Film Freak

The Film Freak Movie Talk Show 1.14.12

Published by leo in Film Freak Movie Talk Show on January 26th, 2012 | No Comments »

Leo welcomes acting legend James Cromwell “The Artist” and talks the Critics Choice Awards!

Man On A Ledge Movie Review

Published by leo in Movie Review on January 25th, 2012 | No Comments »

Man On A Ledge is a simple story about sticking it to The Man. Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) has been kicked off the NYPD and arrested for stealing a $40 million dollar diamond from John Englander (Ed Harris). This thing is a ROCK let me tell ya. Cassidy must prove he’s innocent to clear his name.

The action takes us 220 feet in the air at the Roosevelt Hotel in downtown Manhattan. He goes out on the ledge. Why? Jumper? Psycho? To get answers, we need a negotiator. This movie is cast with People Magazine’s Sexiest Negotiators Alive. Representing the men is Jack Dougherty (Ed Burns) & the women, Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks.)

The cat and mouse game ensues. What’s really going on here? All the answers are across the street. Things are not what they seem. I thought the film had good pacing. I also appreciate subtle twists & cleverness in heists. If you’re gonna jump in, jump in with both feet. This is strictly a formula film and I enjoyed it.

If you’d like short, exclusive updates on movies, Follow me on Twitter @leoquinones

The Grey Movie Review

Published by leo in Movie Review on January 25th, 2012 | No Comments »

Man vs. Wolves. When a plane crashes in the frozen Alaskan wilderness, survivors are left to fend for themselves. The bitter, icy cold is more than enough for any group to succumb to hypothermia. If this baron scenario wasn’t bad enough, these men had just become a meaty part of the winter food chain.

Dead passengers ripped apart in the plane crash, were devoured by savage wolves. It’s just a matter of time before they move in to start hunting living survivors. So sets in motion the core of The Grey. It’s desperate men in a desperate situation. The wolf attacks are vicious & non-stop. It’s fun trying to guess and see if Liam becomes Purina Wolf Chow.

The Grey is fun popcorn all the way.

You can follow me for quick, exclusive movie updates on Twitter @leoquinones

Red Tails Movie Review

Published by leo in Movie Review on January 20th, 2012 | No Comments »

“In spite of adversity and limited opportunities, African Americans have played a significant role in U.S. military history over the past 300 years. They were denied military leadership roles and skilled training because many believed they lacked qualifications for combat duty. Before 1940, African Americans were barred from flying for the U.S. military. Civil rights organizations and the black press exerted pressure that resulted in the formation of an all African-American pursuit squadron based in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1941. They became known as the Tuskegee Airmen.” http://www.tuskegeeairmen.org/

Italy 1944. During World War II, skilled African American Tuskegee fighter pilots at one time, were only allowed to engage in mop up air strikes. These low priority targets included fuel trucks or maybe if you’re lucky, a German train transporting ammunition.

The story focuses on a small group of pilots who are itching to do the job they were trained to do–engage in aerial dogfights & shoot down Nazis. Col. A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard) constantly goes up against bigoted brass trying to secure a respectable mission. In the field, Major Emanuelle Stance (Cuba Gooding Jr.) does his best to motivate his squadron of flyers, Joe “Lightning” Little (David Oyelowo) Marty “Easy” Julian (Nate Parker) Ray “Junior” Gannon (Tristan Wilds) and Andrew “Smokey”Salem (Ne-Yo)

The movie’s message is rock solid. Seeing this caliber hate and ignorance on the big screen is tough to watch. But it did in fact happen. I think it should be required viewing for everyone. It gives the audience an inkling of what these brave men endured. Think about this, racists are allowed to be racists in this great country because these brave men fought & died for their freedom.

Red Tails does have flaws. The acting was stiff at times. The dialogue was just ok. The dog fight scenes were what I looked forward to seeing most. They fell a bit short. The Germans didn’t seem like they were fighting back. The air scenes lacked the element of danger. Even with these flaws, let me repeat. If you’re a proud American, do yourself & your family a favor & go see Red Tails. We owe it to those brave Tuskegee Airmen!

You can follow me on Twitter @leoquinones

Leo Quinones to Host 1st Annual Golden Collar Awards

Published by leo in Movie News on January 18th, 2012 | No Comments »

Photo Credit: Albert Ruvira

Dog News Daily has tapped yours truly to be the Master of Ceremonies at the 1st Annual Golden Collar Awards. The reason is simple: Dogs in movies stand out & those performances will be celebrated. It’s tongue and cheek folks. This will be a fun awards show, but there’s also good coming out of this. Monies will be raised to help the lives of shelter dogs. Count me in! If I were a betting man, I’d put it all on Uggie, The Dog from The Artist just stole the movie.

Dog News Daily’s 1st Annual Golden Collar Awards™ ceremony takes place on Monday, February 13 at 6:00pm (PST) at The Hotel Palomar in Westwood/Los Angeles, a dog-friendly Kimpton Hotel. The evening kicks off with red carpet arrivals and a private cocktail reception benefiting Los Angeles area dog rescue organizations and shelters.

And the Canine Nominees are!!

BEST DOG IN A THEATRICAL FILM
COSMO as Arthur – BEGINNERS (Focus Features)
UGGIE as Queenie – WATER FOR ELEPHANTS (Fox)
DENVER as Skeletor – 50/50 (Summit Entertainment/ Mandate Pictures)
HUMMER as Dolce – YOUNG ADULT (Paramount/Mandate)
UGGIE as The Dog – The Artist (The Weinstein Company)

BEST DOG IN A FOREIGN FILM
KOKO as Red Dog – RED DOG (Roadshow Films, Australia)
LAIKA as Herself – LE HAVRE (Janus Films, France)
BIINA as Alf – THE DAY THE DOGS DISAPPEARED (Nippon Television, Japan)
ICHICO as Tao – THE DAY THE DOGS DISAPPEARED (Nippon Television, Japan)

BEST DOG IN A TELEVISION SERIES
ROCKY as Arnold – ENTOURAGE(HBO)
CHUNK as Himself – CHELSEA LATELY (E! Entertainment Television)
BRIDGITTE as Stella – MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
DART as Chance – HOT IN CLEVELAND (TV Land)
JASON GANNS as Wilfred – WILFRED (FX)
LAMPCHOP as Yakult – SUBURGATORY (ABC)

BEST DOG IN A REALITY TELEVISION SERIES
GIGGY – THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS / Lisa Vanderpump (Bravo)
MILLOU – THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK CITY / Sonja Morgan (Bravo)
JACKPOT – THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS / Adrienne Maloof (Bravo)
SPARTACUS – ICE LOVES COCO / Coco (E! Entertainment)
HERCULES – PIT BOSS / Shorty Rossi (Animal Planet)

BEST DOG IN A DIRECT-TO-DVD FILM
FRED as B Dawg – SPOOKY BUDDIES (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment)
GASTON as Beethoven – BEETHOVEN’S CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE (Universal Home Entertainment)
ANGEL as Chloe – BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA 2 (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment)
ROWDY as Marley – Marley & Me: The Puppy Years (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment)
RUSCO as Papi – Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment)

GOLDEN COLLAR HUMANITARIAN AWARD: Charlize Theron
GOLDEN COLLAR LEGENDS AWARD: Robert Vince

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Movie Review

Published by leo in Movie Review on January 17th, 2012 | No Comments »

“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.” What does the title mean? For me, the heart & soul of this movie is young Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn). So I believe the movie’s moniker pertains to Oskar and the events of 9/11. ‘Extremely Loud’ may be him describing huge airplanes slamming the World Trade Center. ‘Incredibly Close’ is really the best way to describe his relationship with his father, Thomas Schell(Tom Hanks).

One day, while looking through his father’s belongings, Oskar finds a key. But what secret could it uncover? Oskar & his dad were all about using deductive skills to solve most any mystery. This key just might unlock something that’ll bring him just a little bit closer to his father whom he misses so very much. And so it goes. This amazing kid, using wit & passion, searches throughout the five boroughs of New York.

The scenes are intense. My favorite parts of the movie were the flashbacks of happier times between Thomas & his son, Oskar. They were very sweet & made you feel good. The downside, those scenes are scant. The material here is very tough to watch. You’re talking about ripping off the scab of 9/11 and it is polarizing. There are people out in the world who feel, it’s good to stir up these emotions & weep about what happened to our country that awful day. I’m not one of those people.

You can follow me on Twitter @leoquinones

CONTRABAND MOVIE REVIEW

Published by leo in Action, Movie Review, Movies on January 11th, 2012 | No Comments »

MINOR SPOILERS. NOTHING GLARING REVEALED.

Mark Wahlberg kicks off 2012 with the new R rated action flick, “Contraband.” Leaving behind a life of crime & going legit is Chris Farraday’s (Mark Wahlberg) new life plan. He’s got two growing sons & a smokin’ hot wife, Kate (Kate Beckinsale). In family, there’s always that certain screw up. Someone who’s playing on the wrong side of the tracks. This time it’s his brother-in-law, Andy(Caleb Landry Jones). He’s breaking the law & he’s not very good at it.

In my opinion, drug dealers in Contraband never read the book, Drug Dealing For Dummies. Page 169 clearly states, “No Drug Dealers or Drug Buyers Should Ever Program Each Other’s Last Name Into Their Personal Cell Phones.” Who does that? I’ve watched enough episodes of “24″ to know that that leaves a digital trail. So back to the story, Andy gets in way over his head with said drug dealer Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi)(who’s real last name BRIGGS is actually programmed into Andy’s cell phone!) Swear to God.

One more thing I have to call out. During an “un-monitored” maximum security prison visitation, Chris tells his jailbird pop he’s gotta go back into the business of running contraband to bail out his wife’s brother. Hello Guard, anywhere? Hello!! While the first half of the movie is slow-building, things do heat up in the second half.

Panama is pickup point. The clock is ticking because, the ship’s captain (J.K. Simmons) has a schedule to keep. Chris has to obtain ill-gotten booty & get it back onto the ship undetected. During which, he’s got to navigate his way though poverty-stricken streets of Panama with zero GPS, just memory. It’s here where he meets up with an old business contact, a drug lord (Diego Luna) who’s expanding from smuggling, drugs, counter-fitting to armed robbery & murder.

With Briggs terrorizing Chris’ family back on the mainland, he’s gotta score and score big time no matter what or his family is dead. He’s desperate & his actions become more & more daring. The question: How far would you go to save the lives of your wife & kids? The action is there, no doubt about that. I just wish the film on the whole was more clever ala 2003′s “The Italian Job.”

You can Follow me on Twitter @leoquinones

The Film Freak Movie Talk Show 12.31.11

Published by Albert in Film Freak Movie Talk Show, Interviews on January 5th, 2012 | No Comments »

Leo Quinones welcomes BRENDAN GLEESON “The Guard“, ROBERT DUVALL, “Seven Days in Utopia” & CHARLES MARTIN SMITH who played Wallace the timid-turned-tough guy accountant in “The Untouchables.” (Leo’s all-time favorite gangster flick.)

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