The Book of Eli
01.14.2010 | By Jack Rico |
01.14.2010 | By Jack Rico |
I remember seeing Four Brothers and laughing so hard. I know it wasn’t a comedy, but there are some lines in that movies that are just LMAO funny! That’s when I knew that Mark Wahlberg was one of my favorite actors (see my 1:1 interview with him here).
So now I get word that he might involved in doing a sequel to it. Here’s the article we got from THR.com.
Paramount is developing a sequel to its 2005 thriller “Four Brothers,” bringing back many of the creative team for “Five Brothers.”
Mark Wahlberg, the star of “Four Brothers,” hatched the sequel idea with that film’s writers, David Elliot and Paul Lovett.
The original movie, directed by John Singleton, revolved around four adopted brothers (Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin and Garret Hedlund) who come together to avenge their mother’s death in what at first appears to be a random robbery. Although not a massive hit, it still grossed a tidy $74 million at the domestic box office.
Plot details are being kept under wraps, and it is not clear which of the other actors, if any, would return. Hedlund would appear to be out, as his character was killed in the first movie. Wahlberg stars in Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones,” which opens nationally on Friday, and appears in the upcoming “Date Night” with Steve Carell and Tina Fey.
01.12.2010 | By Jack Rico |
Rated: R for sexuality, nudity and language.
Release Date: 2009-09-18
Starring: Guillermo Arriaga
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA, Argentina
Official Website: NULL
‘The Burning Plain’ is a bleak film which is heavy on the visceral drama and light on substance. The script isn’t compelling nor are the characters and last I heard, the idea behind creating a movie is to entertain audiences to some degree, not make one miserable and despondent.
Three stories about three women swing back and forth in time and place, gathering apparently disconnected and twisted scenes into a monotonous tale of betrayal, love and death. The film stars Charlize Theron, Kim Bassinger and a new crop of actors.
Mexican screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, now turned director, is a magnificent pensman who creates scenes that bring the best out of actors and his director. Regrettably, as his fourth work shows, he has reached a repetitive, one dimensional plateau where he can’t seem to free himself from. Once again, Arriaga tells a story of various characters paralleling each other. He began with this structure in ‘Amores Perros’ and continued in ‘21 Grams,’ ‘Babel’ and now ‘The Burning Plain’. When I spoke to him, Arriaga contested that he felt the composition and story of this film are completely different than anything he has done before. He needs to take a closer look at his films and pick up on the recurring patterns – multi-narratives and gut wrenching, emotional dramas. There isn’t anything wrong with Arriaga continuing along this trademark path, but isn’t variety the spice of life? Versatility is where you prove yourself to be better than just one style and I am hoping to see something distinct and fresh for his next project.
This is a Hollywood indie intertwined with a Latino story. For Hispanics, the decision to watch this heavy film for the sake of supporting a fellow patriot, is ignorant. You make your decision based on the quality of the script and the acting. In this case, the script is banal, too serious and melodramatic and the acting, though arguably strong, is not compelling and lacks believability. I recommend you wait for his arch nemesis, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s new film ‘Biutiful’ starring Javier Bardem for a more enjoyable experience at the movies in December.
01.9.2010 | By Namreta Kumar |
Unfortunately Wonderful World feels too much like a tired film to represent the revival at the end. It is made memorable only by the concept of cynicism and its witty remarks. Josh Goldin’s Ben Singer (Matthew Broderick) has a thin layer of charm, however his actual cynicism begins to border on pathological at points.
Ben Singer is a divorced, failed folk singer now working a 9-5 “temp” job, he really only has Ibu, his roommate/friend, and Sandra, his daughter, to give his misery company. When it seems like life has taken a turn for the worst with the hospitalization of Ibu, it turns out it is exactly what Ben needed to change his perspective on life.
Ben’s relationship with his daughter turns into the crux of the film and proves to be the best part of it. Sandra, played by Jesse Tyler Fergusen, breathes wonder into every scene. It is through her and Ben’s relationship that Goldin shines as a director. From the set of cold moments at the start of the film through the closing moments the father-daughter relationship and the carefulness of the scenes outline a stronger composition than the rest of the film.
The core of Goldin’s film is wonderful, but unfortunately the film feels just as jaded as Ben’s point of view. Outside the father-daughter relationship, nothing seems fresh or renewed in any way. Everything is a sad reflection of the failed man at the start of the film, rather than the hopeful man at the end.
The Bottom Line is that this film just does not hit the mark, and as Josh Goldin summarized in his own film, “You understand Bottom Line you understand America.”
01.6.2010 | By Jack Rico |
It’s only the second week of January, but already Puerto Rican director Miguel Arteta’s ‘Youth in Revolt’ is my favorite film of the year. 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.
01.6.2010 | By Jack Rico |
It’s only the second week of January, but already Puerto Rican director Miguel Arteta’s ‘Youth in Revolt’ is my favorite film of the year. 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.
01.5.2010 | By Mack Chico |
Rated: R for strong violent/gruesome accidents, language and a scene of sexuality.
Release Date: 2009-08-28
Starring: Eric Bress, Jeffrey Reddick
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.thefinaldestinationmovie.com/
12.28.2009 | By Pau Brunet |
The estimated $278 million in weekend box-office revenue broke the previous record of roughly $253 million set in July 2008, the weekend “The Dark Knight” was released.
A diverse group of films drew throngs to the multiplexes: James Cameron’s “Avatar” pushed strongly into its second week while “Sherlock Holmes,” “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” and “It’s Complicated” all opened.
“Avatar,” the 3-D epic, topped them all, earning $75 million for 20th Century Fox, according to studio estimates Sunday. Remarkably, that was only a 3 percent drop from its opening weekend total of $77.4 million. (Blockbusters typically drop 30-50 percent in the second weekend.) In its 10 days of release, “Avatar” has made $212 million domestically — and could be on its way to a worldwide gross of over $1 billion.
“This thing is going to be playing and playing, I can tell you that,” said Bert Livingston, 20th Century Fox distribution executive. “There’s a lot of business out there. Everybody’s got good movies out.”
In second was “Sherlock Holmes,” Guy Ritchie’s reboot of the franchise with Robert Downey Jr. starring as Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective. The Warner Bros. film opened with a weekend total of $65.4 million, including a record Christmas Day debut of $24.9 million.
It was a start that seemed sure to pave the way for sequels. Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., called the result “sensational.”
“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” which opened Wednesday, took in $50.2 million on the weekend and $77.1 million in its five days of release. The film, also from Fox, earned an impressive $18.8 on Wednesday alone. The strong start suggested that “Squeakquel” was likely to surpass its 2007 original, which made $217 million.
Also opening was Nancy Meyer’s “It’s Complicated,” the romantic comedy from starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. With an audience 72 percent female, the Universal film took in $22.1 million, a solid debut.
The buffo Christmas weekend results spelled good things for all the films in release in the coming week — one of the most lucrative of the year.
“We all know what next week means to the industry. This is a huge,” said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. “Christmas is past us. No more shopping, no more returning. College kids are home. … I’m so optimistic about what the next weekend holds for us.”
Said Livingston: “Starting this Monday, every day is a Saturday.”
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. “Avatar,” $75 million.
2. “Sherlock Holmes,” $65.4 million.
3. “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” $50.2 million.
4. “It’s Complicated,” $22.1 million.
5. “Up in the Air,” $11.8 million.
6. “The Blind Side,” $11.7 million.
7. “The Princess and the Frog,” $8.7 million.
8. “Nine,” $5.5 million.
9. “Did You Hear About the Morgans?” $5 million.
10. “Invictus,” $4.4 million.
12.23.2009 | By Mirna Lopez |
If you enjoyed the adventures of Alvin and the Chipmunks in 2007, be sure to feel the same with Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. It contains the same main characteristics from the first movie. Once again, these cute and fuzzy chipmunks will entertain you with their music. Basically, The Squekquel continues the adventures of the pop sensations Alvin and the Chipmunks.
The chipmunks are attending school, and it is up to them to save their school’s music program by winning $25,000 in a battle of bands. Nevertheless, now the chipmunks have competition, The Chipettes: Brittany, Eleanor and Jeanette. Adjusting to this new life style involving peer pressure, girls, and sports has become pretty difficult for Alvin, Simon and Theodore.
We do not hear Dave (Jason Lee) yelling “Alvin!” every few minutes, like in the first movie. His nephew Toby takes care of the chipmunks in The Squeakquel, and treats them slightly different as Dave.
The way everyone seems to ignore the fact that famous chipmunks are attending school, makes us wonder “why?” However, we easily make them fit into the environment, especially when another three female chipmunks arrive. Something we will have in mind throughout the entire movie is that the chipmunks are adorably cute. Being adorable is what makes the chipmunks unique and gives the special touch that both movies have.
Prepare yourself to see these sweet and clever chipmunks live as if they were humans. You will only enjoy “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” if you already think they look adorable. Otherwise, you will not receive the same effect as everyone else, who also liked the first movie.
12.17.2009 | By Pau Brunet |
Hace once años, el Titanic de James Cameron zarpó diciendo adiós al gran espectáculo de Hollywood. La epopeya de aquel barco fue como una despedida del cartón y piedra. En unos años, Peter Jackson unió por un momento el cartón de los decorados de antaño con la era digital. Las prótesis se mezclaban con las telas azules. Este universo, ha seguido mezclándose aunque cada vez con menos brillo – Robert Zemeckis ha ido dándose con la misma piedra desde hace seis años-, dejándose seducir más por lo azul que por lo real. Pero once años después de este barco, Cameron da por fin la gran bienvenida a esta era digital y del 3D. Avatar es un avatar del Hollywood de antes con el de ahora. El director le ha dado al cine de los grandes espectáculos pirotécnicos, un traje nuevo, hecho a medida y donde convergen estilos, ideas y nuevas tecnologías, todo ello envuelto en un tono muy cerca de ‘Dances with Wolves‘.
Avatar cuenta una historia clásica de un soldado en tierras extrañas y como por accidente termina involucrándose en la vida de los habitantes de ese lugar. Como en Dances with Wolves o The New World (la historia de Pocahontas contada por Terrence Malick), Avatar es un relato sobre las culturas extranjeras y desconocidas por el mundo occidental. Sabiendo esto, Cameron no trata de dar a la historia ningún matiz novedoso –algo que es criticable, y por el que lo criticará más de uno-, sino que centra su atención en el nuevo mundo que descubre su personaje principal. Es en este punto donde la película funciona a toda máquina, la curiosidad del personaje de Sam Worthington es el motor de la historia, y Cameron logra que sintamos lo que siente él. Los hermosos lugares, los matices de los personajes y la lograda ambientación son todo un triunfo en mayúsculas para su director. Lo que no ha logrado Zemeckis en tres películas, Cameron lo logra en una. Por primera vez, la tecnología 3D se justifica para entender todo lo que sucede a nuestro alrededor.
En estos dos años de intentos tridimensionales, Avatar es la reina absoluta al lograr imprimir imágenes inolvidables, con texturas impresionantes, y llena el vacío que hay entre la pantalla y los ojos del espectador. Cameron construye un nuevo mundo entero y ese es su acierto, sobrepasando los defectos de un film algo largo y pesado en su primer acto, y falto de originalidad. De estos defectos también destaca una música de James Horner que no acaba entrar en el oído como hacia en Titanic o Legends of the Fall, y la canción final es casi un despropósito artístico. Una pecata minuta que se olvida rápido gracias a la presencia de Sigourney Weaver y todos los guiños a Aliens.
A modo personal, Avatar me recuerda a esas películas de antes – y que ahora sólo saben hacer los señores de Pixar – que te invitaban a soñar y entender que Hollywood es la fábrica de sueños.
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