Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Friday, July 3, 2015

Loera Reviews Podcast!


https://www.spreaker.com/user/loerareviews

Click the link to listen to the Loera Reviews Podcast! I talk about movies, tv shows and everything else in between.

Monday, June 22, 2015

World's Greatest Dad Movie Review by Ryan A. Loera


Stars:
Robin Williams - Lance Clayton
Daryl Sabara - Kyle Clayton
Alexie Gilmore - Claire

Director: Bobcat Goldthwait
Release Date: August 21, 2009
Genre: Indie film/Drama
Rated R

Lance Clayton  (Robin Williams) is a struggling writer who teaches poetry at a private school. He's written five unpublished novels and amassed piles of rejection letters from various publishers. Add to that having to raise a troublesome teenage son and you have the makings of a pretty frustrated guy.

Troublesome is really just a polite way of describing Kyle (Daryl Sabara). He's a straight up perverted asshole who doesn't appreciate everything his Dad has done for him. Although, his behavior does appear to be nothing more than a defense mechanism designed to keep him from getting too close to people, he's still quite vexing.

One morning, Lance walks into Kyle's room only to find him in the middle of choking himself while masturbating. Lance then tries to talk to him about masturbation but drops the subject upon seeing how uncomfortable it makes Kyle feel.

Luckily, Lance's flaky girlfriend, Claire (Alexie Gilmore), provides him with some minor relief from his frustrations. Of course, the fact that she's also a teacher at the same school means they have to keep their relationship a secret. This too frustrates Lance to no end.

Unfortunately, just when Lance is starting to find some kind of middle ground with his son, Kyle accidentally chokes himself to death. Lance becomes visibly distraught. This scene alone is very emotional and portrayed quite well.

In an effort to make his son's death seem less humiliating, Lance repositions Kyle's body in the closet and types out a deeply poetic suicide note.

After some time has passed, Lance returns to his teaching position only to discover that Kyle's suicide note was downloaded and printed in the school newspaper. Every student who reads it immediately feels some kind of connection to Kyle. The same goes for the faculty.

Lance then decides to write and publish Kyle's journal. Of course, Kyle could barely string two sentences together; let alone write an entire journal filled with thought provoking entries.

Still, Kyle's journal quickly becomes the number one book to read throughout the school. In fact, it becomes so popular that it grabs the attention of big name publishers and nationally syndicated talk shows.

I won't spoil the end but eventually all of Kyle's "fans" are revealed for the hypocrites they truly are.

Robin Williams' performance throughout this movie is stellar. He was a great comedic actor and an even greater dramatic actor. I believe most people tend to overlook that fact.

On a scale of 1 tamale to 10 tamales I give World's Greatest Dad 8.5 tamales.

(Rest in peace Robin Williams.)

Friday, June 19, 2015

Channing Tatum Ready to Be Gambit (X-Men)


Channing Tatum has confirmed via an AMA on Reddit that he will be taking on the role of X-Men character Gambit.

The Gambit solo film is set to be released on October 7, 2016. It will be directed by Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes).

"We finally found someone that I really do believe wants to make Gambit." Tatum said of Wyatt.

With a screenplay by Josh Zetumer  (RoboCop), Gambit will be produced by Tatum and his creative partner Reid Carolin.

Gambit will NOT appear in X-Men: Apocalypse, opening May 27, 2016.

What do you think? Do you think Channing Tatum can play a convincing enough Gambit?

I think he's got a 50/50 chance of pulling it off. We shall wait and see.

(Source: comingsoon.net)

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

About Last Night Movie Review by Ryan A. Loera


Stars:
Kevin Hart - Bernie Litgo
Michael Ealy - Danny Martin
Regina Hall - Joan
Joy Bryant - Debbie Sullivan

Director: Steve Pink
Release Date: February 14, 2014
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Rated R

About Last Night is loosely based on a 1986 movie with the same title. In fact, it's so loosely based that it's an entirely different story.

Bernie Litgo  (Kevin Hart) hooks up with Joan (Regina Hall) upon meeting her at a bar. After a night of raucous sex, Bernie brags about it the next night to his friend Danny Martin (Michael Ealy).

Joan (Regina Hall) also talks about it with her friend Debbie Sullivan  (Joy Bryant).

Bernie and Joan then get the bright idea of introducing Danny and Debbie to each other. With the hope that they'll hit it off. Which they do for a while but then ultimately just end up causing each other needless stress.

Personally, I was less interested in Danny and Debbie's relationship and more interested in Bernie and Joan's relationship. But not for its romantic quality, for its comedic quality. Kevin Hart and Regina Hall make a great comedy duo. Their back and forth joking never seemed forced or belabored. I'd like to see more of that from them in future movies.

The rest of the story I found to be hastily written and carelessly stitched together. Maybe huge chunks of it were edited out to keep the running time under two hours. I don't know for certain but that's what it seems like.

I suppose it's an okay movie to watch when there's really nothing else to watch.

On a scale of 1 tamale to 10 tamales I give About Last Night 4.5 tamales.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter! My twitter handle is @buddhkist

Monday, June 15, 2015

Jurassic World Movie Review by Ryan A. Loera


Stars:
Chris Pratt - Owen
Bryce Dallas Howard - Claire
Vincent D'onofrio - Hoskins
Ty Simpkins - Gray
Nick Robinson - Zach
BD Wong - Dr. Henry Wu
Judy Greer - Karen
Andy Buckley - Scott
Katie McGrath - Zara
Genre: Science fiction/Thriller
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Release Date: June 12, 2015
Rated PG-13
I'd like to start this review with… Wow! Jurassic World really blew my mind!
Yes, there are many predictable scenes and the story line is still the same but the dinosaurs are bigger and better than ever!
The movie begins with brothers Gray (Ty Simpkins) and Zach (Nick Robinson) being driven to the airport by their parents Karen (Judy Greer) and Scott (Andy Buckley). After a semi-heartfelt goodbye they board the plane and begin their journey to Jurassic World, where their Aunt Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) works as Operations Manager.
Upon first sight, Jurassic World looks like every other amusement park. With the exception of being set on a tropical island and populated by genetically engineered dinosaurs.
Gray and Zach are first greeted by their Aunt Claire's assistant, Zara (Katie McGrath), who has been tasked with looking after them. That doesn't last long because they eventually sneak away and get into some trouble.
The first half of the movie does drag on but that's mostly to allow enough time for each character to be introduced. Chris Pratt gives a good performance as Owen the Velociraptor Trainer. His abilities extend beyond those of a typical trainer. He actually develops some kind of mutual relationship based on trust with them. He's also an all around badass.
Vincent D'onofrio does an excellent job of portraying Hoskins, the quintessential bad guy with his own agenda.
The only returning actor in Jurassic World is BD Wong as Dr. Henry Wu. If you don't know who he is then Google him.
But the real star of the movie is Indominus Rex, the hybrid dinosaur mutation, created solely for the purpose of drawing in more people to Jurassic World and raking in more money.
Indominus Rex is not your average genetically engineered dinosaur. She's super intelligent and super aggressive.
Once she breaks free from her holding pen, all havoc ensues and the real action begins. Many people are injured and many people die. It may seem tragic but that should be expected at a theme park with live dinosaurs.
The sooner you accept that fact the sooner it becomes easy to enjoy the magnificently detailed CGI effects.
And I do mean magnificent!
For me, the absolute best scene is the final fight scene. I wish I could describe it without ruining the surprise but I really can't.
Just trust me… it's insanely awesome and well worth shelling out the extra bucks for the 3D version.
I do wish people would stop comparing it to the original but I suppose that is unavoidable.
Jurassic Park was about people encountering live dinosaurs for the first time. Jurassic World is about dinosaurs becoming fed up with people and exacting revenge for being held in captivity.
On a scale of 1 tamale to 10 tamales I give Jurassic World 9 tamales!
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter! My twitter handle is @buddhkist
:-)