Review: The Conjuring 2, o May Mukha Ba Talaga Dapat ang Isang Poltergeist?

Allure Media

Boo.

Ang maganda sa pelikulang ito ay hindi mo kailangan na mapanood ang Part I para maintindihan o ma-appreciate itong sequel. Ako, hindi ko napanood ang unang pelikula, pero tingin ko hindi naman madaragdagan ang takot ko sa sequel kung napanood ko ang Part I.

Ang pelikulang ito ay tungkol sa patuloy na adventures ng mag-asawang ghostbusters na sina Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson) at Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga). Ngayon nagpunta sila sa England para imbestigahan ang Enfield poltergeist nagpapahirap ng buhay ng single mother na si Peggy Hodgson at ang kanyang apat na anak. Sa huli, happy ending naman ito, meaning walang namatay, at napuksa ang poltergeist.

Sa aking pagkakaalala, ang poltergeist ay isang unseen force na ang manifestation ay ang paggalaw ng mga bagay-bagay. So isa lang itong malisyosong espiritu at wala dapat itong mukha. Pero sa pelikulang ito, may mukha siya, at ito ay ang mukha ng isang matandang lalaki na namatay sa upuan niya. Pero sino ba talaga ang poltergeist? 'Yung matandang lalaki, o 'yung demonyong madre na nakakatakot?

Maayos naman ang pagkaka-direct ni James Wan dito. Bagamat kilala siya sa genre na horror, mayroon din siyang ginawa sa ibang style, tulad nalang ng Furious 7, na isang action movie tungkol sa horrors ng high-speed racing. Bukod sa magandang production design, na 1970s talaga ang feel, magaling din ang paggamit ni Wan ng subtlety sa pananakot. Ang ibang mga nakakatakot na eksena sa pelikula ay ang gumagalaw na toy truck, ang play tent ng mga bata, at ang Crooked Man.

Ang pelikulang horror ay hindi na gaanong nakakatakot kapag inulit ito. At dahil medyo nabitin ako (hindi dahil nagkulang, kundi dahil I want more), baka panoorin ko ang naunang pelikulang The Conjuring, na ayon sa mga nabasa ko ay isang magandang horror film na mas nakakatakot pa yata kaysa rito.

MountainX

Boo ulit.

The Conjuring 2. USA. 2016.



Original na rating: 7/10
Walang Vera Farmiga nudity: -0.1
Biglang pagbanat ng kanta ni Elvis Presley: -0.1
Pagka-adorable ng pagbanat ng kanta ni Elvis: +0.1
Setting sa England: +0.1
Effective na pagka-stand-alone ng pelikula: +0.1
Based sa true story: +0.1
The Crooked Man: +0.1
Final rating: 7.4/10

Source Code

For this review of Source Code, I will attempt to explain it.

What is the Source Code? 
It's a computer program.

What does it do? 
It can insert a consciousness into the last eight minutes of another person's life.

Is Jake Gyllenhaal the consciousness that was inserted into the last eight minutes of another person?
You bet he is.

What kind of facial expression is that supposed to be?

What was the Source Code invented for?
I'm not sure, but I think it's to be able to prevent terrorist attacks.

So the Source Code can only relive a reality, and not change it?
That's what everyone thought at first.

If Jake Gyllenhaal's character can only relive the same eight minutes over and over again, why did the last reality continue on beyond eight minutes?
Because it ended differently. It should only last for eight minutes because the train blows up after eight minutes and everybody dies. But in the last reality, everybody lived. So their lives went on. This changed ending created a separate alternate reality where there was no train crash.

So how was Gyllenhaal able to send an e-mail to Vera Farmiga? 
Because like I said, Gyllenhaal created a new reality, and he wanted to tell Farmiga that the Source Code works even better than they thought. Screw it, here's Gyllenhaal's entire e-mail:

Lily awoke in an evening dress and an opera cloak. In her hand were 5 playing cards. At some point today, you're gonna hear about a failed terrorist attack on a commuter train near Chicago. You and I kept that bomb from going off. If you're reading this e-mail, then Source Code works even better than you and Dr. Rutledge imagined. You thought you were creating 8 minutes of a past event, but you're not. You've created a whole new world. Goodwin, if I'm right, somewhere at the Source Code facility, you have a Capt. Colter Stevens waiting to send on a mission. Promise me you'll help him. And when you do, do me a favor: tell him everything is gonna be okay.

Was Dr. Rutledge played by the actor who played Jean Michel Basquiat?
Yes, that's Jeffrey Wright from Basquiat. I love that film. Especially David Bowie playing Andy Warhol.

Priceless.

Do you think Michelle Monaghan is cute?
She's not really my type.

Do you think Vera Farmiga is hot? 
Oh yes.

Definitely.

Source Code. USA/France. 2011.


Rating: Seven out of ten.



*some info from IMDb
pics from Desk of Brian, Shagdora, and The Guardian

Up in the Air

I thought this was going to be a rom-com. Surprisingly, it wasn't.

And thinking it was a rom-com, I thought it would suck. Surprisingly, it didn't.

Okay, I shall try something new with my reviews. I shall just try and explain the title, and hopefully get it all from there.

Up in the Air is, literally, about a man who looks like George Clooney who spends his life flying. Up in the air. On planes. More than half of the year, he is airborne.

"Up in the air" is also an idiomatic expression that means uncertainty. When you flip a coin, you wouldn't know if it would land heads or tails when it's still spinning in the air. That's the same principle here. Uncertainty. Jobs are not certain. Not even relationships. Not even families.

Those things may be uncertain. But I know two things that are certain. No, three things. One, Anna Kendrick is cute, and she's a great actress. Two, Vera Farmiga is hot. Three, George Clooney will always look good in a suit, no matter how old he gets.

*pic from chicagoreader.com

Up in the Air. USA. 2009.

Rating: Eight out of ten.