Carlos Alazraqui

Occupation

Actor

The Book Of Life - International Trailer

Manolo has a lot of pressure forced upon him from his family regarding his future, but all he wants to do is marry the woman of his dreams, Maria. However, he is not the only person who wants to make Maria his wife and he is in serious competition with her charming and handsome suitor (and his own best friend) Joaquin. Meanwhile, two spirits of The Land of the Remembered named La Muerte and Xibalba look upon the scene in fascination during the Day of the Dead; a time when spirits are able to effect the the land of the living as they pass between worlds. They decide to make a bonding wager on who will win Maria's affection, with La Muerte betting on Manolo being the victor. When it looks like she might be right, Xibalba has him killed by a snake and taken over to the Land of the Remembered where he is forced to face his biggest fears in order to see his beloved once again.

Continue: The Book Of Life - International Trailer

Book Of Life Trailer

In Mexico, two best friends Manolo (Diego Luna) and Joaquin (Channing Tatum) fall in love with the same girl, Maria (Zoe Saldana and so both face each other for her love. Two spirits passing through the world, La Muerte (Kate del Castillo) and Xibalba (Ron Perlman), make a bet over who will triumph out of the two. Muerte on Manolo and Xibalba on Joaquin. When the Xibalba feels the odds are against him, he brings Manolo into The Land Of The Remembered.

The Book Of Life sees Manolo setting out on an exciting, but dangerous journey across three majestic worlds where he will face his greatest challenges, in order to return to Mexico and win over Maria once and for all.

From producer Guillermo Del Toro, The Book Of Life is an animated comedy film directed by Jorge Gutierrez and written by Gutierrez and Doug Langdale (Aladdin: The Return of Jafar). The Book Of Life sees Gutierrez attempt a Nightmare Before Christmas esque Tim Burton style, with jovially dark animation. With exceptional visuals and a story of fortitude, The Book Of Life should be a loveable film for all.

Planes Review

By Rich Cline

Good

Disney takes over Pixar's "World of Cars" with this spin-off that no-one really asked for (Cars 2 wasn't exactly a mega-hit). Indeed, this is an essentially disposable adventure, smiley and formulaic with a few minor thrills and a gentle sense of humour. Fortunately, the animation has some charm, as well as the occasional exhilarating moment. So kids are likely to enjoy it.

The protagonist is Dusty (voiced by Cook), a cropduster in rural America who dreams of racing against world champion Ripslinger (Smith) in the Wings Around the Globe race. So he gathers forklift Dottie (Hatcher) and fuel truck Chug (Garrett) as his pit crew, and convinces war veteran Skipper (Keach) to coach him. Despite being afraid of heights, he makes it into the final against Britain's Bulldog (Cleese), Mexico's Chupacabra (Alazraqui) and French-Canadian Rochelle (Louis-Deryfus). But as the race gets underway, Ripslinger and his henchmen continually sabotage the increasingly plucky Dusty.

The plot is so simple that this feels like one of Disney's straight-to-DVD sequels, complete with the deeply bland hero and ruthlessly evil villain. Fortunately, it's livened up by snappy dialog and a cast of offbeat characters that continually add deranged touches adult viewers will enjoy (such as a German forklift in lederhosen or a group of chanting Himalayan-monk tuktuks). There's not much else the strong voice cast can do with these characters. But the animators have a lot of fun with the settings as the race zooms to Europe, India, Nepal, China and Mexico, with whizzy race action that makes the 3D worthwhile for a change.

Continue reading: Planes Review

Planes - Teaser Trailer

Dusty may be a super speedy cropdusting aircraft but there's a reason why he spends his days skimming fields; he is terrified of flying. Nonetheless he is determined to conquer his phobia of heights and fulfil his dream of competing in the famous aviation races and with the help of his devoted friend Skipper, an introverted former Navy warplane, and a variety of supporters including his coach, tank truck Chug, he has all he needs to become a formidable racer like the Great White North star Rochelle, the legendary Bulldog and the highly arrogant but nevertheless impressive Ripslinger. Dusty knows that he must outstrip the cheating Ripslinger if he has any chance of becoming a worldwide champion, but with his sabotaging cohorts at his side, the challenge seems impossible.

Continue: Planes - Teaser Trailer