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.