El Libro de la Vida: The Book of Life Review

Joaquin (Channing Tatum), Maria (Zoe Saldana) and Manolo (Diego Luna)

How does one describe The Book of Life? It’s Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, given the Pixar animation upgrade with a pinch of DreamWorks humor. Coincidentally the focus of both The Book of Life and Corpse Bride involve a love triangle and unexpected trip into the afterlife.

Cinema Spotlight I – Scott Derrickson (Part 6): ‘Doctor Strange’

(Originally Published on November 22, 2016)

Back when Scott Derrickson tackled a big-budget blockbuster, The Day the Earth Stood Still, it didn’t go well; now he is given a second chance with the latest entry of Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Strange.

Cinema Spotlight I – Scott Derrickson (Part 4): ‘Deliver Us From Evil’

Father Mendoza (Edgar Ramirez) performing an exorcist in Deliver Us From Evil.

(Originally Published on October 28, 2016)

With three films under his belt, including the successful ghost story Sinister, Scott Derrickson collaborates with film and television producer Jerry Bruckheimer (whose extensive résumé includes the television crime drama CSI and the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise) and screenwriter Paul Harris Boardman (previously worked with on The Exorcism of Emily Rose) as we return to the exorcism genre in Derrickson’s fourth theatrical fright fest: Deliver Us From Evil.

Cinema Spotlight I – Scott Derrickson (Part 3): ‘Sinister’

Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) viewing the horrifying footage.

(Originally Published on October 20, 2016)

After the disappointment of The Day the Earth stood Still (not to mention a Razzie Nomination for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel) Derrickson returned to what he did best, scaring the living daylights out of everyone with his third outing that lives up to its title.

Cinema Spotlight I – Scott Derrickson (Part 1): ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’

Father Moore Performing an Exorcism on Emily Rose  

(Originally Published on Oct. 6, 2016)        

Having worked on a couple of horror-related and direct-to-video projects (Urban Legends: Final Cut and Hellraiser: Inferno), Scott Derrickson made his directorial debut with The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Released on September 23, 2005 the film is based on true events that centers on a court case involving Father Richard Moore (Snowden’s Tom Wilkinson), a Catholic priest who is put on trail for the death of a nineteen year old girl named Emily Rose (Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter).

Alien: Covenant Nothing But Horror Movie Schlock

(Originally Published on May 21, 2017)

You know how the first movie in a Horror franchise turns out to be the best of the bunch while everything else goes down the drain. Just look at the countless sequels and reimaginings of Jaws, Friday the 13th, Halloween, and A Nightmare on Elm Street to name a few.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Semi-Deliver’s

(Originally Published on May 19, 2017)

I’m just going to come out and say it, I was never impressed by Guardians of the Galaxy. With the exception of Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) and Drax (Dave Bautista), the guardians range from being bland with no personality like Gamora (Zoe Saldana) or unlikable smart-alecks like Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper).  That’s not say that I downright hate these movies, on the contrary they do their job on being entertaining with great action, adventure, amazing visuals, funny moments even by the leads, and ending on a high note. 

Top 10 Anticipated Summer Movies

(Originally Published on April 27, 2017)

As the summer season draws near the cinemas begin to screen the blockbusters.  From the highly anticipated like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and War of the Planet of the Apes to groaners like Transformers: The Last Knight and The Emoji Movie. Who knows, many of these may turn out to be good or bad. Regardless of which one you are looking forward to, here are the top ten films that I am excited to see this summer.

Double Feature: The Boss Baby & Smurfs: The Lost Village

(Originally Published on April 18, 2017)

From DreamWorks we have The Boss Baby based on the children’s book by Marla Frazee, seven-year-old Tim Templeton (Miles Bakshi) doesn’t take to liking his new baby brother who sports a slick business suit, gold wristwatch and briefcase. To make matters more complicated, Tim discovers that the baby can talk (voiced by Alec Baldwin).

The Boys are Back in T2 Trainspotting

(Originally Published April 9, 2017)

In 1996, fresh off his debut film Shallow Grave, director Danny Boyle followed with Trainspotting, a black comedy that centered on a group of misfits swimming in the pleasures of sex and drugs in the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland. There was Renton (Ewan McGregor), the protagonist and straight man of the group, the aloof and conniving Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), the naive but lovable Spud (Ewen Bremner), and the violent and hot-tempered Begbie (Robert Carlyle). It became an instant classic launching the careers of Ewan McGregor who would star in Big Fish, Moulin Rouge! & the Star Wars Prequels and the first role of Kelly Macdonald who would be in Boardwalk Empire, No Country for Old Men, and the titular role in Pixar’s Brave. It also cemented Danny Boyle‘s status as a filmmaker and go on to direct films like Millions, 127 Hours and Slumdog Millionaire (The latter winning seven Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director).

Power Rangers’ Attempt of A Serious Tone Is Noble But Feeble

(Originally Published on March 28, 2017)

Like any kid, I grew up watching one or two episodes of Power Rangers before my parents banned me from seeing anymore, of course that didn’t stop me. While not a die-hard fan, I’ve seen enough episodes from various if-not-all incarnations of the Power Rangers to be familiar with the set-up from Mighty Morphin, Lightspeed Rescue, S.P.D. and Dino Thunder (the series I was most familiar with).

‘The Great Wall’ Fails to Stop Critiques

(Originally Published on February 27, 2017)

There is some enjoyment to be found in The Great Wall. In terms of a good movie, no; more like in the appeal of something found on the SyFy channel or Direct-to-DVD pile. 

Beauty and the Beast Captures Some of the Disney Magic

(Originally Published on March 27, 2017)

A tale as old as time and considered one of Disney’s crowning achievements of a young maiden who tames the heart of a beast. Beauty and the Beast is beloved by audiences of all ages and made history of being the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. When it was announced that this would be the next film to get the live-action treatment, the response was understandably less than pleased.

Kong: Skull Island Delivers a Monster of a Punch

(Originally Published on March 21, 2017)

Set in the world of 2014’s Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island reintroduces us to an iconic monster, but where Godzilla took place in present time, Kong is set in the seventies. Following the end of the Vietnam War, a band of soldiers are called to accompany an expedition group to an uncharted island. Upon arrival they are met with open arms or in this case closed fists by Kong himself who doesn’t take a liking to guests bombing his home.

Logan Makes His Last Stand

(Originally Published on March 21, 2017)

To be perfectly honest, the X-Men films never impressed me. The cartoons, despite its kid-friendly level, knew how to balance both the serious and fun elements of its story without being too brooding or silly.

Fifty Shades of Dreary Boredom

(Originally Published on February 17, 2017)

Whenever I watch those awful spoof movies (Meet the Spartans, Epic Movie, Scary Movie), I feel like I’ve fallen in a puddle of vomit in desperate need of a dozen showers. When it comes to a movie like Fifty Shades Darker, I feel like my soul got lost in an empty abyss. These are films I could care less about and steer clear away, but hey when you write about movies you’re going to have to sit in front of crap in order to explain why its crap in the first place. The story of my life.

The Space Between Us Review

(Originally Published on February 17, 2017)

From the director of Hannah Montana the Movie and the screenwriter of Collateral Beauty, (Oh, joy…) bring what I can only describe as The Martian meets The Fault in Our Stars. Good movies I’d rather be watching than this dense of a sci-fi /teen drama mush known as The Space Between Us.

La La Lame

(Originally Published February 9, 2017)

A new winning record of seven Golden Globes and a big contender for the Oscars, Damien Chazelle’s La La Land, is a postmodern musical filmed in the style of fifties classics like Singing in the Rain. A movie seen as a celebration of cinema, music, and as the tagline states “to the fool’s who dream;” a film that pays tribute to other Hollywood classics from An American in Paris to Casablanca.

A Split Decision: Shyamalan Proves Potential

(Originally Published on February 9, 2017)

I’ve actually enjoyed the films of M. Night Shyamalan; my personal favorites continue to be The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs. Even his lesser material have their moments (to an extent), though I won’t deny that he has delivered a decade of disappointing duds from The Village to After Earth. Nevertheless, I always look forward to his next project hoping that it’ll be great like his earlier work.

Founder and the Figures

(Originally Published on February 3, 2017)

Directed and co-written by Theodore Melfi (St. Vincent), Hidden Figures tells the true story of Katherine G. Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughn; three African-American women who played a pivotal role in NASA’s space race during the 1960’s.