Coming Soon

Lets take a look at some fall releases which only means one thing, Oscar contenders anyone?


Brothers

You really can't go wrong with a strong young cast like Gyllenhal, Maguire and Portman. Looks like a very powerful story. Release Date: December 3, 2009

Amelia

Hilary Swank may be on an Oscar role with this bio-pic. The fascinating story of one of the 20th Centuries most iconic females, Amelia Earhart. Release Date: Oct 23rd, 2009

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra

It's true, sometimes the trailers for a movie look way better than the film itself. Sadly, when I saw the first G.I Joe preview I was like WTF is this? Are you kidding me? I completely dismissed the movie from my summer viewing options. After some disappointing films like Wolverine and Transformers 2, I thought that I might as well give the Joe's a chance. I'm happy I did.

After an unnecessary opening back story scene, we are thrust into this fantastical, glossy, action packed, live action cartoon world. What works here is that they have literally brought the 80's cartoon to life. There is absolutely no basis in reality. It's not dark and gritty and it doesn't take itself too seriously. It free's your brain from being too critical or even rational. This is the G.I. Joe world.. not ours. If you are a "techy" or gadgetry freak you'll love this movie. Its full of cool stuff like sleek vehicles and high tech weapons that do cool shit. It's like being a little kid in your backyard playing with your G.I. Joes. There were no limits to what you could do.



Sadly the actors don't really matter in the movie. The characters are throw-aways if anything. Cheesy dialogue, shoe-horned sentiment and unexpected twists kind of weigh down character moments. Its simple, Sienna Miller as the Baroness is hot and delightfully cold however missing the Russian accent from her cartoon counterpart. Channing Tatum is Duke and lets face it.. he's hot and does his best to act with the material given. Marlon Wayans borders the token black character as Ripcord. I didn't find him as offensive as those two "Step n Fetch It" robots in TF2 but he was still funny. Cobra Commander isn't that menacing. Destro's evolution is kinda cool...very Fate of Anakin (for my SW geeks out there) type of deal. The two real standouts as far as actors goes are Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes. Wow these two are just awesome. They get the best fight scenes and the coolest back story (with some talented young actors/fighters).



Lastly, the special effects and cgi are killer. There are scenes so big and action packed its like visual overload. Stephen Summers directed this movie just like his previous ones (The Mummy, The Mummy Returns). Big effects shots and hyper kinetic action push the movie along without really slowing down. The movie goes by fast for being 2 hours long. The last battle is everywhere. In the air, underwater, on land.. I mean just everywhere. It makes for a satisfying popcorn flick and a fun night at the movies and I'm eagerly awaiting a sequel. My Grade: B

Coming Soon

Some love for Foreign Cinema and a new wild things trailer!!

Coco Before Chanel

I love Adrienne Tatou and this looks like a beautiful movie. Tres Chic!

Taxidermia

Twisted Russian movie. Lots of imagination at work here to tell what seems like a gruesome story.

Where the Wild Things Are - Trailer 2

Great second trailer. hurray for more Wild Things. This looks like such a special movie. OCT 16th can't come soon enough!

Rich-It Rental Bites 8/4/09

Frozen River
Melissa Leo plays Ray, a recently single mother looking to make ends meat. She meets a coarse young Native American woman who forces her into a human trafficking job. When Ray sees how good the money is, she finds herself in a moral downward spiral. This movie was fantastic. Melissa Leo's performance makes the movie. As the story unraveled, I was glued to the screen. I can't imagine what some people go through and the sacrifices they make morally to survive. A fascinating and heart wrenching story. My Grade: A-


Race to Witch Mountain
Holy crap. What a movie! Oh Disney how could you rape your own fabulous franchise from the 70's. Bette Davis must be spinning in her grave. lol Quick recap: Earth is in trouble, Aliens need their spaceship back to go home, The Rock is hot, Effects are pretty cool, queue really bad musical score. My Grade: D


Fanboys
Its 1999, 4 Friends from Ohio decide to steal the first print of Star Wars Episode 1: Phantom Menace from Skywalker Ranch in California. I know silly premise right? Well its a silly road trip movie. I think the only people able to appreciate it are star wars fans, sci-geeks, or high as hell star wars fans. Its like the geek version of Harold and Kumar. Occasionally funny if only because of the thousands of SW references. The are some great cameos by many sci-fi film veterans. The story isnt very coherent but who cares... My Grade: B-


Zona Rosa
A defunct documentary about gay clubs in Mexico City's Zona Rosa gay-borhood. However, the filmmakers get lost in there own narrative. We go from gay clubs in a conservative city to the life of straight male strippers who perform in them to one particular stripper with a heart of gold. In the end, its the full frontal nudity and hot guys that keeps your interest( well if your female or queer).. other than that. avoid it..My Grade: D

Whoa!- Anatomy of Hell

I know the title screams horror film right? Well let me say although many scenes in this film are quite terrifying, they come at the hands of two very interesting human characters.

Opening scene: one man giving another man a blow job near some Parisian alley. The best way to start a "Whoa!" film. Your probably thinking "Oh its a gay flick?" Wrong. This scene sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Director Catherine Breillat is going to take you into some graphic territory.



A very handsome gay man (Played by Rocco Siffredi, Adult Film Star) interrupts a woman (Amira Cesar) who is slitting her wrists in a bar restroom. She knows he's gay but she doesn't care, she wants him and needs him. Well being a gay man he denies her advances but when she's willing to pay, he reluctantly changes his mind. Our two leads are nameless. Its not important who they are. All that matters is what they are about to do. After another full frontal fellatio scene, this time executed by the woman to the pleasure of her new gay employee, we are taken to her home on the seaside cliffs.



She states that him being a gay man is the easy way out of ever loving a woman for all her intricacies. Now that she has employed him, he must watch her at her most fragile, natural, and repulsive state. Here we go.. If you are afraid of blood or violent sex.. look away now! She tortures him with her femininity. While on her menses, she makes him feel her vagina so that he may feel what a woman goes through. He then proceeds to have sex with her at which point.. I can't even write what happens! haha. You have to see it. Anyhow, they spend four nights together and each night a new adventure for him to tackle. One scene uses a broom handle to shocking employ. Eventually he is enlightened as to what a woman is. She is not just some hollow beautiful creature. She has layers. All women are complex and never really allow their male lovers see certain sides of them for fear of dismissal.

This film was gripping and shocking. If you can get through it, I commend you. If you can't, its completely understandable. If you do catch it somehow, be prepared to say .. Whoa!

Whoa!

Okay I know its not a very original title but I had to create this new feature. Whoa is about movies that push the boundaries. I mean, movies that really push the audience's buttons or comfort meter by crossing into territories some might call taboo. So be on the look out for this new feature because I've got some real doozies to review. Believe me, this is some crazy cinema!

Enjoy!

Rich-It Rental Bites 11/25/09

Gran Torino
Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this story about an elderly racist widower coming to terms with his changing neighborhood. His new neighbors are a very traditional Asian family (Hmong to be exact)with a young son defying to join the local Asian gang. When his initiation goes wrong, he becomes the target of these unruly thugs that inadvertently involves the angry old man next door. Eastwood delivers a good performance and the story is somewhat interesting. I think the relationship he builds with the young boy, Thao (Bee Vang) and his sister, Sue (Ahney Her)is the heart of the story. He lived as a man blind to real care or feeling from his own kids. It takes this Hmong family to finally find his redemption. My Grade: B-


Grey Gardens - HBO Films
Based on the documentary of the same name as well as other resources, Grey Gardens is the story of the Bouvier Beales, the reclusive relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Having seen the documentary, I was familiar with the story but this is a fresh cinematic take on a truly fascinating American socialite family. This bittersweet tale is achieved with fantastic makeup effects and profound performances from its two leading ladies. Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore are exquisite. I've never seen Drew give so much to a character, it is incredible to watch. Brilliant and Sad, this film deserves a lot more attention from the masses. My Grade: A


Friday the 13th (2009)
Recently the remake recycle machine is running on overload in Hollywood. After some disappointing remakes(I'm looking at you Rob Zombie's Halloween) we get Friday the 13th. This is definitely more of re-imagining than anything. Jason Voorhee's doesn't lumber along at a snails pace to get his victim.. This bastard runs!! I mean he comes at you, no mercy! And it works. The movie works as a slasher film that's actually pretty scary while being entertaining. Sure its full of stupid token characters and cheesy dialogue, but its makes it all worth it when these "teens" get their just desserts. My Grade: B


Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
The chemistry between Nick (Michael Cena) and Norah (Kat Dennings)is perfectly simple in this romantic comedy. Nick has been dumped by the pretty, popular girl at school and doesn't know that Norah has been secretly crushing on him for sometime. It takes a wild night of bar hopping and a quest to find Norah's drunk best friend, to bring Nick and Norah together. This is a sweet funny movie about the love we can't seem to get to. It's almost always in the last place you look. My Grade: B+


Taken
Liam Neeson stars in this no nonsense thriller about a Father searching for his kidnapped teenage daughter in Paris. That is pretty much the plot but its the action that drives this story home. The energy created by slick editing and some pretty violent confrontations make this a must see. You know, the story can be a bit over the top and preposterous but its done well enough for you to throw logic out the window. A satisfying movie overall. My Grade: A-

Coming Soon

This weeks trailer selection is a bit Disney-centric but none the less, damn cool and geeky delicious.

Alice in Wonderland

Visionary director Tim Burton takes us on another wild journey with his spin on the classic Lewis Carroll Alice books. I love the design work and the lighting in this trailer. Even cooler, we get to witness this in Disney Digital 3D. March 2010

Tron:Legacy

Wow, just wow. What a trailer! Well its more of a visual effects test footage that debuted at last years comic-con. If this trailer is any indication of what Disney has in store well, this is going to be huge.

Bruno

Vaz up!

Sacha Baron Cohen is back to his guerrilla mock-umentary shtick with Bruno. The tale of a flamboyant Austrian fashionista who will do anything to be famous. I think that's about all the story I got out of it. There is no real narrative to speak of. What we get are a series of vignettes, skits in which people are duped with this characters crazy antics. Some are actually quite funny if only because they are shockingly over the top and crude. However, there are too many scripted moments or scenes that didn't feel genuine to the genre so well executed by Borat 3 yrs ago.

Some of moments of note: Paula Abdul being interviewed on illegal immigrant human furniture, The Seduction of Ron Paul and a very interesting focus group. There are times when the movie works but that can't save it from being all together kinda lame. The gay "gags" work, pardon my pun but gets tired toward the end. My Grade C-

Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince

Note: I've not read any of the books in the series and I hope to actually visit them after the films are completed. I don't want to know what happens next because I will not be able to handle the cinematic let down that this film has become for some fans.

So, We finally come to our 6th film in the Harry Potter series and things are developing quite nicely as we prepare for the next two movies, The Deathly Hallows PT1 and Pt2. Here in the Half Blood Prince, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) faces a difficult road ahead. Prof. Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) needs Harry more than ever in the effort to finally, eradicate the torment of Voldemort and his Death-Eaters.



From the opening sequence of Death Eaters run a muck in modern day London, the tone is set. This is going to be a treacherous journey for these characters.
I can't detail the story too much because, well lets face it, if you haven't been watching these films all along, its a little difficult to jump right in. I think the revelation I had during the film was the connection between the characters. The theme of unrequited, young love. The bonds between mentor and pupil. These are at the overall core of The Half Blood Prince. There are plenty of little wondrous surprises thrown in but this is truly a character tale. A dark, detailed and lusciously filmed character tale.



The cinematography is gorgeous. The lighting and the bluish hue throughout deliver a cold magical world. One shot was so perfect and effective that I could not let it out of my mind. Its rare that movies give you little gems like that anymore and I'm glad this one did. The score was dramatic and well suited for the action. The effects were outstanding as always. However, its really the performances by our three young leads and honorable mentions to Michael Gambon and Prof. Snape (Alan Rickman. They deliver a touching story as well as the keys to our next two cinematic chapters. I have one small gripe with the editing. It was very choppy at times from scene to scene. A fine addition to the series. My Grade A-

Rich-It Rental Bites 7/13/09

Knowing
Nicholas Cage stars in this apocalyptic thriller directed by Alex Proyas (I,Robot, Dark City) An elementary schools time capsule is unearthed after 50 years. Contained within is a sheet full of numbers with dates for every deadly disaster from the past 50 yrs including 3 which have yet to occur. The movie has some weak points like Cage's relationship with his son. However the shocking scenes of destruction will turn your stomach. One particular scene was very intense. The ending has some spectacular visuals and the allegories presented are very interesting. My Grade: C



Paul Blart:Mall Cop
When I heard about what a huge hit this movie was, I just had to see it for myself! I like Kevin James as a comedian. He has a physicality that delivers the punchline. The movie is very silly and groan inducing. However there is a sweetness that bring it together. Forget about the shoe-horned plot lines or the "parkour" bandits. In the end its James' prat falls and charisma that works. My Grade: B-



The Bridge
In 2004, Filmmaker Eric Steel recorded the Golden Gate Bridge for an entire year. He and his crew captured 23 out of 24 known suicides from the Bridge that year. This upsetting and graphic documentary profiles some of the "jumpers" and their families to better understand ones decision to kill themselves and the people they affect by doing so. It is a morbidly fascinating film that sheds light on those who lost their way. My Grade: A

Coming Soon

Daybreakers

A nice spin to the Vampire movie genre. Looks pretty cool.


The Box

Talk about a moral dilemma. What would you do?