The Huntsman: Winters War (2016)

Directed by: Cedric Nicolas Troyan

Written by: Evan Spiliotopoulos, Craig Mazin, & Evan Daugherty (characters)

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain, Charlize Theron, & Emily Blunt







Prequel to Snow White and the Huntsman, Eric (Hemsworth) and Sara (Chastain) were taken as children to become Huntsman to the Ice Queen, Freya (Blunt).  There is only one rule in her kingdom and it is not to love.  When Eric and Sara decide to run off together, Freya kills Sara and Eric leaves devastated.  Seven years later (sequel now), Eric is sought out to find Queen Freya's sister Ravenna's (Theron) mirror.  In his quest, Eric finds more than just the mirror.

I saw this film twice.  The first time, the person I went with was adamant that this was 5 popcorns.  But it just didn't feel like it, but I couldn't figure out why.  So I saw it again, but with a different person.  The second person felt like it is a strong 4, maybe 4 1/2.

Anyway, my two reasons behind my 4 popcorns are as follows:

1) The acting is great.  Everyone did a fabulous job, especially Emily Blunt, mostly because it is hard to hold your own when acting with Theron.  But what got me is Chastain's acting.  It is too good. This isn't The Martian.  Throughout the story, it is hard to figure her out, what her motives are.  (It's hard to explain without giving spoilers.)  But then again, maybe it should be too hard to figure out her motives; perhaps that's the whole point.

2) This film has everything: romance, war, drama, action, and humor.  And surprisingly, it flows well together.  But the ending is predictable.  I am expecting a sequel though, it's pretty obvious there will be one.

Other than that, I didn't see any huge technical errors.  There are some errors with continuity that is mostly in the makeup, hair, and costume department, but they didn't impact the film.  I still say that it is a great film, much better than the first, but it isn't 5 popcorns worthy.  4 popcorns.

Hostile Border (2015)

Directed by: Michael Dwyer

Written by: Kaitlin McLaughlin

Starring: Veronica Sixtos, Julio Cedillo, & Roberto Urbina








Before a few days ago, I didn't even know this film existed.  I only found out about it because I won tickets to one of their screenings at Lammle Theaters in North Hollywood via Cinelandia USA.  Don't you hate that?  All these independent features are being passed up because we don't know about them.  So hopefully by me writing this, it will get some more exposure. Plus you can get it on iTunes.

Claudia a.k.a. Pocha (Sixtos) is, unfortunately, involved in some shady business.  While at a club, she is discovered of credit card fraud and is arrested, forcing her back to Mexico.  (Now, a Pocha is a Chicano/a, but does not know Spanish or knows only a limited amount and when speaks it has an American accent.)  Trying to figure out how to get back to the states she heads to her father's ranch for help, but finds help in other ways which may or may not be illegal.

The film was interesting in a sense of seeing the reversal of immigration.  Rather than seeing immigrants come to the states, we see what happens when they go back.  It does raise the questions of do you try again to come to the states?  Is it over?  Are you stuck in Mexico forever?

Now, I thought the whole premise of the film was just that; getting back to the states.  But according to the panel that was after the screening,

it was much more than that.  The film is about identity and figuring out which to side with: being Mexican or American.  Unfortunately, maybe it was just me, but that didn't translate well.  I didn't see her battling with herself about her identity with her culture.  Maybe I heard the director wrong, but all I saw was her battling with herself on whether to do the right thing, but that's a different story that contains spoilers.

I thought the cast was terrific.  Sixtos is a great actress who was able to portray what the character was thinking/feeling all through her facial expressions.  She didn't have a lot of dialogue, which is understandable since most of the film takes place in Mexico and she does not speak much Spanish.  Her co-star Ricky (Urbina), (he's a cutie and from one of my favorite shows right now Recovery Road) is also amazing.  He had this sense about him where you want to trust him, but aren't sure if you should.

The cinematography was also terrific.  There are many scenes that take place out in the ranch and we get to see how majestic it can be to live in Mexico then what is usually portrayed in cinema with the cartel, the poor neighborhoods, etc...

Of course there is much more of this film that is amazing such as the music composition, editing, etc...  Despite all these great technical features of the film, the plot dragged a little and was not clear in the apparent struggle of Claudia's culture.  So overall I give it 4 popcorns.  Latino and independent films should be supported so if it's playing near you go see it and if you can't, you can find it on iTunes.

The Jungle Book (2016)

Directed by: Jon Favreau

Written by: Justin Marks & Rudyard Kipling (book)

Starring: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, & Ben Kingsley







Does anyone remember in 1994 that The Jungle Book?  When Mowgli grew up?  No?  Here's a picture:

I like that version the most because it's about him growing up and staying in the jungle.  And it's still by Disney, so...

Anyway, just wanted to throw that out there first.  The new version of The Jungle Book came out and is doing above expectations at the box office.  

The premise of the film is basically the same as the 1967 animated version minus a few songs and some variations in the plot.  

Mowgli (Sethi) has been raised by a pack of wolves ever since he can remember.  But after Shere Khan (Idris Elba), the tiger, discovers that there is a man cub living in the jungle, he is set on destroying him due to his belief that man is dangerous.  For protection Bagheera (Kingsley), a panther, is escorting Mowgli to the man village, but the two, unfortunately, get separated.  Mowgli meets various characters through his adventure and essentially has to decide whether or not he wants to stay in the jungle or go with the humans?

I thought Favreau did an amazing job.  The casting was perfect and so was the CGI in my opinion.  Even though Sethi's acting wasn't up to par as the others, it's understandable.  He's a newcomer, a child, and has to interact with animals that aren't there.  Talk about talent.  

The main difference I'd have to say between this film and the original Disney version in 1967 is how much, for lack of a better term, scarier this one is. In the 1967 version, Baloo and King Louie were singing together and dancing.  I thought King Louie was terrifying in this one.  When he came out, kids started crying!  If his size wasn't enough, Christopher Walken singing his songs didn't help.  His deep voice and big blue eyes could make any kid cry.  In the original, King Louie was normal size, what happened Favreau?

Besides that I liked the addition of the honey sequence with Mowgli and Baloo.  I felt like they kept the right songs, but I do wish they had more of Kaa (Scarlett Johansson.)  If you didn't see the original, Kaa, the snake, is basically Shere Khan's sidekick, which in this version they eliminated completely.  No sidekick alert. 

But perhaps that was what Favreau wanted.  If it was going to be exactly the same as the original, why make a remake in the first place?  Nevertheless I thought the story was complete and the acting was great.  4 popcorns.  I still say though that everyone should see the various versions.  It's fun to see the differences, or maybe I just find that fun.  

Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016)

Directed by: Malcolm D. Lee

Written by: Kenya Barris, Tracy Oliver, & Mark Brown (characters)

Starring: Ice Cube, Regina Hall, & Common







Calvin (Cube) feels as if the whole world is on his shoulders.  His son is acting up and his community in South Side Chicago has gang violence with people dying every day.  Him and others at the barbershop decide to take charge and try to stop the violence with a cease fire, but will that be enough to save his community and his family?

This is the best Barbershop yet.  The main reason is because even though it was still humorous, mainly by Cedric the Entertainer, it also had some deep messages regarding gang violence, Black Lives Matter, and racism.

I believe that the media is a powerful thing and I'm glad that these writers brought to life some of the problems in society via this film.  We hear about it in the news and through social media, but this film portrays it to another audience that probably went to see it only because The Jungle Book was sold out.  Hopefully this film will promote action and awareness to many.

Despite the powerful messages in the film, it was overall well put together.  There were a few camera shots that annoyed me, which were probably put in by the editor.  They didn't need to be put in and it seemed it was just to provide diversity in the shots.

The cast was great.  I loved Nicki Minaj and Lamorne Morris whom added to the humor along with the Entertainer and veteran cast mates.

I was going to give this 5 popcorns, but decided against it since I didn't cry (almost though!) and some of the editing choices.  But I still think everyone should see this. 4 popcorns.

The Boss (2016)

Directed by: Ben Falcone

Written by: Ben Falcone, Steve Mallory, & Melissa McCarthy

Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell, & Peter Dinklage







Michelle Darnell (McCarthy) is a rich women, but goes to jail for insider trading.  Once out, she finds that most of her "friends" have turned their back on her.  She ends up sleeping on her previous assistant's couch and hating life.  When she has to put in her weight to live there, such as taking Claire's (Bell) daughter Rachel (Ella Anderson) to her Dandelion meeting, she gets an entrepreneur idea to start a brownie empire.

I wasn't initially going to write this review until I saw the film again because the audience may have affected my view of this film.

Falcone and McCarthy come together again to create another comedy with physical and sexual humor.  What I like about Falcone's films is that McCarthy's characters are always strong, but usually have some flaw that affects their life in such a deep way.  But of course, he's only made two films so technically I can't say that yet.

Anyway, I thought this film was funny, but I wasn't sure if I was laughing at the content or because everyone in the audience was laughing and I just went along with it.  Some people were cracking up. I was looking around and thinking, "Is it really that funny?"  People were laughing so hard that I couldn't hear the film.  So it made me question the rest of the film on whether it is funny or the audience just made it funny.

Then I was going to see it again before writing this review and I felt it wouldn't have mattered since I already knew what jokes were to come so they might not be as funny.

Overall it was a lot like Tammy, with the humor.  The only difference is the character's lifestyle.  So 3 popcorns.

Miracles from Heaven (2016)

Directed by: Patricia Riggen

Written by: Christy Beam (book) & Randy Brown (adaptation)

Starring: Jennifer Garner, Kylie Rogers, & Martin Henderson







I cried at least 4 times with this film.  It was that emotional.

Anna Beam (Rogers) is a normal little girl, until one day she ends up with rare digestive disorder.  Her body cannot process the food that she eats, so it just sits in her stomach and causes her pain.  Her mother Christy (Garner) does everything in her power to save Anna, but in the process loses her faith.  Will she regain her faith in God and can Anna get better?

Overall this film was good and everyone cries.  If you don't cry, there's probably something wrong with you.

I thought this film would be similar to Heaven is for Real, but this film focuses more on the illness rather than faith in God, although that is in the movie as well.

With the illness, the writers leave it so that it isn't too complicated to understand.  Plus we get to see what this family goes through both emotionally and financially.

There isn't much else to say about the film.  The main reason for crying is seeing the sick kids in Children's Hospital.

Oh, one aspect of the film that was a little annoying was all the fade outs.  But that's about it.  5 popcorns, because it made me cry and Garner was amazing.

10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

Directed by: Dan Trachtenberg

Written by: Josh Campbell, Matthew Stuecken, & Damien Chazelle

Starring: John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, & John Gallagher Jr. 






This was a weird movie.  Not experimental weird, just odd plot wise.

Michelle (Winstead) is thrown off the road after breaking up with her boyfriend Ben (Bradley Cooper).  When she wakes up, she finds herself in the bunker, which belongs to Howard (Goodman), who tells her that the world is under attack and that she can't leave.

Initially that is the plot, but towards the end it switches a little and seems to become the prequel for Cloverfield.  Or maybe more of a meanwhile...type film, meaning it's happening at the same time as Cloverfield.

I thought Goodman's performance was great.  He came off as a military creepy perverted man, which just like Michelle, I wasn't sure I could trust.

I didn't feel that there was anything wrong with the technical side of things, not that I noticed.  I was too busy wondering about what was going to happen to Michelle.

I did like the beginning, which is the breakup, but you don't hear it, it is just shown.  For film that is always what you want, show, don't tell, which Trachtenberg does greatly.  He also does this for the rest of the film, but in subtle ways.  For example, at the beginning of the film Michelle has some burgundy nail polish fully on, but as the film goes by you can see it slowly coming off to indicate the amount of time that has passed.  If you see it, you'll probably find other ways that the director achieves the showing not telling, but I don't want to say more because I may give something away.

Initially I was going to give this 3 popcorns, for the plot, but considering all the showing not telling, and Goodman's performance, it comes to be 4 popcorns overall.

Hello, My Name is Dorris (2015)

Directed by: Michael Showalter

Written by: Laura Terruso & Michael Showalter

Starring: Sally Field & Max Greenfield

Dorris Miller (Field) is inspired to go after a work relationship with a younger man once her and her friends see a motivational speaker.

I thought this film was so cute. Field is perfect for it because she has a mixture of being fierce and meek. She brings a great performance as Dorris, who is someone that people feel they need to take care of. She proves though that she can take care of herself.

Greenfield, who plays John Fremont, is also great because he tries to be nice, with the whole respect your elders scenario, but at the same time has to be firm with his relationships.

There was one scene, which I was torn about. It involves horders. I don't know much about horders other than from the show, but I felt that the person who has the horder disease was able to overcome it too quickly. This leads to another problem, which was the issue with time. I wasn't sure how quick or slow everything was. There were some moments where it was indicated as to if a week went by, but not enough to be clear throughoutthe whole film.

Despite these issues I really appreciated the plot because it's different. You don't see a lot of films that have the lead being an older woman. Usually they are moms, grandmothers, but Dorris is neither of those and gives us a unique perspective of a, for lack of a better word, cougar relationship. 5 popcorns.