Category Archives: Movies

Steve Jobs: Film Review

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By Armando Inquig

‘Steve Jobs’ depicts the man as a flawed yet brilliant innovator: a salesman who expects employees to meet his standards, and a creative and artistic mind obsessed with product design.

Starring Michael Fassbender as Jobs, the movie is structured like a three-act play. Each act focuses on a pivotal product launch: the Macintosh in 1984, the NeXT (also known as The Cube) in 1988, and the iMac in 1998. Each act is preceded by flashbacks or a series of TV and news montages.

Just before Jobs takes the stage for each product launch, he’s confronted by various figures from his past. These include his ex-girlfriend Chrisann Brennan (Katherine Waterston), Lisa, a daughter he once denied was his, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Apple CEO John Scully who played a role in Jobs’s dismissal, and original Mac team member Andy Hertzfeld. Through these interactions, his exasperated marketing executive Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet) consistently supports him, striving to maintain focus amidst the distractions that always seem to surface at the most inopportune moments.

While the film’s structure offers an intriguing approach, it leaves the characterization of the title character feeling unsatisfying and inconsistent. The movie doesn’t delve deeply into his history as an adopted child, omits key aspects of his professional relationship with Wozniak, and the reference to the invention of the iPad—shown as Jobs reacts to his daughter’s use of a portable cassette player—comes off as forced. Given the numerous recent portrayals of Jobs, this film fails to provide fresh insight.

The movie reaches its pinnacle in the third act, set in 1998 before the iMac launch, as Jobs reconciles with his daughter. Here, Fassbender truly captures the essence of Jobs, closely resembling the tech icon’s familiar image. This segment is a pleasure to watch.

Aaron Sorkin’s script provides a riveting, humorous, and captivating glimpse behind the scenes of Steve Jobs during pivotal product launches. However, it doesn’t match the depth, purpose, or impact of his work on ‘The Social Network’.

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Gotham Season 2: What we know so far

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Season two of Fox’s “Gotham” will premiere later this month.

By Armando

Fox has been releasing promo materials the past few weeks as we head into Gotham’s second season premiere later this month. Judging from these promos, it appears that Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock will be busier than ever as Gotham’s villains old and new begin to rise to power.

Star Ben McKenzie recently revealed on EW that the show’s story arcs will be more serialized in it’s treatment of villains, as opposed to season 1 wherein new villains were revealed and disposed of in the same episode.

Here’s the official synopsis that Fox released to go along with the announcement of the premiere date.

“The stakes are higher than ever as Gotham explores the origin stories of some of the most ambitious and depraved Super Villains, including The Riddler, The Joker and Mr. Freeze, and Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) uncovers more secrets from his father’s past.”

A new promo video can be seen below:

“This is not a red herring,” writer/producer Bruno Heller told E! Online in February. “It’s the beginning of the story of how the Joker came to be, how the Joker was created, where he came from, who he is. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Cameron Monaghan is the Joker. He might be.”

And to fans who have been waiting for Gotham’s season 1 Blu-ray, all 22 episodes will be available on Tuesday, September 8th in glorious 1080p. Additionally, it will also be available for streaming on Netflix beginning September 21st, the same day season 2 premieres on Fox. The 4-disc season 1 on blu-ray will include special features that will not be available via streaming services.

“Gotham” Season 2 premieres Monday, Sept. 21, on Fox at 8 p.m. EDT.

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Classic Film Review: A Detective’s Dilemma In Alfred Hitchcock’s “Sabotage”

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By Armando Inquig

Sabotage-The-Woman-Alone---Alfred-HitchcockAlthough ‘Sabotage’ is one of Alfred Hitchcock’s lesser-known films, its darker elements mark it as a significant precursor to his later works.

Released in 1936, Sabotage is one of Hitchcock’s British productions before he moved to the US and transitioned into Hollywood. The film is narratively daring for its time, incorporating dark and tragic elements that Hitchcock would later become known for.

The film follows cinema owner Karl Verloc (played by Oscar Homolka), a man who engages in attacks against the city’s infrastructure. His wife, Mrs. Verloc (Sylvia Sidney), and her younger brother, Stevie (Desmond Tester), are unaware of his activities.

Detective sergeant Ted Spencer (John Loder) is assigned to investigate Verloc and infiltrate his life under the guise of a cinema patron. As Spencer delves deeper into his investigation, Mrs. Verloc gradually senses that something is wrong with her husband. It is soon revealed that Verloc, pressured by his co-conspirators, is planning to carry out a big sabotage act.

Verloc secretly instructs Stevie to deliver a film canister containing a lethal bomb, set to explode in the heart of London. Stevie is unaware of its contents and innocently agrees to transport the canister. But the bomb tragically detonates on a crowded bus, killing the young boy and sending shockwaves through the city. Mrs. Verloc is devastated by the loss of her brother and, in a moment of anger, she confronts Karl, eventually stabbing and killing him.

By now, Detective Spencer is seemingly having some feelings for Mrs. Verloc. He is torn and grapples with the implications of it all. Will Detective Spencer abide by his obligations and turn Mrs. Verloc in, or will his emotions prevail and help her escape?

In true Hitchcockian fashion, the film navigates complex ethical dilemmas involving loyalty, justice, and the consequences of actions, themes that became a hallmark of his storytelling style and continued throughout the rest of his career. His direction is steady, focused on the psychological complexities of the characters without devolving into conventional tropes.

“Sabotage” is released as “The Woman Alone” in the United States, and is now available in Blu-ray in the United Kingdom in a high-definition format.

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New ‘Batman vs. Superman’ Pics Revealed: first pictures from the film

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By Armando

Released exclusively to Entertainment Weekly, the stills and images are the best look yet into Snyder’s hotly anticipated “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. As part of EW’s preview of Comicon 2015, the images include Batman and Superman squaring off and a first look at Wonder Woman in the film.

Stay tuned as we will be bringing you live updates as they happen from SDCC 2015.

Batman vs. Superman opens in theaters March 26, 2016.

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Bentonville Film Festival starts today

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By Armando

aiphotoimaging.com


BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Some of the A-list celebrities expected to be in attendance include Geena Davis, Robert De Niro, Courtney Cox, Rosie O’Donnell, Queen Latifah, Nick Cannon, Bruce Dern, Joey Lauren Adams, Soledad O’Brien, Twilight” Director Catherine Hardwicke, Ben Barnes, Emilio Estevez, Melissa Joan Hart, Alysia Reiner, Khandi Alexander, country singer Sara Evans and Olympian Jennie Finch.

Bentonville Film Festival runs from May 5-9. For more about the festival and how to get ticketes, visit: http://bentonvillefilmfestival.com/

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First Look at Stephen Amell as Casey Jones from TMNT2

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By Armando


Right after the season finale of Arrow, Amell immediately picks up the mask and stick of Casey Jones, his next role in TMNT2.

Jones goes around with a hockey mask and several pieces of sports equipment as his weapon, including a baseball bat and hockey stick which is exactly what we see in this new photo released by Michael Bay, the film’s producer.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is set for release in 2016, so we are sure to see more glimpses of the other characters soon.

Here is an official glimpse at Arrow’s Stephen Amell suited up as Casey Jones.

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‘Spectre’ trailer delves into Bond’s murky past

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By Armando

The long-awaited first trailer for Spectre premiered Friday night. Spectre is the 24th instalment of the Bond franchise which has been shrouded in secrecy throughout its production.

The trailer picks up right where “Skyfall” left off and seem to delve deeper into Bond’s past. Sam Mendes, who helmed Skyfall, is back for another go. A couple of years ago, reports surfaced that he wouldn’t direct a follow-up, but judging by the dark, ominous tone of the trailer, elements that suggest tight narrative continuity from recent Bond movies, it looks like a natural move for Mendes to return and continue along that same old school Bond antics that he successfully set out on Skyfall.

“You’re a kite dancing in a hurricane, Mr. Bond,” says Mr. White. The character is played by Jesper Christensen, and appeared in earlier “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace”.

Daniel Craig returns as 007 for the fourth time, with Christoph Waltz as Oberhauser, Ralph Fiennes (taking over as the new M), Naomie Harris as Moneypenny and Andrew Scott as Denbigh.

“Spectre” opens in theaters on November 6, 2015.

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