The Secret Life of Pets (2016)

Universal Pictures 
Rated: PG (Action and some rude humor)
Running time: 91 minutes
3.5/5 Stars

I know I'm late in reviewing this flick, but the only way I can review as frequently as I do is by visiting the dollar theaters. Of course the films shown there are no longer new releases. Anyway, a few days ago I saw The Secret Life of Pets.

Usually when I go to the movies with my mom we do go to the regular theaters. Sometimes though, a movie we've both wanting to see eludes us until it hits the lower priced theaters. This has been on my "to watch" list since I first saw the previews several months ago. Ever since I adopted my dog Voldemort, my love and interest in animals has been reawakened. (Of course it never died, but having a pet makes you see things differently. I digress.)

My mom has been equally interested in seeing this film. Illumination, the company behind Despicable Me, created this film and I was happy to see them produce something with no minions to be found. This wasn't exactly the film I was expecting, but the voice cast makes up for it and the characters are too cute it's easy to forgive them.

The basic premise is not necessarily an original one. A dog's world is turned upside down when his owner adopts a new dog. He does not want to share his owner and decides this new dog must go. While we do get a glimpse into what these pets do when their owners are not home, it is a small one. Apparently pets have more secretive lives than we thought. Or rather, the animals that stop being pets are the real secret ones.

It is a simple story. There is nothing particularly special about it, but it is charming. It is directed by Chris Renaud and Yarrow Cheney and they have managed to make New York more colorful that it usually is. It's fun to watch, but don't expect the next Oscar contending animated film. Of course that does not make it a bad film. It's colorful. The action never slows down.

As I keep mentioning, the plot isn't what I was expecting. Max (Louis C.K.) is a dog who is loyal and happy with his owner Katie (Ellie Kemper). They live in a small apartment in Manhattan and when Katie leaves for work, Max wants nothing more than to wait by the door anticipating her return. While he does have other animal friends including Gidget (Jenny Slate), Mel (Bobby Moynihan) and Chloe (Lake Bell) he tends to ignore them for the door Katie left through.

One day, Katie brings home Duke (Eric Stonestreet) and he makes himself right at home. After a dog walker loses sight of them, they become lost in the big city and must work together to find their way home. During their journey they come across former pets who have been abandoned led by the bunny Snowball (Kevin Hart).

We are led through all different parts of New York City as the animals try to either make their way home or take revenge on humans for having abandoned them. That's the story. Snowball wants Max and Duke to join his revenge idea, but they don't want to. Max's friends from his apartment all come looking for him.

The stand out character is Tiberius (Albert Brooks). I didn't even recognize Brooks in that role. He's a hilarious character with a lot of heart. He starts off as a killer, but turns out he has a heart of gold.

Of course it's always great when there are strong female characters and this one has several.

The Girl on the Train (2016)

Emily Blunt in The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train takes mostly takes place in a village near New York City. The characters involved in the central plot live right next to New York's Metro-North railway line. They are within walking distance of the Ardsley-on-Hudson station.

The story focuses on three women. Megan (Haley Bennett) is a married woman. Her husband insists on them having a child and this frustrates her to no end as she is not ready to have one.

Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) is the new wife to Rachel's ex-husband. Things started off as an affair between the two and it's possible that the cycle is repeating itself.

Rachel (Emily Blunt) is an alcoholic. She had the "perfect" life until alcoholism ruined her marriage and now she must see her husband's' new happy family every time she commutes into the city.

Rachel's life is now miserable. She is struggling with her alcoholism, living in her friend's spare room, and commuting into the city in order to seem like she has a job she lost a year ago due to her drinking. Megan lives two doors down from Rachel's old home and during her commute she gets glimpses into Megan's life. She can compare the life she thinks Megan and her husband have while constantly being reminded of the life she used to have with ex-husband Tom (Justin Theroux).

Movie poster for The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train is based off of Paula Hawkins' novel of the same name and is directed by Tate Taylor (The Help). It's hard not to compare this film to Gone Girl as they are similar. They both feature a missing woman (Megan) and an unreliable narrator (Rachel).

Rachel is the main character and having no recollection of the night Megan disappears, she struggles with the idea that she may somehow be involved in her disappearance. The flow of the narrative takes some getting used to, but once the story gets rolling it does become more interesting. We discover that Megan's husband is emotionally abusive and there is also the possibility she was sleeping with her therapist (Edgar Ramirez). While the film is thrilling for the most part, it's easy to figure out the culprit and it's not as suspenseful as it can be.

The film seems to focus more on the women and the roles they are expected to perform in their lives and how they deal with those failures. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it would be more interesting to focus on either those feelings or the disappearance.

Emily Blunt in The Girl on the Train

Justin Theroux does an okay job at being the object of Anna and Rachel's desires. He's sweet, but you never quite trust him. His performance wasn't subtle enough for me.

In the end though the main villains end up being the women. Megan doesn't fit in with the other women of the community. Anna started off as Tom's mistress and has no problem becoming his new wife in the home he Rachel had together. Anna also turns on Megan once she quits as Anna's nanny. Rachel hates herself and her life.

Blunt is fantastic, as always, in this role. She is a mess and she captures Rachel's essence perfectly. She drinks to forget her problems, hates herself for doing so, then drinks some more to forget that she hates herself. She captures Rachel's ache for the life she once had and the life the thinks Megan has. She is hands down the best part of the film.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

Unfortunately Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is one of the few young adult novels I have not read. Okay, I have not read a lot of young adult novels, but in turns of those being adapted into films I am pretty solid. Anyway, this review will be based on the film itself with no comparisons to the novel thrown in.

Tim Burton directs the adaptation. It is right up his alley as the story follows a group of "peculiars" living in a time loop. The film is 124 minutes long and of course, is visually stunning. There is a lot to explain and it does seem like the film is desperate to put as much exposition as it can which oddly enough makes it feel rushed. Still you care about the characters and their journey. Although whenever  you are dealing with time, there can never be enough explanation to tie things up cleanly.

The film follows Jake Portman (Asa Butterfield who is surprisingly not interesting in this role) an ordinary boy living an ordinary life. He grew up listening to wild tales told by his grandfather Abe (Terence Stamp), but is convinced they are nothing more than that. His grandfather is hurt by this but does not push his stories any further. When his grandfather is attacked it seems as though the stories actually hold truth in them.

As I said, there is a lot of details that are probably in the novel and in trying to fit everything in, it feels rushed. Jake makes it to Wales to search for the home and after a day of searching is able to find it. Miss Peregrine, played by Eva Green, runs the home and is strict, but loving. The peculiar children all have powers: superhuman strength, invisibility, the ability to control air, the ability to project dreams through your eyes, the ability to have live bees inside you, and others. They are remarkable children and Jake adjusts to the new environment easily.

Miss Peregrine is visually stunning and is filled with Tim Burton's aesthetic. There are monsters with wide mouths and no eyes. The twins that live within the home have burlap, clown sacks covering their heads. A former living member of the household who is missing his eyes. You remain on the edge of your seat the more you learn about the children and the dangers they face. The final battle takes place in modern times in a snow covered theme park and there is no other way to describe it than awesome.

The film also has a star studded cast. Allison Janney and Judi Dench make cameo but memorable appearances. Samuel L. Jackson plays the villain and he is as campy as ever. It is a little jarring as the rest of the film has more of a serious tone. However, it's Samuel L. Jackson doing what he does best and there is nothing wrong with that. 

Miss Peregrine is a fun ride that can be a bit hard to understand the overall concept, but that is always an issue when dealing with time. I will never tire of Burton's visions and while not all his films are great, they will always be gorgeous to look at. The children all have cool powers, but there is not enough time to get to know them all. Bronwyn, Victor, Emma, Millard, and Enoch all have a moment to show their peculiarities, but that is what you get attached to not the actual characters. Miss Peregrine is there to keep them safe and it is obvious she does her job well. If only there were more time to get to know all the characters while not feeling brushed over or rushed, then the film would be even better.

Moonwalkers (2015)

3/5 stars
Rated R
1 hour, 47 minutes

Many people think the moon landing never actually occurred and was a hoax to build up morale in a nation in the midst of a cold war. This film explores the idea of the US government having a back up plan in case the astronauts never actually made it to the moon. Ron Perlman's CIA agent is sent to England to deliver a case full of cash to Stanley Kubrick so that he may make a fake moon landing as a plan B. Instead the money ends up in the hands of struggling band manager Rupert Grint and shenanigans ensue. It's a fun film. It's also jumpy, hectic and vulgar and it detracts from the overall fun. This could have been a hilarious film, but it ends up being funny and only okay. The performances make it all worth it.

Nine Lives (2016)

Rated PG -87 minutes

A businessman (Kevin Spacey) is a workaholic is too busy to spend time with his wife and daughter ends up being stuck inside the body of his daughter's cat. No one understands how Spacey ended up tied to this project especially as this is a story that has been done to death and boils down to pee and neutering jokes. Barry Sonnenfeld directs and also stars Jennifer Garner, Christopher Walken, and Robbie Amell - all do the best they can with the material.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Site: www.ninelivesmovie.com
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Producer: Lisa Elizey, Jonathan Vanger, Claude Leger, Mark Gao and Gregory Ouanhon
Cast: Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Garner, Robbie Amell, Cheryl Hines, Malina Weissman, Christopher Walken and Mark Consuelos

No Manches Frida (2016)

Voy a decir que me cae bien Omar Chaparro y si me hace reir.

Pero en esta película fue una historia diferente.

Es la misma formula que siempre: la mujer es tensa y una nerd, y el hombre es rudo pero resulta tener corazón de oro.

Los dos actores principales hacen bien su papel, pero es una historia contada una y otra vez.

Conocemos primero a Zeki Alcantara (Omar Chaparro) quien acaba de salir de prision y quiere recuperar un dinero que dejo con su novia. Se da cuenta que su dinero fue enterrado en el patio de una escuela y se ha construido un gimnasio arriba de ese local, entonces forma plan de hacerse maestro sustituto para tener acceso a la escuela. Ahi conoce a la profesora Lucy (Martha Higareda) quien le empieza complicar la vida especialmente cuando lo pone encargo de los estudiantes peores de la escuela. Claro, esto resulta en un entendimiento mutual entre estudiantes y maestro.

Es similar a otras películas de recientes años en donde el maestro rudo es el único que puede hacer diferencia en las vidas de los niños problemáticos.

Como pueden ver no me gusto tanto la película y los chistes carecían de tacto. Muchas de las escenas eran básicamente lo mismo que otras películas similares. No se que es la razón. A la mejor pensaban que nadie se daría cuenta.

Aparte de Chaparro y Higareda también tenemos actuaciones por Fernanda Castillo como una maestra que le importa mas su imagen que la educación de sus estudiantes, Monica Dione como la directora, Adal Ramones como el maestro de actuación, y Raquel Garza como una maestra que se trata de matar. Pero estas partes son mas como camafeos que la historia principal se enfoca en Zeki y Lucy.

No Manches Frida es tonta y ofensiva y a mi en lo personal no me hizo reir. Es una película echa para tratar de hacer reir a la gente. No la recomiendo.

-Lluvia Almanza
Twitter: @lluvia_almanza
Pagina de internet: lluviaalmanza.com