Episode 87: The Hunger Games and Comic Con Episode IV A Fan's Hope

Hello there and welcome to the 87th episode of the Cinema Cafe Podcast, the bi-weekly, twice monthly film podcast by the fans, for the fans. Join us each week as we review new movies releases, look at some dvd's, talk some film news and share our general love for all things cinema. The main goal is to have some fun and hopefully provide the listener with some helpful insight. We are back and the podcasting world is alight once again.

We are finally back with recharged batteries and are ready once again to bring our loyal listeners some brand new bi-weekly content. Thanks for your patience and it feels so good to be back!!

This week we take a look at a few movies that has been recently released and also of a few that are currently on dvd or still in theaters. With that said here's a look at what we discuss on this weeks podcast:

* The Hunger Games
* Comic Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope
* A Seperation
* Bullhead
* Iron Lady
* Upcoming movie releases for the weekend of 4.13.12 and 4.20.12

Also, film news and more, only on the Cinema Cafe Podcast. We hope you enjoy and happy movie watching.

Thanks as always to all our loyal listeners for sharing the ride with us as we've once again started producing the show. It's all due to your support that we have kept things going and we hope you continue to share the ride with us in the coming months.

We're also on Itunes so head over there and subscribe to the Cinema Cafe Podcast and don't forget to post a review! Thanks!!

Book Review - The Dark Storm by Kris Greene (fiction)

Publication Date: 2010

Synopsis:

Gabriel is a New York City college kid who loves to bury his nose in books, looking up stories of long-dead cultures, lost languages, and forgotten legends. He never imagined one of those legends would come looking for him—until a tough-talking girl named De Mona Sanchez thrusts an ancient weapon into his hands...and recruits Gabriel in a dark epic war he was born to fight.

Banished centuries ago by warrior knights, a demonic army is storming through a dimensional rift into our world. Stalkers are prowling the streets. Corpses are rising up to fight. And Gabriel—a descendant of one of the original warriors—has no choice but to drop his textbooks and start kicking demon butt alongside his new friend De Mona…who has a few secrets of her own. If Gabriel fails, humanity loses. If war is hell, this is hell on earth…

Joshua's take - 2/5☆

Why did I pick up this book? - because the cover caught my eye and I'm always interested in urban-fantasy novels where the main protagonist is male (since that's very rare), especially one from a female author. So that really peaked my interest.

The Dark Storm is the first book in a new urban-fantasy series from author Kris Greene and while it does have some decent writing, it is amazingly generic. It's almost like what if you took a bunch of stuff from other books- a world of demons, agents of light, vampires, goblins, knights, werewolves and mystical weapons of power, blended them all together and weaved the story around the template on "how-to" write an urban-fantasy novel. If this was any more by-the-numbers I would have sworn I'd read it already.

The main problem I had with this book is it's characterization, or lack there of. There's just way to many characters crammed into this slim work (the story constantly shifts through multiple POV's), that I felt like I was missing half the novel, like it was incomplete. There's a sequel to The Dark Storm as there generally is with this sub-genre, but that's no excuse to have such a flimsy table setter. I mean you want readers to come back for the rest of the series right? Also, the two "main" characters of the book, Gabriel Redfeather and De Mona Sanchez (and yes that's her real name!!) are so poorly formed as characters that they feel like they're cursory characters in the background, rather then the one's the whole series is based around. And they both whined and whined so much, especially Gabriel, that I had to re-read the earlier pages and remind myself that he wasn't a freshman in highschool, but already in college!!!

However, I did like the magic system with the witches, warlocks and mages all having different functions in the world, and how there are numerous classes and castes within each magical house. I also liked the back story of how there was a holy war centuries ago between the forces of light and the denizens of hell, and how the ancestors of both sides are fighting over the souls again years later. But man, the most important aspect of the story, the very foundation the world is based around, the magical weapons, felt the weakest in the entire story. Their characteristics and attributes are never fully thought out and explained, their powers appearing more as poor imagination rather than weapons that can control the very fabric of the world.

It's all just so generic that in 2 weeks I probably won't remember the story anymore and sadly I won't be coming back for the upcoming sequel Demon Hunt.

Book Review: Serena by Ron Rash (fiction)

Publication Date: 2008

Synopsis:

The year is 1929, and newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton travel from Boston to the North Carolina mountains where they plan to create a timber empire. Although George has already lived in the camp long enough to father an illegitimate child, Serena is new to the mountains--but she soon shows herself to be the equal of any man, overseeing crews, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving her husband's life in the wilderness. Together this lord and lady of the woodlands ruthlessly kill or vanquish all who fall out of favor. Yet when Serena learns that she will never bear a child, she sets out to murder the son George fathered without her. Mother and child begin a struggle for their lives, and when Serena suspects George is protecting his illegitimate family, the Pembertons' intense, passionate marriage starts to unravel as the story moves toward its shocking reckoning.


Penny's take - 4/5☆

I just recently finished the book, Serena by Ron Rash. I was interested in reading this book because Joshua informed me that this was going to be made into a movie starring everyone's favorite vixen, Angelina Jolie. The novel focuses on the Pembertons, a newly wed couple building their timber/lumber empire in North Carolina. They bully and coerce their way to the top, leaving a trail of blood behind them. When Serena (the wife) goes after George's (the husband) illegitimate child, who was conceived prior to Serena, things get complicated and very exciting.

I liked the backdrop of the story, pre-war, small mountain town in North Carolina. I also liked the characters. Serena is a very strong female character, who's knowledge of the timber business and hunting/training skills are unmatched by any man. George's position is difficult, he has a wife he loves and obeys but he also has a child he has a very, very mild soft spot for--the child not conceived with Serena however. The storytelling is greatly paced though I found at times a bit slow and that may only be because I don't care much about the tree cutting industry. This is a recommend.


Joshua's take - 4/5☆

Why I picked up the book - because I heard that director Darren Aronofsky's is developing a big-screen adaptation of this book staring Angelina Jolie as the main character Serena and I thought, "holy crap."

Stunning, simply stunning. Reading Serena is like watching a Hitchcock film, you have a sense of dread, you know somethings lurking just outside the camera vision, things break and tip, and your dread keeps building as Hitchcock plays with the filmatic devices at his disposal, prolonging the tension until the final nail comes down, bringing your emotions to a crescendo of relief and horror.

I'm not generally a fan of contemporary literature. I've always found them somewhat of a chore, as the narrative weaves in and out of heartbreaking sob story, to tragic family escapades. Give me a classic and you'll find a man in deep concentration with a smile from ear to ear. However author Ron Rash is an amazing writer. He's able to convey so much emotion in so few words, that his writing reminds me of Melville, or Rash's contemporary, Cormac McCarthy, sparse yet elegant. While I do find McCarthy a better writer than Rash, I find Rash's style lends itself to a more enjoyable read.

Serena is a beautifully tragic and heartbreaking story, however not in the way one may think. It's really the story of two young women living in the early 1900's and how they cope with the times. One raising a young child alone and penniless and another rich, stomping across anyone who gets in her way. It's about the duality of nature, of nurture and destruction. Serena is one of the most disturbing modern villains because everything she does, she does for a reason, with the unwavering belief that what she is doing is right and for the best. In truth, what I like so much about this book is that while it's written by a man, populated by men, the two women in the story are the one's who hold the most sway, hold the destinies of the other men in the actions that they take- fortunes rise and fall because of them.

This is a must read for anyone looking for a taut thriller with literary aspirations. Read it before the movie comes out

Episode 60: Kick-Ass, Date Night and Clash of the Titans

Hello there and welcome to the 60th episode of the Cinema Cafe Podcast, the bi-weekly, twice monthly film podcast by the fans, for the fans. Join us each week as we review new movies releases, look at some dvd's, talk some film news and share our general love for all things cinema. The main goal is to have some fun and hopefully provide the listener with some helpful insight. We are back and the podcasting world is alight once again.

This week we have a treat: it's our 60th episode, which means we've been bringing you "bi-weekly" content for more than a year now. This week we take a look at 4 movies that have been recently released or are on dvd. With that said here's a look at what we discuss on this weeks podcast:

* Clash of the Titans
* An Education
* Date Night
* Kick-Ass
* Upcoming movie releases for the weekend of 4.23.10 and 4.30.10

Also, film news and more, only on the Cinema Cafe Podcast. We hope you enjoy and happy movie watching.

Thanks as always to all our loyal listeners for sharing the ride with us as we've reached this milestone for the show. It's all due to your support that we have kept things going and we hope you continue to share the ride with us in the coming months.

We're now on Itunes so head there and subscribe to the Cinema Cafe Podcast. Thanks!

Fighting movie review

This 2009 bare-knuckle action drama with the overly long and complicated name and is directed by Dito Montiel who previously wrote the book and directed the 2006 A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints movie about his life growing up in Astoria, Queens. Anyway, Fighting stars Terrance Howard (of I want more money for Iron Man 2 fame) and Channing Tatum (of Step Up and soon to be Public Enemies and Gi Joe fame) and is the story of Shawn MacArthur (Channing) who after moving to NY struggles to make ends meet by selling counterfeit goods. A chance encounter with Harvey Boarden (Howard) a hustler and street fighting coach brings him into the world of high stakes bare knuckle fighting. Is this the chance he’s been looking for to make some green, or will he only be seeing red in the end?

When we left the theater I overheard something someone said and I just couldn’t stop laughing. Basically a group of girls walked out of the Fighting screening, and one of them said something prompting a complete stranger, a guy around the age of 27, the demographic for this film, to turn around shell-shocked. Penny and I will re-enact the scene.

Penny: Man that was amazing.

Man: (turning around wide-eyed) Amazing? Alright.

I just thought that was hilarious, just the shocked look on the guys face. To be fair, Channing Tatum was shirtless for most of the movie so that fact may have prompted her response. But anyway, so Penny was Fighting like the girl said amazing, or should Channing Tatum just stick to dancing?

For a movie called simply fighting, a movie that finds its basis in the fact that there will be fighting, the fighting scenes stunk. Basically it was like a bunch of drunks at a bar fight. There was no skill involved, just punch, punch, push, Channing wins. There are a lot of fast cuts that I’m sure are there to accentuate the action, making it seem fast and fierce, but all the cuts did for me was to make the action to quick paced so you couldn’t really see any technique. You’re better off going to a bar at night and watching drunks fight. Save your money and grab a beer.

What’s worse is that there are real fighters here, I mean one of Channings opponents is current Strikeforce Middleweight champion Cung Le, as Dragon Lee (big stretch) and he’s busting out all these real submission and fighting moves, and he easily gets beat by Channing after a few punches. The whole movie was, bad guy throws a bunch of kicks and punches, beating Channing badly, Channing punches the guy twice and the guy hits his head on a random sink, Channing wins. Again for a movie called simply Fighting, the actual Fighting was silly.

The whole plot is also ridiculous. I mean the movie’s explanation for anything makes no sense. The reason why Stephen is living on the streets, why he had a falling out with his father, why he doesn’t like the main bad guy, what is Terrance Howard’s Harvey’s backstory, who are the group of bad guys, nothing, nothing makes sense. I mean seriously, they try to explain things and it just makes things more confusing. Now I don’t expect a great plot from these kind of movies, but my god, this is like watching an episode of Lost and then that’s all you get, that one episode. Just terrible, not even clichéd because I can’t even tell you the why’s of this movie.

Let’s talk a little about the romance. Channing’s character Shawn falls in love with a nightclub busgirl named Zulay (Zulay Henao, they really went crazy with the names here), and while they are both equally hot, the chemistry between them felt forced and their scenes together felt awkward. And I say forced because it was basically set up where Channing sees Zulay, he likes her, stalks her a bit and then they have sex. I was like, “I get that Channing is a good looking guy but come on.”

Now I have to admit, from the trailers and commercials, I was looking forward to seeing this one. If anything I thought, a much lesser Rocky, a sports underdog movie, and I always, and I mean always love those. But yeah, I could forgive this film for its poor plot if it had good action and I just didn’t think the action was any good. Sure there were a lot of beefcakes, but bare-chested men are not enough of a thing to sway me, so I’m giving this a, “sneak out/I want my money back rating.” A movie that I somehow find worse than 2008’s Never Back Down, with the equally hunky Cam Gigandet, and that movie was terrible.

Episode 29: Soloist, Fighting and Tyson

Hello there and welcome to the 29th episode of the Cinema Cafe Podcast: the new weekly film podcast by the fans, for the fans. Each week we will review new movies releases, dvd reviews, talk some film news and share our general love for all things cinema. The main goal is to have some fun and hopefully provide the listener with some helpful insight. This week we have a treat: a look at 3 movies that have been recently released. With that said here's a look at what we discuss on this weeks podcast:

* Soloist
* Fighting
* Tyson
* A quick re-look at two romantic films, one a musical comedy and one a weepy remake, the Hugh Grant songfest in 2007's Music and Lyrics and the reunion of the Speed duo in 2006's Lake House.
* DVD Review of the 2008 critically acclaimed French film, I've Loved You So Long
* Upcoming movie releases for the weekend of 5.01.09

Also, film news and more, only on the Cinema Cafe Podcast. We hope you enjoy and happy movie watching.

We're now on Itunes so head there and subscribe to the Cinema Cafe Podcast. Thanks!

New Movie Releases for the Weekend of 4.24.09

1) Obsessed

- a Beyonce movie where she doesn’t sing? What’s going on? This one’s about a successful business man with a beautiful wife (played by Beyonce) who gets stalked by Ali Larter. So essentially, this movie is about living the dream. I have no idea why this thriller got made, but well, the world has to deal with it now.

2) Earth

- this trailer for a documentary that follows the migration path of four families of animals and their plight to survive has been playing a lot and every time I see it I feel as if I’ve already seen the whole movie. That’s because if you’ve watched BBC’s Planet Earth tv series, this is basically a condensed version of it, except now the voice over is no longer of Patrick Stewart but of James Earl Jones.

3) The Soloist

- from Atonement director Joe Wright comes this this based on a true story about a brilliant but troubled and homeless musician (played by Jamie Foxx) and a LA reporter (played by Robert Downy Jr.) who befriends him. This was supposed to come out last October but got pushed back, probably because the field was too crowded, but yeah, an early feel good movie.

4) Fighting

- I have to admit, I really want to see this cheesy movie starring Channing Tatum and Terrance Howard about the underground world of bare knuckle fighting. I’m a really big fan of Mixed Martial Arts, so much so that I try to follow every single fight here in the States and overseas, so I’ll watch any movie that’s about MMA, but yeah this looks like a lesser Rocky and that could still be good.

5) Tyson

- a documentary that played at this year’s Sundance about the life and times of former Heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson. I’m a big sports nuts and I grew up watching Mike Tyson, so it always saddens me when I think back on Tyson’s fall from grace and he brought all on himself. Many are saying this is one of the best documentaries of the year, so I’m eager to see this.

6) Mutant Chronicles

- this movie about a futuristic soldier that fights to save the Earth from a mutant plague, came out in the UK and Canada last year, and well, it has an interesting cast (Ron Perlman, John Malkovich, Thomas Jane, Devon Aoki) and looks somewhat exciting. However, reviews say it’s dreadful, and this is going to premiere on the SCi-Fi channel soon after the theatrical release, so that should tell you something.