to a new neighborhood with their large yet lovable Great Dane, who has a tendency to wreak havoc in his own oblivious way.

This is one of those few cat and dog movies where humans take a back seat to them. I would say it is 80% animals 20% humans. There is hardly any acting from real people in this film, which is why you can’t really knock the acting because there barely is any. Most of the work comes from the voices of Owen Wilson, Emma Stone, George Lopez and Kiefer Sutherland. I thought Owen fit the personality of the star dog perfectly. Lopez I think is always hilarious with the stereotypical Mexican accent as Marmaduke’s cat friend.

The situational comedy in the movie is modestly fun and you can tell director Tom Dey (“Failure to Launch”) makes something of an effort to make it likable. Overall, Marmaduke is what it is – a project using a familiar American brand name to make some money from it. Did it work? Not enough for me to tell you to run to the theater to see it. This is definitely a DVD property.

Raajneeti
Namreta Kumar
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2010/06/02 at 12:00am

Reviews

Raajneeti

06.2.2010 | By |

Raajneeti

Raajneeti is a lengthy and problematic film. Although it tried to read like a modern Mahabharat, it ends up being a poor man’s version of The Great Indian Novel (by Shashi Tharoor).

 

For starters if you have no interest in politics don’t watch the film for the hype of the star-studded performance. No one truly shines with a solid performance, anyway. For the solid list of character actors the film is predicated on, not one character elicits enough sympathy within the audience. This may be because of the base problem in the script itself: everyone seems to either be playing multiple characters from the Mahabharat or the principal motivations have all been skewed bordering on disbelief.

 

Furthermore without a working knowledge of the Mahabharat it is rather difficult to follow the film. And if you have anything greater than a working knowledge you are sure to be disappointed by the bullet point version of the story. In trying to make a modern retelling Rajneeti lost both the original and the modern. Some of the language will definitely be lost on those who are not Hindi scholars and the rest to those who know little English.

 

Don’t look towards the music to be of any help either. Traditionally Bollywood film length and drama has been broken by the musical song and dance, Rajneeti has one ill placed and rather short rendition. Unfortunately the background score doesn’t win this film any favors either, as it is over dramatic and reclaims the scene for itself.

 

Stripped down to its core the film lacks proper development, however it does make the audience think. If it is true that you learn more from mistakes than success, this film forces everyone who watches it to think about story and character as by products of one another. The best thing about Rajneeti is its literary challenge and that isn’t saying much, considering the other films coming out of India today.

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