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in the meantime i have yet to write the reviews for the following films currently released... United 93 is very good. i should say it's not a thriller in the sense that what happened in September 11, 2001 should be least trivialized (or overdramatized, for that matter). Great handling from Paul Greengrass. I Wanna Be Happy, from Seiko films, is producer Robbie Tan's first venture into family-oriented films. He said he's tired of producing ST films, and he's more interested in making family movies now. This very talky movie has snappy, and many times funny dialogue. Keanna Reeves is a scene stealer, Cherry Pie is great as ever, and veterans Gloria Romero and Eddie Garcia are funny as a comic tandem ala a mature desi & lucy. surprisingly entertaining, even if it's not that cinematic. yet to be shown is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - the sequel to the 2003 phenom Curse of the Black Pearl. In a word - TIRING. it's got great stuff improving on t...

Icon Review by Vives Anunciacion Inquirer Libre June 28 2006 Directed by Bryan Singer Written by Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris Based on the comic book character created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster Starring Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth G / 153minutes Warner Brothers/ Legendary Pictures/ DC Comics Call me a sentimental idiot. Christopher Reeve will always be my Superman, and when he died I thought he brought the Man of Steel with him for good. Many others will wear the suit, but Reeve will always be the only Superman, right? Wrong. So how was Superman Returns ? Kate Bosworth is a little off as reporter Lois Lane, and Kevin Spacey shifts from great to good as a brooding Lex Luthor. The surprise is Brandon Routh who practically owns Superman. He is the new Man of Steel. By default, I’m now a fan. I didn’t expect to like Superman Returns that much – no, I didn’t expect to love it. I was reduced into a giddy kid again, amazed at how much magic this movie has taken hold ...

Review by Vives Anunciacion Inquirer Libre June 21 2006 There’s the French film festival currently ongoing at Shangri-La for the subtitle-addicted; for the rest who simply crave for Hollywood movies that are a little outside of the box, here are two worth thinking about. Inside Man Directed by Spike Lee Written by Russel Gerwitz Starring Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Clive Owen PG13 / 129 minutes Universal Pictures Dalton Russel (Clive Owen) and his accomplices carefully execute the “perfect bank robbery” in the middle of Manhattan. They hold up the bank, take everyone inside hostage and demand a getaway plane from the police. They do everything very fast, but they hesitate and stall the ending. In this crime caper, everything about the movie is taking control – control over events, over actions, over emotions and even control over fate. The NYPD negotiator is an upcoming detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) who takes the rule books seriously and tries to keep his cool at all...

Review by Vives Anunciacion Cars Directed by John Lasseter Written by Dan Fogelman, Robert L. Baird Featuring the voices of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt GP / 116 minutes Walt Disney/ Pixar Animations Who knows how far a car can get Before you think about slowin' on down - Aretha Franklin, Freeway of Love America’s love affair with the automobile turns hilarious with Cars , the latest model to emerge from the Disney-Pixar factory of adorable animation. Get your motor runnin’ for a fun journey with Cars . The Disney and Pixar tandem so far has produced the best collection of studio animations (outside Japan) since Toy Story in 1995. Cars is a worthy addition to this collection, but it’s definitely not Pixar’s best since the studio raised the animation bar too high with the amazing The Incredibles in 2004. Cars begins in the middle of the Piston Cup race where rookie Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is preparing to take the championship from his idol, Strip “the ...

Rebyu ni Vives Anunciacion Inquirer Libre May 21, 2006 Over the Hedge Direksiyon nina Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick Panulat nina Len Blum, Lorne Cameron Base sa cartoon strip nina Michael Fry at T Lewis Tampok sina Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell GP/ 83 minuto DreamWorks Animation Nakaramdam na ba kayo ng sugar rush? Yung mapa-palpitate ang puso niyo at makakaramdam ng pangangailangan para kumilos ng mabilis. Parang ganun ang Over the Hedge – malasa, mabilis at mapapangiti kayo sa saya. Si RJ (boses ni Bruce Willis) ay isang maabilidad na raccoon na nasanay na sa junk food at kagamitan ng tao. Sa tindi ng gutom isang gabi ay madidisgrasya niya ang inipong pagkain ng isang nagha-hibernate na oso (si Vincent, binosesan ni Nick Nolte). Bibigyan ni Vincent si RJ ng isang lingo para mag-ipon ng kapalit na pagkain, kundi’y si RJ ang kakainin ng oso. Samantala, magugulat na lang sina Verne (ang seryoso at mabusising pagong na binosesan ni Garry Shandling), Hammy (ang neurotic at ...

(This review came out in May 24, 2004. It's one of my personal favorites and I'm reposting it in conjunction with Time Magazine's recent special issue on global warming. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't written the last paragraphs of the review so ominously. As stated on the cover of the said Time issue, "Be Worried. Be VERY worried.") T.E.O.T.E.W.A.W.K.I. Review by Vives Anunciacion The Day After Tomorrow Written and Directed by Roland Emmerich Starring Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ian Holm, Sela Ward PG13 / 124 minutes 20th Century Fox “Urgent: HQ Direction," began a message e-mailed on April 1 to dozens of scientists and officials at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "No one from NASA is to do interviews or otherwise comment on anything having to do with (the film)," said the message, sent by Goddard's top press officer. "Any news media wanting to discuss science fiction vs. science fact about climate cha...

Review by Vives Anunciacion Inquirer Libre May 12, 2006 Poseidon Directed by Wolfgang Petersen Written by Mark Protosevich Based on the novel by Paul Gallico Starring Josh Lucas, Kurt Russel PG 13/ 99 minutes Warner Brothers/ Virtual Studios In its first 20 minutes, I had my hand over my mouth completely awestruck. Okay, maybe not completely, but surprised to be impressed. Poseidon , god of the seas, has edge-of-your-seat excitement to the last second. Hold your precious breath; this has water, water everywhere. It’s actually a remake of the 1972 cult classic The Poseidon Adventure that started the disaster flick craze. When the trailer for Poseidon first came out earlier this year, I overheard people quickly dismiss it as another Titanic rip-off. Poseidon Adventure : 1972. Titanic : 1997. Kung ginawa bang pelikula ang MV Doña Paz tragedy, tatawagin pa rin bang Titanic iyon? In Poseidon , Wolfgang Petersen improves on and combines the tragedies of two of his previous waterborne films...