Reviews by Vives Anunciacion
Inquirer Libre Nov 30, 2007
(The first paragraph was edited out from the print version due to lack of space)
I’m not sure if these films are still out in local cinemas, masyadong maraming pwedeng panoorin – mag-monkey, monkey na lang kung ano ang uunahin. I have yet to see the John Lloyd-Bea starrer One More Chance, but I figure it will stay in theaters for two or more weeks. Palabas na rin ang Pasukob nina Rufa Mae at AiAi at ang The Kingdom. Para dun sa mga napanood ko, first there’s Superbad which should be in its third week or so of successful run, if it’s still out. Now I’m wondering why it took me too long to see it.
Superbad, Directed by Greg Mottola
Similar to American Pie pero mas mahusay ang pagkakasulat at kung minsa’y nakakabaliw sa kalokohan, mas marumi ang bibig nito patungkol sa kalibugan pero hindi kabastusan ang punto ng dialogue. Tatlong magbe-bestfriend na nerdy-nerdy students have arranged their way into attending one of the last parties of their high school lives. Gagawin ni Seth (Jonah Hill) ang lahat makaiskor lang sa party ng crush niya na si Jules (Emma Stone) kung saan nandun rin ang crush ni Evan (Michael Cera) na si Becca (Martha MacIssac).
Ang tiket nila sa party ay ang fake I.D. ni Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), which says he is 25 years old kahit na mukha siyang 12. Sa Amerika, 21 ang legal age para makabili ng liquor and alcoholic drinks, at yung ID ni Fogell ang gagamitin nila para makabili ng drinks para sa party ni Jules. Great script is maximized by the movie’s incredible casting, particularly of Mintz-Plasse as ultra-nerdy Fogell/ McLovin’ who enjoys the time of his life with his friends too. Superbad is actually a super-good comedy.
Enchanted, Directed by Kevin Lima
This is like a spoof-of-a-spoof idea kung saan pinaglalaruan ng musical-comedy ang mga Disney characters na Cinderella at Snow White kahit na Disney mismo ang gumawa nito. Panalo si Amy Adams bilang Giselle, a cartoon damsel who is magically transported to real-life New York by the wicked witch (Susan Sarandon), who is the stepmother of Giselle’s Prince Edward played by James Marsden. Complications arise when Giselle meets and falls in love for single dad Robert (Patrick Dempsey), pero dahil Disney movie ito, they live happily ever after.
Potential LSS (last song syndrome) ang production number in Central Park na How Do You Know, pero pwede ring ma-addict sa main love theme nitong True Love’s Kiss. Be ready to tap your glass shoes dahil in our cartoonish world, even reality deserves some fantasy.
The Namesake, Directed by Mira Nair
(exclusively in Ayala Cinemas)
Very Pinoy in America itong The Namesake, o kaya’y Joy Luck Club pero Indian family. Based on Jumpa Lahiri’s novel, The Namesake is the story of two generations of the Ganguli family (hindi ba kanta yun noong 80s? Ging gang gooli?) that begins in the 70s with the marriage of Ashoke (Irrfan Khan) and Ashima (Tabu) to the point when they migrate to America in the 80s and then finally to the time their Americanized son Gogol (Kal Penn) marries. The title refers to Gogol’s rejection of his Indian name and background, even if his name comes from his father’s favorite author, Nikolai Gogol who is Russian.
The story is laid back and has funny moments to counter the overall seriousness, both Khan and Tabu performing solidly to keep the movie interesting. But replace the actors with Filipinos and you get American Adobo, or change to Chinese or Taiwanese and you get Joy Luck Club. It’s the same story about the children of immigrants who are slowly forgetting the original life and culture of their parents. It doesn’t matter that Kal Penn is in it (as the son), the role could have been played by somebody else.
Hitman, Directed by Xavier Gens
Going the action hero career path is Timothy Olyphant, who is a relative unknown, but appears in his first starring role as agent number 47, an ultra assassin-for-hire hitman trained by a secret organization. Why and what for, who knows, walang point talaga ang kwento pero as a movie this is decently-produced, even if the low budget shows and the storyline is overused and cartoony. Parang yung unang The Transporter, manipis ang kwento, kaunti ang action for an action movie pero hindi masagwa. Well, hindi sobrang masagwa. At may nagpapanggap pang character play sa katauhan Nika (Olga Kurylenko) na obviously love-interest ni Hitman kahit na resist-to-death si lalake sa advances ni sexy girl. Trabaho lang daw, walang personalan.
Not good, but not bad, pero yung ganitong pelikulang walang dating yung tipong madaling malimutan, kahit hindi man umabot sa punto na ikaw mismo ay gusto na ring barilin si Hitman.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Beowulf
Mr. Bombastic
Review by Vives Anunciacion
Inquirer Libre November 20, 2007
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Based on the Old English epic poem
Written by Neil Gaiman, Roger Avary
Starring Ray Winstone, Angelina Jolie
Warner Brothers/ Shangri-La Entertainment
3D in IMAX
Beowulf will do to 3D what Lord of the Rings did to fantasy – champion the genre as its innovator and make it as popular as the rest of the blockbuster pack, though in a smaller scale. Pag-ipunan na ang P400 tiket ng IMAX, ito na marahil ang magiging pinakasulit na P400 na tiket sa balat ng pinilakang tabing dahil hindi ito pang-small screen. Warning lang, masyado itong nakakatakot for very little kids.
I remember Beowulf as a 2nd year high school English class topic (do kids these days get their English classics in grade school? I wonder.) Story of a guy who kills a monster. Hindi siya ganon ka-interesting noon, but it was a required topic (we tried reading it but it was in Anglo-Saxon.) Anyway, its significance was in the fact that the epic poem is one of the oldest Old English manuscripts in history. Ah, the original Neil Gaiman.
It is A.D. 6th Century, in the Danish Kingdom of Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins), a gruesome giant monster-demon called Grendel (Crispin Glover) terrorizes the halls of Heorot – butchering and killing (eating!) anyone who gets in its path. A Geat (or Goth, Swedish) hero Beowulf (Ray Winstone), arrives in Heorot with a platoon of warriors to help rid the people of Grendel’s horrific menace. To cut the story short, Beowulf defeats Grendel, pero may kabayaran ang kanyang katapangan. Grendel’s demon-mother (Angelina Jolie) takes revenge and massacres Beowulf’s army the next day. Thinking he can defeat her the same way he defeated Grendel, Beowulf enters the demon-mother’s cave, only to be seduced by its beautiful deceit. Beowulf is the tragic story of a valiant hero disgraced by his pride.
I’m a fan of the director, Robert Zemeckis, but that doesn’t mean I like everything he does necessarily. What I do like is that he has a good command of storytelling and the itch to push the techniques of filmmaking to higher levels (compositing archival footage with new material in Forrest Gump, the famous mirror scene in Contact, and his groundbreaking first attempt at motion-capture animation in The Polar Express.) In a sense he is more of an artist of the medium than the message. It was the technology in Polar Express which convinced him to make Beowulf using motion-capture technique.
The animation is very impressive, the visuals are crisp most of the time. Meron lang ilang pagkakataon na parang lumalabo yung images, humihiwalay yung 3D, lalu na pag sa gilid-gilid o kaya pag mabilis ang panning ng camera. Mahusay rin ang rendering ng mga hitsura ng mga tao, malapit na sa photorealism. Music is also appropriate, kapansin-pansin yung paggamit ng electric guitars sa main character theme.
Pero ang nakagugulat is that Beowulf has solid storytelling from start to finish, and an emotional heft that was unexpected from the computer-generated characters, particularly the monster Grendel, na nagmukhang nakakaawa dahil sa kundisyon niya sa pandinig at dahil parang gutay-gutay na muscles ang kaniyang katawan. Hindi nakakahilo kahit na the entire movie is in 3D at may pagkakataon na mapatitigil ka sa upuan mo dahil parang kasama ka sa eksenang nagaganap. There’s male and female nudity (at minsan nakakatawa kung paano takpan ang nudity sa pelikula), pero maraming adult innuendos at religious themes which are not topics for kids younger than 10. Merong isang bata na umiyak at nagsabing, “ayoko na, natatakot na ko,” sa mga magulang niya sa press screening last week, dahil hindi talaga pambata yung pelikula.
The modernistic language and approach to characters including Beowulf himself gives the old poem an accessible appeal to a 21st century audience, but sometimes the language is too modern it sounds corny. Beowulf is best seen in 3D because that’s the way to enjoy the new technique, plus the fact that the final action sequence with a beautifully rendered dragon looks so alive up-close.
Beowulf may not be the innovator in its class, but it offers a heightened degree of experiencing a very promising format in cinema, with good storytelling to boot. The future looks bright in 3D, and you gotta wear shades.
Review by Vives Anunciacion
Inquirer Libre November 20, 2007
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Based on the Old English epic poem
Written by Neil Gaiman, Roger Avary
Starring Ray Winstone, Angelina Jolie
Warner Brothers/ Shangri-La Entertainment
3D in IMAX
Beowulf will do to 3D what Lord of the Rings did to fantasy – champion the genre as its innovator and make it as popular as the rest of the blockbuster pack, though in a smaller scale. Pag-ipunan na ang P400 tiket ng IMAX, ito na marahil ang magiging pinakasulit na P400 na tiket sa balat ng pinilakang tabing dahil hindi ito pang-small screen. Warning lang, masyado itong nakakatakot for very little kids.
I remember Beowulf as a 2nd year high school English class topic (do kids these days get their English classics in grade school? I wonder.) Story of a guy who kills a monster. Hindi siya ganon ka-interesting noon, but it was a required topic (we tried reading it but it was in Anglo-Saxon.) Anyway, its significance was in the fact that the epic poem is one of the oldest Old English manuscripts in history. Ah, the original Neil Gaiman.
It is A.D. 6th Century, in the Danish Kingdom of Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins), a gruesome giant monster-demon called Grendel (Crispin Glover) terrorizes the halls of Heorot – butchering and killing (eating!) anyone who gets in its path. A Geat (or Goth, Swedish) hero Beowulf (Ray Winstone), arrives in Heorot with a platoon of warriors to help rid the people of Grendel’s horrific menace. To cut the story short, Beowulf defeats Grendel, pero may kabayaran ang kanyang katapangan. Grendel’s demon-mother (Angelina Jolie) takes revenge and massacres Beowulf’s army the next day. Thinking he can defeat her the same way he defeated Grendel, Beowulf enters the demon-mother’s cave, only to be seduced by its beautiful deceit. Beowulf is the tragic story of a valiant hero disgraced by his pride.
I’m a fan of the director, Robert Zemeckis, but that doesn’t mean I like everything he does necessarily. What I do like is that he has a good command of storytelling and the itch to push the techniques of filmmaking to higher levels (compositing archival footage with new material in Forrest Gump, the famous mirror scene in Contact, and his groundbreaking first attempt at motion-capture animation in The Polar Express.) In a sense he is more of an artist of the medium than the message. It was the technology in Polar Express which convinced him to make Beowulf using motion-capture technique.
The animation is very impressive, the visuals are crisp most of the time. Meron lang ilang pagkakataon na parang lumalabo yung images, humihiwalay yung 3D, lalu na pag sa gilid-gilid o kaya pag mabilis ang panning ng camera. Mahusay rin ang rendering ng mga hitsura ng mga tao, malapit na sa photorealism. Music is also appropriate, kapansin-pansin yung paggamit ng electric guitars sa main character theme.
Pero ang nakagugulat is that Beowulf has solid storytelling from start to finish, and an emotional heft that was unexpected from the computer-generated characters, particularly the monster Grendel, na nagmukhang nakakaawa dahil sa kundisyon niya sa pandinig at dahil parang gutay-gutay na muscles ang kaniyang katawan. Hindi nakakahilo kahit na the entire movie is in 3D at may pagkakataon na mapatitigil ka sa upuan mo dahil parang kasama ka sa eksenang nagaganap. There’s male and female nudity (at minsan nakakatawa kung paano takpan ang nudity sa pelikula), pero maraming adult innuendos at religious themes which are not topics for kids younger than 10. Merong isang bata na umiyak at nagsabing, “ayoko na, natatakot na ko,” sa mga magulang niya sa press screening last week, dahil hindi talaga pambata yung pelikula.
The modernistic language and approach to characters including Beowulf himself gives the old poem an accessible appeal to a 21st century audience, but sometimes the language is too modern it sounds corny. Beowulf is best seen in 3D because that’s the way to enjoy the new technique, plus the fact that the final action sequence with a beautifully rendered dragon looks so alive up-close.
Beowulf may not be the innovator in its class, but it offers a heightened degree of experiencing a very promising format in cinema, with good storytelling to boot. The future looks bright in 3D, and you gotta wear shades.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
30 Days of Night
Notice of Blackout
Review by Vives Anunciacion
Inquirer Libre November 6, 2007
Directed by David Slade
Based on the graphic novel by Steve Niles, illustrated by Ben Templesmith
Starring Josh Hartnett, Melissa George
Columbia Pictures
See vampires. See vampires run. Replace with bantay and that was the reading exercise back when I was a kid. Anyway, 30 Days of Night is a vampire movie pumped-up with concept but anemic in story.
The story is set in the small town of Barrow, Alaska ang pinaka-northern settlement sa US mainland. Sa sobrang layo nito sa hilaga, every year during winter the sun sets below the horizon and doesn’t reappear until after 30 days (ayon sa Wikipedia, yung tutoong Barrow experiences darkness for 67 days).
It is on this one occasion that a group of vampires invades the sleepy quiet town and butchers it, killing almost everyone within hours of the first night of darkness. Sheriff Eben Olemaun (Josh Hartnett) and his ex-wife Stella (Melissa George) lead the few who survive in hiding. Their goal is to survive the cold winter while vampires roam the town for 30 days until the sun comes out again. Lots of blood, head-chopping and a few instances of humor.
If this movie doesn’t make you jump from your seat for sheer fright, its ear-piercing sound will. The movie is so loud I thought it should be a health hazard.
I admit to be unfamiliar with the artwork of Ben Templesmith (who personally introduced the movie at the preview), but the artwork in the movie (meaning the production design) neither looked like it came from a graphic novel nor did it look creepy enough. For some reason, the town reminded me of Home Alone, set during happier days at Christmas time.
Typical relationship problems stalk Eben and Stella even as they scamper away from the lightning-speed vampires – which happen to look like zombies more than the usual leather-clad sexy vampires of Blade or Underworld. The vampire scenes are reminiscent of 28 Days Later – jarring handheld camerawork (for cameramen the terms are under-cranked, strobed and sharpened with tilted shutter angles.)
Oddly, the vampires speak in an unknown language, which indicates some back-story that’s probably intended for a future sequel. But there is one issue with 30 Days of Night which makes it less than scary than it already is: the moonlight is so bright the town is hardly dark at all.
Review by Vives Anunciacion
Inquirer Libre November 6, 2007
Directed by David Slade
Based on the graphic novel by Steve Niles, illustrated by Ben Templesmith
Starring Josh Hartnett, Melissa George
Columbia Pictures
See vampires. See vampires run. Replace with bantay and that was the reading exercise back when I was a kid. Anyway, 30 Days of Night is a vampire movie pumped-up with concept but anemic in story.
The story is set in the small town of Barrow, Alaska ang pinaka-northern settlement sa US mainland. Sa sobrang layo nito sa hilaga, every year during winter the sun sets below the horizon and doesn’t reappear until after 30 days (ayon sa Wikipedia, yung tutoong Barrow experiences darkness for 67 days).
It is on this one occasion that a group of vampires invades the sleepy quiet town and butchers it, killing almost everyone within hours of the first night of darkness. Sheriff Eben Olemaun (Josh Hartnett) and his ex-wife Stella (Melissa George) lead the few who survive in hiding. Their goal is to survive the cold winter while vampires roam the town for 30 days until the sun comes out again. Lots of blood, head-chopping and a few instances of humor.
If this movie doesn’t make you jump from your seat for sheer fright, its ear-piercing sound will. The movie is so loud I thought it should be a health hazard.
I admit to be unfamiliar with the artwork of Ben Templesmith (who personally introduced the movie at the preview), but the artwork in the movie (meaning the production design) neither looked like it came from a graphic novel nor did it look creepy enough. For some reason, the town reminded me of Home Alone, set during happier days at Christmas time.
Typical relationship problems stalk Eben and Stella even as they scamper away from the lightning-speed vampires – which happen to look like zombies more than the usual leather-clad sexy vampires of Blade or Underworld. The vampire scenes are reminiscent of 28 Days Later – jarring handheld camerawork (for cameramen the terms are under-cranked, strobed and sharpened with tilted shutter angles.)
Oddly, the vampires speak in an unknown language, which indicates some back-story that’s probably intended for a future sequel. But there is one issue with 30 Days of Night which makes it less than scary than it already is: the moonlight is so bright the town is hardly dark at all.
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