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Latest Video: FilmCrunch 067: Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, Premonition reviewed

Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep review Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, and Premonition in this episode of FilmCrunch.
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Antichrist Lacks Scares, Boasts Biblical Allegory

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: IFC Films, Foreign, Horror, Independent, Religious, Thrillers, Casting, New Releases, Trailers

Antichrist poster For a film whose trailer advertises a critic hailing it as “The most shocking film in the history of Cannes Film Festival,” you’ve at least got to wonder—if not for a mere moment—what a movie like that has to offer. While some remarkable trailers go on to pull back the curtains on so-so films (Where the Wild Things Are, anyone?), a plethora of descriptive words come to mind as I write about Antichrist and “so-so” is hardly one of them.

Opening on a handful of screens in the midst of Halloween season, Lars Von Trier’s latest achievement seemed the perfect pick for the indie lover (or at least those sick of the Saw franchise and/or already viewed Paranormal Activity, the little horror film that could). A fan of the ever-adroit Willem Dafoe and alluring French singer/actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, I find myself drawn to limited casts (Hard Candy); with that, I cannot imagine that Von Trier’s history with Dogme 95 had little to do with this. There was also the slight fact that the director himself was clinically depressed during the writing and some of the production process. Here marks more of an appeal and effort to view the film—did Von Trier meet the challenge of a two-person cast?

Aside from the slight deceit of its “scary movie” marketing poised for shocks (i.e. the bombarding, sanguine title atop corpses intertwined with a tree on the film’s poster), I believe that Von Trier does just that.

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Movie Review: Brüno

Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Universal, Satire, Comedy, New Releases

Bruno Consider the hype over Brüno after a very funny and, dare I say (I will), brilliant Borat. Also consider how many times you and your friends have said, “D and G. Dolce and Gabana… Hello!” Obviously, there are going to be lots of expectations and anticipation, which was definitely the case when I sat down in my seat, readying myself to laugh hard and be shocked because you knew it was going to happen. Well, the laughs did come and the shock was definitely there. It was so bad, some mother who brought her adolescent daughters actually walked out of the theater after five minutes. But, seriously, what was she expecting?

The film follows the same cinematography of Borat with hidden cameras, an exponential amount of locations, spliced scenes within scenes, and the embarrassment of real-life people that have no idea that they are looking either very dumb, very homophobic, and/or very punked. Sacha Baron Cohen is an unbelievable comedic actor and he sells playing his character Brüno very well. And if you’ve seen Brüno appearing on various talk shows to promote the movie, such as David Letterman, you know this already.

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Movie Review: Star Trek (2009)

Posted by David Torres Categories: Paramount, Science Fiction

StarTrek

Rating: *** 1/2 stars

(Warning: The following review contains some spoilers.)

The world of Star Trek in crisis! No, it’s not on the verge of dying due to the release of this film. Instead it’s on the verge of going in a whole new direction. In the 1980s, DC Comics published a mini-series entitled “Crisis on Infinite Earths”. If you are a comic book fan, you are aware of this series and know that it was written in order to say goodbye to DC’s old continuity and create an entirely new one. A new world was born. New stories were able to be told because the previous “universe” no longer existed. That is what has happened to the world of Star Trek.

In this film, there is a Romulan named Nero. Nero and his crew travel back in time and as a result create a new timeline. If you are a Trekker, I’m sure you remember the Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) episode entitled “Yesterdays Enterprise” in which the Enterprise C traveled into the future and created a new timeline. The timeline was later corrected and everything was back to normal, but that will not be the case here.

Star Trek as a franchise was certainly in a crisis prior to the release of this film. With the two previous Trek films received poorly by both fans and critics as well as the demise of the series “Enterprise” Star Trek looked dead. Many people felt that Star Trek should stay low for a while and maybe come back much later with an attempt at reviving the series. Paramount said no and went with J.J. Abrams and his crew and they have succeeded. This film was great. Tons of action; humor; heart breaking moments. I really enjoyed this film both as a fan of the franchise and as a movie on its own.

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FilmCrunch 036: Smokin’ Aces Review

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Universal, Action, Comedy, Short FilmCrunch, Theatrical Reviews, Videocasts

Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep review Smokin’ Aces in this episode of FilmCrunch:

In these interlocking tales of high stakes and low lifes, Mob boss Primo Sparazza has taken out a hefty contract on Buddy “Aces” Israel—a sleazy magician who has agreed to turn state’s evidence against the Vegas mob. The FBI, sensing a chance to use this small-time con to bring down big-target Sparazza, places Aces into protective custody-under the supervision of two agents dispatched to Aces’ Lake Tahoe hideout. When word of the price on Aces’ head spreads into the community of ex-cons and cons-to-be, it entices bounty hunters, thugs-for-hire, smokin’ hot vixens and double-crossing mobsters to join in the hunt. With all eyes on Tahoe, this rogues’ gallery collides in a comic race to hit the jackpot and rub out Aces.