Horrible Bosses 2 (5/10): Some laughs, but you can't help but feel it's a waste of a strong cast

“I hate to break it to you, but the American dream is in China.”

I was a huge fan of the first film so I had some expectations for this sequel considering Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine were the new additions to an already impressive cast. What could go wrong with a comedy I had already enjoyed starring three Oscar winners? A lot when you bring in a new director whose most popular film up to now was That’s My Boy. The sequel tries to bank off the success from the strong chemistry between the three lead actors (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day), but unfortunately the formula felt repetitive and excessive at times. As much as I enjoyed their chemistry there were some moments that felt forced this time around. I am glad they didn’t repeat the same scenario from the first film and tried to change the structure of the comedy by centering on a kidnap attempt, but despite some funny scenes the sequel still falls flat by repeating some of the jokes from the first movie. Chris Pine was an excellent addition and once again the cameos from Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Aniston, and Kevin Spacey are the highlight of the film, but I was expecting a lot more from Christoph Waltz, who’s an actor I highly admire. I think he could be great in this sort of comical villainous role, but he was underused here. All in all, Horrible Bosses 2 fails to deliver the same amount of laughs as the original but it still remains as a watchable and entertaining comedy. 2014 has yet to deliver a satisfying comedy, but if you’re bored this is a sequel that will keep you entertained for a while. 

I actually found the first half of this film a bit stronger than the second half. It begins with a lot of promise introducing some of the new characters while centering on the relationship between the three amigos. Chris Pine is hilarious as well and he plays off the leads very well. There are several funny moments including the cameos with Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey, and Jennifer Aniston who you can tell is very uncomfortable with the dialogue she has to say but pulls it off nonetheless. The weakest part of the film is the resolution which in my opinion was a bit exaggerated, and many people might find the jokes offensive. It doesn’t come close to matching the potential of the original film, but I didn’t hate it either. The film is silly, but the cast makes it a worthwhile experience elevating the dull material and making it a little more fun than it had the right to be.

Annie (5/10): Uninspired musical, but entertaining thanks to Wallis and Byrne's performance

“It’s the hard-knock life for us.”

I have very fond memories from my childhood of watching John Huston’s musical, Annie, and singing along to the lyrics of “Tomorrow” and “It’s the Hard-Knock Life”. It was one of the films I rewatched the most as a child along with The Goonies and the Disney cartoons. So despite hearing some negative reviews, I still was excited about getting to watch the Annie remake for nostalgic reasons. One of my favorite films of 2012 was Beasts of the Southern Wild, so my expectations were even higher when I heard Quvenzhane Wallis was going to play Annie. Wallis is a force to reckon with and the perfect choice for Annie. This remake (which actually turned out to be more of a modern re-imagining) was directed by Will Gluck, whose latest films (Easy A, Friends with Benefits) I actually enjoyed. So all these elements combined, drew me into wanting to see it despite the very negative word of mouth. My expectations weren’t matched of course because Annie turned out to be a very flawed film, but I didn’t hate this musical either. Wallis’s performance was strong enough to keep me engaged with the story despite all the cheesy dialogues. The biggest disappointment for me however, were the musicals which felt too produced and at times those scenes felt more like a music video clip from MTV than anything else. The story is cliche and familiar, but at the same time it remains family friendly and it has a few emotional moments thrown in as well. For a flawed film, I found myself enjoying it quite a bit, but that was probably due to the nostalgic factor and my love for Wallis. 

The cast of Annie is pretty solid, although there were some performances that didn’t work at all. Cameron Diaz is miscast in the film, playing Miss Hannigan, the guardian of the orphan girls. She goes completely over the top and got on my nerves almost in every scene she was in. She is a great actress, but this sort of cartoonish role which she’s played many times in the past, never works for her. I find her obnoxious every time she plays these exaggerated parts. The same could be said about Bobby Cannavale who never sells his role. I know that the weak screenplay was responsible for this, but the rest of the cast didn’t turn out that bad. David Mayas, Adele Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Jamie Foxx are solid, but the standouts in this film were Wallis and Rose Byrne. They both bring a unique sweetness and charm to their role necessary for a musical like this. Byrne is a talented actress, and she is one of the best things about Annie. Unfortunately, the music never works and the screenplay is uninspired, but I still found most of the film entertaining and tolerable. I’ve seen a lot worse this year.

My Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (7/10)

"Let's go catch a spider."

Marc Webb's first feature film, 500 Days of Summer, was a successful small indie romantic film with a lot of heart. He went from that to the huge production of the Spider-Man franchise which I thought didn't necessarily need a reboot so soon. However the film did work thanks to Andrew Garfield's portrayal of Peter Parker. His natural charisma and confidence translated really well to the character and his sense of humor makes him the perfect candidate to play Spier-Man. I began my review by mentioning that Webb directed 500 Days of Summer because for me the heart and soul of this film is the love story between Gwen and Peter. I can't think of any other superhero film with such a great love story and believable chemistry than this one. Garfield and Emma Stone are incredible together and I loved their scenes. Webb knows a thing or two about young romance and it is the film's strongest asset. The sequel is entertaining and has some great action scenes, but I could've watched this film for the romance alone. The flaws are actually the villains in this film. They don't crowd the film like the trailers led me to believe, but they really don't seem to menacing until we reach the final third act. For a film that runs at 140 minutes it went by really quick and that is always a good sign. Spider-Man 2 might not be as good as this year's Captain America, but it does have its solid moments and clever one-liners. At times the CGI took me out of the film as it looked more like a video game, but there were some interesting shots as we got to follow Spider-Man swing across the New York City landscape. The film works better as a romantic comedy than an actual superhero movie but that was fine with me because it was a really good one. It makes most other recent rom-coms look ridiculous and unbelievable.

After a short flashback where we see what happened with Peter's parents, the camera follows Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) swinging across NYC  as he tries to stop a Russian mob criminal, Aleksei Sytsevich (Paul Giamatti), who has stolen something from OsCorp. In the midst of all the action he receives a call from his girlfriend, Gwen (Emma Stone), who is reminding him that he's going to be late for their graduation. Somehow Spider-Man manages to take care of business and arrives in the nick of time to receive his degree as Peter Parker. His Aunt May (Sally Field) is the only family he has left, but she's there for him like she's always been. Peter however has been having visions of Gwen's father reminding him of the promise he made to not date his daughter in order to keep her out of danger. Apparently it has been a conflict they've dealt with over the last few months and Gwen decides it's time for the two to break up. Gwen continues to work at OsCorp which is now managed by Norman's son, Harry (Dane DeHaan), after his passing. Harry seems to suffer from the same degenerative disease of his father and wants to continue researching for a cure in OsCorp. Peter is glad to see his childhood friend back, but when he realizes what he's up to things get complicated. When an employee from OsCorp suffers a freak accident he becomes Electro (Jamie Foxx), a dangerous foe for Spider-Man and the city.

The Amazing Spider-Man has some flaws but it still entertains thanks to the great chemistry between Stone and Garfield. They are perfect together. DeHaan is also great as Harry and he does look like a believable threat for Spider-Man. I had a problem with Foxx's clumsy performance as Max but once he becomes Electro he does look menacing. I didn't care too much about the villains or the action set pieces despite the fact that they were well crafted. The inner struggles that Peter Parker faces with his family drama and relationship with Gwen is at the heart of this film. The final act is more than just a gigantic action face-off, there is actually a lot of emotional elements at stake and that is what lifted this movie as it finished on a high note. There was a very emotional scene scene near the end of the film that left the entire theater in silence. The best thing about this sequel is that it was much more emotionally involving than the original and it banks its strength from Andrew Garfield's charismatic and spot on performance as Peter Parker.

My Review: Rio 2 (6/10)

"We are not people, we're birds. We have to get out into the wild and be birds."

Director Carlos Saldanha takes us back to the colorful world of Rio in this sequel that takes place mostly in the Amazon jungle. I enjoyed the first film for the animation and how beautiful they made it look. Rio 2 is probably my least favorite animated film of 2014 so far, but I still have to give it a pass for the gorgeous animation. The film looks beautiful, it's a shame that the characters aren't as well developed. I wasn't a huge fan of the plot either, but the animation is so breathtaking that it is worth it. Adults might not have as much fun because it isn't as smart or witty as other recent animated films, but kids will enjoy this for the colorful characters. Of course like in most sequels you have to try to outdo yourself, more characters are introduced and ultimately the film just felt too crowded and the subplots and new characters didn't work very well. They kind of took me out of the movie, but the Amazon jungle is so gorgeously captured that I still had a decent time with this. I'm giving this a mild recommendation, but there isn't much more to this sequel other than that. 

As for the plot, the film continues to center on the surviving blue macaws that are living in a special reserve in the city of Rio. Believed to be the only surviving birds of their species Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway) have formed a family of their own and have three kids. Things take an unexpected turn for them when they discover that there might be more macaws in the heart of the Amazon jungle. They decide to travel to the wild jungle to meet up with the rest of their kind. They are not alone on their journey however, as Nigel (Jermaine Clement) is waiting for the perfect moment to have his revenge along with his new sidekick, a venomous frog named Linda (Leslie Mann). Once they arrive they are surprised to discover that among the surviving birds there's Jewel's father, Eduardo (Andy Garcia), who is happy to have found Jewel again. However, Blu has trouble adopting to the lifestyle of the wild and his father in law doesn't seem to take a huge liking of his city ways. 

The sequel has some funny moments and I chuckled a few times, but the plot was weak and predictable. It felt a bit long and dragged at times. It also felt too preachy with all the ecological messages and I could have done without those subplots with the humans tearing down the trees. Most of the characters are back from the first film and a lot of new ones were added although I really didn't care much for any of them. There are some fun musical moments that helped me get past the more tedious moments but overall I didn't have such a good time as I did with The LEGO Movie or Mr. Peabody & Sherman. The film is not even as close in terms of being witty, but it does look more beautiful and kids might enjoy it more for all the colorful scenes and the choreographed musical numbers. By the end of the film I kind of felt tired and exhausted, but the kids seemed to have enjoyed it.

My Review: White House Down (6/10)

"My father is a very special man."

White House Down might suffer from a terrible plot and loud action scenes we've seen a million times before, but the leads have such great chemistry together that this movie was actually entertaining. I'm giving Roland Emmerich a passing grade for the first time since his 2000 film The Patriot. I've disliked pretty much every film he's made since (2012, The Day After Tomorrow, and 10,000 BC), but for the first time Emmerich barely redeems himself thanks to strong performances from Foxx and Tatum. This is the second film coming out this year about the White House being under siege where the president is taken hostage and one man has to save the day. Olympus Has Fallen starred Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart. The action sequences in that film might have been a little better than White House Down, but I didn't like that movie because it took itself too seriously despite the ridiculous plot. What Emmerich has going for him here is that he knows the film is silly and that everything is pretty much formulaic, but he has fun with the story. He lets these two lead roles play with cliches and simply entertain the audience with their over the top performances. In a way this film felt a lot like Independence Day and those 90 films I enjoyed so much. It's not a Die Hard film, but it does pretty much live up to films like Air Force One and has a little more fun with the familiar story. We know pretty much everything that's going to happen in this film; it is very predictable, but somehow it manages to have fun with everything and never tries to takes itself seriously. Tatum has such great comedic timing that he really steals the show here. This is a summer popcorn film that is loaded with entertaining and funny scenes, but has very little depth to it. Unfortunately the film is way too long and has a preposterous final act. Despite it all, I still enjoyed White House Down and had a decent time.

Former military, John Cale (Channing Tatum), works as a Capitol policeman but thanks to a contact he gets a job interview with the Secret Service for the President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). He doesn't get the job, but he takes advantage of his interview to take his young daughter Emily (Joey King) on a tour through the White House. She is a huge admirer of the President and is having her dream day, but all of a sudden the place is attacked by a group of heavily armed paramilitary men who take everyone hostage. The head of the president's security, Walker (James Wood), is behind the attack. John prevents Walker from taking him hostage and hides out with the President inside while finding a way to escape and at the same time rescue his daughter from the dangerous paramilitary group led by Stenz (Jason Clarke). Cale gets through with the Pentagon from the inside and is permanently in communication with Finnerty (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who tries to guide him and the President to safety. Cale and the President will have to team up in order to disrupt Walker's destructive plan. Among the talented cast we have supporting works from Richard Jenkins, Nicolas Wright, and Peter Jacobson.

I don't blame those who didn't like White House Down because I can see why they hated it. The premise is really silly and the movie is way too long with a very ridiculous final act. I enjoyed the film mostly because the actors seemed to be taking their roles very lightly and having fun with the material given. Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx worked extremely well together and shared some very funny scenes. Their chemistry is what made this film worthwhile for me. The film isn't as good as Die Hard, but I thought it took a similar approach and that is what worked for Emmerich this time. Tatum is a bankable actor and has been on a role lately (21 Jump Street and Magic Mike). The film is worth watching for this alone, just don't go into this film expecting an intelligent action film.

My Review: Django Unchained (9/10)

¨Gentlemen, you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention.¨

I am a huge Quentin Tarantino fan and enjoy his movies very much so I had huge expectations for this film and I wasn’t disappointed. Django Unchained is one of the top five best films of the year and deserves all the awards it has been receiving. Is this Tarantino’s best work? No it isn’t, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a fun film to watch. It has several flaws; the movie feels messy and a little overlong at times with some editing issues, but the story is just so fun that it’s worth it. Inspired by the Spaghetti westerns that Tarantino grew up watching, he pays homage to those films with Django Unchained. Just like those spaghetti westerns ended up reinventing a genre that was dying, in a way Tarantino has reinvented a genre now that had been long forgotten. We’ve seen very few westerns come out in the last decade (my favorites being 3:10 to Yuma and True Grit), but none as gritty and dark like this one. It is a western mixed with Tarantino’s classic dark and violent trademarks. Tarantino actually defines this film more a southern than a western considering it takes place in the South pre Civil War era, and it truly is worth the watch. Django Unchained has some great performances as well; it was a surprise to see Leonardo DiCaprio playing such a vicious and ruthless role, Samuel Jackson also nails his role as DiCaprio’s adviser, Foxx takes a while to settle in the lead role but he does deliver halfway through the film, and then there was Christoph Waltz who was the highlight of the film for me. Waltz had already surprised film lovers with his Oscar winning performance in Inglorious Basterds, and here he surprises us once again although this time playing the hero instead of the villain. In my opinion his character carries this movie and shouldn’t even be considered as the supporting character, but rather the leading one. He is a delight to watch on screen and is truly magnificent. Who would have thought that he could play such a likeable character after seeing him in the despicable and vicious role in Tarantino’s previous movie?

This is one of Tarantino’s most straightforward films with hardly any flashbacks, and it isn’t divided into chapters either like his other movies. The story opens somewhere in Texas during the pre-civil war era where we see Django (Jamie Foxx) being carried off in chains towards a slave market along with some other folks. They are interrupted by a former dentist, Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), who has come to free Django. He is very much against slavery and racial segregation, so he buys Django his freedom with the condition that he help him find three brothers who are wanted men, and only Django has seen their faces. Schultz isn’t working as a dentist; he has found a much more profitable living as a bounty hunter so he teams up with Django who is more than willing to help find these men who abused his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) and sold her to a ruthless plantation owner down in Mississippi known as Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). Django and Schultz become such good friends that they become partners in the bounty business and later the Dr. agrees to help Django on his quest to free his wife from Candie. It won’t be an easy task so they have to come up with a plan first, but Schultz is so inspired by Django’s love for his wife that he agrees to help him. In Candie’s gigantic residence we are introduced to some new characters such as his loyal adviser, Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson) who is in charge of all the slaves and household duties, and several other employees of Candie. One thing is for sure, freeing Broomhilda from all these men won’t be an easy task.  

My major complain (although it really is a minor one because I did love this film) is that it runs a bit too long. I thought the climax was reaching its highest point at least 30 minutes before the ending, and it did hurt the movie a bit that it extended itself. Tarantino is a master at creating tension and suspense, and he does it once again here, but he could have ended the film there instead of including another act where he has a small role as an Australian that just doesn’t work. The film is very violent, but Tarantino always finds a way to make you laugh (a task that isn’t easy) with a smart and inventive script. Racial abuse is pointed out here in a very strong way similar to when Tarantino showed the Nazi’s abusing the Jews in Inglorious Basterds. The excess in racial abuse is very clear and can be hard to watch for some, but it has a powerful effect, especially thanks to DiCaprio’s portrayal as the vicious and abusive slave owner. The real star of the film however is Christoph Waltz who really makes this film a lot more fun. It was one of my favorite performances of the year. Django Unchained may have just reinvented the western genre altogether with this inventive Tarantino script. The ending might be pretty predictable for a Tarantino fan, but the entire ride was just so exciting and such a fun experience. I agree with what A.O. Scott said about the film: ¨It is digressive, jokey, giddily brutal and ferociously profane. But it is also a troubling and important movie about slavery and racism.¨ This is one of the most entertaining movies of the year, but it could be divisive for some.

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My Review: Due Date (4/10)

¨My father loved coffee, and now we loved him as coffee.¨

Todd Phillips is the man responsible for directing The Hangover, one of my favorite comedies of the decade. He`s also directed some other funny movies like Old School and is currently working on the sequel for The Hangover. However his latest film, Due Date, was hugely disappointing. Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis are among today`s best comedic actors, but they were badly miscast in this film. The biggest mistake was the approach this road trip/comedy took because the lead characters were immensely annoying and very unlikeable. Robert Downey Jr. `s character is really mean spirited and hateful. He yells at people all the time, easily losses his temper, hits kids, spits at dogs, and even fights with a guy in a wheelchair. It’s impossible to sympathize with him even if he`s Robert Downey Jr. Zach Galifianakis on the other hand has to play the typical annoying character, but he hugely exaggerates it in his approach. He`s really annoying and not someone you actually feel sorry for or could wish the best for him. He`s just way too immature and a little too crazy. It’s impossible in this genre to avoid comparisons with Hughes` 1987 film: Plain, Trains, & Automobiles, one of the all time best road trip comedies. Phillips could have learned several lessons from that movie before directing Due Date. Steve Martin`s character is in no way as mean or hurtful as Downey was, and Candy might have been annoying, but he was still a likeable guy who made you feel sorry for him, unlike Galifianakis. There are really very few funny moments in this comedy (and the best were already shown in the trailer). Due Date relies too heavily on pot jokes, foul language, and masturbating dogs; and it has no heart.

The story is actually not very different from any other road trip comedy. Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) is an architect and expectant father from Los Angeles who happens to be working in Atlanta. He is trying to make it home on time for the birth of his son/daughter because his wife, Sarah (Michelle Monoghan) is expecting him to show up at the hospital, but an unexpected problem surfaces when Peter has a discussion with one of the passengers of the plane, Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis), and both end up on the no flying list. Peter is forced to travel to LA in a rental car along with Ethan because he left his wallet with money and documents on the plane. As much as Peter seems to despise Ethan he decides to travel with him and their troubles begin. Ethan is not the person with whom you`d want to travel with on the road from coast to coast across the States, much less when he also carries around a masturbating dog with him that believes he`s human. Along their journey we meet some other characters like Heidi (Juliette Lewis) the drug dealer, Lonnie (Danny McBride) an ex War veteran working at Western Union, and Darryl (Jamie Foxx) a long time friend of Peter and Sarah. Neither of the supporting characters have enough screen time to make their performances any memorable although some of the funniest scenes revolve around them.

Whatever Todd Phillips did right in The Hangover, he failed to do so with Due Date. There are very few laughs, and there are characters we can`t sympathize with despite the fact that the actors are hugely talented. I can`t even imagine how these two films were directed by the same guy, but I hope he redeems himself with The Hangover sequel. Due Date is a forgettable comedy and a really mean spirited film. Phillips goes a little too over the top in his approach to this road trip comedy. Perhaps the best and funniest moments of the film come from the individual performances of the actors, like the scene where Galifianakis begins to act out a scene from The Godfather. There is also a SNL like moment in the scene at Western Union between Danny McBride and Robert Downey Jr. It`s a funny scene, but if that`s one of the highlights of the film I`d rather watch a full episode of SNL. The truth of the matter is that the movie fails because the audience is unable to connect or find sympathy with any of the characters. There is not one likeable person in this film and that makes us care less whether or not Peter and Ethan make it to Los Angeles on time together. Skip this film and watch Planes, Trains, & Automobiles instead because that is how you make a hilarious road trip movie with likeable and memorable characters.

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My Review: Rio (7/10)

¨This is great. I'm chained to the only bird in the world who can't fly! Is there anything else I need to know? ¨

Carlos Saldanha gives us one of the most colorful movies of the year, and it couldn´t have been any other way considering the story takes place in beautiful Rio de Janeiro. Saldanha pays homage to the city where he was born, and does it by showing us the beauty of its locations, its people, and its music, during one of the most fun and colorful events that take place every year: Carnival. It`s impossible not to like this animated film, despite having a weak and predictable plot, because not liking it would be like not enjoying a trip to Rio. Saldanha takes us to his city and shows us all the beauty Rio has to offer. The visuals in the film are excellent and we get plenty of aerial shots of the city, we see its beautiful beaches, tropical forests, and even get to experience a motorcycle ride across its infamous favela. We also get to meet some of their eccentric characters (Saldanha has a lot of fun with the stereotypes), although the main attraction of the movie are the colorful animals. Animated films have matured greatly over the years and we`ve come to expect excellent visual effects, but in Rio the visuals are the main attraction and the characters are just a product of their environment. Rio is much better than the other animated film 2011 had to offer: Rango. Rango was an animated film I disliked, but I admitted the visuals were fantastic. Neither of the films have a decent story or memorable characters, but the difference with Rio is that when you have Rio de Janeiro the city itself becomes a character and a very memorable one for that matter. That is why the movie is such fun because it’s all about Rio and not so much as the rest of the characters.

The film opens in the tropical jungles of Brazil where a blue macaw`s life will change forever when a group of poachers take him captive and smuggle him to the States. Somewhere along the way the bird ends up in chilly Minnesota after the truck that is smuggling him hits the breaks a little too hard and the box where he`s in ends up flying out of the truck. The macaw is fortunate enough to be found by a young girl named Linda (voiced by Leslie Mann) who takes good care of him. She names the bird Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and they both seem to be enjoying a comfortable life together when all of a sudden they get a visit from a Brazilian ornithologist, Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro), who claims that Blu is the last male bird of his species. Tulio has found a female macaw (Jewell, voiced by Anne Hathaway) and needs Linda to take Blu to Rio so the birds can breed and save the species. Linda unwillingly takes Blu to Rio and that is where the fun begins because Jewel and Blu don`t get off to a right start. She is more of a free spirited bird who enjoys her liberty, and he is a domesticated macaw who can`t even fly. Somehow both birds are kidnapped from the lab by a smuggler named Marcel (Carlos Ponce) along with his stupid accomplices, and accompanied by an evil and scary cockatoo named Nigel (Jermaine Clement). Blu and Jewel manage to escape from these poachers but not before they end up being chained together. Both birds end up on a journey trying to free themselves while escaping from Nigel and the poachers and along the way they befriend Rafael (George Lopez) the toucan, Pedro (Will.i.am) the red-crested cardinal, Nico (Jamie Foxx) the yellow canary, and Luiz (Tracy Morgan), the bulldog.        

The plot is probably the weakest part out of the 96 minute movie because it is very predictable: it`s a formula picture where we have a male and female lead character that can`t stand each other at first only to end up discovering they have feelings for each other. We`ve all come to expect these stories from Hollywood were opposites attract. Fox-Blue Sky Studios may not have the depth in their stories as Pixar does, but they sure can deliver great visuals. Don`t expect a heartfelt story like Pixar`s Up or Toy Story and I guarantee you will enjoy this fun colorful movie because Rio de Janeiro is a fun place to be, especially during Carnival. The city itself becomes the main character in this film and that is why the movie is called Rio and not Blu or Jewel. The details of the city and the beautiful locations couldn’t have been enjoyed more if it wasn`t for Carlos Saldanha and his love for the city in which he was born. Rio is a fun and entertaining movie where kids and adults will have a good time alike thanks to the beauty of its scenery enjoyed mostly through aerial shots, and the soundtrack full of Samba which identifies the city. Saldanha couldn’t have picked a more different location from his previous film: Ice Age, and the result is visually noticeable. Rio is a lot of fun and I recommend this animated film for the entire family.

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My Review: Ray (9/10)

¨If you want to do something to make your mama proud, promise me. Promise me you won't let nobody turn you into no cripple, you won't become no charity case, and you'll stand on your own two feet.¨

Ray Charles kept his promise and stood on his own two feet on the road to becoming one of the most beloved music entertainer`s of our century. Sure, he had to battle blindness and several addictions that tried to cripple him for life, but he was able to rise above them and become part of music history by being the first to fusion rhythm and blues with gospel music, and he even made country and western music popular throughout the world. Taylor Hackford (The Devil`s Advocate and Proof of Life) did a great job with the direction of this movie focusing more on Ray`s early years and his rise to fame during which he had to battle drug addictions that almost crippled him for life. Hackford also co-wrote the story with James L. White. The film is very well produced, but the success of the movie relies heavily on the performance from Jamie Foxx. He really captured the essence of Ray Charles and mimicked his every movie. Thanks to the great amount of footage of Charles`s life Foxx was able to study him and also met him for a couple of weeks while shooting the film. Foxx`s Oscar winning performance was stunning and he made me believe I was actually seeing the real Ray Charles and not an actor. Foxx was mostly known for his comedic performance, but he had proved himself in dramatic roles before with Any Given Sunday and Collateral. The musical score of Ray was absolutely breathtaking and another reason why this biopic works so well. Ray runs for more than 150 minutes and the main focus of the movie is on his music. The movie doesn`t waste time diving in too deep on the psychological elements of his life and focuses mainly on his music, but it doesn´t leave out his personal fight with his addictions so it doesn`t try to make him look like an angel either. In other words, his life isn`t sugar-coated.

 The movie begins with a nineteen year old blind Ray (Jamie Foxx) who is travelling to Seattle in the late forty`s to audition for Gossie McGee (Terrence Howard). He plays at a small bar for a few people, but he shows his talent playing some Nat King Cole songs. Gossie loves his music and so does his manager Marlene (Denise Dowse) who decides to sign him to perform at her bar. I guess the movie opens in Seattle because it marked an important time for Ray where he met his friend Quincy Jones (Larenz Tate) and also was introduced to drugs. The movie also has several flashbacks of Ray`s childhood (young Ray was played by C.J. Sanders) in Florida where he grew up with his mother Aretha (Sharon Warren) and younger brother George (Terrone Bell). These flashbacks deal with his humble beginnings, the death of his brother George, the disease that left him blind at seven, and his mother`s impact on his life. Ray is taken advantage of in Seattle, but he is no dumb blind man and slowly works his way to the top signing deals with Jack Lauderdale (Robert Wisdom), executive of Swingtime Records where he meets his future band manager Jeff Brown (Clifton Powell), later on with Atlantic Records where he truly finds his own voice and is not taken advantage of for the first time in his life. The producers of Atlantic are Ahmet (Curtis Armstrong) and Jerry Wexler (Richard Schiff), but before signing with them Ray decides to get married with the lovely Della Bea (Kerry Washington). This is when Ray becomes a success and begins his love affairs with Mary Ann Fisher (Aunjanue Ellis) and Margie Hendricks (Regina King). The movie focuses on his career from the late fortys to the mid 60`s when Ray finally is able to end his battle with drugs and continue successfully making music for 40 more years.

I already mentioned Foxx`s great performance, but Regina King and Kerry Washington also give strong performances as secondary characters. The story works really well focusing on Ray`s achievement in the music industry showing he was not only a great musician, but a talented businessman as well. The film doesn`t portray Ray as a saint and isn`t afraid of pointing out his weaknesses as well. There are several memorable scenes in the movie that doesn`t drag at all beside the fact that it is two and a half hours long. There are just so many rich details that couldn`t be left out of Ray´s life. Some of the memorable scenes were when Ray defied racial discrimination in Georgia when the theater he was going to perform for wanted to segregate the audience and only open for white folks, the scene where he is recovering in the hospital from addiction and has a vision of his mother and brother, and the scene where Ray has to perform for twenty more minutes to honor a contract and comes up with the song ¨What`d I say¨, which truly prove his musical genius. This is one of the best biopics ever made and I highly recommend it.

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My Review: Valentine`s Day (5/10)

¨There you have it, folks. Young love. Full of promise, full of hope, ignorant of reality. ¨

This romantic comedy is exactly what Valentine`s Day is all about: commercialization. First of all you have Garry Marshall involved in the project, who has directed many hits such as Pretty Woman, Frankie and Jhonny, Beaches, The Princess Diaries, among many others. He gets the dream team of actors to get involved as well: Ashton Kutcher, Taylor Lautner, Julia Roberts, Emma Roberts, Taylor Swift, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba, Anne Hathaway, Topher Grace, Bradley Cooper, Patrick Dempsey, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, George Lopez, Hector Elizondo, and Shirley MacLaine. With all these names there is no reason why someone wouldn`t want to go see this film, we all at least like someone in this movie (if not all), it`s a cast of All-Stars; between them they have more than 15 Oscar nominations combined. There is one major problem however: the movie is a huge disapointment. The screenplay, written by Katherine Fugate, doesn`t seem to work and it gave me the sense of being in a crowded room because it introduces one character after another without allowing for any character development or attachment on the part of the viewer with any one of them. This movie tries really hard to be Love Actually, which was a very successful romantic British comedy that also had a star cast, but the difference was that Love Actually was actually a good movie and Valentine`s Day isn`t. I didn`t have problems with the performances as much as I did with the predictable stories and cliches. Out of the more than ten different stories that are told here only one really caught me off guard, and if you`ve seen this movie then you probably know which one I am talking about.

The stories all take place in Los Angeles on Valentine`s Day. Reed (Ashton Kutcher) is a florist who wakes up next to his girlfriend Morley (Jessica Alba) and proposes to her. She says yes, and he goes to work excited on the busiest day of the year for him. His bestfriend is Julia (Jennifer Garner) who is having an affair with Dr. Harrison (Patrick Dempsey), although she really doesn`t know he is married. One of Julia`s students from school, Edison (Bryce Robinson) claims to be in love, and he lives with his grandparents Edgar (Hector Elizondo) and Estelle (Shirley MacLaine) who have been married for years and have been faithful to each other all their lives, or at least that was what Edgar thought. Since Edgar and Estella are going out on a date, Grace (Emma Roberts) is going to babysit Edison. She is planning on having sex for the first time with her High School sweetheart Alex (Carter Jenkins). Willy (Taylor Lautner), the School jock, gives Alex some advice. He is dating Felicia (Taylor Swift) and they are interviewed by a reporter who is covering a story about the most romantic day of the year. Kelvin (Jamie Foxx) is the sports reporter who is covering the story, but abandons it to cover the story on Sean Jackson (Eric Dane), a veteran QB who is giving a press conference about his next career move. That is where Kelvin meets his PR agent, Kara (Jessica Biel). Jason (Topher Grace) also wakes up next to his girlfriend Liz (Anne Hathaway) who he has just begun dating. Two strangers travel on a plane back to LA together: Holden (Bradley Cooper) and Captain Hazeltine (Julia Roberts).

As you can see the movie just tries to juggle all these different stories in a very short time and there is no room for character development. The actors don`t have enough screen time to build their characters or work any chemistry between them. The movie also is a bit long for a romantic comedy and by the end you are left expecting much more from this all star cast. The film had the potential to be great and I don`t know how they managed to get all these actors into the film with such a mediocre script. No matter what I say about this film you are probably going to see it anyway because there is a good chance one of your favorite actors is in this movie. I just wished they could`ve done more with such a great cast. Taking your date to this movie might end up being a much more expensive gift then you should of wished for.

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My Review: Law Abiding Citizen (6/10)

¨It's not what you know. It's what you can prove in court.¨

Law Abiding Citizen might not be a movie that will remain in your head for a long time, but it is an entertaining thriller that will have your complete attention for two hours and keep you in suspense. It isn`t one of those memorable movies which will blow your mind with a clever ending, but it is good enough to enjoy and have a good time without taking the movie too seriously. Gary Gray (Friday, The Italian Job, A Man Apart) directed this crime thriller which was written by Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium, The Recruit) and it does have some flaws, but the movie maintains some degree of suspense in order to keep you interested. The ending might be a little beyond belief, but the buildup was worth my ticket price. The two lead roles were also great: Gerald Butler and Jamie Foxx do a great job in making these characters interesting. Butler is much better in these action movies then he is in romantic comedies so it was good to see him doing what he does best again.

The movie takes place in Philadelphia and in the opening scene a pair of criminals enter Clyde Shelton´s (Gerald Butler) home stab him and brutally rape and murder his wife and daughter. Clyde is devastated by what is happened and he wants these men to pay the price. Unfortunately the District Assistant attorney, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), can´t gather enough evidence to put both men behind bars and makes a deal with one of the criminals. Clyde insists that they shouldn`t make a deal with these criminals and at least try to convince the jury in order to give them the death sentence, but Rice is too concerned about his highly successful convict prison sentencing rate and goes for the sure win. Clyde is unhappy with the decision and decides to take matters into his own hands. He happens to be a successful inventor and a specialist in finding ways to kill people without having to pull the trigger. Ten years later Clyde begins to act upon his carefully thought out plan and kills the criminal that was set free. His vengeance is not only taken on the criminal, but on the entire justice system that has become corrupted so he decides to take on everyone involved in the case from the lawyers to the judges and even the mayor of Philadelphia. Clyde pleads guilty for killing the criminal and executes his well thought out plan from inside the prison cell. Rice has to work against the clock in order to discover who is helping Clyde as the body count keeps on pilling up.

What separates this movie from other revenge films is the fact that the well thought out vengeance plan is executed from inside the prison cell. Clyde has already been sentenced, but he continues to execute his plan and he seems to have an accomplice in the outside and this is what builds up the suspense in the viewers as we try to discover how he manages to do all this. The ending may not be very plausible but the thrill and suspense that the director has managed to create during most of the movie makes up for it. I really didn`t see the ending coming and have to admit the idea was pretty original although it does have several flaws as well so I can`t say it was great. Law Abiding Citizen works as an entertaining thriller thanks to the performance from Foxx and Butler and the relationship they build together as the case builds on. It is hard not to sympathize with Butler`s character even though you know that what he is doing is wrong and it is this moral dilemma that keeps your attention in the movie. This movie is far from being memorable, but it is still entertaining and will keep you hooked for two hours. 

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