Caro the Movie Critic

Stephen Hawking and Jane Wilde meeting at a party. Stephen Hawking. A theoretical physicist. A cosmologist. An author. A thinker. A genius. Based on his significant works, he had collaborated with Sir Roger Pemrose, a mathematician, on gravitation singularity theorems, and predicted that black holes emit radiation, now because of his contribution, it is called a Hawking radiation. He helped and also supported with quantum mechanics as he presented his explanation from his expertise of cosmology. It seemed that he would have a fantastically and unique futures that anybody cannot imagine. Unfortunately, it was unique, but in a morbid way, as he had contracted a disease that left him almost entirely paralyzed and unable to communicate verbally. But, in the center of the movie, there is a love story that a few times I rolled my eyes because of the dialogue, however, this movie because of the two strong performances and a terrific first two-thirds of the film. The movie starts in Camb...

The penguins are back. Adorable little furry penguins. You cannot resist on how small and cute they are but also how brave they are to tackle the blizzards and other events impacting their survival, especially when male penguins have to carry the eggs underneath their fur for warmth. (Yeah, look it up on the Internet, read about it or watch a documentary about penguins.) However, I am not going to be reviewing about me the realistic nature of penguins. No, this is an animated feature about the penguins from the Madagascar trilogy. They were hailed as a great group of supporting characters and based on their own first movie this time around, it is not a memorable film but it is a funny and enjoyable movie. In a hilarious opening, ten years ago, in Antarctica, a documentary filmmaker (Werner Herzog) is looking at a colony of penguins. Three rebellious penguins, Kowalski, Rico and Skipper (Chris Miller, Conrad Vernon and Tom McGrath) notices an egg rolling away and rejects the egg a...

The "businessmen" meet their investors for some bad news. Doesn't it frustrate you when you are stuck with a job with a beneficial salary but have a horrible boss? Well, wait a minute, that was the premise for the first movie. They have sort of succeeded in taking down their bosses. Now, they are their own bosses and run a business that needs backup and money. However, when tracking down an investor and you start to trust them, how far do you go in trusting them? They could be your horrible boss(es) since they put their money in your company. This movie tackles that subject and the result is just rape jokes and humor that is more missed than hit. Nick, Kurt and Dale (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day) are in charge of a product and are promoting it on a Good Morning America segment. The product is called The Shower Buddy, which shoots out water and soap out of the same hose when taking a shower. The promotion does not go very well and in spite of this, ...

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! I hope everybody has a safe and sound holiday with all your loved ones. I am blessed to have family and friends around me this holiday season, otherwise, I would have been a melancholic soul. I hope that every person is charitable on giving especially to the people who do not have a place to eat or sleep today. Again, happy Thanksgiving! Gobble gobble!

Kirk Cameron's dancing, because, he's getting a paycheck, I think. So, Saving Christmas is not going to save my bad mood while writing this brief review because frankly, this movie does not deserve a lengthy review. However, now I know, after watching this movie, what is the worst Christmas film ever? I thought last year's A Madea Christmas  was garbage, but there is room underneath that garbage, and it is crap. It does not deserve to be called compost, because it is recyclable. The movie starts with Kirk (Kirk Cameron) sitting in a great living room with so much Christmas flair than a full decorated Macy's department store. He starts narrating that materialistic goods and commercialism take over Christmas and not focus on what the holiday is really about, such as family and the birth of Jesus. He's looking to save Christmas from a Christian point of view. I understand that all valued items are not all that, but, I did not want to see a 90-minute lecture about...

Bill Murray playing around with a kid. When moving to a different neighborhood, you have to expect the unexpected. However, you have visited the house at least one time when your realtor has shown around the house and you have done some research regarding the house. The house would look spiffy, clean, and full of advantageous resources and commodities. But, customers look inside the house and care about whether or not it would be comfortable and spacious. But, what about the environment outside the house? That's what I mean about expecting the unexpected because you do not know who will be friendly or gruff next door or across the street. The movie has the conventional arc of the film but its charm and versatility is what sold me. Vincent McKenna (Bill Murray) is an unfunny alcoholic who lives alone with his cat, Felix. He is in a sexual relationship with a pregnant Russian stripper named Daka (Naomi Watts). Vin tries to sell his home to the bank, but fails. He tries to close...

Liam Hemsworth and Jennifer Lawrence going to battle. As peace around the world go well in general in one point in history, some moronic disagreement starts a war between nations such as WWI and WWII. In this movie, it's not the entire world that the Capitol is trying to keep an eye of, but 12 districts. However, District 12 is bombed and all of the citizens of that district has now relocated to an underground facility called District 13. What Katniss in Catching Fire was gutsy, but, from the point of view of the Capitol, foolish. This movie explores the politics more than the previous two films on how to fix the situation and the result is that even though it is mostly supported by the strong performances, the film seems to be sluggish with what to do and to observe how people survive after an eventful and somber time. It spends too much time on that until we get to the last 30 minutes. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is confused and upset as to what the Capitol had don...

Miles Teller as the talented drummer. I'm not a drumming aficionado but some say that people want to drum because it looks easy. Well, fellas, it does not look easy because it takes a lot of skill, talent, and discipline to become the best drummer a person can be in the long stretch. When they practice effortlessly, drummers will get blisters and blood on their fingers and it symbolizes that they want to become a part of a musical group and they want to be the best. As I was watching this film, I was blown away by the crackling intensity between student and instructor like I've never seen before since watching Full Metal Jacket. Nevertheless, this film is still an excellent treat to watch. Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller) is a 19-year-old jazz drummer who is ambitious to become the best like "Buddy Rich" and in the beginning of the film, he is accepted to Shaffer Conservatory, the best music school in the U.S. He celebrates and he begins dating Nicole (Melissa Benoi...

Hiro and Baymax. Disney has taken over the Marvel Universe in a big way and ever since The Avengers , it's been mostly more hits than misses. I think that Disney really sold itself quite positively not because of more money, but also to target mostly the family audience and will be superbly fun. For example, Guardians of the Galaxy came out of nowhere for me because their tone was mixed and jumbled that I came out of that film with a smile on my face thinking that I had a great time with that film. Now, with this movie, which in itself turned the result into an animated Disney feature, it is an entertaining film all on its own. In the city of San Fransokyo, people gather around in an alley for a bot fight. 14-year-old boy Hiro Hamada (voiced by Ryan Potter) pays his entry and enters the ring with a tiny robot that everybody makes fun of. After two fights, Hiro's bot defeats Yama's bot and he sends his goons after him until Hiro's brother, Tadashi (voiced by Daniel...

Carrey and Daniels reunited again as Harry and Lloyd. Remember those two guys in that photograph, maybe 20 years ago? That's the same duo who helped made, that some say, one of the most hilarious comedies of all time. Dumb and Dumber is a film I saw twice that the first time I did laugh but I did not quite understand the irreverent satire. The second time I laughed and I just went with the flow, but I do not really consider that movie to be one of my favorite comedies of all time. I just had a good time. How did this same team do 20 years later? Well, after a promising start, time goes by quick, but sequels go by real slowly especially when you are seeing a very disappointing comedy sequel. Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) has been in a mental hospital for 20 years and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) has spent 20 years visiting him. Harry changes Lloyd's waste bag and Lloyd mutters that he has been suffering from a medical condition (like we did not know that from the location). L...

This is my first time posting my recommendations to give to someone this holiday season and I think I decided to post it because the holiday season is more about giving to people than receiving. Nevertheless, receiving a gift is quite unpredictable and also exciting. Finding the right gift for someone relieves you and makes you even happier than the person receiving it. It takes the weight off your back. I think it was a good idea to post it now because of people excited about the holiday season and also Black Friday is around the corner, so I divided the film categories into sections and I'm going to start off with... KID VIDs (Movies you want to give to your little sibling, son/daughter, cousin, niece/nephew, etc.) Frozen This and the next movie will be the movies that kids would want for Christmas. It came out way last year and I know that many families have gotten the film when it came out, but, hey, there are chances that the prices went down and it's almost a ...

McConaughey, Hathaway and Gyasi discovering something. Imagine Earth dying. We have to set our minds at an all-time high to carefully process on how we got here and how we can solve the problem not just for ourselves for billions of people around the world. Now, to solve that problem, there is a risk vs. reward but how far will that risk take to be more rewarding? The risk will have some consequences but it could certifiably rewarding towards not just yourself but for others. But, when hearing about this project or researching about what this story is about, I question myself why is Christopher Nolan being so secretive about this project? I think the answer, nowadays, that directors try to copy clichés in other pictures. But, he reaches for the stars paying tribute to two different directors and mission accomplished. Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is an ex-pilot and ex-engineer who is now a widowed father and farmer who resides with his 15-year-old son, Tom (Timothee Chalet) and 10...

What did the board tell them to do? Uh-oh.  This movie is about a Ouija board. That's it. Nothing more. Laine and Debbie (Olivia Cooke and Shelley Hennig) are distant friends as Laine was having a hallucination of her sister, Sarah, after playing with a Ouija board. Debbie appears distressed and as Laine is going over to the house, they discuss the memory of playing the board and Laine dismisses her as a spaz. And as a result, Debbie commits suicide. Laine receives a text message saying that her family needs to speak to her after Debbie's death and she manages to make the funeral. Debbie's mother asks Laine to house-sit while they are away as she agrees to the offer. Laine finds Debbie's Ouija board and decides to invite his friends: Sarah (Ana Coto), Trevor (Daren Kagasoff), Isabelle (Bianca A. Santos), and Debbie's boyfriend, Pete (Douglas Smith). They manage to contact a spirit and they think it is Debbie and as a result, they are too frightened to play w...

Michael Keaton and Edward Norton role-playing? Michael Keaton is an actor who has been in projects that range from memorable to forgettable. He played Batman in both versions from Tim Burton in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I have seen him in the terrible film Pacific Heights where he plays an angry tenant and an utterly forgettable film and it's another Herbie version called Herbie: Fully Loaded with Lindsay Lohan. It has cool and cartoonish racing sequences and well, that's it. But, he had a funny performance in The Other Guys  as the captain. But, this film is a career resurgence for Keaton in this dark comedy. This movie is designed as though the entire result is in one continuous shot. Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) is an actor who is transitioning his career from starring in his Birdman voicing roles as a superhero to being a theatre actor. The voice of Birdman, subconsciously coming from his movie poster, is saying that he should never have quit making the movie...

Jake Gyllenhaal as a freelance cameraman at the scene of the crime. Many people watch the news to be informed on what's going around domestically and internationally to learn to see if we could prepare for ourselves for the present and also for the future. And, sometimes, people do not take the initiative to learn what happens to innocent people or thieves regarding a crime or a robbery. Heck, for example, what's going on with the Ebola virus? In my opinion, it seems that the news about the virus is slowing down a bit. But, when it comes to shooting the events of something unique, cameramen and journalists sometimes sacrifice their time and lives to report the event because they would have no idea if the killers would strike against them or if danger itself will strike against them, most particularly, in the middle of a war. This movie follows a disturbed character around and we witness what he loves and does best and it is a hell of a ride. Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) i...