BP Film Review; The Muppets

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IMDB Plot Summery
With the help of three fans, The Muppets must reunite to save their old theater from a greedy oil tycoon.


By Christian Salinas

Expectations…

The first Muppet movie hit theaters back in 1979, or before the decade of my childhood, so I’ll have to admit I don’t have many memories of the actual Muppet gang being part of my childhood. I do, however, hold very close to my heart fond memories of my brother and I enjoying Saturday morning episodes of The Muppet Babies television show. (If you’ve never heard of The Muppet Babies, basically it’s a show of the baby version of most of the Muppet Characters). That being the case, I can’t help but feel predisposed to like this movie.  

Entertainment Value…

This movie is entertaining in full Muppet style. It features cheesy yet very enjoyable and pleasant musical performance/Dance-numbers and a healthy amount of well-timed and tone-appropriate celerity cameos…

Overall…

There are a lot of things I really liked about the overall tone of this movie. First, I really appreciated how the filmmakers stood firm on re-introducing the Muppets to the modern world as they were/are rather than change the essence of their characters to fit our arguably “Darker” reality.  Second, it was very nice (I might even say Beautiful) to see the Muppets were still exactly that; Muppets. At least from what I could tell as an audience member, it was clear the lovable characters were bought to life using old-fashion “movie magic” and not replaced my computer generated art. As far as the plot structure and character development, everything is on-the-surface and not very profound, but I think that’s clearly expected from children’s films and not anything that subtracts from the pleasantness of the this movie.  On a personal note: A quick glance at the audience in the theater made it pretty clear that parents were enjoying the film a lot more than their kids were. I wasn’t too surprised by this, but I was saddened to realize that it’s likely the Muppets will ultimately not work their way into the hearts of coming generations. With all their far-out silliness, and bizarre behavior, the Muppets were profoundly successful in spreading the gospel of kindness, and family love. No matter how unfunny Fozzie's jokes are, how weird Gonzo's ideas are, or how bossy Miss Piggy can be, they all, always stick together, accept each other as they are,  and love each other unconditionally. I only hope whatever characters work their way into the hearts and minds of tomorrow’s kids offer a similar message. 

The Good…

A well made family film that really respects the original source material, full of pleasant childlike silliness. 

The Not So Good…

May not speak the language of the present, and future generation of children. 

BP Film Review; Breaking Dawn - Part 1

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IMDB Plot Summery
The Quileute and the Volturi close in on expecting parents Edward and Bella, whose unborn child poses different threats to the wolf pack and vampire coven.

by Christian Salinas
Expectations…
There’s no doubt in my mind that anyone walked into the theater expecting any surprises. This movie is, after all, based on one of the best selling novels of all time, and adored by the one demographic that is incapable of keeping a secret or spoiling surprises (mainly teenage girls).  For better or worst everyone knows this is the movie where the world famous couple, Bella and Edward, get married and…. well, you know.

Entertainment Value…
As I mentioned, this is a movie very specifically made for a young female audience which is arguably one of the easiest audiences to please. Entertainment value takes a back-seat to scene after scene of over-romanticized everything. But even by teen-vampire-romance standards, this movie is very slow paced. It eventually becomes overwhelmingly clear that some elements were purposely overextended just to be able to make two feature length films from the original source material.  The unfortunate thing is that the wrong elements are over extended…

Overall…
This movie is difficult to review for several reasons, but I’ll just mention the first two. First of all, it’s tough to review movies for which you know a review is not really necessary. Everyone is going to see this movie (either willingly or unwillingly) regardless of what this or any review says. Second, this film will be embraced by its target audience and in that senses I have to declare this movie to be a success. My very personal opinion is that this is a very disturbing film, and I’m not at all referring to the supernatural elements. All of the characters clearly have a dramatically unhealthy view of love and a complete lack of regard for the emotional well being of others. They are mostly all motivated by selfish desires, and if I were a parent of a teenager I wouldn’t want my kids to be friends with any of them.  As a “movie” the main concept of Bella’s pregnancy, I would say, is actually very interesting but it’s unfortunately simply crammed into second half of the movie, and very little effort is placed into exploring the overall meaning of what is actually happening. There are very few action sequences if compared to the previous installment, and it seems as though a lot of the issues that were “settled” in the first to films are unnecessarily brought up again.

The Good…
This film is absolutely everything it makes itself out to be. It will certainly please its target audience.

The Not So Good…
This is more of a “product” than a film.

Valley Residents Declare; "I Want My NBA!"

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This week we're joined once again by Semi-Pro Football Player, and Sports Fanatic Gerald Salinas to discuss why the NBA season has been put on hold, and if there is a real possibility that it might actually be canceled. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast for free on iTunes so you never miss an episode.

BP Film Review; A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas

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Note:  Hello Everyone! Unfortunately I’m on assignment this weekend working on some side projects for Border Perspective so I won’t be able to post up my usual weekly movie review. However, my brother Gerald Salinas has volunteered to write a review for this week. Gerald was a contributor to our local newspaper for years writing both movie articles and reviews, (until the newspaper sadly shut-down) he’s also worked on a few of his own short films, and continues to be a avid movie-buff. (in other words; he knows what he's talking about) Hope you have a great weekend, and I should be back next week. – Christian Salinas

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas IMDB Plot Summery 
Six years after their Guantanamo Bay adventure, stoner buds Harold Lee and Kumar Patel cause a holiday fracas by inadvertently burning down Harold's father-in-law's prize Christmas tree.

Film Review By Gerald Salinas, 
I’m going to try to stick with Christian’s usual formant for this review. I decided to review A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas this week because I didn’t get to see it last week. Also, I just didn’t feel too motivated to watch the 300 remake that premired this weekend entitled The Immortals, and because I didn’t see the point in reviewing Jack and Jill, since Adam Sandler fans are almost as loyal as Star Wars fans, which makes reviewing it pretty much useless.

Expectations….
My expectations for this movie were pretty straight forward. This is a Harold & Kumar movie so it will obviously be filled with drug use, sex jokes, and racial stereotypes. But also, oddly enough, I was also expecting great 3D effects since I had no doubt the producers had no problem spitting-out cheap 3D tricks that most filmmakers feel they’re too professional to attempt.

Entertainment…
I’m pretty sure this film isn’t intended for a new audience. The only people that would even want to see this film are fans of the first two Harold & Kumar movies which, of course, means that they are fans of edgy comedy. Reviewing this movie under edgy comedy standards, I would say it is very entertaining. It does drag a little toward the end, and the laughs come from cheesy predictable jokes, but they’re funny nonetheless.

Overall…
This film IS funny and, in its own way, it actually does have a little life lesson weaved into it. I am a fan of the first Harold  & Kumar film, and I think this sequel comes close to the same feel as the original. Some of the humor is, I think, a little unnecessarily crude, and some of it is just plain disturbing, but that’s no surprise really for this type of comedy. Needless to say the plot is... well there is no real plot, which is also no real surprise,  and just as I was expecting, the filmmakers had no problem exploiting 3D technology which resulted in some cheesy, but still pretty neat 3D effects, which in a very strange way, for the first time in a long time, made the extra cost of a 3D movie ticket feel almost worth it. Bottom-line, this movie is everything you would expect from a stoner comedy, and a great film to watch with a group of friends.

The Good…
It’s a funny film with cheesy, but still neat, 3D effects.

The Not so Good…
A good portion of the film is pretty crude, and even a little disturbing.

The State of the RGV Indie Music Scene

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This week we re-broadcast our interview/discussion with local blogger Andres Sanchez. Andres actively covers the local independent music scene on his blog 'The Photon God' which features everything from articles, reviews, interviews, to free audio track samples. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast on the iTunes store, that way you never miss an episode.

Note: Unexpected circumstances kept us from being able to produce a new episode this week, but stay tuned for a special project we're working on for next week. 

BP Movie Review; Tower Heist

-image from movieweb.com

IMDB Plot Summery
When a group of hard working guys find out they've fallen victim to a wealthy business man's Ponzi scheme, they conspire to rob his high-rise residence.

Review by Christian Salinas
Expectations…
The trailer didn’t make this seem like this was going to be a laugh out load comedy, but being that his film has a pretty high profile cast, I was expecting solid top notch comedy for “grown-ups”… it came close, but the comedy just pretty much stays at a consistent tome.

Entertainment Value…
This is a very entertaining film, especially the first half. It never gets boring, and all of the characters are very alive and animated, and they keep you involved in the movie throughout.

Overall…
‘Tower Heist’ reminds me of the ‘Strong Man’ competitions where you automatically assume the biggest looking guy is going to be the winner, but he ends up not being able to finish the obstacle course while carrying two full beer kegs on his back. By that, I don’t mean to say this movie is a loser, but with huge names like Stiller and Murphy, I was just expecting a bigger comedic-punch. I like that the comedy stays consistent with the tone of the film, and that all of the characters are interesting in their own way. I also really appreciate how the subject matter is definitely very significant to actual current events, and how the overall plot is pretty well structured (even if some of the details were a little silly), but I still didn’t walk out of the theater feeling like I got my money’s worth. (at least not the full ticket price, I might not have felt that way if I had seen it as a matinee)

The Good…
Most of the characters are likeable, and the first half of the film is genuinely funny and entertaining.

The Not So Good…
Not as funny as you would expect a team-up of big names like Stiller and Murphy.

The Bizarre Case of Orville T. (Nodrog)

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In this week's episode we're joined, once again, by local blogger, and independent historian Eduardo Martinez  to discuss recent developments on the case of local UFO Cult leader Orville T. Gordon (A.K.A Nodrog). Be sure to subscribe to this podcast for Free on the iTunes Store.