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Eyes sore Review by Vives Anunciacion Directed by Martin Weisz Written by Jonathan Craven, Matrin Weisz R18 / 89 mins Fox Atomic * ½ (1 ½ stars) From the trailer I thought Wes Craven directed this, so I thought Hills Have Eyes 2 was promising. The trailer looked promising. I forget that promises were made to be broken. The original Hills Have Eyes, directed by Wes Craven in the 1970’s, was read as a statement on the US’s nuclear weapons program. Last year’s remake, directed by French newcomer Alexander Aja, was less of a political statement and focused more on bringing horror onto the screen. The Hills Have Eyes 2, co-written by Wes Craven and his son Jonathan, tried to do both: it’s a loose statement on the US policies on the war on terror (the main characters are National Guards on training for deployment in Kandahar) and it’s a horror movie trying to replicate Aja’s successful remake. Didn’t our mommas tell us never to do two things at the same time? In the movie, a group of tra...

Review by Vives Anunciacion Lux aeterna Directed by Danny Boyle Written by Alex Garland Starring Chris Evans, Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh PG13/ 98 minutes Fox Searchlight *** (3 stars) When the sun goes dark, it’s the end of trips to the beach. That’s enough reason to rage against the dying of the light. In a million million years the sun will bloat into an enormous, fat red dwarf, before collapsing into a small lifeless mass called a white dwarf. In Danny Boyle’s new sci-fi thriller Sunshine, there are no million million years but only fifty – in 2057, eight astronauts are sent into space on a mission to detonate a fission device that will re-ignite the already dying sun. Pass muna, Boracay. Tweaking science a little in order to make an exciting space oddity, crewmembers of the space station Icarus 2 must overcome personal doubt and cosmic challenges in order to deliver their mission. At the core of Sunshine’s journey is the way humans deal with separation and loneliness, especially...

Review by Vives Anunciacion Ang Cute ng Ina Mo Directed by Wenn Deramas G / 102 minutes Star Cinema/ Viva Films **1/2 (2 ½ stars) The industry is ripe for an Ai-Ai – Eugene showdown. Wenn Deramas’s lucky cast is still making people laugh in the latest permutation of the “Ina” shows. All hail the queens of (pinoy) comedy. In this movie, Georgia (Ai-Ai de las Alas) is separated from her Australian love interest, Jack (I didn’t get his name, sorry), and their daughter Christine at the height of the EDSA revolution. While trying various ways to get to Australia, Georgia adopts boy orphan Val, who takes the place vacated by Christine. Fast forward 20 years and Jack’s unhappy relationships in Melbourne force him to reconsider taking Georgia back. Christine (Anne Curtis), convinced that Georgia abandoned her and Jack before, flies back to Malabon with her Nanny (Eugene Domingo) to tarnish Georgia’s reputation and stop Georgia’s and Jack’s reunion. It’s Malabon versus Melbourne when the nanay ...

Gonna fly now Review by Vives Anunciacion Written, Directed and starring Sylvester Stallone PG 13/ 102 minutes 20th Century Fox/ Columbia Pictures/ Revolution Studios/ MGM *** (3 stars) Rocky Balboa is saying goodbye. Hats off, sir, and thank you for doing it. Rocky is old but he isn’t tired. In fact when a computer simulation pits the old-time champ with the current heavyweight champ, Rocky finds himself compelled to move the few stuff still left “in da basement.” In Rocky Balboa , a TV show simulates a fight between Rocky and the current but unpopular heavyweight champion, Mason Dixon (boxing athlete Antonio Tarver) where the aging people’s champion emerges as the winner. The simulation intrigues both camps, resulting in a scheduled 10-round exhibition game in Las Vegas. The fight, just like the movie’s concept, sounds like a joke – but it’s actually the centerpiece of the movie. Stallone wants Rocky VI to be the ultimate underdog movie – we think we believe that Rocky is too old a ...

war movies Review by Vives Anunciacion “Never say die” is the mantra of these war movies dealing with homeland security. Somebody out there is getting rich with these war machines. Letters From Iwo Jima Directed by Clint Eastwood Based on the novel Picture Letters from Commander in Chief *** (3 stars) Clint Eastwood seems to have put everything corny in the earlier film Flags of our Fathers and devoted his mind to artistically express Letters from Iwo Jima . Centering on the fates of the soldiers defending the last island at the borders of Japan in the final days of WW2, Iwo Jima recounts the last days of the soldiers on the ill-fated island as their leader, General Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) desperately makes strategies despite the odds. It is very interesting how Eastwood differentiates the companion movies. Flags dealt with the definition of heroism, while Iwo Jima deals with the notion of the enemy. The former is bombast with big sounds and melodrama; the latter is quieter, more i...

VALENTINE'S REVIEWS Reviews by Vives Anunciacion More of a comedy than a romance, Music and Lyrics is the surest date movie this year, unless one is a womyn who likes womyn, in which case, Rome and Juliet is the sweet choice. Whether it’s the cutesy Music and Lyrics , the deeply poetic The Fountain , or the female love story Rome & Juliet, siguradong may date movie opening today na bagay sa girls, sa boys, bakla man or tomboys. Music and Lyrics Written and Directed by Marc Lawrence Starring Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore *** (3 stars) The Fountain Written and Directed by Darren Aronofsky Starring Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz ** ½ (2 ½ stars) Rome and Juliet Written and Directed by Connie S. Macatuno Starring Andrea Del Rosario, Mylene Dizon, Rafael Rosell ** ½ (2 ½ stars) Although Music and Lyrics features a fictional icon from the greatest decade of music, the movie doesn’t actually play any 80s song. The movie is about a former 80s pop icon who struggles to revive his musical c...

Review by Vives Anunciacion The Last King of Scotland Directed by Kevin McDonald Based on the novel by Giles Foden Starring Forrest Whitaker, James McAvoy R13 / 121 minutes Fox Searchlight ***1/2 (3 1/2 stars) Today is Oscars day and Forrest Whitaker will most likely win the golden statue as The Last King of Scotland . Whitaker plays Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, who was responsible for the death of 300,000 of his countrymen during his bloody reign. The story is told through the eyes of fictional character Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young doctor from Scotland who brings his youthful ideals to the countryside of Uganda. Nick meets Amin when he is called to treat the president after an accident. The young doctor’s straightforward conduct pleases the new president, and the two instantly bond as the best of friends. He is so Scottish, Amin says, that he can be the last king of the Scots. The president introduces Nick to a life of privilege very much unlike the average life of a Ugand...

Reviews by Vives Anunciacion History figures prominently in recent releases of movies, with period pieces such as The Queen and bio dramas like the upcoming Last King of Scotland figuring significantly in the awards season. The History Boys and Curse of the Golden Flower , both opening this week, are both worth the watch despite the few recognitions they have. Curse of the Golden Flower (Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia) Directed by Zhang Yimou Starring Gong Li, Chow Yun Fat R13/ 114 mins Sony Pictures Classics/ Beijing New Picture Film Co. *** 1/2 (3 1/2 sttars) Nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design, Curse of the Golden Flower takes the costume drama genre to the extreme, literally dressing up thousands of extras whether live or computer-generated. Set at the height of the Tang Dynasty, China’s golden age of poetry some 1000 years ago, Curse of the Golden Flower is a family drama about intrigue, in-fighting, deceit and murder within the fabled walls of the Imperia...