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The Avengers (movie review)

Raul — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:43:51 +0000

Spectacular. Unparalleled. Funny. Witty. Exciting. All these adjectives should be applied to the genius Joss Whedon, who does it again in spectacular fashion by creating the best superhero action movie I have seen in many years. And I have seen the movies that preceded The Avengers (including Captain America, Ironman 1 and 2, Thor and The Hulk). I found The Avengers extremely fast-paced, fun and while it did require you at some points to be a little bit of a comics geek, the storyline was coherent enough that even if I had attended the movie with someone who hadn’t seen any of the previous movies (I took JT with me and he has seen all the previous movies with me as well), they would have understood the storyline.

In case you didn’t know what The Avengers is, the story begins when a cube of sustainable energy (the Tesseract, which sounded like a Sazerac, and made me want to get a drink) is stolen from the hands of covert spy and military group S.H.I.E.L.D., commanded by Nick Fury. Fury, alongside his team (the lovable and dorky Clark Gregg in the role of Phil Coulson, Fury’s right hand, and Vancouver’s own Cobie Smulders as fearless and gorgeous Maria Hill, Fury’s Deputy Director), having lost the Tesseract to Asgaard’s Loki (the Cain to Thor’s Abel, spectacularly portrayed by Tom Hiddleston) work to assemble a superpowered team of heroes: The Avengers Project.

Enter Captain America (the most perfect Chris Evans), Thor (god-like Chris Hemsworth), Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo both geeky and action-hero-like), Ironman (amazingly portrayed again by Robert Downey Jr.) and the Black Widow (sexy and lethal Scarlett Johansson). One by one, Fury recruits them for an impossible mission: recover the Tesseract. Given that nobody really knows the real motives for Fury to assemble The Avengers, and the unlikelihood of their collaboration, Whedon makes a really good job of intertwining individual storylines without eclipsing any of the main characters and all the while enriching how each superhero comes of their own.

Obviously, I am not going to give you the ending but you should definitely go see it. You will leave the theatre excited and rejuvenated. And perhaps you will want to be a hero of your own.

Disclosure: I paid for my and JT’s tickets. I did not get media tickets for this performance and thus a review was neither expected nor implied. As always I retain full control over anything I publish on my site

The Avengers – Extended Super Bowl Spot

Raul — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:12:35 +0000

I’m sure you can tell that I can’t wait for The Avengers to hit theatres. And you can bet that I will be reviewing this fantastic superheroes movie. But in the mean time, you may just want to get a teaser taste of how much fun this movie will be. This is the extended Super Bowl spot for The Avengers, for your viewing pleasure.

Demian Bichir nominated to Best Actor in a Leading Role for A Better Life

Raul — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:15:19 +0000

I can’t imagine a more deserving nomination in the 2012 Oscars (with the exception, of course, of my beloved Meryl Streep) than Demian Bichir, the Mexican-born (now US-citizen) actor who has worked for decades in the US, precisely trying to make a name of himself and (possibly and potentially) have A Better Life (many Mexican actors move to the US to try and further their careers, as Salma Hayek did and following in the steps of other famous Mexican actors in the US like Ricardo Montalban and Anthony Quinn before them).

One of the things that has made me think and ponder for years is the decision that Mexicans make to migrate to the US. It’s clear that it is very challenging and, while I haven’t seen the movie, it looks like A Better Life does make a good job of portraying the challenges that Mexicans face in the US, particularly illegal immigrants. Demian Bichir’s performance has been hailed and praised, so much so that he is the first Mexican male in recent history to be nominated to the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Salma Hayek was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Frida recently).

I’m sure you know who my heart is vying for this Oscars 2012 season! The trailer for A Better Life shown below

New exclusive trailer for Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol

Raul — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:37:36 +0000

As you may know, Tom Cruise filmed portions of Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol in Vancouver. And I’m addicted to his Mission Impossible movies. So here you have for your viewing pleasure, we have now below, Trailer 2 for MI4.

Footloose (2011, movie review)

Raul — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 08:31:55 +0000

So I vaguely recall Footloose the 1984 version but I am pretty sure I loved Footloose the 2011 version. Although hard to believe the storyline (that a town could have such narrow-minded views as to see dancing as a sin and as something so negative that needed to be outlawed) in 2011, I found it incredibly engaging. Not because of amazing acting (though Dennis Quaid and Andie McDowell are extraordinary as the tough pastor and his suffering-in-silence wife, the parents of the main girl character), but because of the theme: dance.

Dance and I go way back. I was a rebel when I took up competitive dancing (my parents wanted me to play the piano, and all my brothers and I learned it, but I wanted to forge my own pathway and I danced instead of being a concert-level pianist). The first time I stepped on to a dance floor, it changed my life. I felt completely different. Even though I no longer dance competitively, I can still feel the plasticity of my movements, despite the many years I have left my dance training dormant.

And that’s why I connected so easily to Footloose. Because the battle that Ren (Kenny Wormaid, excellent dancer and gymnast) engaged on to be allowed to dance (and take his new girlfriend to a formal prom) is a battle that just about everyone can relate, at least certainly me. Not because I had to fight anyone to be allowed to dance, but because dancing is such a vital element to his life.

I no longer dance competitively but I do try really hard to go dancing on a regular basis, and to challenge myself taking new courses and learning new dancing styles. Dancing is in my veins, in my life, and Wormaid’s portrait of someone so in love with dance that it allowed him to grow from a youngster to a grown man throughout the course of the movie made me love this incarnation of Footloose.

I’d recommend that you see it, if for nothing else, because the music is contagious and you’ll want to dance at the end of the movie.

Writer/Director Craig Brewer (“Hustle & Flow,” “Black Snake Moan”) delivers a new take of the beloved 1984 classic film, “Footloose.” Ren MacCormack (played by newcomer Kenny Wormald) is transplanted from Boston to the small southern town of Bomont where he experiences a heavy dose of culture shock. A few years prior, the community was rocked by a tragic accident that killed five teenagers after a night out and Bomont’s local councilmen and the beloved Reverend Shaw Moore (Dennis Quaid) responded by implementing ordinances that prohibit loud music and dancing. Not one to bow to the status quo, Ren challenges the ban, revitalizing the town and falling in love with the minister’s troubled daughter Ariel (Julianne Hough) in the process.

The Avengers (2012) official trailer

Raul — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:28:09 +0000

I am a superhero movie addict, as you know. And today, I just found out that The Avengers‘ trailer has been officially released. I. Am. In. Love.

And can I just say… Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr. AND Scarlett Johansson?

Warner Brothers Canada Presents: Contagion (win 1 of 4 double passes)

jessica — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:30:47 +0000

This Friday, September 9th marked the opening night in Canada of Warner Brother‘s new epidemic film Contagion. Interested in a medical thriller revolving around an air-born virus? A story of world-wide chaos and panic? Jude Law, wink-wink, nudge-nude? Hummingbird604.com has 4 double passes to giveaway!

To enter: leave a comment with your favourite pandemic drama film. I (Jessica) might have to cheat and say that mine is TV series’ Heroes circa season 2, with the Shanti Virus. Contest closes September 13th at 1PM.. You may have read Raul’s review (Jessica and Ana and Raul went all to see the movie).

Warner Brother’s official Contagion Trailer

The film brings together a stellar international ensemble cast, including Academy Award® winner Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose,” “Inception”); Academy Award® winner Matt Damon (“Good Will Hunting,” the “Bourne” films); Oscar® nominee Laurence Fishburne (“What’s Love Got to Do With It,” “The Matrix”); Oscar® nominee Jude Law (“Cold Mountain,” “Sherlock Holmes”); Academy Award® winner Gwyneth Paltrow (“Shakespeare in Love,” “Iron Man”); and Academy Award® winner Kate Winslet (“The Reader,” “Titanic”).

5x Favela: Agora por nós mesmos (Vancouver Latin American Film Festival 2011 #VLAFF2011) [Movie Review]

jessica — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:00:26 +0000

5xFavela: Agora por nós mesmos
(5xFavela: Now by Ourselves)
Brazil, 2010

This is a recent remake of a concept from the 1970′s in Brazil. Five stories are told, all in and around Brazilian favelas – shanty neighbourhoods. The remake was done in 2010 by members of the favelas themselves. They all touch on families that are doing the best they can to get by in these dangerous neighbourhoods riddled with poverty and crime, but how they unfortunately end up involved in the activities that they were trying to avoid. The cinema quality was outstanding, and the colours and noises made me want to hop on a plane and go to Brazil to see it myself. Even the darkness of the favelas was brought into a redeeming light.

The story that stood out to me most was about kite fliers. Kids and families who competed in friendly kite competitions would suddenly turn ruthless at the sight of another person from a competing Favela. The film was beautiful and funny, yet with a strong message. All of the acts included children, some of which actually starred in the story.

Overall this was a great film. Perhaps if someone is a little squeamish around blood and violence, I would recommend something a bit different. For anoyone who wants to see a taste of the real Brazil, with life stories and a good look at the underlying class, this is exactly the film to see.

5xFavela: Agora por nós mesmos shows tonight (September 9th) again at 7pm at Pacific Cinemathéque. You can get more information and tickets here.

Hummingbird604.com is a proud media sponsor for the 2011 edition of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival. Follow all our coverage here on the VLAF2011 tag or on the Hummingbird604.com Facebook page. Jessica attended on Hummingbird604.com’s media pass.

Contagion (movie review)

Raul — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 05:07:59 +0000

If you have followed my blog closely, you’ll know that I am both an academic and a blogger. And that I sometimes blog about academic nerdery on my personal site (this one). A few months back, I wrote about how fascinated I was with the mathematical epidemiology of infectious diseases. Several Mexican scholars (who for the most part, live in the United States) have done some excellent contributions to our understanding of the mathematical models of spread of transmissible diseases such as SARS and H1N1.

Well, Contagion does a very good, pretty solid and well acted attempt at combining the epidemiological analysis behind the spread of a new virus (a mutated kind of bird flu mixed with bat and swine flu, very funny to be quite honest how they come up with the actual mutation). A high-level female executive for a company (Gwyneth Paltrow, aka Beth Emhoff) falls sick to something that kind of looks like SARS/H1N1 but ends up being a completely new virus. Elsewhere worldwide, a number of individuals start to come down with the disease (which leads to seizures, and a fairly quick death).

The US Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta send a team (spearheaded by Kate Winslet, aka Dr. Erin Mears (who I am disappointed, did explain a bit the math behind the disease’s epidemiology but doesn’t go as far as developing the actual mathematical model) to check on the cases throughout the US. Mitch Emhoff, Beth’s husband, ends up being immune to the disease, but that doesn’t prevent Beth’s disease from progressing.

With an excellent cast who really take their roles extremely seriously (including a surprisingly convincing Marion Cotillard as a World Health Organization epidemiologist, a Laurence Fishburne that surprises also as the big honcho of the US CDCs, and a lovely Jude Law as the conspiracy theorist blogger who claims to have the cure to the disease), Contagion manages to achieve what Virus and other predecessors don’t: keep you at the edge of your seat and capturing your imagination.

You HAVE to pay attention because the infectious disease’s spread dynamics is so convoluted that it’s semi-impossible to determine who Patient Zero is (though some fingers point out to Beth Emhoff, we late discover that things are all like what we think). Themes of bioterrorism (remember the anthrax scare?) and conspiracy theories are very craftily intertwined with a storyline that seeks to understand the epidemiology of an unknown (and rather deadly) infectious disease.

While it was my good friend N.E. who did her PhD looking at public health interventions of communicable diseases, I have too been fascinated by the mathematical epidemiology of disease transmission, and thus I was completely absorbed by Contagion. There are a couple of scenes that are pretty scary and gory, but for the most part, the suspense is derived from an excellent plot and a lot of realism in the way epidemiological battles are portrayed.

I would very much recommend this movie, and I know that it opens on Friday September 9th, so you should go see it. After you do, I think you may be a little freaked out about anybody who coughs around you, to be quite honest. And it’s kind of creepy in a way that the movie came out so soon after we had the H1N1 pandemic. But I think that there’s value in educating people about the efficacy of public health interventions such as social distancing (an intervention that many argue helped contain both H1N1 and SARS).

I attended the advanced screening of Contagion thanks to media passes given to me and my team, Anabelle and Jessica, who attended as well. I am neither obligated nor expected nor paid for this review. I retain editorial control on all content published on my site.

Hermano at the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival 2011 (review)

Anabelle — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:00:59 +0000

The story of Hermano has been told again and again, yet retains its poignancy and freshness with the right actors and masterful direction. A touching tale of family, loyalty, brotherhood, justice, revenge, redemption and sacrifice describes what I saw on Sunday afternoon at the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival.

Daniel is an exceptional footballer, a phenomenal striker. Julio is the team’s captain, a born leader. As brothers they grew up playing football together in a Caracas slum called “La Ceniza.” While Daniel dreams of playing professional football, Julio supports the family with “dirty” money; he has little time to dream. The opportunity of their lives arrives when a football scout invites them to tryout with the city’s best team: the Caracas Football Club. But tragedy looms nearby. They must choose, on a dusty football pitch, what is most important: family unity, revenge or the chance of a lifetime. On this pitch, life is on the line.

As I said, the story of Hermano is one you’ll be familiar with and that you’ll recognize in the first half hour. But knowing the plot takes nothing away from the quality of the two main actors, the beautiful “shoulder camera” videography and the bittersweet feeling of the finale. It sometimes felt like a more tragic South American version of Slumdog Millionaire, but I don’t hold that against it.

Hermano is a hopeful “from rags to riches” movie but it doesn’t forget the reality of living in slums controlled by drug lords. Too often, the price to pay to leave the life is unbearably high, and the movie does its best to underline that. There is no easy way out for Julio and Daniel, even through football.

Hermano will be showing again on Friday, September 9th at SFU Woodward at 7PM. You can get more information on the VLAFF website.

Hummingbird604.com is a proud media sponsor for the 2011 edition of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival. Follow all our coverage here on the VLAF2011 tag or on the Hummingbird604.com Facebook page. Anabelle attended on Hummingbird604.com’s media pass.

Operacion Diablo at the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (review)

Anabelle — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 23:49:53 +0000

It’s only when I don’t need it (i.e. having a media pass) that I win things, like last night’s raffle at the presentation of Operacion Diablo.

I should watch more documentaries. They often present an issue or an event that no one ever heard about, thus bringing awareness to it. And obviously, I’d never heard of Peru farmers’ efforts to keep a big mining company away from their mountain. But here’s a better synopsis of the story:

Father Marco Arana is being followed. A private investigative firm is photographing and videotaping his every move. This humble priest has spent two decades defending Peruvian mountain farmers from a US -owned gold mine, earning him the nickname “El Diablo.” When Father Marco’s allies are tortured and assassinated, he and his supporters take action and develop a counterespionage plan. They obtain graphic footage, photos and reports taken by the spies worthy of a Hollywood spy flick. This real-life thriller exposes the new wave of corporate terrorism faced by Latin America’s human rights defenders.

The movie is short (1 hour) but packs a lot of content in it. After setting the background story, the movie moves on to the heart of the matter: how Newmont, an American mining company, hired private “security” companies (more like mercenaries and ex-intelligence officers) to intimidate, capture, torture and even murder those people involved in stopping the company from exploiting a nearby mountain for gold.

What’s most shocking about Operacion Diablo is that it’s not a movie. It’s real life, real people, real women being abused and raped by these para-military groups protecting Newmont’s billions. The movie exposes how money can make people do these horrible things to each other, how the lure of gold and more billions can ever justify such a flagrant disrespect of basic human rights. Because it’s not a war against terrorism fought in Peru: it’s corporate terrorism used against the poorest farmers in rural Peru.

Operacion Diablo is part of the Al Jazeera Documentary Competition and is definitely worth watching. The next (and last) showing is Monday September 5th at 1PM at the Pacific Cinémathèque on Howe Street, downtown Vancouver. More information on the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival 2011 website.

Hummingbird604.com is a proud media sponsor for the 2011 edition of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival. Follow all our coverage here on the VLAF2011 tag or on the Hummingbird604.com Facebook page. Anabelle attended on Hummingbird604.com’s media pass.

Vancouver Queer Film Festival 2011 – film review: Judas Kiss

Raul — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 21:00:52 +0000

I did not expect to like Judas Kiss as much as I did, quite honestly. I knew that it was written by my Twitter friend Carlos Pedraza, that it had at least 2 of my favorite actors (Charlie David and Shawn Lockhart aka Brent Corrigan, in a former life). The premise, however, was kind of strange. And it was at points hard to follow the logic of the film. But despite the intricate elements and overall eye and brain candy, I think Judas Kiss succeeds at doing what Pedraza and JT Tepnapa (the director) wanted it to do.

I attended the Canadian premiere party at the Edgewater Casino and had a chance to talk to several members of the cast. My friend Patrick Levesque (Homorazzi) hosted the Q&A as Homorazzi was a presenting sponsor for the night. It was great to meet Carlos Pedraza in the flesh after so many years of being only Twitter friends.

You can still catch Judas Kiss once more, on Thursday August 18th at 9:30pm. A quick summary (focused on Canadian star Charlie David) is shown below. You should judge for yourself this cinematic analysis of past mistakes and lives turned upside down. I think the main question that Judas Kiss tries to answer is what if I hadn’t made the mistakes I made before and how could I solve them?.

Charlie David takes on the lead role of Zachary Wells, a failed filmmaker who returns to his alma mater to judge the annual student short film contest. During his first night on campus, an anonymous hook up with a student triggers an emotional, and rather metaphysical, journey into the past. Charlie David is aptly teamed up with 20-year-old Vancouverite Richard Harmon and gay porn star-turned-actor Brent Corrigan (aka Fox Ryder).

Directed by JT Tepnapa / USA / 2011 / EN / Total time: 107 min

Disclosure: I attended Judas Kiss with my Vancouver Queer Film Festival 2011 media pass. I am neither obligated nor expected to write a review, but wanted to do so anyway. At any time, I retain editorial control of what is published on my site.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (Guest movie review by @frodofied)

Raul — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 01:05:41 +0000

This guest movie review of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part Two is contributed by Robert Sandy for Hummingbird604.com. Robert Sandy, 41, is a writer and researcher from Chicago. You can follow his tweets at @frodofied.

The task of bringing a beloved, and widely known work of literature to the film screen is fraught, and, in a great many ways the producers of the Harry Potter saga had as much to fear as did Peter Jackson with his triumphant translation of J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and in some ways, more. Where Jackson’s wider audience had only the hazy memories of an epic read long before, if it had ever been read in its totality at all, the producers of Potter faced, almost literally, the whole world as critics. Not only were the Potter books works of contemporary fiction, they were books engrained into the popular imaginations of an entire generation (one that spanned the various age groups) of devoted readers. Harry Potter was legend both in story, and in fact, almost at his conception and to give him cinematic life must have proved daunting. But if the litmus test for success rests ultimately in emotional resonance than it can be argued quite forcibly that few film franchises in history are equal to the Potter saga.

It is nearly impossible given all of these facts to discuss, or even review, this film on its independent merits, but it is also just as impossible to discuss the series as a unified whole. To the franchise’s detriment the producers decided fairly early on to change directors frequently, and as the mood seemed to suit them, and so the series lacks a narrative and an aesthetic cohesiveness requisite to such a goal, and in this way is less successful than The Lord of the Rings or even the Star Wars films. Yet, unlike those series, the anchor for these films, and most certainly this final installment, has never been the director, the screen-writers, or even the special effects departments, but existed wholly in the too little discussed casting department. No film or film series in recent memory can boast such a stellar and accomplished cast, but all the Maggie Smiths, Robbie Coltranes, Imelda Stauntons and Julie Walters aside it is that trio of actors who have grown up in front of our eyes who have made these films worthy of visit and revisit for the last decade and more. Indeed, it is impossible to imagine our beloved Ron, Hermione or Harry inhabited by any other actor than the three who became them in the end.

Emma Watson, at first halting and awkward, has grown into the luminous emotional center of the films, mirroring the development of her brilliantly realized interpretation of Rowling’s principal Mudblood, Hermione Grainger. Rupert Grint’s stalwart take on the often over-looked member of the Weasley clan gained more muscle with every effort, and, as a result, his finest moments are found in the final installments of the films, his heartbreaking reaction to the death of his brother Fred in the final shows him to be perfectly on par with his young colleagues. And then, of course, there is Harry himself. It is lucky indeed that Daniel Radcliffe was asked to assume the role of the most famous boy in the world at such a tender age, because it allowed him a measure of freedom that might not have been there otherwise. Radcliffe has since proven himself to be a serious and outstanding young actor with a range that reaches far beyond this franchise, and it could be argued that the role of Harry Potter has not allowed him to fully shine. His startling physical resemblance to Rowling’s written character allowed us to forgive him for missing some of the deep emotional notes required of him in the first two films, and after, his talents developing out of pace with his co-stars, Radcliffe found himself replaying the same emotional themes over and over with each outing. It is to Radcliffe’s credit, however, that by the time Harry confronts You-Know-Who in the final scenes of the final film that one knows instinctively, without aid of books or script, that he will kick the ever-loving ass of his dastardly opponent. Indeed, as his companions and the whole of the magical world have grown to trust and believe in Harry Potter, so too have we, rendering Fiennes’ meaty and multi-dimensional take on Voldemort nothing more than a cinematic asterisk.

David Yates, who directed the final four Potter installments, will be remembered forever as the man who tried, and usually succeeded, in forcing the franchise to grow up, and though many have criticized his shadowy color palette and his thematic structure as overly dark, it was to the benefit of both individual film and franchise alike that he did so. Yates chooses to forego traditional narrative structure at all with the final film, assuming anyone who is paying $12 to see this film has done so prior, and so we open with the end of the last film and find Voldemort astride Dumbledore’s grave with Elder Wand in hand and Harry kneeling at a newly erected gravestone that reads simply: Here lies Dobby, A Free Elf. Yates utilizes the death markers effectively, warning us early on of the death and gravity to follow, but it is a promise that seem forgotten soon after. Yates loses artistic sight thereafter, allowing what could have easily been his finest film to be hi-jacked by action and special effects.

Throughout this too short finale one is left grasping for emotional heft, and is too often left with only magical and pyrotechnic bravado. It is in the quieter moments, and often those led by Watson, that the film finds its true heart, but these moments are too few and given too little focus. When Harry tells Hermione that he understands his connection to Voldemort at last, and that he believes that she too has always known the answer to the riddle, the quiet devastation writ large across the face of Watson is proud-making indeed. And in the final, quiet shot of the film proper, as our three heroes stand hand in hand as the camera pulls up and away from the field of victory we see each actor facing the apex of their lives thus far in such different ways, Radcliffe with his stony, determined stare, Watson with her no-doubt real tears and resplendent cocked head and Grint with his eyes closed almost as if he is meditating on the wonder that this project must have represented to his, and all their lives.

None of this is meant to suggest that the final film is lacking in satisfying moments, because they are here in abundance: here is Neville Longbottom bravely (as he is wont to do) confronting the Dark Lord when all others are silent, and Julie Walters’ finally dispatching with the horrid Bellatrix LeStrange to protect her daughter Jennie, and of course the cheer-inducing kiss that we have waited years to witness between Ron and Hermione. But the real and extended sense of loss that permeates the final novel is mostly missing here. The epilogue, again too short, shows, as the final of the book does, our heroes all grown up and with their own children, and allows Radcliffe his most moving and subtle performance opportunity of the last few films, and he both meets and exceeds expectations. His dignified defense and resuscitation of the personal character of Severus Snape, given all that he, and we, now know of the man, brought lumps to the throat and tears to the eyes. But even the beauty here, and that of the very final shot of our adult heroes, is lacking the fully satisfying sense of being the emotional capstone of a perilous and profound journey.

I had hoped, given the magnificence of many of the prior films, that The Deathly Hallows Part Two would truly be the piece de la resistance of the franchise, but it is not, and in its way it has more in common with “The Two Towers” than it does “The Return of the King.”

**** out of five

You can find local showtimes in Vancouver for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 by clicking on this link.

You can check the movie trailer here:

The Beast of Bottomless Lake (upcoming movie release)

Raul — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 18:20:43 +0000

For years, I’ve provided independent, small theatre/dance/film companies exposure on my blog as I’m a firm believer in the transformational power of art. I was recently informed about Provost Pictures‘ release of award-winning independent film The Beast of Bottomless Lake which will screen at the Denman Place Cinema on Friday, July 15, in association with the release of the DVD version of the film which includes audio commentary, deleted scenes, and three behind-the-scenes featurettes. The evening’s entertainment will also include the screening of five locally-produced short films and a musical set by The Pucks (who contribute music to the film’s soundtrack).

Photo credit: Fabrice Grover. Used with permission

This independent film has had a lot of success at the Mississauga Independent Film Festival (Vistek Best Feature), the Okanangan International Film Festival (People’s Choice Award), VCON, and the Olamot Festival in Tel Aviv.

Photo credit: Fabrice Grover. Used with permission

The Beast of Bottomless Lake follows Dr. Paul Moran, Cryptozoologist, as he leads a team of dedicated and not-so-dedicated adventurers on an expedition to Okanagan Lake to prove the existence of the legendary lake serpent, the Ogopogo. Featured in this incredible cast are; lead David Nykl (Dr Zelenka on Stargate: Atlantis) and including Leanne Jijian-Hume (The L-Word), Bronwen Smith (Gunless), and Roger Haskett (Smallville).

Beast was originally conceived by author Keith Provost, who was a prominent actor in the Kelowna theatre scene in his youth, and who went on to a career in Vancouver as a writer and actor in film, TV and theatre. In 2001, Provost died suddenly after a tragic bicycle accident. After his death, Craig March (Director/Writer) and Kennedy Goodkey (Writer/Actor) have carried their friends’ idea to fruition in his memory.

Photo credit: Fabrice Grover. Used with permission

The Beast of Bottomless Lake will screen on Friday, July 15 at the Denman Place Cinema, 1779 Comox St (at Denman). Doors open at 6:30 pm for drinks and mingling, a series of local short films will be screened starting at 7:30, and the feature starts between 9:00 and 9:30. There will also be door prizes and draws. Tickets are $15 in advance ~~or $20 at the door~~[No tickets at the door, so I suggest you get them in advance!]. Tickets are available online and you can access by clicking this link.

More about Provost Pictures:

Provost Pictures is in the business of creating commercially viable digital media for an international market. By focusing on inherently Canadian stories with a broad appeal and a strong sense of artistic integrity, Provost Pictures will challenge themselves to make excellent quality work, and to let it be Canadian.

The movie trailer is here:

Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol (trailer)

Raul — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:07:12 +0000

I can’t wait for this movie to come out. There’s a number of scenes that were filmed in Vancouver, so it’ll be great to check it out. And apparently, Ethan Hunt’s niece comes out and plays. I have no clue how she will be able to help Ethan but apparently being a spy runs in the family.

X-Men: First Class (movie review)

Raul — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:00:39 +0000

X-Men: First Class has been out for a few weeks, but I hadn’t had really the chance to go see it (even though I knew what it would be about – the beginning of the rivalry between Professor X, Charles Xavier and Magneto, Erik Lensherr). Xavier, the powerful telepath is shown in his youth as a cocky, somewhat reckless young academic (perfectly portrayed by James McAvoy, who totally wins me over with his Charles Xavier) who is impetuous, youthful and has a keen interest in demonstrating to the world that his and his peers’ mutation can help transform the world. Lensherr, sublimely chanelled by Michael Fassbender, is the emotionally-and-physically scarred magnetic-superpowered German young man who is seeking revenge against Sebastian Shaw (a creepy Kevin Bacon who owns this role like no one else) for killing his mother. Xavier and Lensherr strike an unlikely alliance after a botched attempt to beat Shaw by both Xavier (and his human troops) and Lensherr (vulnerable against the powerful telepath Emma Frost).

I really appreciated how well crafted is X-Men: First Class. Casting was spectacularly well done, in particular I’m thrilled with the way in which January Jones portrays Emma Frost (not at all wimpy, but an extremely powerful telepath with the ability to turn into diamond). Frost gives Charles Xavier a run for his telepathic money in their first encounter, although afterwards Xavier and Lensherr are able to subdue her by combining their powers.

X-Men: First Class continues the trend of building a storyline that speaks to themes of bigotry, hatred and social acceptance. It was extremely powerful to see the on-screen chemistry of McAvoy and Fassbender as once-friends-turned-enemies-by-cruel-fate-and-personality-differences. All the storylines that you would want explored (the super-smart-turned-blue-Beast, Dr. Hank McCoy portrayed by sweet and lovely Nicholas Hoult, blue-skinned shape-shifter Mystique aka Raven, Jennifer Lawrence in an amazing demonstration of versatility in acting, Banshee, Angel, and Havok) are seen from the viewpoint of high-powered-and-immature youngsters who have to grow up to become an army that is being called upon to save the world.

Rose Byrne annoys the hell out of me as Dr. Moira McTaggart, Xavier’s love interest (and ultimately, the one who leaves him crippled). It’s really her and her stupidity (who in the world has the bright idea of firing bullets against a magnetic-powered mutant, seriously – are you stupid or what, woman?) and not Magneto who cripples Xavier, and the way in which the screenwriter transformed the storyline of the demise of Lensherr and Xavier’s friendship really annoyed me. Sorry Charles, I totally agree with Erik – it was Moira McTaggart who left you crippled in a futile attempt to subdue Magneto. I’m sorry for any Byrne fans, but I really, really, really hated her and her storyline in X-Men: First Class.

Numerous cameos complete a fantastically well done movie, including Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and an older-looking Mystique (Rebecca Romjin). X-Men: First Class provides the layperson with an extremely profound examination of the mythology of the X-Men and sets the foundation for a series of prequel movies. I was really sad at the parting of ways of Mystique and Professor X, but it’s kind of neat to see how much care and love they had for each other in the beginning, as best friends.

McAvoy was an actor I almost never really felt compelled to watch, and he’s won me over with his exquisite portrayal of Dr. Charles Xavier. He shares some really neat scenes with Fassbender, and their portrayal of a great friendship that turns sour is extremely well done. There’s a scene where both Fassbender and McAvoy shed tears and I did the same too. Beautiful performances.

I would very strongly recommend that you check out X-Men: First Class. I can’t wait for the next installment. Check out the international trailer above and a few of the featurettes below, including the lovely Havok.

X-Men: First Class is now in theatres in Vancouver and most of the Lower Mainland. For showtimes in Vancouver check this link.

Disclosure: JT paid for both of our tickets to the movies. I am neither obligated nor expected to blog about the movie, I’m just sharing my thoughts as this was an excellent movie and I wanted to write about it.

Green Lantern (movie review)

Raul — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 06:13:48 +0000

“In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight Let those who worship evil’s might, Beware my power… Green Lantern’s light!”

If you’re a superhero geek, like me, you’ll have been salivating at the prospect of a Green Lantern movie. Several failed attempts before (and a few really cheesy attempts, including a Justice Society of America film that was pretty terrible, but did include Green Lantern), we finally get to see one of the most mind-numbing, fun and exciting movies of the past decade. Yeah, you may think I’m exaggerating because I’m a Ryan Reynolds fan (full disclosure: I’m TOTALLY a Ryan Reynolds fan, not only because he’s from Vancouver, where I live, but also because his portrait of thrill-seeking, irresponsible and often laughed-at aircraft pilot Hal Jordan.

Reynolds’ Hal Jordan shows us a real human-who-by-accident-has-turned-hero. Hal Jordan doesn’t deal with his father’s untimely death the same way Bruce Wayne aka Batman does (e.g. becoming a masked vigilante). Much to the contrary, in a rather daring way, Jordan seeks to emulate his Dad, but fears he’ll always live in the shadow of his father, also an aircraft pilot. Ryan Reynolds offers us a Hal Jordan that becomes Green Lantern not because he’s fearless, but because he fights and overcomes his fear.

Blake Lively as later-to-become Green Lantern’s Sapphire Star, is flawless in her portrayal of Carol Ferris. Ferris, heiress to the Ferris Aircraft empire, is a consummate pilot and also the romantic interest of Hal Jordan. She sees in Jordan something others don’t seem to see (something Jordan himself doesn’t seem to realize: that he is capable of so much more, yet he chokes when facing big challenges).

Peter Sarsgaard is spectacularly well cast as one of the two main nemeses, Hector Hammond, a PhD in xenobiology who is infected by the molecular structure of the deceased predecessor to Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern, and becomes a high-strength telepathic/telekinetic villain. Harnessing fear (the yellow force, as opposed to will, the green force that powers the Green Lantern Corps), both Hammond and Parallax offer us two formidable foes for the newly-minted Green Lantern (Hal Jordan). Obviously, this is a campy movie intended to take your mind away from your daily woes, not the more thoughtful and message-carrying X-Men: First Class.

Side note: X-Men: First Class is also a special-effects-fueled superhero affair worth seeing – review forthcoming. But back to Green Lantern. I absolutely loved this movie, not only because Carol Ferris is not the damsel in distress but a strong woman, but also because Ryan Reynolds offers the best portrait of Green Lantern and Hal Jordan we could ask for. He’s a human, with flaws, but shows us an inner strength worth imitating.

Green Lantern opened today June 17th. You can check showtimes for Green Lantern in Vancouver in this link. I strongly recommend you go see it.

UPDATE – Found some footage that may also entice you more to come see it. It’s a good synopsis of how Hal Jordan ended up as the new Green Lantern and what the Guardians expect from him, the Green Lantern Corps and his training in the planet Oa.

Disclosure: I took JT to the opening night and paid on my own dime for both of our tickets.

Win double passes to the advanced screening of Green Lantern in Vancouver

Raul — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:45:47 +0000

Who has two thumbs, is one of Ryan Reynolds’ AND Green Lantern’s biggest fans and has two double passes to the advanced screening of Green Lantern in Vancouver on Wednesday June 15th at 7pm at the Scotiabank Theatres in downtown Vancouver to give away to a couple of lucky readers? THIS GUY!. Thanks to the good folks of Warner Brothers Canada, I am able to give away 2 double passes to the advanced screening of Green Lantern, and of course I’m super excited about the movie (didn’t you see that I wrote about it twice this year?).

Also, Warner Brothers Canada is doing a number of other fun projects to promote Green Lantern, which you may hear about soon from other online outlets, like their “Join the Corps” campaign.

To Join the Corps, fans will be invited to decipher local clues leading them to a secret location where the “Green Lantern” symbol will be projected from dusk until midnight. Those attending the events, sponsored by Kodak, will have the chance to win fantastic prizes, including an opportunity to be among the first to see the film at local preview screenings, limited edition T-shirts, light-up “Green Lantern” rings, “Green Lantern: Emerald Knights” Blu-ray combo packs and more. And some people who are photographed with the projected symbol behind them will have their photos posted on the movie Facebook page. Select markets will also give people the chance to record the “Green Lantern” oath which will be added to the Infinite Oath app on the movie website

To enter my giveaway, all you need to tell me is the name of your favorite Ryan Reynolds’s movie. Frankly, if I have to be honest, I loved Reynolds in Wolverine, and can hardly wait for Green Lantern (and Deathstroke!). I think Reynolds is an underrated actor and many people don’t realize his talent. AND he is from Vancouver!

In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, an elite, powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. Warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him the ability to create anything his mind can imagine. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan.

Bringing the enduringly popular superhero to the big screen for the first time, “Green Lantern” stars Ryan Reynolds in the title role, under the direction of Martin Campbell. Campbell directed the film from a screenplay by Greg Berlanti & Michael Green & Marc Guggenheim and Michael Goldenberg, story by Greg Berlanti & Michael Green & Marc Guggenheim, based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The film also stars Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett and Tim Robbins. “Green Lantern” was produced by Donald De Line and Greg Berlanti. Herbert W. Gains and Andrew Haas served as executive producers, with Lucienne Papon and Geoff Johns co-producing.

I will be drawing 2 winners of this contest on Monday June 13th at 4pm. To earn an additional entry (total of 2 entries, one via comment, one via Twitter), you can also post the following on your Twitter stream:

Told @hummingbird604 my favorite Ryan Reynolds’ movie to enter to win tickets to Green Lantern http://is.gd/TaHxJp What’s yours?

Thor (2011, movie review)

Raul — Sun, 08 May 2011 06:33:29 +0000

I’m a superhero movie geek, as most of my readers know. I already created a schedule of all the superhero movies that are opening in 2011, and I started by watching Thor. As indicated by the IMDB summary, Thor is the arrogant Asgaard god, originally set to become king but who is banished to Earth by his father Odin for being a brat.

Seriously. I’m not kidding. That’s why if everybody who was bratty was banished to a different planet, our Earth would be oh-so-much-better.

Anyways…

I followed the Marvel Thor mythology faithfully and I can say that, despite the fact that his isn’t exactly 100% the way I remember Thor, the actor who plays it really embraces the role. Chris Hemworth (and yes, he DOES have a perfect body and does the typical shirtless scene) is, in this movie, Thor. Not a movie that requires a broad acting range, but it is a fun and campy movie. And that’s why you should see it. Cool effects too. And a couple of weird twists in the story that you wouldn’t expect. And of course, now Oscar winner Natalie Portman. Need I say more?

Thor is playing in the Greater Vancouver area at the Silvercity Metropolis in Burnaby.

Disclosure: My tickets to attend Thor on opening night were sponsored by Cineplex Entertainment to celebrate the launch of Cineplex UltraAVX Theatre Experience in British Columbia.

Upcoming superhero movies (release schedule)

Raul — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:57:05 +0000

I live by my Google Calendar, and since I’m doing the conference and speaking circuit this summer, and I’m planning my personal schedule (I do, indeed, have a personal life), I needed to find out when the upcoming superhero movies were opening. So I researched each one, and here you have it for handy reference (I’m assuming Canadian openings are the same as the US releases, though Thor has already been released in the UK). If you use this guide, please link back.

Thor (Opening May 6th, 2011)

X-Men: First Class (Opening June 3rd, 2011)

Green Lantern (Opening June 17th, 2011)

Captain America (Opening July 22nd, 2011)

Which superhero movies am I missing?

X-Men: First Class (2011) International Trailer

Raul — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 04:49:21 +0000

Thanks to Gus Fosarolli and Marina Antunes for pointing me out to the release of the extended international trailer for X-Men: First Class, detailing more of the origins of the X-Men.

Behind Your Eyes – Canada International Film Festival 2011 (Win tickets)

Raul — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:45:41 +0000

Vesuvio Entertainment Corp. recently approached me to tell me about the first public screening of BEHIND YOUR EYES, an indie psycho-thriller that will be shown at the 2011 Canada International Film Festival on Sunday, April 3, 2011.

The edge of your seat thriller, BEHIND YOUR EYES, is sure to leave the premier audience intrigued and unsettled by the gritty, realistic nature of the plot twists and performances. DreadCentral.com describes the feature film as a “multi-layered cinematic canvas…Daniel Fanaberia delivers not only a compelling script, but also a commanding performance.”

For April 3, 2011, 3:55pm Vancouver ticketing info, you can check the Canada International Film Festival 2011 website.

I wanted to know a bit more about Vesuvio Entertainment Corp.:

Located in the heart of Los Angeles, the core of Vesuvio Entertainment Corporation, and its foreign subsidiary Vesuvio International, is producing and distributing high-end, independent commercial films, with an emphasis on the thriller genre. Vesuvio has an active talent management division that includes actors and platinum selling, major label international artists. Vesuvio fills a unique niche in the entertainment business by focusing on the synergy between filmed entertainment and music.

About the Canada International Film Festival

Held each year in Vancouver, BC, the festival brings the very best of world cinema to Canada and has exhibited films from over 90 countries around the world. The 2011 Canada International Film Festival will be held at Edgewater Casino’s Stadium Club Theatre screening North American and international feature films as well as thought-provoking shorts, documentaries, music videos, animations, experimental films, and student films.

I have one pair of tickets to Behind Your Eyes, and you can win them by telling me the name of the scariest movie you have ever seen. You can add an entry by posting the text below on Twitter:

2 win tix to ‘Behind Your Eyes’ at @canadafilmfest I told @hummingbird604 my favorite scary movie http://is.gd/5c1lxk. What’s yours?

I will draw a random winner on Wednesday March 30th, at 5:00pm and the winner will have tickets on Will Call. Good luck everyone!

Captain America: The First Soldier (2011) Trailer

Raul — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:33:25 +0000

With hat tips to Marina Antunes, who linked to it. I’m a superhero fan, and I’m totally a Chris Evans fan too. I knew he would be doing the Captain America: The First Soldier movie, and now that it’s almost here (July 22nd is the release), I can barely wait. Captain America: The First Soldier depicts the beginnings of the legend of Captain America, a formerly-scrawny-now-superhuman guy who wants to fight in the war. From what I can tell from the trailer, it’s pretty close to the original.

X-Men: First Class (Official Trailer Video)

Raul — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 02:28:02 +0000

As you all know, I am a total sucker for superhero movies. I recently reviewed The Green Hornet and I can’t wait for The Green Lantern to hit theatres. I have also reviewed most of the X-Men movies, including Wolverine. So you can imagine how excited I got once I heard that the official trailer video for X-Men: First Class had been posted. For your viewing pleasure, found on YouTube.

SKIN at the Vancouver South African Film Festival (movie review)

Raul — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:13:38 +0000

Last night I attended the opening gala of the first-ever Vancouver South African Film Festival (you may remember I gave away tickets to the gala here). My friend Lauren Kresowaty accompanied me and we enjoyed the core film, SKIN (with Academy Award nominee Sophie Okonedo, one of my favorite actresses, as well as Sam Neill and Alice Krige, who also do a phenomenal job).

You can read the synopsis below:

Ten year-old Sandra is distinctly African looking. Her parents, Abraham and Sannie, are white Afrikaners, unaware of their black ancestry. They are shopkeepers in a remote area of the Eastern Transvaal and, despite Sandra’s mixed-race appearance, have lovingly brought her up as their ‘white’ little girl.

Sandra is sent to a boarding school in the neighbouring town of Piet Retief, where her (white) brother Leon is also studying, but parents and teachers complain that she doesn’t belong. She is examined by State officials, reclassified as ‘Coloured’, and expelled from the school. Sandra’s parents are shocked, but Abraham fights through the courts to have the classification reversed. The story becomes an international scandal and media pressure forces the law to change, so that Sandra becomes officially ‘White’ again.

By the time she is 17, Sandra realises she is never going to be accepted by the white community. She falls in love with Petrus — a black man, the local vegetable seller, and begins an illicit love affair. Abraham threatens to shoot Petrus and disown Sandra. Sannie is torn between her husband’s rage and her daughter’s predicament.

Sandra elopes with Petrus to Swaziland. Abraham alerts the police, has them arrested and put in prison. Sandra is told by the local magistrate to go home, but she refuses.

Now Sandra must live her life, for the first time, as a black woman in South Africa — with no running water, no sanitation, and little income. She and Petrus have two children, and although she feels more at home in this community, she desperately misses her parents and yearns for a reunion.

After many more years of hardship and struggle, the chances of that reunion ever happening seem remote. But Sandra carries her father’s advice with her wherever she goes: ‘Never give up!’

SKIN is a story of family, forgiveness and the triumph of the human spirit.

I shed tears while watching SKIN. Several times, in fact. I will fully confess that growing up, I never really understood the Apartheid. And now that I have several close friends who are South African, I am almost scared to talk to them about it and their experiences growing up. There have been a few Mexican movies with a similar theme (the Mom is white, the daughter is black and there’s always a lot of drama). Thanks to Chef Rossana Ascencio who reminded me about the first one, Angelitos Negros, with Pedro Infante and Rita Montaner.

But knowing that SKIN was based on a true story (Sandra Laing‘s story) made the movie impact me much more. I still don’t understand how people could be segregated based on race (same way in which it boggles my mind to think about discrimination based on sexual orientation).

While SKIN is an absolutely beautiful movie, and all actors in the movie do a fabulous job, I couldn’t help but feel heartbroken and sad. For Sandra’s parents, who fought so hard to protect their daughter and her right to schooling. But even more, for Sandra herself. While the story tells us about how she overcame her challenges, it’s hard not to feel that there could have been better ways to do things and to improve communication between daughter and parents.

And seeing how much Sandra’s parents adored her and fought for her, I couldn’t help but think of my own. My parents’ adoration for me and my brothers is unequivocal. I am so grateful I have the parents I do, because they made me strong. I am as successful as I am because my parents loved me every single day of my life. As I think they did love Sandra, with that same strong love, until they passed away.

I would recommend that, if you have the time, you head to the VSAFF today. The quality of films they are showcasing is stellar, and the volunteer team is nothing short of spectacular. Super sweet, and the festival has been amazing. Thanks to the organizers for inviting me!

Disclosure: The tickets to attend the opening film and gala for me and my Plus One were sponsored very generously by the Vancouver South African Film Festival. This post hasn’t been paid for, and I am not required to post a review either. In any review I write or publish on my site, I retain editorial control at all times, and producers and publicists are well aware of this. Should you have any questions/concern feel free to contact me via e-mail through my contact form.

The Green Hornet (movie review)

Raul — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:54:44 +0000

I know that The Green Hornet got mixed reviews from a number of media outlets and I quite frankly don’t quite understand why. The thing is, unless you followed The Green Hornet’s mythology and history, you probably wouldn’t get much of what the movie is all about. Yes, it is self-contained. But the great thing about what Seth Rogen did with this movie is – it showed you the history of The Green Hornet AS WE KNEW IT. As we heard it (if you listened to the radio show) or as we saw it (I saw re-runs in my childhood).

I thoroughly enjoyed this remake because it stayed as true to the story of The Green Hornet as humanly possible, from what I can see. For those of you who didn’t see The Green Hornet show in your childhood, Britt Reid is a millionaire heir to a publishing empire (The Daily Sentinel). Reid’s father (founder and editor ) is found killed one day and Reid is left with leading the newspaper. In a city dominated by a gang overlord (watch for a fabulous cameo by James Franco, who apparently has become great friends with Seth Rogen), Reid becomes (rather accidentally and only thanks to his father’s former trusty aide, martial arts expert and tech geek Kato) The Green Hornet. Posing as criminals, The Green Hornet and Kato turn the city upside down and become its protectors with their rather unorthodox methods.

And the music – I LOVED IT. Despite the fact that the original theme is only played for about 30 seconds, the rest of the musical score is very enjoyable, powerful and filled with action themes. The original Green Hornet theme was a variation of the Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakov (my brothers played Flight of the Bumblebee on the piano, so there are a number of additional sentimental connections to this movie). You can hear the original Green Hornet theme in the soundtrack of Kill Bill.

Of course, if you were expecting any seriousness in this movie, you’re expecting too much. The Green Hornet is a movie that you should go and see simply to spend 2 hours watching a mindless action flick (that, let me add, did NOT need 3D). I had an opportunity to see it at the Rio Theatre on Commercial and it was a lot of fun.

RED (Retired Extremely Dangerous) [movie review]

Raul — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:00:54 +0000

Helen Mirren is a goddess. Bruce Willis can still fight like the best (in the movies). John Malkovich is still perfect at looking like he’s totally out of it. Morgan Freeman is one of the best actors of this and the previous (and perhaps the next) generation. And RED (Retired Extremely Dangerous) is, against my own predictions, an extremely funny movie.

Bear in mind that (a) I love Bruce Willis; (b) I love Helen Mirren; (c) I love any movie that shows potential underdogs winning and beating the bad guys; (d) I love violent movies that aren’t extremely gory (e.g. where spies show much more brain than brawn); (e) I always take the side of those who seem likely to lose the battle (and in this case, since these are supposed to be the elderly spies, they’re supposed to be easy to take down).

In the movie, Willis, Malkovich, Freeman and Mirren play four retired ex-spies who are the target of a CIA-black ops kind-of operation where they are to be eliminated. Of course, if I tell you how the movie ends, I’m giving away the ending. Suffice it to say that (a) Willis looks awesome eliminating obstacles that run in his pathway and (b) there is no classiest female spy in the world than Helen Mirren.

You should seriously see it. Showtimes in Vancouver can be found here.

Los Viajes del Viento (guest movie review by @OnlineStrategy)

Raul — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 15:00:09 +0000

I was lucky enough to win a pair of tickets from my friend Raul to attend opening night gala at the 8th Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (VLAFF).

VLAFF’s focus in 2010 is on Colombian cinema, so it was just fitting that “Los Viajes Del Viento” (“The Wind Journeys”) was the first production screened at the Festival. If one’s intention in watching a movie is to be transported to far-away realities, then “The Wind Journeys”, directed by Ciro Guerra, certainly accomplishes that, as we’re led on a long trip to the northern region of Colombia.

The plot is simple: take a teenager coming of age during a long journey, mix it with doses of undeserved loyalty, add a man’s bitterness, and there’s the essence to the story.

With Colombia’s diverse geography as the backdrop, we watch as young Fermín (skillfully portrayed by Yull Nuñez) follows master accordion player Ignacio Carrillo (Marciano Martínez) on a trip to take a prized accordion back to its original owner. The cinematography certainly does justice to the country’s rich colours, and spectators are shown landscapes that they probably never guessed existed in that country.

There are several light-hearted moments throughout the film, largely made possible by Yull Nuñez brilliant performance as Fermín. You don’t need to understand Spanish – or read the subtitles – to understand his emotions. His face says it all.

There was also some suspense and several quirky elements to keep the senses alert, such as a strange group of party revellers that spoke a strange dialect and seemed intent on wearing their shades – even at night.

Nuñez superb acting, and the great cinematography (by Paulo Perez), were the highlights of a film with a predictable screenplay. Having said that, “The Wind Journeys” was a pleasant introduction to Colombian cinema and I’d still recommend it.

Guacira Naves is an online marketing specialist with over 10 years of experience in the digital space. She can be reached at The Online Strategy House.

Waiting for Superman (movie review)

Raul — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 17:32:49 +0000

I am an educator (and I have taught from high-school level to graduate level, Masters and PhD), and so I have a direct stake in the fate of the education system. So when I got an invite to see the Vancouver premiere of Waiting for Superman (and I gave away a couple of pairs of tickets for it), I was very excited to go check the movie.

While I teach at a university, I feel rather ill-equipped to make an informed commentary on the state of Canadian and American pre-university educational systems. I don’t have experience teaching high school nor grades below. That said, three of my nieces and two of my nephews live in the US and I think I will do some informal research and talk with them about their perception of both the movie and the US educational system.

My own view of the movie was that it was heartbreaking, if everything said on the movie was true. Of course, as my good friend Meghan said, there are points where it looks totally inflammatory and overstated. One of the things that it made me think about was – this will be a topic that my students will have to analyze in my Public Policy course next term. There is no better way to assess the state of the educational system than look at data.

And as I mentioned, I’m a specialist in environment and public policy who teaches at the university level, I’m not a specialist in educational policy, so I have no direct experience. My nieces (and by extension, my brother and his wife) are, however, directly immersed in the US/California educational system (college, high school and grade school), so I will ask them how they feel about the movie.

All in all, as a movie that will tug at your heart and make you think about the future of your children’s education, I liked Waiting for Superman. It’s showing at Fifth Avenue Cinemas right now.

Waiting for Superman (win tickets to the premiere Oct 13th)

Raul — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:07:38 +0000

Given that I am an educator and that I teach at a Canadian university, I thought it would be rather relevant to showcase the movie “Waiting for Superman”, by Davis Guggenheim. From the website’s synopsis, I found out that the movie follows the stories of five kids embedded in the US education system.

I have in total 4 tickets (2 pairs) to give away for the Vancouver premiere of Waiting for Superman on October 13th at 7pm at 5th Avenue Cinemas. I will be drawing winners tomorrow (Tuesday October 12th at 5:00pm). I will follow the same procedure as always, but since the premiere is on Wednesday, I will redraw again within a few hours if I don’t hear from the winner.

Good luck, and I look forward to meet the winner(s) of my contest on Wednesday!

The Green Hornet trailer (Jan 2011)

Raul — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:57:24 +0000

Via Marina Antunes, I got hold of the trailer for The Green Hornet, this time spearheaded by Seth Rogen (who despite being sweet and all, is not my absolute adoration)~~and a newcomer that apparently is from Vancouver too~~. The trailer looks funny and I can’t wait to see the movie.

Iron Man 2 (movie review)

Raul — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:45:47 +0000

I was amongst the lucky ones who was able to attend a special screening of Iron Man 2 last night. Anybody who knows me knows that I’m a superhero and comic geek. I would be the very first in line to watch Superman, Batman, any movie that has superheroes, really (even the really stupid ones like ‘Not Another Superhero Movie’). I am a devoted fan of X-Men, and Spiderman has owned my heart for years.

When I first wrote about Iron Man 2, wanting to go see it (the first movie was a surprisingly good one), I was a bit worried that the sequel to the first movie would be bad. You know how these things happen. Batman was great, Batman 2 began the debacle. For the most part, the Mexican saying “segundas partes nunca fueron buenas” (sequels have never been good) applies. Not in Iron Man 2, though. The sequel is as good as the first movie.

In Iron Man 2, we find a Tony Stark who has revealed to the world that he is Iron Man. He protects the people, and to the government of the United States, obviously, this is a threat because the weaponized suit gives Stark a monopoly over who gets to be the hero. The movie pits Iron Man/Tony Stark against a slew of villains, the government of the US one of them, a renegade Soviet specialist in weapons (Ivan Vanko/Whiplash) and a competitor in the business of providing technology to the government (Justin Hammer). As Stark mentions in one line of the movie, “he successfully privatized world peace”. In this movie, Robert Downey Jr. becomes again one of my favorite actors. He humanizes Stark to a fault. Iron Man isn’t your typical superhero who has mutant powers or has been bitten by a radioactive spider. He’s a human who develops the technology and the skills to become a superhero. But inside the semi-indestructible Iron Man suit, there’s a human being who is capable of feeling sadness, loss, anger, love and happiness.

Tony Stark is a billionaire who is bent on protecting the world at his own expense and putting himself and the people who love him the most at risk (primarily his secretary, Pepper Potts, a Gwyneth Paltrow who also redeems herself by being strong yet feminine – I never really adored Paltrow since she won that Oscar I still don’t think she deserves for Shakespeare in Love, but in this movie, I really really like her – ). Jon Favreau, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Sam Rockwell as the villain Justin Hammer, Don Cheadle in a great performance as Iron Man’s sidekick War Machine, and the always lovely Mickey Rourke as Whiplash round the cast.

I am giving Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanov, Black Widow) a special mention and a word of praise because, against all odds, against my own better judgement, and against my own predictions, she BECOMES Black Widow. Displaying an amazing versatility as a superheroine of her own, Black Widow helps Iron Man and War Machine in their battle against Whiplash and Hammer. Rockwell gives his usual “I’m bad but suave” performance, a bit of a disappointment since I saw a very similar character in Charlie’s Angels.

But the movie is, overall, amazing. There are, obviously, some corny, too-Hollywood-for-my-liking moments. But, without giving the rest of the plot away (which probably is online by now on Wikipedia, quite frankly), I would encourage my readers to go see Iron Man 2. It’s a great spring/summer movie and can’t wait for a sequel that has Black Widow as the main character.

Side note: stay until the end of the movie, after the credits. They give away an important element that you may want to see!

Kick Ass (movie review)

Raul — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:03:45 +0000

I am a super hero geek. You will always see me first in line for the newest superhero movies. So when I heard that Kick Ass was coming out, I said to myself (and to JT) – MUST. SEE. THIS. MOVIE. Well, he joined me this past weekend (and I feel so guilty about asking him to come with me, because Kick Ass is pretty much Not Another Superhero Movie meets Quentin Tarantino). While refreshing, filled with dark humor jokes, and lots of action, I must warn anyone who wants to watch this movie. If you’re not ready to see a quasi-Tarantino movie, with lots of gore, blood and violence, you may not want to see Kick Ass.

The premise of the movie is yet another sweet geek who decides to become a superhero (Kick Ass), meeting along the way two real ones (Big Daddy and Hit Girl), and making himself the target for a gangster. Demonstrating the power of virality and social media, Kick Ass showcases a young kid who becomes instantly famous thanks to the power of a YouTube video that goes viral (the video shows him protecting a citizen from thugs). I was kind of surprised that they still showcased MySpace on the movie, when it’s so terribly dead, but heck, I suppose they didn’t think Kick Ass could have a Facebook fan page.

Overall, I did enjoy Kick Ass, thoroughly. It does have some of the typical “with great power comes great responsibility” clichés, but had a relatively non-standard ending. I have always liked gory, violent movies, a-la Quentin Tarantino. But I wouldn’t subject anyone who can’t take this type of violence, sexual references and explicit language to the movie theatre as my Plus One. I do know that my friend Lorraine will enjoy it!

Please remember that his is a movie that has violence, explicit language and sexuality. Viewer discretion is advised

Iron Man 2. WANT

Raul — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:32:41 +0000

I have had a love-hate relationship with Robert Downey Jr. While I have always recognized his talent, it’s hard for me to really fall in love with his acting. He could ace a role, or he could just destroy it. But I’m a total sucker for his portrayal of Tony Stark (Iron Man). I’m a superhero movie geek, so when I found out he was going to be Iron Man, I totally thought he was going to be horrendous.

And he wasn’t. He was, surprisingly, fantastic in that role. I loved Iron Man.

For Iron Man 2, we have Scarlett Johansson as The Black Widow, my very favorite Russian spy. I totally wanted Famke Janssen as Natasha Romanov, but after seeing the second trailer, I’m quite ok with Scarlett now. Please, please, please, don’t let me down – I really want Iron Man 2 to rock.

Below is the first official trailer, I couldn’t find the embed code for the second one (which looks awesome).

I will be organizing a “Let’s Watch the Iron Man 2 Premiere” tweetup. Anyone want in?

Iron Man 2 (movie review)

Valentine’s Day (movie review)

Raul — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:26:23 +0000

photo credit: carol.am

On Valentine’s Day, one of my closest friends and I went for dinner and a movie. Coincidentally, the movie was “Valentine’s Day”. We have instituted the rule that we will never spend Valentine’s Day alone, and we love that we get to spend such an often-commercialized day together, as we love each other profoundly. I was the one who suggested watching the movie “Valentine’s Day“, admittely.

I did so, because it looked like a perfect movie night. The lineup of stars is insanely long (including Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel, my favorite Jennifer Garner, everyone’s favorite Dr. McDreamy, and Dr. McSteamy in the same movie, Bradley Cooper, etc.) This movie follows a number of Los Angeles residents with dysfunctional and interesting love stories. Despite the fact that it touches on just about every single cliché about relationships existing on this planet, it has a number of touching moments, and there were two scenes where I did shed a lot of tears. One of them, with Julia Roberts, the other one with Bradley Cooper. I can’t give away more details.

The movie synopsis from IMDB’s website:

February 14th, Valentines Day, is not a national holiday, but it is one of those days that must be celebrated. There are “special someones” in your life who expect to receive romantic gifts from their lovers. Commercialism has put a tremendous amount of pressure on men to give their lovers a romantic day with all the trimmings. Women are under pressure to have a man, or they feel desperate and unloved. Valentines Day follows the lives of several couples during this day. Their stories are told through the interconnections they have with each other. Some will find romance in their relationship, and others will feel the heartbreak of ending a relationship. In this Russian roulette world of finding love, everyone in the film is asking for advice on how to find and keep true love. Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)

Shedding tears after or while watching a movie is not unusual for me on Valentine’s Day. I celebrate my friendships, I also celebrate the love I lost (thank goodness, even though we were engaged, I am glad we didn’t get married, otherwise I’d be divorced and very unhappy right now). But more than anything, I use Valentine’s Day to celebrate that, no matter where I am or what I am doing, there’s a gazillion people out there who love me, wherever they are and whatever they are doing.

As for the actual content of the movie, I found that it had some good points for thought. The first one, that relationships are complex and layered. The second one, that it is, indeed, worth it to love with passion and intensity. That’s how I live my life, that’s how I love. And I’m grateful that I can do that. I would strongly recommend you to watch this movie, although for some people, it may be a rental

The Idiot Cycle (guest movie review)

Raul — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:21:24 +0000

The Idiot Cycle
Directed by Gabrielle Schick Garcia

When introducing the premiere of The Idiot Cycle, director Gabrielle Schick Garcia dedicated its screening to a family friend currently undergoing chemotherapy. The starkly personal connection of the director to her material was evident before the projector started.

If Schick’s emotional plea was somehow missed by anyone in the audience that night, the film’s opening sequence would make it painfully clear. Never one to shy away from imagery of any kind, I found myself unable to watch as the director’s mother bravely exposed her very personal reality while bandaging the wounds from her recent mastectomy. When confronted by this painfully graphic, uncomfortable image many in the audience impulsively turned away, thus underscoring the motivation behind The Idiot Cycle. Schick wants her audience to squirm. Looking away from the ugliest effects of cancer onscreen is the clearest reflection she can provide to those who have looked away from its sickening truths in their own daily life.

The territory explored in The Idiot Cycle is not particularly groundbreaking but it does succeed as a more heartfelt complement to similarly-themed efforts. Familiar, complex conspiratorial strains echo throughout, as other recent films cast many of the same corporations – notably chemical and agricultural giant Monsanto – as major villains. Traveling to the petrochemical processing Mecca that is Sarnia, Ontario, Schick explores the so-called “Chemical Valley” and the devastating environmental health issues many in the Aamjiwnaang First Nation experience as a result of their proximity to widespread industrial pollution. Schick paints a grim portrait of this town and its citizens as being part of some sort of slow-burning, Canadian Chernobyl. One of the scientific experts interviewed goes even further in her indictment of Canada’s sorry system of environmental standards regulations, suggesting that “Sarnia is violating Nuremberg protocols by experimenting on the people of Chemical Valley.” Schick deftly navigates the murky channels connecting corporate greed, individual, societal and governmental complicity and the never-ending, lucrative business of healthcare. Sarnia was previously hailed as an example of the moral authority of Canada’s healthcare system in Michael Moore’s Sicko (2007). Schick suggests that our ‘free’ system is the price Canadians have agreed to pay in exchange for allowing those who operate the wheels perpetuating The Idiot Cycle to run at all.

At its best, The Idiot Cycle is a personal exploration by a daughter, clearly agonized and frustrated that her non-smoking, non-drinking, otherwise healthy-living mother would be inexplicably afflicted with breast cancer. At its worst the film tries to offset the weighty burden of its assertions with moments of gimmicky animation and awkward attempts at comedic spoof, with little to no effect.

The timing of the film’s release seems especially poignant considering that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. One of the experts noted that when considering cancer, it is essential that we all take a moment to “look back,” and focus as much of our efforts on understanding the reasons why more people are getting cancer, as opposed to just treating the disease once it strikes. In an effort to reason and understand the root causes behind her mother’s cancer Schick’s compelling investigation unravels an elaborate, frightening web of corporate deception, lies and personal truths – one that, like her mother’s wounds, she wants us to try to look at and personalize as our own.

This review was written by Rachel Fox who tweets as @FoxMe. Disclosure: The tickets to attend the movie were given to me by Invoke Media. In any review I write or publish on my site, I retain editorial control at all times. Should you have any questions/concern feel free to contact me via e-mail through my contact form.

Movie review – Star Trek (2009)

Raul — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:07:58 +0000

I’ll start by saying that I’m not a Trekkie. JT is, though, and I am SO glad that I got to see Star Trek (the JJ Abrams opera magistra) with him. I have watched some of the various Star Trek films and TV series. And since I’m not a trekkie, I don’t feel comfortable asking whether the film’s reinvention does fulfill the requirements of traditional Star Trek canon. But if you want my opinion, this was a superbly executed film. Star Trek made me feel as though the impossible is possible (corny as that may sound).

The chemistry amongst all the movie stars is palpable. James Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) are so perfect in their performances it’s almost magical. I hope not to sound trite or too gushy, but really each character (Scotty, Uhura, Zulu, McCoy) were instrumental in the development of the movie. While relatively centered around Kirk and Spock, Abrams does a superb job of giving ample space for other characters to develop their own storylines.

Of course, there were moments where my whole skin got goosebumps. For example, when Spock goes down to Vulcan to try to save his parents and he commands to be beamed, I remembered my childhood watching some of the Star Trek episodes… “ENERGIZE”. Overall, my experience with Star Trek was fantastic, and I would definitely watch it again.

If you have seen Star Trek, what did you think of it? And if you haven’t yet watched it, do you plan to? Are you a Trekker (or a Trekkie)?

Movie review: X-Men Origins (Wolverine)

Raul — Fri, 22 May 2009 21:53:45 +0000

I am a faithful superhero fan, and an X-Men addict. I had always felt that, should I ever acquire powers, I’d rather have them by mutation than by a spider bite (yeah, it’s kind of less painful that way I think). Thanks to the kind folks of Marvel Comics, we have a whole breed of new humans with superpowers: mutants. I have been waiting for X-Men Origins (Wolverine) for a long time, given that several scenes of the series of X-Men movies have been filmed in British Columbia (some of them actually at UBC).

I had waited to watch Wolverine with JT as we have always watched the X-Men movies together. This one, while it had mutants, Ryan Reynolds and lots of action, didn’t blow me away like the other movies. There were a number of bloopers and errors of continuity. But overall, I enjoyed the movie. I would not say it was my favorite, but it wasn’t totally horrible.

This second clip offers an interview with Ryan Reynolds who plays Deadpool/Wade Wilson. Enjoy!

Mothers & Daughters Premiere at 319 Main (First Weekend Club)

Raul — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:50:38 +0000

Thanks to the good folks at The First Weekend Club (Canada Screens Vancouver), I got a pair (2) tickets to the premiere of “Mothers & Daughters” on April 29th at District 319 (319 Main Street), with a Q&A with director Carl Bessai & cast following screening, so I decided to give them away through a contest. To enter the contest, simply drop a comment. I’ll draw the lucky winner tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday April 28th) at noon (12:00pm)

The movie synopsis is provided on the FWC.

This multi-award winning and nominated gem of a film is Carl Bessai’s exploration of the hilarious and ridiculously complicated mother/daughter bond. Entertaining with a truthful and touching spirit, Bessai’s film visits the dynamics of three unique and beguiling mother/daughter pairs, which offer a diverse glimpse into the needs, denials, and the inescapable love that these women feel towards each other.

The schedule is as follows:
6 PM: Pre show celebration and wine reception (complimentary glass of wine), with music by Rachael Chatoor. By the way, Rachael is a good friend and a great musician so should be AWESOME.
7 PM: Film screening with prize giveaways followed by a Q&A with the director & cast and a post-screening party

For tickets, you can call 604-983-5373 or email – paul@firstweekendclub.ca. Tickets are a very reasonable $12 via PayPal, and given that this is a private event, you must buy your tickets in advance. You can check the trailer by clicking this link.

The Oscar nominations (Academy Awards 2009) are in!

Raul — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:10:10 +0000

I am SO incredibly disappointed. The Academy snubbed James Franco and Kristin Scott Thomas for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Actress in a Leading Role, respectively, for the 2009 Oscars. Even after the fact that Franco’s subdued and excellent performance made Penn’s performance in Milk shine. Even after Scott Thomas acted in fluent French (she is an Englishwoman).

And in a complete act of “yes we worship you your Highness Pitt”, The Academy gave “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” not one, not two, THIRTEEN Oscar nominations. Blech. Many people worldwide are so upset with this situation that they’ve created the Official Anti-Benjamin Button Club (hat tips to NowPublic and Jarrett Martineau for breaking the news).

Yes, I love Kate Winslet, and perhaps this is her year to win the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role, but what can I say? I love Meryl Streep even more. Let’s see what the Academy decides. As for Best Actor in a Leading Role, my vote is quite obviously for Sean Penn.

What are YOUR thoughts?