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: This is the End (8/10)

¨Seth, that's some of the better acting that I've seen in your last six movies. Where was that in The Green Hornet?¨

This is the End is probably the most fun I've had with a comedy all year; I laughed so hard especially during the first hour of this raunchy/bromantic/stoner comedy. This is the directorial debut for Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg who have both written several screenplays together. Some of their screenplays have been hilarious (Pineapple Express, Superbad, and this one), while others have been a huge failure (The Watch and The Green Hornet). This film is actually based on a short they did in 2007, Jay and Seth Versus the Apocalypse. What I liked about the screenplay here is that they took a lot of risks and went places I`d never think anyone would. They weren't afraid of making fun of each other, some of their failures in movies such as The Green Hornet, but at the same time they also kind of played themselves (and one would imagine this is how they interact with each other normally). These guys were absolutely hilarious and I loved every second they were on screen together, but on the other hand I thought the film had a weaker second half containing some comedy/horror. It went too far for my personal taste, but I still have to give this film a lot of credit because it had me laughing during pretty much the entire first hour. There are a lot of movies and celebrity references that worked really well, and I can imagine that most of the dialogues here were improvised but that worked really well. The cameos were also used extremely well here and I thought they were all great. Some of the standouts here were Michael Cera making fun of himself, Danny McBride being ridiculously over the top with his antics, James Franco playing along with the gay rumors about himself and his pseudo artistic side, Jonah Hill being extremely nice but reminding us all he was nominated for Moneyball, Craig Robinson just being himself and singing along his hit song, Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel trying to maintain their friendship which has cooled off over time due to Seth`s new posies. There are just so many scenes that had me laughing out loud and so many funny lines that it is hard to pick my favorite moments. Emma Watson also had a great cameo and she looked lovely as always. Movie lovers will love all the references here and if you liked Pineapple Express than you are in for a treat as well as they discuss what the sequel would be about. If you've enjoyed Superbad and Pineapple Express than you`re guaranteed to like this film because it keeps some of the core elements that made those movies so funny: the bromance and the raunchy dialogues. 

This is the End is a film where every actor plays himself. I would say some play complete opposite personalities than the ones they actually have, or exaggerated versions of themselves, and they play along with the way critics or fans have tagged them. The film begins with Seth Rogen receiving Jay Baruchel at Los Angeles airport. Jay doesn't like LA very much, but Seth always makes him feel comfortable at his home. After a warm reception, Seth invites Jay to come along with him to James Franco's housewarming party. Jay doesn't really want to go because he doesn't get along really well with his friends, but goes anyway. At Franco's home there are several celebrities such as Rihanna, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, David Krumholtz, Aziz Ansari, Jason Segel, and many others who are all getting wasted and stoned. Seth introduces Jay to his closest buddies: Franco, Jonah Hill (who is extremely nice to Jay, but this just makes Jay feel awkward), and Craig Robinson. All of a sudden there is a big earthquake and a gigantic hole in the ground begins swallowing people. The apocalypse seems to be among us. Jay, James, Seth, Jonah, and Craig seem to be the only survivors at the house and they decide they must stick together and wait for rescuers to come and save them. The next day, Danny McBride shows up after having passed out during the party without having no clue of what happened. Now the six friends must find a way to survive and get along with each other if they want to make it through the apocalypse. 

I know the plot doesn't seem all that exciting, but it really is hilarious to see these guys together. The narrative isn`t the strongest thing about This is the End, what makes this film special is that the guys aren`t afraid to take risks and they take the classical stoner comedies to another level. The movie isn't really about the apocalypse, it is actually more about friendship and self-parody (the guys are extremely narcissist at times). If you want to know what the true definition of bromance is then by all means go see this. The narrative may not work too well in the second half of the movie, but it really has to do with the dynamics between these characters who will do what it takes to survive. Despite the ridiculous plot, it is just so fun to watch these characters interact with each other and make fun of the things we`ve made fun of in their bad movies. The film can be very tasteless at times, but it is really funny. The comedy and horror was well balanced as well so I would have to admit this is the funniest movie of the year so far despite some ridiculous moments.

My Review: Battleship (5/10)

¨Warning red, weapons tight, I want everything loaded.¨

Battleship has proven that it will be very difficult to compete with the high quality standard that The Avengers left for this year`s Summer movies. Battleship really disappoints although honestly I wasn’t expecting much from the film. There are some good actors in this movie, but the script is just so cheesy that even Liam Neeson looks bad in this. The story has its numbing entertaining moments thanks to all the special effects, but it is just another Transformers 3 all over again (as the trailer proudly announces). Battleship is directed by Peter Berg, the man who brought us The Rundown and Hancock, and who is responsible for the successful TV series Friday Night Lights. He has made some interesting projects in the past, but this film really doesn’t work despite all the great visuals and explosions going on. The greatest problem the film has is the script which was written by Erich and Jon Hoeber who haven’t had success in the past with neither Whiteout nor Red. This move also marks the debut of Rihanna as an actress and she does what she can with the little she was given. Overall this is a forgettable movie and I would rather play the game then watch the film again. Saying that Battleship is based on the Hasbro game is like saying Saving Private Ryan was based on RISK.

Stone (Alexander Skarsgard) and Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch) might be brothers, but they are very different. Stone is a Commander in the NAVY, while Alex hasn`t found his calling in life and is sleeping in his brother`s couch. After Alex finds himself in trouble once again Stone decides to enlist him in the NAVY in order for him to mature. Alex becomes a Lieutenant, but is always causing trouble despite his potential, and Admiral Shane (Liam Neeson) has already announced that after the Naval war games exercise he will discharge him from the NAVY. Alex also happens to be dating the Admiral`s daughter, Sam (Brooklyn Decker), but can`t find the way to tell him that he is planning on marrying her. Some of the other officers in Stone`s ship are Weps Raikes (Rihanna), The Beast Lynch (John Tui), and Jimmy (Jesse Plemons). During the international war games exercise where fleets from all over the world have come to Hawaii they find themselves threatened by an alien armada invasion. In the line of fire, these men will do what they can to save the world from extinction after the aliens have proven they are here to wipe them out.

The main character in this film is played by Taylor Kitsch, who still hasn’t found his break out performance after the huge John Carter box office failure. He is still mostly known for his role in Friday Night Lights. Alexander Skarsgard is also known for his role in the TV series Trueblood, so there truly isn’t a movie star in this film considering Liam Neeson has a very small role in this. These relatively unknown television actors (unless you’re a fan of either TV series) do what they can with the poor material they were given to work with. They aren`t to blame as to why the movie doesn’t really work. The film takes a while to pick up and there are several unnecessary scenes, like the one where the American NAVY crew is playing soccer against the Japanese; it was just awful. The entire movie felt like a NAVY propaganda telling everyone that if you want to have fun then you should enlist in the NAVY. There isn’t much more to this movie than that so don’t expect too much. This could rank alongside other films with good visuals but no story like Transformers 3 and Battle Los Angeles.

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