Finding Nemo 3D (Movie Review)

Pixar’s ‘Finding Nemo 3D’ directed by Andrew Staton comes to us nine years after it was released in May 30th, 2003. Obviously technology has advanced so much in this amount of time, that Pixar chose the right time to put one of their most successful films in a 3D format. I felt honored to have been a part of a very small group of people that got to see the film in 3D in Pixar Studios’ very own movie theater, before anyone else in the world. We received a presentation before the film by Bob Whitehill Pixar’s stereoscopic supervisor and Joshua Hollander Pixar’s director of 3D production. They explained to us how time staking the process of converting an old film to 3D is. Starting by the fact that they had to convert the files careful not to harm the original, fix colors and mistakes from the previous one, they also had to do a lot of rendering to give it depth. The team wanted to get it just the same but with a higher resolution, to give it about 144% more detail, to bring it to a level of comfortable viewing.  It took them about a year and a half to convert the film. Knowing all of this before the film really made me and helped me appreciate it even more.

I felt like this was the very first time I saw the film, it already is so full of color that seeing it in 3D and high definition really takes you into the environment of the movie. A whole new generation of children that haven’t been introduced to this story will get to view it as never before, with its crisp clear colors, depth and beauty. If you loved the movie when it came out in 2003, you will love it even more now; it will feel like you are swimming in the ocean right along the characters. Pixar made a very wise decision to re-release this film in 3D and high definition in theaters September 14th as well as in Blu-ray 2D and 3D December 4th, 2012.   

For those that don’t know the story, ‘Finding Nemo’ follows the adventurous journey of Marlin (Albert Brooks) a clownfish who gets separated from his beloved son Nemo (Alexander Gould) from their home in the Great Barrier Reef, where a dentist decides to capture him and give him a home in the tank in his office. In his search Marlin befriends Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a forgetful fish that accompanies him throughout the ocean to rescue his son. Both clownfish find out things about themselves in their journeys and become heroes in their efforts to reunite and get back home.

The reason why ‘Finding Nemo’ was so successful when it premiered wasn’t only because of the beautiful animated images, but most of all because of the amazing journey the story takes us through. Despite of the fact that I’ve seen the film a number of times, I was still fully entertained for the duration of it, it gave me chills of joy and I relieved the whole story as if it were my first time experiencing it. I can certainly say I left Pixar Studios completely satisfied and excited to share with all of you the amazing experience.

‘Fidning Nemo’ was already such a success: having wan the Oscar in 2003 for Best Animated Feature, named among the top 10 greatest animated films ever made by the American Film Institute, being the highest grossing G-rated movie of all time and remaining the fifth highest grossing animated film worldwide.  So, why bother converting it to 3D and why even spend money on watching a film your children have probably made you watch countless times? Well they made something that was already close to perfection, completely perfect, this is a whole new way of experiencing the sea voyague. Everyone that worked on this movie to convert it to 3D did such an amazing job and made it’s worth relieving this masterpiece that is completely at home in 3D format. The extra bonus you get from watching ‘Finding Nemo 3D’ in theaters is Mark Walsh‘s amazing short 3D film ‘Partysaurus Rex‘ right before the film, it definitely gets the party started (Click on the link below for a full review of the short film).What’s even better? Pixar is making ‘Monsters Inc.’ into 3D and it will be re-released in December 19th, 2012. There are rumors that more of Pixar’s beloved films will be re-released in 3D, so we have a lot to look forward to!     

5 behind-the-scenes pics of new IMAX ‘Indiana Jones’!

’Raider’s of the Lost Ark’ returns to theaters 31 years after its original release completely restored to be released on select IMAX for only one week in September 7^, 2012, and on 69 of AMC’s theaters across the country a marathon of INDIANA JONES will be help on September 15^th, presenting: ‘Raider of the Lost Ark’, ‘Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom’, ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ and ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’. This will be followed by a Blu-ray release of ‘Indiana Jones: The complete Adventures’ on September 18, 2012 which features seven hours of bonus material, with a two-part documentary called ‘On Set with Raiders of the Lost Ark’, also an hour of rarely seen on set footage and interviews with director Steven Spielberg, Executive producer George Lucas and Harrison Ford.

I have to admit that I haven’t seen ’Indiana Jones: Raider’s of the Lost Ark’ probably since I was a little kid, which is no surprise since this first Indy film came out in 1981. So, it’s fair to say that seeing it in the AMC IMAX theater that Paramount took us to was as if I were seeing it for the very first time, as I recall very little of it. Seeing it on IMAX though was fantastic as the high definition quality of the picture really brings out the colors and clarity in the film and now I can see why women go crazy over Harrison Ford, he was a total hunk when he was younger.

The film was restored into the image and sound quality that is expected of IMAX, with careful attention to preserving the original look, sound and feel of the original. The problem is that we’ve grown so accustomed to the special effects and thrills that technology has given us that some of the action scenes look almost silly; but they are still certainly fun to watch. The dialogue is certainly outdated, but it gives us a look back as to how movies were 30 years ago. The IMAX experience was very rewarding and still very entertaining.

The next morning after a late viewing of the film, we were taken up to George Lucas’ very own SkyWalker Ranch, about an hour outside of San Francisco in a dense area where deer were out running around the hills. As we arrived we drove past the main house to the tech building, where we had a brief press conference in the in the beautiful in house movie theater with sound designer Ben Burtt and visual effects director Dennis Muren.

After the press conference we were given a very special exclusive treat…a trip to Lucasfilm Archives! There we were surrounded by objects and artifacts used in the ‘Star Wars’ movies like a life size R2-D2 and Chewbacca mask, also there was a different display for each one of the Indiana movies starting with his usual archeologist outfit, hat, whip and all, followed by the main treasures of each movie such as the Ark from the first and the Crystal skulls from the last. Truly, a fan’s dreams come true!

They also explained to us how an Indiana Jones adventure called “Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology” which first opened in Montreal’s Science Center and then went on to Valencia’s Ciudad de Las Artes y Ciencias; will premiere in the United States at Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana, California on October 12,2012 and will continue until April 21, 2013. The exhibition, which will be about 10,000 square feet, is equipped with a personal video companion, where visitors can go on a quest to find the real origins of archaeological mysteries. It contains materials from the Lucasfilm Archives, as well as videos from the National Geographic Society and Penn Musuem.

After this gratifying experience we took a short walk around the surroundings of the Tech building where we saw grapevines and other crops in a lovely, peaceful scenario accompanied by a small lake.

Needless to say that the die-hard fans of Indiana Jones have all the things listed on here to look forward to. It sure will be a treat for the generations that grew up watching the films and for the new ones being introduced to them.

‘The Possession’ #1 on Labor Day Wknd

The horror film ‘The Possession’ which claims to be based on true events, took the number one spot for Labor Day weekend with $21.3 million dollars. The film surprised many by doing so well; it has even gotten compared to ‘The Exorcist’ and although it’s rated PG-13 it does the job.

‘Lawless’ a movie about moonshine that is headlined by a star-studded cast, landed the second spot with $13 million dollars. Despite of the great reviews not only by critics but moviegoers themselves the film didn’t do as well as expected, considering that it opened two days before the three day weekend.

Finally, the movie that has been number one for the last two weeks, ‘The Expendables 2’ falls to the third spot with $11.2 million dollars. This way the summer box office closes, giving way to the fall line up which offers plenty of movies we can’t wait to see!

The Top 10 Movies in the Box Office are:

1. The Possession – $21.3 mil

2. Lawless – $13 mil

3. The Expendables 2 – $11.2 mil

4. The Bourne Legacy – $9.4 mil

5. ParaNorman – $8.9 mil

6. The Odd Life of Timothy Green – $8.5 mil

7. The Dark Knight Rises – $7.9 mil

8. 2016: Obama’s America – $7.1 mil

9. The Campaign – $7 mil

10. Hope Springs – $6 mil

For a Good Time, Call.. (Movie Review)

‘For a Good Time, Call…’ is a hilariously offensive, awkward, and sometimes disgustingly funny comedy that you will not only be able to enjoy with your girlfriends, but you can actually drag your boyfriend to. For those of you familiar with ‘Sex and the City’, you would certainly like this comedy, but the bonus here is that the raunchiness Samantha’s character brought to the series, which was one of the funnest parts about it, here it is taken to a whole other level without the baggage of Carrie’s drama. One thing that keeps this comedy safe is that surprisingly there is no nudity; the R rating is attributed all to the language used. I think director Jaime Travis was able to put on a comedy that is mainly laughs, very little drama and a whole lot of shocking language that will satisfy the audience.

 

The story develops as Katie (Ari Graynor) comes to find out she’s about to loose her rent-controlled dream apartment in Gramercy Park, the only way to continue living there is to get a roommate. Lauren (Lauren Miller) has just been dumped by her boyfriend and has nowhere to go, thanks to their mutual friend, Jesse (Justin Long) the two find a solution to their problems. The issue is that the girls dislike each other since college. However, they start overcoming their problems when they see their only solution to keeping the apartment is setting up a phone sex line in order to make ends meet.  

 

These two characters represent different personalities that interestedly enough I can assure everyone in the audience can think of two different friends that are just like this. The main actresses have such a great dynamic together, Graynor is just the right amount of bitchy and independent and Miller, who is also the writer of the film, is your typical goodie two shoes without being overtly annoying. Long definitely is a nice addition to the film, as he delivers a balance between the polar opposites and is equally if not more hilarious. The movie will certainly make you feel uncomfortable at some points, but that’s where it succeeds in pushing the envelope. What’s most interesting about it is that despite of the core subject, it’s still able to develop a human relationship out of that; although it has some unrealistic elements it can still feel like a down to earth friendship flick, as both characters are able to grow from their experiences thanks to their interaction.

 

The movie does have some silly and weak jokes, which fortunately don’t last long enough to ruin it. There’s also some predictability as to what will happen, but despite that it’s still able to keep you entertained all throughout. I could have done without some scenes, but like I said the discomfort might be one of the charms of the film. The ending isn’t a complete circle, but it’s enough to keep you wondering without needing more.

 

There’s not much out there in the comedy genre targeted to women specifically, but what’s nice about this one is that it doesn’t shut out guys completely either. Miller seems to share her husband’s (Seth Rogen) streak of good humor, with a nice touch of femininity. The reason why this movie is so funny is because it dares to go beyond what we are used to without resorting to slap stick humor; it is all about the dialogue as we hear more than what we are shown. Look out for some pretty memorable and hilarious cameos as well as some funny interactions with the other characters. This movie is a fun, exciting and entertaining way to end the box office summer. 

Lawless (Movie Review)

‘Lawless’ is a combination of western and gangster movies, which worked for me as it really captures the qualities of these two genres in an interesting mix. To be clear it is not fully either or, so don’t go expecting a shoot out in every scene, as the drama is used as a break pedal. The film is based on Matt Bondurant’s fictionalized account of his family’s history, led by the Boundurant Brothers; titled ‘The Wettest County in the World’. The Australian duo, director John Hillcoat and screenwriter Nick Cave picked up the story. They combined visceral violence with beauty, melancholy and a sort of innocence that the film portrays of Virginia during the depression and prohibition era in the 20’s and 30’s. The film has its flaws, but it’s already emanating some Oscar buzz, more than anything for the big names in it as well as its production quality.

The tale is narrated by Jack (Shia LaBeaouf) the youngest and most sensitive of the Bondurant brothers also composed of Howard (Jason Clarke) the oldest of the three, scarred after surviving the Great War; and Forrest (Tom Hardy) who almost died from the Spanish Flu which killed their parents and made him the strongest one; converting him into both their mother and father. The brothers run a successful business selling moonshine; but corrupt Special Deputy Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) is about to stop Franklin County’s bootlegging days. The catch is that the brothers won’t back down or bow to anyone.

LaBeauof is basically the main character and I have a new found respect for him, although his behavior is more foolish than anything, he delivers a wonderful performance portraying the process of a boy growing up, who’s trying to find his place. Hardy’s performance comes from his actions more than anything, as his character is a man of few words and most of his dialogue is grunts; despite this Hardy shows his acting skills as one of the most powerful characters of the film. Pearce’s character is so easy to hate because you can clearly see Pearce’s worth as an actor in him, he’s a sneaky, slimy villain from the way he looks to the way he behaves. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some Oscar nominations from here, especially for Hardy and Pearce.

It was disappointing to see Gary Oldman, who portrays the character of Floyd Banner- a ruthless big city gangster that Jack idolizes, be on screen for such a short amount of time. Here he makes one of the best movie entrances I’ve experienced. I also would have liked some more character development on Maggie Beauford (Jessica Chastain) as she’s the strongest female character, which was very refreshing to see in this type of film. The legend of invincibility that the film deals with changes the tone of the movie, which although can be townsfolk tales it almost made me feel like it was uncharacteristic to the film. Also, the time scale of the film seems off at times, as it’s hard to tell how much time has passed in some scenes. Lasty, although the dialogue in the film is not very profound, it is a little hard to understand some characters in it; but I kind of expected that knowing we would be hearing southern accents.

My favorite things about the film: the tone and beauty of the colors and landscapes, the rawness of some of its characters that stayed true to the nature of the south such as Cricket Pate (Dane DeHaan), and the way the story has a Robin Hood feel to it where fighting against the government is the only way to support their families and communities. Movies based on real life usually contain all the elements to make it successful and in this one I think the director did a great job in staying true to the times and the story without forgetting what he wanted to illustrate. If you like to see stories that contain a little bit of history, mixed in with some classic entertaining genres, accompanied by some of the best actors of today; then you won’t be disappointed with this one.      

‘Expendables 2’ still strong

This week the box office remains intact with ‘The Expendables 2’ still at number one, earning $13.5 million dollars. The star-studded action film keeps entertaining the crowd, but it might have competition this coming weekend with the premiere of ‘Lawless’.

‘The Bourne Legacy’ stays at number two with $9.3 million dollars. According to the numbers it won’t be able to reach the amount of ‘Bourne Identity’, either way Jeremy Renner has owned up to his role and performed well.

Finally, the family film ‘ParaNorman’ also continues at number three with $8.5 million dollars. Certainly this stop-motion zombie has earned a good share of money, but not as much as what ‘Coraline’ got Laika Entertainment.

The Top 10 Movies in the Box Office are:

1. The Expendables 2 – $13.5 mil

2. The Bourne Legacy – $9.3 mil

3. ParaNorman – $8.5 mil

4. The Campaign – $7.4 mil

5. The Dark Knight Rises – $7.2 mil

6. The Odd Life of Timothy Green – $7.1 mil

7. Premium Rush – $6.3 mil

8. 2016:Obama’s America – $6.3 mil

9. Hope Springs – $6 mil

10. Hit and Run – $4.7 mil

‘The Expandables 2’ on top

‘The Expendables 2’ takes over the number one spot with $28.8 million dollars, it’s no surprise because everyone wants to see the action heroes reunion in this silly action packed film. This sequel reunites even more heroes from the past; despite of this it didn’t earn enough compared to its predecessor.

Last week’s number one ‘The Bourne Legacy’ falls to number two with $17 million dollars. Jeremy Renner’s film did its best to put up a fight against the muscle machine that took the first spot.

The spooky family film ‘ParaNorman’ premiered at number three with $14 million dollars. The zombie 3D movie, also didn’t collect as much as expected. The box office has brought in weak number since the Colorado shooting. On another note ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ fell to the sixth spot from the third spot last week.

The Top 10 Movies in the Box Office are:

1. The Expendables 2 – $28.8 mil

2. The Bourne Legacy – $17 mil

3. ParaNorman – $14 mil

4. The Campaign – $13.4 mil

5. Sparkle – $12 mil

6. The Dark Knight Rises – $11.1 mil

7. The Odd Life of Timothy Green – $10.9 mil

8. Hope Springs – $9.1 mil

9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days – $3.9 mil

10. Total Recall – $3.5 mil