Author Archives: Mola "AJ" Lara

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“About Time” and The Time Traveling Mistress


Rachel McAdams is a delight and she is at the heart of “About Time” (2013), a third film in which her lover is capable of time travel. McAdams co-stars in a romantic comedy from Richard Curtis and yes, it has many of the charming (or depending on your perspective ‘terrifying’) trademarks of Curtis’ work like “Notting Hill”, “Love Actually” and “Pirate Radio”. Of course the delightfully comedic and sarcastic Bill Nighy will also be in “About Time”. But how did McAdams become the go to actress for time travel films?

At the root of the question is how Rachel McAdams became the “Time Traveling Mistress”. What we, the self-award winning website Snouty Pig, have discovered in our completely unbiased opinion is that every single movie she’s in benefits from her pearly white teeth and radiant smile. Every one of her films, with the exception of “The Family Stone”, is at least tolerable and they can all win you over. She is easy to fall in love with, is what we are tryin’ to say. It’s no wonder that people are willing to master the mysteries of time traveling mumbo jumbo to find her time and again. Just look at her filmography and recent acting history to remove all doubt about her growing mythical powers.

It all began in a romantic drama “The Time Traveler’s Wife”, though it is a little known fact that when the director began filming it was not about time travel and was actually just called ‘The Wife’. However, Eric Bana actually died during filming but he had fallen so hard for his co-star that he time traveled back on set just to be around her. The director, in order to prevent a lawsuit, changed the story and until now it has been one of the best kept Hollywood secrets. This is why the film actually has a scene of Rachel McAdams in which *SPOILERS* she knowingly makes love to two versions of her husband in the same timeline.

Her next time travel film was “Midnight in Paris”, a film in which her mentally disabled boyfriend is so distraught at losing Rachel McAdams, he begins to travel back in time to the 1920′s. Again, the film was not intended, at first, to tell this story but McAdams has an overpowering effect on her co-stars. If you can’t have her, go to a time and place where she does not exist. Hollywood was beginning to see a disturbing trend and this actually caused her to be written out of “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”. Think about it. Why else would you get rid of McAdams from a successful franchise? Noomi Rapace was a last minute replacement. Why else would that movie be so terrible after the first was so fun and interesting?
The next few directors had to be very careful in how they used McAdams so she was not exactly the star of those films. However, Richard Curtis figured out how to use The Time Traveling Mistress to his benefit and thus “About Time” was born

Click to see the trailer below (if missing, click here).

Film Synopsis: The night after another unsatisfactory New Year’s party, Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) is informed by his father (Bill Nighy) that the men in his family have always had the ability to travel through time. After an unfortunate time-travel related incident causes him never to meet Mary (Rachel McAdams) Tim begins to learn that there are limits to what time travel can achieve including unknown dangers and the inability to protect him from sorrow.

Maybe you are the type that stays away from rom coms, but one day, if you happen to see McAdams and have a sense of deja vu, what will you do then? Huh? What will you do? As always, I’m Mola and I have my snout to the ground searching for those hidden film truffles

Editor’s Notes: Historical facts may be exaggerated or be complete bullshit. At no time have we awarded ourselves any prizes. Author may or may not be delusional. We stand by the synopsis and this is McAdams’ third time travel movie.

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Life Is Short Film: “The World is not Without Good People”


The world is not all serial killers and psychos. We do not ignore or close our eyes to the world. There are accidents and tragedies. There are bad people; it’s true. These has largely been the primary focus of Russian dash cam videos focusing on brutal car accidents, fraud and injury.  Now, someone has decided that they are sick of it and they found a way to wash away the muck. Continue reading

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“Harbinger Down” and the Last Hurrah of Practical Effects


The recent passing of animation and effects legend Ray Harryhausen only feels like the death knell for practical effects but there are still faithful practitioners of the craft and there are a few directors and producers interested in making films the old fashioned way.

Fede Alvarez, Sam Raimi, and Bruce Campbell decided to use, almost exclusively, practical effects to produce “Evil Dead” (2013), a film that has been relatively well received and has achieved modest box office success but demand for the craft has not exactly been overwhelming. However, a new project has come up that will use only practical effects to make magic happen and perhaps that is where you come into the mix. Continue reading

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The Lingering Effects of “The Lords of Salem”


It’s time for another Mola, Monster, Macabro piece. A dual review of horror related films brought to you by your favorite pig and dinosaur. In this review, Mr. Macabro and Mola take in “The Lords of Salem” and discuss how each of them experienced the lingering effects of Rob Zombie’s latest film, their initial impressions, and what they thought after a week of letting it seep into their pores. This is what they had to say… Continue reading

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Lakers Trade Value Provides Glimmer of Hope


Things look pretty bleak right now, if you are a Lakers fan. The Lakers need upgrades in key positions: small forward, point guard, and at least one young, energetic, efficient player to come off the bench. That’s a tall order for a team whose salary cap is tapped out for the next two years. But all is not hopeless because, despite your fears, the Lakers have some players with trade value. Continue reading

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Life Is Short Film: “Hybrids” Is Low Budget Sci-Fi Done Well


Science fiction requires a delicate balance between visual storytelling and narrative. “Hybrids” is a live action short film that understands this balance and more television shows and films should look to this short for examples of how to do low-budget sci-fi well.

Science fiction is not about quality effects. If it were, Doctor Who would never be as widely embraced as it is on the Internet and none of the shows on Sy-Fy would attract an audience. Great science fiction is not just about story either otherwise films like “Moon” (2009) would never be just obscure cult favorites. This was covered in more detail in our review of “Oblivion” but essentially, all the quality CGI or practical effects mean diddly squat if they are misused or have poor stories while great stories go unnoticed by mainstream audiences if they do not employ memorable (but not necessarily quality) effects.

All that to say that sci-fi films done on a budget can succeed if proper use is made of the effects in service of the story. That has never been more true than it is this year and here is why: Continue reading

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There is No Future at Comedy Central for “Futurama”


This is the end. “Futurama” is no more. One of the greats comedies has just been laid to rest, again. Comedy Central has announced that the show will not be picked up for another season and will air its series finale September 4th, 2013. In all, by the end of its run, the show had 126 episodes plus the four movies (counted by some as an additional 16 episodes). This is the show’s third cancellation after twice coming back to life due to strong fan support for Adult Swim reruns and strong sales of its four direct-to-DVD movies. It’s time to say goodbye to lead characters Phillip J. Fry, Turanga Leela, and Bender Bending Rodriguez, the best robot on television.How to react to this news? Continue reading

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The Soft Dive Of Oblivion


I’m only pretty sure if you stick with me you will understand why “Oblivion” (2013) will not descend into obscurity and will rise to great esteem among sci-fi aficionados. I say ‘only’ because although the film lingers in my mind, it is the vistas, panoramas, sets, props, and pieces that occupy my thoughts at the moment and not the story itself. The story is deserving of praise but it ought to be my first and last impression of the film, right? It is in fact a part of our reviewing philosophy at Snouty Pig that story is king but there are king slayers out there. Now, there are plenty of science fiction films out there that are its equal in CGI and practical effects and there are films, like “Moon” (2009), whose story driven approach to sci-fi are its equal or better.  However, there is something special about “Oblivion” and it is not just the effects and it is not just the story. What makes it special, it turns out, is what it is not and what it’s not makes it what it is. That I can’t take anymore care in my wording is intentional because the film, in spite of its flaws and imperfections, is one that might sit near the apex of the great science fiction entries of all time. Continue reading

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Life Is Short Film: “Nuts & Robbers” and “Surly Squirrel”


In Nuts and Robbers, Surly and the Rat want to get their hands on some food but mean-spirited bank robber does not want to feed the animals. Bad decision. The bank robber is going to find out what a motivated rat and squirrel are willing to do for nuts. This short is a tease of what’s to come and if you stick past the credits you will see what that you are in for a treat. Continue reading