By Divina

I loved, loved, loved the Sex in the City HBO series.  I laughed and I cried in the first Sex in The City movie and after watching Sex In The City 2 I can honestly say that I had a BALL.

All the fabulous women who made this show amazing were back, two years later and even more sexy and stylish as ever.

Quick synopsis: Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte (Kristen Davis), Samantha (Kim Cattrall) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) are two years older. Families have grown, children are growing up, jobs are evolving and these women are living their New York City lives as best as they can despite personal and work struggles.

This movie focused on topics like "keeping the sparkle" in marriage, motherhood, fidelity and the strength that comes from your friends who no matter what love you for all your faults. (more…)

By Eddy

If you hold the legend of Robin Hood sacred, you might be a bit disturbed by this film (though I never really cared to find out what that true legend was).  If you expect to see another version of the Kevin Costner film you might be disappointed by this film and if you hoped that the reunion of Director Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe will result in something like Gladiator be in for a rude awaking.

Not to say that Robin Hood doesn’t hold anything in common with Gladiator .  Both movies disregard any attempt at being historically accurate.  Not that I blame them, I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to find anyone who could truly answer whether Robin Hood was an actual historical figure or not.  Needless, after a bit of investigating (Wikipedia!!!!) things begin to fall apart and that doesn’t even count all the changes to the story of Robin Hood that most people have learned and loved.

In this film, Robin is a common archer fighting in the crusades.  After many battles fighting for a cause he no longer supports he decides to leave after the death of King Richard and go back to England.  It just so happens that he come near the end of a French attempt (once again playing the bad guys) first to assassinate the King, but considering this was already done for them, the purpose changed to stealing King Richard’s crown to create panic and soften the English people up for a French Invasion (apparently during this time, it was the French who were the tough Thugs of the world…my how things have changed). 

Robin takes this opportunity to take the identity of one of the slain knights (Robin of Loxley) and returns to England where he promises the fallen Knight that he will return his sword to his father.  He then gets to England returns the sword and meets Marion (the widow of the knight) and a couple of the other characters we know and love.  What then happens is a weird version of The Talented Mr. Ripley mixed in with what we already know about Robin Hood (you will have to watch it to understand).  The rest of the story unfolds without anything really unexpected or spectacular needing (more…)

By Eddy

When a movie makes 4 million its first weekend, there is an obvious sign that something was wrong with the movie.  When someone decides to watch the movie even after hearing about its anemic box office receipts…then likely there is something wrong with that person.  Not to say that low box office receipts are an accurate indicator of a movies’ worth.  There are plenty of art house movie that would be ecstatic to have the problem of only making 4 million upon its debut.  Unfortunately, MacGruber is not one of those movies.

There always has been a stigma about movies that originated from Saturday Night Live. Actually for the most part that stigma is well earned…most of those movies sucked…epically.  Of course, there have been exceptions such as the first couple of Austin Powers , Coneheads and Wayne’s World .  Unfortunately, those successes have been buried under A Night at the Roxbury , The Ladies Man , Superstar and finally MacGruber .

While not totally deserving of rotten vegetable thrown at the screen, MacGruber does nothing to redeem itself as a movie. Staring Will Forte as the title character, we learn why a movie studio can greenlight a movie based on a skit where the characters always die in some explosion, and the answer is because they have no clue what they are doing.  It seems the same brains that thought the Geico Cavemen would make a good sitcom believed that dwindling SNL fan base would come out by the dozens to watch a mildly annoying reoccurring character from their show do things for almost an hour and a half.

Leaning heavily on the cliché’s of most 80’s movies as well as most crappy SNL movies (clueless character, unrealistic situations, crude humor etc) we see MacGruber , an ex-special forces soldier who doesn’t use a gun, brought out of hiding after the death of his wife to battle against the well organized forces of the man who killed his wife (Val Kilmer in a fat suit, what? It’s NOT a fat suit?).  (more…)

By Eddy

There is a particularly nasty disease which afflicts most sports teams after a successful championship season. This malady is well known and discussed frequently by sports personalities such as Pat Riley and Bill Simmons. The name of this disease is called "the Disease of More", the most known symptoms is players WANTING MORE minutes playing, more money, more fame, more everything and the disease spreads quickly through the organization. 

Yet sports teams are not the only ones who can be infected.  Successful movie franchises are just as susceptible, especially those based on comics.  The list is long but distinguished-Spiderman, Indiana Jones, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean, Die Hard, Terminator, Predator, Aliens, The Godfather, etc.  Once you have seen this small sampling, you might be saying wait those movies (series) are great, some of them historically great how could they have suffered from "the disease of more"? Well let’s take the most herald movie I have listed: The Godfather . 

The first movie was great, the second movie maybe even great, the last one…not so great, actually horrible.  Why was it so bad? Well the reason varies, it could be the new characters introduced, the plot (the Vatican? Come on!) or just the lazy directing.  No matter what the cause the prognosis is clear: WANTING one MORE golden egg from the goose.

In a way, Iron Man 2 falls for the same trap.  In an effort to top the fun audiences had in the last movie everything was bumped up a notch, from the number of celebrity’s (Samuel L Jackson, Scarlett Johanssen, Mickey Rourke, Gary Shandling, Don Cheadle and Sam Rockwell), to the acting which was kicked up to 11 (but in a bad way).  Everyone seemed a little too over the top, especially Sam Rockwell and Robert Downey Jr.  Even worse, was the Spiderman 3 effect: too many heroes or bad guys.  (more…)

By Eddy

Based on an obscure DC Comic, The Losers attempts to steal the thunder of the upcoming A-Team movie.  In the end it serves to give audiences a junior varsity version of what they should expect from the upcoming movie based on one of my favorite TV shows.

Let’s break out the check list:

• Team of wrongly disgraced Special Forces forced into hiding after mission gone wrong.-Check
• Cast of quirky characters full of "personality" with their well defined rolls (Crazy guy, smooth ladies man, leader , and angry minority)-Check
• Team sets out to clear their name and help the damsel in distress or unfortunate victim-Check
• Things obviously never go as they are planned-Check

Now that we have established that, let’s talk about execution.  I can easily sum it up in three words "I wanted more".  I wanted more action and explosions; I wanted more character and more fun.  The Losers gives you just enough to wet your whistle but not enough to satisfy.  It didn’t help that I had just seen a reasonably entertaining trailer of the A-Team before the movie started.  The Losers just tries too hard to be mean but not mean enough to get a rated R rating.  It essentially watering itself down that it just loses itself among the thousands of recent generic action flicks that have come out in recent years.  Unfortunately, I don’t think this will change with the A-Team movie (it’s too commercial).  It might just take the resurrection of Sylvester Stallone in The Expendables to break the cycle, but time will only tell.

There isn’t much to say about the cast, it’s your average collection of more or less tough looking guys and one girl.  I am pretty sure you will recognize them so instead of telling you who they are I will just refer to them as I know them (ah! How dare I make our readers think?) starting with Denny from Grey’s Anatomy, the kid from Stomp the Yard , The main girl cat thing from Avatar , our future Captain America,  the guy who took over for Michael for like five seconds in TV show The Office and finally an actor that looks weirdly like the Apple guy.  Oh yeah, the bad guy (who apparently studied for the part at the Nick Cage school of crazy acting) was the hero in Speed 2: Cruise Control. 

So after all that, should you spend your hard earned money on the movie? I would say no, if you are a fan of the comic book (all three of you) then you may want to watch.  For anyone else you are better off renting a 80s action movie or just waiting till this one hits the 1$ rental box or HBO.

By Rosa

Our friend Ms. Latina from www.LatinaOnAMission.com was giving away tickets for screenings to the movie Letters to Juliet and I jumped at the offer. 

I enjoyed the movie very much but let me begin by letting you girls know you should leave your partners at home.  They are not going to enjoy the lovey dovey scenes that make us say "aw" but they will look at us like we are crazy. 

The movie is all about true love that never dies.

Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), a writer from New York, goes to Italy with her fiancé Victor (Gael Garcia Bernal) for an early honeymoon.  While strolling along the streets of Verona, she comes across the home of Juliet Capulet where women from all over come and write letters to Juliet awaiting an answer in return.  She joins the Secretaries of Juliet in assisting women with advice about love.  Sophie finds a letter from 1957 and decides she has to respond no knowing whether or not the author would ever receive it.  As to her surprise, Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) received her response and it inspires her to find the love of her life.  The adventure begins for Sophie, Claire and the reluctant Charlie (Christopher Egan), Claire’s grandson.  Claire finds her long lost love but she wasn’t the only one to find love. 

It was a great movie and can’t wait for it to come out on DVD.  I definitely had a good feeling leaving the theater.  Those who aren’t into romantic comedies should just watch another movie. 

If you want to be one of the cool kids and see Letters for Juliet before its release on May 14^th , check your local theaters for an early screening.

Disclosure: I received screening tickets from www.latinaonamission.com .  All opinions are my own.

By Divina

In celebration of Earth Day, Babyboy and I went on a mommy & me date to see Oceans and WE LOVED IT. 

The movie was breathtaking underwater adventure where the viewer explores the vast oceans and their amazing residents. Directors Jacques Cluzaud and Jacques Perrin captured the beauty and wildness of the OCEANS perfectly.  I was in awe with how advanced underwater technology has evolved so we feel like we are swimming with all sorts of fish and marine life.  Pierce Brosnan narrated this epic adventure and introduced us to a new underwater world.

The cinematography and imagery were breathtaking but I wanted more of a story. I would have liked the animals we met during the film had some sort of story behind them, something else to draw the audience in.

Instead, we are taken from one scene with whales, then another with a shark, then an octopus, then the coral reefs etc.  Again, it was beautiful but a story with some kind of flow would have made this educational movie out of this world.

To add to the learning the next day, Eddy and I took Babyboy to the aquarium and he loved it! He recognized some of the sea animals and was so excited to see them. Like they were old friends! OCEANS took us on a journey and obviously left Babyboy with a sense that he has made new friends.

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.  20 cents from our ticket helped Disney donate to preservation efforts.

Bravo Disneynature’s OCEANS !

By Eddy

A couple of times a year EA usually has a showcase for their headliner games. They give a number of media outlets the opportunity to play the games and meet with the developers.  Obviously a lot of work goes into setting up the event as it is evident that EA really cares about getting these games out to the public.  With that said, in my personal opinion it’s actually unnecessary (not to say that they shouldn’t have any events, I have way to much fun at them) but the quality of the games speak for themselves and have for a long time now.  Nowhere is this more evident that with the EA Sports line of games.  For the past decade EA Sports has consistently put out games that usually rate at the top of the list each year, and after my time with their future offerings for 2010, I am confident that things will remain the same.

So here is the recap from our visit to the Ainsworth in New York City for the EA Sports New York Kick Off.

EA Sports Active Wii Game

By Divina

Later this year, the updated EA Sports Active will be released. A fitness game much like Nintendo’s Wii Fit that gets the gamer to do some fun calorie burning exercise.  I am trying out the Wii Fit Plus now and I find it to be a lot of fun so I was interested in comparing what EA sports spin on it was.  The game offers 20 plus activities which focuses on cardio, upper-body and lower-body exercises. Activities like, mountain biking, squats, running and so on. The game also allows for the player to customize their workout routine to meet your fitness goals.  Multiple players can get in on the workout for further competition. I especially liked how the leg and arm band sensors act as a heart monitor and calorie counter. EA Sports Active is rated for everyone but the price for the bundle has not been set so stay tuned.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11

By Eddy

The game comes out for all the major consoles, but at the event I really wanted to concentrate on the Wii game.  Last year, Tiger Woods 10 introduced the Wii motion plus to the game play, which added a more fine tuned control system and frankly a bit more realism to the game.  To build on last year’s offering, players are now able to play in a first person view (True View).  Allowing you to line up your shot on the tee and see the ball at your feet.  As far as I am concerned it is the closest you can get to playing real golf at the comfort of your home.  I don’t include those ridiculously expensive golf simulators.  The game mechanics have also gotten more realistic with the Tour Pro option which measures the contact point on the ball as you swing.  This new feature is so in tuned with your actual motions that it is possible to totally miss the ball if you aren’t careful.  The game boast new courses as well as allowing you to play in the Ryders Cup as Tiger Woods or your own custom made player.  Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 will be out for all major consoles in June.

Madden NFL 11

By Eddy

Madden has been the gold standard for years, but after a while I kind of stopped playing (I know Madden Fan, blasphemy!).  The thing that made me stop is exactly the aspect that most people like and that is the complexity of the games.  I am pretty sure there are a number of people that have played Madden enough that they could competently coach a professional team during a game, at least in terms of strategy and play choice.  Unfortunately, I felt that game play was too nuanced and there were so many plays to have to filter through which really slowed down the game. I just got overwhelmed.  Well, just like those Windows 7 commercials, EA must have heard me. Madden has revised the play calling system, which now provide players with customized situational game plans, which cuts the play book down to those plays that truly apply to current situation and also speeds up the game so now instead of going through up to 350 plays you have only one.  While this might stifle some of the creativity of hardcore Madden gamers, it provides everyone else more time to actually playing the game on the field. Hardcore fans shouldn’t worry too much since the game also allows you to create your own defensive and offensive game plans to use in the new play calling system. Of course, the usual upgrades in terms of controls, graphics and online play round out the changes and combine to make Madden NFL 11 a must have when it comes out August 10^th .

NCAA Football 11

By Eddy

Unfortunately, I did not get to play this one.  Seeing that my team is the Uconn Huskies you can obviously tell that I don’t really play the College football games that much.  I was able to sneak behind a couple of people and learned a couple of interesting things.  First of all, a couple of Madden tricks are starting to show up in the game including: Pro-Tak gang tackling and formation substitution.  The game has also made the presentation closer to the ESPN game broadcasts. They have also added details to each player such as hand warmers, wrist bands and knee braces.  From where I was standing the game looked great and very realistic.  NCAA Football 11 is scheduled to come out 3 days before my birthday on July 13^th .

NBA Jam

By Eddy

Back from the grave comes one of the most popular basketball games in video game history, NBA Jam! I remember playing this game in middle school and not being able to get enough.  It brings back everything that made the original so fun, the 2 on 2 game play, the ability to knock over your opponents, the big headed versions of your favorite players and finally the vicious dunks.  Lest I forget the most important thing…the ability to catch fire! (my inner caveman is coming out). This game was one of the most popular at the event with a consistent crowd around the tv screen.  You could hear the whoops and hollers from the players as they attempted to pick up the game play.  As the game is for the Wii, it takes a little while to adjust to how to play with the remote and knunchucks, though it look like nobody had any issues catching on.  I took a couple of turns playing the game and must admit that it had me as enthralled as the original did.  With the improved graphics and the 3D modeling of the players as well as photos of each NBA Star it was a marked improvement over the 90’s version of the game both from the console and the arcade. Due out this fall for only the Wii, I am predicting that this one might be a big hit with kids as well as adults.

The long awaited final conclusion of our thrilling two part series!

9

By Eddy

Don’t let the fact that it is animated fool you.  This isn’t really a film for children.  Set in a post war wasteland between Robots and Humans, nothing remains alive.   A group of animated sack people the size of a Barbie doll represent the last will and testament of the human soul. Each one is so different that they often fight amongst themselves, but in order to survive the remains of the machines they have to band together.  The entire landscape and feels like it was straight from the cutting room floor of Tim Burton, who by the way is a producer for the film.  It goes without saying, that this movie is kind of a downer.  Even with a somewhat happy ending I was still left asking myself…who was this film for?  If you are a deeply devoted Burton fan, or are into anything remotely steampunk (if you don’t know what this is, then don’t waste your time) then this might be worth it.

The Slammin’ Salmon

By Eddy

Wow, when writing all these movies up, I totally forgot I even watched this one.  I had to go back to look at the receipts just to remember.  I guess that should tell you everything you need to know about The Slammin’ Salmon .  The only reason I picked it up was because I was a fan of Super Troopers and Beerfest .  While both of those movies aren’t going to be mentioned in the same breath as Citizen Kane (even though I just did…and likely Orson Welles just turned in his grave) they were original and funny movies.  Unfortunately, the team that brought us these films haven’t been batting a thousand.  A perfect example would be Club Dread and now this one.  Now as a comedy that takes part in a restaurant and is about the people that work there, there arent too many movies that I can use as a benchmark.  At the high end of the scale I was hoping for something a bit better than Waiting… (Which I actually liked and do watch when it comes on Cable) and at the low end…well frankly I think Waiting… counts as both sides.  Well that is until I saw this gem.  Yeah it had its funny parts, but in the end, as much as I wanted to like it there is no way I can come close to recommending it to anyone.  Save your dollar!

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaur

By Divina

The hopefully last and most disappointing Ice Age has Manny and Ellie expanding their herd with Diego, Sid and others not sure what their status is in the herd.  This movie kept Babyboy’s attention for longer than usual but the story was weak and would have made the first Ice Age blush in embarrassment. Story was cute but after watching it I wanted to see the original Ice Age to get the disappointing taste in my mouth.

Ninja Assassin

By Eddy

Talk about disappointing.  Leading up to the film being released, the production company posted a number of training sessions of the stuntmen and main star, Korean Pop star Rain, practicing for the movie.  Watching these videos had me excited to no end.  Wow, how things have changed.  For the most part the movie is in the dark and you really can see a lot of the action. In addition, for some ridiculous reason the director felt that they had to CGI the heck out of the entire film.  CGI shadows, blood, weapons etc.  I honestly felt I was better off playing a video game than watching the movie.  Needless to say, in an all out action film like this acting isn’t a prerequisite so I won’t even waste my time.  The story itself was also nonexistent and basically full of so many holes it made me wonder if Ninja’s hadn’t attacked the script writer as he was writing.  This one is a definite pass, I would much rather watch Micheal Dudikoff destroy Japanese culture in The American Ninja series than this any time.

After posting on BlockBuster triple play deal, D and I felt that we would be crazy not to also take advantage of the deal too.  So last weekend we decided to head to the Big Y Grocery Store and pick out three movies to watch. Little did we know that illness and cold rainy weather would allow us to watch all three movies on Saturday and then return to pick out another three before the end of the weekend.  So without further adieu here are the results from that Dancinghotdogs Blockbuster Express Weekend Movie Marathon (I am considering shortening the title a bit).  The first three we saw that weekend (part 1) will be posted today, and the following day’s movies will be posted tomorrow (part 2).

Four Christmases

By Divina

Rosa had posted a review on this before but this is my spin.

Movie about unmarried couple who must spend Christmas with their dysfunctional families because the forces of nature have canceled their vacation plans. This movie was trying too hard to make a chick flick and a guy movie mesh together but in the end it alienates the watcher since it’s not truly what they are looking for.  The movie had some funny moments and Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaugh are entertaining but the movie ended and I wanted something more from the actors and story. Especially since Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight, Mary Steenburgern, Tim McGraw, Kristin Chenoweth and others also star in the film. This earned its $1 but no more.

I love you Beth Cooper

By Eddy

As coming of age teen comedies go, I love You Beth Cooper does even come close to making list. With that said D and I found most of the movie enjoyable enough to give it a passing grade. Most of it is due to Paul Rust as the dorky etc lead actor in the movie.  He plays the part so well, that I honestly thought that that Ogre from Return of the Nerds was going to pop up and scream "NNNNNEEERRRRDDDDS" at the top of his lungs.  Hayden Panettiere really doesn’t pull off the sexy rule breaking hot girl in high school.  She just made me think of the type of girl that would end up on 16 and Pregnant , or a least wishing she had as she struggles in obscurity after high school.  The story itself had some merit and but it all boils down to the have and have not’s in High School mixed with alcohol, sex and drugs.  Also, I expected more from director Chris Columbus (Gremlins, Goonies, Adventures in Babysitting, Home Alone, the list goes on).  This one is definitely a rent as long as you keep expectations pretty low.

Inglorious Basterd

By Eddy

It’s amazing to say that since its release over a year ago, I had not seen this movie.  I am a fan of Tarentino and was looking forward to watching the film in the movie theaters.  Of course life never goes according to plan.  Needless to say, that I thought the film was pretty good, though definitely not his best efforts especially if you are into Tarentino’s style of dialogue.  The campy feel of the film really didn’t appeal to me, as it seemed that he was still in the Grindhouse mindset especially with the wacky violence.  The concept and the story did keep me interested and the ending was satisfying.  Other than Brad Pitt’s hammy performance and awful accent, the acting was pretty good (and I could see why Christoph Waltz won the Oscar).  D didn’t like the disjointed story line and I agree that they really didn’t tie well together like they do in Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction .  In the end it still is definitely worth a rent.