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I Love You, Beth Cooper
Mack Chico
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2009/11/02 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

I Love You, Beth Cooper

11.2.2009 | By |

Rating: 1.5

Rated: PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language, some teen drinking and drug references, and brief violence.
Release Date: 2009-07-10
Starring: Larry Doyle
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.iloveyoubethcoopermovie.com/

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I Love You, Beth Cooper is a film that blends the satirical and the serious, although the former lacks the edge to give it bite and the latter is only occasionally applied with conviction. The result feels at odds with itself and never fully satisfies. There’s a sense that a much better movie is trying to get out but it never attains escape velocity.

 

It’s graduation day for the seniors of Buffalo Grove High, and valedictorian Denis Cooverman (Paul Rust) is about to deliver an unusual address. In it, he professes unrequited love for the school’s head cheerleader, Beth Cooper (Hayden Panettiere). This delights Denis’ best friend, Rich (Jack T. Carpenter), who is the instigator of Denis’ confession. Beth is conflicted – despite being embarrassed, she finds the whole thing “so sweet.” Her thuggish, drugged-out boyfriend, Kevin (Shawn Roberts), decides that ending Denis’ life might be the best way to resolve an unpleasant situation. Events conspire to group Denis, Beth, Rich, and Beth’s two best friends, Cammy (Lauren London) and Treece (Lauren Storm), together for the night. Their misadventures include avoiding Kevin when he launches an attack on Denis’ house, breaking into the school for some fun in the showers, turning up at the most popular party of the evening, and spending time in a cabin in the woods. Out for blood, Kevin is always in hot pursuit, and both Beth and Denis discover things about their feelings for one another they weren’t expecting.

 

The intended raunchy content has been watered down for PG-13 consumption. There is nudity, but it’s of the peek-a-boo variety. Director Chris Columbus, a graduate of the John Hughes school of filmmaking (perhaps best known for handling the first two Harry Potter movies), avoids anything deeply scathing or controversial. Although I Love You, Beth Cooper doesn’t quite fit neatly into the teenage romantic comedy mold, it comes close, with titles like Risky Business and The Girl Next Door being appropriate antecedents. (The Tom Cruise movie is even mentioned explicitly.) 

 

Hayden Panettiere is best-known for her role in the TV series Heroes, although her acting career stretches back much farther. She shows impressive range here, essentially having to play three versions of Beth Cooper: the image that attracts the eyes and stirs the hormones of all the boys in school (including Denis); the scary, reckless one who pushes boundaries and buttons; and the “real” girl behind all the curtains. Panettiere integrates the three into one, which is a more adept task than one might imagine. The performance is better than the movie deserves.

 

There’s a sense that I Love You, Beth Cooper has been smoothed out and dumbed down to reach the broadest audience. (Not having read the novel by Larry Doyle, who also penned the screenplay, I can’t say for sure.) As good as some of the bonding material is, that’s how unfortunate many of the so-called comedic and generic story elements are. I Love You, Beth Cooper is schizophrenic – two very different movies uneasily occupying the same space and time. One of them has promise; the other is annoying and off-putting. The filmmakers lacked the courage and conviction to tell an honest, character-based story and resorted to something that has been massaged into a more comfortable, easily consumable cinematic morsel. Too bad the inevitable result of ingesting this is heartburn.

Michael Jackson’s This is It
Juan Ensuncho Bárcena
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2009/10/29 at 12:00am

Reviews

Michael Jackson’s This is It

10.29.2009 | By |

Michael Jackson's This is It
Michael Jackson’s This is It
Namreta Kumar
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2009/10/29 at 12:00am

Reviews

Michael Jackson’s This is It

10.29.2009 | By |

Michael Jackson's This is It

Like much of anything Michael Jackson this film is a landmark. This Is It will immediately capture your heart.

The film takes you on a roller coaster ride. It opens with the tears of joy of the opportunity to work with the man who has defined music and dance in so many ways. While watching the film you almost forget that Michael Jackson is not here anymore. His vibrance, humor, and spirit leap off the screen and touch you.

This project developed by the archived videos of Michael Jackson’s last concert reveal art-making as an unfinished masterpiece. Kenny Oretga’s mosaic of Michael Jackson’s last days and dreams will undoubtedly inspire Michael Jackson fans. The raw images never hinder, as other documentaries may, but deliver the energy of another thrilling performance.

Through the eyes of these rehearsal lenses every music fan is delivered to the stage. The respect and L-O-V-E, love, that Michael Jackson works on every detail with is sure to move anyone. It is almost hard to judge the film objectively, because it seems to have another quality about it altogether.

Whether you look at it from a subject point of view or from a genre point of view This Is It is unique. You get a lot more than what you bargain for – A Film, A Concert, A Journey – This Is It honors the entertainer of entertainers.

Orphan
Jack Rico
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2009/10/27 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

Orphan

10.27.2009 | By |

Rating: 3.5

Rated: R for disturbing violent content, some sexuality and language.
Release Date: 2009-07-24
Starring: David Johnson, Alex Mace
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://orphan-movie.warnerbros.com/

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Spanish helmer Jaume Collet-Serra begins ‘Orphan’ like your usual thriller, with scare alerts and false alarms, but it then becomes savagely violent and because it’s source is an innocent child, that savagery is heightened to a surreal peak that makes one twitch and uncomfortable. The first hour is a pure frightful delight, but it’s second half discombobulates into a typical, laughable yet unpredictable Hollywood fare.

So you have an idea of the story, some have compared this film to ‘The Good Son’ starring Macaulay Culkin, but the similarities stop at the first half. ‘Orphan’ is the mother load of all evil child movies. It’s sick and beyond anything you’d expect.  The script has parts where it is absurd and ridiculous, but what about ‘Friday the 13th’ and ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ movies and we all love it, don’t we? Orphan is actually better than those films. The first half is as good as any suspense movie as I’ve seen since The Strangers, regrettably the rest of the film cannot be defended. What it could have been.

In this premise, the tragic loss of a couples’ (Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard) unborn child has devastated them. It has taken a toll on both their marriage and Kate’s fragile psyche as she is plagued by nightmares and haunted by demons from her past. Struggling to regain some semblance of normalcy in their lives, the couple decides to adopt young 10 year old girl. At the local orphanage, both John and Kate find themselves strangely drawn to a young girl named Esther. Almost as soon as they welcome Esther into their home, however, an alarming series of events begins to unfold, leading Kate to believe that there’s something wrong with Esther – this seemingly angelic little girl is not what she appears to be. Concerned for the safety of her family, Kate tries to get John and others to see past Esther’s sweet facade.

Director Jaume Collet-Serra is known in the circles for making the horror remake ‘House of Wax’ co-starring one rich and young Paris Hilton. This is by far a better offering than the aforementioned. The protagonists Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga are well-cast in the role, however,  the manner in which the movie handles the other children, Daniel and Max, are perturbing. The film uses them as pawns in a demented game of danger and peril.

The climax is rather startling, combining the logic of the situation with audacity in exploiting its terror. Yet you have to hand it to ‘Orphan.’ You want a good horror film about a child from hell, you got one. This film is not for minors and I say this with all frankness, do not take children to see it. You’ll thank me for it later.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Mack Chico
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2009/10/27 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

10.27.2009 | By |

Rating: 2.0

Rated: PG for some mild rude humor and peril.
Release Date: 2009-07-01
Starring:
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.laeradelhielo3.com/

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With each release, Pixar explores new themes and ideas. Meanwhile, animation studios like Fox retread tired “franchises” like Ice Age. Never representative of more than mediocrity from a technical or story-based standpoint, the Ice Age series has reached a new nadir with its third entry. Rather than adding an extra dimension to the entertainment, the decision to release Dawn of the Dinosaurs in 3D merely gives the animators an opportunity to be more slipshod in their design and execution. For the most part, the movie plays out like a demo for the video game, careening from one improbable action sequence to the next. I can see how the challenge of mastering some of these puzzles might be fun in an interactive forum, but they’re deadly dull in a movie.

 

The story has Manny the Mammoth (voice of Ray Romano) and his mate, Ellie (Queen Latifa), about to embark upon parenthood. Diego the Sabertooth Tiger (Denis Leary), feeling he has lost “it,” elects to leave behind the herd and strike out on his own. And Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) decides that, like Manny, he wants a family of his own. He achieves this goal not by finding a female and doing it the old fashioned way but by discovering three unhatched dinosaur eggs. Soon, he is being followed by three newly hatched T-Rexes, which is okay until a perturbed mother shows up wondering where her babies are. It turns out that there is a lost world of dinosaurs under the ice and, when Mama T-Rex kidnaps Sid and transports him down there, Manny, Ellie, and Diego follow. They are soon joined by a crazy weasel (Simon Pegg) denizen of the underworld who spends his days and nights hunting the biggest, baddest dinosaur of them all: a gargantuan carnivore called “Rudy.”

 

In the previous Ice Age movies, the best reasons to watch were related to the misadventures of Scrat the Sabertooth Squirrel, the prehistoric equivalent of Wiley Coyote. In Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Scrat is the only reason to watch. 

 

Very little happens over the course of the film. What passes for a “story” is nothing more than a thinly-veiled excuse to incorporate dinosaurs into the proceedings, presumably because they’re popular with little boys. 

 

The most disappointing thing about Dawn of the Dinosaurs is the movie’s look. Everything in this world is bland and generic. There’s no texture in the foreground and no detail in the background. It’s a small step up from Saturday morning cartoon quality. The excuse, I suppose, is that the “3D experience” compensates, but it also mutes the colors and dims the brightness. Dawn of the Dinosaurs looks awful. If I was one of the CGI animators, I’d be embarrassed to be associated with the film. I have seen amateur filmmakers do better work on their Macs.

 

Like Madagascar and Shrek (both Dreamworks properties), Ice Age is a brand-name and people will see it for that reason alone. Quality doesn’t come into it. It’s another example of something that offers a passable diversion for kids and a restless 90 minutes for the adults who accompany them. The 3D surcharge is a rip-off: the movie doesn’t do anything with the effect and there are even a few instances when it appears to be improperly applied. The best option is to ignore the existence of Dawn of the Dinosaurs altogether and see Up a second time. A repeat viewing of the Pixar film will be more rewarding than a first viewing of the latest Ice Age entry.

Saw VI
Ted Faraone
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By

2009/10/23 at 12:00am

Reviews

Saw VI

10.23.2009 | By |

Saw VI

In an extraordinary move the Spanish government have restricted “Saw VI” (not surprisingly the sixth installment in the Jigsaw horror series) to the nation’s eight theaters that are allowed to show porno.  While this begs the question, “Are Spaniards really into Pay Per View?”  Your critic says that it is an over-the-top judgment call.
 
Your critic entered the screening room expecting something akin to a snuff film that would arouse men who harbor violent thoughts against women.  Fortunately such was not the case.  However, pic contains moments that those with weak stomachs should avoid.
 
“Saw VI” meets or exceeds all standards on a technical level.  Sound recording works.  Lensing is competent.  Special effects don’t look expensive, but work.  Editing delivers just the right amount of tension.  Where it falls down is in storyline and acting.  There are three thesps who turn in creditable performances:  Tobin Bell, who created the role of Jigsaw John, Betsy Russell as his wife, addiction doc Jill, and Peter Outerbridge as William, a medical insurance executive who is pic’s evil capitalist.  The rest, notably Costas Mandylor as crooked detective Hoffman, either sleepwalk through their roles or need to go back to acting school.  In Mandylor’s case, those who remember him from TV’s “Picket Fences” will be disappointed to know that he has both gained weight and lost talent.  Dialogue is subpar.  Plot leaves a ton of loose ends.  Most of them have to do with the question, “Why?”
 
While dying of a cancer for which William’s insurance company refused to cover treatment (pic is at least timely) Jigsaw John has developed a very nasty post mortem revenge plot cloaked in pseudo human decency.  He sets up William, the insurance VP who refused coverage for an experimental procedure, in a catch 22.  He has to save himself by killing others.  Instead of building suspense, plot is an excuse to string together a series of bloody vignettes.  It’s a sort of “Galaxy Quest” on acid.  Such clues as exist are telegraphed.  Surprises surprise without any credible setup.
 
It is never explained why wife Jill goes along with the bloody scheme and why crooked detective Hoffman executes it.  It’s those pesky loose ends….
 
Direction on a technical level by Kevin Greutert is good.  Screenplay by Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton should have been sent back for rewrites.  But “Saw” is a franchise.  It functions on a different plane from the rest of cinema.  It has a track record at the box office and a loyal audience.  Lionsgate’s marketing strategy of not showing it to crix until opening day is open to debate, but pix such as “Saw VI” tend not be affected by notices.

The Wedding Song
Namreta Kumar
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By

2009/10/23 at 12:00am

Reviews

The Wedding Song

10.23.2009 | By |

The Wedding Song

For a film that is so loaded The Wedding Song does not say a lot. Karin Albou structured the film from story to acting with an intimate design in mind.

The story is simple: a tale of the friendship between Myriam (Lizzie Brochere) and Nour (Olympe Borval), and how it grows in the face of their stark differences and the world that is rapidly changing around them. While Myriam is thrust into an arranged marriage in desperation to shield herself from the war, Nour’s “love” marriage traps her within the prejudice views of the times. Design was the cornerstone of this film and its failure. Albou’s design defines the good, the bad, and the ugly of The Wedding Song.

The good: The many layers of a woman’s coming of age are beautifully intertwined with the lesser known hostilities of a War that defines so much of who people became. Albou’s design and technique of the layers of intimacy between two friends in the heat of World War II is so particularly crafted in front of your eyes that your emotions are taken from simple homes through the ages that defined it.

The bad: The craftsmanship and design are forced through every scene. Although beautifully crafted and unique, the story is hard pressed for a slice for everyone to identify with. What makes coming of age stories special are the people we see in them and this art, with its specificity, lacks empathy.

The ugly: The Wedding Song is a heavy-handed art film and the design that faults it defines it. Albou has brought together so much of life and its unpredictable nature into each character set scene and action that it demands an active audience.

In short this film is a beautiful story with a lot of detail but a curtailed base. In the long run it will find itself as a winner with critical thinkers but not with the targeted bathetic audience.

Amelia
Jack Rico
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By

2009/10/23 at 12:00am

Reviews

Amelia

10.23.2009 | By |

Amelia

If you’ve seen the films ‘Aviator’ from the director Martin Scorsese and ‘Titanic’ from James Cameron, then you will have a good idea of what to expect from ‘Amelia’.
 
The film is a celluloid biography about the real life of Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank), the first woman that attempted to fly around the world. The movie focuses on her beginnings as a pilot, her voyages in the Atlantic and Pacific, her marriage to George Putnam (Richard Gere) and eventually, her mysterious death around Hawaii in 1937.
 
‘Amelia’ is a good film but it doesn’t deserve too many praises. The cinematography of the film was great and recreated the 20’s and 30’s on point. Acting wise, Hilary Swank was once again splendid, capturing Earhart’s innocent and joyous essence. Her nomination for an Oscar is more than assured. Richard Gere on the other hand, did not move me with his acting, to be franc, he was indifferent to me. I don’t know, I think his best days as an actor are over.
 
Anyway, the film lacked the magic that ‘Titanic’ or ‘La Vie En Rose’ by Olivier Dahan had. Those are movies that you keep in your heart for months, years, even a whole life time after you’ve seen them in the movie theater. As a cinematographic piece I recommend seeing ‘Amelia’. It’s a good film but is not that special.

Astro Boy
Jack Rico
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By

2009/10/22 at 12:00am

Reviews

Astro Boy

10.22.2009 | By |

Astro Boy

Since I saw the preview I knew I was going to enjoy the animation. Usually I don’t get that feeling but ‘Astro Boy’ didn’t disappoint. The quality of the computer generated graphics was excellent, the voices were on par and the plot will make any parent tear more than once. Get ready.
 
The film is based on a popular manga and anime series from Osamu Tezuka. The movie tells the tale of a father (Nicolas Cage) who looses his son (Freddie Highmore) in a scientific accident and then recreates him as a super-robot. Sadly, his pain is so great he rejects him completely. The rest of the story has our hero trying to win back his father’s love.
 
Usually anime or manga films don’t have a lot of success in Hollywood but they do on T.V. such as Voltron, Pokemon, Speed Racer, etc… ‘Astro Boy’ is a risk to the Summit Entertainment company since the main character doesn’t have a fan base in the U.S. most of its reputation comes from Japan. I personally liked it and in my opinion you will too.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant
Alex Florez
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2009/10/22 at 12:00am

Reviews

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant

10.22.2009 | By |

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

The minute a genre becomes popular, Hollywood does its very best to milk it.  To squeeze every last dime out of our pockets.  And it will continue to do it as long as there continues to be an audience for it.  Let’s take ‘SAW’ as an example.  This week, the franchise releases its 6th installment with numbers 7 & 8 already on the way.  Let us remember that the first film hit theaters in 2004. Can they crank them out or what?

However, what seems to be all the rage these days are vampires. They’re everywhere: movies, TV shows, books, toys and on Halloween in every costume party in America.  To what do we owe this resurgence? Why the public obsession with a corpse supposed, in European folklore, to leave its grave at night drink the blood of the living? I have my own opinions about it but Hollywood could care less so long as we keep opening up our wallets.

For those that haven’t yet had their fill, this week you’ll have the option of seeing Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, but do so at your own risk.  The film, based on the popular series of books by Darren Shan, will do little to excite the average viewer.

Here’s the gist: A 16 year-old unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, he vanishes from the safety of a boring existence, and puts at risk his relationship with his best friend to fulfill his destiny.

Think of Cirque du Freak as the vampire version of ‘Harry Potter’. Unfortunately, the magic just isn’t there.  A supporting cast that includes mexican actress Salma Hayek as ‘the bearded woman’ doesn’t even manage to spice things up. I will say however, that John C. Reilly (Step Brothers, Walk Hard) who plays Crepsely – The vampire who mentors young Darren and shows him how to develop his vampire abilities – shows his acting range and takes on a role we rarely see him in.

Unless you already a diehard fan of the books, I advise to stay away from the film.  The characters are dull and uninviting. You will leave the theater without a care in the world and a few dollars poorer.

One final note: Isn’t actor Chris Massoglia the spitting image of a young Ralph Macchio (The Karate Kid)?

 

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