Results from last Poll

By D. Caraccioli |

Thursday, September 22, 2011

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So the results are in and surprisingly (or maybe not so) Loki won by a landslide (He owes a lot to the Hiddlestoners haha) but I see that others also received votes but by 91% Loki wins the poll!
Here are the results:

From all of the MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe, villians, also including those from Spiderman, X-men and Fantastic Four sagas, which is your favorite of all time

Green Goblin/Norman Ousborne (Willem Dafoe)	0 (0%)
Magneto/Eric Lehnsherr (Ian McKellen, Michael Fassbender)	1 (4%)
Doom/Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon)	0 (0%)
Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger (Jeff Bridges)	0 (0%)
Emil Blonsky/Abomination (Tim Roth)	0 (0%)
Ivan Vanko/Whiplash (Mickey Rourke)	0 (0%)
Loki (Tom Hiddleston)	22 (91%)
Red Skull/ Johann Shmidt (Hugo Weaving)	0 (0%)
Doctor Octopus/ Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina)	0 (0%)
Venom (might as well say Topher Grace)	0 (0%)
Sandman/Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church)	0 (0%)
Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon)	1 (4%)

Votes: 24

Good results but Im sad Magneto didn't get any more votes...oh well.

 

Roundup: Recent Film Reviews

By D. Caraccioli |

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

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This are some movies that I had seen for the first time in the past months but are not new cinema releases, they either are from dvds or tv. Some are old and some others are new and several are just random movies I've watched. 

The Legend of 1900 (1998)                      4/5
Wonderful movie with a sense of European cinema and lovely soundtrack, composed by Ennio Morricone. Tim Roth does a great job as the piano man called simply 1900 who lives forever in a ship, but even if the story is good the cinematography is excellent, its just a good looking movie.

You Again (2010)                                    2/5
They could have done something so much better with this great women cast but sadly it is predictable and a bit boring and the few laughs you get them from Betty White, who is a show stealer wherever she appears, but overall not a good movie. They used great actresses, even counting Kristen Bell, and for nothing.

Roxanne (1987)                                       5/5
Hilarious adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac. Steve Martin makes us laugh big and at the same time fall in love. It has witty jokes and colorful characters and a romantic story that will show you that looks are not important when it comes to love. One of the best movies I've seen of Steve Martin.


I am Number Four (2011)                      3.5/5
Enjoyable movie. Actually this stuff is not like Twillight cause first of all it is packed with action and the love story isn't as melodramatic. It's a teen movie for teens and the fights are spectacularly done a la Michael Bay, who produced the movie, it's a bit cheesy but when the action begins it's packed with fun stuff. And may I say what a hottie Timothy Olyphant is?


It could happen to you (1994)                  4/5
Ah the romantic comedies of the 80s and 90s. Weren't them good? This one is lovely and features Nicolas Cage (back in his good days) and Bridget Fonda involved in a movie where you dont need to be rich or poor if you have love and if you are good to other people you can get back what you lose. It just seems that Cage had good chemistry with everyone back in the days.


NOTE> If you click the title of the movie it'll send you to it's IMDB page so you get to know about what is the movie and who stars on it.



 

Movies: X-men: First Class (2011)

By D. Caraccioli |

Thursday, June 16, 2011

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Director: Matthew Vaughn

Runtime:  132 minutes

Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon, January Jones, Nicholas Hoult, Lucas Till and Zoe Kravitz.

Plot: Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new); to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-MEN.

My first ever 5 star review and it’s excellent, the movie of course. Let me tell you that at first it sounded like a good idea to do a prequel of the saga but somehow I wasn’t that much interested in this movie. It just seemed that some CGI effects weren’t easy on the eyes at first. (When you first see Beast as Beast is not easy either but you get used to it, because the movie is sooo good)

The Characters

What makes a difference between this movie and the originals is that is has character depth in big like in some small characters. The most deep character was Erik Lehnsherr aka Magneto. Michael Fassbender excelled as Erik and gave one of the best performances of the movie as a total badass but with a heart, and that makes him seem relatable in some sort of way. Charles and Erik’s relationship is more profound than in other movies (obviously cause they seemed to focus more on Wolverine on the others) but it is a relationship that is relatable and charming. Another role that impressed me much was Raven aka Mystique, played by Jennifer Lawrence. Mystique is fresh and young and fun but also wants to be herself, who she really is and wants to be accepted. The other mutants have funny bits and specially when training. Charles Xavier was pretty much good but I think that Erik overshadowed him a bit, James McAvoy definitely did a good job and the last scenes are proof of that. Kevin Bacon was surprisingly good, haven’t seen him in a good movie in years, and may I just say that he kinda spoke like 5 languages on this movie, nah kidding he just spoke 3, I think.

The Settings

Even though the movie was filmed only in UK and the US, the movie settings are in US, UK, Russia and an island that seems to be Cuba or close to it. The setting was great and being set in the early 60s the writers had time to play with the historical and political events at that time. Personally I love the movies that are set in the 60s because they have this style that is true of those days and this film does achieve a good setting.

Mutant and proud

Now about the movie, overall the X-men saga’s movies have always been about accepting and this is not untouched in this movie. The little mutants (Charles and Erik’s team) feel like segregated kids and when they find other people like them they feel comfortable like at home. Mystique is a way to improve this theme here. At the end they are accepting who they are and being proud of it or as Mystique would say: “Mutant and proud”.

So this was longer than I thought but X-men: First Class is just worth your time. It is very long but it doesn’t drag, it will not make you dull and will maintain you excited in every minute. So go enjoy it now, and here I leave you with the X-men: First Class trailer. Hope you enjoyed.

Movies: Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

By D. Caraccioli |

Sunday, June 12, 2011

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I haven't been here for a while so I probably forgot how to write a review, forgive my misspells and my incoherent thoughts

 Director: Jennifer Yuh
Cast: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross and Danny McBride.
Runtime: 90 min
Plot: Po joins forces with a group of new kung-fu masters to take on an old enemy with a deadly new weapon.

So its that time of the year when blockbusters arrive, and this movie may remember us of one of the best summer years, 2008. 

The first Kung Fu Panda was released on that year and yet it was a funny movie but not like a PIXAR movie of course. This one its a little bit better, in my opinion. It might be a tearjerker for some people but the plot line of Po wanting to know his origins is pretty adorable and with some laughs in between. The second part is no Pixar again but its one of the best achievements of Dreamworks since they only make funny movies but with no bigger story, excepting for How to train your dragon (which I still haven't seen). 
Again I cant talk about the actors work cause I watched them in Spanish but its first part was the only kids movie I've seen on English and not in Spanish, so I was a bit wowed at first with the dubbing. 
The villain is pretty kickass (duh it's Gary Oldman it's obvious it's a great villain), Lord Shen the peacock who wants revenge and it's pack of wolves. 
The animation is great, and the visuals are great aswell, you remember of how I said that the colors in Rio did reminisence of Rio de Janeiro, well this picture has great colors like how Asia is. 

Now talking about the 3D, I've seen a couple of movies in 3D but I think that they really utilized very well the 3D in this movie. It's not Avatar but it really gets close to it and it has more scenes that use 3D. It's worth your money to see it in 3D. 
And talk about the music, the soundtrack is as the visuals, reminiscent of Asian features of those countries and well, it's Hans Zimmer. 
In the end its a pretty good movie with lots of laughs and a pretty good story. Go see Kung Fu Panda 2, it's a family movie that grown ups can see too.
Now I leave you with the Kung Fu Panda 2 trailer.

 

Movies: Thor (2011)

By D. Caraccioli |

Saturday, April 30, 2011

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Making a little break of the last music posts, here I bring you the All Mighty Review of Thor!

.5 

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Dennings, Clark Gregg, and Idris Elba.

Release Date: 6 May 2011 (USA), 29 April 2011

Runtime: 114 minutes

Plot: The powerful but arrogant warrior Thor is cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth, where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.

Epic Battles from Thor.

Well…I think that with this movie Blockbusters are back! If you’re not a Marvel fan but love mythology and Norse gods you’re going to love this movie. (Hey my mom liked it and she is not into action movies or marvel).

I gotta say that I didn’t expected much of this movie but I think that this one is easily one of the best CBMs (Comic Book Movies) ever and also one of the best movies of this year so far.

I don’t think I should do this review since I didn’t see the very first 10 minutes or less but it’s a good movie and I wanted you too now about this.

Asgard, beautiful for a non existing realm.

I’m not going to spoil it for anyone so I’m just going to say that Thor has some epic battles (although you don’t have to see it in 3D) and the scenery of Asgard is beautiful and has a very well written script with some funny parts and the cast is wonderful. 

I like he's eyes. Why am I attracted to bad boys?

Chris Hemsworth was spot on and I liked that they put him first as an arrogant almost king cause it sounds so Shakespearian and 

learns to be grateful for what he has. Tom 

Hiddleston was also spot on and I gotta say that seeing another actor on that role might have given us a different result that the one Hiddleston gave us. Natalie Portman (beautiful as always) is a great Jane Foster although her character is not as well big per 

 say but it’s very important and Chris and

Natalie’s chemistry was somewhat unexpected (for me at least) (Oh can we ship them already).And well it was Natalie’s wish to make Jane think outside of the box not like the very stereotypical scientist that was written for her part, very skeptical and dry. Everyone is great in this movie even Kat Dennings with her cheesy one liners, hey she was funny.

Again, can we ship them already?

Concerning the controversy of the casting of Idris Elba as Heimdall, just gotta say that the man did an incredible job and it really doesn’t matter if you’re black, white, yellow or a dinosaur we are all persons. And if you’re saying yes but isn’t he a Norse god? Well in the comics there have been Asgardians with East Asian features so the idea of one with black features isn't as outrageous, since it's only one of multiple races among humans and/or Asgardians.

And now I leave you with the Trailer of the All Mighty Movie Thor.

Movies: 30 Day Film Challenge Part 3

By D. Caraccioli |

Monday, April 18, 2011

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So this is the end of a great experience through movies and let me tell you..it was a little bit hard but thoroughly joyful..enough rambling..here are my 10 last "days"


Day 21. Movie with your favorite actor. This one is as easy as it's difficult. Fave Actor, easy: Johnny Depp. Fave movie of him: hmmmmm....
This might sound childish but I love Charlie and the chocolate factory so much I can quote Depp in some occasions...Other faves are Finding Neverland, Public Enemies, Edward Scissorhands, The Corpse Bride, and Sleepy Hollow. It seems odd that 4 of them are from Tim Burton...don't judge me..

Day 22. Movie you wish you could live in. Its something that can never become but well it's one of the coolest trilogies ever!! Back to the future...oh man I wish I could live back in the 80s and meet Marty (Michael J. Fox)...it would probably be an awesome experience and a good story to tell to my grand kids...

Day 23. Movie that Inspires you. Forrest Gump.  One of Tom Hanks best movies...I remember watching it when I was a kid...again didn't understand cause I didn't have my now found love for cinema but its really inspiring and its one of my fave movies also.

Day 24. Movie with your favorite soundtrack. Hans Zimmer does a great job at this thing so he deserves recognition but also John Williams for the soundtrack of E.T, Jaws, Close Encounters of the third kind. And a special mention to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Social Network soundtrack. 

 

Day 25. Movie with the most beautiful scenery. That's kind of one thing that I've never paid attention to. So I gotta say something predictable The Lord of The Rings trilogy.

Day 26. Movie you're most embarrassed to say you like. This is not because I like it but because of how much I love it. Bewitched. Sincerely, I don't know why people don't like this movie or Will Ferrell, but I do love it and also quote Ferrell's lines sometimes.

Day 27. Movie with your favorite villain. The best villain on a CBM (Comic book movie) The Joker from The Dark Knight. Heath's portrayal was the best of the best and well he deserves all the recognition. 

Day 28. Movie with your favorite hero. Doesn't matter what actor is portraying him. Batman will always be the coolest and therefore my fave hero...and specially when it's portrayed by Christian Bale. 

Day 29. First movie you ever remember watching. The Lion King. I watched it on video cassette (remember those times?) with all my cousins and we were all 5 year olds and I don't remember quite well but I think several cried when Mufasa died. It is one of the best Disney movies and a lovely movie.

Day 30. Last movie you watched. Just got to watch Tangled on DVD right before doing this and I gotta say its a very lovely Disney movie and I'm not sure why I hadn't seen this yet.

  
So with this I end the whole 30 day film challenge. What do you think of my choices? Which would have been your choices? Please comment and thanks. For now see you later!

Movies: Rio (2011)

By D. Caraccioli |

Saturday, April 16, 2011

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I told myself I wouldn't review any film in here cause I'm not good reviewing but people need to know that this movie is great. I'm not a professional reviewer and this is just my personal opinion. So enjoy.

 


Directed by: Carlos Saldanha
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez, Jamie Foxx, Will.I.Am and Jemaine Clement.
Runtime: 95 minutes
Plot: When Blu, a domesticated macaw from small-town Minnesota, meets the fiercely independent Jewel, he takes off on an adventure to Rio de Janeiro with this bird of his dreams.


Rio is a great, wonderful and colorful movie. Personally I could give this movie a 4 1/2 stars but to be reasonable I'll give it 4 stars. 
I wanted to see this movie since I saw the trailer, and no its not because of Jesse Eisenberg, but because it seemed like a fun and very colorful movie. And I read some reviews telling that is was good but not as good as I hoped it was. So I had normal hopes on this movie and it really surprised me that anyone didn't like it more cause sincerely this is just a lovely story that has a lot of fun adventure for all people. 

The theme can be a little bit more for grown kids but it goes good with the "I cant fly" plot which is sorta predictable but always great.

I cant comment on the casting since I didn't see it in English, but I think that by seeing the movie you could see that the birds are just bird versions of both Anne Hathaway and Jesse Eisenberg. Blu is such a cute and awkward bird that you just can't stop caring about him.

The visuals are great. Carlos Saldanha was spot on with the colorful city of Rio described in the movie and the description of the people in Rio too. This kinds of movies are the ones that make me want to study Animation and really just after this movie I've made my choice.

The Music
The music in the movie is just like the city, colorful and happy and well it's being produced by one of Brazil's greatest Sergio Mendes ("Mas que nada") and has its bit of hip-hop and pop by the vocals of Will.I.Am and Jamie Foxx. An it's fun and colorful just like this wonderful movie. 

This was my favorite song from the movie. It called "Real in Rio" by the Rio Singers, Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx and Will.I.Am.

If you haven't seen it go see Rio! I promise you you'll have a great time!

Movies: 30 day film Challenge Part 2

By D. Caraccioli |

Sunday, April 10, 2011

2 comments

Hello again! This is the second part of the 30 day film challenge. As always these are just personal opinions and you are welcome to say which movies you should have chosen instead of mines. So here it is: 

Day 11. Favorite kid's movie. OK since I love all of Disney films I just can choose one and it should probably be UP. I'm not sure why but I love it! And it has the coolest bird ever on a screen! Nowadays I don't watch movies with my family, unless if we're going to the theater together, but this might be a movie that I love to watch with them!

Day 12. Favorite love story. Since I'm not a big fan of romance, my faves are both with the same actress. Meg Ryan was America's Sweethearts back in the 90s and these are my two fave movies of her. One with Tom Hanks, the other with Nicolas Cage. Yes now you know, they are: Sleepless in Seattle, and City of Angels.

Day 13. Favorite chick flick. Its another Nicolas Cage movie! (He made good movies back then). I just love  Moonstruck and surprisingly I loved Cher in here too. I haven't seen more Cher movies (except for Burlesque which is a joke that they have Cher in that movie, she is too good for it) but this one is my favorite chick flick. Yes, I just love the part with "Snap out of it". (I think Cher gave Cage too many slaps and that's why he is a little bit crazy nowadays).

Day 14. Favorite Documentary. I haven't seen any so my choice is: An Inconvenient Truth. That's the only one I've seen, so far.

Day 15. Favorite play adaptation. In this I'm not good so I'm just going to say Romeo + Juliet. It is a great movie and has Leonardo DiCaprio!

Day 16. Favorite book adaptation. Again its biased. Big Fish! Again I just love Ewan McGregor in here and especially the moment where he meets his wife and everything stops. I haven't read the book but I think its the best movie adapted from a book.

Day 17. Least favorite book adaptation. If you are looking for a movie where you can sleep for more than 20 minutes and haven't missed anything Dear John is good for you! I hated this movie and my best friend made me watch it and I had never slept at a theater before (Well the time when I slept watching The Bourne Supremacy was just because it was late night and I was a kid, but that movie was good). This movie is not good, and it bored me all the way. I cant believe it was another Nicholas Sparks book, cause his books are particularly entertaining.

Day 18. Film that is your guilty pleasure. Probably the only good LIndsay Lohan movie (The parent trap doesn't count, it was when she was a nice girl). It was written by the most witty woman on the small and big screen, Tina Fey! I can sometimes quote everything that they say in the movie. Well, not everything but I always enjoy this movie. 

Day 19. Film that made you cry the hardest. I am weird! I don't cry with a movie! The only ones I've ever cried with are: City of Angels, Pay it Forward, and Marley & Me. (but I guess everyone who has a dog cried with this one).

Day 20. Movie with your favorite actress. My favorite actress: Meryl Streep. Fave movie of her: hmm...I loved Julie & Julia and It's Complicated made me laugh hard, and there are others of her so I'll just say Julie & Julia although I know there are better movies of her I loved her as Julia Child!! Loved her. 

 So this is the end of part 2. I'll post part 3 soon. So what do you think? Are these movies good choices or you could have done better? Post your answers on the comments. And au revoir!!