“Illegal Tender”

Rick Gonzalez
Wanda de Jesus
Dania Ramirez
Tego Calderon
Gary Perez

R           108min           2007

College student Wilson de Leon, Jr. never stood up for himself until the gangsters who killed his father came to settle a score. In a gripping, adrenaline-pumping showdown, Wilson and his mother decide to settle that score on their own terms in order to protect the people they love and earn back their family’s honor.

“Illegal Tender” is an salute to sing mothers everywhere and the children they raise. It’s tale of the American dream and the price that must be paid to achieve it. It’s also a cautionary tale of what “the game” can cost you.

Wanda de Jesus does a great job of portraying the single mother trying to raise her children to do better and have a better life than herself. She shows that single mothers can be the protector and provider, if she has too. Even without a formal education, she played the game before the game played her. Wanda de Jesus gives a perfect voice to the single mothers out there.

Wilson de Leon, JR. is a shelter person, who takes his good fortune for granted. When the assassins come and open his eyes. He steps up to take responsibility for protecting his family and find a solution to his family’s problem. When the dust clears, Rick Gonzalez portray of his evolution makes this film more entertaining.

What makes “Illegal Tender” stand out in my mind is that is about achieving the American dream and about facing the demons fo the past. Millie de Jesus took her money and made it work by investing in profitable stocks which in turned provide a life style better than the one she had. It’s something everyone things about at some point in life thinking of how to provide for the future.

The second thing that sticks out in my mind is that once the all the while Millie kept running from the demons of the past. But once they came into the light and Wilson was old enough to confront them she had enough confidence in her son to let him become a man. Wilson in an old gunslinger way came out fighting; fighting to protect the life of his family and the ones they love.

The special features on “Illegal Tender”are minimal at best. There are deleted scenes and a making of featurette. There is an making of and music video for “Dame Dome” by Que No. There are previews for American Pie Presents Beta House, Battlestar Galactica: Razor, The Kingdom, and White Noise 2.

I give it 4/5 Gs.

“Underdog”

Jason Lee
James Belushi
Peter Dinklage
Patrick Warburton
Alex Neuberger
Taylor Momsen
John Slattery
Samantha Bee
Brad Garrett
Amy Adams

PG           121min           2007

After an accident in the mysterious lab of maniacal scientist Dr. Simon Barsinister, an ordinary beagle unexpectedly finds himself with unimaginable powers and the ability to speak. Armed with a fetching superhero costume, Underdog vows to protect the beleaguered citizens of Capitol City.

“Underdog” is the live action film of a cartoon that came on in the early eighties; that’s where I first saw Underdog. This version is geared more to children under 12. It is a dumb-down plot that was borderline boring. It’s redeeming factor is the voice acting.

The simplicity of the plot, the dialog, and the action is all geared to children under 12. It is something entertaining to sit them in front of and not have to worry about them for the two hours. It has bright and flashy color that the children won’t notice the time when by as for him after about forty minutes I was really ready to turn underdog into a hot dog.

The only thing that made “Underdog” bearable for me was the voice talent of Jason Lee, Amy Adams, and Brad Garrett. Their distinct voices complimented the acting of animals, which they were portraying. I got totally lost in the mouthing of the animals. The mouth morphing has been elevated to the point where at some points I forgot that these animals don’t really speak. This is a great film if you have children, a good film if you are a fan, but marginally ok if you have no idea who, Underdog is.

Even the special features to “Underdog” is geared to children. It has never before seen bloopers and deleted scenes. It has an music video by Kyle Massey of That’s Raven and Corey in the House fame, called “Underdog Raps”. A mock featurette called “Sit, Stay, Act: Diary of a Dog Actor” and an original episode of the cartoon “Safe Waif”. There are movie previews for “101 Dalmatians”, “National Treasure: Book of Secrets”, “The Game Plan”, “Snow Buddies”, “The Aristocats”, “Cinderella II: Dreams Do Come True”.

I give it 3/5 Gs.

“Bring It On: In It To Win It”

Ashley Benson
Michael Copon
Cassies Scerbo
Jennifer Tisdale
Anniese Taylor Dendy
Noel Areizaga
Kierstin Koppel
Lisa Glaze
Adam Vernier

PG13           90min           2007

Southern California high school senior Carson arrives at the all-important “Cheer Camp Nationals” determined to lead her squad, the West High Sharks, to victory. However, chic New Yorker Brooke and her team, the East High Jets, are equally steadfast in their pursuit of the competition’s coveted “Spirit Stick.” As tension mounts between the two rival squads, Carson falls for fellow cheerleader Penn, not realizing he’s a Jet. When Brooke discovers the budding romance, she raises the stakes by challenging Carson to a one-on-one cheer-off. A spectacular “cheer fighting” sequence erupts into a no-holds-barred brawl and cheerleaders on both sides are suspended from the competition. With their dreams of taking home the top prize all but shattered, the leaders of both squads realize they’ll have to take drastic measures to stay in the game. — Written by Universal Pictures

“Bring It On: In It To Win It” is the fourth in the series and now it has reached the point where is time to stop. The lifted the plot from “West Side Story” and put it into a cheerleading movie. When a film series take the complete plot from another film, its time to stop making them. If you have seen West Side Story you have seen BIO: ITTWI; the only differences is that there is a middle part torwards the end where they get together and “rumble” for the top prize.

This time around the dialog was cheesier than a government grill cheese sandwich. The performs where hollow and so bitchy it’s a wonder that all those cheerleading ego got anything done. It does have some funny moments. When the teams start to confess there secrets to become closer, that was a pretty funny scenes one of the more memorable because of the revelations.

All this still does not help “Bring It On: In It To Win It”, it is a very cheap knock off of the orginial and the series is truly showing its age. It is time to let the horse die with some dignity. It is a series that is wrung of all its money making potential with this film

There are deleted scenes. There is a bubbly making of featurette call ‘Lights, Camera, Bring It’. The Rumble w/ Tony G is a featurette highlights the cheer moves in “Bring It On: In It To Win It”. “Cheer Off: Learn to cheer with Tony G” highlights the two differents styles of cheering. There are movie previews for Sidney White and Balls of Fury.

I give it 2/5 Gs.