Colombiana: Commando with Brains and a Heart

December 19th, 2011 | By Rono | 556 views | No Comments »

Late review, but I’ve been kind a busy. Here is a movie with fast, relentless action and no time to breathe coming to DVD and Blu-Ray this week. Colombiana relates the quest of a determined woman, named Cataleya, looking to avenge her parents’ murder.

Colombiana's Zoe Saldana kicks some serious butt without breaking a sweat.

The 3D Bandwagon

May 20th, 2011 | By Rono | 181 views | 1 Comment »

Most Hollywood studios caught the virus now (or should I say “again”); everybody wants to shoot in 3D, or so it would seem. A lot of the big budget movies of the coming summer have a 3D moniker attached to them. While it often brings good entertainment value, one should wonder is it worth the admission price hike?

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Because, after all, 3D is exciting now that it is new (sort of); people always crave what they haven’t seen before. But what happens later, after the audience has seen most monsters/aliens/giant transforming robots/cowboys/pirates/superheroes and villains in 3D? Read more »

Tags: 3d, action, camera angle, citizen kane, classic, drama, family movie, fantasy, filmmaker, filmmaking, future, james cameron, movies, pixar, roger ebert, scene, sci-fi, science fiction, sound, special effects, stereoscopic, story, student, superhero, villain

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A Million Laughs on DVD: Megamind

March 24th, 2011 | By Rono | 685 views | 3 Comments »

What if, in the eternal battle between hero and villain, the villain one day decides he is tired of being the bad one? This is the premise of the 3D animated Megamind. It’s a refreshing satire of the superhero genre, a little like Pixar‘s The Incredibles, told from the side of evil.

Megamind (Will Ferrell) and Minion (David Cross), the funny faces of the underdogs the day they finally win. They failed so many times in the past, they never exected to succeed. It feels weird.

Not quite as good, yet extremely funny in its own silly way. But it’s not just a superhero comedy, they managed to squeeze in a pretty convincing love story in the middle. Read more »

Tags: 3d, animation, ben stiller, brad pitt, characters, comedy, family movie, jonah hill, marlon brando, metro man, movie review, movies, pixar, protagonist, review, roxanne ritchi, scene, sci-fi, science fiction, spoilers, superhero, tina fey, trailer, villain, will ferrell

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And a Fraud Becomes Hero: Rango

March 19th, 2011 | By Rono | 651 views | No Comments »

The animated comedy Rango features a funny looking chameleon in a flapping red Hawaiian shirt who needs to deal with an identity crisis. Rango (Johnny Depp) fancies himself a stage actor in the opening scene. He ends up in a small town in the middle of the Mohave Desert, where sheer luck helps him impress the locals who make him the sheriff.

Typical situation from Rango: the main chameleon (voiced by Johnny Depp) involved in an old-fashioned western gun duel, with his belt around his ankles

I have never liked stories where the protagonist awkwardly pretends to be someone he is not, but Rango takes the smart approach and the result is totally enjoyable. Read more »

Tags: abigail breslin, action, bill nighy, characters, chinatown, classic, clint eastwood, gore verbinski, ilm, industrial lights and magic, isla fisher, jack nicholson, john gittes, johnny depp, movie review, movies, protagonist, rango, review, trailer, western

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Fate vs. Free Will: The Adjustment Bureau

March 11th, 2011 | By Rono | 1,194 views | No Comments »

The Adjustment Bureau tells the story of young and promising politician David Norris (Matt Damon) who falls in love with Elise (Emily Blunt), a chance encounter, against the “plan” and the will of the guys from “Upstairs”.

The Adjustment Bureau: "The people that make sure things go according to plan," hard at work while you sleep.

Adapted from an original short story written by Philip K. Dick, this movie manages to capture your attention, even though the potentially preposterous factor. A sci-fi short story works well, but a movie is a different animal. Read more »

Tags: characters, drama, emily blunt, fantasy, matt damon, movie review, philip k. dick, protagonist, review, scene, sci-fi, science fiction, the adjustment bureau, trailer, villain

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Sorry Shakespeare: Gnomeo & Juliet

March 10th, 2011 | By Rono | 362 views | 1 Comment »

Oh no, they didn’t! They put together a bunch of writers (really, a whole bunch) and they rewrote Shakespeare. Down to the ending. It’s not the first time and I don’t know about the other attempts, but this one works like a charm. Most of the time.

Gnomeo and Juliet first meet, unaware that they belong to opposite sides of the neighborhood rivalry.

Gnomeo & Juliet is probably not about to win much in terms of awards and critical reviews, but its entertainment value is guaranteed. You get your 10 bucks worth of comedy and laughter, down to the gnome in the red thong! Read more »

Tags: animation, ashley jensen, comedy, emily blunt, family movie, gnomeo and juliet, james mcavoy, michael caine, movies, review, shakespeare, third act, trailer

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A Polished Classic: How to Train Your Dragon

March 8th, 2011 | By Rono | 226 views | No Comments »

Polished to perfection is the phrase that comes to mind when you watch the DVD release of the Oscar-nominated How to Train Your Dragon. This is the story of a young teenage Viking boy who captures a rare dragon and is the first to learn the truth about their true nature.

How to Train Your Dragon features Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his new and unlikely friend and partner Toothless

The level of polishing in this Dreamworks Animation little movie rivals the accomplishments of the wizards of Pixar (I for one respect anything Pixar does, and for a reason: they simply just rock.) Read more »

Tags: 3d, academy awards, animation, characters, classic, comedy, family movie, fantasy, how to train your dragon, masterpiece, movie review, movies, oscars, pixar, review, third act, trailer

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2011 Academy Awards: The Oscar Winners

February 27th, 2011 | By Rono | 1,196 views | 8 Comments »

Academy Award Winner Transcribed live, as the show unfolds, we bring you here all the 2011 Oscar winners of the 83rd Academy Awards. This is a complete list that includes the runners up in each category. The hyperlinks point to movies we have reviewed on Absolute Fiction. This post can be compared to the Academy Award nomination in which we had made our predictions for the winners among the nominees. This year, it’s a very close race. Almost anyone could drive home with a statue.

The 83rd Annual Academy Awards red carpet

And the winners are… Read more »

Tags: academy awards, celebrities, family movie, masterpiece, movie review, movies, nomination, nominees, predictions, red carpet, review, spoilers, stars, winners

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Worlds Reimagined: Alice in Wonderland

February 27th, 2011 | By Rono | 320 views | 3 Comments »

“When in doubt, remain silent.”. Trapped in a world of stuck-up and obedient sheep, an opinionated young woman needs an escape. Thank God for rabbit in blue coats. Alice (Mia Wasikowska) falls and crashes into Underland, it’s as if she had come home. The fantastic world or Underland suits Alice’s temperament.

Alice in Wonderland: now a warrior donning armor and sword, marching to kill the Red Queen's evil Jabberwocky

This is a review of Alice in Wonderland, the movie in itself, not the Lewis Carroll books, although we see mostly his work on the screen. We are not talking adaptation, we are talking imagination. Read more »

Tags: academy awards, action, alice in wonderland, characters, classic, drama, family movie, fantasy, helena bonham carter, johnny depp, mia wasikowska, movie review, protagonist, review, spoilers, third act, trailer

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What We Expect from The Dark Knight Rises

February 26th, 2011 | By Rono | 9,052 views | 6 Comments »

With a critical and commercial success like The Dark Knight, What is next for Jonathan and Christopher Nolan? Is it safe to say, from that point, the only way is down? The bar was raised so high that our expectations have already gone through the roof. The new sequel is not even in production yet.