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The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Karen Posada
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2012/04/26 at 12:00am

Reviews

The Pirates! Band of Misfits

04.26.2012 | By |

The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Here’s another great family adventure, ‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits’ is a fun, clever, colorful and fantastic film for children and adults to enjoy. Aardman Animations executed such a detailed film, which is no surprise seeing that they did ‘Arthur Christmas’, and all the ‘Wallace & Gromit’ films along with director Peter Lord who also did ‘Chicken Run’. This was a great combination of talent that is easily perceived on screen. I had the chance to see the film in 3D and although I think the graphics are beautiful, you can enjoy it just as much on the regular screen. 

 

Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) has a crew that idolizes him, even though they are very unsuccessful as pirates. Pirate Captain decides to enter the Pirate of the year Award, one more time despite of having lost various times. His main pirate rivals are: Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven), and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek); these two are great fighters, treasure hunters and mock Pirate Captain and his crew endlessly. Either way Pirate Captain is determined to win the award this year, with his right hand the Pirate with a Scarf  (Martin Freeman) and his comedic crew. He not only has to worry about his fellow pirates, but also for Queen Victoria (Imelda Stauton) who hates pirates and will do anything to see them go extinct. On his journey Pirate Captain will encounter endless adventures and memorable people, but he will learn one of the most valuable lessons of all: how important friendship is.

 

 This is Grant’s first animated film and he told me in our interview that the story and his character itself really attracted him and he felt connected to them automatically; so much so that if they decide to make a second part he won’t allow anyone to take his place. Just seeing the images of this movie you can appreciate all the detail that went into it, for example the ship built for the crew was hand crafted, had 44,569 parts, weighted 770 pounds, was 14 feet long and 15 feet high. The intricate work can be perceived in each scene. In the U.K. the film is called ‘The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists ‘, because wonderfully enough it mixes in some science by having Charles Darwin (David Tennat) be one of its characters. Also, the mascot of the ship’s crew is a dodo bird, Polly that was just adorable!

 

Pirate Captain and his crew entertain easily because of their good nature, innocence and thrill for adventure. Pirates are such an overplayed subject, but somehow they continue to entertain in family films. So, if you are looking for a film that the whole family can enjoy this weekend I recommend this one, for the laughs, story and wonderful images it offers.

2 brand new pics from “Twilight: Breaking Dawn 2”!
Jack Rico
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By

2012/04/26 at 12:00am

MoviesPhotos

2 brand new pics from “Twilight: Breaking Dawn 2”!

04.26.2012 | By |

2 brand new pics from “Twilight: Breaking Dawn 2”!

Seven months from the awaited release of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2″, two new pics from Summit Pictures have been revelaed with the three protagonists stars – Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner.

In the first still, we see Stewart and Pattinson (dating in real life) looking at yonder. Pattinson looks concerned, while Stewart is on a cheerful note. Is he expecting an attack and is she happy to be a vampire? The second photograph is of Lautner determined and courageous, ready for any situation where he can defend his beloved Stewart. These harmless speculations, will be answered via the new trailer in due time.

The official synopsis of the film the astonishing conclusion to the series, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN, PART 2, illuminating the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions.

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2″ opens in U.S. theaters on November 16.

Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson

The Five Year Engagement
Karen Posada
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By

2012/04/25 at 12:00am

Reviews

The Five Year Engagement

04.25.2012 | By |

The Five Year Engagement

My biggest complaint about ‘The Five Year Engagement’ is that it is too LONG! No matter how many cutesy, funny or weird scenes they throw at us; this film doesn’t have enough substance to run for such a lengthy amount of time. Although very little changes throughout these five years, the passing of time is definitely felt and despite of the fact that there are various funny scenes and the characters are so patient the weight of time and tension in the story is easily felt by the public. For people that like romantic comedies and insist on going to the movies this weekend at least this might be a better pick than ‘The Lucky One’, although your money would be better invested in ‘Think Like a Man’.

 

This is the story of Violet (Emily Blunt) and Tom (Jason Segel) who live in San Francisco; he’s a chef and she’s a psychology student. They are madly in love and after a year of being together Tom pops the question, the couple starts to prepare for the event when Violet is offered a once in a lifetime opportunity at the University of Michigan. This complicates things but lovingly Tom supports her by putting the wedding on hold and moving to Michigan with her. In Michigan each one tries to cope with the change and every time they try to restart planning the wedding some other opportunity or obstacle comes up. The couple begins to have many ups and downs, which test their relationship and the whole movie revolves in finding out if their relationship is strong enough to survive and reach the final step or if they will break up.

 

There are countless funny scenes; one my favorite is between Violet and Suzie (Alison Brie) who plays her sister, when they have a serious talk in an Elmo and Cookie Monster voice. Most of the vulgar and strange comments come from Alex (Chris Pratt) who doesn’t seem to have a filter and always lightens the mood. Although there is chemistry between Blunt and Segel some of their conversations felt rehearsed and awkward, but that might have been more of a problem with the script than their acting.

 

The problem with having a five-year relationship on screen is having to live through the drama that’s obvious to appear, although there’s a lot of comic relief through it, when it reaches the lowest point there’s no comedy to save it.  Most of the twists in the movie are pretty predictable, which makes the length even more unnecessary.

 

As a romantic comedy this isn’t a bad film, but it certainly doesn’t stand out from the rest. At the end we are left with some minor questions, that I was okay to not have the answers to, because it might have meant another ten minutes. The biggest lesson this film gives us is very simple: in order for every relationship to work both people must be happy with their lives in order to be happy with each other. Long engagements are not such a rare thing nowadays, which means this movie might have some people curious to see it, but I would say there’s no need to run to the movie theater to catch this film; it might satisfy you a little more in a few months when it comes out in DVD.

Safe!
Karen Posada
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By

2012/04/25 at 12:00am

Reviews

Safe!

04.25.2012 | By |

Safe!

This is such a kick-ass movie, it may start off slow but once the action starts in ‘Safe!’ it is relentless! Although the hero in this film is a down to earth guy, he has absolutely nothing to loose and that’s what makes him push himself and his story to the limit. The story- line is supposed to have some drama and have some emotional motivation, but this link is very weak and somewhat uninteresting; what makes this movie worth watching is the action.

 

The story is a bit convoluted, a former NYPD cop Luke Wright (Jason Statham) blows a rigged fight controlled by the Russian Mafia, which to punish him leave him with absolutely nothing and a promise to keep an eye on him for the rest of his life. While living on the streets and contemplating suicide, he runs into a Chinese girl, Mei (Catherine Chan), who’s running away from the mafia that ruined Luke’s life. He’s motivated to help the girl, who happens to be a math wiz being used by the Triads (Chinese Mafia).  Luke decides to save the girl’s life at any cost and automatically jumps into an underground war between the mobs as well as some corrupt cops, as they all try to get a hold of the girl.

 

Director Boaz Yakin welcomed us to the screening of this film very humbly and explained to us the connection between the action and drama in the film as well as his reason for choosing Statham. There’s no question as to why Statham was chosen for this role, he is built for this type of high fast paced action films. If you’ve seen any of the films throughout his career, then you know this actor who usually performs his own fight scenes and stunts delivers every time and this film isn’t an exception. Despite of the fact that Yakin meant for there to be some deep emotional motivation behind the story, this is very feeble and even the main character himself accepts to not being able to make a strong connection to this girl he’s saving. But that’s beside the point, because that sets the base to this crazy ‘Grand Theft Auto’ like story.  Chan might be meant as the part of the story that softens your heart, but this girl is far from that because she is independent, smart-mouthed and of course although she is a child she is still very strong in a lot of ways.

 

Yakin also told us here he wanted to represent the New York he grew up in, so this is a throwback type of action film bowing to some of the classics. You may hold your breath in some scenes, laugh and stay with your mouth open in others. So, get ready to be part of a story where a man and a girl give the City of New York a make over, while trying to survive this action thriller.  

The Raven
Karen Posada
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By

2012/04/24 at 12:00am

Reviews

The Raven

04.24.2012 | By |

The Raven

‘The Raven’ is such an elegant film in every aspect: dialogue, setting, costumes, etc. Every scene is so delicate and it unravels rhythmically just like the poem, although at some points it does lack emotion and perhaps even tension. Director James McTeigue did a great job using the poem as a base, filling it in with a few facts about Edgar Allan Poe’s life and the city of Baltimore. More than anything I have to give him credit for inserting Poe into a poem of his by allowing him to play detective, it is an interesting twist to his work. This thriller/mystery film pays tribute to the author of the poem as well as the genre itself, by giving us an entertaining artistic story.

 

Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack) is the one who takes us by the hand throughout this story; he’s daring to earn a living as a writer by trying to get his work published at a local newspaper. No one seems to have any sympathy for the man, who is pretty arrogant, except for a few fans and his girlfriend Emily (Alice Eve). Poe gains credibility with his poem ‘The Raven’ and a book of grotesque stories of his which is also popular. These macabre stories begin to take a life of their own when a madman feels inspired by them. Between Poe and detective Fields (Luke Evans) they must try to solve each crime to determine the killer’s next step and catch him.

 

Poe spent a great deal of his life being a critic, which is a job mocked in the movie as being “easy”, but as one of the biggest writers in the world he was not easy on anyone. One definitely wonders how he would feel about this project, which made him a character inside one of his masterpieces. Just by the premise alone people will either be curious or turned off automatically. Cusack does a fine job at becoming Poe, his dialogue is illustrious but at times his rhymes and poetic prose become a bit irritating. His counterpart Evans on the other hand had flat conversations with Cusack about his romantic life and work, which was supposed to reassure the public about his respect for Poe but instead the conversations felt empty. Some of the action scenes are not very engaging, but the mystery that surrounds them is interesting.

 

This movie has a darkness and refinement that set a perfect mood for the tale; even the gruesome scenes have a neatness to them. The film is satisfying to a certain degree, it doesn’t disappoint, but it also seems to not want to strive for more. It’s very clean from beginning to end without taking too many risks, which perhaps was wise; since putting someone as idolized as Edgar Allan Poe as a main character is challenging for both director and fans considering that this is Poe in a different perspective.  

Bernie
Karen Posada
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By

2012/04/24 at 12:00am

Reviews

Bernie

04.24.2012 | By |

Bernie

‘Bernie’ is a dark comedy based on a real life story, which is such an unusual thing to hear, since most movies based on real life are dramas. The majority of the film develops with a series of people sharing their thoughts on Bernie, as a person and what he did for the small town in Texas where this story took place, Carthage. The story is entertaining and although it only made me laugh out loud twice, it is very clever. Jack Black is at his comedic highest here; he did an outstanding job impersonating this character. Unfortunately, this isn’t sufficient to go buy a movie ticket.

 

Bernie (Jack Black) is a mortician or funeral director as he likes to call it, he’s a perfectionist therefore he is the best at his job in every aspect of it. He even takes on tasks he’s not asked to do such as comforting the widows, by checking on them after their husbands’ passing. Accomplishing this duty he makes friends with Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine) who inherited a fortune, after her banker husband died. Marjorie is a spiteful woman that no one in town can stand, not even her family, but somehow Bernie gets in on her good side. Everyone in town loves Bernie and when he’s accused of Marjorie’s death they refuse to believe it, except for Sheriff Danny Buck Davidson (Matthew McConaughey).

 

Black is what makes this film, he carries on his whole performance without an ounce of mockery and that’s what makes his character so funny. The movie pokes fun mainly at small town people in the south and they even talk about the rivalry of the different parts of Texas with one another. MacLaine plays a cranky old lady very well and it is easy to dislike her. McConaughey with his Texan accent and strong character fits in perfectly as the Sheriff, who is one of the few voices of reason in this film. The format of the film of interviewing “towns people” is amusing, but what’s even more amusing is making a real life murder into a comedy.

 

The film has various elements that make it worth watching, but it is better to do it relaxed at home. Usually, we go to the movie theater to watch comedies that make us cry laughing and that’s not the case here. You’ll just smile and raise and eyebrow more than once because of the situations, silliness and characters in it.

 

Texan director Richard Linklater took this crime from the 90’s and decided to give it life in a way most directors wouldn’t have. He also mocks the south showing a few stereotypes, but mainly showing religious old people, which always say the darnest things. Apparently the people from Carthage didn’t care for this film because they say it’s one sided. Although I wouldn’t say this film was hilarious, I think it’s worth watching when it comes out on DVD, because it was so cleverly developed that it deserves a shot. 

 

‘Think Like a Man’ takes the #1 spot at the box office!
Karen Posada
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By

2012/04/23 at 12:00am

Movies

‘Think Like a Man’ takes the #1 spot at the box office!

04.23.2012 | By |

'Think Like a Man' takes the #1 spot at the box office!

We begin the week with an incredible surprise! ‘Think Like a Man’ premiered in the number one spot, finally taking ‘The Hunger Games’ out of the spot it occupied for four consecutive weeks. This comedy not only makes you die laughing, but it has done the impossible taking the first place with $33 million dollars.

‘The Lucky One’ took second place in the box office with $22.8 million dollars. This romantic movie with Zac Effron is not very entertaining, but it seems like the public decided that it was time to change the look of the box office.

‘The Hunger Games’ took third place with $14.5 million dollars. Although it still holds a prestigious place, the hard fall is surprising from first to third place. It was thought that only ‘The Avengers’ was going to be able to take its place.

 

The Top 10 Movies in the Box Office are:

1.Think Like a Man – $33 mil

2. The Lucky One – $22.8 mil

3. The Hunger Games – $14.5 mil

4. Chimpanzee – $10.2 mil

5. The Three Stooges – $9.2 mil

6. The Cabin in the Woods – $7.8 mil

7. American Reunion – $5.2 mil

8. Titanic 3D – $5 mil

9. 21 Jump Street – $4.6 mil

10. Mirror, Mirror – $4.1 mil

 

Radio Reviews: The Lucky One, Think Like A Man
Jack Rico
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By

2012/04/20 at 12:00am

Movies

Radio Reviews: The Lucky One, Think Like A Man

04.20.2012 | By |

Radio Reviews: The Lucky One, Think Like A Man

This week from Miami, on the Enrique Santos Morning Show, Jack Rico reviews the new romantic movies The Lucky One, Think Like A Man, and the family film Chimpanzee.

You can hear our film 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/

Shame
Jack Rico
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By

2012/04/17 at 12:00am

Movies

Shame

04.17.2012 | By |

In what can be considered one of the most intense films of the year till now, ‘Shame’ from Afro-American director Steve McQueen, will make you reanalyze you opinion about sexual addiction disease. Michael Fassbender’s  (X-Men: First Class) acting can only be considered brilliant and his chance of being nominated for an Oscar is almost guaranteed. The film pushes the boundaries of nudity to levels of high discomfort for the usual movie goer, and because of this, for those that go to see it I suggest you to keep and open mind free of judgments.   

 

The plot develops around Brandon Sullivan (Michael Fassbender), a man of thirty something living in a comfortable apartment in New York. To avoid his work routine he seduces women, in a series of stories without a future and one night stands. His methodical and organized life style is altered with a surprise visit from his sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan), a rebellious and problematic girl. Her high strong presence will make Brandon loose control over his own world.

 

Because of this visceral premise, the MPPA, the organization in charged of classifying films in the USA, has decided to label it NC-17. This means that people younger than 17 years old will not be able pay to see it. This is the first movie in 2011 to get this rating due to the sexually explicit scenes and situations that McQueen presents, in particular, the three shots of the main actor’s genitals at the beginning of the film. 

 

Besides the intriguing story, we have to talk about the Michael Fassbender’s unforgettable performance, not only does it give the movie wings in this award season, but he clearly represents the suffering of a sickness that undergoes a lot of skepticism in society. Is sexual addition really a legitimate sickness or just a simple excuse that men use to apologize for their promiscuity? Fassbender’s character is humanly damaged and he can’t seem to find a solution. That frustration becomes bitterness, which we can see on his face and his eyes in almost every scene. It’s an amazing representation worth of applause.

 

The director Steve McQueen uses the protagonist as his personal relief to show with all of his artistic capability the embarrassment and shame of this addiction. There’s no eroticism here, only physical, emotional and psychological filth that has no redemption. The film takes place in New York and you can see the influence it has had from directors such as Abel Ferrara, Martin Scorsese and Sidney Lumet.  

 

‘Shame’ is one of the best movies of the year, but it’s not easy to watch. The plot will disturb many, but that same reaction will have you glued to the screen from beginning to end.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Karen Posada
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By

2012/04/17 at 12:00am

Movies

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

04.17.2012 | By |

This really is a treat for action lovers; ‘Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol’ is filled with relentless action almost all throughout the film. Seeing the film in IMAX made it even more enjoyable because a lot of the shots in the film are so thrilling that you feel like you are hanging on by a thread along with our main character Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise).  This film is one of the best action films of the year and it really lives up to the hype and fits in nicely with the phenomenon of all the ‘Mission Impossible’ flicks.

 

In this sequel Ethan gets some new team members from the IMF: Jane (Paula Patton), Brandt (Jeremy Renner) along with his old pal Benji (Simon Pegg). After a terrible misunderstanding between Russia and the U.S. the team is sent to try to stop a terrorist: Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist), from detonating a missile that will start a nuclear war. The trick is that the team must complete this task on their own without help from the IMF, since because of the misunderstanding the president has shut them down and so they begin what they call “Ghost Protocol”. If the team is not able to stop Hendricks intricate plan, which involves using a satellite, then Ethan’s team will be blamed for the terrorist act and everything they’ve worked for will go down the drain along with their entire lives.

 

Cruise is the exact same Ethan we’ve seen in the past, he still performs amazing stunts and has the same strong character that seems to be untouched by anything physically and emotionally. We travel to Hungary, Russia, Dubai and India. The Dubai sequence has some of the best scenes, my favorite is Ethan having to climb the tallest building in the world with some “spider-man” like gloves. There are some interesting twists in the movie but one of its biggest flaws is the plot. The whole Russian/American tension just like in the Cold War era has been overplayed.

 

If you are a fan of the past Mission Impossible movies this one will certainly not disappoint, it connects it to the rest nicely. Director Brad Bird certainly made his own version of the series while still respecting those that already exist; the combination of both of these elements is what made this film maybe the best out of the Mission Impossible series. 

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