10.21.2013 | By Mariana Dussan |
*Updated December 2025
With the action thriller Escape Plan not drawing double digit numbers at the box office in its original theatrical release, why don’t we remember the best of Sylvester Stallone‘s finest performances? Read More
10.11.2013 | By Jack Rico |
*Updated December 2025
The “1-4-0”: “MACHETE don’t make good sequels.” He’s a great character who ran into a stale script full of retread jokes and too much dialogue. It’s not as funny anymore.
I really love the cast. Among assembling a who’s who of Hispanic Hollywood actors, Demián Bichir and Sofía Vergara steal the show. I also must confess that Lady Gaga was very good in the brief moments she was on screen. She made her scenes look effortless. I think she has a future in the business, if she so desires it.
The characters that director Robert Rodriguez concocted for this franchise are all for the most part memorable. Add the hilarious fake trailers with their grainy 70’s grindhouse look and Machete Kills has something to offer to fans of the exploitation genre.
For a B movie, Machete Kills delivers a high degree of craft, ingenuity, and some great laughs, like the “hanging” scene. You will appreciate the effort, but the script ultimately got away from the director.
Machete is recruited by the President of the USA (Charlie Sheen) to head into Mexico and stop a madman Cartel boss from blowing up the White House with a nuclear missile.
The performances from the lead ensemble are the strongest element. Bichir and Vergara bring a level of energy that carries the film through its slower moments. The visual style remains consistent with the first entry, maintaining that specific 1970s aesthetic that fans of the series enjoy.
When crafting humor, it really is hit and miss. It looks like Rodriguez brain-drained every great joke on the first movie. In this mediocre sequel, we see jokes being recycled to poker face reactions and too much dialogue that should have been truncated.
This contributed to an uneven flow, and the movie felt a bit on the long side. The whole magic of the first film was based on Danny Trejo’s deadpan brilliance, but he was also given extremely imaginative scenarios to work with. Most of the humor here seemed to have worn out its welcome.
Nay. If this was a great movie I’d say pay for it, but there is much better comedic fare out there worth your hard earned money. Machete Kills isn’t a bad movie, it’s just not as good as the first one. I’d wait for this to hit home video.
10.11.2013 | By Mariana Dussan |
Justin Bieber, Paris Hilton and Pitbull released spanking new tracks for our hearing pleasures (or displeasures) this week, and of course, I have a thing or two say about each of them. Read More
10.10.2013 | By Mariana Dussan |
*Updated December 2025
Steven Spielberg may be a cinema legend, but his children are making their own noise in the music industry. Jay-Z’s Roc Nation signed Wardell, a talented summery sounding duo that might give Blue Ivy a run for her inheritance. The indie-folk band is made up of Theo and Sasha Spielberg, children of Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw. Theo is in charge of instrumentals and Sasha of vocals. They released the EP Brother/Sister and prepared their debut album shortly after. Read More
10.9.2013 | By Jack Rico |
I usually don’t have much time to read books. My literature is mostly composed from films, documentaries, newspapers, radio, podcasts, web journals, but not hundred paged books. In the case of “Musts, Maybes, and Nevers: A Book About the Movies” by David V. Picker, I conceded victory to him for engaging me from the preface.
Read More
10.8.2013 | By Mariana Dussan |
Between Britney Spears’ “Work Bitch†and Rihanna’s “Pour it Up†we have two new videos, two fierce divas and too much sexiness. But which is the hottest video? Let the Pop-Off begin! Read More
10.7.2013 | By SBC Staff |
After receiving a lengthy standing ovation at its World Premiere at the New York Film Festival, Ben Stiller’s ‘The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty‘ seems to be Oscar bound. How far it’ll get is the question. It’s a fantasy film and they don’t usually prevail at the Oscars. Here is the brand new theatrical trailer that fleshes out the plot a bit more explicitly. Have a look below… Read More
10.5.2013 | By Jack Rico |
The 1-4-0: Best. Movie. Of. The. Year. ‘Nuff said. When James Cameron says that Gravity is “the best space film ever done,” well, what else do you have to say? In my humble opinion, Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity is the best space movie I have seen. It is perfect. Read More
10.5.2013 | By SBC Staff |
Batman, er, Christian Bale, is starring in his first film since The Dark Knight Rises and it looks promising. ‘Out of the Furnace,’ the drama/thriller about the love between two blue-collar brothers, stars Bale along with Casey Affleck. The release date will be December 6, 2013 and is directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Get Low), produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and Ridley Scott.
Also, the cast is rounded out by Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, Dominican actress Zoë Saldana and Sam Shepard.
Synopsis: Here comes a gripping and gritty drama about family, fate, circumstance, and justice. Russell Baze (Christian Bale) has a rough life: he works a dead-end blue collar job at the local steel mill by day, and cares for his terminally ill father by night. When Russell’s brother Rodney (Casey Affleck) returns home from serving time in Iraq, he gets lured into one of the most ruthless crime rings in the Northeast and mysteriously disappears. The police fail to crack the case, so – with nothing left to lose – Russell takes matters into his own hands, putting his life on the line to seek justice for his brother.
