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Bad Lieutenant: Port of New Orleans
Jack Rico
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2009/11/19 at 12:00am

Reviews

Bad Lieutenant: Port of New Orleans

11.19.2009 | By |

Bad Lieutenant: Port of New Orleans

For those of you who have seen Abel Ferrara’s original Bad Lieutenant from 1992, don’t think that this new version, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, from director Werner Herzog is a remake, a re-imagining, or a sequel. It’s a stand-alone project worthy of your time and money. It is entertaining, engaging and oddly funny.

When we first meet Sergeant Terence McDonagh (Nicolas Cage), he’s a good cop, risking his life to save a prisoner from rising flood waters and suffering a permanent back injury as a result. When we next encounter him, six months later, he is receiving a commendation and being promoted to lieutenant, but he has secretly become addicted to vicodin and cocaine, the second of which he is stealing from the police store room. As his addiction escalates, his behavior becomes increasingly unstable, with his actions endangering his current case: a multiple homicide committed by local drug kingpin Big Fate (Alvin “Xzibit” Joiner). The walls start closing in on Terence, with a client of his prostitute girlfriend (Eva Mendes) sending goons to extort money from him, his bookie demanding that he pay his $5000 tab, and Internal Affairs going after his gun and badge.

As I remember the original Bad Lieutenant, one of the first films to ever receive an NC-17, has Harvey Keitel giving one the great performances on screen in the last 20 years. His acting was so honest and engrossing, that it made me look at NYPD cops in a whole different light. Ferrara himself added his trademark New York grit which was just as powerful as Keitel on screen. In this new version, German director Werner Herzog (Fitzcarraldo, Aguirre, The Wrath of God) known for his unforgettable documentaries, gives this worn out bad cop movie an injection of adrenaline that will satisfy fans of the original film and of his own.

Nic Cage gives his best performance on celluloid since Adaptation. He reminds us of the old Cage from Wild at Heart and Leaving Las Vegas. He is fully invested in his character and makes you wonder why he ever did Ghost Rider or Next? There were some over the top scenes, but I think it was simply a stylistic choice. Eva Mendes on her end, does a descent job in complementing Cage very well as the sexy, gritty and loving hooker he’s in love with. For the most part, Eva’s roles throughout her career are very similar. I would like to see her stretch her skills a bit as she did in ‘Hitch’, but these roles prohibit any chance of it.

Some portions deter from the movie being perfect, but nevertheless, it’s the type of movie you walk out of the theater talking about for days.

Mammoth
Karen Posada
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2009/11/19 at 12:00am

Reviews

Mammoth

11.19.2009 | By |

Mammoth

Unfortunately the movie ‘Mammoth‘ doesn’t match the expectation that the trailer makes us build. The film was all drama and I had hoped to see more than that. It tries too hard to create tension and suspense but at the end nothing happens. It tries to take on too many themes, but doesn’t fully explore anything specific and this is why it fails.

 

This is the first movie in English by the Swedish director Lukas Moodysson, he is full of new ideas that are not found in Hollywood. ‘Mammoth’ focuses on a upper-middle class family that lives in New York City. Leo (Gael García Bernal) creator of a website for video game fanatics, enters a world new to him of travel and more money which he is not used to. Business takes him away from his family to explore Thailand, a third world country where he is all alone and out of place, at this point the movie touches upon the brutal poverty and child abuse found there. His wife Ellen (Michelle Williams) is a doctor and because of the demands her career entitles she doesn’t have much time for her family, with her husband’s absence she realizes that at home she feels like a stranger and bored. Their only daughter Jackie (Sophie Nyweide)  spends most of her time with her nanny, Gloria (Marife Necesito) and although she has no other option she prefers this than spending time with her mother; on the other hand Gloria who is from the Philippines treats Jackie like a daughter but is always thinking about her family in her native land.

 

Despite the fact that the movie is not good enough to welcome Moodysson with open arms, we have to appreciate the fact that he chose a Latin star in Gael García Bernal to be his main character in a movie that opens the door to him to the English speaking world. It’s surprising to see Gael García Bernal playing the role of an American who doesn’t have a trace to the latin world whatsoever. It’s a good thing that Moodysson tries to make the movie universal by filming in different places of the planet, but it’s disappointing that the film doesn’t have much essence.

The movie tries to leave us with the moral that family is more important than anything.

 

The message at the end is confusing though, it goes in a circle that makes us feel as if nothing happened; there’s no resolution or epiphany. It is also hard to feel bad for a family who seem to have everything, although the contrast with Gloria’s family who lives almost in complete poverty in the Philippines is a very interesting touch. I would like to support a director that doesn’t focus on Hollywood and an actor like Gael García Bernal who with his talent will get far, but I don’t think this movie will help much for that.

 

I don’t think it’s worth coming out of the movie theater confused and a little upset because this movie makes a twirl that leaves us dizzy.

Bruno
Jack Rico
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2009/11/17 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

Bruno

11.17.2009 | By |

Rating: 3.5

Rated: R for pervasive strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity and language.
Release Date: 2009-07-10
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Peter Baynham, Anthony Hines
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: No disponible.

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‘Bruno’, starring comedian Sasha Baron Cohen, is a very funny film whose primary source of laughter is based on shock value. The more shocking it is the funnier it is… but is it? I’d like to think so, but many would disagree with me by arguing that it is insensitive, politically incorrect, tasteless and uncouth. I must admit though, because of its crass take on comedy, most of the scenes were cringingly and revoltingly funny.

Gay Austrian fashion reporter Brüno is fired from his show after disrupting a catwalk show during Milan Fashion week. Accompanied by his assistant Lutz, he travels to the United States to become a superstar.

At the premiere screening I attended in Los Angeles on the day Michael Jackson died, the mood was gray. Ten minutes into it, people were laughing, but 30 minutes later you could see people covering their mouths with their eyes wide open looking at the people next to them not believing what they just saw. “Was that just up on the screen?”, were just some of the comments made.

My advice to people who have a curiosity to see this film is if you have an aversion to sexual images, jokes or homosexuality, don’t go watch it. If you happen to be someone who is a religious fanatic and is easily offended by religious jokes, then stay away. For everyone else, go and enjoy what is easily one of the funniest and most offensive films in history! Oh and by the way, wear a condom before you see it. You’ll thank me after it.

Star Trek
Mack Chico
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2009/11/17 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

Star Trek

11.17.2009 | By |

Rating: 3.5

Rated: PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, and brief sexual content.
Release Date: 2009-05-08
Starring: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.startrekmovie.com/

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2009’s ‘Star Trek’ is a youthful, and very entertaining modern revival of the classic and outdated TV series and movie franchise starring William Shatner and Leonard Nemoy. This new version is an all out action film that manages to balance it with some terrific casting, CGI effects and humor. Very similar to what ‘Iron Man’ as a movie offered. Star Trek has been designed with the lofty goal of keeping current fans, repatriating lapsed ones and, by re-branding the name, opening the Trek universe to millions of new viewers. J.J. Abrams‘ attempt has mostly succeeded.

 

The storyline is essentially the deep exploration of the beginnings of Captain Kirk and Spock. This allows the story to establish the origins of all the classic characters and the circumstances that brought them all together. Within this framework, Kirk and Spock meet and soon become competitive cadets-in-training. With their drastically opposite styles, one driven by passion, the other by rigorous logic, they become defiant adversaries, each going all out to be th4 captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

 

Leonard Nimoy (the original Spock) makes a cameo in the role that made him famous, and the connection between “new Trek” and “classic Trek” is created.  Just like Nimoy’s appearance, there are a myriad of subtle homages to the old television series and Patrick Stewart films that the true Trekkies will appreciate. Oddly enough, Shatner was nowhere to be seen.

 

There are some narrative cracks though. Abrams and his screenwriters, longtime Trek fans Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Transformers, Mission Impossible 3), do their best to keep things engaging despite the tremendous constraints of the “origin” format, but there are times when the material feels rushed. When considering pace, this is most definitely that anti-Star Trek: The Motion Picture. No loving, languid shots here.

Star Trek is clearly an action-oriented motion picture, with an intensity that exceeds even that of The Wrath of Khan. The pace is blistering, and the movie is littered with the eye candy of expertly realized space battles. The special effects are beyond those seen in any of the previous ten Star Trek features. In addition to the battles, there are also chases, fight scenes, and all the other staples one expects from an action movie.

The casting could not have been better Chris Pine (Kirk) and Zachary Quinto (Spock) truly embody the essence of the priginal characters. The dominican actress Zoe Saldaña plays Uhura, but with a new sexiness absent from the previous versions.

Ultimately, when the end credits roll, we’re left with the sense that Star Trek represents a good beginning. As a film tasked with getting all the characters together, re-booting a timeline, and finding a way to return a veteran actor to his beloved role, Star Trek works. There is some awkwardness here – it feels like the “hybrid” it is (or, as it has been called, “Not Your Father’s Star Trek”) but, considering how ponderous and stilted the Star Trek movie series had become, perhaps that’s not a bad thing. Still, as with any prequel/re-start, the real test will arrive with the next movie (purportedly in two years – assuming this one does not flop at the box office). The setup is complete; now it’s time to see whether the implied potential of this first entry into a new series can be realized in its sequel.

My Sister’s Keeper
Mack Chico
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By

2009/11/17 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

My Sister’s Keeper

11.17.2009 | By |

Rating: 2.0

Rated: PG-13 for mature thematic content, some disturbing images, sensuality, language and brief teen drinking.
Release Date: 2009-06-26
Starring: Jeremy Leven, Nick Cassavetes
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.mysisterskeepermovie.com/

 Go to our film page

 

“My Sister’s Keeper” is two straight hours of emotional torture. Melodramatic in its essence and shamelessly exploitative in its purpose.

Based on the best-selling novel by Jodi Picoult, the film tells the story Sara (Cameron Diaz) and Brian (Jason Patric) who live an idyllic life with their young son and daughter. But their family is rocked by sudden, heartbreaking news that forces them to make a difficult and unorthodox choice in order to save their baby girl’s life. The parents’ desperate decision raises both ethical and moral questions and rips away at the foundation of their relationship.

There are so many holes with this movie and so many questions that arise from them, that the crying your eyes out is just one way of expressing your dissatisfaction with it.
There is also the greater question of the ethics of bringing one child into the world simply to help keep another one alive, even though you may be putting that child through enormous amounts of pain and stress as a result–what would happen if that child finally decided that enough was enough and that she wanted to have some say in the matter as well? These are all intriguing questions and a smart movie would have been willing to deal with them in a thoughtful manner.

On the acting front, Cameron Diaz’s acting was stretched beyond its dramatic ability, but Alec Baldwin’s presence, as the attorney engaged by Anna to pursue her case, no matter how brief, invigorated the screen with some life and needed dry humor. Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) acts saintly and not at all real, while Joan Cusack, in an uncomfortably odd cameo, twitches and blinks as a judge with her own private tragedy.

All in all, this film will be appealing to those who have a flare for dramatic and love crying at a whim. Most will just be crying to get their money back.

The Best Films of 2009
Jack Rico
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By

2009/11/16 at 12:00am

Movies

The Best Films of 2009

11.16.2009 | By |

The Best Films of 2009
The Messenger
Jack Rico
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By

2009/11/12 at 12:00am

Reviews

The Messenger

11.12.2009 | By |

The Messenger

The first 20 minutes of ‘The Messenger’ should remind you of the power movies can have on anyone. It is very well acted, but a tough movie to watch. This film is not for most people, but if you can stomach it, it is worth the watch and money to see. It’s not every day war movies are released and less so when they have to do with such a gut-twisting premise as this.

In his first leading role, Ben Foster stars as Will Montgomery, a U.S. Army officer who has just returned home from a tour in Iraq and is assigned to the Army’s Casualty Notification service. Partnered with fellow officer Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) to bear the bad news to the loved ones of fallen soldiers, Will faces the challenge of completing his mission while seeking to find comfort and healing back on the home front. When he finds himself drawn to Olivia (Samantha Morton), to whom he has just delivered the news of her husband’s death, Will’s emotional detachment begins to dissolve and the film reveals itself as a surprising, humorous, moving and very human portrait of grief, friendship and survival.

Let me tell you why the film is good and worth the watch. The Messenger will jolt you emotionally, close to the way Precious does. It’s emotionally raw with situations that feel very real and unsettling. It’s brutal. You say “why do I want to see that?”, but it’s like watching a car wreck on the highway – you slow down to see the post carnage. It’s the macabre part in all of us. Once the story reels you in, the film hits you with excellent acting from Foster and Harrelson. They own the screen and you are absorbed by their lives, problems and thoughts. Just when you can’t take enough drama, Harrelson breaks the tension with off the cuff humor which reminds you that this is just a movie. However, the pacing is off and it feels choppy at times. It goes off into tangents sometimes the way a conversation with a friend might. You can reel him back in, but you can’t do that to a movie. Part of those tangents that didn’t work were the bizarre romantic scenes with Morton and Foster which just didn’t match the level and intensity of the rest of the film, then a wedding crash by the protagonists which seemed out of place.

Credit goes to first time Israeli director Oren Moverman and Italian co-writer Alessandro Camon for creating a script that effectively captures the tribulations of post war trauma and the complex scenarios they harbor within them.

You won’t find many films that shake you ardently the way this does. Even with some of its flaws, it was a satisfying piece of work that you can for sure be pleased with.

Fantastic Mr. Fox
Alex Florez
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2009/11/11 at 12:00am

Reviews

Fantastic Mr. Fox

11.11.2009 | By |

Fantastic Mr. Fox

As daring as it might seem for director Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums) to switch gears and take a crack at an animated film for the first time, adapting a best selling children’s book from a legendary author is arguably the bigger gamble. Or so you would think. With FANTASTIC MR. FOX, a film based on Roald Dahl’s book of the same name, Anderson rarely steps out of his comfort zone.  The risks are few simply because he’s managed to inject enough of his own personality into Dahl’s work to make it his own. In retrospect, the movie fits perfectly into his filmography.  

Those familiar with his work will instantly recognize his trademark humor, wit, the familiar voices he casts for his films and his penchant for putting together an amazing soundtrack of folk and classic rock.

Nevertheless, as an animated film it is quite refreshing to look at. The stop motion techniques used are a welcomed break from the computer generated animations we’re so accustomed to seeing nowadays. Anderson’s attention to detail doesn’t go unnoticed either, and the work of the animators should also be recognized given the challenges of animating real fur.  

One other note: if you’ve grown up with Dahl’s work, which also includes Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach, you might not welcome the notion that Anderson takes many liberties with the ‘Mr. Fox script’, going as far as adding several scenes to make it work as a feature length film.  

As it plays out in the film, Mr and Mrs Fox (George Clooney and Meryl Streep) live an idyllic home life with their son Ash (Jason Schwartzman) and visiting young nephew Kristopherson (Eric Anderson). But after 12 years, the tranquil lifestyle proves to be too dull for Mr Fox’s wild animal instincts. Soon he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief and in doing so, endangers not only his beloved family, but the whole animal community. Trapped underground and with not enough food to go around, the animals band together to fight against three evil farmers.

In the end, the film never quite grabs you emotionally the way a Pixar movie will, but I’m not sure that any of his live action films have either. Regardless, Fantastic Mr. Fox is very kid friendly and fun watch for the whole family.

 

Up
Alex Florez
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By

2009/11/10 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

Up

11.10.2009 | By |

Rating: 4.0

Rated: PG for some peril and action.
Release Date: 2009-05-29
Starring: Bob Peterson
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/up/

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With its 10th film, Disney-Pixar adds to what is an already impressive collection of animated features that have delighted kids and adults alike since the mid 90s.  In the tradition of its predecessors, UP not only stretches the imagination, but through the familiar qualities we see in their characters, also manages to galvanize our hearts into action. Quietly, and simply put, Pixar has become the brand we can trust to inspire.

UP, follows the touching story of a 78 year old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner), who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the jungles of South America. But he soon discovers that he won’t be alone on his journey – an 8 year old ‘wilderness explorer’ named Russell is inadvertently on board.

Despite its impeccable record of hit films, Pixar doesn’t simply follow a formula that has worked for them in the past.  They continuously explore new territory and with last year’s Wall-E even go as far as making daring social political commentary.  Of course it’s all hidden underneath a score of lovable characters and a hilarious string of jokes. 

 

UP however, seems to push the envelope even further by introducing some sobering moments we’re not used to seeing in ‘kid movies’.  Trust me, you’ll know what I’m talking about when you see them.  While navigating between these type of scenes and the lighthearted ones is something director Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.) does swiftly, it also presents the film’s most challenging and uncomfortable moments. Notwithstanding, you’ll be in for an hour an a half of absolute fun.

It is hard to say where UP ranks among the other Pixar classics, but as of now it is one genre-bending unpredictable animated family action comedy for all age groups.

The Ugly Truth
Jack Rico
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By

2009/11/10 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

The Ugly Truth

11.10.2009 | By |

Rating: 2.5

Rated: R for sexual content and language.
Release Date: 2009-07-24
Starring: Nicole Eastman, Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.theuglytruth-movie.com/

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The Ugly Truth sells a fantasy about putting together two attractive individuals and telling the audience they’re falling in love rather than taking the time to develop interesting characters and build the romance. The only thing that differentiates it from far too many other uninspired rom-coms is that some of the material is funny and there is an occasional edge to the repartee. Beyond that, however, it’s a cookie-cutter movie, and the cookies are pretty stale.

A romantically challenged morning show producer (Heigl) is reluctantly embroiled in a series of outrageous tests by her chauvinistic correspondent (Butler) to prove his theories on relationships and help her find love. His clever ploys, however, lead to an unexpected result.

The two stars, Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler, are the next coming of Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. They’re both photogenic and their chemistry is hit-and-miss, but I can’t help wonder if this is more symptomatic of problems with the direction of Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde) and the weaknesses in the screenplay. When they’re given a full scene in which to interact, there’s something there, but those moments are few and far between.

One thing The Ugly Truth has going for it is that, unlike many romantic comedies, this one is actually funny – not consistently, but there are enough laughter-inducing scenes to keep things from becoming too tedious. Much of the humor is of the sex farce variety, with some of it falling into the Benny Hill school of funny bone tickling. For the most part, The Ugly Truth is PG-13 material (with the only nudity being a male butt), but some profanity and a few descriptive sex terms push it over the line into the realm of the soft R, which makes no sense from a marketing standpoint.

The Ugly Truth is a neatly packaged product that comes with all the consumer friendly safety labels. The comedy, as sophomoric as it often is, relieves some of the boredom of the generic love story. The movie is more like a re-make than something new, but many viewers find comfort in the familiar, and this is for them. For my part, if I want to re-visit this formula, I’ll head for the DVD shelf, where better interpretations of the same basic story exist. And that my friends is ‘The Ugly Truth.’

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