My Review: RED 2 (5/10)

"If there's one thing I know, it's women and covert operations."

If there's one thing I know, it's that if the first film wasn't good, the sequel probably won't be either. That was the case with RED 2 which follows pretty much the same generic formula that it did in the first RED with the new additions of Catherine Zeta Jones, Anthony Hopkins, and Byung-hun Lee. The film has its funny moments, not thanks to screenwriters Jon and Erich Hoeber (responsible for the terrible screenplays of Whiteout and Battleship), but to its incredible and highly likable cast. Their presence alone and their interactions together elevate this otherwise ridiculous film. I guess that the producers decided to make a sequel considering the world wide success the first film had (despite not being a fan) and this time they brought Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest and Fun with Dick and Jane) to take over the director's chair that Robert Schwentke (RIPD and Flightplan) had left unoccupied. This sequel takes the same formula and similar situations by mixing comedy with over the top action sequences. There is nothing sophisticated or fresh about this film, so don't go into this expecting an engaging and thoughtful trailer. 

The plot follows the events from the previous film as Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is trying to enjoy his retired life now with the company of his girlfriend Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker), but the relationship is being affected by his overprotective behavior. She is yearning for some action in her life, so when Marvin (John Malkovich) shows up to warn Frank that there are people following them she doesn't hesitate in wanting to come along. But Frank dismisses Marvin and claims he is overreacting and that he and Sarah should continue to go on with their normal lives. It turns out that Marvin was right, as a Pentagon operative named Jack Horton (Neal McDonough) tries to capture Frank and threatens to torture Sarah unless he gives him some important information. Marvin comes to the rescue and explains that they are being hunted due to their previous involvement in a Cold War undercover operation known as Nightshade involving some sort of nuclear weapon. In order to find out more information and discover the reason as to why these men are hunting them down Frank, Sarah, and Marvin travel to Paris and meet up with Russian agent Katya (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who also happens to share a past relationship with Frank. Former MI6 agent, Victoria (Helen Mirren), is hired to kill Frank as well, but being a friend of theirs she gives them the heads up. It seems these former agents have been forced to come out of retirement once again to settle things once and for all.

If you thought the first film was silly, then you will think RED 2 is even more ridiculous considering the over the top action scenes involving car chases and gunshots. The plot is really dumb and light, and the only fun you might get out of this film comes from the cast. I actually liked Anthony Hopkins and Byung-hun Lee in their particular roles here, but they just couldn't do much with the material. Hellen Mirren is such a talented actress that at moments it felt embarrassing to hear her speak out her recycled lines. The cast did seem to have a lot of fun with the lightness of it all and John Malkovich delivers several funny lines, but I just felt this film was dull, stale, and unsatisfying. To be honest I came into this film remembering very little about the first film, and I can imagine I will completely forget about this sequel as well in a few more weeks because it is beyond silly. Silly can be good at times, but here I think they went a little too far with it. I will give this two and a half stars for the cast involved because they are just fun to watch at times. 

My Review: Warm Bodies (8/10)

¨You miss him…like a boyfriend…you miss your boyfriend? ¨

Jonathan Levine surprised me a couple of years ago with 50/50 and now he tries his luck on a very different genre in Warm Bodies. With the success of The Walking Dead television series the zombie genre is probably as popular as ever, but Levine does something different by turning things around. Instead of having us run away from the incoming brain eating zombies, he puts us inside their heads as we get to see things through a zombie´s point of view. The main character´s name is R and he is a zombie. We get to experience everything he is thinking as he narrates the film. This is probably what makes this film so fun and entertaining because we get to see this misunderstood zombie grunt and walk around so slowly while his mind processes things so quickly. Zombieland had already broken the predictability of the zombie genre by making fun of the premise, but Warm Bodies takes a different turn in that it makes the zombie one of the protagonists. These zombie eating villains might have a heart after all and we get to experience it in this romantic comedy. Nicholas Hoult, who is also the star of Jack the Giant Slayer, plays the leading zombie in a very funny way using a lot of physical comedy. The fact that he is given some very clever lines also helps this film. The screenplay was adapted by Levine himself from Isaac Marion´s novel and it is very loosely based on the Rome and Juliet story (the balcony scene pays homage to that Shakespearean play). Teresa Palmer plays his human love interest with whom she shares great chemistry. She is very talented and the two make this film work thanks to some very funny moments and a touch of romance. Warm Bodies is really well paced and has a little bit of everything, combining comedy with romance and action. It is probably my favorite film of the year so far.

In a near future zombies are now in the top of the food chain, and humans have been reduced to live inside closed walls. R (Nicholas Hoult) is a zombie living inside an airport with a bunch of other zombies. He seems to be a little tired of his daily routines which involve walking slowly around the airport, spending some time sitting around with his best friend M (Rob Corddry) just grunting at each other, and eventually going out to find something to eat. They have to eat, although they do feel guilty about it. R claims that eating a human brain is what makes them feel alive again as they can access the memories of that person. It is as close to feeling alive as they can ever get. One day they encounter a group of humans who are out looking for pharmaceutics. Julie (Teresa Palmer) is one of the members of the expedition along with her boyfriend, Perry (Dave Franco), and friend Nora (Analeigh Tipton). R ends up eating Perry and gets access to his memories. He ends up falling in love with Julie and decides to protect her from other zombies by spreading some blood over her face and asking her to remain still. R takes her to an abandoned plane inside the airport which he uses as his personal room full of items he collects including some records. R is a different kind of zombie, but this new connection he feels for Julie has made him feel more alive than ever. Not only R begins to feel alive again, but some of the other zombies seem to slowly be recovering their humanity. The problem is that Julie´s father, Grigio (John Malkovich), is the general behind the closed walls that is determined to exterminate all the zombies and they are running out of time.  

The film is perfectly well paced with some memorably funny and clever moments. The film is funny, romantic, and lots of fun. Levine seems to know his craft and he uses this well known genre as a sort of parable to how through all the new technology we seem to be living as zombies and losing real human connections with each other. This film reminds us of the power of human connection, but that is just one point that Levine tries to get across without seeming to preachy. The film has some very funny performances and some great moments as well. This isn’t a perfect film, and I probably enjoyed Zombieland a little more, but it definitely is a new spin on the zombie genre and it really worked for me. I have to give this movie a lot of credit for being so original and taking us inside the rotten mind of a brain eating zombie. Levine once again takes a huge risk here, but it really pays off nicely. One would never expect to be rooting for a lead character like this but you can´t help but sympathize for this guy. I had a great time with Warm Bodies!

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My Review: Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon (4/10)

¨You may lose faith in us, but never in yourselves¨

Somehow after the third Transformers film I have managed to lose my faith in the highly successful blockbuster director Michael Bay and screenwriter Ehren Kruger who have turned one of my favorite cartoons into a terrible franchise. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the first Transformers and thought it was awesome to see those characters brought to the big screen, but the sequels just haven’t managed to live up to expectations and my faith in the series is long lost. As Optimus Prime states, at least I haven’t managed to lose my faith in myself. The special effects are extraordinary and we get plenty of action, but there is no character development whatsoever. The movie is exceedingly long (over two and a half hours) and not even with all that extra time do we get to see some character development. The final showdown is also extremely long, but I guess action fans won`t be disappointed because they get a lot of excellent fights and cool visuals. As for me, I would have liked a better story with more character development. I could have also used a bit more comedy; the jokes just get old after three films and I would`ve really enjoyed something fresh and original in the series instead of relying on John Turturro all over again for the funniest moments. There are some new additions to the franchise, some interesting actors, but none of them are enough to save the franchise. Transformers is one of those movies that is extremely loud and makes a lot of noise, but really never ends up saying anything at all.

Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is back again to save the world for a third time from the Decepticons, although this time he has a new girlfriend, Carly (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley). He meets her at the White House after receiving a medal of honor from president Obama. Sam is out of college, but is having trouble finding a job, although he is living with Carly who is doing well at her new job working as an assistant for a rich man named Dylan (Patrick Dempsey). On the meantime, the Autobots are helping humans maintain peace between them while the Decepticons remain silent. Lennox (Josh Duhamel), who works with the Autobots, receives a call from Ukraine saying that they have found some form of alien life at a former radiation plant. The Decepticons seem to be searching for something and the answers can be found in the past: they have to do with man`s first arrival at the moon. A few select men at NASA have been hiding some key information about what really was hidden at the dark side of the moon: a Cybertronian spacecraft containing some dark secrets. Both Decepticons and Autobots begin a race to uncover this secret that could threaten life on Earth. Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ratchet, and the rest of the Autobots are back along with some new ones, while Megatron leads the Decepticon`s new army.  There are some plot twists so I do not want to give too much of it away, but the main focus of the film is almost entirely on the action and the almost hour long destruction of Chicago.

In this third film we discover that Optimus Prime isn’t the last remaining Prime after all since Sentinel Prime has been unconscious in the dark side of the moon during all these years. When Optimus Prime finds him he revives him with the Matrix; but Sentinel isn’t the only new character in this film, we also have Frances McDormand as Chief Mearing in charge of the NEST operation, the funny Ken Jeong as Jerry Wang, Sam`s co-worker who might know what NASA was hiding doing the trip to the moon, there is also John Malkovich as Sam`s new boss, and then there is Alan Tudyk as the Dutch who is Simmons`s personal assistant. Even though we have all these new characters (remember I also mentioned Carly who replaced Megan Fox, and her boss Dylan) the film still seems more of the same and lacks freshness and originality. None of these characters were able to bring something new to the franchise because the script was mediocre and the film relied solely on the spectacular visuals and action scenes. Much of what Michael Bay puts on film is eye-candy, that is the reason he brought Rosie Huntington-Whiteley to replace Fox as she isn’t much of an actress, but she is just as hot as Fox. I just wished Bay spent the same amount of time he does on the action scenes with the screenplay. The 3D visuals work really well in this film, especially with the action scenes and the destruction of Chicago, but the movie just felt way too long in my opinion. I`m also tired of the open ended finales which suggest there might be another sequel on the way, and wish they just brought closure to the Transformers franchise

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My Review: RED (5/10)

¨He got old. Then some thumb-sucker came along and tagged him RED: Retired, Extremely Dangerous.¨

Robert Schwentke (The Time Traveler`s Wife, and Flightplan) had the privilege of directing a talented cast including Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman, Brian Cox, Karl Urban, and Richard Dreyfuss. A lot of big names for the latest adaptation of the DC Comic graphic novel written by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner. One would expect nothing could go wrong with a movie with such great star power, but I was disappointed with this lightly entertaining comedy slash action flick. Red suffers from a poorly adapted screenplay written by Jon and Erich Hoeber (the guys who brought us one of the worst films of 2009: Whiteout). The plot is really bad, and the actors do the best they can in order to save the film. There are some funny moments (but far too few) thanks to the talent from the entire cast that save the movie from falling into horrible territory. John Malkovich gives a very comedic and surprising performance, but unfortunately he doesn`t get enough screen time to save the movie. The rest of the cast give good performances, but they are far from memorable. The chemistry between Bruce Willis and Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) is pretty decent, although nothing we haven’t seen before. I really expected this movie would have a lot more funnier moments, but the screenplay failed to help out the great cast. Red could have been much better if the producers would have taken more time in finding better screenwriters. I just felt this movie was like an All-Star team without a good coach to help them win the championship. With a better plot, Red would have been a great and memorable movie.

Bruce Willis is Frank Moses, a former CIA agent who is now retired and having a difficult time making the transition. The only thing that seems to keep him going is when he gets to speak over the phone with his government pension representative, Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker). Her life doesn`t seem all that exciting either, and she spends her days working and reading sexy spy novels. Sarah and Frank spend a lot of time on the phone discussing their boring and lonely lives without having ever met, but they seem to enjoy each other. Their daily routines will change all of a sudden when someone puts a hit on Frank and tries killing him. Frank might be old, but he`s still got game. He manages to elude the dozen of assassins that are sent to his home and decides to give Sarah a visit in Kansas City guessing she might be in danger as well. Frank will need some help in order to discover who is after him so he decides to get his old CIA team back together: Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich), Victoria (Helen Mirren), and Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman). They are all more than happy to get back in action since they all seem to have difficulties adapting to their retiree lives. Together they begin delving into the past in search for clues, while at the same time they have to face the young CIA agent who is after them: William Cooper (Karl Urban). Richard Dreyfuss, Brian Cox, and Julian McMahon also have smaller roles in the film.

I really wished this movie would have been funnier considering the talented cast. Malkovich is by far the funniest one in the film; I`ve seen Willis in better roles; Freeman doesn’t add anything to the story; Urban being one of the younger actors proved he has what it takes to stand next to these A-list actors; Louise-Parker was pretty funny in this movie, but she is way better in Weeds; and Helen Mirren always brings her A game to the table. I didn`t have a problem with the performances, but I just wished they would have done a better job with the plot and the screenplay. This is one of those movies that looks hilarious in the trailers, but then you discover it isn`t actually that funny when sitting through the 100 minute film. Red is not terrible. I actually had a decent time watching it, but it is just light entertainment I wouldn`t consider recommending it or watching it over again. The movie did give me a nostalgic feeling seeing how so many of these actors are actually close to their retirement, but they still have the talent if given the right script to work with. I am a huge Bruce Willis fan, but I have to admit John Malkovich stole each scene he was in. Richard Dreyfuss and Brian Cox both have small parts in this movie, but they are really funny in it as well. Seeing these brilliant actors working together is the highlight of the film, but they should have brought in some talented screenwriters as well.

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My Review: Secretariat (8/10)

¨This is not about going back. This is about life being ahead of you and you run at it. Because you never know how far you can run unless you run.¨

Secretariat is one of those rare sports movies that manages to hook your attention and maintain the suspense despite knowing how it will turn out at the end. It`s impossible not to fall in love with this horse and his story. Disney was the right choice for the production of this film considering their success with other family friendly sport films like Remember the Titans. Secretariat was voted as one of the best athletes of the century (number one on the list if we don`t count human performances), and several of his records still stand to this very day nearly 40 years later. His story had to be told in film as Secretariat is considered to be the best racehorse of all time. The story involving his owner, Penny Chenery, and how she saved her ailing father`s stable risking everything (including her marriage) and betting it on the horse just adds to the overall dramatic effect of the plot. Secretariat reminded me a lot of another good racehorse film: Seabiscuit. I wouldn`t say this is a better movie, it`s different, but I can say that Secretariat was a better racehorse that won the most important races, including the Triple Crown in 1973 (a feat that hadn`t been accomplished in 25 years). Randall Wallace (writer of Braveheart and director of We Were Soldiers) did a good job with the direction of this film, despite being better known as a screenplay writer. The screenplay for Secretariat was written by Mike Rick, which was adapted from William Nack`s book about the large chestnut colt nicknamed ¨Big Red.¨

Diane Lane is Penny Chenery, a mother of four and housewife who`s life changes after her mother`s death and a visit to their stable based in Virginia. Penny`s father used to be the brains of the entire operation in Meadow Stables, but with the death of his wife and his illness things are going downhill at the stable. Penny decides to change things around in order to save the stable and begins by firing their trainer who seems to be making some unfavorable deals with other owners by trying to sell their horses at a much lower value. Penny with the help of the family`s trustworthy secretary, Miss Ham (played humorously by Margo Martindale) begins managing the place. The first smart move she makes is breeding one of her horses: Somethingroyal with a famous Thoroughbred racehorse named Bold Ruler. The result was the birth of the large chestnut colt nicknamed ¨Big Red¨, but better known in the horseracing world as Secretariat. Penny hires Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich) as the trainer and Ron Turcotte (Otto Thorwarth) as the jockey, and along with the groom, Eddie Sweet (Nelsan Ellis) together they form a great team and foster the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years. Of course the movie can`t be successful if it doesn`t have some drama in it, and so some problems surface back home with Penny`s husband, Jack Tweedy (Dylan Walsh), because running a stable back in Virginia has affected Penny with her housewife duties. Somehow Penny has to manage saving the stable in a macho dominated society and maintain her family together, while risking everything on one horse: Secretariat.

Secretariat succeeds as a film because the story is just so powerful and uplifting. The movie deals with overcoming difficult odds and following one`s dream. Penny had a good life as a housewife, but all this had led her far away from her early goal of following her father`s footsteps and managing the Meadow Stables. Once the opportunity presents itself to her she quickly takes on the difficult task and decides to follow her long life dream. Secretariat teaches us that it`s never too late to follow one`s dreams and overcome difficult situations. Disney has always been good at reminding us how important it is to fight for our dreams. Life is a race and if we don’t wake up in time our dreams and goals might just end in that: only dreams and we will never achieve anything if we don`t take risks in order to live out our dreams. Penny took the risk and bet it all on Secretariat who didn`t fail her. The story of this colt is just amazing and inspiring. The final scene where he is racing at the Belmont Stakes is just mesmerizing and left me full of goose bumps. Secretariat was such an amazing horse, and his story is done justice in this family friendly film. It is a strong, memorable movie that teaches us some important lessons while at the same time never ceases to entertain it`s audience. The performances in this movie are also great. Diane Lane as Penny and John Malkovich as Lucien give memorable and fun performances. Secretariat is a movie for the entire family to enjoy.

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