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Da Couch Tomato Podcast Season 2 Episode 7, a.k.a. The Rundown 02. At ang three short reviews namin sa episode na ito ay: 1) Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) ni Jason Reitman, at kung paano nito inulit ang plot ng unang Ghostbusters noong 1986; 2) Nightmare Alley (2021) ni Guillermo del Toro, and kung gaano ito kabigat even if hindi siya ang iyong typical del Toro film na may creatures at supernatural elements; at 3) King Richard (2021) ni Reinaldo Marcus Green, at kung paano kami naging Jon Bernthal fans matapos ang performance niya sa film na ito.

Average ratings:
Ghostbusters: Afterlife: 7.05/10
Nightmare Alley: 7.85/10
King Richard: 8.25/10

Help our podcast and get up to 80% off on Lazada if you shop using this link: https://bit.ly/3p4Ur5K
6:20 PM
"We are NOT doing any sequels, all right?"

Since we all know that Disney's latest trend of remaking their entire catalogue of animated films isn't going away anytime soon, let's just accept it. After all, they wouldn't keep making more if we didn't keep watching them. So we are partly to blame for this.

One commendable thing about this film, though, is Disney's decision to avoid "whitewashing" by casting actors more ethnically suited to the story. Casting relatively unknown but culturally appropriate actors was a huge gamble, especially after receiving flak during the film's developmental stage for the earlier casting choices (Tom Hardy as Jafar, come on). I'm glad to see it paid off.

Anyway, let's go ahead and analyse Aladdin using three different criteria. 

FAITHFULNESS TO THE SOURCE MATERIAL
I am fairly certain that a huge chunk of this film's audience was alive when the 1992 animated film hit theatres, so the filmmakers needed to preserve the visual look to satisfy these paying customers. Mena Massoud is still cute enough for young girls to crush over, and Naomi Scott is still hot enough for young boys to masturbate to. Her outfit though isn't as revealing as the animated Princess Jasmine, but nobody seems to mind. Costumes here are more conservative, so no, there won't be any glimpse of Mena Massoud's abs.

The plot is basically the same, save for a few additions made. Some of the changes include the addition of new characters such as the Caucasian suitor Prince Anders (Billy Magnussen) and Princess Jasmine's handmaiden Dalia (Nasim Pedrad), the introduction of the genie and Dalia's love story, and a longer and more intense action sequence in the last part.

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Robin Williams' genie was an icon of the 1990s, so one of the challenges for a live-action remake would be preserving the genie's skin colour. I don't think this is particularly hard to pull off for Disney, especially after Guardians of the Galaxy showcased actors with blue and green skin. So I don't really understand the decision to go with a blue CGI Will Smith. Don't get me wrong, Will Smith's performance was all right, since he brought his own style to the performance without trying to be a Robin Williams copycat, and his best moments are those where he isn't blue.

Overall, the special effects could have been better. The CGI animals, namely the monkey Abu, the parrot Iago, and the tiger Rajah, were great. The flying carpet, too, was a welcome throwback to the animated carpet, but it looked good mainly on its own. However, the scenes showing Aladdin and Jasmine soaring, tumbling, and free-wheeling through an endless diamond sky looked kind of fake. The most magical scene in the entire film looked obviously green-screened.

THE MUSIC
The soundtrack was basically the same songs of the 1992 flick, with a few new songs thrown in. For the new songs, original composer Alan Menken teamed up with Benji Pasek and Justin Paul for the lyrics, giving the girl-power anthem "Speechless".

My only gripe is that the new songs, for me, feel like they were written in 2019. It doesn't have the feel of like a missing song from the original soundtrack which was just re-released this year but was actually written back in 1992 with the old songs. It just feels, I don't know, new. But that's just my opinion, coming from someone who grew up listening to the original songs. I'm interested in how a young viewer who's never seen the old film perceives the new music. And I'm also interested in Lea Salonga's opinion of this movie.


In case you hadn't noticed, I didn't mention this film was directed by Guy Ritchie. That's because this film doesn't look and feel like a Guy Ritchie flick at all. I like Ritchie as a director because of his distinct visual style, which appears nowhere in this movie at all. So let's just chalk this up to Ritchie selling out so he gets money to do the movies he really wants to do.

"Yes, I'm a dimpled Middle Eastern hottie. Deal with it."



Aladdin. USA. 2019.



Original rating: 7.8/10
No Naomi Scott nudity: -0.1
Alan Tudyk: +0.1
Aladdin and Jasmine's flirting and sexual tension: +0.2
Not-ugly Jafar: -0.1
Parkour scenes: +0.1
Actors pronouncing "Agrabah" with an accent: -0.05
Final rating: 7.95/10
3:57 PM
Squad goals: Break-even sa box-office.

Si David Ayer ay hindi naman terrible director.

Si David Ayer ay isang writer-director, at ito ay isang valuable commodity sa Hollywood. Ang problema lang ay may kapit sa kanya ang studio na parang asong may kadena sa leeg.

Ang Suicide Squad ay hindi naman terrible film. Totoo, ito'y isang bagong type ng ensemble movie sa aspetong puro anti-hero ang mga bida rito. Pero pakiramdam ko ay solid ang original draft ng screenplay ni Ayer, at feeling ko rin ay maayos naman ang director's cut ng pelikulang ito. Pero siyempre, hindi na natin ito malalaman, dahil ang ni-release sa mga sinehan ay hindi na director's cut. Ang napanood nating lahat ay ang version kung saan marami nang in-alter at pinakialaman ang producers.

"Aminado naman akong mas magaling si Heath Ledger e!"

Ang isang ensemble movie ay isang genre ng pelikula kung saan maraming characters ang bumubuo ng cast, at kung saan ang bawat character rito ay isang protagonist. Ito'y bagong genre lang, at ako lang ang nagpauso ng pangalang ito; nagsimula ito siyempre sa The Avengers ni Joss Whedon noong 2012, at halos ma-perfect na ng Marvel sa Avengers: Age of Ultron noong 2015. Ang Captain America: Civil War na nilabas early this year ay may multiple characters din, pero sa aking opinyon ay hindi ito maituturing na ensemble film dahil iisa lang ang main protagonist dito, at ito'y si Captain America.

Ang sikreto ng ensemble film ay ito: dapat buo ang development ng bawat character sa ensemble. Maari itong gawin the usual way, which is onscreen character development. Pero ang technique ng Marvel ay iba: i-develop na ang mga individual characters through their own stand-alone films.

"Ganda ng shirt mo. Pero baliw ka pa rin."

Ito rin ang binalak ng DC sa pag-release nila ng Suicide Squad. Dahil hindi nila nabigyan ng sariling stand-alone films sina Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Deadshot (Will Smith), Diablo (Jay Hernandez) at Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), dinevelop nalang ang characters nila onscreen. Pero dahil dito, naubos ang oras sa character development nila habang ang ibang characters naman ay hindi na gaano na-flesh out. Sana 'yung sequence ni Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) involving 'yung dossiers n'ung mga criminals ay ni-release nalang nila online bilang promotional materials dahil nakasira ito sa flow ng kwento.

Ang character development ni Joker (Jared Leto) ay umaasa sa prior knowledge ng manonood at sa pop culture status ng character. Si Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) ay interesting character sana, pero hindi ito na-develop dahil kulang sa oras. Gayoon din si Boomerang (Jai Courtney), bagaman hindi masyadong ganoon ka-interesting ang character nito. E si Slipknot, a.k.a. "the man who can climb anything"? Patay agad. Walang kwenta. Actually, 'yung buong plot ay weak. Parang mas nangibabaw ang pagligtas nila sa love life ni Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) kaysa sa pagligtas ng mundo.

Ang tanong, maisasalba pa kaya ng DC ang Justice League na lalabas next year? Sana naman. Si Zack Snyder ang hahawak nito, sa panunulat ni Chris Terrio, na siya ring sumulat ng Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Pero actually, kahit na gaano ka-brilliant ng creative team ng isang pelikula, wala rin itong kwenta kung ang producers ay nanonood sa likod nila at nakikialam. So sana bawas-bawasan ang pakikialam at hayaang mag-flow ang creativity, kasi ito ang kinakailangan ng DC ngayon kung balak pa nila habulin ang Marvel at their own game.

Bigyan niyo na ng stand-alone film, utang na loob.



Suicide Squad. USA. 2016.



Original na rating: 6.5/10
Scary at dark na Enchantress: +0.1
Maagang pagkamatay ni Slipknot: -0.1
Manipis na characterisation ni Joker: -0.1
Back story ni Deadshot: +0.1
Back story ni Harley Quinn: +0.1
David Harbour from Stranger Things: +0.1
Final na rating: 6.7/10
2:56 PM
"Parang bad idea ang pag-sign up ko rito, a."

Dapat ang pagiging absent ni Will Smith ay naging unang clue na hindi niyo na dapat ito panoorin. Hindi ko alam kung hindi niya nagustuhan ang script, o kung mayroon siyang prior commitments, o kung hindi nakayanan ng producers ang talent fee niya. Pero either way, it's not a good sign.

It seems na ang primary na dahilan ng Hollywood sa pagtuloy o pagbuhay sa mga lumang franchise ay para ma-introduce ang franchise sa whole new generation. Ginagawa nila ito sa pamamagitan ng remake (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), reboot (Total Recall, Ghostbusters), o sequel (Star Wars: The Force Awakens). Ang Independence Day: Resurgence ay masasabing isang sequel ng naunang 1994 na pelikulang Independence Day, na tatawagin natin sa kaniyang abbreviation na ID4. Para sa akin, sana hindi na nag-abala ang direktor na si Roland Emmerich dahil napakaganda na ng ID4 at hindi na ito nangangailangan ng sequel.

Ang ID4 kasi ay hindi na talaga nagbigay ng room for a sequel. Ang naging kwento ng unang pelikula ay "aliens come to Earth, humanity stands up, humanity blows up alien mothership, Earth wins". Paano mo ito gagawan ng sequel? Babalik ang aliens at gagawin ulit ang ginawa nila tapos mananalo uli tayo? Parang hindi na. Okay na ang ID4 as a stand-alone film. Halatang pinilit nalang nila itong pigaan ng sequel.

Ang isang magandang example ng sequel in recent years ay ang How to Train Your Dragon 2. Pinaliwanag ng direktor nito na si Dean DeBlois kung ano ang naging inspirasyon niya in terms of sequel-making, at ito ay ang The Empire Strikes Back. Sabi niya:

The Empire Strikes Back always struck me as a movie that took everything about a world and made it deeper and richer tonally. That was what I was after — that sense of fun and increased scope and richer characters and larger stakes. Our film seemed as though it occupied a world where there is more story to be told and more questions to be answered.

Ayun dapat ang nangyari rito. Palawakin ang mundo. Hindi lang "copy the plot of the original film". Kailangan ma-explore mo pa ang mundo ng naunang film at palawakin o palalimin ito. Sa pelikulang ito kasi, halos inulit lang ang plot ng original. Ang pagpapalawak pa sa film na ito ay sa pangatlong pelikula pa yata, kung saan may hint daw ng "interstellar travel". Sana nga.

And on that note, I guess pumalpak din bilang sequel ang The Force Awakens. Pero sa ibang review nalang iyon.

"So hindi na ba talaga ito maisasalba?"



Independence Day: Resurgence. USA. 2016.



Original rating: 6/10
Pagkawala ni Will Smith: -0.1
Pagsalba ni Jeff Goldblum: +0.1
Pagkatuyot at pagka-haggard ng ka-love team ni Jeff Goldblum: -0.1
Comic relief ng kasama ni Liam Hemsworth: +0.1
William Fichtner: +0.1
Angelababy: +0.1
Acting ni Bill Pullman: +0.1
Pagpilit ni Bill Pullman sumakay ng spaceship: -0.1
Final rating: 6.2/10
7:29 PM
YouTube

It seems as if After Earth was doomed from the start by viewer bias. We'd all rather just ride the Shyamalan haters's bandwagon, loudly exclaiming our displeasure and disapproval any chance we get. But someone has to stand up and defend the innocent, just like Jesus Christ stood up to Mary Magdalene's would-be stoners.

"Let he who has an Oscar acting nomination cast the first stone."
2:47 PM
YouTube

After a 10-year absence, the men in black finally make a comeback. This is the third installment in the MIB franchise, and I sure hope as hell it won't be the last.

Men in Black now ranks as my second favorite alien franchise, next only to Doctor Who. Some people might be asking, "Wait, I thought you liked Star Wars?" Yes, I do love Star Wars. But you have to understand first that when I say "alien", I don't mean "sci-fi". There's a difference.

"There is?"

Star Wars is sci-fi. Dune is sci-fi. Star Trek is alien. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is alien. Get the difference?

When I say "alien", I mean something that still involves human Earthlings and the planet Earth. Do you have the planet Earth in the Star Wars universe? No, you don't. Is Han Solo a human Earthling? No, he isn't (he's a human Corellian).

Anyway, 10 years is a long time, and a lot of changes have taken place in MIB headquarters. First, Zed's dead (nice rhyme). Second, the new director (I assume that's what the highest MIB officer is called) is O (Emma Thompson), and she gives a hilarious eulogy to her predecessor.

"Is it funnier because of my British accent?"
5:17 PM

Also known as The Kung Fu Kid in China, South Korea and Japan, the film makes a clear distinction between Karate and Kung Fu. Blame the weird title on branding.

Some shots feel like a car commercial. Is this because the Chinese government is said to have sponsored this film? A good chunk of the movie is about this, which makes for a little boredom.

Jaden Smith has his mom's face and his dad's humor. And he can take on a dramatic scene too. "We moved to China. That's what happened." Though, there are moments when you realize that he's only 12 and he has a long way to go.

I've never really been a fan of the Jackie Chan-Hollywood combination, but Jackie Chan was good here. Props to Christopher Murphey and Robert Mark Kamen for a writing a script worthy of Jackie Chan.

Tarajie P. Henson is a hot mom.
Also, Wikipedia says Michelle Yeoh played that Kung Fu master who was balancing on a cliff with a cobra. Didn't look her, though.

Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) meets an American kid right when he gets off their car to their new apartment in Beijing. Where was that kid for the rest of the movie?

So yeah, for the branding and for what didn't happen to Kung Fu kid's supposed American best friend in China, and for the boring bits, I give this a 7 /10.
5:59 PM

A great popcorn movie, and just right at ninety minutes or so.

Oscar winner Barry Sonnenfeld directs this comic book adaptation, and it's actually so effective because the film itself also runs like a comic book. The lighting and the effects are perfect for the mood the film is trying to go for, which is The X-Files meets Star Wars.

Tommy Lee Jones is perfect as the no-nonsense Agent K, a perfect match to the comic relief and occassional coolness of Mr. Will Smith. My only problem was Will Smith's wardrobe in the beginning. Orange half-jumpsuits are so...nineties.

Anyway, the sexy Linda Fiorentino is quite entertaining as the only female lead in this movie, but it makes me wonder what happened to her career. Where are you now, Linda Fiorentino?

But the best performances in the movie come from Tony Shalhoub and Vincent D'Onofrio. Tony Shalhoub's Jeebs is delightful, and I suppose a lot of Hollywood actors would die for roles like this, playing against type, and getting a huge kick out of it. And Tony Shalhoub is almost unrecognizable here, what with the buck teeth and the crossed eyes. And Vincent D'Onofrio's performance as Edgar the Bug─classic. This should be viewed by any aspiring method actor, as every move done by D'Onofrio, every twitch of his face, and every faltering step he takes, everything he does can only be done by an alien in someone else's skin. Vincent D'Onofrio is a genius. And it also helps that both Jeebs and Edgar have excellent makeup, since this film, by the way, took home the Oscar for Best Makeup. How cool is that?

Men in Black was done with the early versions of computer-generated special effects, and now, more than ten years after its theatrical release, still remains as one of the most genuinely entertaining science-fiction comedies ever produced. And for that, we thank Steven Spielberg for producing this. We love you, Mr. Spielberg.


*some info from IMDb
pic from aceshowbiz.com


Men in Black. USA. 1997.


Rating: Eight and a half out of ten.
Tony Shalhoub: Nine out of ten.
Vincent D'Onofrio: Nine out of ten.
6:28 AM

Named after the famous signatory of the US Declaration of Independence whose flamboyant handwriting became synonymous with the word "signature" itself, the new John Hancock is a totally different character altogether---an ill-tempered, alcoholic superhero.


Now the idea itself is fresh, and it differs from Iron Man in that Iron Man is just a regular human being, without any superpowers, so his flaws are understandably human. Hancock, on the other hand, is a superhuman, and it is rather interesting to watch a superhuman with human flaws.

Will Smith tones down his acting, staying true to the character, and actually succeeds in making the audience sympathize with him. Jason Bateman plays the nice guy Ray, the PR consultant who gives Hancock an inside-out makeover. Of course, Mr. Bateman is a natural at playing nice guys, so there really is no problem there. And of course, Charlize Theron plays the hot mama, and you're going to have to watch the movie to find out what her character's really about.

The reason this movie doesn't quite make it in my book is the storyline itself. It starts out great, with a flying drunk superhero who fights crime while destroying city property at the same time. I was expecting a sort of in-depth character analysis of Hancock, showing us every facet of his otherwise depressing superhero life. But the movie takes a dramatic twist at the end, which I believe was the producers' way of creating a smooth transition to a possible sequel. Anyway, with a character-driven plot that compromises its character, no amount of brilliant directing, even from someone like the talented Peter Berg, can save it.

But again, my review is just my opinion, and my opinion is as good as yours, so I suggest you just go and watch it yourself, to keep you occupied before Christian Bale and Heath Ledger take control of the box office.


Rating: Three stars.
3:23 PM
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