Probably the season's most boring episode yet. The new guy in town didn't perk up my curiosity and well, there's nothing else to say. Damon still gets the best lines (and I'm actually falling in love with the actor who makes it all happen) and Stefan is hot when he's not on his I'm-an-A-student-brooder character. Elena and Jeremy's dynamics get nice and sad though. Other than that, I wanted to sleep.
Probably the season's most boring episode yet. The new guy in town didn't perk up my curiosity and well, there's nothing else to say. Damon still gets the best lines (and I'm actually falling in love with the actor who makes it all happen) and Stefan is hot when he's not on his I'm-an-A-student-brooder character. Elena and Jeremy's dynamics get nice and sad though. Other than that, I wanted to sleep.
Three words: Pretty. Heavy. Shit.
Such seems to be the screen tragedy for all great musicians. Beethoven. Mozart. And now Ayers.
This is a true story by the way. And Jamie Foxx does a damn great job. I sincerely believe Jamie Foxx is one of the most talented actors of his generation.
Robert Downey, Jr. doesn't really shine in this movie. But he doesn't suck either. Though his chemistry with Foxx is undeniable. I think Downey can work with anyone. He's a great team player.
The story was good. The acting was great. But the storytelling was too dragging. And that, I believe, is where it failed.
But Catherine Keener is still hot.
*some info from IMDb
pic from gloaminganddawn.wordpress.com
The Soloist. UK/USA/France. 2009.
Rating: Five point nine out of ten.
All those who missed the JLC-Bea love team, please raise your hand.
This review will not dwell on the differences between the JLC-Bea and the JLC-Sarah love teams. But that could be the subject of a separate blog entry. This review will just focus on the sad, sorry state of Filipino A-movies, as portrayed in Miss You Like Crazy.
First of all, the title. Miss You Like Crazy was the title of a Whitney Houston classic. And now it's the title of a Star Cinema flick. And this is not just an isolated incident. A lot of Filipino films take their titles from foreign love songs. I mean, come on, how hard is it to think of a creative, catchy title that isn't the title of a song? Well, the producers might come up with defenses, citing marketing strategies, product recall, and other bull. But seriously, how hard is it to be creative?
Second is subject matter. I'm not a big fan of social stratification, but this film just thickens the dividing line between rich and poor. Like it or not, this film caters to the upper class of Filipino society. It can probably go as low as upper-middle. Or middle-middle. And that is the sad truth. So don't expect any great Filipino films coming out of the woodwork anytime soon, because I don't think any A-movie can tackle subject matter that the average minimum wage-earning Filipino will embrace.
That said, yes this film entertained me. Yes, Bea Alonzo is still beautiful. Yes, John Lloyd is still John Lloyd. But no, this film didn't break any new ground. And I don't think any groundbreaking films will ever come out of Star Cinema. That is unless it begins catering to the poor people of this country.
*pic from asianovela.com
Miss You Like Crazy. Philippines. 2010.
Rating: Six out of ten.
This movie made me cry. And not just watery-eyed crying. I mean like real, non-stop sobbing crying. Like a sissy.
And because it made me cry, it means it's good. I cried toward the last part. And it takes a lot to make me cry. And since this film succeeded in doing that, it means that the storytelling was damn effective. It built up everything from the beginning, then continued to sustain the emotion, then in the end─boom!─let the tears fall down. Beautiful.
Robert De Niro does a great performance, simply because he didn't act like a tough gangster, which is the character that he can't seem to shake off. Well, he's growing old, and he's talented, so give him a break. He pulled off the lonely American parent perfectly. All I could do was feel sorry for him, and for American parents in general. Filipino parents have it waaaay better.
Kate Beckinsale is still hot. Although I think she's looking more and more anorexic. But she's still hot. And she didn't get enough screen time for me to soak in her hotness.
Sam Rockwell, I haven't seen you in a long time. And I have a feeling you'll be making a comeback.
Drew Barrymore, you're still cute. That's all I can say. And you're acting wasn't bad.
So if you watch this, and you find yourself crying, and someone asks you why you're crying, just answer, "I'm fine. Everybody's fine."
(The line above is an example of how NOT to end a review. I just forced it. So there.)
*some info from IMDb
pic from chicagomaroon.com
Everybody's Fine. USA. 2009 (2010 Philippines).
Original rating: Eight out of ten.
Tear-jerker scene: Plus point two.
Kate Beckinsale's hotness: Plus point three.
Kate Beckinsale's anorexia: Minus point one.
Final rating: Eight point four out of ten.
That girl in the picture is not Kick-Ass. That's Hit Girl. But she kicked more ass than Kick-Ass.
Again, this is one of those films that exceeds expectations. Because I was expecting this to be a comedy. Well, it's not a comedy. There were some funny situations, sure, but it's not a comedy. And therein lies the beauty of it.
But the beauty doesn't stop there. The fight scenes were sweet. Better than The Matrix. At least in my opinion. But I'm not dissing The Matrix. I love The Matrix. But this movie kicks ass more. Or this movie kicks more ass. Whatever.
So Nicolas Cage may be the only A-list star here. But there are a lot of familiar faces, like Superbad's McLovin, a really small role by Band of Brothers' Dexter Fletcher, and that guy who played Jackie Aprile in The Sopranos, and a cameo from Jason Flemyng. Plus there are some of Hollywood's up-and-coming faces, particularly Chloë Grace Moretz as Hit Girl (although I liked her more as Hit Girl, probably because of the wig), and Aaron Johnson, Mr. Kick-Ass himself.
So again, before watching this, be warned: This. Is. Not. A. Comedy. In fact, I don't even know how to classify this. It's funny is some parts, action-packed in a lot of parts, bloodier than Kill Bill, as dark (if not darker) than The Dark Knight, and has better fight scenes than The Matrix. And it tackles subject matter that goes deeper than it actually looks.
*some info from IMDb
pic from blogs.smh.com.au
Kick-Ass. USA. 2010.
Original rating: Eight out of ten.
Mention of "Filipino" and balisong screen time: Plus point five.
Bloodiest fight scenes so far: Plus point one.
Comic book sequence: Plus point one.
Final rating: Eight point seven out of ten.
It's feels like Blade at the onset, only with more sophisticated and sort of advanced designs and ideas. Daybreakers is a vampire flick, but you will not find romance here, nor Edward Cullen.
Ten years into the future, there is only a handful of humans, most of them hiding in shelters. That is, if they're not hanging by tubes in a lab as blood is harvested from their veins to meet the needs of the vampire-populated world. Ed Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is a hesitant vamp sympathetic to humans. He's also a hematologist finding a special blood substitute to make up for the deteriorating supply. But he and his new-found human friends find a “cure” for being a vampire that could save all their problems.
The idea and attention to details of a vampire's life really impresses here: how a vampire can drive under the sun in his car untouched by the UV rays, or how a vampire can check in his rear-view mirror how his ear looks like even without a reflection, or how a vampire can buy a cup of blood-infused coffee, just like ordering at Starbucks. Human sacrifice may very well be its redeeming factor, but not enough to save the film. It seems that the idea was to put back real “reel” vampires on the big screen; only it lacks decent storytelling.
Actors (Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill) are a waste of talent here; there was no character or story for their full potential to soar. Really, even the action sequences were mainly military vamps (using tranquilizer guns) shooting humans (using Van Helsing-sort-of-stakes) and vice versa. I guess the movie’s reel vamps checked their agility and super speed and strength at the door. Either that, or with all the technology they presented, the military vamps were left out without funding.
But I wonder: if "immortality is the miracle" (or so Neill’s blood-thirsty character says), what would a vampire not give to be alive again? Life is not meant to be unending. It's because it has an end that we can live in its moments. (Yes, the Kodak moments. Eww, harharhar.)
Daybreakers gets five out of ten, for trying to be a watchable action-suspense vampire movie.
*photo from allmoviephoto.com
Two words: Too tame (or lame?). This rom-com had more faith in their actors than in their story, but their story really needed that extra oomph for their actors to click.
Did You Hear About the Morgans? is a story about a separated New Yorker couple Meryl (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Paul Morgan (Hugh Grant) who witnessed a crime and had to be placed in the witness protection program. As a hitman tracks them down, they are sent to the far-flung—and designer stores-slash-wifi-deprived—town of Ray, Wyoming to be safe. During their hiatus, they give themselves a well-deserved break from the busy city and focus on what really needs work: their relationship.
Hugh Grant is really charming, but I'm afraid he's been chained into doing this kind of role far too many times. SJP is effortless in playing a New Yorker; not much challenge there. Together, they don't really mesh to bring about laughs. And the part where they are being "hunted" didn't even make me sit up and pay attention to the suspense.
This is the only part I found funny, even just for a bit: "I promise never to take you for granted or utter a word unkind / Never allow my affections to be recanted or stop marveling at your behind / To also marvel at your warmth, your wit, your refusal to condone animal slaughter / Your wisdom, your laugh, your inability to boil water / To be your best friend for the rest of my life and / To thank the God you're not sure about fooling you into being my wife."—delivered by Grant as "the leading man character," in almost each and every rom-com he played since.
Did You Hear About the Morgans? gets three out of ten, because predictable happy endings suck for movies in general... but in life, it’s most welcome.
*photo from allmoviephoto.com
If telling a Body of Lies doesn't hunt your conscience, then maybe you're fit to be a spy. It's Leonardo DiCaprio, so what the heck. Hehe.
The film follows the story of a CIA operative Roger Farris (Dicaprio), the man on the ground, and Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), the man with the phone and satellite what-have-yous, tracking down a terrorist. The story reveals the amount of deceit and secrecy—either with decorated officials or with people who are easily dispensable—involved in these kinds of operations. They do everything to get vital intel and thus get the bad guy. But in this world of espionage, you don't really know who your enemies or your friends are.
Roger Farris is the heart of the movie, and I must admit, Leo has grown as an actor from his portrayal of Romeo in the modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Ed Hoffman is just plain cold, though he appeared to want to protect his colleague (Crowe, by the way, is a good actor, but not so much of a hunk here. Boo.). And this precise difference in personalities works for the film. Throw in the Jordanian Intelligence head and the terrorist in the mix, and you've got four different minds set to doing what they feel is the right way (or the only way) to do things.
Overall I'd say it's just another spy movie, but with DiCaprio and Crowe in the mix, it's definitely something to watch. I can't say it'll alter someone's take on espionage, though, or the way Americans deal with terrorists or international relations. As Ed said, "No one's innocent in this shit." Indeed, no one is. But how well do you sleep at night?
Body Of Lies gets six out of ten, for spy agents DiCaprio and Crowe really, and for Uncle Sam’s faulty ways.
*photo from allmoviephoto.com
Let us grieve for one of the pillars of modern Philippine slapstick.
Palito will always be remembered as a mere sidekick. Yes, he is a team player. And yet most people know that he starred as a lead in several movies, most notably Rambuto, and James Bone, both spoofs of American movies, and both using "bone" in the title. And strangely, Palito's bones, which brought him to the heights of his showbiz career, are all that we have left of him.
Palito a.k.a. Reynaldo Alfredo Hipolito, 4 Sep 1934 - 12 Apr 2010
*some info from Wikipedia
pic from Dennis Villegas at flickr.com
**a great article, from which the Wikipedia entry lifts heavily from, can be found in dennisvillegas.blogspot.com
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