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Battleship
Karen Posada
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2012/05/14 at 12:00am

Reviews

Battleship

05.14.2012 | By |

Battleship

‘Battleship’ is based on the Hasbro naval combat game, so not much is expected of it but lots of mindless explosions and shooting. The film fulfills exactly that expectation, because besides the amazing special effects there’s nothing else nutritious in it. This navy propaganda movie has an extremely weak storyline, encompassing dialogue and comedy that are merely attached to try to make the film function as a whole. This movie continues the alien movie lineup to be seen this summer, I’m quite sure this will be the worst one of them all.

 

The Storyline revolves around Alex Hooper (Taylor Kitsch), who is basically a screw up and doesn’t have many goals for himself. His older brother Stone (Alexander Skarsgård) is the complete opposite and enrolls him in the navy. After what seems a couple of years later, Alex becomes a lieutenant and during a Naval war games exercise in Hawaii his crew, which includes R&B singer Rihanna, get involved in an extraterrestrial sea battle for the Earth’s survival.

 

The movie wastes a lot of time building a back-story, made up of romance and the brothers bonding along with an enormous amount of Navy propaganda. All pretty unnecessary and somewhat boring, that whole first 30 minutes or so could have been reduced to a five minute clip. The most outstanding thing in this movie are the spaceships, they are so real and detailed and the explosions and action they deliver are the best things this movie offers. The Halo like outfitted aliens are somewhat original and more real than most, but despite the obvious fact that they are more technologically advanced than us there’s not a lot of intelligent actions on their part.    

 

Liam Neeson once more signs up to be used as an advertisement tool by a mediocre film, given the fact that if you put all the scenes he’s in total, we only see him for about ten minutes. I actually wasn’t too annoyed by Rihanna, since most people such as myself have already judged the movie by her being in it; she played a tough chick without her usual eroticism in her music videos and just followed orders, her lines like the rest of the script are just flat; so not much acting was used. Kitsch and Decker are just eye candy, because nothing really intelligent comes out of their mouths. Another interesting scheme used to persuade the public into cheering for the movie is an appearance by a President of the United States, if this isn’t the biggest most annoying use of propaganda, I don’t know what is. The movie screams patriotism in a cheesy, in your face, “be a hero and sacrifice your life for your country” kind of way.

 

The storyline is so weak that it seems to contradict itself towards the end and there’s never a clear reason as to what the aliens are doing in our planet. It’s just an all out war and a whole lot of shooting without an explanation behind it. What’s worst is there’s a scene at the end of the credits that alludes to a second part. If you enjoy action for the sake of it and don’t care about anything else that makes up a movie, then you can enjoy this. Otherwise, I say wait for the rest of the alien invasion arriving this summer 2012 in theaters.    

‘The Avengers’ breaks more records at box office!
Karen Posada
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By

2012/05/14 at 12:00am

Movies

‘The Avengers’ breaks more records at box office!

05.14.2012 | By |

'The Avengers' breaks more records at box office!

‘The Avengers’ continues breaking records on its second opening weekend with $103.2 million dollars, exceeding 1 billion dollars worldwide. This action movie only dropped by 50%, which is the smallest decline that any blockbuster has ever had. It surpassed the second box office weekend record that ‘Avatar’ held.

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp’s obscure film, ‘Dark Shadows’ took second place with $28.8 million dollars. This movie which is typical Burton style, might stay in the box office for a while given its star power.

The comedy, which has remained high in the box office, ‘Think Like a Man’, ended up in third place with $6.3 million dollars. Followed by ‘The Hunger Games’, both have fought endlessly to continue in the prestigious list.

 

 

The Top 10 Movies in the Box Office are:

1.The Avengers – $103.2 mil

2. Dark Shadows – $28.8 mil

3. Think Like a Man – $6.3 mil

4. The Hunger Games – $4.4 mil

5. The Lucky One – $4.1 mil

6. The Pirates! Band of Misfits – $3.2 mil

7. The Five-Year Engagement -$3.1 mil

8. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel -$2.7 mil

9. Chimpanzee -$1.6 mil

10. Girl in Progress -$1.4 mil

Radio Reviews: Dark Shadows, Girl in Progress
Jack Rico
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By

2012/05/12 at 12:00am

Movies

Radio Reviews: Dark Shadows, Girl in Progress

05.12.2012 | By |

Radio Reviews: Dark Shadows, Girl in Progress

This week from Miami, on the Enrique Santos Morning Show, Jack Rico reviews the new film releases: the horror comedy DARK SHADOWS with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, and the Latino dramedy GIRL IN PROGRESS with Eva Mendes.

You can hear our movie review segment in Miami on the ‘Enrique Santos Morning Show‘ every Friday at 7:25 AM and 9:25 AM by Univision Radio ‘MIX98.3FM’ in Miami or the global network by visiting: http: / / www.enriquesantos.com/

MPAA: Hispanics are #1 moviegoers again in US
Jack Rico
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By

2012/05/10 at 12:00am

Movies

MPAA: Hispanics are #1 moviegoers again in US

05.10.2012 | By |

MPAA: Hispanics are #1 moviegoers again in US

And once again the MPAA (Motion Pictures Association of America) has revealed through its annual Theatrical Marketing Statistics, that Hispanics are the #1 movie going demographic, per capita, for the year 2011 (source: MPAA).

And yet, apart from ShowBizCafe.com’s coverage on its site and partner outlets, coverage for films is still minimal in the Hispanic media landscape. It is picking up, but hopefully it will be bigger by end of decade.

The MPAA, which is an American trade association that represents the six big Hollywood studios, advances the business interests of its members and administers the MPAA film rating system.

Its current Chairman, former Democratic Senator Chris Dodd, just at the end of April declared that, “I am confident we can do a better job of serving this growing population [Latinos] with themes that resonate strongly with them. The numbers just jumped out at me,” Dodd told reporters at a briefing at CinemaCon. “I think an effort ought to be made to work at that. You’ve got to be more sensitive about the subject matter than to just have Spanish subtitles,” Dodd said.

Dodd who speaks Spanish fluently, having worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic in his youth, understands that if you want to make the most money at the box office, you have to include Hispanics in your practices.

Hollywood’s top lobbyist said he was not sure if the push should come in terms of the movies that the industry produces or in the way it markets its films.

It really is both. One idea that I myself have been thinking for years, and one day it’ll click for someone over at the top 2 Spanish language broadcasts – Univision or Telemundo – is to adapt their hit telenovelas to the big screen. Telemundo, for example, has the best chance of making this happen because their parent company, Comcast/NBCUniversal, already owns one of the preeminent movie studios in the business with Universal Pictures. Chairman Ron Meyer could have taken Telemundo’s biggest hit – ‘La Reina del Sur’ some time last year, when it was at its zenith shattering ratings in English and Spanish, and have adapted it immediately to the big screen with the same actors, etc. Or who knows, even done a bigger production with Salma Hayek instead of the original actress Kate del Castillo. Nevertheless, why this hasn’t been done yet, even as an experiment defies, my logic. Univision is a little trickier. Historically, they did not produce telenovelas, but its Mexican partner Televisa does. Televisa is very wise to the power of this moviegoing audience and partnered with Lionsgate to create Panteleon Films. So far, no telenovelas have been adapted. But, I applaud them for making a statement to develop and distribute Latino stories for Hollywood and Latino audiences.

 

 

, ‘Betty La Fea’ or ‘Pedro Escamoso’ – could have made it to the big screen and be box office specialty hits. Why? There is already a niche fanbase audience, similar to the ‘Twilight Saga’ series, that won’t care about quality or the director behid the cameras, just the extension of their favorite novela.

Del Toro and Diaz team up in ‘Agent: Century 21’
Mack Chico
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2012/05/10 at 12:00am

Movies

Del Toro and Diaz team up in ‘Agent: Century 21’

05.10.2012 | By |

Del Toro and Diaz team up in 'Agent: Century 21'

Deadline.com just reported that Latino heavyweights Cameron Diaz and Benicio Del Toro have joined Agent: Century 21.

Adam Hashemi, a first time director, will be making his debut and looks like it will be an action comedy. The script is written by Greg Brooker.

From what has been gathered, Diaz and Del Toro will be part of a story that follows a down-on-her-luck real estate agent who accidentally is caught up in a Mexican drug war (sound a lot like Knight and Day, the movie Diaz did with Tom Cruise).

This pairing is a great sign for Hispanic actors in Hollywood – it says that there are Latinos who can be leads in a Hollywood movie not just supporting actors like. It is also one of the few times two Latinos are the sole protagonists of a big movie in who knows when.

The film is set to start shooting sometime in September.

Latinos raise $85,000 for ‘St Jude’s Gala Por La Vida’
Jack Rico
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By

2012/05/10 at 12:00am

Movies

Latinos raise $85,000 for ‘St Jude’s Gala Por La Vida’

05.10.2012 | By |

Latinos raise $85,000 for 'St Jude's Gala Por La Vida'

NEW YORK (May 10, 2012) – More than 300 guests celebrated the 50th anniversary of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® at the third annual Gala Por La Vida (Gala for Life) on May 3 at the Legendary Copacabana in New York by raising more than $85,000.

Funds raised at the Gala Por La Vida will benefit the St. Jude International Outreach Program (IOP), which aims to improve the survival rates of children with life threatening illnesses worldwide, through the sharing of research and technology. IOP has 19 affiliate clinics in 14 countries, including Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica and Mexico.

In 50 years, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has changed the way the world treats pediatric cancer and other life-threatening diseases, saving the lives of countless children and helping push overall survival rates of childhood cancer from 20 to 80 percent. Thanks to the generosity of donors, no family ever pays St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for anything – care, housing, transportation, meals and education.

At this year’s Gala Por La Vida, several celebrities walked the red carpet, including Kika Rocha, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Carlos Fuente Jr., Pablo Montero, among others.  Performers included renowned jazz trumpet master and classical musician Arturo Sandoval, legendary Caribbean artist Jose Alberto “El Canario” and Latin superstars in the making, Valentino and Sammi* Benz.

“Earlier this year, I visited this wonderful hospital to meet patients and witness the pioneering research and innovative treatments at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” said Carlos Fuente, Jr., gala chair. “It is a great honor to represent the St. Jude family and bring smiles to thousands of children battling cancer and other deadly diseases. I will continue supporting its lifesaving mission as long as I live.”

During one of the most inspirational moments of the night, a St. Jude patient named Miguel shared his incredible story of survival against osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer that attacked his left leg. By combining the hospital’s world-class research with first-class patient care, doctors pioneered a surgical technique to save his limb by replacing the cancerous bone with an expandable prosthetic device. Miguel continues to receive chemotherapy treatment at St. Jude.

This year’s gala was sponsored by The Fuente Family Foundation, d’expósito & Partners, J.C. Newman Cigar Co., Viva República and AT&T. Univision Radio New York was the gala’s media partner. 

About St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Since opening 50 years ago, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has changed the way the world treats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. No family ever pays St. Jude for the care their child receives and, for every child treated here, thousands more have been saved worldwide through St. Jude discoveries. The hospital has played a pivotal role in pushing U.S. pediatric cancer survival rates from 20 to 80 percent overall, and is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. It is also a leader in the research and treatment of blood disorders and infectious diseases in children. St. Jude was founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, who believed that no child should die in the dawn of life. Join that mission by visiting www.stjude.org or www.hospitalsanjudas.org, following us on www.facebook.com/stjude and www.twitter.com/stjude.

Dark Shadows
Karen Posada
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By

2012/05/09 at 12:00am

Reviews

Dark Shadows

05.9.2012 | By |

Dark Shadows

Anyone would say that director Tim Burton has decided to jump on the vampire bandwagon, as he decided to take ‘Dark Shadows’ a popular gothic soap opera from the 60’s and make it into a movie; an idea that might bleed into a couple of extra projects under the same theme. Burton of course made this his own, using a vibrant darkness aka his signature style all throughout it. There’s no denying that he’s a master of his art and that can be seen in the beautiful sceneries, costumes, make up, and even special effects. Thanks to Burton’s talent as well as strong acting the semi hollow storyline and the silly romance don’t manage to ruin the movie.

 

The film is set in Maine, it begins with the Collins family history from 1750 when they left Liverpool to settle in the New World, to make and spread their wealth. All goes awry for this successful family when a witch, Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green) becomes infatuated with young Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp). Unfortunately, Barnabas falls in love with Josette DuPres (Bella Heathcote); vengeful the witch curses the family and anything they touch. Her worst offense is turning Barnabas into a vampire and locking him away as punishment. He’s freed from his imprisonment almost two decades later in 1972; where he surfaces to find that although his family name still lives on, it has fallen into ruins. He joins his remaining descendants: Elizabeth (Michelle Pfeiffer), Roger (Jonny Lee Miller), Carolyn (Chloe Grace Moretz) and David (Gully McGrath) who’ve hired a live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter). Together Barnabas hopes to bring his family name back to its former glory.

 

The first thought after seeing a picture of this whole cast together in costume was, “here’s a quirkier version of the Addams Family”, and they are not far from it. The film encompasses the TV series it is based on well as it took its formulaic elements: the paranormal, including vampires, witches, ghosts, werewolves, and even time travel.  It’s clever to put a wealthy proper man turned vampire from the 1700’s to explore a life during the 1970’s, one of the most peculiar times in history. There’s some chuckles along the way, plenty of references to stuff from the 70’s, jokes full of double meaning, sexual tension and an interesting yet unmoving cameo by Alice Cooper. There’s things that threaten to harm the gothic coolness of this movie, such as a childish love story, a “sexy” hormone charged teenager, a storyline that doesn’t seem to follow a clear pattern, ending with a culminating yet easy solution that’s somewhat anti-climatic and desperately dramatic. I will blame most of the corniness of the film on the fact that this is based on a soap opera.

 

Depp has satisfied many fans dreams by playing a vampire and he does it masterfully, this being his eight collaboration with Burton, it’s easy to see how comfortable and natural they are together. Green was fantastic at being evil, sexy and powerful all at once. Pfeiffer delivers a balance between the odd and the normal, and although her acting is strong at times it merely feels like she’s delivering lines. Bonham Carter, Burton’s partner and one of his favorites, plays a similar role to those in most of his movies.

 

Some of the jokes are a little forced and the previews have given away too many of them, some also seem to want to satisfy the PG-13 audience. On the other hand, there’s scenes that are taken too far and although I know Burton is a master of the macabre, my least favorite is Depp slapping a woman more than once, no matter how evil she is I was uncomfortable viewing it.  

 

It’s understandable that trying to bring a beloved gothic soap opera, which lasted for about 5 years, to the big screen is a challenge. If the project is developed on to make a couple of extra chapters, this could help fill in some of the holes in the story such as the vampire’s “new” love interest background as there are still some questions. The humor although at times silly, helped the story move along and perhaps I’m missing some things since I never saw the soap opera. I was able to over look the flaws of the film being distracted by what Burton does best, which is use his darkness to create a mysterious, elegant, beautiful and attractive film. I also enjoyed seeing Depp as a vampire; he was charming and naively funny. This duo hasn’t managed to achieve the greatness they have before in the last couple of their films together, and this one can be added to that list; but yet this is still a fun enough movie to watch with your older kids.   

Cameron Diaz Joins Bardem, Cruz In ‘The Counselor’
Jack Rico
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By

2012/05/09 at 12:00am

Movies

Cameron Diaz Joins Bardem, Cruz In ‘The Counselor’

05.9.2012 | By |

Cuban actress Cameron Diaz, who was just at the What To Expect When You’re Expecting premiere in NYC,  is in final negotiations to join the spectacular cast of The Counselor. It’s turning out to be an all-star cast of Hispanic heavyweights that include power couple Javier Bardem and Pénelope Cruz.

Diaz will play Malkina in a supporting role. Fassbender plays the title role of a respected lawyer who thinks he can dip a toe into the drug business without getting sucked down, which proves to be a life-threatening decision.

Ridley Scott will direct the drama with Michael Fassbender, and Brad Pitt in lead roles. Angelina Jolie was also in talks but might have canceled now that Cruz is in the film.

Diaz will next be seen in the new Coen Brothers film – Gambit for 2013.

Also, check out this video of Cameron Diaz officially breaking down her Latina roots. There is no doubt that she is a true Latina!

Box Office Report: The other 9 films!
Karen Posada
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By

2012/05/07 at 12:00am

Movies

Box Office Report: The other 9 films!

05.7.2012 | By |

Box Office Report: The other 9 films!

‘The Avengers’ makes history becoming the biggest box office movie of all time, setting a new record with $200 million dollars; obviously premiering at number one. This superhero packed movie, has gotten high praises from critics and fans alike. It is not surprising that it stole the number one spot, since the buzz around this film has been loud and clear for months even before it opened.

The previous leader of the box office ‘Think Like a Man’ falls to number two, with $8 million dollars. This comedy although it fell one spot, is still holding on strong.

‘The Hunger Games’ is steadily at number three with $5.7 million dollars. This movie has a grand total of $380 million dollars as of now, which shows how big ‘The Avengers’ amount for the first weekend is in the U.S.

The Top 10 Movies in the Box Office are:

1.The Avengers -$200 mil

2. Think Like a Man -$8 mil

3. The Hunger Games -$5.7 mil

4. The Lucky One -$5.5 mil

5. The Pirates! Band of Misfits -$5.4 mil

6. The Five-Year Engagement -$5.1 mil

7. The Raven -$2.5mil

8. Safe! -$2.5mil

9. Chimpanzee -$2.4mil

10. The Three Stooges -$1.8mil

‘The Avengers’ sets record with $200M at box office!
Jack Rico
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By

2012/05/06 at 12:00am

Movies

‘The Avengers’ sets record with $200M at box office!

05.6.2012 | By |

'The Avengers' sets record with $200M at box office!

The Walt Disney Studios announced today that Marvel’s The Avengers posted an estimated $200.3 million in its domestic debut May 4-6, shattering previous records and positioning the film as the highest-grossing domestic debut of all time. The film’s cumulative global box office gross is an estimated $641.8 million over 12 days in release.
 
In just three days, Marvel’s the Avengers is the fastest movie to reach $200 million domestically. The domestic debut kicked off Friday, May 4 and marks the second highest single day take of all time at $80.5 million. Saturday’s box office gross of $69.7 million is the highest Saturday take of all time. Moviegoers gave Marvel’s The Avengers a rare and perfect A+ CinemaScore.
 
Marvel’s The Avengers began opening internationally April 25 and crossed the $600 million mark globally May 6 after just 12 days in release.
 
International box office highlights include:
 
Opened May 3 in Russia with $17.9 million, the biggest Marvel opening weekend ever
Opened May 5 in China with $17.4 million
Biggest opening weekend of all time in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Central America, Bolivia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Philippines
 
Marvel’s The Avengers has now opened in all major markets except Israel, Poland, and Japan.
 
The film’s success comes a month after Marvel and Disney announced that a sequel to 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger will be released April 4, 2014. A sequel to last summer’s Thor is scheduled for release November 15, 2013, and the third installment of the hit Iron Man series, which has earned over $1.2 billion worldwide, will arrive in theaters May 3, 2013.
 
Marvel’s The Avengers is the first Marvel Studios film to be marketed and distributed by The Walt Disney Studios.

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