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Never say never Review by Vives Anunciacion Inquirer Libre November 5 2008 Directed by Marc Forster Starring Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko In Quantum of Solace, Agent 007 returns in a revenge mode, seeking the people who blackmailed Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) into betraying James Bond in 2006’s Casino Royale. Consider this a summation of the previous Bond film, but more importantly, Quantum of Solace gives James Bond true human form – with more emotion, more action, but never the same as before. While interrogating Mr. White (Jesper Christensen), Bond (Craig) and M (Judi Dench) discover that the organization behind Vesper’s betrayal runs far more complex and powerful. White escapes with the aid of a double-agent who nearly kills M and Bond. MI6 traces the traitor’s bank account to Haiti, where Bond meets the mysterious Camille (Olga Kurylenko). Camille introduces Bond to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a billionaire philanthropist and member of a secret criminal organization known as Qua...

Oh really? Review by Vives Anunciacion Inquirer Libre Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz Written by Mathieu Kassovitz, Eric Besnard Based on Maurice George Dantec's sci-fi novel "Babylon Babies" Somebody tell French director Mathieu Kassovitz to quit it. No matter what he says, or what the studio says, this is still their movie. And it sucks, big time. Kassovitz publicly disowns the movie, which he says was edited to death (estimated somewhere between 15 and 70 minutes) by studio Twentieth Century Fox. Even if crucial pieces were taken out (which I doubt), what remains onscreen are a confusing jumble of story parts, bad dialogue and emotionally unappealing characters. Based on the 2005 futuristic tale Babylon Babies by French punk rocker turned novelist Maurice Dantec, Babylon A.D. is a convoluted mess about cloning, corporate religion, human trafficking, psychic powers, cybernetic genetic manipulation and quasi- Christian second coming of the Messiah. Heads were shaking in co...

Pantawid Rebyu ni Vives Anunciacion Inquirer Libre September 3, 2008 Review in Filipino Written, Directed and Produced by Cris Pablo Sept 3-9 sa Robinson’s Galleria IndieSine Rated R, gay film May karapatan bang lumigaya ang breadwinner na bakla? Ito ang gustong sagutin ng pelikulang Quicktrip ni producer-director Cris Pablo, isa sa mga pinakaunang filmmaker na nagrelease commercially ng digital film sa isang sinehan nang itanghal ang Duda/Doubt sa SM Megamall noong 2003. Masasabing isang unresolved study ang Quicktrip tungkol sa sitwasyon ng mahirap na bakla na hindi nakapaglaladlad dahil sa pangangailangan ng mga taong umaasa sa kaniya. Isang hamak na waiter si Cris (Topher Barreto) na pinagkakasya ang karampot na kinikita para sa gamot ng sakiting ina, upa sa maliit na bahay, pagkain, pamasahe at pambaon ng dalawang nakababatang kapatid. Hindi nila alam na bakla si Cris. Kung may tira sa sahod, ipinanlilibre niya ito sa call center agent boyfriend na Dexter (Ian Atocador). Magse-ce...

Forcing the series Review by Vives Anunciacion Inquirer Libre August 26, 2008 (English version) Directed by Dave Filoni Lucasfilm Animation/ Warner Brothers There’s a different Anakin Skywalker here. He’s not as uptight like before. Maybe because it’s computer animation. At least there’s no Jar Jar Binks. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is the first animated movie of the series and the first movie from Lucasfilm Animation – the studio that George Lucas established a few years ago which has a unit in Singapore. This is also the first time Yoda isn’t voiced by Frank Oz, and the first Star Wars not to use original music from John Williams. One can almost say this is outside the Star Wars universe if George Lucas hadn’t produced this movie. The good news is it’s a movie meant for kids. The bad news is that it may have one too many action pieces to make it appropriate for them. In this version of The Clone Wars, the Galactic Republic under Chancellor Palpatine is engaged in an all-out-war with t...

Road killer Rebyu ni Vives Anunciacion Review in Filipino Inquirer Libre August 26, 2008 Written and Directed by Paul WS Anderson Based on the movie Death Race 2000 by Roger Corman Kung banggaan nga sa EDSA mapapalingon ka, sa isa pa kayang pelikulang walang preno sa salpukan at pagpapasabog ng mga sasakyan? Turbocharged ang action sa Death Race na parang walang krisis sa gasolina. It is the year 2012 at bumagsak na ang ekonomiya ng lahat ng bansa pati na ang sa U.S. Malalaking korporasyon na ang nagpapatakbo ng mga utilities pati na mga kulungan. Isang ex-racecar driver si Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) na na-frame up at nakulong sa Terminal Island maximum security prison na mahigpit na pinatatakbo ni warden Claire Henessy (Joan Allen). Kapalit ng kalayaan, kailangang makipagkarera ni Ames against other prisoners sa isang karera kung saan unahan sa finish line na buhay. Dahil sa Death Race, may nakakabit na machine gun, missile launcher, armor plate at kung anu-ano pang armas ang mga sas...

Want no more Review by Vives Anunciacion Inquirer Libre August 19, 2008 Directed by Chris Carter Starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson In technical terms, it’s properly treated and smartly made (I didn’t say it has an intelligent script). David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are back in the roles that made them famous in The X Files: I Want to Believe . The good news is, just like the hit TV series this movie is based on, these two are the best parts of the show. This is supposedly a stand-alone story that non-fans of the series can reasonably understand, but I guess a good knowledge of the TV show helps in better appreciating this movie. Pwera rito, I Want to Believe is just an okay drama-thriller tungkol sa dalawang tao who have supposedly matured in their relationship, but start questioning their beliefs in each other when extraordinary challenges face them again. Six years after their last X Files adventure (the series ended in 2002) and ten years after the last movie ( Fight th...