Home (5/10): For children 10 and under

"Oh, no! My hands are in the air like I just do not care!”

DreamWorks’ latest animated film will please the younger audience with its colorful visuals and likable characters, but I’m afraid parents won’t be too entertained by the predictability of the story, neither kids above the age of 10 for that matter. That is unless you are a fan of Rihanna who voices one of the main characters and sings the entire soundtrack for the movie. Home introduces us to an alien race known as the Boov who are always fleeing from their enemies, the Gorg. They flee to new planets where they can hide from the Gorgs and their next destination is Earth. Under the leadership of their most respected coward, Captain Smek (voiced by Steve Martin) they relocate the humans to other parts of the planet believing they are an inferior race and install themselves all over the globe. Oh (Jim Parsons) is a Boov misfit who is desperately in need of a friend and when he accidentally sends a message across the universe to a welcoming home party he puts the lives of everyone at risk. Realizing that he has made a terrible mistake, Oh goes on the run and that is where he runs into Tip, a young human girl who has managed to escape from the Boov relocation. She is searching for her mother (Jennifer Lopez) and after befriending Oh the two realize they can help each other out on their quests and embark on a journey that will take them around the globe.     

The premise of the story isn’t very original and we’ve seen this scenario played out many times in the past with films like Lilo & Stitch or ET. The concept of teaming up a young child with an unknown alien seems to be appealing to kids who might feel like everyone around them is an alien in some sort of way. It has worked in the past so the producers aren’t really trying anything new here and they don’t provide a fresh spin to the well known story either. Ten minutes into the film and you already know how everything is going to turn out in the end. There aren’t any surprises and the only treat that Home offers are the colorful visuals and some few funny scenes. I didn’t get to watch this film in English so I couldn’t enjoy the voice work from Rihanna and Parsons, whom I’m a fan of his series, The Big Bang Theory. The Spanish voice work was solid and some of the jokes translated well. 

The film does have some heartwarming moments and seems to remind children of the importance of facing their fears and taking risks. Tip is an adventurous character who teaches Oh to have hope despite the odds. She also teaches him about the true meaning of friendship which is thinking and caring for others instead of oneself. The message is well intentioned although a bit light, but in the end the simplicity of the story will hurt the film’s chances of remaining in the child’s memory after a few days have passed. Young kids will be entertained, but parents might prefer to take a nap while their children watch the movie. 

My Review: Parker (4/10)

"I don't steal from anyone who can't afford it, and I don't hurt anyone who doesn't deserve it."

The title of the film is based on the main character who is a thief with a set of moral codes which he never breaks. Oddly enough, Parker resembles every other Jason Statham character played on film, more than the character he was based on in Donald E. Westlake's novel "Flashfire." If you aren't familiar with the novel, you might be familiar with the 1999 revenge film, Payback, starring Mel Gibson. Despite not being called Parker in that film, Mel's character is supposed to be the same one played here by Statham. If you've seen both movies you will discover that they are completely different, so fans of Westlake's novels featuring Parker might be disappointed if they expect to experience that action hero, because all they will find is another Statham movie. I don't have a problem with Statham, I think he has great charisma on screen and has made some good films, but his act is wearing out if he doesn't try something new. This is the kind of film that he can make with his eyes closed considering he doesn't have as much fighting scenes as he usually does. The same could be said for director, Taylor Hackford, who has made some really strong films in the past like Ray and The Devil's Advocate, but this one is simply another generic and predictable heist film. John L. McLaughlin adapted the novel and this is also one of his weakest efforts considering he has written strong screenplays before (Black Swan and Hitchcock). This film didn't bring anything new to a genre we've seen played out a million times before in even straight to DVD movies. I could probably come up with a list of dozens of other revenge heist films that stand above this one. Parker was simply too generic and poorly executed with a character playing a thief with a strong moral code (which really never seems believable). 

Parker (Jason Statham) is working on his next heist after his long time partner, and now father-in-law, Hurley (Nick Nolte) recommends him and introduces him to four other thieves for an apparently easy heist: Melander (Michael Chiklis), Carlson (Wendell Pierce), Ross (Clifton Collins Jr.), and August (Micah Hauptman) who has close connections with the mafia in Chicago. After the heist the five thieves easily escape with the money, but instead of splitting the 200,000 they had all agreed on, Melander asks Parker and the rest of the gang to invest it in another heist in which they could all walk out of with a couple million dollars each. When Parker doesn't agree and asks for his share of the money, the rest of the members of the team shoot and leave him for dead. Parker survives and sets out to get back at these men because he believes in his set of ethical codes and they have broken it. It is not just about the money anymore, and he doesn't care how connected these men are with the mafia, he is out to set things right. After learning about their whereabouts in West Palm Beach he takes on a new identity and hires a real estate agent, Leslie Rodgers (Jennifer Lopez), as an excuse to look around and find these men. The only problem is that they know Parker is still alive and have set the mafia after him as well.

Parker is supposed to be an anti-hero, but it really doesn't play out like that in this movie. I couldn't identify with him and never found his set of moral codes really believable. Statham has charisma, but it just didn't play out that well with his character Parker. This felt like just another heist film where the audience is sort of forced to pull for the bad guy simply because he has a good heart. He only kills people when they don't do what they are told, he only steals from rich people, etc. He simply doesn't pull it off here and I couldn't root for his character. The film tries so hard to justify his actions in such a way that it never feels authentic. I also found Jennifer Lopez's role pretty pointless. Her character doesn't bring anything to this story and at times her life feels like a soap opera. Nick Nolte's character is another one that is completely pointless and misused. There were so many pointless things going on in this movie that could've been left out. The longer the film played out the more and more I disliked it. There are no thrills, the love triangle is hardly developed, and not even Statham's classic action scenes save this movie. Parker is simply too formulaic and very forgettable. 

My Review: What to Expect When You`re Expecting (4/10)

¨I just wanted the glow. The one that they promise you on the cover of those magazines. Well, I'm calling it - pregnancy sucks. Making a human being is really hard.¨

What we can really expect from this movie is pretty much the same thing we got from Valentine`s Day and New Year`s Eve: A lot of celebrities but no real characters. It is the exact same issue I had with the other films, except this is perhaps even worse with everything fitting perfectly together at the end. This is a chick flick and perhaps many will disagree with me for saying this but What to Expect When You`re Expecting is one of the worst movies of the year. The film is based on a very successful series of pregnancy guides written by Heidi Murkoff, which I haven`t read but am pretty sure has to be much better than the screenplay that Shauna Cross (Whip It) and Heather Hach (Freaky Friday) came up with. I can`t imagine the book being like this because it`s really incoherent and unauthentic. There is no honesty whatsoever in the film and it felt sugarcoated with all the celebrities. Director Kirk Jones (Nanny McPhee and Everybody`s Fine) fails miserably in trying to portray a believable film. He follows the exact same clichés and formulas we see in almost every other chick flick. There is no originality whatsoever to this tale and by the end of the year even the people who enjoyed will have forgotten all about it. The film is all about pretty faces, unfunny dialogues, and relationships that aren't given enough screen time to develop. That is why I found it difficult to find believable chemistry between any of the five couples that the film was about. This film was a total waste of time and I can´t find anything positive to say about it. It makes Valentine`s Day and New Year`s Eve look like Oscar worthy contenders.

The story deals with five different couples which in some minor way interact or overlap with each other. First off we have celebrity fitness expert Jules (Cameron Diaz) who has fallen for her dance partner Evan (Matthew Morrison) in the Celebrity Dance Reality Show she`s participating on. Then there`s photographer Holly (Jennifer Lopez) and her hubby Alex (Rodrigo Santoro) who can`t have children and have decided to adopt. Wendy (Elizabeth Banks) is a baby-crazy writer who thinks she knows everything about motherhood but has had trouble trying to get pregnant along with her husband Gary (Ben Falcone). Gary`s father, Ramsey (Dennis Quaid), a former Nascar racer has remarried the beautiful and young Skyler (Brooklyn Decker). When Wendy and Gary discover that they were finally able to get pregnant they go to tell the news to Ramsey and Skyler who also surprise them with the news that they too are expecting. By this time Jules and Evan have already found out that they too are expecting a child, and Jules is trying to work around her busy TV schedule. If this seems a lot to take in, wait there is still more: Rosie (Anna Kendrick) shares a romantic night with a former High School classmate, Marco (Chace Crawford) and ends up pregnant as well. This is where the drama unfolds as we have each couple dealing with pregnancy in different ways. Alex who doesn’t feel prepared to be a father is sent by Holly to meet with a dad`s support group organized by Vic (Chris Rock). The support group is supposed to be the funniest thing about the film, but in my opinion none of the jokes worked really well.

There is not much more I can add about this movie, there was so much going on that it was hard to find any chemistry between any of these couples. They all played one dimensional and stereotypical characters. I don’t think I can say I had a favorite performance here because it all felt bland and fake. The ending is horrible, but I guess most couples were satisfied with this date movie. It has no other value to it, only enjoyable for a couple`s date night or a girls night out.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com