Hector Valverede - The Daily Lobo

Culture

Review: "Pitch Perfect 3" offers plenty of laughs

Hector Valverede | January 28

Centered around a competitive college acapella group, the Pitch Perfect films have offered some of the most unique comedic products in recent times. “Pitch Perfect 3” is another winning entry in the series that wraps up the characters’ stories effectively while succeeding as an entertaining romp in its own right. A few years after graduation and the events of “Pitch Perfect 2,” the Barden Bellas live unsatisfying lives in the real world.

Culture

Movie Review: "Molly's Game" an impressive but not outstanding offering from Aaron Sorkin

Hector Valverede | January 25

Aaron Sorkin has the enviable notoriety of being the best film and television screenwriter around, due to his razor-sharp dialogue and tight narrative composition. He’s also a superb playwright in his own right. Sorkin’s touch can turn the most mundane of circumstances (see “Moneyball”) into pure cinematic gold. With “Molly’s Game,” Sorkin has ventured into a directorial position on top of writing its screenplay, and while he’s mostly successful in both regards, he never quite matches the past highs of his previous award-winning work. Like many of Sorkin’s other works, “Molly’s Game” is based on a true story.

Culture

Movie Review: Del Toro creates another masterpiece

Hector Valverede | January 25

Guillermo del Toro has been one of the best working auteurs in Hollywood for several decades now — and for good reason. As a director, del Toro has the unique ability to go all-in big in his films while retaining thoughtful storytelling substance. In combination with very fun yet thoughtful scripts, his love of practical effects often conjures up twisted creatures and sequences that always make for memorable cinematic experiences.

Culture

Movie Review: Franco brothers deliver excellent performance in "The Disaster Artist"

Hector Valverede | January 21

“Oh hi, Mark.” Anyone even remotely familiar with the film “The Room” (not to be confused with “Room,” an Oscar-winning film) can attest to its place as possibly the best worst film ever made. Teeming with surreally bad dialogue and puzzling performances all around, “The Room” has become a cherished cult classic in recent years, thanks to its sheer ridiculousness. “The Disaster Artist” is a delightful adaptation of Greg Sestero’s memoir of the same name chronicling his experiences in making “The Room.”

Culture

Movie Review: "Coco" captures Mexican family culture beautifully

Hector Valverede | January 15

As a Mexican immigrant, Pixar’s latest offering, “Coco,” touched my roots and in many ways felt like it was made just for me. Set during El Día de los Muertos, the film provides dignified insight into the connections that bind family between life, death and all things in between. Young Anthony Gonzalez stars as Miguel, a boy who dreams of becoming a musician following in the footsteps of his hero, Ernesto de la Cruz. Unfortunately, music has become banned in his family, due to a secret long-held through generations before him. In an effort to demonstrate his passion for music, Miguel steals a guitar and is cursed to the Land of the Dead. To return to his living family, Miguel must traverse the Land of the Dead and receive his ancestors’ blessing by reminding them the value of music.

Culture

Review: "Three Billboards" provides tasteful social critique

Hector Valverede | December 3

Seven months after her daughter was violently raped and death of her daughter, Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) rents out three billboards on a rural road just outside her hometown of Ebbing in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” Let down by the police’s lack of results after seven months, Mildred calls out the police chief (Woody Harrelson) on the billboards in bold black letters behind a striking scarlet background: "Raped while dying," "And still no arrests," "How come, Chief Willoughby?"

Culture

Review: New "Stranger Things" season continues to impress

Hector Valverede | November 1

Warning: some spoilers ahead... The first season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” was a phenomenal throwback to the best decade ever, with a modern flourish that helped it stand out from classic 1980s flair. With great performances all around and a unique science-fiction intrigue, “Stranger Things” quickly cemented itself as a part of the golden age of television. The show’s second season retains most of that momentum with a few noticeable stumbles along the way.

Movies

Review: Five flicks and clicks help keep Halloween spirit alive

Hector Valverede | October 30

It’s been a dry month for movies this October, with no really great additions coming into the horror catalogue. So, what will you watch as the spookiest month of the year wraps up? Personally, I’m a bit tired of cycling through the horror classics, so here's a few unique suggestions to keep the Halloween spirit fresh: “Fright Night” (2011, on Amazon Prime) When a shady new neighbor, moves next door to him, Charlie Brewster suspects him of being a vampire. The 2011 remake of “Fright Night” is one of my favorite underrated horror films.

Culture

Kingsman sequel lacks plot but delivers on action

Hector Valverede | September 24

Nearing its conclusion, Matthew Vaughn’s “Kingsman: The Secret Service” ends with a controversial bit of humor — a joke about anal sex — that nearly ruins the otherwise excellent movie. In the context of the rest of the film, which lovingly lampoons the classic camp of the early Bond spy films, the joke felt too jarring and out of place. Vaughn’s follow up, “Kingsman: The Golden Circle,” veers too far into that element of self-parody and greatly suffers for it. “The Golden Circle” is a lot of things at once — perhaps too many. The main story follows Eggsy, solidly reprised by Taron Egerton, tracking down the group responsible for attacking and eliminating the Kingsman spy organization.