The Latest in Latino Entertainment News

‘Hotel Transylvania’ tops the box office

The Adam Sandler/Selena Gomez family film ‘Hotel Transylvania’ premiered at number one with $43 million dollars. The film about Dracula and his 118-year-old daughter, which takes place in a resort for monsters, certainly had a lot of pull at the box office and brought in great numbers for Sony.

One of the best sci-fi thrillers of the year ‘Looper’ came in at number two with $21.2 million dollars. This mind-twisting storyline represented by class A actors such as Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, might jump to number one with some help from those that have seen it.

Last week’s number one ‘End of Watch’ falls to the third spot with $8 million dollars. It’s surprising that this cop thriller has fallen so quickly from the top given all the high praise it has received, however it has been able to earn past its’ production cost.   

The Top 10 Movies in the Box Office are:

1. Hotel Transylvania – $43 mil

2. Looper – $21.2 mil

3. End of Watch – $8 mil

4. Trouble with the Curve – $7.5 mil

5. House at the End of the Street – $7.2 mil

6. Pitch Perfect – $5.2 mil

7. Finding Nemo 3D – $4.1 mil

8. Resident Evil: Retribution -$3 mil

9. The Master – $2.7 mil

10. Wont Back Down -$2.7 mil

Looper (Movie Review)

I was completely blown away by ‘Looper’ although time travel is not an original concept the way it’s used here it’s jaw droppingly good, creative and entertaining. There’s nothing better than a good sci-fi action thriller that twists your mind without losing you, while keeping you completely alert and at the edge of your seat. There’s no doubt that this is one of the best movies I’ve seen all year, it has all the elements for a blockbuster starting with a mind-blowing storyline that even has a moral to it. 

In 2044 Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) works as a “looper” for a futuristic mob that exist 30 years into the future and when they want to get rid of someone they send them into Joe’s present, where he shoots them and gets rid of the bodies. He follows the same work/play routine everyday until he learns the mob has started to close its loops and Joe’s future self (Bruce Willis) shows up at the end of his gun and decides to run away from his killer while changing future events.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has already shown what a quality actor he is and despite the hiccup he had with ‘Premium Rush’, he completely redeems himself once more here. His character was made to look like a younger version of Willis, which is a bit disturbing, but despite his freaky transformation it’s easy to see how much effort he’s put into it as he even speaks in the same tone Willis does while still being himself. He gives an amazing performance here over and over again; his character has so many layers that he surprises us countless times. 

Willis doesn’t stay far behind, he also delivers and even goes ‘Die Hard’ at some point in the movie; a moment that everyone will enjoy without a doubt. He’s able to give us some of the most touching, violent and action packed moments in the film. The main lady of the film, Emily Blunt has shown how easily she can jump from genre to genre, because that’s how good she is. Her character here has a strong shell that’s hard to penetrate and she’s able to stand her ground providing a very important second layer to the story.

Everyone in the film just gives one hundred percent no matter how long their screen time is. Paul Dano’s character shows a more human side to the story, which is needed. Abe (Jeff Daniels) is one of the evil bosses and his appearance goes perfectly well with his actions and lines. I won’t say much about Cid (Pierce Gagnon) who almost steals the movie this kid is unbelievably good!

You will leave the movie theater talking and thinking about this movie, which is not completely perfect; when you begin to analyze it you will find holes in the story, some unanswered questions and some discrepancies. There is a slow part in the middle that if it would have been any longer it could have damaged some of the movie. The second part of the film almost seems like an entirely different movie and this is one of the things I enjoyed the most as we are shown the premise of the movie is bigger than itself.    

This movie has it all and some: drama, comedy, action, sci-fi and an astounding storyline that will leave you completely dumbfounded. This is certainly a movie you have to go see this fall, because these experiences are hard to come by nowadays as very few movies are able to reach and capture what director and writer Rian Johnson created here.

Heineken/Skyfall "Crack the Case" event

Last night Heineken celebrated its 15-year partnership with the James Bond franchise in an exclusive event cleverly titled “Crack the Case” at the MTA Museum in Brooklyn. The entrance to the museum was decorated with a green carpet to remind us of the night’s sponsor. As we entered the museum, which is located in an old underground train station where the walls read “Court” as that was the name of the stop.

We were greeted by “bond girls” spread all throughout the event. There were about four different vintage train cars, three of them decorated with the themes of different James Bond movies:

‘Casino Royal’ which contained poker tables decorated with cards and chips

 ‘Die Another Day’ with stunning diamond decorations including a full size diamond skull

‘From Russia with Love’ delicately decorated with matryoshkas and a golden globe and telephone.

The train cars also were decorated with ads from back in the day and a subway map from New York City’s transit system early days. There were also TV screens showing some of the best moments from the 50 years of James Bond films.

DJ D-NICE entertained the guests hanging out in the train station platform while some of the stars began arriving.

Among them: Adrian Grenier from the show ‘Entourage’, Jacinto Riddick from ‘A Street Car Named Desire’, Jose Yenque from ‘Traffic’, Anthony Mackie who’s appeared in various films; his latest ‘ Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ and director Ulysses Terrero to name a few.   

The celebration was a success filled with plenty of Heinekens including a dark tasty Heineken that’s not easily found, the hors d’oeuvres served among them mini hamburgers and chocolate covered strawberries were a great combination.

The marketing event got us all hyped up for ‘Skyfall’ coming out in November 9th 2012, which will mark the 6th consecutive global partnership with Heineken and the Bond Franchise. The most important fact to mention is that for the first time ever in this film Agent 007 will be drinking a Heineken beer, not his usual martini. The video ad makes it all the more interesting and explains why the event was held inside train cars converted into Bond movie sets.  

Michael Peña, ‘End of Watch’; tie at box office

There was a tie at the box office this weekend which has now been cleared as ‘End Of Watch’ the movie starting Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña, officially earned $13.2 million dollars. Although the movie is limited by its Rated R rating, the cop film has received great reviews and surely word of mouth helped it.

‘Trouble With the Curve’ the baseball drama has been bumped up to second place with a total of 12.9 million dollars. It’s an interesting dilemma whether Clint Eastwood’s charade at the Republican convention drew crowds in or away.

‘House at the End of the Street’ which stars Jennifer Lawrence, ended up at number three with $12.8 million dollars. The film definitely got a lot of attention because of Lawrence, unfortunately it was below everyone’s expectations and it didn’t satisfy the public.

The Top 10 in the Box Office are:

1. End of Watch – $13.2 mil

2. Trouble With the Curve – $12.9 mil

3. House at the End of the Street – $12.8 mil

4. Finding Nemo 3D – $9.4 mil

5. Resident Evil: Retribution – $6.7 mil

6. Dredd – $6.3 mil

7. The Master – $5 mil

8. The Possession – $2.6 mil

9. Lawless – $2.3 mil

10. ParaNorman – $2.2 mil