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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A Million Laughs on DVD: Megamind

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 »

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 »

Fate vs. Free Will: The Adjustment Bureau

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 »

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 »

Relentless Conflict: The Social Network

Well, you will not like the protagonist here. He’s portrayed as a royal jerk; not because he intentionally want to be an ass, but simply because the man, the kid, is socially awkward. He is smart, but his intelligence gets in the way of everything else.

But the thing is, The Social Network is an fantastically written story that benefits from the play of talented actors and great direction. Once you start, it is impossible to look away. Good Job, Mr. Mezrich (book) and Mr. Sorkin (screenplay).

His first brush with the law. Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) must answer for bringing the Harvard network down over the prank that ultimately will lead to the creation of Facebook.

Why is it so good? It’s a constant, uninterrupted stream of conflicts between any and all of the characters. We get no break until the story ends.    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 »

A Triumph of the Imagination: Inception

After the tour de force of The Dark Knight (read our reviews), Christopher Nolan cooked up his own material, Inception. The story of a special kind of corporate spy, Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), trapped oversees, away from his children, who makes a deal that will guarantee him safe return home. He is only doing it for his kids. His special skill is subconscious theft; he enters dreams and steals ideas. He is the best in the field.

Inception's signature shot: Paris folds onto itself. In a dream anything is possible. The dreamer makes the rules.

The story is deep, convoluted, complicated. It makes you think; I guess that is why some do not like it. But Inception rocks, in a way very few ideas have in Hollywood. You can watch it several times and still discover new things.    Read more »

Orchestrating Great Drama: Black Swan

In Black Swan, the competitive, often cruel world of professional ballet, where suspicion and paranoia are common, sees “sweet girl” Nina Sayers (an inspired Natalie Portman), a talented dancer go nuts when she is chosen to play the lead in an edgier version of Swan Lake. She must be able to handle, the torture to her body, the harsh criticism of her peers, the pressure of the role.

At the height of her paranoia, Nina (Natalie Portman), is tormented by self-destructive visions

What happens when her fears take the best of her? Nina sees her world flip upside down. Her mind take over and a dark pit open under her feet.    Read more »