MOVIE GUIDE FOR THIS WEEK [03-22-2012]

by Reymundo Salao

Some people often ask me if I should recommend this movie or that movie; if I think this movie would be great, or if that one would suck. Well, I thought I should put out my pre-view opinions on some movies that are opening this week, and notes on movies that are on extended run.

THE HUNGER GAMES is a film based on a young adult futuristic action-adventure book of the same name written by Suzanne Collins. Its story is set in a dystopian future where every year, the government forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which "Tributes" must fight with one another until one survivor remains.

This is an immensely anticipated film, and it is predicted to create the same degree of gigantic hype as "Twilight" did. But unlike "Twilight" the "Hunger Games" is being made with careful concern for cinematic quality, as it is based off a really well-written book series. Great steps are being made by the Lionsgate Production Company to ensure that the film series would not only be a “cash cow movie-of-the-week” kind of flick the way Twilight is; but instead, it seeks to be timeless and great, perhaps like the way the Harry Potter series was made. I actually grew more excited when I found out that an advance critic screening was made and caused a 100% positive critics consensus for the movie on the rottentomatoes website. When I did finally watch it last night (Thursday), it confirmed all the positive hype; it was more story-rich rather than action-rich. It was like a more cerebral version of (the popular Japanese movie) “Battle Royale”, but has its own brand of uniqueness that sets itself apart from the usual concepts that Hollywood puts out. This has the potential to be the next big popular film franchise that will replace “Twilight”. I seriously hope it will; coz this one is thought-provoking and has some serious deep subplots. OVERALL: DON’T MISS THIS MOVIE IF YOU LOVE SERIOUS TEEN ACTION-DRAMA
----------

THE MUPPETS is a live-action musical feature film starring Jim Henson’s Muppets which popularly include Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy which were very popular during the 1980s. This is the first Muppets theatrical release in 12 years, as well as the third Disney-produced Muppets film. This movie was officially released Late November of 2011.

In the movie, the world's biggest Muppet fan named Walter, along with his friends Gary and Mary discover the nefarious plan of an oil businessman to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets' former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways.

The Muppets has received positive reviews and became one of the best-reviewed films of 2011. Some have hailed it as the best Muppet film since the 1984 "The Muppets Take Manhattan". Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 96% of 192 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.9 out of 10, and is the highest rated film in the Muppets series.
OVERALL: PURE FAMILY FUN & GOLDEN TO THOSE SEEKING MUPPET NOSTALGIA
----------

MIRROR, MIRROR is on extended run this week. If you haven’t seen this movie, I suggest you go do so already if you don’t want to miss out on such a fun light-hearted movie. MIRROR, MIRROR is a fantasy adventure movie adaptation of the fairy tale SNOW WHITE (AND THE SEVEN DWARVES) It’s directed by Tarsem Singh, who directed “The Cell”, “The Fall” and “Immortals”, and stars Lily Collins as Snow White, the ever-funny Nathan Lane, Armie Hammer, and Julia Roberts as the wickedly amusing Evil Queen.

There are two Snow White movies coming off of Hollywood this year. This one looks like the better and more fun version. At least MIRROR, MIRROR looks like a more sincere approach to Snow White than the other movie “Snow White and the Huntsman” which looks like it’s a hipster attempt to tell a pretentious alternate “extremely unique” story; it wants to be desperately different. In MIRROR, MIRROR, when Snow White wields a sword, she looks like she does it in a more classical swashbuckling type, and still has that girly poise, while in the other movie; Snow White is Conan the Barbarian (with armor!).

This movie has not yet opened in the United States and Canada (their official scheduled release date is March 30). I have already watched this movie; and it’s really something for those who are looking for genuine fairy tale-inspired comedy-adventure . OVERALL: THE MOVIE IS SOMETHING EVERYBODY WILL ENJOY
----------

CORAZON: ANG UNANG ASWANG is also on extended run. It’s a movie written and directed by Richard V. Somes, the man who created the ground-breaking indie movie YANGGAW. CORAZON explores the origin of the creature known as the Aswang. The story is set in the post Japanese rule of the Philippines. Corazon and Daniel are a married couple who yearn to have a child. Corazon got pregnant, but the baby died on delivery. This frustration drove Daniel and Corazon’s life into misery and darkness, until it led up to the rise of the first Aswang.

I already watched this movie and it gave me mixed reactions. If I was going to base my judgment on a basis that considers the mass audience, I can say that this movie is indeed one that is highly superior to your usual tagalog mainstream horror movie. But in my own personal strict standards, the movie has around two demerits that have kept this movie from being groundbreaking; the awful make-up and the final 10 minutes of the movie including its ending, which for me, destroyed the movie. Aside from that, the movie has really high points. OVERALL: IT’S RECOMMENDABLE, BUT PROCEED WITH CAUTION
----------

JOHN CARTER is a bland, not-so-interesting version of AVATAR and FLASH GORDON; EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE is a great drama that is indeed worthy of its Academy Award nominations; THE WITNESS is a super typical murder suspense.

MIRROR, MIRROR

MIRROR, MIRROR is Immensely Fun!
by Reymundo Salao

MIRROR, MIRROR is a fantasy adventure movie adaptation of the fairy tale SNOW WHITE (AND THE SEVEN DWARVES) It’s directed by Tarsem Singh, who directed “The Cell”, “The Fall” and “Immortals”, and stars Lily Collins as Snow White, the ever-funny Nathan Lane, Armie Hammer, and Julia Roberts as the wickedly amusing Evil Queen.

This movie is something that has a little too many of almost everything you can get from a movie that promises pure fun and entertainment. It’s got funny bandit dwarves, evil magic, a monster that haunts the forest, and swashbuckling action. It is one of those movies where all the elements of the movie work so harmoniously. From the acting, to the lavish and pleasantly bizarre costumes, to the special effects, the concept, the story, and the direction itself. All these factors complement each other to create such an enjoyable masterpiece.

[READ THE FULL REVIEW]

MOVIE GUIDE FOR THIS WEEK

by Reymundo Salao

Some people often ask me if I should recommend this movie or that movie; if I think this movie would be great, or if that one would suck. Well, I thought I should put out my pre-view opinions on some movies that are opening this week, and notes on movies that are on extended run.

MIRROR, MIRROR is a fantasy adventure movie adaptation of the fairy tale SNOW WHITE (AND THE SEVEN DWARVES) It’s directed by Tarsem Singh, who directed “The Cell”, “The Fall” and “Immortals”, and stars Lily Collins as Snow White, the ever-funny Nathan Lane, Armie Hammer, and Julia Roberts as the wickedly amusing Evil Queen.

There are two Snow White movies coming off of Hollywood this year. This one looks like the better and more fun version. What with the film’s light, cartoony tone, mixed with Singh’s knack for visual enhancements. Julie Roberts takes a role this time as the villain, and from the trailers, she looks like she’s deliciously enjoying every moment of it. With Roberts’ fun approach and with comedians such as Nathan Lane in it, laughs are a sure thing to expect from the movie as well.

At least MIRROR, MIRROR looks like a more sincere approach to Snow White than the other movie “Snow White and the Huntsman” which looks like it’s a hipster attempt to tell a pretentious alternate “extremely unique” story; it wants to be desperately different. In MIRROR, MIRROR, when Snow White wields a sword, she looks like she does it in a more classical swashbuckling type, and still has that girly poise, while in the other movie; Snow White is Conan the Barbarian (with armor!).

CORAZON: Ang Unang Aswang

IS 'CORAZON' BOUND TO BE A CLASSIC? [review]
by Reymundo Salao

CORAZON is a movie that I was hoping would be as good as YANGGAW. My initial fear was on the notion that no matter how good a director or a writer is, if it goes through studio execs and producers just like any mainstream Tagalog movie does, the original concept for the film becomes adulterated. The creative process undertaken by a writer and/or director can easily be altered by producers who are more concerned in altering the cast, creative process, and the story, without regard. And this meddling can damage the creativity of the finished product.

The movie itself is highly impressive, and if you count on a comparative scale, there are very very few Pinoy mainstream horror movies that are this good. That is why I will not be surprised if this joins the ranks of the top ten best Pinoy horror movies ever made. My judgment on it is partially on a level that considers the mass audience and was slightly adjusted to fit Pinoy cinema standards.

Whedon opens up on Avengers: Krees or Skrulls? Ideas for a Sequel?

Joss Whedon was at the SXSW (South By SouthWest) Festival Austin, Texas, USA, and discussed some things about the AVENGERS movie; about his own plan for AVENGERS 2, and clears up Kree-Skrull rumors about the Avengers movie.

First off, Whedon clarifies all the geek rumors to be wrong: no Krees and no Skrulls will be on the Avengers movie. Ever since the announcement of the Avengers movie, there had been much speculation and rumor buzz that the movie will feature either the alien races; the Skrees and/or the Skrulls as alien villains of the movie. Both alien races, especially the Skrulls, are most prominent in the Marvel comics universe, having been a constant universal threat to Marvel heroes en masse. Perhaps many have deduced that if there was something that would make the main characters of the Avengers movie assemble and unite, it's probably because of an alien invasion threat; people immediately thought of these alien races in mind. Joss Whedon answers the questions:

John Carter

JOHN CARTER FROM BOREDOOM
by Reymundo Salao

Everything that you saw from the JOHN CARTER movie looks like a mash-up of various different carbon-copies of things you already saw in other sci-fi movies. Even in the trailers, JOHN CARTER looks like it was a montage of different sci-fi movies; nothing in it stands out to be unique or interesting.

The setting and action sequences looked like one of the atrocious “Star Wars” prequels, the feel of the story was very much “Avatar” and the love story was exactly like one of those idiotic Walt Disney princess love stories. Oh right, this IS a Disney movie. And Disney has such an expertise in the field of shallow and superficial definitions of love. In the end, the love story stood out as just annoying and made the characters less appealing.

READ THE FULL REVIEW

YOUR MOVIE GUIDE THIS WEEK

by Reymundo Salao

Some people often ask me if I should recommend this movie or that movie; if I think this movie would be great, or if that one would suck. Well, I thought I should put out my pre-view opinions on some movies that are opening this week, and notes on movies that are on extended run.

CORIOLANUS is an adaptation of the Shakespearean play of the same title. It is a Shakespearean play adapted in a modern-day setting, in the same manner Michael Almereyda’s 200 movie “Hamlet” or the more popular “Romeo + Juliet” directed by Baz Luhrmann and starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. This movie is both starred and directed by Ralph Fiennes, it also stars Gerard Butler, Vanessa Redgrave, and Brian Cox.

This is Shakespeare done at the backdrop of military warfare and political intrigue with an overall tone of honor and vengeance. Some people may hastily judge it by its poster and think it’s an all-out military action movie; even though that it does have its share of explosive action, it still is Shakespeare, done in dark, gritty, vengeful and majestic ruthlessness; I watched it and loved it!

JOHN CARTER is a sci-fi movie based upon Edgar Rice Burrough’s 11-volume Barsoom series. The movie was originally going to be entitled “John Carter from Mars” which is also the title of one of the 11 volumes of Rice’s series, but the movie is actually based on the first volume of the series “A Princess of Mars” The film is directed by Andrew Stanton, whose previous work includes the Pixar animated movie “WALL-E” and “Finding Nemo”.

A soldier in the American Civil War, John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) is mysteriously transported to Mars ("Barsoom") where he becomes part of a conflict between the various nations of the planet, whose leaders include Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). Carter takes it upon himself to save Barsoom and its people from a growing threat.
Because the movie is based on one of 11 volumes of stories, it is probably expected that its producers may want to look forward to a sequel or a series of sequels. But that depends on the film’s success at the box office and among critics. The film had an early screening for critics in the US, and so far, it has a received a generally positive consensus. It is set for an international release this week (March 9, 2012).

The film’s protagonist played by Taylor Kitsch has recently hit controversy when he talked about the Philippines in a bad light at the David Letterman Show, when what he actually intended to talk about was Indonesia. It remains to be seen if that controversy will indeed affect the movie.

UNOFFICIALLY YOURS is still on extended screening. Without a doubt, you cannot easily kill a Cathy Garcia-Molina. Although that I have not yet seen this movie, I can easily give it a safe mode for any movie-lover because it is directed by her. And the critics generally gave it a high rating. No less than the (in)famous Jessica Zafra herself: “Unofficially Yours reminds us that nothing can stand in the way of true love” in her “Unofficially A Good Review” article.

On the other hand, some skeptics think this has been ripped off from that Hollywood movie that involved the topic of one-night stands blooming into actual love affairs. When Garcia-Molina’s “My Amnesia Girl” they also thought it was a “50 First Dates” rip-off, but they were wrong.

GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE is also on extended run. This action-horror movie is based on the Marvel comics character that had an awful adaptation with the first Ghost Rider movie. This new movie intends to burn away the awfulness of the first movie and brings to life the Ghost Rider the way it is originally meant to be; ruthless, dark, manic, and scary. Producers have brought in Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor who directed “Gamer” and the “Crank” movies to do the job. And they did so fantastically. Many critics may have given it a thumbs down, but I have watched this movie, and it is just pure dark fun.

MONEYBALL opens this week. It is a 2011 biographical sports drama film based on Michael Lewis's 2003 book of the same name, an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team's 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane's attempts to assemble a competitive team. It's directed by Bennett Miller and stars Brad Pitt. It has received a generally positive reaction from critics, and was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Actor and Best Picture. I cant say much about the movie, it's a sports drama; tulog ta.

Also opening this week is BREAKING WIND which is a corny comedy that spoofs the TWILIGHT series. The movie did not get a theatrical release in the US; it was straight-to-DVD, which already gives you an idea about it (torrent it if you must, but it’s still a waste of bandwidth).

And there’s also the 2011 movie THE THING, which is actually intended as a prequel of the 1982 movie of the same title, which is dumb because now people will get confused and would associate THE THING with this awful new one. The movie had its official release last October 2011, which means that there’s already a DVD or a torrent around for it.

On extended run is THE VOW, which is based on the actual relationship of Kim and Krickitt Carpenter from Farmington, New Mexico, who wrote a book about their marriage, also known as The Vow. Ten weeks after their wedding on 18 September 1993, the couple was in an automobile accident in which Krickitt suffered brain trauma, which erased memories of her romance with Kim as well as their recent marriage. Kim, however, was still madly in love with his wife, although his wife viewed him as a stranger after the accident. However, according to the couple, their faith in Jesus and their wedding vows before God kept them together.

Taylor Kitsch clumsily put the Philippines in a bad light on the Letterman Show

by Reymundo Salao

“John Carter” lead actor Taylor Kitsch talks negatively about the Philippines on The Letterman Show. Problem is that it wasn’t the Philippines that he was talking about.

While he was on the David Letterman Show to promote the upcoming movie "John Carter" Taylor Kitsch talked about the shooting of his other upcoming movie (wherein he co-stars with John Travolta, Benecio Del Toro, Uma Thurman, among others), entitled "Savages" which is directed by Oliver Stone. And in this interview, he said that the movie was shot in the Philippines, and began to recount how he was stopped at the airport and was given a hard time by a customs official. What's worse is that the customs official made a pass at asking for Taylor's iphone unit.

[READ MORE after the jump & check out the video of the interview]

A Scandal in CineMalaya & How the Indie Film Industry is being Corrupted

by Reymundo Salao

Controversy is burning up in the Indie Film Scene when Cinemalaya Festival’s Monitoring Head Robbie Tan disqualified the film entry “MNL 143” from the list of the 8th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival New Breed category finalists, after the film’s director Emerson Reyes did not heed the advice of Tan with regards to the casting of the movie.

Reyes wanted to cast Allan Paule and Joy Viado on the lead role for the movie; on the other hand, Robbie Tan allegedly wanted Reyes to cast semi-retired actors Victor Neri and Francine Prieto instead. Reyes and his producer Abrogena stood their ground and did not compromise, reckoning that the material was written specifically for both Paule and Viado, and that it was part of his vision as the filmmaker. [CLICK HERE READ THE FULL ARTICLE BY RICK GALLARDO]

You may be familiar of who Robbie Tan is; he is the owner of Seiko Films, a film production company which has produced a gazillion awful movies that have contributed to the reason why Pinoy movies are generally regarded as “buki”, “bakya” or simply; lousy.

This kind of sh1t always happens when dealing with local mainstream TV and movie producers. It doesn’t matter if you are Martin Scorsese, as long as you are working with a producer of a Tagalog mainstream TV and movie production, your movie will be just as awful as a metaphorical rugby for an unhealthy masa audience.