Michael Gingold

⭑⭑⭑⭑✩ Sin considerar sus escenas finales, Un lugar en silencio no parece que sea el preámbulo para una secuela. Sin embargo, con John Krasinski retomando sus deberes como director y guionista, Un lugar en silencio Parte II es todo lo que una segunda parte debería ser. Si bien no ofrece el factor sorpresa que su predecesora, esta entrega se expande exitosamente en su universo y temas, y al mismo tiempo enriquece a sus personajes trazados de manera satisfactoria. Cualquiera que esté esperando sustos, se alegrará de saber que aquí hay montones de bestias rapaces, detectoras de sonido y devoradoras de humanos. Krasinski comienza su secuela llevándonos de regreso al primer día de la invasión, para concretar los orígenes de los monstruos y darse un poco de tiempo en pantalla. Luego nos encontramos con Evelyn (Emily Blunt), su hija Reagan (Millicent Simmonds), su hijo Marcus (Noah Jupe) y su bebé, justo después de los eventos ocurridos en la primera película. Las circunstancias los han obligado a dejar la granja que fungió como su refugio. En medio del desolado paisaje y la presentación de otro sobreviviente (Cillian Murphy), la pequeña familia termina por separarse. Dividir la atención entre personajes distantes entre sí, suele disipar la atención en escenarios como este, pero Krasinski lo hace funcionar para Un lugar en el silencio Parte II. Aquí se luce como cineasta al construir el suspenso con escenas inteligentes e introduciéndonos de nuevo en estos personajes que están en con

⭑⭑⭑✩✩ Los primeros 10 minutos de Bloodshot muestran a un villano británico haciendo maldades con “Psycho Killer” de Talking Heads de fondo, mientras amenaza con congelar a la esposa del héroe. No puedes evitar pensar que este es el tipo de película de las que se burla Deadpool. Afortunadamente, Bloodshot desarrolla un toque de ingenio modesto a medida que avanza, incluyendo una explicación de por qué esa escena parece tan groseramente genérica. Prescindiendo de todos los nombres de la serie Valiant Comics en la que se basa, la película es una mezcla de thriller y fantasías pasadas, desde Edge of Tomorrow a Upgrade y Memento. Con un estilo que se parece un poco a David Cronenberg, Pearce interpreta al Dr. Emil Harting, jefe de un equipo llamado Rising Spirit Technologies que ha mejorado a los soldados gravemente heridos. En el caso de Ray Garrison (Vin Diesel), eso significa inundar el torrente sanguíneo de Garrison con nanotecnología que le da una mayor fuerza y ​​la capacidad de curarse rápidamente del peor castigo físico. Lo que no tiene es ningún recuerdo de su vida antes de que RST lo atrapara, hasta que comienza a fallar en su psique. La trama se tuerce lo suficiente como para mantener un interés modesto, pero la violencia a menudo se dispara demasiado cerca y se corta demasiado rápido, para tener mucho impacto. El artista de efectos visuales convertido en director David SF Wilson estalla una ingeniosa pieza decorada por computadora aquí y allá (hay un momento particular

There’s a whole generation that can’t remember a time when Milla Jovovich wasn’t fighting zombies. Already a supermodel and then a sci-fi cult icon for playing the flame-tressed Leeloo in 1997’s The Fifth Element, Jovovich introduced her guns-blazing Alice in 2002’s Resident Evil, launching one of the most successful female-led action franchises of all time (approaching $1 billion in worldwide box office) and defying those who would mock a movie based on a video game. The sixth installment, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, opens January 27. Jovovich sat down with us before taking the MSG stage in front of a rabid New York Comic Con audience in October. They love her for her acrobatic action chops, striking looks and pure conviction; for Jovovich, battling the unnatural has become second nature. After six films, is it easier for you to slip into Alice’s post-apocalyptic skin?It has gotten easier. That’s what I love about Alice: After 15 years of working on this franchise, she’s sort of a part of me, and there are things about her that I admire and love. I’ve found her voice, in a sense. Your husband, Paul W.S. Anderson, writes and directs these films. What’s that like at home?From the third movie on, it’s been like, he writes the script, and I have a bunch of questions. Sometimes he’ll say, “Oh, that’s a great question—I didn’t think about that,” and sometimes he’ll say, “Only you would think about that! Don’t worry about it.” But we have a symbiotic relationship at this poin

Three summers ago, Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema scored one of the biggest hits in horror history with The Conjuring, a movie that vaulted into the company of The Exorcist, The Sixth Sense and The Blair Witch Project as one of the highest-grossing supernatural films of all time. Turns out there’s a lot more to the real-life tales of ’70s-era paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga): The series is now poised to leap from sleeper smash to successful franchise (and one of the most anticipated summer movies) with the equally compelling The Conjuring 2, in which the pair heads to London to clean haunted house. Here’s why these films stand out among the best new horror movies.

Its final moments aside, A Quiet Place didn’t immediately seem set up for a sequel. Yet with John Krasinski back on writing-directing duties, A Quiet Place Part II is everything a follow-up should be. While it can’t deliver the revelatory ‘wow’ factor of its predecessor, Part II successfully expands on its world and themes, while enriching its satisfyingly drawn characters. Anyone on the hunt for scares will be happy to hear that it delivers plenty of rapacious, sound-detecting, human-munching beasties too. Krasinski begins by taking us back to the first day of the invasion, making the monsters’ origins concrete, giving himself a little screen time, and demonstrating he’s got real chops at larger-scale, pell-mell, long-take, hair-raising action. We then rejoin Evelyn (Emily Blunt), daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), son Marcus (Noah Jupe) and her new baby after the events of the first film. Circumstances have seen them venture outside the farm that has been their sanctuary. Amid finely wrought details of the desolate landscape, and the introduction of another survivor (Cillian Murphy), their little family group winds up separating.Dividing attention between distant characters can often dissipate the tension in scenarios like this, but Krasinski makes it work for A Quiet Place Part II. He comes into his own as a filmmaker here, building suspense with smart-judged cross cuts and investing us afresh in these imperiled characters. While she gets several moments to shine, Blunt

Those with a true enthusiasm for collecting books – as objects to be coveted, rather than simply read and put aside – are both the subject and the target audience of DW Young’s documentary ‘The Booksellers’. It’s a warm, embracing if somewhat hermetically sealed portrait of a pursuit that has persisted even as the printed word in general has fallen from its past popularity in the digital age. ‘The Internet ruined the hunt,’ says one of the speakers (who are not always identified on screen), and you don’t have to specifically be a book lover to relate. Yes, it’s wonderfully convenient to have anything you want easily searchable and bought with the click of a mouse or touchpad, but true collectors know the special thrill of going into a store, poring through the offerings and finding an unexpected treasure.  That’s the excitement ‘The Booksellers’ celebrates, along with the passion of those who make that experience possible. Young allows numerous rare book dealers and archivists to communicate their devotion to preserving and sharing everything from classic literature to hip-hop writing not available on-line. They also reveal the field’s wide range of specialisations – we learn of ‘The Mao and Mo Show,’ an exhibition combining Mao Tse-Tung and Maurice Sendak – and extol the varied physical forms these works can take, from the beautiful (special bejeweled bindings) to the bizarre (books bound in human skin). Young’s subjects are, naturally, all well-spoken, some are eccentric an

The first ten minutes of ‘Bloodshot’ show a British villain capering about to Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’ while threatening to fridge the hero’s wife: you can’t help thinking this is the kind of movie that the opening credits of ‘Deadpool’ were making fun of. Fortunately, ‘Bloodshot’ develops a touch of self-effacing wit as it goes on – up to and including an explanation of why that scene seems so crassly generic. Dispensing with all but a few names from the Valiant Comics series on which it is nominally based, ‘Bloodshot’ is a mélange of past thrillers and fantasies, from ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ to ‘Upgrade’ to ‘Memento’, and has the self-awareness to cast the last’s star, Guy Pearce. Styled to somewhat resemble David Cronenberg, Pearce plays Dr Emil Harting, head of an outfit called Rising Spirit Technologies that has upgraded gravely injured soldiers with super-science. In the case of Ray Garrison (Vin Diesel), that means flooding Garrison’s bloodstream with nanotechnology that gives him enhanced strength and the ability to rapidly heal from the worst physical punishment. What he doesn’t have is any memory of his life before RST got ahold of him – until it starts glitching back into his psyche, impelling Garrison toward a personal mission to discover his past self, and who his real enemies are. The plot twists sufficiently to keep modest interest, but the violence is often shot too close and cut too quickly to have much of an impact. Visual-effects-artist-turned-director Dav

Dado el historial de este género, es precipitado hacer una adaptación de un videojuego y crear una buena historia y, efectivamente, Sonic: La película es otra demostración de las cosas salen mal cuando una película se desarrolla a partir del material de origen, con poca trama y escasa caracterización.  Aquí, el corredor de piel azul con voz de Ben Schwartz —de Parks and Recreation— es un refugiado que ha pasado 10 años viviendo de incógnito en el bosque en Montana. En un ataque, suelta una explosión de energía que oscurece el noroeste del Pacífico, lo que lo coloca en la mira del militar y el científico Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey). El erizo busca la ayuda de Tom, un sheriff local (James Marsden) y, por buenas razones, emprenden un viaje a San Francisco, durante el cual Tom se queja de que Sonic habla demasiado.  Lamentablemente para la película, tiene razón¡; este Sonic es un charlatán empedernido que solo provoca risas intermitentes. Y a pesar de los giros agradables de Marsden y Tika Sumpter como su esposa veterinaria, esta película se desarrolla poco a poco. Peor aún, se siente muy alejada a la historia: la trayectoria básica de la trama recuerda al spin-off de Transformers, Bumblebee, mientras que Robotnik, que maneja la tecnología, es solo un facsímil delgado y villano como Tony Stark. En un montón de similitudes que condenan a Sonic: la película en comparación, hay una persecución cargada de efectos a través de San Francisco que  puede coincidir con la de Ant-Man and the

Given the genre’s overall track record, you’d be rash to go into a videogame adaptation expecting much more than for it to be largely in focus. Sure enough, ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ is another demonstration of the things that tend to go wrong when a movie is spun out from source material with little plot and skimpy characterisation.  Here, the blue-furred Sega speedster (voiced by Ben Schwartz from ‘Parks and Recreation’) is a refugee from an alternate world who has spent ten years living incognito in the woods in Montana. In a fit of pique, he lets loose an energy blast that blacks out the Pacific Northwest, which puts him in the crosshairs of the military and whacked-out scientist Dr Robotnik (Jim Carrey). The hedgehog seeks help from Tom, a local sheriff (James Marsden) and for, well, reasons, they set off on a road trip to San Francisco, during which Tom complains that Sonic talks too much.  Sadly for the movie, he’s right: this Sonic is an inveterate babbler who gleans only intermittent laughs. And despite likeable turns from Marsden and Tika Sumpter as his veterinarian wife, and the odd dash of excitement, this movie builds little by way of momentum. Worse, it feels so derivative: the basic plot trajectory recalls the superior ‘Transformers’ spinoff ‘Bumblebee’, while the tech-wielding Robotnik is just a thin, villainous facsimile of Tony Stark. In a pile-up of similarities that damn ‘Sonic’ by comparison, there’s an effects-laden chase through San Francisco that can’t matc

The good news is that ‘Bad Boys for Life’ isn’t as obnoxiously vulgar as Michael Bay’s ‘Bad Boys II’. The bad news is that this third in the franchise, directed by Belgian filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, doesn’t bring much that’s new to the long-dormant table. Still, even if the movie seems calculated to give Will Smith and Martin Lawrence a surefire box-office hit, it also acknowledges the passage of time since the last film in ways that pack a little extra feeling amid the familiar Jerry-Bruckheimer production beats. The stars still share an easy yet combustible chemistry as Miami detectives Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence), who are now pushing middle age. Marcus, welcoming a new grandchild and son-in-law into his life, is ready to retire, but Mike isn’t ready to give up his bad-boy ways just yet. An attempt on his life has him itching to get some break-the-rules payback – a mission that Marcus is not necessarily psyched about joining. The villains are Armando (Jacob Scipio) and Isabel (Kate del Castillo), the son and widow of a deceased Mexican drug lord Mike once helped put away, though they’re not always on the same page about how to carry out their vengeance plot. The co-directors find interesting things to do with the camera here and there, and stage one potent, lengthy motorcycle chase through Miami’s nighttime streets. Castillo (astute casting, given her alleged real-life association with Mexican drug lord El Chapo in the past) gives good

La buena noticia es que Bad Boys para siempre no es tan desagradablemente vulgar como Bad Boys II de Michael Bay. La mala noticia es que esta entrega, dirigida por los cineastas belgas Adil El Arbi y Bilall Fallah, no aporta mucho. Aún así, incluso si la película parece calculada para hacer que Will Smith y Martin Lawrence sean un éxito de taquilla, también reconoce el paso del tiempo desde la última entrega, en formas que generan un poco de sensación extra en medio de los ritmos familiares de la producción de Jerry-Bruckheimer. Las estrellas aún muestran química como los detectives de Miami, Mike Lowrey (Smith) y Marcus Burnett (Lawrence). Marcus, ahora tiene un nieto y está listo para retirarse, pero Mike aún no está listo para renunciar a sus costumbres de chico malo por lo que quiere embarcarse a una misión, pero Marcus no está interesado en unirse. Los villanos son Armando (Jacob Scipio) e Isabel (Kate del Castillo), el hijo y la viuda del difunto narcotraficante mexicano. Los codirectores encuentran cosas interesantes que hacer con la cámara, y organizan una potente y larga persecución en motocicleta por las calles nocturnas de Miami. Kate (elegida astutamente, dada su supuesta asociación en la vida real con el El Chapo en el pasado) muestra una buena malevolencia como la bruja Isabel. Sin embargo, el mayor logro de la película es la forma en que aporta un corazón sincero a la asociación de Mike y Marcus en la primera mitad, antes de que el caos tradicional y las bromas

L'any 2000, l’artista Mark Hogancamp va ser agredit al seu poble per uns companys de bar que s’havien assabentat que era un transvestit. La pallissa li va fer perdre la memòria. Com a teràpia, va construir una Bèlgica en miniatura al pati de casa seva, amb figures d’acció de la Segona Guerra Mundial: avatars d’ell mateix, els seus atacants eren nazis i les dones representades com a protectores/salvadores. Una història fascinant, explicada en el premiat documental 'Marwencol' (2010) i que aquí s’intenta convertir en una pel·li de les de fer-te sentir bé, amb resultats desiguals, a estones insuportable. Queda clar que Robert Zemeckis –coautor del guió– vol emfatitzar el triomf de l’esperit humà de Hogancamp; la creïble interpretació que fa Steve Carell del turmentat protagonista és un actiu. Però sovint se’l presenta com el seu alter ego en miniatura, en exagerades seqüències digitals de combat. Aquestes fantasies –que volen dramatitzar la seva vida interior– en realitat xoquen contra la vida real. Encara pitjor: algunes es presenten com a malsons, i això les malinterpreta com a font del trauma en comptes de la manera de superar-lo. Convertir el que va passar en una exhibició d’efectes especials nega el drama i n’estova la duresa.

Existe una regla no escrita que dice que una película nueva nunca debe recordarnos a otra película anterior que fue mejor. Aparentemente, nadie se lo contó al escritor y director Dan Fogelman, que salpica la primera parte de 'Como la vida misma' con guiños gratuitos a 'Pulp Fiction', que solo sirven para ensombrecer su propio film coral que va saltando en el tiempo. La historia reúne una serie de relatos intergeneracionales, donde aparecen actores tan diversos como Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wide, Antonio Banderas, Annette Benning, Laia Costa y Àlex Monner, aliñados con un humor que quiere ser irreverente. Ahí está el cameo de Samuel L. Jackson, los tacos chistosos (como el perro llamado Fuckface) y alguna broma autoreferencial que Fogelman introduce sobre su hit televisivo 'This is us'. En general, 'Como la vida misma' se siente como una temporada completa del programa comprimida en dos horas frustrantes y desiguales donde lágrimas y pornografía se entremezclan.

There’s an unwritten rule that new movies should never remind the audience of better films from the past, but apparently no one told writer-director Dan Fogelman. He peppers the first portion of ‘Life Itself’ with gratuitous shout-outs to ‘Pulp Fiction’, which serve only to shame his own time-jumping saga of interconnected personal drama. The ‘Fiction’ echoes further encompass a self-conscious Samuel L Jackson cameo and loads of playful profanity (such as a dog named ‘Fuckface’), the latter of which feels like Fogelman reveling in naughty words that he can’t use on his TV hit ‘This Is Us’. Overall, his movie feels like an entire season of that show compressed into two frustratingly uneven hours of tearjerking and grief porn. The initial chapter – yes, it’s told in chapters – centers on Will (Oscar Isaac) as he deals with abandonment by his beloved wife, Abby (Olivia Wilde). Especially awkward, it piles tragedy upon tragedy to the point where the viewer is reeling worse than poor Will; it pounds you with sledgehammer-subtle messaging in both dialogue and voiceover. After a jump forward in time to observe Will and Abby’s sullen college-age daughter (Olivia Cooke), the scene switches to a Spanish olive plantation where a woman (Laia Costa) is torn between her husband (Sergio Peris-Mencheta) and a handsome benefactor (Antonio Banderas). Here, the movie finally slows down and lets the drama breathe, unencumbered by the need to make Statements. Alas, the assorted threads must event

Hi ha una regla no escrita que diu que una pel·lícula nova mai ha de recordar una altra pel·lícula anterior que va ser millor. Aparentment, ningú l'hi va explicar a l'escriptor i director Dan Fogelman, que esquitxa la primera part de 'Como la vida misma' amb gestos de complicitat gratuïts a 'Pulp Fiction', que només serveixen per a fer ombra al seu propi film coral que va saltant en el temps. La història reuneix una sèrie de relats intergeneracionals, on apareixen actors tan diversos com Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Antonio Banderas, Annette Benning, Laia Costa i Àlex Monner, amanits amb un humor que vol ser irreverent. Aquí hi ha el cameo de Samuel L. Jackson, les paraulotes gracioses (com el gos anomenat Fuckface) i alguna broma autoreferencial que Fogelman introdueix sobre el seu hit televisiu 'This is us'. En general, 'Como la vida misma' se sent com una temporada completa del programa comprimida en dues hores frustrants i desiguals on llàgrimes i pornografia es barregen.

In 2000, small-town artist Mark Hogancamp was assaulted by a group of men he’d been drinking with after they learned he was a cross-dresser, and beaten so badly he lost his memory. As a form of self-therapy, Hogancamp built a fictional scale-model Belgian town in his backyard and populated it with action figures representing World War II-era avatars of himself; also represented were his attackers (as Nazis) and assorted women (his protector-saviors). It’s a fascinating story, told in the much-acclaimed 2010 documentary ‘Marwencol’, one that ‘Welcome to Marwen’ attempts to turn into a feel-good Hollywood movie, with mixed-to-excruciating results.From the jaunty opening notes of Alan Silvestri’s score, it’s clear that writer-director Robert Zemeckis (working with co-scripter Caroline Thompson) will be emphasising the triumph-of-the-human-spirit side of Hogancamp’s account. In that respect, Steve Carell’s sympathetic reading of the troubled protagonist is an asset: He’s believable as someone who would devote himself to creating and photographing detailed set pieces while pining for a pretty new neighbor (Leslie Mann). Just as often, though, Zemeckis presents him as his miniature alter ego, Cap’n Hogie, in digitally generated sequences that bring Hogie and his fellow dolls to life in exaggerated combat situations. Meant to dramatise Hogancamp’s inner life, these fantasies are technically well-realised but jar against the scenes of Hogancamp’s real life. Moreover, the presentation