Caro the Movie Critic

I have to say...what the hell happened? Boy, there is going to be controversy, maybe an investigation and maybe someone getting fired for that gaffe for the Best Picture award. What do I say about this? I was thinking about it this morning and I thought even though I was rooting for La La Land to win Best Picture, I am actually glad Moonlight  won (I mean that was one of the few movies of 2016 I gave four stars). The Academy spread the wealth a little more this time and I think because of these "political times" and the Academy being more diverse, Moonlight is an important movie to watch and also an original movie. And, that is why I was happy that it won because rarely the industry or moviegoers recognize original work. There were very few surprises, mostly in the makeup category (why did it have to go to Suicide Squad ?) and the Best Picture category but most of the categories were predictable. As for the show, I thought it was one of the best Oscar shows because it ...

Well, this was a surprise. Bill Paxton has sadly passed away at the age of 61 due to complications of surgery. Many people in the 1990s and 2000s would recognize his face and say that this underrated actor was "the guy from this movie or that movie." But, I say he is Bill Paxton because he was in many good movies and many underrated performances because he was such a natural presence on-screen. However, many people paid attention to him because he created some memorable characters or characters that lived on in memorable movies. He had such small roles in the beginning in Commando, Stripes, Impulse  and Streets of Fire  that James Cameron, a prolific and young up-and-coming director would hire him for a small role in  The Terminator  but would work with him in two other movies: two in which it'll be on the list. So, here are my favorite 5 Bill Paxton performances: Aliens Remember Hudson? Remember when he says, "Game over, man. Game over." Well, he was ...

Charlie Day vs. Ice Cube. Uh...well...this...there's a moment from another movie that is sort of like The Sandlot . Remember the scene in which two groups name-call each other and then they have a baseball game of their own? That great moment is basically what this piece of creative garbage is. I have no introduction for this review because there could have been potential for this project to be self-aware and maybe make fun of the school system that should be more strict and organized. Nope, it's basically bully vs. puny and respected guy to the end and I just kept waiting for the laughs to come by and a few chuckles were produced as a result in this tedious comedy. At Roosevelt High School, it's the last day of school for both students and staff as the students cannot wait to get out for the summer and for the staff to simply relax before next term. However, chaos starts as English teacher Andy Campbell (Charlie Day) has his parking spot occupied by someone else'...

He's mortified at what he sees. I have to admit something that many people has been sensitive to many topics such as politics, race, gender and equality. In this day and age, any movie, book or subject being brought upon a conversation with other people could be dealt with controversy, anyhow, especially after what has happened after the election. To be honest, there was a point I was wanting to quit blogging or movie reviews because after a movie is over, almost any movie could be subjected to a neutral opinion and can make it a bit too equal than it should be. So, the bottom line is let the good or great movies speak for themselves without being too political because it is pure entertainment. Director Jordan Peele has made his first effort to make a movie that is both socially relevant to today's society and blending with some horror and comedic style and this movie works and I thoroughly enjoy this ride. Rose (Alison Williams) and his black boyfriend, Chris (Daniel Kal...

Who will win this Oscar Sunday? This awards season have been fairly easy but in a few categories, there have been some surprises.  Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor are the two major categories that will be a bit tricky. The only question is how political will it get after this crazy election. And, this is Jimmy Kimmel's first time hosting so how will he do? Here are my predictions for the top categories. BEST PICTURE Arrival Fences Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water Hidden Figures La La Land Lion Manchester By The Sea Moonlight Will win & Should win:  La La Land Dark Horse:  Moonlight La La Land has been dominating this awards circuit with the PGA win and some other big awards wins. However, Moonlight has been doing well in some critics wins and a few other awards win. But, this is a predictable category and I see La La Land win Best Picture. Moonlight will create some suspense. And, I have to say: I don't understand the backlash. BEST DIRECTO...

Something is amidst these hallways... I was very skeptical going into this movie because after I saw the trailer, I had two comments about it. "What the heck was going on?" and "This looks very interesting." Gore Verbinski, the director, before his Pirates  fame, also made a solid scary movie called The Ring which did not insert as many horror cliches into the story but the process and originality was much scarier that I had expected and I was reward with a good movie. Verbinski is back with his roots by creating another original, inventive movie that spins you and makes you think. Unfortunately, when you think what may happen, the movie still has time to go and you just want to leave and be left with a cold revelation and an unsatisfying ending. A rude executive named Lockhart (Dane DaHaan) heads to work via train. He is so focused that he avoids his co-workers. Lockhart with the higher-ups as they review a CEO's, Roland Pembroke's (Harry Groener) not...

You have two different types of comedies, and it will sound so general: PG-13-rated and R-rated comedies. Sometimes, you want to have some taste and class in some comedies. But, also, sometimes, you want to mix it up and watch something different: so why not an R-rated raunchiest with some crass humor and profanity? I have to admit that I still look for some freshness and banter between the main stars to drive that R-rated comedy forward because profanity itself does not make the whole movie funnier. It makes the movie tiring such as Sausage Party , a marginally good movie that was a bit disappointing. However, I have not gotten through a list of my favorite R-rated comedies and I have to admit, nowadays, a good R-rated comedy is hard to come by. So, here are my favorites: Caddyshack Coming to America National Lampoon's Vacation Trading Places Planes, Trains and Automobiles The 40-Year-Old Virgin Office Space This is the End The Big Lebowski...

John Wick and his new dog. John Wick  was a sleeper hit in 2014, surprising many action fans and myself. It was a emotional but action-packed, fun ride that kept on going with the pace and became probably one of the best action movies in recent years because it flashed back to the action movies of the 1990s that we have missed. Also, it maybe marked the comeback for Keanu Reeves because he did not play the character but he was the character. He was so committed in his performance and also he did 90% of the stuntwork which was fascinating. And, while researching the movie, I did not know he had the flu with a high fever during the club shootout scene. Dang! So, after watching the sequel, this is the rare action sequel that is equal to its predecessor: a solid action flick that kicks a lot of butt because it explores more of his world. The movie picks up where the first movie left off. John Wick (Keanu Reeves) heads to a warehouse that is owned by Abram Tarasov (Peter Stormare...

The Justice League is formed...LEGO style. "Everything is awesome. Everything is cool when you're part of a team." Well, that's the song that introduced to the LEGO world that is positive and upbeat entertainment that sets the tone for that previous movie with its humor and its story. Now, the movie, thanks to its critical, commercial and financially successful acclaim, has started a trend of LEGO-inspired movies and the first movie to do that: Batman. Batman was a funny supporting character in the first LEGO movie that many people were clamoring for more of the character in its world. And, now, it has been made, it does not reach the peaks of the LEGO movie because of its fresh concept, but it is a whole lot of irreverent fun full of humor and heart. Batman (Will Arnett) is fighting his arch-rival, the Joker (Zach Galifianakis), because Joker is trying to destroy to Gotham City. However, he hurts Joker's feelings as he thinks that the Joker is not as import...

Gaze into his eyes and bite your lips once more... Well...here we go again. We have another movie adaptation from this "masterful" series of books. Remember the hype about two and a half years ago? People, well, mainly the older female demographic, were clamoring for this movie because of the book. I have to admit I read a few snippets of the book and some of the dialogue in the book are terrible. Now, we have the first movie and it is one of the most boring and least sexy movies I've seen in some time and it was basically a sleepy music video with a stalker vibe to it. This movie is one of the best unintentional comedic soap-operas in recent years and it is thanks to an incoherent plot that piles on one storyline after another with the same tone of sexiness as the first one. It is not sexy. Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) is now working in a new job as an assistant to Jack Hyde (Eric Johnson), an editor at Seattle Independent Publishing (SIP). Jack shows more tha...

Well...Valentine's Day is around the corner and even though it is next week, I might encourage to watch some of these romantic comedies or dramas just for the sake of fun or you basically watch these just because you love them. Now, I have to say that even though I'll address my favorite romance movies, both comedies and dramas, I will also address my LEAST favorite romance movies. And, here's the reason why I'm putting that category on this list. Because people were asking what is my least favorite genre, I tell them romantic comedies are my least favorite genre because it has the same formulaic structure or just insert unnecessary jokes to propel the story and movie. It is tiring. So, I will start with my favorite romantic movies. Favorite 10, well let's make it 20, romantic movies: Singin' in the Rain Roman Holiday Annie Hall The Princess Bride Moonstruck When Harry Met Sally... An Officer and a Gentleman Pretty Woman ...

Wow! What a game! This year's game was exciting, suspenseful and riveting down to the wire when we got into the first overtime in Super Bowl history. So, I have to tip my hat off to Coach Bill Belichick, quarterback Tom Brady, running back James White and the rest of the New England Patriots to come back to win the Super Bowl. Some records have been broken last night. Now, I have to say this year's batch of Super Bowl ads are weak because it did not infuse as much humor as I want and many ads' executions did not take off or its payoff was lackluster and did not make me want to buy the product or get interested in the company. However, there were 5 ads that made the list for me as my favorite Super Bowl ads this year but they got to try harder next year and I also have a few honorable mentions and sort of a consolation prize: 5. Budweiser Now, I do not know the deal with people not liking this commercial. It simply about an immigrant who had the idea to come up w...