WALL-E

And Pixar does it yet again.

Pixar Studios still continues to be the best and most artistic makers of computer-animated films, and it is rather hard to maintain that status, what with all the other studios racing to topple them off their pedestal. But after nine films under its belt, Pixar still remains the undisputed leader in quality storytelling.

WALL-E would be a shoo-in for another Academy Award. It pushes its boundaries this time by going into outer space which, after Finding Nemo, Pixar felt it was ready to do. The camera work for the space shots were carefully researched, including the nebulous clouds and the lens flares, and without too much dialogue to hold you down, you can just sit back and let the scenery sink in.

The absence of dialogue, especially for the first part of the film, makes WALL-E transcend language barriers, and just goes to prove that an actor's performance is not gauged by how good he is at accents or voice-changing, but by how well he can convey emotions without even opening his mouth. Then again, Pixar has already been proving this point with their short film tie-ins (this particular film is paired up with the short film Presto, which works wonderfully without any dialogue whatsoever).

The design of the characters is also quite interesting. The robot EVE's design was actually based on the sleek, white design of Apple products like the iPod (it would be interesting to note that Pixar used to be owned by Steve Jobs before it was acquired by Disney). Some critics say that WALL-E's design was based on Johnny 5, the talking robot from the eighties film Short Circuit. But the resemblance is only in the binocular eyes and the tank treads, and it stops there. WALL-E is a complete character on his own, and as soon as you see the film, you'll agree that it would be an insult to state that WALL-E is a Johnny 5 rip-off.

WALL-E's voice was created by Ben Burtt, the genius behind the excellent sound design of the Star Wars prequels, and he also does the voice of several other robots in the film, like the clean-up bot M-O (which stands for Microbe Obliterator). Kathy Najimy and Pixar favorite John Ratzenberger star as Mary and John, two obese humans on board the Axiom. And the Axiom's computer is voiced by Sigourney Weaver, a clear nod to the Alien films.

Again, WALL-E is not just a children's film, but one even adults would enjoy. So I suggest you see it with your special someone, and you'd be holding hands before the film ends. Oh, and before I forget: stay for the closing credits, for a run-through of the history of art.


Rating: Five stars.

You Don't Mess With the Zohan

One riotous laugh-out-loud movie.

Adam Sandler's Happy Madison production comes up with a noticeably intelligent comedy, and they definitely didn't hold back on the sex jokes. Zohan Dvir is Israel's modern-day superhero, a counter-terrorist who gets tired of the 2000-year old conflict in the Holy Land and decides to pursue his dream of styling hair in New York City. It may seem like a shallow plot, but it is actually inspired by the famous Arbib brothers, all former Israeli soldiers-turned-hairstylists (they still run the salons Shampoo and Shampoo Too in West Hollywood).


The script's no-holds-barred humor (sexually, politically, and racially) is a result of the comic brilliance of three distinguished comedians today: Sandler, Saturday Night Live writer Robert Smigel, and of course the popular Judd Apatow. But of course, it's the crazy performances of the actors that breathe life into the script.

Adam Sandler plays the Zohan perfectly, in a role tailor-made for him and his Jewish roots. Along with John Turturro as Phantom the terrorist, and joined by Rob Schneider as the cab driver Salim, the three buddies reunite once more, and make comic acting seem effortless (which, to them, it probably is). Nick Swardson is quite funny as Michael, the clueless New Yorker who takes Zohan in, and Emmanuelle Chriqui sizzles the screen as the hairdresser Dhalia. Filipino-American actor Alec Mapa also gets some screen time as the hairstylist Claude.

Speaking cameos abound in this movie, starting with Michael Buffer himself (you'd half-expect him to suddenly shout "Let's get ready to rumble!") as the tycoon Walbridge; the musician Dave Matthews as James; Chris Rock as a Jamaican taxi driver; and the following play themselves: actor Kevin James, tennis great John McEnroe, actor George Takei, and diva Mariah Carey herself.

Again, expect a lot of sex jokes, political jokes, and racist jokes, all tastefully done, and you'd be surprised how many times you'd catch yourself laughing out loud.


Rating: Four stars.

Batman: Gotham Knight

Can't get enough of the Batman.

Warner Bros. already did a similar trick during the Matrix run. Somewhere between The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded, they decided to release an animated project that would sort of "bridge" the two movies together. While it is obviously an attempt at making more money (I frown upon Hollywood's money-making mentality), it nonetheless satisfies the cravings of a Batman junkie.


This is a straight-to-DVD release, with six animated short features, all about the crime fighter with the pointy ears. The stories are dark and sinister, consistent with Christopher Nolan's reboot of the franchise, and their animation style is---what else---Japanese anime. We all know how much the Western world loves anime.

Kevin Conroy, whose voice you might recognize as that from the original Batman animated series, once again lends his vocal prowess as the billionaire in a bat suit, which quite frankly makes me feel at home, like I'm once again in familiar territory. Veteran voice actor Jason Marsden also appears, as several characters, true to his cartoon-voicing roots, and even CSI's Gary Dourdan also provides the voice of Gotham cop Crispus Allen.

Again, this video was released with a target audience clearly in mind: the anime fans, and the Batman fans. You'd be surprised how many there are out there.


Rating: Four stars.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Two words: Ho Hum.

First of all, Terra Cotta warriors were not mummies, so I don't know how they were able to force the mummy theme on a Chinese setting.


Brendan Fraser reprises his role as the tomb raider Rick O'Connell, but strangely, Maria Bello takes over the role of Evy from Rachel Weisz. Apparently, Rachel Weisz chose not to return to her role, citing "problems with the script." And those problems become pretty obvious as the film moves along.

John Hannah still plays the same comic relief character he played in the previous Mummy flicks, but he's become a bit more of a potty-mouth this time. Luke Ford plays the O'Connells' now-grown-up son Alex, but the fresh performances definitely come from the Chinese cast led by Russell Wong as General Ming, Michelle Yeoh as the sorceress Zi Yuan, and Mr. Jet Li himself as the Dragon Emperor.

The film is---let me put it bluntly---boring, and it's also riddled with inconsistencies. The story was supposed to be set in Communist China, so how was Jonathan, a foreigner, able to own a bar in Shanghai? And Yetis? They put Yetis in the story?

I'm sorry, but after watching this film, I regretted it immediately, and wished I'd just watched The Dark Knight again. At least I wouldn't have slept through that one.


Rating: Two and a half stars.

The Dark Knight

Oh where to begin...

And you all thought Christopher Nolan can't tell a straight story. Apparently he can, as The Dark Knight follows a more linear narrative path than its predecessor.

Of course, the glory shouldn't all go to the director (where would he be without the actors?), and let me tell you that all of them were brilliant. All of them. So let's go through them one by one, as there are only a few of them anyway.

Christian Bale: Mr. Bale (who gives meaning to the word "man-crush") was the embodiment of what a billionaire playboy should be─cool, rich, and good-looking. And he fights crime too. But that Batman voice of his─you can justify it as Bruce Wayne's way of protecting his identity.

Gary Oldman: The ultimate team player. Gary Oldman knows how to pace his acting. For loud roles, he becomes wild and obnoxious; but for subtle roles, like soon-to-be Commissioner Gordon (spoiler warning!), he just blends in. No overacting, and no underacting either. Just perfect. A possible contender for the Acting Hall of Fame.

Aaron Eckhart: Again, excellent acting (did I mention how many great actors this film has?). Okay, everybody knows Harvey Dent will become the villain Two-Face, but I'm not spoiling anything. All I can say is that his transition from good to evil was well-portrayed. You'll finally understand where his hatred comes from.

Michael Caine: That's Sir Michael Caine to you. You would think that a knight would hog the spotlight, but if there is anything that Caine knows how to do, it's stay in the background. And he does it really well. Though of course you really can't get rid of that sophisticated British accent.

Morgan Freeman: Again, Morgan Freeman is just Morgan Freeman. Not really a bad actor, but somehow he will always be Morgan Freeman, on and off screen. Does that make any sense?

Heath Ledger: Last but definitely not the least, Heath Ledger delivers a performance worthy of an encore. He leaves us with a bang, at the top of his game, and no one should be allowed to top his role as the Joker, as it would be a desecration to his memory. I say let the Joker role die with him. Anyway, you will be so mesmerized by his performance that you'd even forget he was Heath Ledger. Every second of that guy's screen time is worth millions. May God bless his soul.

And finally, the women of Gotham─wait, there's only one. Ms. Maggie Gyllenhaal steps into the void created by Katie Holmes, who starred as the original Rachel Dawes. But honestly, I see no real impact that this character brings, aside from being the love interest of both Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne. Which strongly suggests that Gotham might indeed be a man's world. My movie buddy in fact couldn't stop swooning over all the men─she swooned over Bale, Eckhart, Ledger, even Oldman. Which of course was nothing to how I swooned over Bruce Wayne.

Now story-wise, The Dark Knight might seem to be a tad too long, running two and a half hours. Quite noticeable is the denouement. The average movie-goer would expect the action to slide down at around the two-hour mark, but the prevalent theme is "Wait, there's more!" The action rises and falls, then rises again, then just when you think it'll fall, it rises again. A bit tiring for the average viewer, but again, the die-hard fans won't even notice it. But the title is very apt, as nothing comes close to the darkness painted by Nolan─for starters, we have a lot of deaths, and near-deaths (spoiler alert number two!), but the character of each and every individual in the story is totally fleshed out. They become real, and veer away from the realm of comic book superheroes to the real world.

A toast to Nolan, for a successful sequel. But we must all realize that the success of The Dark Knight would not have been achieved if it wasn't for the failure of its predecessors. Only by portraying Batman in several not-so-good adaptations does this franchise successfully reinvent itself.

Oh, and Christopher Nolan doesn't go linear all the way. He slips into his trademark non-linear style in the last ten minutes of the film. I guess he just can't help himself.


Rating: Five stars.

Hancock

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.

Wanted

This may be one of the most visually refreshing movies to ever come out this year.

That's because Wanted is directed by Russian director, Timur Bekmambetov, who brought his European style of fast-paced filmmaking to give Wanted its extra jolt.


The film is paced in the same adrenaline-rush pace that strenuous physical activity, such as an assassination attempt, actually gives. No part of the movie will slow down enough for you to leave your seat and go to the restroom. And some girls should be happy to get their fill of James McAvoy, whose screen time encompasses probably ninety-five percent of the whole film.

James McAvoy gives an excellent performance, and you can actually see and feel his transition from accountant to assassin. Angelina Jolie, for the first time, I believe, shows her body without concealing any of her real-life tattoos. I guess this should make her assassin look more credible, but tattoos or no tattoos, she will always be a credible assassin after Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Thomas Kretschmann plays the elusive Cross, whose character plays a major part in the narrative, and yet gets very little screen time. Morgan Freeman, as the villainous Sloan, is still, well, Morgan Freeman. Even when he played God in Bruce Almighty, he was still Morgan Freeman. He rarely, if ever, changes his acting style.

The film is filled with almost impossible action sequences, which would give the Mythbusters a field day. Curving bullets, flipping cars, blocking a bullet with another bullet---these are of course products of the film's comic roots. Anyway, the film is carried by McAvoy and Timur Bekmambetov's master storytelling, as the director makes sure that from the start, your disbelief has been suspended.

I watched the film having no expectations, and no idea of what the movie was about. And when I left the theater, all I could think of was becoming an assassin. As did the other viewers, who kept pointing invisible guns, trying to curve invisible bullets.


Rating: Five stars.

The Incredible Hulk

Edward Norton brings out the wonder kid in him in this film, rewriting a huge chunk of the script (although not getting the credit for the screenplay). However, despite Norton's writing skills, The Incredible Hulk still comes off as just another superhero movie. Just like the rest of them.


The Hulk himself appears more human this time, with zero-percent body fat---one lean, green fighting machine---and his proportions are closer to physical reality. One thing that really bothers me though is that some girls actually find the Hulk attractive. One girl in the cinema even exclaimed that the Hulk was "cute". Whatever.

Of course, Norton's performance was good, and Liv Tyler's was so-so. Tim Roth plays the villain just perfect, but it was William Hurt who gave the best performance of all, establishing his character perfectly as a great general slash terrible father. Again, watch this film if you are a Hulk fan, or if you just love superhero eye-candy movies. Ang Lee's 2003 version was way too artsy-fartsy for the average moviegoer, and if action and carnage were what you missed with the first film, then this one should keep you satisfied for now.


Rating: Three and a half stars.

The Happening

Not one of M. Night Shyamalan's better films, but still, it's not as bad as the critics say.

An idea like this can only come from the mind of Shyamalan, whose affinity for the macabre was what launched his Hollywood ticket in the first place. The plot is so simple (the whole structure came to Shyamalan in an instant, while driving through rural New Jersey) that it should be told in a simple, non-linear fashion; just straight-up, direct storytelling. The script is flimsy, as there are some holes that should have been patched up, and there are some ideas that could have been explored more, but Shyamalan makes up for his shortcomings as screenwriter by performing wonderfully as director. It all boils down to execution, and Shyamalan, already a master visual storyteller, knows how to pace the film, to make it subtle, and to let the suspense build up. Although his stories may be of the supernatural, M. Night Shyamalan is a realistic storyteller, always grounding his narratives in something we are all familiar with.

One excellent aspect of this film is James Newton Howard's musical score. It is so effective that you will hardly even notice that there is any musical score at all. All you feel is the suspense that builds up inside you, which is a direct effect of the musical score.

The performances of the actors are commendable, as there is really no room for over-acting in an M. Night Shyamalan flick. Like the narrative, it all boils down to subtlety, and Mark Wahlberg as science teacher Elliot Moore, delivers just the right amount of panic and hysteria that his role calls for. Zooey Deschanel as Mrs. Moore reminds me of nothing more than a younger, blue-eyed Meg Ryan. John Leguizamo, surprisingly, is able to pull off a Philadelphia high school math teacher slash father, and his screen time is cut dramatically with his early death in the film. One terrific discovery by Shyamalan is young actress Ashlyn Sanchez, who plays Leguizamo's daughter Jess. While Sanchez is no Dakota Fanning, she still shows a lot of promise, and we could expect more films from her in the future. And of course, where is the director himself with his trademark cameos? He minimizes himself this time and does a Lionel Richie, with just one word over the telephone: Hello. Just a voice, not even a glimpse.

Again, a valuable lesson I keep telling everyone is "Do not listen to the critics". Go watch the film anyway, and enjoy it according to your standards, not theirs.


Rating: Four stars.

Kung Fu Panda

Computer animation has come a long way since Toy Story, and Kung Fu Panda, although not produced by CGI giant Pixar studios, definitely proves that DreamWorks Animation is on its way to reach the level of artistry previously monopolized by Pixar.

A wild mix of authentic Eastern kung fu action and side-splitting Jack Black comedy, Kung Fu Panda may delight kids with its studded cast of cute furry animals, but adults, especially the die-hard fans of the original kung fu films of the early eighties, may love the film even more.

This film scores high on two counts: the action, and the comedy.

First, the action. Computer animation has the ability to take kung fu movies to a whole new level. Some say Kung Fu Panda looks like a cross between Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix. Hollywood uses something dubbed as "wire fu", which is basically kung fu on wires. This is what gives flight to Zhang Ziyi and Keanu Reeves. Well, with computer animation, the unrealism of wire fu is replaced by the laws of natural physics; hence, flying punches, flying kicks, and flying bodies are more exciting to watch, as they are definitely more realistic.

Second is the comedy. It's Jack Black. What else can you say? The superb animation seems to capture Jack Black's soul and bring it out in his character Po, whose facial gestures and body movements provide as much laughs as his dialogue. And of course, the humor is not really geared toward the younger audiences, but to the adults, and even Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu delivers a few funny lines himself.

Yeah, so the Tigress was voiced by Angelina Jolie, and the Viper was voiced by Lucy Liu, but their performances aren't remarkable at all, as I cannot really imagine them as their character. The only ones who pass the test for me are Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Tai Lung the Snow Leopard, who is voiced by Ian McShane, and Monkey, who is voiced by the legendary Jackie Chan himself. It's not a real kung fu flick if Jackie Chan isn't in it.


Rating: Four and a half stars.