The Latest in Latino Entertainment News

Wreck-It Ralph (Movie Review)

There is a difference between doing a movie based on a video game and a movie about a video game. Films like “Doom,†“Super Mario Bros,†“Resident Evil,†and “Max Payne,†are prime examples of the former, and films such as “Gamer,†“Tron,†“eXistenZ†and “WarGames,†depict the latter description. But Disney’s animated 3D film “Wreck-It Ralph†is by far the best film about a video game ever done. This comment doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the best animated movie of the year – “Frankenweenie,†“Rise of the Guardians,†“Paranorman†and “Brave†might have something to say against that, but it should be amongst the favorites at the Oscars in 2013. Nevertheless, it is visually nostalgic, sensorially exuberant, vivaciously mirthful and emotionally moving. 

 

The plot is simple and has been done before, but it is always about the execution. For decades, Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) has been overshadowed by Fix-It Felix, Jr. (voice of Jack McBrayer), the good-guy star of their game who always gets to save the day. Tired of playing the role of a bad guy, Ralph takes matters into his own massive hands and sets off on a journey across the arcade through multiple generations of video games to prove he’s got what it takes to be a hero. On his quest, Ralph meets tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Jane Lynch) from the first-person action game Hero’s Duty, and feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman) from the candy-coated cart-racing game Sugar Rush, who may just be his first real friend. But everything changes when a deadly enemy is unleashed, threatening the entire arcade and Vanellope herself. Ralph finally gets his chance to save the day—but can he do it in time? 

 

For anyone who has ever played video games circa 1980’s and 90’s, novice film director Rich Moore, a cartoon veteran, does a magnificent job in getting his animators to reproduce the exact Nintendo and arcade images of yesteryear. It almost felt like it was 1988 in the movie and outside of the theater. He managed to capture vast inside references and minutiae like kids placing their quarters against the front border of the arcade to gesture that they were next to play, etc. It is that attention to detail that makes a difference in the emotional cinematic experience of the spectator. 

 

The 3D is surprisingly subtle, I’d actually say too subtle for a film of this nature. Instead of seeing pixels fly out of the screen, I had to lift my glasses to make sure I wasn’t watching 2D. When the result is this uneventful, the extra investment is completely unnecessary. 

 

This is a movie hard not to enjoy. Adults will appreciate it because it’ll remind them of their youth when they would run home from school to play ‘Q*bert,’ along with all the inside references and retro cliche’s, and kids today will have fun with it because it possesses all the color, fast paced imagery and gags they come to expect from today’s animated assemblage.

 

Latinos, the highest movie going demographic in the United States, love animated movies more than any one else. They’re sure to make this movie a #1 hit at the box office!

Cloud Atlas (Movie Review)

‘Cloud Atlas,’ the seemingly eternal artistic disaster, is an ambitious cinematic project that is both beautiful and mismanaged. It boasts some arresting scenes, heavyweight performances from a veteran cast led by Oscar winners Tom Hanks and Halle Berry and visually stunning cinematography, but its perpetual duration and its disjointed narrative provide for an unfulfilling experience, ergo, a few huffed yawns. For anyone paying the price of a $14 ticket, at least in New York, you are going to end up having to spend perhaps another $28 in multiple viewings just to fully “get it”.

According to the production notes, the movie, based on the novel by author David Mitchell, is about a single story that unfolds in multiple timelines over the span of 500 years. Characters meet and reunite from one life to the next. Born and reborn. As the consequences of their actions and choices impact one another through the past, the present and the distant future, one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.

In other words, this almost 3 hour film, tells the tale of 6 stories in 6 different eras, in the past, present and future, where the characters actions have either damaging or beneficial consequences in the future. 

Directors Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer have made a movie with an immeasurable intellectual arc that defies the popular and cultural taste of the times. Fast paced, straight lined plots with coherent plot twists is what most moviegoers want for the price of their movie ticket. When it is too much to decipher, they’re enjoyment fizzles out. You have to ask yourself, what type of moviegoer are you? Only then can you make a wise decision of whether to see this film or not.

David Mitchell’s book is already confusing to many readers, so I’m not surprised the adaptation is as fuzzy as it is. What most affects me is the order in which the six stories are presented. They are conveyed in a structure full of flashback and flash-forwards that can easily exasperate more than a few spectators. Some of the stories are soporiferous and the dialogue in others are down right undecipherable. Overall, you don’t know which parts are continuous or an which ones aren’t. Tack on to that, some tawdry makeup and the directors have “a hole lot of esplainin’ tu du.”

The saving grace of ‘Cloud Atlas’ are the magnificent performances. No matter how puzzling the film is, this movie is an actor’s dream. Hanks along with other cast members perform multiple roles, even those of Asian characters which have raised the ire of Asian organizations. Why are Jim Sturgess and James D’Arcy, caucasian British actors, playing the parts of Asians? The same happened with Latinos. There was a scene where Hugo Weaving asked a “Mexican woman” where a certain character had hidden. The “Mexicana” in question was South Korean actress Doona Bae who was under heavy latex makeup. The question we all ask is – why couldn’t we use native actors to play those roles? Obviously, this wasn’t something personally directed at Asians and Latinos. The filmmakers deliberately wanted the lead actors to resemble the diverse characters in order for the audience to know they were reincarnated. To me it worked, but it was distracting and a bit off. Nevertheless, the cast must’ve had a ball playing so many people. 

Halle Berry actually was given some Spanish dialogue that was subtitled with her she exchanged with Doona Bae. Berry did well and her pronounciation was clear. I get a kick out if it when non Hispanic actors speak my language. Some butcher it, but some others do it well, such as Berry.

Because of the way the money was raised, ‘Cloud Atlas’ is considered an independent movie, perhaps the most expensive in film history with an estimated 100 million tag. I don’t see it winning any Oscars. You can argue it might get nominated in the visuals and special effects category, but even that is a tough battle knowing “The Avengers” is the favorite. It is unfortunate but this will be an enormous and extensive flop that many involved in will be reeling from for a long period, including your time and money.