Blair Witch

          By Emilio Frenk

Director: Adam Wingward 

Cast: James Allen McCune, Callie Hernández, Corbin Reid, Brandon Scott, Wes Robinson and Valorie Curry.

Rating: Poor. 

“Blair Witch”, sequel of the 1999 film “The Blair Witch Project” hit the theaters this week and is one of the worst horrors films I´ve seen in a while.

Again the movie takes place in the woods of Maryland and narrates the story of a girl who was investigating the legend of the Blair Witch and dissapears.

Later in the film the brother of the girl named James (James Allen McCune) discovers online  footage of the girl who claims is his sister and is determined to make this trip to the woods. In this journey he will be joined by Lisa Arlington (Callie Hernández) a filmmaking student and his closest friends Peter (Brandon Scott) and Ashley (Corbin Reid) who will try to help him find his sister.

Once they arrive to the woods in this journey will be joined by the locals Lane (Wes Robinson) and Talia (Valorie Curry) and try to find Jame’s sibling.

Nothing works at “Blair Witch”. The movie not only is boring from beginning to end but it´s doesn´t scare at all.

There are moments that you jump out of the seat but that is pretty much it. The main problem was in terms of screenplay and the psychological effects I didn´t see them in this sequel.

The first part of 1999 it was one of the things that really scared people was the fact that the psychological element was present in all the movie from the beginning to end and it was more enjoyable and of course real.

I was not impressed of the cast of the film and the direction of Adam Wingward was not effective and created only a carbon copy of the first film and became repetitive.

This year has been remarkable for the horror genre with movies like “The Conjuring 2”, “Lights Out” and “Don´t Breathe” but there are exeptions of movies of the genre that look fake and this was the exact case here.

From the beginning of the movie I was completely alienated and I wanted to leave the theater because nothing happened. There was not a single element that caught my attention in this film.

I don´t understand why even this movie got made in the first place. With “The Blair Witch Project” I think the message was very clear and this movie was completely unnacessary.

With that being said “Blair Witch” is one of the worst films of this year and one of the worst thrillers I´ve seen in a while. 

Sully

           By Emilio Frenk

            Director: Clint Eastwood

Cast: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Mike O´Malley, Jamey Sheridan, Anna Gunn, Holt McCallany and Laura Linney.

Rating: Excellent. 

4 Time Academy Award Winning Director/Producer Clint Eastwood brings his 35th film as a director with “Sully” and as always it´s such a delight to see one of his movies in the big screen.

Based in real life events, the movie tells the story of how Captain Chesley Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles (Aaron Eckhart)  save the lives of 155 passengers who were operated theUS Airways flight 1549 from New York Laguardia to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in January 14 of 2009 by landing the aircraft in the Hudson River in New York after a flock of geese crashed against both engines. This event will be rememberd as The Miracle of the Hudson.

The press calls Sully a hero for doing this daring stunt but eventually the Nacional Transportation Safety Board will conduct an investigation about the events claiming that the accident could have been avoided.

Sully´s career will be on the line unless he proves his point on why he had to land the aircraft in the river instead of a runaway.

In every Clint Easwood film, he portrays his characters with both inner and external conflicts and nobody does it better than him and here is no different, specially with Hank’s perfomance.

His direction is sharp and precise as well as the Script written by Todd Kowarnicki who was really smart on narrating the events of the whole movie from the point of view of Chesley Sullenburger.

Although I´m not a fan of how flashbacks are being used normally but here it makes total sense since Eastwood is taking the journey of “Sully” before the accident and after. 

Eastwood can also establish the use of proper flashbacks making him one of the few directors who knows how to tell a story using this resource in a proper manner.

The performances of Tom Hanks and Aaron Eckhart are believable and true as well as for Laura Linney who worked previously with Eastwood in Mystic River. Both actors most likely will nail Academy Award Nominations in next year´s awards ceremony for their performances as well for Clint Eastwood in directing.

There is no doubt that Clint Eastwood is one of the most influential flimmakers of it´s generation and with Sully proves a point. Of all his 35 films he has done as a director this is the one with the shortest length but at the same time I have to say that this is considered one of his most challenging movies due to the amount of camera movements, and both visual and special effects.

I´ve always been an admirer of Clint Eastwood´s work and I put “Sully” as one of the best movies of this year due to the performances and the storytelling and this movie delivers the goods.

“Sully” is a must see movie and for Clint Eastwood fans you are not going to be dissapointed. 

Kicks

           By Emilio Frenk

Director: Justin Tipping

Cast: Jahking Gullory, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Christopher Meyer, Kofi Siriboe and Mahersala Ali.

Rating: Good. 

Young filmmaker makes his debut with “Kicks” a movie that had a succesful reception in this year’s edition of the“Tribeca Film Festival” in New York and it was a very interesting concept.

“Kicks” tells the story of Brandon (Jahking Gullory) a 15 year old kid from the East Bay in California who hangs out with his two closests friends Albert (Christopher Jordan Wallace) and Rico (Christopher Meyer).

Brandon has always dreamed of having a pair of Air Jordan’s but due to his condition and status he cannot afford them. One day everything will change for Brandon when he gets to buy a pair of Air Jordan’s, which are the most desirable pair of shoes.

Brandon is happier than ever but his happiness will be short after Flaco (Kofi  Siriboe) a local gangster and his gang friends steal his brand new shoes. 

This action will infuriate Brandon who asks for their help of his friends to retrieve the shoes which will lead them to a dangerous mission to Oakland.

The thing that I loved of “Kicks” was the fact that illustrates how the underground world in Oakland andthe East Bay as well.

Justin Tipping did a great job on showing us that world which we know is dangerous and frightning and it was very well told from Brandon’s point of view.

It´s a very hard movie to watch but at the same time it´s real. The movie doesn’t have an all star cast but it has truth in it and a very interesting premise.

The only thing that I was not convinced was the performance of most of the cast of the film and the ending could have been a better one and there were elements that they weren’t needed.

Overall the movie did deliver the goods in both directing and writing. The fact that Tipping got involved in what happens in Oakland and East Bay was very daring and brave from him and I assure you that this kid has a bright future in film.

“Kicks” is one of the surprises in Indepent Film and of 2016 and I give a high recommendation for it´s directing and storytelling.

When the Bough Breaks

           By Emilio Frenk

Director: Jon Cassar

Cast: Morris Chestnut, Regina Hall, Michael K. Williams, Romany Malco, Glenn Morshower, Theo Rossi and Jaz Sinclair.

Rating: Poor. 

As usual thrillers hit the theaters and this time was with “When the Bough Breaks” and this film was everything but engaging and entertaining.

The movie tells the story of a John Taylor (Morrist Chestnut) a succesful attorney and his wife Laura (Regina Hall) a chef in New Orleans who have always dreamed of having a child.

After suffering three miscarriages, the life of the Taylor’s will change when Anna Walsh (Jaz Sinclair) a surrogate mother is willing to give the Taylor´s her child.

The Taylor´s are grateful for Anna’s action and invite her to their home. The problem will start when Anna begins to develop a crush on John that will lead to an obsession that might cause the family to breakup unless The Taylor´s avoid the situation putting everything they have built at risk.

There is nothing that I acknoledge from“When The Bough Breaks” The story doesn´t make any sense and is totally ridiculous making this movie slow from the start to the finish.

I consider this a ripoff from a classical thriller from 1987 “Fatal Atraction” which is ten times much better and with performances that are more convincing.

Instead of being engaged with the film, it alienated me and I never saw an element of tension and the performances; as a matter of fact it looked like a soap opera due to their efforts of being real when they weren´t .

It could have been a very interesting concept but the execution was terrible. The script was very badly written with cheap dialogueand the direction from Jon Cassar, who did episodes of the series “24” lead to boredom and laughter.

The movie didn´t have any original elements and it was predictable from the moment it started until the end.

A thriller needs to be engaging and a rule of thumb is that has to have a smart pacing despite of the length of the film.

We have seen thrillers of two hours many times and they are engaging and this is because the story was solid leading to convincing performances. One example of this point I´m illustrating is “Marathon Man” from 1976 where Dustin Hoffman gives a memorable performance as well as Laurence Olivier as a sadistic nazi and this is thanks to a wonderful screenplay written by William Goldman, who won 2 Academy Awards for “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “All the President’s Men”.

The reason why movies like “Play Misty for Me” which marked Clint Eastwood´s directorial debut and “Fatal Attraction” were both memorable and iconic was the fact that they both had very good stories which landed to sharp and good directing and memorable performances.

That being said I put “When the Bough Breaks” as not only one of the worst thrillers I have seen in a while but one of the worst movies of2016 and please do not waste your time and energy on this film.

The Wild Life

           By Emilio Frenk

Director: Vincent Kesteloot

Cast (Voice in English): Yuri Lowenthal, David Howard, Laila Berzins, Joey Carmen, Sandy Fox, Colin Metzger, Marieve Herington and Jeff Doucette.

Rating: Poor. 

This year has been remarkable for animated feature films like "Zootopia", "Finding Dory" and "Kubo and the Two Strings".Although  there are always exceptions and this year was with “The Wild Life”,  an animated that didn’t fulfill any expectations. 

The movie starts with Mak (David Howard) a daring parrot who dreams of leaving an isolated in the South Pacific; although he has other animal friends but everyday it passes he gets bored.

Everything will change for Mak when he meets Robinson Crusoe (Yuri Lowenthal) a british explorer who gets trapped in the island after a severe storm. This will lead to a friendship and an opportunity for Mak to leave the island.

The major problem I had with “The Wild Life” was both the story and animation. I figured that is based on the novel “Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Dafoe and it´s a different approach to the novel.

The plot was not clear of the film and the animation of the film and this was also a factor why I didn’t enjoy it. Movies of this genre have to have a meaning and the pacing has to be crucial and eventually it led to boredom.

The different approach from Dafoe’s book I thought it was interisting but the execution in terms of Screenplay was very badly written and the direction from Vincent Kesteloot was all over the place. 

I´ve always mentioned that storytelling the animated genre has been superior  than any genre in filmmaking but here this wasn´t the case.

If this movie would have involved more work in storytelling I think it would have been a very interesting concept.

I was never engaged with “The Wild Life” from the minute it started and with that being said is one of the biggest dissapointments in the anmated genre.

An Evening with Mad Max: The Road Warrior

          By Emilio Frenk. 

Tonight I had the honor and privilege to witness one of the greatest action movies of all time: Mad Max: The Road Warrior. Also known as Mad Max 2.

The screening took place at The Bing Theater of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

The movie celebrated it´s 35 anniversary and  was projected in a 35mm print and I have to say that is a blessing that pictures like this are revived and I enjoyed it even more than the first time I saw and this film is considered a masterpiece in all the extentions. 

As you may know Mel Gibson reprised his role as Max three times back in1979, 1981 and 1985 in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome making Gibson’s last appearance as the Road Warrior.

Thanks to Mad Max, Gibson’s career was launched and made movies likeLethal Weapon portraying the role of Sgt. Martin Riggs 4 Times; the first installment of this series is also considered another great action film and influential.

This is the first time that I see this movie in the big screen and even though it’s 35 years since it’s released I still enjoyed. The car chases in the dessert and the score composed by Bryan May is such a blessing to hear.

George Miller, who has directed all 4 of the Mad Max films is one of the best director’s who can shoot the car and action sequences. He is one of the most influential filmmakers of the action genre and for people who study film I encourage you to watch all his movies.

Mad Max: The Road Warrior I consider it one of the most influential action, thriller and science fiction movies of all time. Thanks to Mad Max movies like The Terminator, Blade Runner and other movies of the genre exist.

If you haven’t seen any of the Mel Gibson series of Mad Max, I encourage you reader to watch the whole franchise from the first part to the last (Fury Road) which was one of the most succesful movies of the summer of 2016 but the best movie of 2016 which won 6 Academy Awards and was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director for George Miller. 

It’s both a privilege and a blessing to revive this films that caused a huge influence and impact to film lovers and filmmakersaround the world. Seeing a George Miller movie is seeing art in all it’s forms and I can’t wait for the release of Mad Max: The Wasteland. 

The Life Between Oceans

By Emilio Frenk

Director: Derek Cianfrance

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rachel Weisz, Florence Clery, Jack Thompson, Thomas Unger, Anthony Hayes, Emily Barclay and Bryan Brown.

Rating: Excellent. 

Derek Cianfrance, director of “Blue Valentine” and “The Place Beyond the Pines” brings another drama. “The Light Between Oceans” and this is such a great drama film.

Based on the Best Selling Novel by M.L. Stedman, the movie tells the story of Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender) a war veteran now a lighthouse keeper in the Western Coast of Australia who lives with the his wife Isabel (Alicia Vikander).

After suffering two miscarriages, the life of the couple will have a huge turn when they rescue a baby from a rowboat. This will lead to an informal adoption and it will change the course of their lives forever.

The couple are more happier than ever but everything will change again for them when a woman from a wealthy Australian family named Hannah Potts (Rachel Weisz) finds out that the baby that both Isabel and Tom have happens to be her daughter that got lost at sea and she will do anything to have her back.

Now Isabel and Tom must decide what to do with the girl  and their lives before it’s too late.

Of all the movies that Cianfrance has made except “Cage Fighter” which is a documentary, he always shows the isolation with his characters and here is no different.  “The Light Between Oceans” besides being his most ambitious one is so far the best movie of his career. The connection and chemistry between Fassbender and Vikander it’s top of the notch and delivers the goods.

Cianfrance was really smart on not only directing two Academy Award Winning Actresses (Rachel Weisz and Alicia Vikander) and an Nominee (Fassbender) but in writing a very sweet and truthful screenplay. 

“The Light Between Oceans” is one top list on one of the best movie of this year and it really touched my heart in many ways.

The movie has a huge message towards forgiveness and not holding grudge on people and it did work. I put this movie as one of the surprises of the next awards ceremony and it could nail for both Fassbender and Vikander another nomination on their careers.

One suggestion I would like to give is that read the novel before watching the movie since it’s a great piece of modern literature and the other is bring yourself a package of tissues to the movie theater. Once you leave the theater you will be touched and moved by this film. 

I give a huge recommendation to “The Light Between Oceans” for what I just mentioned previously and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Morgan

By Emilio Frenk

Director: Luke Scott

Cast: Kate Mara, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rose Leslie, Toby Jones, Michael Yare, Boyd Holbrook, Michelle Yeoh, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brian Cox and Paul Giamatti.

Rating: Poor.

Luke Scott, the son of director Ridley Scott who made memorable films like “Alien” and “Blade Runner” made his debut with “Morgan” and this had the potential of being a great thriller but it didn’t.

The movie starts when Morgan (Anya Taylor-Joy) a girl created and raised by a group of scientists throws a fit and attacks  Dr. Kathy Grieff (Jennifer Jason Leigh).

This brings the attention of Lee Weathers (Kate Mara) a corporate risk consultant that goes to the facility where Morgan was created and must determine if Morgan is in a safe environment or she must be terminated before she causes more damage to others.

“Morgan” started with a very interesting first act of the film but once we landed in the second act of the film the movie led to a downward spiral.

The mayor problem I found in “Morgan” was the fact that for a thriller the movie was too slow and it was not engaging and this are the elements that you need for a movie of this genre and I didn’t see them here.  

The premise of the movie was really interesting and I think the movie had the potential on delivering the goods but this wasn’t the case.

The use of excessive flashbacks was one the things that ruined this film and bothered me since I think it’s a cheap way to justify your characters.

It might have worked with just one but they used it more than once, leading to over explaining the movie and of  to boredom.

I was never convinced of Kate Mara’s performance as a troubleshooter and I do have a  huge respect towards her. We have seen her in shows like “House of Cards” where she was fantastic and in “The Martian” directed by Ridley Scott.

I do think that Luke Scott is a director that can deliver the goods and  and it’s very unfortunate that this wasn’t the case.

As a critic and viewer I was expecting a different climax or at least that something was going to happen but instead I was only laughing at the result that is was both preposterous and silly.

I do like the look of the film that was very dark but in terms of narrative and story it stop interesting me when the use of elements that they weren’t needed were shown.

I hope “Morgan” is a lesson experience for Luke Scott who I do wish to see him in more films since he had good intentions and tried to do his best but it was not good enough.

“Morgan” is one of the most ridiculous thrillers I’ve seen in a while and I cannot give it a recommendation for what I just mentioned earlier on.

The 9th Life of Louis Drax

By Emilio Frenk

Director: Alexander Aja

Cast: Jamie Dornan, Sarah Gadon, Aiden Longworth, Julian Wadham, Molly Parker, Oliver Platt,  Barbara Hershey and Aaron Paul.

Rating: Poor. 

Another thriller hit the theaters this week and it was “The 9th Life of Louis Drax”. This is  one of the worst movies I’ve seen of this year.

The movie starts with a young boy named Louis Drax (Aiden Longworth) who in his 9th birthday suffers a major accident that leads him to coma.

This brings the attention of Dr. Allan Pascal (Jamie Dornan)  a coma pediatrician who follows the case of Louis and tries to find out all the nature of the cause of Louise’s accident.

This will lead him in the search of the boundaries between fantasy and reality hoping he can get answers of the accident.

The major problem that “The 9th of Louis Drax” had was the excess use of flashbacks and the voice over of the boy that never worked.

I give credit that the movie is visually striking but the rest of the  movie is just a huge mess. In addition the movie had an ambitious cast with actors like Aaron Paul, Oliver Platt and Barbara Hershey but the performances they give were never real.

The performance of Aiden Longworth, who played Louis Drax was badly casted  and I just couldn’t take it anymore because he was annoying from the minute the movie started from the last.

The script written by Max Linghella, who’s work is more notable as an actor in movies like “The Social Network” and “The Ides of March”  was very poor written. I understand it’s his debut as a writer and like other cases that I have mentioned in this space hopefully this will be a learning experience for him.

Jamie Dornan who is well known for portraying Christian Grey in “Fifty Shades of Grey” did an ok job but for moments I was still watching the same performance he did on Fifty Shades. I think he can be a great actor but he needs the right guidance and direction.

The movie had very good elements of being a good thriller but again the excessive use of flashbacks and the voice over never worked.

The use of voice over has to be when you’re character is not present at any circumstance. Here the problem is that he narrates every event that led to the accident which were accidents as well.

The writer could have just written the action and that we already knew what’s going on. 

The directing by Alexander Aja was not executed correctly and I’m going to say something that is very harsh but this is an example of filmmaking has not to be. It has to clear from the beginning to end.

The movie was all over the place and the addition of characters that were in the boys imagination were not necessary and they are everything but compelling.

With that being sayed “The 9th Life of Louis Drax” is  a huge disappointment and it’s boring from the beginning to end.

Don't Breathe

By Emilio Frenk

Director: Fede Álvarez

Cast: Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto, Emma Bercovici and Stephen Lang. 

Rating: Excellent. 

Fede Álvarez, Uruguayan director of the 2013 version of “Evil Dead” brings another movie to the horror genre. “Don’t Breathe” and I vas very impressed with it.

The movie opens with three Detroit young delinquents: Rocky (Jane Levy), Money (Daniel Zovatto) and Alex (Dylan Minnette) who make a living by breaking in to houses, stealing things and sell them.

Everything changes when Money is tipped about a retired army veteran (Stephen Lang) who happens to be blind has a fortune worth of 300,000 dollars.

That same night the three break in to the house. Thinking it was going to be an easy task and take advantage for the fact that the man is blind; they understimate that fact and the man is enranged and he will due anything to get rid of the three burglars.

Now it´s up to the three young guys to figure out how to get out of the house before it´s too late.

“Don´t Breathe” has all the elements of what a good thriller should have that is engaging, tense and has a very original story.

The Script also written by Álvarez and he was very smart on how to manipulate the audience in most of the movie and that is one of the most difficult things to do in filmmaking and he took it to another level.

The thing that I was not that convinced was by the acting and that could have been managed in a better way. The advantage of this  genre is that  can give the actor a lot of freedom in terms of how to portray a role, even if by moments tends to be overacted.

Although that didn´t bother me and another element that I loved of the film is that once you think the tension is gone suddenly something scary happens and you jumped out of the seat which had a huge effect on me.

I mentioned previously when I reviewed “Lights Out” that is one of the scariest movies of this year. I put this one at the same level and it did deliver the goods.

I´m happy that a genre that became extinct is trying to be revived in a very smart way and not leaving all the guts and blood which has been one of the most common elements to be seen lately, making the films boring and monotonous.

The key element for a good horror film is that it has to have psychological elements on it. Without it it´s gone and a project of this genre it´s useless.

Fede Álvarez delivered a great horror film and has one of the best twists I´ve seen in the genre today.

Don´t Breathe I put it as one of the biggest surprises of the year and I think you are going to be engaged from the beginning to the end of the film and   I think it will be remembered as one the most frightning thrillers for a while. 

Hands of Stone

By Emilio Frenk

Director: Jonathan Jakubowicz

Cast: Edgar Ramírez, Robert De Niro, Rubén Blades, Usher Raymond, John Turturro, Ellen Barkin, Ana de Armas, Pedro Pérez and Reg E Cathey.

Rating: Good. 

Venezuelan Director Jonathan Jakubowicz makes his internatiional debut with “Hands of Stone” and the result could have been much better.

Based on real life events, “Hands of Stone” tells the story of Roberto “Cholo” Durán (Edgar Ramírez) one of the finest and greatest fighters in the history of boxing and Ray Arcel (Robert De Niro) who eventually will manage him after witnessing one of Duran´s fights atMadison Square Garden in New York City.

At the beginning Roberto doesn´t want Ray Arcel´s help because of his hatred against americans and arrogance; but later he accepts the help of the veteran manager, which eventually lands to a heavyweight championship against Sugar Ray Leonard (Usher Raymond), making this one of the most memorable fights in the history of the sport.

The idea of “Hands of Stone” I think it was a good idea and the performance by Robert De Niro as Ray Arcell never has been better. The editing of the film plays a key role due to the genre of the film and I the use of quick match and shorts cuts worked at all levels, as well as the rythym and pace of the edit, which are essential in sports movies.

There are parts that it needed more work and this is were the movie has a lot of problems. One of the major problems was the screenplay, which added to much backstory about when the americans took the Panama Canal and it didn´t work.  I think Jakubowicz should have had more focus on Robert Durán, who never had an emotional change until the second act of the film. 

I felt the movie was to much on politics and the excesive use of flashbacks was one thing that bothered me and there not necesarry for a movie of this genre. The reason why movies like “Rocky” and “Raging Bull” became iconic boxing movies was because the narrative was linear from beginning to end.

Were the movie begin to gets better is in the Midpoint of the Second Act to the end, except for one part of Act 3 that could have been taken out and make the movie with a length more interesting.

So far this has been the best performance I´ve seen of Edgar Ramírez, who worked previously with De Niro in David O. Russell´s “Joy” which was released last year. Although they are moments that he overacts in the film but still he did a good job and let´s hope he gets better and doesn´t make movies like “Point Break”, again another movie that was not meant to be a remake.

I give “Hands of Stone” a slightly recommendation due to the elements that I mentioned previously and I insist that is a movie that could have been worked better in terms of Screenplay where it has it´s major flaws. 

Mechanic: Resurrection

By Emilio Frenk

Director: Dennis Gansel

Cast: Jason Statham, Jessica Alba, Michelle Yeoh, Sam Hazeldine and Tommy Lee Jones.

Rating: Average. 

Action star Jason Statham comes back to portray the sequel to Mechanic with Mechanic: Resurrection and this second pass did surpass the first part but it needed more elements to be a better action movie.

The movie starts with retired contract killer Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) who is in Thailand enjoying his retirement anda new romance with his girlfriend Gina (Jessica Alba).

Everything will change for Bishop when his former foe Riah Crane (Sam Hazeldine) kidnaps his girlfriend and tells Bishop to perform three kills or he will kill his girlfriend.

Now Bishop will have no choice on doing the missions but the most important thing is to make them look like an accident.

The clock is ticking for Bishop and he needs to perform the hits fast before it´s too late.

This second part of Mechanic I enjoyed it more since the story it’s more engaging and you care more of the characters. Jason Statham is one of the finest action stars in the big screen and he knows how to do it again with those spectacular stunts and fights that he normally brings to the screen, making them very impressive.

The major flaw of the film is the part that it was too predictable and you knew exactly all the details on what was going to happen. 

The story could have worked better in a different way and not make some scenes to obvious which was one of the things the filmhad.

The use of the score was really good. The direction of the film could have a better effect but nothing changed from the beginning to the end.

Although I admit that I was havinga good time in some of the action sequences which they are really well made, specially the climax scene where everything happens in a shipand is very well choreographed and is engaging.

I do think it´s really important that you need a good and solid story no matter what the genre is you have to make it difficult to your characters. Yes I know is difficult in this case for Bishop but still he performed the tasks very easily. I would love to see that in one of the missions he screwed up or something and that could have been more engaging.

As someone who loves film I did enjoy it but as a film critic I must say that the movie was not good enough to give a recommendaction due to the lack of story and conflict of the characters and that’s one of the reasons I cannot recommend this film. 

Blood Father

By Emilio Frenk

Director: Jean-François Richet

Cast: Mel Gibson, Erin Moriarty, Diego Luna,  Miguel Sandoval, Michael Parks and William H. Macy.

Rating: Good. 

Mel Gibson is back with“Blood Father” and I think it`s a great action thriller film.

Based on the novel of the same name by Peter Craig, the movie tells the story of John Link (Mel Gibson) an ex convict under parole who designs tatoos for a living receives an unexpected call from her missing and estranged daughter Lydia (Erin Moriarty) who asks for his father’s help since she is on the run from the drug cartel who already put a prize in her head.

Now Link will do anything to protect his daughter even if it means to violate his parole and take the law into his own hands.

What I liked of “Blood Father” was the direction by Richet who was really smart on the way of how the characters were introduced and the script also written by Peter Craig who I mentioned previously that he wrote the novel did work at all levels.

Other elements that I loved of the movie was the fact that the characters Link and Lydia during the course of the film have more and more progressive complications and you need this elements like this for your characters to have an interesting product.

The obstacles that the movies presents work in all levels and another actor who I consider with Gael García Bernal one of the finest mexican actors is the portrayal Diego Luna’s character Jonah, Lydia’s boyfriend and the lider of the drug cartel.

He really gives a fantastic performance and knows how to portray a very good villain and I think this has been one of his most challenging roles since it’s the first time we see him portray a villain of this magnitude.

The score and perfomances of all the cast of the film were real and authentic since a father in real life will do anything to protect their own blood, no matter what the circumstances are.

This is the Mel Gibson who I do like to see on the screen. He has the edge and the intensity that he brings of his character of John Link and reminded me of some roles he did like Max on “Mad Max” and Martin Riggs on “Lethal Weapon” which made Gibson’s career and an iconic figure. Both movies are considered the best action movies of all time. 

This is a very fine action movie that also combines two genres which are drama and thirller.

I love the fact that is also a film that manages the theme of redemption and second chances and does deliver the goods and brings tensions to another level.

I recommend “Blood Father” for it’s direction, brilliant performances and I am very happy that Mel Gibson is back on track and I hope he does well with "Hacksaw Ridge", which will be his fifth movie behind the camera  and will be released on November.  

Southside with You

By Emilio Frenk

Director: Richard Tanne

Cast: Tika Sumpter, Parker Sawyers, Taylar Fondren, Preston Tate Jr, Donald Paul, Vanessa Bell Calloway and Donn C. Harper.

Rating: Good. 

Director Richard Tanne makes his feature film debut with “Southside with You”  and I was very surprised of the film. I remember the first time I saw the billboard I thought myself that this is going to be a movie for Hallmark Channel and I was wrong.

Based on real life events, “Southside with You” takes place in Chicago during the summer of 1989 where a young law associate Barack Obama (Parker Sawyers) tries to win the heart of a young female lawyer Michelle Robinson (Tika Sumpter)

At the beginning of the film young Barack tells her that they are going to a meeting but in reality is a date, which at the beginning Michelle doesn’t admit it.

But during the course of the date, Michelle is impressed by Barack skills in terms of speech and she has a very good time. This eventually will lead to a relationship and to the White House, becoming the President of the United States and The First Lady. 

One of the things that I was surprised of “Southside with You” is the fact that most of the cast of the film are new and that is a bet that a director doesn’t t take for many reasons.

I like the fact that Richard Tanne did bet everyting in new blood and took his chances and his direction towards the actors really worked at all levels.

I know the movie takes place on the first date that The President of the United States and The First Lady had in the summer but the ending of the film did surprise me. Don’t get me wrong, it did work because nobody in the audience when I saw the film was expecting that. 

Other thing that I liked of the film was the fact that besides is inspired in real events, it´s a totally different approach on this kind of movies and I think it is unique for that.

The dialogue of the script was really touching and warmth . I liked the fact that the character of Michelle Robinson wasn’t making it easy for Barack Obama at the beginning of the film and it was a sweet and tender moment.

The movie was produced by Academy Award Winner Singer and Composer John Legend and it has the touches of a movie that is really inspiring.

The performances from Tika Sumpter and Parker Sawyers are convincing and besides both of them have a huge resemblance with the President and First Lady.

This is inded a big surprise of this year and I have to say that I was very surprised with the result.

I do recommend “Southside With You” for all the elements I mentioned previously and hopefully we can see more of Richard Tanne`s work who has a bright future. 

War Dogs

          By Emilio Frenk  

          Director: Todd Phillips

Cast: Jonah Hill, Miles Teller, Kevin Pollack, Ana de Armas Bradley Cooper.

Rating: Excellent. 

Todd Phillips, Director of“The Hangover Trilogy” comes with “War Dogs” a movie based on real events and I have to say I was very surprised with the product.

 Based on the Rolling Stone magazine article “Arms and Dudes” written by Guy Lawson, “War Dogs” tells the story of David Packouz (Miles Teller) a Miami massage therapist who reunites with his friend from Junior High Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) an entrepeuneur and international arms dealer.

In a lunch meeting Diveroli convinces Packhouz to work with him in his business which at the beginning David disagrees but ends up working with him leading to a partnership.

They start at the beginning very good supplying weapons to the army and they are starting to live “The American Dream”.

The real problem starts when they land a 300 million dollar contract to supply weapons to the United States troops in Afganistan.

Both Diveroli and Packhouz will be tempted by greed and eventually to all kinds of trouble.

One of the things that I found interesting in “War Dogs” is that besides is a theme that took place during the Bush era, Todd Phillips was both clever and smart to add his touch of The Hangover movies and the movie has very good elements of comedy.

The script also written by Phillips and the Directing are really smart and the use of the music was another element that I really liked of the movie and it remind me of how Martin Scorsese uses songs from other artists in his movies and here it has been done the same way. 

Both Miles Teller and Jonah Hill are really fun and they are both explosive in this movie and it does deliver the goods. The score from Cliff Martínez, who is well known for doing the scores of movies like “Drive” and most recently “The Neon Demon” is superb and he is one of the most versatile composers today.

Some parts of the Third Act of the movie didn´t necessarily worked but still the movie was engaging and entertainng. The ending of the film I think it can be open for debate and I leave you reader to interpret it. 

 I give a huge recommendation to "War Dogs" for the performances, script and direction and I hope you enjoy as much as I did. 

Kubo and The Two Strings

           By Emilio Frenk

Director: Travis Knight

Cast (Voice): Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson,  George Takei, Ralph Fiennes, Brenda Vaccaro, Rooney Mara and Matthew McConaughey.

Rating: Excellent. 

Animator Travis Knight makes his directorial debut with “Kubo and The Two Strings” and is one of the greatest stop motion animated films I have seen.

 The movie tells the story of Kubo (Art Parkinson) a friendly one-eyed boy whotells stories about warriors in the streets of Japan. Eventually Kubo will find out that the stories are true and come to life when two witch sisters (Rooney Mara) scare Kubo and threaten him to take his other eye.

 This will lead him to a quest were he will be joined by Monkey (Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Matthew McConaughey) to find a magic armour and put an end to the witches and the spirits that hunt him.

 Besides the Screenplay of“Kubo and The Two Strings” written Marc Haimes and Chris Butler which is written in such a fun, smart and engaging way from the beginning was the direction from Travis Knight, who´s work as an animator in movies like “Coraline” and “The Boxtrolls” was very precise and uses the main elements for an animated movie that are engaging and fun.

The voice overs from Theron, McConaughey, Parkinson and the rest of the cast are really good and the concept is very interesting from the minute it starts until the end.

 I have to mention that the movie starts a little slow paced but eventually it builds up and becomes very interesting. 

The chemistry between the monkey and the beetle characters is really fun and McConaughey´s interpretation is really funny and sweet at all levels.

 This movie I can be sure that it will be competing for the Best Animated Feature Category in next year´s awards and it could be one of the surprises in the category.

“Kubo and the Two Strings” is one of the mostengaging and great animated films of this year and I have to say that this one with “Zootopia”, “Finding Dory” and “The Secret Life of the Pets” are the best animated features films in this year and I give a huge recommendation to this film.

Ben-Hur

          By Emilio Frenk

          Director: Timur Bekmambetov

Cast: Jack Huston, Toby Kebbel, Rodrigo Santoro, Nazanin Boniadi, Ayelet Zurer, Pilou Asbaek, Sofia Black-D'Elia and Morgan Freeman.

Rating: Poor. 

 Another remake hit the theaters this weekend and is“Ben-Hur” and I´m going to start with a strong note and is the fact there are movies that you cannot make remakes of and this is the case here.

Based on the novel by Lew Wallace, the movie tells the story of Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston) a young jew that has a very good and strong relationship with his adopted brother Messala (Toby Kebbel).

One day Messala decides to join the Roman Army and this will lead to his betrayal  against Judah making him a slave.

Eventually Judah escapes and  seeks the help of Ilderim (Morgan Freeman) who will help Judah to find his revenge against Messala, leading him to a race in the colliseum and eventually to redemption.

This version of Ben-Hur never worked from the beginning and is light years away from the 1959 version that scored 11 Academy Awards and is considered one of the greatest films of all time.

This case of a remmake remind me of the 1998 version of “Psycho” directed by  Gus Van Sant based on the Alfred Hitchcok film  and the results were very poor.

The climax of the film of the race in the colliseum is totally fake and  preposterous that it´s not engaging.

Despite the length of the 1959 movie that it´s almost a four hour movie, this  one I felt it was boring and slow from th beginning to end despite of the 2  hours length.

The performances are not convincing, except for Morgan Freeman that is  always a delight seeing him in movies but one actor cannot save the whole  movie and this one lead to a huge mess.

At some point I wanted to walk out the theater and I rarely have that feeling and the same happen when I saw ¨Nine Lives”.

Timur Bekmambetov who in 2008 did “Wanted” and worked previously with Freeman is a Director that can deliver and I hope this is a learning experience from him. The Script is all over the place and over explains too much leading to a lack of interest of the film and characters.

Ben-Hur is so far one of the biggest disappointments and please watch the original film from 1959 and don´t waste your time and energy on this version. 

Sausage Party

            By Emilio Frenk    

            Directors: Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon

            Cast (Voice): Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Edward Norton, Danny McBride, Bill Hader,                      James Franco, Nick Kroll, David Krumholtz, Craig Robinson, Paul Rudd and Salma Hayek.

           Rating: Good. 

 Another animated movie hits the theaters this week and it´s not a Disney, Pixar or a Dreamworks movie. In fact it is a  rated R animated movie and it´s “Sausage Party”, one of the most bizarre and original comedies I´ve seen in a while.

The movie starts with Frank (Seth Rogen) a packed sausage who constantly flirts with Brenda (Kristen Wiig) a Hot Dog Bun who both are anxious to get out of their local supermarket and meet “The Great Beyond” which are the homes of the humans, who they consider them  as gods.

The problem starts when Honey Mustard (Danny McBride) comes back to the shelves of the store and warns the others that there is no such thing as “The Great Beyond” and everything is a lie.

Later in the story Frank begins to realize the true nature and destiny of his character and tries to convince Brenda Bunn to battle the humans, which now they are considered monsters.

Eventually they will join forces with Sammy Bagel (Edward Norton) who  does a great impersination of Woody Allen  and Kareem Abdul Lavash (David Krumholtz) and Teresa Taco (Salma Hayek) to save the other food members and themselves. 

Despite the gross  moments and silly humour, “Sausage Party” delivers the goods and prooves once again that both Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are the most talented filmmakers in the comedy genre.

I both describe them as the dinamic duo of Hollywood and every movie they have made of this genre it´s really funny. 

This movie has also elements of movies like “Superbad” and “This is the End” which I recommend to see before watching “Sausage Party” so you can understand the humour, unless you have seen them both.

 The direction by both Greg Tiernan  and Conrad Vernon who worked with  Rogen in the 2009 animated “Monsters vs. Aliens” delivers again but of course in the adult level.

I understand why the movie took a while to get made but it´s a worth seeing one specially if you want to have good laughs and want to be entertained.

 Although I have to warn people that the movie does go far in some of the comedy and be open to it, specially with the climatic scene of the movie.

 Despite of being offensive and gross, Sausage Party is so far one of the best comedies of this year and I definitely give it a huge recommendation. 

Florence Foster Jenkins

            By Emilio Frenk

Director: Stephen Frears

Cast: Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg, Rebecca Ferguson, Nina Arianda, Stanley Townsend, Allan Corduner, Christian McKay and David Haig.

Rating: Excellent. 

Stephen Frears, Director of movies like “Dangerous Liaisons, “The Queen” and “Philomena” comes back wtih a sweet and touching movie “Florence Foster Jenkins”.

 Based on true events the movie centers on Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep) a New York Heiress who witnesses with her husband St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant) a stage actor an opera concert making Madame Jenkins her desire  to become an opera singer.

Eventually she takes singing lessons and her  voice is very poor but still she is determined to make a career in opera. She hires Cosmé McMoon (Simon Helberg) a New York Pianist who is willing to help her to achieve her main goal to sing in the prestigious “Carnegie Hall”.

Not only Madame Jenkins, St. Clair and Cosmé  form a working collaboration, but they both form a bond that eventually will lead to great things and of course a huge career in music.

Stephen Frears in all the movies that he has made shows the most human and sensitive side of human beings and here´s is not the exeption. Meryl Streep is always a guarantee and she delivers one of the most incredible and touching performances in “Florence Foster Jenkins”. 

Simon Helberg, who´s well know for portraying Howard Wolowitz in the comedy show “The Bing Bang Theory” gives one of the best performances I´ve seen of his career and I think he can score a nomination for the Best Supporting Actor category in next year´s awards ceremony.

The screenplay by Nicholas Martin is written in the most precise detail and  in movies that involve real life events the length is factor since sometimes they have the tendency to overexplain but Martin was very smart on writing a movie that only showed the most important events of Jenkin´s life. 

The movies of Stephen Frears are always a delight wathching them in the big screen and if you have not seen any of his movies I encourage you to watch them.

it´s always a delight seeing Meryl Streep perform and gives another remarkable performance and most likely she will score her 20th Academy Award Nomination of her career for this wonderful performance and it wouldn't be a surprise  if she wins again.

 “Florence Foster Jenkins” is funny, touching and moving. I can guarantee that the people will remember it for decades.  

 This is one of the best movies of this year and I really enjoyed it. 

Pete's Dragon

            By Emilio Frenk

Director: David Lowery

Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Oakes Fegley, Oona Laurence, Wes Bentley, Karl Urban and Isiah Whitlock Jr.

Rating: Good. 

 Another remake comes this summer to the theaters and is “Pete´s Dragon” based on the 1977 Disney movie adaptation.

The movie tells the story of Pete (Oakes Fegley) an orphan boy who has an encounter with a green dragon which he names Elliott.

One day the boy will have another  encounter with Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) a park ranger who invites him to stay in her home with her husband Jack (Wes Bentley) and daughter Natalie (Oona Laurence).

They form a very special bond that will eventually lead them to the true existence of Elliott which at the beginning everybody thinks that it´s Pete´s imaginary friend. Another person joins the journey as well is Meacham (Robert Redford) Grace´s father who saw  the dragon when he was a kid.

The real problem starts with one of the locals Gavin (Karl Urban) meets face to face with the dragon. Now he will stop at nothing and capture the dragon at any costs.

Now it´s up to Pete to help his friend  and avoiding that he will become the main attraction of the town.

I´m not a big fan of remakes but with this version of Pete´s Dragon I was really surprised. For starters it´s totally different than the 70´s version since this is not a musical and it´s more human than the original version.

 Also one of the things that we see in this version is that we know more of Pete´s backstory and the way how he ended up being an orphan which was an element that we didn´t see originally.

The direction and script by David Lowery are really surprising and the movie is engaging from start to finish, which has been very difficult to do in remakes which normally their are not as good.

This is an exeption since this version surpasses the original version and is  more a fantasy.

This version reminds me a lot of Steven Spielberg´s  “E.T. the Extraterrestial” for the theme and it´s very similar in narrative style and theme  of a boy who has an encounter with an unexpected creature. 

 I give “Pete´s Dragon”  a huge recommendation making it one of the biggest surprises of this year for it´s sweet screenplay and the performances of Howard, Oakes Fegley which you will identify with him from the beginning of the film to the end.