By Divina

We got a new Blockbuster Express promotion code for Rent two get the THIRD free!

Code is only valid from Friday, April 16, 2010 to Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 11:59 PM.

Just use Code: G14D2, pick up some of your favorite movie watching snacks and you have a great night planned!

It’s going to be a rainy weekend in CT so I am sure the Blockbuster Express kiosks will be busy.

Make your kiosk trip easier by reserving your DVD online at http://www.blockbusterexpress.com

Eddy and I want to pick up: Ninja Assassin, Nine and ????

Any recommendations?

Don’t forget code expires April 18^th but if you signup for their newsletter you will get the latest news on new releases and more promo codes.

Disclosure: I received this promo code because I am one of the fabulous members of Collective Bias #couchcritics

By Eddy

There is a certain lack of scope that was missing with Clash of the Titans .  With other movies of this magnitude you can feel the epic scale of the movie. Even with the worst of the worst like Transformers 2 you at least got the feeling that the movie was supposed to be a big deal.  With Clash of the Titans you never get that feel. The movie feels small and really unimpressive.  Also take into account that I saw the movie in 2D (which according to the internet was by far the best way to see it) so even in the best possible conditions the movie just falls flat.  The reasons for my reaction can be attributed to a number of things. 

It could have been that everyone already saw the main bad creature (The Kraken) in all the trailers removing the sense of awe from seeing the bad guy.  Of course, the movie itself hypes the creature at various points of the film that when we see the creature you are left hoping for more.  Again, this movie was supposedly based on the 1981 film of the same name, so there wasn’t going to be many surprises to start with, so holding back on what the big monster in the end was going to look like would have been a good idea.

It also could be from the over edited pace of the film and/or script, that jumps and around too much (it was so choppy that it felt like they traveled the entire "world" in about 2 days.  Everything in this "world" seemed to be within walking distance, of course they had only 8 days to complete their mission, but in the film they seem to walk over different terrains and wildernesses and then we find out they have only been walking for two days.  Even if the entire "world" only consisted of Greece, it would still take more than a couple of days to get around.  Needles s to say that it was a bit disconcerting that the underworld was a hope skip and a jump away from where everything was going on.  It could just be that the director, Louis Leterrier (The Transporter 1&2 and The Incredible Hulk ) just wasn’t comfortable with a piece of this magnitude.  Some people are just not cut out to direct Epic style movies, especially those done outside the modern era.

This is definitely apparent with the story.  Clash of the Titans doesn’t really follow the first movie nor does reflect the actual legend of Perseus.  It actually tries to straddle them both, sometimes alluding to the first film with some visual gags and references and then go into an entirely new direct. (more…)

By Divina

I haven’t been very excited to see a children’s film since last summer. A few months ago I saw the trailer for How To Train Your Dragon and thought to myself, "that looks pretty good." And after seeing it, I am happy to report it is great.

Eddy and I took Babyboy to the 2D version of the movie because we had doubts whether he would keep the 3D glasses on.  Fortunately for us, it was still a fantastic movie even without the 3D effects.

Quick synopsis: How to Train Your Dragon , based by the book series by Cressida Cowell, follows the life of a young misfit Viking called Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) and his quest to prove to his Viking Chief father (Gerard Butler) and his village he is truly a Viking warrior and can slay dragons.  The twist is, Hiccup is not your average dragon slayer Viking but that does not make him any less of a warrior.

The first 15 minutes of the movie were amazing. (more…)

By Eddy

Yes Dear Readers, Dancinghotdogs.com does do movie reviews. I know it is hard to believe but it is getting to that special part of the year that I like to call "Tent Pole" season (please ignore the sexual double entendre!) This is the season that all the blockbuster films come out…which means a couple of good movies are coming as well as way too many bad ones.

So to ease you into this joyous season, I am going to break down the movies that I got to see on my way to and from Europe.

On my way to the Czech Republic I saw:

Law Abiding Citizen

Let me start off by saying that reading the description had me kind of excited.  A mourning father taking revenge on the people that let the murder of his family go including the murderer.  While I admit that I am not the most conventional and normal father, I doubt there is any Dad that wouldn’t get some sort of grim satisfaction at destroying those who destroyed his family (I should also say that my favorite book is the Count of Monte Cristo, which I am currently reading again on my blackberry, got to love that e-reader technology.)

The big pull of the trailer is the "the people are dying even while he is in prison" meaning that he planned them all out ahead of time.  To me it foreshadowed a Saw type of vibe where the audience is trying to figure out how the next person is going to do, all the while the movie is trying to top itself on the next execution. 

Unfortunately, the actual movie really didn’t go that way.  Gerard Butler plays the vengeful father and Jamie Foxx as Butler’s ambitious lawyer who take a plea bargain and lets the bad guys go.  We find out through the movie, that Butler is some sort of killing genius for the military, basically the guy they go to when they need a solution to an impossible task (already we know this guy doesn’t really exist or we would have already killed Bin Laden).  His main skill is being able to kill people without even having to be there, a skill that works perfectly when you are incarcerated.  Now Butler goes on his righteous killing spree using these skills of his.

Of course, we are supposed to sympathize with Butler and hate on Foxx, which I did pretty easily.  The moment the movie loses me though is at the end of the movie, we are supposed to like Foxx’s character or at least root for him to stop Butler, before Butler gets him.  Seriously, Foxx in the first place isn’t really a likable person, yes he did a great job in Ray, but for the most part he comes off more like his character Bunz in Booty Call (which explains why he just isn’t able to command the box office like other African American stars..  So to ask me to invest emotionally in his character is basically an impossible task.

The rest of the movie is your basic thriller action movie plot, with things blowing up, narrow escapes and crappy dialogue.  In my estimate this was jus a "For the money" project for Foxx and the Movie Studio’s attempt to feed off of Butler’s success from 300 . Too bad, Gerard much like Foxx can’t carry a movie (and don’t get me started on Ray , Foxx wasn’t the star, it was really Ray Charles and the Director that won him the Oscar, being able to do a Ray Charles impression doesn’t really earn you an Oscar in my book.)

So, in the end, this movie is a pass if you find it on the plane or in Movie Kiosk (Redbox or Blockbuster).  In terms of a plane trip themed movie rating, this is a down grade to coach near the engines of the plane as you sit in the middle row in between strangers.

And on my way back from Germany I saw:

Pirate Radio

In another example of Studio Executive brilliance, Pirate Radio can be briefly summarized as Almost Famous with Pirates…well, maybe I overstating it a bit, actually the two movies really aren’t that similar at all, especially when you take out Philip Seymour Hoffman and the whole Rock n’Roll music angle out.  (more…)

By Divina

With the 40^th anniversary of Earth day this month, a few of my posts will have a green tone to them. Like did you sign up for the SYLVANIA 40 for the Future Earth Day Challenge ? You only have a few more weeks to make a pledge and help tomorrow be that much better. ; )

In 2009, Disneynature’s EARTH helped plant over 2 million trees in the Brazilian rainforests with their "Buy A Ticket, Plant A Tree" program.

For 2010, Disneynature has partnered with The Nature Conservancy in hopes of raising funds to save hundreds of acres of endangered coral reefs in the Bahamas.  That is 20 cents for each ticket sold the first week (April 22 to 28) of the release of Disneynature’s OCEANS with no minimum or maximum donation set!

OCEANS will take us on an adventure where we explore the vast oceans of our earth and meet beautiful sea creatures.

Take a look at some of these pictures!

(more…)

By Rosa

I can begin by saying that I needed a good laugh and that is exactly what I did throughout the Hot Tub Time Machine . 

The title itself tells you what the movie is about.  Three old friends and the nephew of one, end up using a hot tub time machine by accident and land back into 1986. 

In my point of view, the best things were born in the eighties (cough, cough, I was born in 1987 :D).

The three best friends who throughout the years have lost touch and are unhappy with their lives as adults are Adam (John Cusack) is a selfish life insurance sales man who was just dumped by his girlfriend.  Lou (Rob Corddry) is a party rock star wannabe, who just wants to get wild and dirty.  Nick (Craig Robinson) is what every macho man would never allow to happen; his wife controls everything but the love he has for her makes him ignore everything so she is happy.  Jacob (Clark Duke) is Adam’s nephew who lives in his basement obsessed with video games and the virtual world to the extent that he barely ever leaves the couch.  When Lou is in need of his only friends they plan a Ski resort trip where they had the best memories.  Just like their lives, the ski resort is completely different and a mess.  Trying to make the best of it, they all decide to get into the hot tub and get the night started.  They wake up in 1986 and realize they have to do everything they did that night in 1986 or else the "Butterfly Effect" will happen.  Even though they have the consequences in the back of their minds, they still change little things to help them out in the future. 

(more…)

-By Divina

Readers, you know I am not the family gamer but I like a good Wii game as much as the next person. So while Eddy was away Thomas and I got to try out the Endless Ocean: Blue World Wii Game .  To me the experience felt less like playing a game and morel like scuba driving in some of the most beautiful water locations in the world, all while safely sitting in my living room.

The game is a total adventure! 

(more…)

By Eddy

For Percy Jackson and the Olympians, D and I were hoping for a type of Harry Potter but with Greek Gods instead of Witches (I am pretty sure that the movie executives had a similar box office results in mind as well).  I am sure people who actually read the popular series of books scream that the two series are nothing alike.  Yet when you consider a story that has a young boy with an abusive caretaker, who is an outsider in his normal world but super special in the secret world that he is introduced to at the beginning of the film, who then goes out with two other friends to accomplish a seemingly impossible goal and solve some kind of mystery, of which they of course do using everything they had learned recently.

Now, what does that story line remind you off?  Harry Potter , well you don’t say!

Now just add Greek Gods instead of witches, demi-gods instead of students and Camp Half Blood instead of Hogwarts and you have Percy Jackson and the Olympians (makes you wonder why J.K. Rowling doesn’t sue them for stealing intellectual property, oh yeah, that’s because she did the same thing with Harry Potter , seriously I actually do like the Harry Potter books!).  Adding to a sense of déjà vu is the fact that the director of the first two Harry Potter movies, Chris Columbus, directs this movie (I guess this Columbus is not interested in discovering anything new). Bad joke aside, this movie is basically a water downed version of most of the Potter films in the series all compressed into a two hour film and that is what is the biggest problem of the film.

The story and director is so keen on getting to the good parts and moving the plot along that there isn’t really time to actually develop the characters and the connections within the film.  At one point Percy loses his mother and the next moment we see Percy and he really isn’t that broken up about it.  The plot also tends to jump around from scene to scene leaving the audience no knowledge of how much time has gone by, one day we see Percy being introduced to Camp Half Blood the next he is fighting with a sword without any problem and this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of unexplained things, also included is why are Greek Characters such as Medusa (played by Uma Thurman…don’t ask me why) are wandering around the U.S. along with various Greek relics.  There are so many jumps in logic and holes in the plot that I spent most questioning how the book was popular if it was anything close to the film and when you have Divina even rolling her eyes you know it’s a bad situation.

Now I know most parents are going to be forced to watch this movie, and believe me I feel sorry for you but there is also one more piece of info that I think you should know especially for those with smaller children.  There are a couple of scenes that are pretty scary (images of burning demons and other monsters that would have given me nightmares if I saw them when I was little) so please consider this before you end up going.

In the end I would rather read the book (and I probably will) than go to see the film At least get a bigger bang for your buck with five separate novels out on the market at the moment.

By Divina

When in Rome sadly falls under the category of False Advertising or as how I would like to call it Trailer-itis.  Trailer-itis occurs when the  trailer is funnier than movie.

Anyways, I dragged Eddy to it and now owe him a guy movie date.  Darn you, When in Rome !

Quick synopsis: Kristen Bell plays a brilliant curator who has chosen to have a career than a love life because her parents got divorced and never had their happily ever after.   She is determined career women with little time for romance.  Then her little sister,  played by Alexis Dziena, calls saying she’s met the love of her life and is getting married in Rome.  Bell must travel to Italy in order to attend at her sister’s request. At the wedding she meets the super cute best man Josh Duhamel who warms her heart but she obviously resists. Throw in the standard magical Roman fountain, love spells, Danny DeVito, Will Arnett , Jon Heder, Dax Shepard and Anjelica Huston and you have a weak romantic comedy.

Yup, this movie was not worth my admission price.

The writing and love shenanigans were not funny.  Acting was okay. Even cinematography failed.  I mean its Rome how can you mess that up?! Anyone who has ever been to Italy knows that it is the most beautiful place on earth. Ever since 2004, I have been trying to find a way to move there. It’s that beautiful.

Red box the film!

By Rosa

Divina and I are second generation Paraguayans living in CT but our roots never left us.  Our family is very involved in the Paraguayan community and this past weekend I was able to attend a benefit concert for the Paraguayan School in New York. 

Berta Rojas is a Paraguayan musician known for her talent as a classical guitarist worldwide.  She has performed all over the world, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center in New York, John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and many other places.  She is a Professor of Guitar at George Washington University in Washington DC as well as Paraguay’s Ambassador of Tourism.

Held at the Paraguayan school in New York, located in Flushing, one of the boroughs of Queens, NY; the concert was about an hour long with an intermission of 15 minutes.  I enjoyed the concert very much since I always liked music.  I used to play in the symphony band in High School and also play the piano.  The way she played the guitar sounded as if she were playing the harp.  There was no sign of difficulty while she played.  It was very soothing. 

Before each song, she would explain why she chose that song to play.  It was a variety from Brazilian to Chinese aritists, all of which have influenced her music and CDs.

The second half was a tribute to another infamous Paraguayan guitarist, Agustín Barrios .  My favorite songs were ‘Waltz Op 8 No 4′ and ‘Jha Che Valle’ by Agustín Barrios . 

Once the concert was over, The Paraguayan Center of New York offered dinner in the school’s cafeteria.  While people were mingling, Berta Rojas joined them to autograph CDs that were on sale as well as take pictures.  Overall I enjoyed the night very much.

I wouldn’t recommend a concert of classical guitar to everyone.  For those who enjoy soothing classical music, then this was a concert to go to.  If you think it will make you go to sleep then maybe just buy the CD and listen to it while you’re having a nice bubble bath.

For the next concert, Berta Rojas will be performing February 6, 2010 at the Dumbarton Series in Washington DC.