Annie (2014)

Genre

Comedy | Drama | Musical

Director

Will Gluck

Country

USA

Cast

Quvenzhané Wallis, Jamie Foxx, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Cameron Diaz, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Tracie Thoms, Dorian Missick, David Zayas, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Nicolette Pierini, Amanda Troya, Eden Duncan-Smith, Zoe Margaret, Patricia Clarkson, Michael J. Fox, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Bobby Moynihan, Rihanna, Sia

Storyline

Left by her parents with the promise that they'd be back, it's been a hard knock life for Annie (Quvenzhané Wallis) with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz). But everything's about to change when business tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in. 

Opinion

The famous Broadway play was not a source of success even for the great John Huston, hence the reason that has driven Will Gluck on the path of remaking it is completely unknown to me. 

The sun is not coming out tomorrow or anytime for this Annie, the poor remake that is nothing more than just another missed opportunity. 

The story of curly red-haired orphan girl Annie in Great Depression's America has been adapted with a modern and black twist. I'm not not going to complain about Annie's skin colour - I don't get why people are so upset about it -, but the problem is that the film tries too hard on too many levels to be too many things.

The characters are a complete mess. Annie is not an orphan anymore, but a foster child in search of her parents. She is still living with Miss Hannigan, now a wash-up singer from the 90's, that is just a mean, self-destructive woman that does more harm to herself than to people around her. The mysterious Daddy Warbucks is now Will Stacks, just a typical, and germaphobic tycoon running for mayor. Grace Farrell is just a pathetic woman that keeps on pointing out the fact that she has no friends.

The new arrangements of the songs is bloody painful and the addition of bass, guitars, and keyboards to make the songs sound pop is annoying. Most of the numbers just come out of nowhere, the choreographies are ridiculously awful and none of the numbers pop.

Then there is the Friday night thing. Each Friday night, Annie sits on the sidewalk in front of a restaurant waiting for her parents to come back for her. I suppose the restaurant's name "Domani" wants to be a tribute to the famous song "Tomorrow", but since lot of people won't get it, it has no reason to exists.

It was supposed to be a career vehicle for Quvenzhané Wallis, the young talent of Beasts of the Southern Wild, but it didn't really help her. She is cute and lovely, but unfortunately her voice is not good enough. Jamie Foxx, despite being the only one who can properly sing, was the wrong cast for Will stacks, as he makes the character look more cool than bad. Cameron Diaz put in this all the possible effort to be even more annoying that she usually is, and if I thought Carol Burnett was a disappointment, her Miss Hannigan was Oscar worthy compared to Diaz poor "attempt". The real shame is to see Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale in this mess.

Quotes

Will Stacks: Sometimes what you're looking for is right in front of your face.

Despicable Me (2010)

Genres

Animation | Comedy

Directors

Pierre Coffin | Chris Renaud

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fisher, Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud, Jemaine Clement, Danny McBride, Jack McBrayer, Mindy Kaling, Ken Jeong

Storyline

When super-villain Gru (Steve Carell) learns that young criminal mastermind Vector (Jason Segel) has stolen the Great Pyramid of Giza, he plans an even greater heist: to steal the moon.

Opinion

The year 2010 has been a great year for animated films. Dreamworks rose from the ashes of numerous mediocre films with How to Train Your Dragon, Pixar struck again with Toy Story 3, and then Universal released this, that may be the weakest of the three, but it's still entertaining.

Visually beautiful, Despicable Me is a funny and touching, yet not too cheesy animation film.

The filmmakers were able to make a simple, quite predictable and not very original story become captivating and entertaining with the great idea of having a villain as a main character, and with never over the top, yet hilarious humour. 

The character of Gru is incredibly funny with his dark sense of humour, and although it was utterly predictable, it was enjoyable to see his growth from an evil, cold-hearted villain, to a warm and loving father. The three little orphan girls are probably the cutest I've ever seen, Agnes being the youngest and cutest. Then there are young villain Vector, who is silly and nearly wholly uninteresting, and crazy scientist Dr. Nefario. 

The several references are packed and delivered in a way that they can make laugh even children, who obviously won't understand it - like the Taxi Driver mirror scene.

Definetly worth of a mention - and of their own movie, as we have seen this year - are the Minions, those little yellow creatures working for Gru. They are delightful and kinda steals the show. 

Steve Carell does an admirable job in the lead role of Gru, and his Eastern Europe accent - Russian maybe - is quite good. Jason Segel does a wonderful job as villain Vector. However, the guy that really stands out is Russell Brand. Even though I like him, I find his voice quite annoying. The incredible thing is that he doesn't sound like himself at all as Dr. Nefario, and also plays a different character than usual. Very well done Russell! 

Quotes

Gru: Hello, Fred. FYI. Your dog has been leaving little bombs in my yard, and I do not appreciate it.

Fred: Oh you know dogs... they go where they want to go.

Gru: Unless they're dead. [laughs] I'm joking! Although it is true. Anyway, have a good one.

Take the Money and Run (1969)

Genre

Comedy | Crime

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Woody Allen, Janet Margolin, Marcel Hillaire, Jacquelyn Hyde, Lonny Chapman, Jan Merlin, James Anderson, Howard Storm, Mark Gordon, Micil Murphy, Minnow Moskowitz, Nate Jacobson, Grace Bauer, Ethel Sokolow, Dan Frazer, Henry Leff, Mike O'Dowd, Louise Lasser

Storyline

When he was a child, Virgil Starkwell (Woody Allen) wanted to play cello. Grown up and with no musical talent, he joins a street gang and ends up in prison for the first time. This will be only the first of many failure at his chosen profession, being a criminal.

Opinion

A few years later the What's Up, Tiger Lily? experiment, Woody Allen made his first real film, marking the beginning of his wonderful career as a filmmaker.

Fun and original, with some hilarious moments, Take the Money and Run is an amusing comedy that will keep you glued to the screen thanks to the odd sympathy of Woody Allen.

In his first film, Allen makes fun of some film genres and television programmes. "Hit" by his pungent irony are both the law and the gangsters, and through the mockumentary style he also makes a criticism of those television programmes that exploit and monetize the lives of ordinary people. 

The satire is more than successful, and swims in a ocean of hilarious gags and never vulgar humour, but Allen does not just make people laugh, he also makes some psychoanalysis, trying to make sense of Virgil's attraction to cello, and people constantly breaking Virgil's glasses.

There are many memorable sequences that can not be omitted like the robbery with the massage on the paper that nobody seems to understand, or the evasion with the soap revolver that turns into bubbles under the rain, or the escape of the eight men tied together with the chain.

If you don't like Woody Allen because of his neurotic rich New Yorkers, you should definitely check out this one, I think it'll do for you.

Quotes

Virgil: After fifteen minutes I wanted to marry her, and after half an hour I completely gave up the idea of stealing her purse.

Louise: He is always very depressed. I think that if he'd been a successful criminal, he would have felt better. You know, he never made the 'ten most wanted' list. It's very unfair voting; it's who you know.

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)

Genre

Horror

Director

Adam Marcus

Country

USA

Cast

Kane Hodder, John D. LeMay, Kari Keegan, Steven Williams, Allison Smith, Steven Cup, Billy Green Bush, Erin Gray, Rusty Schwimmer, Leslie Jordan, Josh Brennan, Kipp Marcus, Richard Gant, Gino Kane, Julie Michaels, Paul Devine, Michael Clunie

Storyline

Tracked down and blown to bits by a special FBI task force, everyone now assumes that Jason (Kane Hodder) is finally dead. But everyone assumes wrong, and Jason now has the ability to assume the identity of anyone he touches, and it's up to the Voorhees family to stop him.

Opinion

Definition of hell: 1. A place regarded in various religions as a spiritual realm of evil and suffering 2. A situation, experience, or place of great suffering. Now, unless I've seen a completely different film, I haven't seen Jason going through that - I kind of guess he goes to hell at the end of the film, but the audience is the one really going through hell for an hour and a half.

Slow, stupid and tacky, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday is a garbage of a movie that should go to hell.

Besides being atrociously written, poorly executed and painfully acted, and besides the title still lies because this clearly isn't the final friday, the problem here is the plot, or better what the hell happened between Manhattan and this. We left Jason dipped in toxic waste in a New York City sewer, where he turned back into a kid, and was supposedly dead - in that case the title would have made sense. This film opens with a FBI task force blowing Jason to bits, after his killing spree started again in Camp Crystal Lake. What the hell happened? How did he come back from the dead this time? And how did he go back to Camp Blood? At this point I think it's stupid of me to try to make sense of this.

The film almost completely lacks suspense and surprise. I said almost because the coroner deciding to eat Jason's heart for no apparent reason is probably the biggest surprise in the entire franchise, stupid still a surprise. 

However, Jason's heart deserves a mention because of its beats before getting eaten. I think it'd be great to make techno/electronic/dance music. Seriously, DJs should call him. 

The useless and awful characters are rewarded with something they really deserve, the worst acting in the whole franchise.

That's all for this episode, see you next Friday with the next predictably awful sequel.

Unexpected (2015)

Genre

Comedy | Drama

Director

Kris Swanberg

Country

USA

Cast

Cobie Smulders, Gail Bean, Anders Holm, Elizabeth McGovern

Storyline

An inner-city high school teacher (Cobie Smulders) discovers she is pregnant at the same time as one of her most promising students (Gail Bean) and the two develop an unlikely friendship while struggling to navigate their unexpected pregnancies.

Opinion

Unexpected is a simple, yet authentic and unexpectedly beautiful film about pregnancy and friendship, and deals with some serious social issues.

With Megan Mercier and Kris Swanberg's intelligent script, and the simple, yet feeling real story, the film manages to engage the audience with the reality of pregnancy, that can be a very complicated and confusing process, and it shows this with intense emotions through the eyes of two different women in two different moments in life, a 30-year-old teacher and and 17-year-old girl. 

The film also raises some serious social issues by taking a look at socioeconomic and cultural differences, and race privilege, and also mentions the public education system of the state of Chicago, but unfortunately it doesn't explore or deepen none of the topics above mentioned.

Still the film is a good portrait of female friendship even though the relationship that develops between Samantha, the teacher, and Jasmine, the high school girl, takes some predictable turns.

Cobie Smulders probably gives the best and most genuine performance of her career as Samantha. Being pregnant herself while making this probably helped, but she is sweet and vulnerable, and she well delivers the insecurities about being a mother and the consequences it may have on one's identity. Gail Bean also delivers a solid performance as Jasmine, and she plays the role with surprisingly wisdom for her age - Hollywood should keep an eye on her. Elizabeth McGovern also gives a good performance as Samantha's mother. 

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Genre

Drama

Director

Nicholas Ray

Country

USA

Cast

James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen, William Hopper, Rochelle Hudson, Edward Platt, Frank Mazzola, Dennis Hopper, Jack Grinnage, Virginia Brissac, Marietta Canty, Ian Wolfe, Beverly Long, Nick Adams, Steffi Sidney, Jack Simmons, John Righetti

Storyline

Teenager Jim Stark (James Dean) can't help but get into trouble, a problem that has forced his parents to move over and over again. After being arrested for drunkenness, he decides that he'll try not to get into trouble, but somehow gets mixd up with some tough guys who talk him into participating in their Chickie run, which involves driving cars towards the edge of a cliff, and that's when the real troubles begin.

Opinion

The film that has consecrated James Dean as one of the major movie icones of all time, Rebel Without a Cause is one of the greatest films ever made.

Nicholas Ray crafted an extraordinary and powerful film that takes a look with great interest on the world of young people and their complex vision of reality, and the dramas that they may have to face because they consider life difficult, painful, and sometimes impossible to understand.

Contrary to popular belief, and although there are some scenes that mark the passage of time - for example when Jim kisses Judy on her forehead, and she is shocked by that -, the film isn't dated. Not yet. The problems of the main characters are the same of teenagers even today, and has been so for the past 60 years, only Chickie runs have been replaced by alcohol and drugs, so not to feel anything.

One of the major theme is the relationship between adult and their teenage children, and all three of the main characters are facing family problems. With a cold and distanced mother, Jim tries to communicate with his father, which unfortunately is, for Jim, under the thumb of his mother and wife, and is unable to act like man. Then there's Judy, which tries in every way to draw attention from her father, but he sees the love and affection of her teenage daughter completely out of place. And lastly there's Plato, firstly abandoned by his father, and later by his mother as well, who sees his parents in Jim and Judy, even though, on the other hand, he is sexually attracted to Jim and sees Judy as a threat. So without even talking about it, Ray manages to talk about a taboo subject in the 50's, homosexuality. 

The sequence in the planetarium - the only moment of calm and quiet in the entire film - has the function to unify all the characters - and humanity - inevitable fate of becoming stardust one day. The Chickie run sequence is also unfrogettable, so is Jim's calm after the tragic event.

With his exceptional expressive abilities, James Dean manages to convey the anxiety, anger, weakness and confusion felt by Jim - and probably by himself as well - in a powerful and charismatic performance. His whole career consists of only three film, and if he didn't meet his fate so early, he would have probably been one of the biggest actors in cinematic history now. Natalie Wood as Judy and Sal Mineo as Plato both do a good job, but Jim Backus stands out in the supporting cast as Jim's weak father.

Quotes

Jim Stark: You're tearing me apart!

Jim Stark: If I had one day when I didn't have to be all confused and I didn't have to feel that I was ashamed of everything. If I felt that I belonged someplace. You know?

Animal Kingdom (2010)

Genre

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Director

David Michôd

Country

Australia

Cast

James Frecheville, Ben Mendelsohn, Guy Pearce, Jacki Weaver, Joel Edgerton, Sullivan Stapleton, Luke Ford, Dan Wyllie, Anthony Hayes, Laura Wheelwright, Mirrah Foulkes, Justin Rosniak, Susan Prior, Clayton Jacobson, Anna Lise Phillips

Storyline

After his mother dies, seventeen year-old J Cody (James Frecheville) has no choice but to contact his maternal grandmother, Janine "Smurf" Cody (Jacki Weaver), who rules her criminal family with a borderline incestuos love over her three sons. Among blood brothers and blood, manipulated trial sand revenge served cold, J will soon lose his innocence.

Opinion

The extremely impressive debut from Australian director David Michôd, Animal Kingdom is a tense, gloomy, innovative and mesmerizing crime family drama.

In this bitter and dramatic film, Michôd tells the gangster life as if it was an animal kingdom, where the strongest, the one that eats the weakest wins, and also makes a criticism to those men - and women - who are neither men nor animals. He shows all this with a cynical eye, with no compassion, and wonderfully manages to convey violence without aestheticizing it. 

However, the moral condemnation aforementioned soon stops to make room for a world where no one is really good or bad. In fact, whether criminals or cops there is no difference: they all use others for their own ends. Only detective Leckie makes exception. 

Also, don't expect long shooting scenes, or robberies or car chases because there are none in Animal Kingdom, as the action is reduced to a minimum.

The films makes use of the minimalist synthesiser music from Antony Partos to create an air of dread and tension.

The cast is uniformly excellent. In his debut James Frecheville is basically a piece of wood as J (in a good way), he is in a constant catatonic state, seemingly frail and confused, Ben Mendelsohn delivers a convincing performance as terrifying psychopath Pope, Guy Pearce gives a wonderful and intense performance as detective Leckie, and Jacki Weaver gives a strong performance as Smurf, the matriarch of the family with the psychotic smiles. 

Annie (1982)

Genre

Comedy | Drama | Musical

Director

John Huston

Country

USA

Cast

Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Tim Curry, Bernadette Peters, Ann Reinking, Edward Herrmann, Geoffrey Holder, Roger Minami, Toni Ann Gisondi, Rosanne Sorrentino, Lara Berk, April Lerman, Robin Ignico, Lucie Stewart, Lois de Banzie, Peter Marshall, Irving Metzman, I. M. Hobson, Colleen Zenk Pinter, Lu Leonard, Victor Griffin, Jerome Collamore, Jon Richards

Storyline

Annie (Aileen Quinn) is a fiery young orphan girl who lives in a miserable orphanage run by the tyrannical Miss Hannigan (Carol Burnett). Her seemingly hopeless situation will change when she is selected to spend a short time at the residence of billionaire industrialist Oliver Warbucks (Albert Finney).

Opinion

I didn't grew up watching Annie, and I've never seen the popular Broadway play. This film has been my very first approach to this world, and if the stage play is anything like this film, I really don't get what made the musical a classic. 

Annie does have few good musical numbers, but isn't much engaging, lacks comedy, and feels rather wooden.

The main problem here is the plot. Besides the fact that the course of events is very predictable, it is when the story turns into a search for Annie's real parents followed by a kidnapping that the film really hits the bottom.

The characters look fake and cartoonish, and some of them are almost pointless. I don't know what was Punjab's role in the comic strip, but he hasn't any reason to be in this film.

Also there are several things in the film that, in my opinion, are not very appropriate for a family movie. I don't get why Miss Hannigan is transformed into an alcoholic vamp - I read she wasn't like that in Broadway's version, and orphans and maids showing their underwear during musical numbers may please fathers, and perverts but are not family material.

As for the acting, Aileen Quinn is dreadful to watch, her reactions seem prompted by someone out of the camera range, and she doesn't look like an orphan of the 1930's, but like a sitcom orphan. Albert Finney is completely wasted in this film. Ann Reinking seems too cold, and you can't feel the maternal warmth she is supposed to deliver. Carol Burnett is a huge disappointment. 

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)

Genre

Animation | Adventure | Comedy

Directors

Eric Darnell | Conrad Vernon | Tom McGrath

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Tom McGrath, Frances McDormand, Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Martin Short, Chris Miller, John DiMaggio, Christopher Knights, Frank Welker, Paz Vega, Conrad Vernon, Vinnie Jones, Steve Jones, Nick Fletcher, Eric Darnell, Daniel O'Connor, Danny Jacobs

Storyline

Still trying to get back to their beloved Big Apple, Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer) and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) travel to Monte Carlo, where they attract the attention of Animal Control led by Captain Dubois (Frances McDormand) who want to make Alex part of the collection. To maintain a low profile, the animals have no other choice but join a traveling circus.

Opinion

The Madagascar trilogy has evolved to dance moves: the poor first film, representing the moment of stillness, has been followed by Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, that took two steps forward, to be in its turn followed by this film, that took a step back.

Less funny than its predecessor, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is a film for the easily entertained and furthermore delivers a wrong message to kids. 

The film starts off pretty well, with action, chases, and funny gags, but after around 40 minutes it loses altitude, and the main problem is not the circus idea, which seems far-fetched, but the fact that the film doesn't feel like a Madagascar flick at all. 

The plot still revolves around the same animals, but it's quite absurd, and does not relate much to the central goal of the characters, that is trying to get back to America. I don't remember posing this question when I first watched the film, but how did the animals go from Africa to Monte Carlo? By swimming? I really can't see a lion, a zebra and a giraffe swimming.

However, the penguins still make their show - the casino idea with the British chimps was great -, and King Julien, even though he has less fun, is still one of the best characters. 

And now comes the morality of the film. Even though the love affair between King Julian and the bear is rather than strange but delivers a good message of love, the circus animals joining forces with the zoo animals is a great message of friendship, the whole circus thing is just wrong. You can't make animals choose the circus life, so amazingly portrayed here, over living wild and free. I know that at some point the animals buy the circus, and humans are portrayed as evil, but it still makes animals traveling around the world to perform tricks to entertain humans look ok, and it is definitely not ok.

Having said that, I have to admit that the circus scenes with Katy Perry's "Fireworks" was awesome, and is the most colorful and creative sequence of the entire film. The soundtrack also was kind of good.

I'm glad they didn't make a fourth Madagascar film but make the Penguins' instead. 

What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)

Genre

Adventure | Comedy | Crime

Director

Woody Allen | Senkichi Taniguchi

Country

USA | Japan

Cast

Tatsuya Mihashi, Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama, Tadao Nakamaru, Susumu Kurobe, Sachio Sakai, Hideyo Amamoto, Tetsu Nakamura, Osman Yusuf, Kumi Mizuno, Woody Allen, Julie Bennett, Frank Buxton, Louise Lasser, Len Maxwell, Mickey Rose

Storyline

In his directorial debut, Woody Allen took the Japanese action film "International Secret Police: Key of Keys" and re-dubbed it, changing the plot to make it revolve around a secret egg salad recipe.

Opinion

A year after What's New Pussycat, Woody Allen made his directorial debut, sort of, reinventing a Japanese spy film, parody of the famous James Bond, dubbing it in English with a completely different dialogue so to change the plot as well. The result? Exhilarating.

Definitely not Allen's best film, What's Up, Tiger Lily? may be absurd, and silly, still is a great fun to watch.

What makes the film stand out, other than the fact that people usually don't re-dub entire films with comic dialogue completely detached from the plot, is that it takes and twists the humour already existing in the original. But, that's not all. In fact, Allen also added some scenes that don't have much to do with the "plot" - Allen explaining his experiment, the band playing, the projectionist pausing the film to play around with his woman - so to temporarily interrupt the film.

If Allen's experiment purpose is to show the audience how easily you can destroy or change a film by just changing a few things, he achieved his goal.

The soundtrack, from The Lovin' Spoonful, a band I've never heard of, is great. They are the band I previously mentioned that makes several appearances in the film, and even though they don't have a connection with the plot, their appearance is cool and funny.

The dialogue delivers some good humor, the cartoonish voices are really entertaining to listen to, and it's amazing to watch the actor's facial expressions and realizing they are not acting the story you are hearing.

Quotes

Woody Allen: They wanted in Hollywood to make the definitive spy picture. And they came to me to supervise the project, you know, because I think that, if you know me at all, you know that death is my bread and danger my butter - oh, no, danger's my bread, and death is my butter. No, no, wait. Danger's my bread, death - no, death is - no, I'm sorry. Death is my - death and danger are my various breads and various butters.

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

Genre

Horror

Director

Rob Hedden

Country

USA

Cast

Kane Hodder, Jensen Daggett, Scott Reeves, Barbara Bingham, Peter Mark Richman, V. C. Dupree, Kelly Hu, Sharlene Martin, Martin Cummins, Gordon Currie, Saffron Henderson, Alex Diakun, Warren Munson, Tiffany Paulsen, Amber Pawlik

Storyline

Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder), imprisoned at the bottom of the lake by telekinetic Tina in the previous film, is reanimated yet again, and continues his killing spree aboard a ship on its way to New York.

Opinion

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

If you have been following my journey into the FT13 world you know I'm not a fan of the franchise. What I know now, after watching this eighth instalment, is that I feel terribly sorry for having been that harsh with the previous films, because this one tops all of them.

Dreadfully acted, dull, and pathetic, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan is less pleasing than sitting on the chair of torture for 100 minutes. 

The change of location, from Crystal Lake to the Big Apple, could have been a breath of fresh air in the franchise, but I'm afraid it doesn't work when the only thing involving New York is the title, and the last 15 minutes or so of an unjustifiable overlong film.

The plot is nonexistent and utterly ridiculous, dragged for the eternity, and barely involves Jason. 

Also logic and Jason Voorhees are apparently two things that can not coexist, proved by the huge amount of absurde scenes. Trying not to linger too much on Jason's resurrection - ridiculous like everything else in this movie -, it's unbelievable how a slow walking man is always a step ahead of people running. Does he teleport or what? The boat sinks, Jason is on the boat, still he joins the others in New York. Once in New York, he kills a man with a syringe, that must have the longest needle in the world to pass from side to side. Jason acknowledges his ugliness and takes off his hockey mask to scare people, but he doesn't kill them because all he wants is Rennie, this film's heroine. After seeing things people wouldn't believe, you finally get to the end, when Jason, immersed in some sort of radioactive slurry, returns a child and probably dies.

My suggestion is to avoid this crap: you'll save money and time. 

Crimson Peak (2015)

Genre

Drama | Fantasy | Horror

Director

Guillermo del Toro

Country

USA | Canada

Cast

Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, Jim Beaver, Burn Gorman, Leslie Hope, Sofia Wells, Doug Jones, Javier Botet

Storyline

When her heart is stolen by mysterious Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is swept away to a house atop a mountain of blood-red clay: a place filled with secrets that will haunt her forever.

Opinion

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I wouldn't call myself a fan of Guillermo del Toro, but there's something very captivating in his films, and I expected this one to be spectacular. Unfortunately, although I wasn't completely disappointed, the film didn't meet my expectations.

A visually breathtaking psychological horror, Crimson Peak is the disappointing result of choosing style over substance.

The script - I kind of feel ashamed to call it that - is the worst part of the film. I can't believe Guillermo del Toro has been able to write such a thing. 

The story starts off pleasantly, and makes you wonder what the ghosts are up to, but then it becomes extremely predictable, and doesn't bring anything new to the table. As they make their first appearance, the cruel intentions of the mysterious brothers are more than obvious, so is the incest, and Lucille being the one killing Edith's father. Whether or not you have seen Rosemary's Baby, the poisoned tea is easy to guess since the narrative keeps on insisting on the beverage so many times it's impossible to keep track.

So, if the purpose of cinema is to amaze and surprise the audience, this is a real failure from del Toro, and there is an abyss that separates Crimson Peak to Pan's Labyrinth.

As mentioned before, the visuals are stunning. The sets are spectacular, the costumes are gorgeous and detailed, the ghosts are monstrously beautiful - I was expecting a major involvement in the story, though -, and the result is a delightfully creepy atmosphere.

The acting is also superb. Both Mia Wasikowska and Tom Hiddleston give good performances, and they do have a great chemistry, but Jessica Chastain is the one that steals the show, delivering a wonderful performance that has Oscar material written all over as cold-hearted, and manipulative Lucille.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

Genre

Adventure | Fantasy

Director

Henry Levin

Country

USA

Cast

James Mason, Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl, Peter Ronson, Thayer David, Bob Adler, Diane Baker, Ivan Triesault, Alex Finlayson

Storyline

Edinburgh professor Sir Oliver S. Lindenbrook (James Mason) leads his intrepid party on an expedition to the center of the earth, via a volcano in Iceland, encountering all manner of prehistoric monsters and life-threatening hazards on the way.

Opinion

Usually the film adaptations of Jules Verne's stories have never done justice to the fantasy of the great French writer, but this time the result is not that bad after all.

Journey to the Center of the Earth is an exciting, engaging and fun adventure classic.

Walter Reisch and Charles Brackett did a decent job adapting the famous novel to a screen play, but they did take too many liberties in my opinion. Moving from Amburg to Edinburgh, and going from Liedenbrock to Lindenbrook is not such a big deal, nor is the pet duck named Gertrude that add some fun into the film, but the romantic element, or feminine element - whatever you want to call that - did not have a purpose. The side plot about the nefarious Count Saknussemm is also pure fantasy, but it adds that menacing villain the audience wants to see.

The film still looks great and still has a great and unique atmosphere, and despite the visual effects show the signs of aging, they are spectacular: the breathtaking view atop the mountain, the descent into the abyss, the crystal cave, the underground ocean, the Dimetrodons, that look good even though they are just enlarged lizards with attached fins.

Bernard Herrmann's musical score is powerful and wonderfully atmospheric, and it blends with the correct mixture of humour, and action.

The acting is mostly fine. James Mason naturally steals the show with a charming and strong performance, and his remarkable voice. Unfortunately I can't say the same about Pat Boone, whose performance is quite poor, but he can sing. Arlene Dahl does a good job as Carla Goatabaug. Peter Ronson does a fine job as Hans, and Thayer David is a tremendous villain.

Quotes

Cont Saknussemm: I don't sleep. I hate those little slices of death.

Adaptation. (2002)

Genre

Comedy | Drama

Director

Spike Jonze

Country

USA

Cast

Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Cara Seymour, Brian Cox, Tilda Swinton, Ron Livingston, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Judy Greer, Bob Yerkes, Jim Beaver

Storyline

Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) has just taken on a new assignment: to adapt Susan Orlean's (Meryl Streep) non-fiction book The Orchid Thief, which is the story of John Laroche (Chris Cooper), a plant dealer who clones rare orchids then sells them to collectors. While his easygoing twin brother Donald (Nicolas Cage), is writing scripts with ease, Charlie finds himself on a perpetual struggle that never seems to end.

Opinion

Needless to say is that the screenplay plays a major role in the making of a film. But when it comes to creative genius Charlie Kaufman is fundamental to give him most of the credits for the success of the film.

Delightfully bizarre, funny, unique, and well paced, Adaptation. is one of the most intelligent and original films I've ever seen.

Kaufman seems to the best master of destroying the line between reality and fiction - as seen in Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The story sounds kind of crazy - I mean, a writer trying to adapt a book for a screenplay, not succeeding, yet writing a screenplay about his inability to adapt the damn book - but it's pure genius. Equally brilliant is Charlie Kaufman's idea of creating an imaginary twin brother, Donald, that helped both fictional Kaufman, and real like Kaufman writing the screenplay. Also, not only Donald Kaufman is credited as co-writer, but he also got a real Oscar nomination. Isn't that even crazier?

The story revolves around four main characters, seemingly very different from each other, but they can be basically divided into two contrasting groups. Charlie and Susan, both boring and neurotic characters, find balance with Donald and John, both funny and interesting characters.

In his second collaboration with Kaufman, director Spike Jonze, who seems to have left the puppets' wires to Kaufman - see what I did there? -, does a good job, still the direction is outshined by the story.

The acting is surprisingly good, and you know who I'm talking about. Despite the lack of facial expressions, Nicolas Cage brilliantly plays both of the Kaufman brothers, and easily separates them in his portrayal. He has a consistent depressed manner as Charlie, the less confidant and more withdrawn, and he is consistently funny as Donald, the more outgoing and relaxed brother. Meryl Streep is equally excellent as Susan Orlean, the New Yorker journalist that want to understand what it feels like to be passionate about something. Chris Cooper does a wonderful job as John, the Orchid Thief, and brings humanity to the role.

Quotes

Donald Kaufman: You are what you love, not what loves you.

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)

Genre

Comedy | Music

Director

Elizabeth Banks

Country

USA

Cast

Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, Alexis Knapp, Hana Mae Lee, Ester Dean, Chrissie Fit, Kelley Jakle, Shelley Regner, Skylar Astin, Adam DeVine, Katey Sagal, Anna Camp, Ben Platt, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Flula Borg, Reggie Watts, John Hodgman, Jason Jones, Joe Lo Truglio, John Michael Higgins, Elizabeth Banks, Snoop Dogg, David Cross, Keegan-Michael Key, Shawn Carter Peterson

Storyline

After a humiliating command performance at The Kennedy Center in front of the President, the Barden Bellas are taken out of the Aca-Circuit. In order to clear their name and regain their status, the Bellas take on a seemingly impossible task: winning the World Championship, the competition no American team has ever won.

Opinion

Hollywood loves two things: money and pointless sequels and remakes. So what a better way than making a sequel to such a successful film like Pitch Perfect to make people pay to watch crap?

Disappointing on so many levels, Pitch Perfect 2 is an unfunny, boring and highly offensive comedy.

The plot is so predictable, hopeless, and lame, it's an insult to the audience's intelligence, and the hundreds of sub plots are completely pointless and go nowhere. Beca's job at the recording studio, for example, just fills some time, and ends with her boss saying I like your stuff but basically every single teenager with a computer can do that nowadays, so you are not that special. Also the Benji and Emily's romance is completely nonsense.

I don't even know why I'm trying to give a meaning to this, but how is the original song supposed to make them win the World Championship? If I don't go wrong, a cappella's only do cover, at least that's what they say in the film. And the Germans, Das Sound Machine, were way better than the Bellas.

The characters are even worse. Fat Amy basically takes over, and Beca is downgraded to supporting character. Emily, the new Bella, has no reason to exist, and what did they do to Bumper? How did the arrogant jerk become a love puppy dog?

When it comes to offensive humour and jokes, this film somehow manages to be even worse than its predecessor. The racist stereotypes are extended to Hispanics, with new entry Flo, whose jokes about her homeland make you feel sick. Homophobic, and fatphobic like the first installment, this film is also misogynist: sexist comments are all over the place.

The most disappointing thing is that this film was directed by Elizabeth Banks, a woman, and written by Kay Cannon, another woman, yet the dancing is a lot more sexualised, and there are pointless slow-motion sequences of the girls pillow fighting, and like Anna Kendrick says in the film, this sets women back like 30 years.

Anna Kendrick looks like she'd rather be somewhere else - but we can't blame her, can we? - and Rebel Wilson is trying to hard the fat girls have fun formula. I am sorry, only Melissa McCarthy is entitled to use that.

I wonder what did Obama do wrong to be in this film.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)

Genre

Animation | Adventure | Comedy

Directors

Eric Darnell | Tom McGrath

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Bernie Mac, Sherri Shepherd, Alec Baldwin, Elisa Gabrielli, will.i.am, Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, John DiMaggio, Conrad Vernon, Fred Tatasciore, Eric Darnell, Al Roker, Stephen Kearin, Danny Jacobs, Dan O'Connor, Stacy Ferguson, Harland Williams, Bridget Hoffman

Storyline

The animals try to fly back to New York City, but all of a sudden their plane crashes and they land in the wilderness of Africa, where Alex (Ben Stiller) meets the rest of his family, but has trouble communicating with them after spending so much time at the Central Park Zoo.

Opinion

The original Madagascar had a promising premise but it was poorly put together, so making a better sequel wasn't hard at all, even though the chance of making a worse film was just around the corner. Luckily, this one is better than the first entry, and not slightly.

The stronger story, the improved animation, and the funnier jokes make of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa a freshalicious comedy for everyone to enjoy.

The plot is still very simple, predictable and easy to follow - it's a kids movie after all - but the several sub plots make the film much stronger and more entertaining than its predecessor.

The film opens with a brief summary of the first installment, which is a good thing, so there is no need to see the first film to understand what's happening in this one.

This film also has more heart than the original - I actually found myself rooting for Alex -, it delivers a stronger message of friendship, and the characters seem better developed. Marty, Melman, and Gloria all have interesting interactions with the African animals. Also there is more King Julien - he is such a cutie, and so hilarious, and Sacha Baron Cohen really deserves the credits for that - and more penguins, which totally steal the show by the way.

However there was something very annoying about this film: the old lady. I really couldn't stand her. I'm glad she is not in the third movie.

Quotes

Private: In case of a loss of oxygen, please place your masks over your faces to hide your terrified expressions from the other passengers.

Biutiful (2010)

Genre

Drama

Director

Alejandro González Iñárritu

Country

Mexico | Spain

Cast

Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, Guillermo Estrella, Diaryatou Daff, Taisheng Cheng, Nasser Saleh, Eduard Fernández, Cheikh Ndiaye, Jin Luo

Storyline

Uxbal (Javier Bardem), single father of two children, finds his life in chaos as he is forced to deal with his life in order to escape the heat of crime in underground Barcelona, to break with the depressed and abusive mother of his children (Maricel Álvarez) and to regain spiritual insight in his life as he is diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Opinion

I finally watched this highly acclaimed film, Iñárritu's fourth film, the first after the completion of his death trilogy with Guillermo Arriaga and his first Spanish language film since Amores perros, and never before have I seen a film more aptly title.

Hard to watch, raw, and sad, Biutiful is an intense drama capable of engaging and upsetting the viewer, that portrays the ugly beauty of life.

Iñárritu, who also wrote the screenplay, escaped from the self-imposed puzzle narrative structure that made him famous only to demonstrate his ability to maintain equally high the pace of the film, even with a linear yet deep and complex story, and despite the 138 minutes.

There is nothing beautiful or pleasing in this story that follows the life of Uxbal, in one of the biggest, most cheerful, and festive cities of Europe, Barcelona, which plays a very important role in the story. Only this time is not the postcard Barcelona we see, but the sad reality of the outskirts of this beautiful city, the reality of Spanish favelas, a reality made of suffering, hunger, and poverty.

In addition to the social drama of this contemporary Spain, Iñárritu masterfully succeeded developing another drama, Uxbal's private drama. This man comes face to face with his life, and death.

The only beautiful thing about the film is the father-sons relationship - the scene where Uxbal and his daughter Ana hug is one of the most poignant in recent years, and really shows the fear of death.

Inarritu's direction is perfect, and Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography wonderfully captures Uxbal's emotions on screen and the ugly beauty of this Barcelona.

Now I must mention that Javier Bardem was robbed of an Oscar. After The Sea Inside and No Country for Old Men, he gives yet another outstanding performance, filled with humanity. Uglier and greyish, Bardem not only carries the whole film, but also seems to carry the weight both of emotional and psychical pain. Theatrical actress Maricel Álvarez does a wonderful job in her first film, playing Marambra, Uxbal's wife, in a very convincingly way.

However, I have a complaint: the subplots. While I appreciated the one with Senegalese immigrants, and the Chinese one, as they are crucial in the character's redemption, I didn't understand the purpose of the gay relationship between the two Chinese.

Quotes

Ana: Dad! How do you spell "beautiful"?
Uxbal: Like that, like it sounds.