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!).

I’ll sure be watching MIRROR, MIRROR especially because it has not yet opened in the United States and Canada (their official scheduled release date is March 30). I’m looking forward to this being a fun movie. OVERALL: THE MOVIE LOOKS LIKE IT’S SOMETHING EVERYBODY WILL ENJOY
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CORAZON: ANG UNANG ASWANG is 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 RECOMMANDABLE, BUT PROCEED WITH CAUTION
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THE LORAX is a computer-animated 3D movie based on the Dr. Seuss book of the same title. It’s a tale that follows the journey of a 12-year-old boy who discovers the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world. The movie features the voices of Danny DeVito, Zac Effron, and Taylor Swift as the main characters.

What I’ve heard a lot from the critics that I trust is that the 1972 The Lorax animated feature is a way way superior version to this new one. The negative things that I have heard about this new movie is that it does not seem to effectively send out to kids the environmental message the way its intended to be; it was a loud, hyperactive movie, and that its energy might have been a distraction away from the story’s message. But then again, families are merely looking for just that; a fun movie. And it’s not really a foolproof, absolute notion that the environmental message gets disregarded; you know how smart the kids these days, and how they get the little subliminal details of a story.

In addition, the film does seem to have that vibrant, playfully imaginative world of Dr. Seuss; if in case the humor and the story does not seem perfect, I’m sure the rich eye candy aspect will satisfy more than enough. OVERALL: IT’S A FAMILY TREAT
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MY KONTRABIDA GIRL is about the love story of an actress, typecast as the kontrabida or the villainess roles, who reunites with a childhood friend she hurt a long time ago. On paper, this looks like an interesting concept. But in this film, it looks like a disaster.

I do not mean to sound like I’m taking sides at the network wars (because I do think that this war between the nation’s two giant networks is idiotic), but GMA Films is not known for its effective actors and actresses. Aljur Abrenica, who is the leading actor in this movie, is one of the many GMA talents that have an atrociously lousy acting talent. Rhian Ramos, who is the title character, is the better performer here. “Better” only by comparison to the rest of the lousy cast. The performance is just one of the demerits, the direction and the execution of the story is also something that is bound to be forgotten. Expect extreme corniness from this movie. OVERALL: SAVE THAT MONEY FOR A BETTER MOVIE
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On an extended run, JOHN CARTER is a sci-fi movie about a Civil War soldier, John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) who was teleported into another planet called Barsoom, which we actually know as Mars. There, he becomes part of a conflict, and becomes the planet’s hero.

I watched this movie when it opened last Friday, and I was not so pleased with it (Watch out for my full review on either Monday or Tuesday). The way I see it, it's a mixture of Flash Gordon, Avatar, and one of the awful Star Wars prequels. That should sound pretty exciting, but my point is that there's really nothing in it that I have never seen before. Sure, I did have a good time... while I was watching the movie... But as soon as I leave the theater, ten minutes later, it's a movie that you could completely forget. That's what this movie is; fun (I guess), but disposable.

On the other hand, to your regular Juan and Maria audience, this may be a fun ride. If you love films like Prince of Persia or The Star Wars prequels, you may find this one pleasing. OVERALL: WATCH IT IF YOU LOVE SCI-FI FANTASY ADVENTURE