Colombiana: Commando with Brains and a Heart

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.

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The 3D Bandwagon

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 »

And a Fraud Becomes Hero: Rango

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 »

Worlds Reimagined: Alice in Wonderland

“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 »

What We Expect from The Dark Knight Rises

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.

The Dark Knight Rises is said to feature Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle aka Catwoman

It’s a daunting task. According to IMDb, The Dark Knight won 2 Oscars, another 79 wins and 62 nominations. How do you top that?    Read more »

Great Character Relationships: The Fighter

In a small town of Lowell, Massachusetts, a fighter by the name of Micky Ward is trying to make a comeback. His trainer, famous brother Dicky Eklund, titled the Pride of Lowell, knocked out Sugar Ray Leonard in 1978. Also backing Micky is his whole family, his mother Alice and his 7 sisters.

Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his brother Dicky (Christian Bale) make a great team on screen and in the ring

Life in a large family comes with its load of conflicts, arguments, disappointments and problems. The Fighter packs everything in a story of perseverance and courage.    Read more »

Building Up Every Day Heroes: Unstoppable

Here is a very difficult art: building a climactic third act that includes danger and suspense, and allows the possibility for some meaningful heroics. The movie Unstoppable prepares the story for a full hour, gradually, before the two main characters unleash their courage and go for it.

Runaway murderous train on a rampage. Denzel Washington and Chris Pine have their work cut out for them.

Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) and Will Colson (Chris Pine) must risk their lives to stop a train half a mile long carrying toxic and flammable chemicals, heading toward populated area at 75 MPH, with nobody on board.    Read more »

Too Many Surprise Twists: The Tourist

This time, it is about a surprise twist that does not quite work as expected. The Tourist features Johnny Depp playing Frank Tupelo, a character who gets picked up by Elise Clifton-Ward (Angelina Jolie) to throw off a pack of law enforcement agent, following her in Paris, France. They are hunting her husband. Since they do not know his face, he instructs her to pick a random man with the same body type as him.

During a train ride, Elise Clifton-Ward (Angelina Jolie) picks Frank Tupelo (Johnny Depp) to "play" her wanted husband's decoy, thrusting poor Frank in a world of hurt

The problems are twofold. First the main reversal is not the only surprise twist in the film. Second, the main twist shows that the filmmakers were deceiving the audience with smoke and mirrors.    Read more »

Characters with True Grit

“Grit, noun, \’grit\ firmness of mind or spirit : unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger” (Merriam-Webster online dictionary).

True Grit tells the story of a very courageous 14-year-old girl (Hailee Steinfeld) out in harm’s way, looking to bring justice to the memory of her dear father. She hires renown Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and they venture into Native American territory, to see to their mission.

Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), even with just one eye, is good with a gun or a rifle. Stay away from the muzzle!

The western genre is alive and well indeed. For the fans, read our reviews of Appaloosa, Unforgiven and Pale Rider.    Read more »

Quick Review: The Green Hornet

One can usually make pretty good impressions of a movie by watching the trailer. A movie with substance is easy to promote. At least technically. Some trailers failed even when the movie was good, but we digress here. The Green Hornet‘s trailer (watch it after this article) sucks!

Kato (Jay Chou) and the unlikely Green Hornet (Seth Rogen)

When you fail to show the most appealing parts of a movie in 2 minutes, it means you either cannot identify them or there are none in the first place.    Read more »