GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY MOVIE REVIEW [NO SPOILER]

– ★★★★ out of 5 stars

This year has been the most fun filled movie experience and I’ve never been more anticipated than these Marvel movies starting off with Captain America: The Winter Soldier which blew me off with a great cast, action and story.

I’m always happy about Marvel being the top franchise nowadays, and after CapAm, I’ve never been more excited to see Guardians of the Galaxy.

First of all, Hi Chris Prat, I loved you from the day you were chubby and I am crazy for you now that you have an awesome body. *woot *woot

Anyhow, Guardians of the Galaxy is a Marvel Studios movie, along with Iron Man, Captain America and Thor which delves deeper into the galaxy with more characters and common places comic geeks should know about.

After watching the movie, I can really say, “That’s how you do a movie.”

A movie has different elements and ingredients for it to work, and Marvel surely took a gamble on GotGalaxy since this is really not a famous comic book superhero, I didn’t even know them when they released it in Comic Con a year or two ago. But, Marvel surely knows that the comic version of GotGalaxy has shallow storyline, unlike other comics, but is critical upon creating the cinematic universe: and that’s what happened here in the film.

It all worked out!

I love the cast. The cast was so good and great and comical-wise, it was the best and they complement each other. I feared for a fact that the casting was so huge, one of them might get overshadowed by the others, and I was expecting for Drax The Destroyer (Dave Batista) or Gamora (Zoe Saldana) or Groot (Voiced by Vin Diesel) to be overshadowed by Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and Rocket Raccoon (Voiced by Bradley Cooper), but I was surprised how intense Gamora is as an assassin, and how ignorantly funny Drax, plus the innocently hilarious Groot. All of the five characters were so hilarious from start of the movie to the end. Even when the tone became serious, there was always a punchline towards the end of it that will kill you will laughter.

Although we know for a fact that GotGalaxy has no really strong material, and I have to agree that the movie doesn’t give you that 12 Years a Slave story treatment, No, it’s a start to finish one point to the other: A chase of getting the infinity stone.

But what the hell when you have a very strong cast and great action scenes plus enticing directing? I also loved the fact that there’s an underlying drama within the characters that’s deep and sensible and sequelable (if there’s any word which I know there isn’t).

Speaking of directing, James Gunn, the director, did a great, great job for pulling this movie off. He did massively good that gives you a film of total entertainment.

Kudos to Marvel for always gambling on these kind of movies.

 

Guardians of the Galaxy is an American Marvel Studios film directed by James Gunn starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Batista plus voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel. The film was released August 1 worldwide and July 31^st in the Philippines.

 

SURPRISED: NOT YOUR ORDINARY PACUTE TEEN MOVIE | SHE’S DATING THE GANGSTER MOVIE REVIEW

– ★★★★

First of all (I have to be defensive about this but…) I’m NOT a fan of Daniel and Kathryn’s love team and I was really hesitant when my partner asked me to watch it, but what changed my mind was that this film was directed by one my favorite directors which gave me one of my favorite Filipino films of all time: One More Chance and she is Cathy Garcia-Molina. Yet, the fact still remains that it was a KathNiel movie still bugs me a bit.

But after watching She’s Dating a Gangster, I could say that it was a “WOW”.

But first let me break the bad, okay, good and the WOW elements in the film.

 

STORY, MAKE-UP, PRODUCTION AND COSTUME

Story-wise, the film started with the pa cute effect Daniel and Kathryn was destined to do. A bit shallow, confusing, corny and cheesy and to be honest, the costume they wore that’s supposed to be on the 80s were a bit off and discombobulated to the real fashion of that era. They were too pretty and too handsome. Was it maybe because of the High Definition camera used? Or was it really poor in production? In that sense, it never captured the 80s feel. But I don’t think any Pinoy films nowadays have captured a past era using costumes and make-up.

Anyhow, as the story progresses and when we got into the middle part: I realized that there’s a depth that captures my attention and gives focus to the story itself. The entire confusing introduction made all sense and you want more answers in the upcoming remaining minutes of the film. And also, I can see the effort of building a good movie on that moment.

And at the very end, it all sums up to giving you an entire emotional bittersweet love affair that will surely crush your heart into pieces.

It captures a love that is sacrificial and deep that in the end will always have a happy end no matter what. The story is just good.

There were really some fun moments in the movie but nothing beats the KathNiel fans that whenever Daniel appears to look pa cute on screen, everyone around is just going wild which gave my partner and I a noisy but hilarious cinematic experience.

 

ACTING

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting for Daniel Padilla to improve and be an effective character. I was shocked even on the first few minutes of the film; he already showed intense characterization that even my partner and I did not fathom.

And to Daniel’s mini-brilliance comes Kathryn’s mini-annoyance. Well, probably because she has to be quirky and all and it’s just so regular of her to do that and that maybe is the reason why we can’t see any improvement in her. But then, she’s still good when she shed’s tears (evil).

 

A RICHARD GOMEZ AND DAWN ZULUETA MOVIE

Yes… when you get to the ending, the part where Richard and Dawn’s characters did meet: they stole the scene from everyone including Daniel and Kathryn even when it’s just seven minutes long! The buildup of the story up to that specific ending makes you think that this film is not just some typical teen movie that you watch and puke right after but it’s the movie you should give focus to and wait for the very heartbreaking yet satisfying ending.

And it was all because of Richard and Dawn’s chemistry and pure acting. Maybe it’s because they’re veteran (they should really be good at it by now) and it was just so believable that it made me cry which I really did not expect to.

The scene where Richard and Dawn’s character meet eye to eye, and everything else was in slow motion, captured the real emotions of bitterness, confusion, loneliness and happiness… everything was just good until Dawn spoke of a one-word liner: “GANGSTER” that made everything in the movie fits like a puzzle which tugs your heart and will bring you tears to the eyes.

Another TBH, I am a CharDawn fan… die hard. UGH!

And because of this, I think it’s about time that ABS-CBN should produce a CharDawn film with great, great, great story and has to be handled well by a director like Garcia-Molina because it will surely be a huge hit not just for matured people, but also for young adults out there.

 

OVERALL

Overall, the movie is really good because it has a deeper sense of storytelling that differs from every one generation storyline films we’ve seen and Cathy Garcia-Molina definitely knows how to pull our heartstrings.

 

She’s Dating a Gangster is produced and released by Star Cinema and was directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina. Starring Danieel Padilla, Kathryn Bernardo with Richard Gomez and Dawn Zulueta.

HOORAY! FOR X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST | REVIEW

MINOR SPOILERS ONLY, DON’T WORRY, IT WONT HURT.

-★★★★½ out of 5

 

“It’s a calibre of a superhero film magnificence.”

 

This movie is so good I don’t even know where to start! It’s definitely one hell of a ride and also the BEST X-Men movie everrrr!

I have to say that this movie went beyond the superhero films usual timeline and that’s according to the title itself ‘Days of Future Past’, and the premise has been recognized by everyone, comic book fan or not, that the story will revolve around Wolverine’s mind travelling back to the past to settle some maleficent beginnings which are the Sentinels that will rock both Mutant and human’s world in the future.

 

WATCH THE PAST BEFORE FUTURE PAST

One thing you need to do is to watch the entire X-MEN franchise, from X1, X2, X3, X-MEN ORIGINS: The Wolverine, First Class, and The Wolverine, to get to relate to Days of Future Past. I did even watched it all again weeks before.

 

HEAVY BUT GREAT STORYLINE

I have to say that the storyline is a heavy one; the jump from the future back to past and back to another longer past is tricky and that is definitely needed to be executed very well, or else it will end up confusing or dragging. Especially on timelines; the writers have to be careful on what era to drop some of the events that happened, but what-the-hell; you wouldn’t even notice not until you read stuffs online.

But hail to the screenwriters, Simon Kinberg, Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman (which to be honest, I have no idea who they are, but BRAVO!) who gave justice to the entire X-Men Universe. They are given this huge responsibility to revive the Universe because of the critically failed last film of the original trilogy, which was X-Men: The Last Stand, and if you might not remember, it’s the film where Professor X, Jean Grey, and Cyclops died and Rogue plus Magneto lost their powers to some kid who has the ability to ‘cure’ mutants that enrages fans up to this date.

The film is also surprisingly humorous, which was never present in the previous trailers and it was a great shortcoming. Evan Peters’ portrayal of the fast and hilarious Quicksilver was panned by fans before the release because of the costume and hair and stuff but then; you just can’t judge a book by its cover, eh? He has one of the best sequences in the film that will take you on the edge of your seats laughing. It’s very effective and endearing. I was hoping for him to have plenty of time but I guess we’ll see more from him in X-MEN: Apocalypse.

The director, Bryan Singer, calls Days of Future Past, not a prequel neither a sequel but an inbetween-quel. He just made that up, but it all made sense. It is a story in the future as a sequel to X3: The Last Stand and The Wolverine that jumps as a sequel to X-MEN: First Class which made it a prequel of sorts… does that make sense? Anyhow…

 

THE EMINENT DANGER

The positive thing about DOFP is that there’s this eminent danger which is the pure element to make a superhero movie work (not to mention Captain America: The Winter Soldier). The fact that there’s an indestructible and very powerful enemy is the formula to make-it-work. It’s when you are unsure of your favorite character whether he or she’ll make it or not is the best part of the DOFP and The Winter Soldier. There’s the similarity in eminent danger in both films, but different in plot.

If we put down The (not-so) Amazing Spiderman 2 here, it’ll be overshadowed. I can’t almost remember anything good about the film. Besides the poor storyline; there was no eminent danger there; and that’s one very important thing that was really missing.

Now I’ve proved that to make some superhero movie work; there has to be an element of uncertainty to the mortality of the characters.

 

IT’S NOT ABOUT WOLVIE

The story wasn’t even Wolverine-centric but also no one overshadowed the performance. Overall, the character projection on screen was very wise and efficient; no one outshined one of the other. Instead, the characters were complementing each other for the benefit of the entire film.

 

ACTOR PERFORMANCE

My partner would not agree to me to this, but I forgot about Jennifer Lawrence here. Her presence was here, but because of the intense and captivating story; she was gone… she was Mystique. Actually, all the roles played by actors were well portrayed and I love how committed they are to make each character work.

And I also have a feeling that Peter Dinklage will be the actor of the year this year based on his appearances in Game of Thrones and DOFP. (*wink *wink)

Everyone was amazing! Everyone got it all worked out! Bravo!

 

DELETE X1, X2, X3 and X-MEN ORIGINS: THE WOLVERINE
Not necessarily, but technically the entire story above X-MEN: FIRST CLASS is now to be forgotten and now will be replaced by the Days of Future Past’s sequel: X-MEN: Apocalypse. Why? Because DOFP is said to be the apology for the X-MEN: The Last Stand which was a flop; but didn’t give us a heads up that it will hurt the other two original X-MEN movies, yet still the film has beautifully weaved the entire X-MEN Universe. But if you’re still up wanting to watch the films chronologically; here’s how it will look like:

 

X-MEN: First Class

X-MEN ORIGINS: The Wolverine

X-MEN

X2: United

X-MEN: The Last Stand

The Wolverine

X-MEN: Days of Future Past

X-MEN: Apocalypse (to be shown in 2016)

 

OVERALL

Overall the movie was totally entertaining, mind boggling and enthralling. It’s a calibre of a superhero film magnificence. A definite 4 ½ out of 5 stars!

 

X-MEN: Days of Future Past is a 2014 American superhero movie starring Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), James McAvoy (Young Xavier), Michael Fassbender (Young Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), Halle Berry (Storm), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Ellen Page (Kitty Pride), Nicholas Hoult (Young Beast), Peter Dinklage (Trask) and Ian McKellen (Older Magneto) and Patrick Stewart (Older Xaivier). The film is directed by Brian Singer  (X-MEN and X2: United) and distributed by20th Century Fox.

SHEENA is Asia’s Next Top Model Season 2 WINNER

Runner up is JODILLY

2nd is KATARINA

Well, sh*t

 

WE STILL LOVE YOU JODILLY AND KATARINA!!! YUHUUU!

MGA BAKLA, BOYCOT NA YAN!

 

HAHA Just fooling around. Knowing Sheena won Asia’s Next Top Model… it just makes me feel like it’s defeated all the purpose of me watching the whole 20 cycles of America’s Next Top Model. Sorry, Sheena fans… but really.

For me, the two switched judges were the reason why the votes were pulled to Sheena instead of to Jodilly. I mean, have they seen other photos of both of them? They say Sheena is a chameleon and a modern model… All I can see is an amateur model for amateur photo shoots.

My initial reaction would sum up to the meme below.

UPDATE as of the FINALE:ASIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL SEASON 2 FINALE WINNER PREDICTION | ANALYSIS

 

UPDATE as of 10:30 today 4/9/2014: SHEENA IS ASIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL SEASON 2 WINNER..

Asia’s Next Top Model Season/Cycle 2 is a very successful reality-TV show in Asia. I can say; it’s one of the best. And now, since it’s going near the end, and only three girls remaining vying for the price of becoming the second AsNTM winner plus the huge prices; it’s going to be tough.

 

RECAP OF THE LAST EPISODE BEFORE THE FINALE

 

Let’s start with the omitted episode (11) due to the reason of a very sensitive issue about the Malaysian Airlines, which is also one of the main sponsors of the show; they’ve cancelled it and proceeded to the 12^th episode then.

But what’s shocking to me was that Nicole was sent home during the omitted episode; and I believe that was a result to her being weaker than most of the girls.

I actually don’t believe it, not until I see that very episode.

Sheena won, but I couldn’t ponder why (sorry fans of Sheena); really, because I’ll explain AGAIN why after.

Then episode 12 aired and only 4 girls left.

They have this sensual photo-shoot for Harper’s Bazaar Malaysia and they have to give their best since it will be the second to the last episode before the finale.

Katarina won with the hot, hot, hot photo. She’s been stepping up her game ever since I last blogged about AsNTM. Her last photo was an analysis of mine that her girl-next-door beauty could ALWAYS be converted into sexy. And in this photo-shoot; it was conveyed.

Jodilly won the second best; and this was another hot, hot, scorching hot photo. Jodilly is this cute little princess from the Philippines that’s having a dream to become a model, and you totally wouldn’t expect to give out a very, very sexy, satisfying and nonchalantly effective result.

It was Sheena and Marie on the bottom two, and it was heartbreaking to see the latter leave. I mean… wow. I expected her to reach top 3, but well, whatevs.

 

ANALYSIS FOR THE FINAL 3

JODILLY

Jody has always been giving us a hundred and ten percent of her effort just to give us wonderful, wonderful results/photos, and it has always been effective. It’s very impressive to show how she’s been a so-so model from the start to becoming a fierce and versatile one. Every week, she’s bringing out some bag of tricks to give and she’s the one to beat… really.

 

KATARINA

Katarina has always been the unexperienced and underdog which finally came out of the shell for the past weeks and giving out good results. I never expected her to reach final three because I was looking after other models to reach that far (e.g. Nicole and Marie). She’s a good model, though, but I STILL believe she needs lots and lots of practice to come out of that sweet little girl/girl-next-door/catalogue model to a fierce, high fashion one. Although she’s there, but what more could she give (for the show)?

 

SHEENA

Wow, Sheena was another one who I thought would never reach the final three due to the fact that she’s always not giving it 100%, also she’s got a bit of attitude there with her… but she’s there, what can I do? Anyway, it always looks good to see some twists.

 

CONCLUSION AND PREDICTION FOR THE WINNER

Here I am again, predicting. And I guess AsNTM creators and judges differ from America’s Next Top Model because I always get right whenever I watch that American TV show.

I predict Jodilly will win.

But let’s first go straight to the facts.

What I’ve noticed was that, there’s a trend that even when a contestant is not that much good; they always reach the top.

I am a Filipino, and I don’t hate my fellowmen; but I’m not biased and I remembered last cycle with Stephanie who was also on the final 3 which was not really that good in taking photos, but Nadya insists that she’s got something in her. She’s really a good ramp model, not that I hate her; I actually love and I was rooting for her, but her grace does not really appear on the photos (I’m wondering where she is right now).

Stephanie of Cycle 1 of AsNTM

And now we have Katarina… although she’s different from Stephanie; Katarina has been nailing shots ever since they went to Indonesia. But has she really gone out of her shell?

Well, as we’ve seen; since the 9^th episode (which was in Indonesia), she went straight to the top. For me it is because her beauty is directly opposite to the jungle theme that’s why it works.

Also on the 10^th episode which she sank half her body in the sea (they named her mermaid for that); it was close to a glamour shot. It is almost the same as the episode where they posed in front of the Petronas Tower where she looked really, really good if not for her body pose.

Then on the 12^th episode, she posed sexy which I explained on the top.

Sheena… I don’t even know why she’s on the top three. Marie, although suffered on the last episode, but let’s face it, her picture is way better than of Sheena’s. Let’s be real, Sheena doesn’t always give the exact shot which is far away from the required brief of the photo-shoot.

Also she’s giving the same facial expressions week after week, after week… what I meant was ‘from the start’. I don’t know… it’s just… phwew. Marie and Nicole were such a waste… *sobs

Then there’s Jodilly who gives every photographer a pleasure in taking photographs. She’s always giving her best just to show to the world how she really wants this and every week she’s not letting down anybody. Instead she grew some fans.

Jodilly has this extrinsic charisma that wows everyone when she’s in front of the camera. Her walk is OK compared to Katarina’s, but we’re searching for a versatile one rather than ‘good’ in one genre and have luck on others.

What I’m most scared about is that I’m wrong about this and Katarina will win; because in the preview of the finale; their photo-shoot brief looks like another glamour shot which Katarina mostly wins above all.

 

Then it hits me.

 

This vies for a cover girl for Harper’s Bazaar Magazine and most of the times, it’s all glamour! And Katarina is one hell of a glamour girl. She’s going to be a very strong contender for her co-Filipina, Jodilly which takes High-Fashion shots.

this goes to Katarina hihi

I’m actually scared for Jodilly.

 

That’s my analysis and prediction for the finale. Who do you think will win Asia’s Next Top Model?

 

Finale is on April 9, 2014.

 

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER MOVIE REVIEW (PLUS A MID-CREDIT PREVIEW) [VIDEO]

 

– ★★★★★

 (This review contains spoilers)

  ‘An ambush of engaging sequences that leaves you satisfied’

Once upon a time there was Iron Man 3 where I thought wouldn’t be surpassed by any other sequels/spin-offs or interconnected film. The level of Iron Man 3 (not from a fan-boy perspective) was above the top. From the storyline to its action sequences to its comedy were above commendable (although fan-boys would not agree with me, of course).

Then, there was Captain America.

The first movie was a little bit dragging from the beginning up to the end, but the storyline was strong and was complementary to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The tone was sepia-ish due to the timeline of 1940’s too. But little did I know that the entire first movie of CapAm was vital for the sequel: The Winter Soldier.

It revolves around Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and the events after the cataclysmic Avengers in New York. In his struggle to blend with the modern time and facing another familiar enemy which would destroy the entire empire of S.H.I.E.L.D. Also a past friend who is sinister in the present, naming himself “The Winter Soldier” (Sebastian Stan), will rock Rogers’ world. Betrayal and Loyalty are his ultimate struggles on who he will give his trust, to win over the first ultimate test in the modern world he and the S.H.I.E.L.D. will ever know.

There’s a lot going in the film, but is not distracting, and the pace is just perfect for the two hours and fifteen minutes run of it. The character build-up was enough for each, especially for Falcon (Anthony Mackie), the ex-military/side kick of Captain America. With Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), his character was focused from start to finish because he’s the focal point of the movie on which the main characters should act upon. But one superstar, aside from Captain America himself, who garnered an applause and bravo credit in the film, was Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). Her finesse, sinister moves, unprecedented one liner punchlines and sensual aura made it work for the entire movie. She is that one person in a film that would give a cool effect. Not to mention that she’s a woman, so, it all works. I think its Marvel’s way to introduce her because of the rumoured Black Widow movie… and I’m up for the line.

The only character that was little most exposure was Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), but well, I am biased to this because I just so love her. But I guess it’s a build-up on what’s to come for her and Steve Rogers in the future.

The story of The Winter Soldier was really compelling. The ambush to the main characters was believable in the sense of real life situation dangers. The betrayal of some will pose a question on whether a main character will die. And that’s exciting and dreading at the same time, not knowing if your favourite character will make it or not.

All the action in the movie was up-beat and well done. Although, I just hoped the camera movements weren’t that much moving a lot, but still it works.

What I appreciate about Captain America: The Winter Soldier was that from start to end, because of the compelling storyline; it will engage you to focus and love every scene. It’s a must watch. I’m kind of in battle to what’s better, Iron Man 3 or Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and the later is a bit revamped on the storyline.

 

POST CREDIT SPOILER:

For the post credit scene, which you can see on this LINK here, you will have the glimpse for the second Avengers movie starring the twins; Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.

 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a 2014 sequel Marvel Studios Film, a ninth instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, third film of the second phase leading to Avengers: Age of Ultron, Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. Starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthonie Mackie, Emily VanCamp, Hayley Atwell, and Robert Redford.

300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE MOVIE REVIEW

– ★★★1/2

(Warning: Spoilers ahead)

The bar is set high for sequel films especially onto the successful ones because everyone is expecting more from it. And in times like these; sequels or franchises are a trend. One can be seen from Marvel which gave the success on not only creating sequels but creating an entire universe as a whole.

Sequels or prequels tend to give excitement to people especially upon hearing from its public announcement, and when Warner Bros. decided to impart that information last year, I was excited.

The first film, 300, was visually entertaining, taking a whole new level of filmmaking. Although, the movie Sin City has the same kind of visual approach about filming in green screen and emphasis on the blood splatting; Zack Snyder took it up the notch. The whole film felt like a High Dynamic Range (HDR) shot that Digital Camera’s give, and the slow-motion capture says it all.

The storyline tells the 2^nd war between the Greeks and Persians, and how did that came to be by iterating the account of the 1^st Greco-Persian War by Lionidas’ wife, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey), making the movie a prequel-sequel alike.

It narrates how the God-King Xerxes wanted his vengeance from the Greeks because of Themistocles’ (Sullivan Stapleton) honest mistake upon demising his father and having the gut that Xerxes would one day be a threat, but ignoring that intuition of his.

Also, the Persian Naval commander Artemisia’s (Eva Green) story of her original Grecian roots showed how ruthless Greeks were to her and her family that made her lustful for revenge.

The Story

The movie is based on an unpublished novel by Frank Miller, who also did the original 300, that depicts the epic war story of the 1^st and 2^nd Greco-Persian war. The story of the 2^nd movie is interrelated to the original 300 and a proceeding account reaching to an end.

300: Rise of an Empire’s story is much crispier than the original. There are more battles than the first, and it was interesting, seeing rivals strategize to win.

The depth of the emotion was already set from the first movie (thanks to it), and now a threat is far more revealing and invigorating.

I love the fact that my eyes and ears were totally onto the movie, making me keen to every details there are, and having the feeling that you don’t want to miss something, most especially the mot juste which is a 300 trademark, (e.g. ‘THIS IS SPARTA!’) that creates more tension in the film, and this time it’s ‘SEIZE YOUR GLORY’.

Screenplay

The best thing about 300 movies is that the graphics are very well defined and the scenes are captivating. The slow-motion takes place and it’s a numerous positive things to it. Although I sense that I guess if you’ll add all the slow-motion scenes, it kind of adds to the time frame of the movie which makes it reasonably long. But, it’s proprietary and needed for the justification of the film though.

Besides the long slow-motion scenes are the muscles and abs which are the proprietary of all.

Just kidding.

OVERALL

300: Rise of an Empire is the sequel that is properly well executed. The sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire is again visually stunning, wickedly entertaining.

300: Rise of an Empire is an American film, sequel to 300, directed by Noam Murro, produced by Zack Snyder (Man of Steel, 300) and starred by Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, and Lena Headey. The film was released on March 7, 2014.

STARTING OVER AGAIN MOVIE REVIEW [SPOILER!]

 

–          ★★★★

WARNING: Heavy Spoiler ahead!

Then we have another Filipino movie themed with a rom-com that stars two of the finest actors in this generation that will surely be a huge hit. There’s this again cliché we’ve all been waiting for.

BUT, Starting over Again is one of my favorite Filipino movies of all time!

Starred by the finest actor today Piolo Pascual and labeled as the Multimedia artist, Toni Gonzaga plus with the direction of the well-known director, Olivia M. Lamasan; this is the movie everyone’s been waiting for.

The fact that the movie was all rom-com from start until the end is a plus point for me; and with its deep and realistic parts, it’s all perfection.

I have to put standards as a real human being and a reviewer, because, truth is, we all become bias in all aspects; and I have to say One More Chance, which teamed up John Lloyd-Bea was for me the best Filipino film in romantic theme movies.

The fact that how close a story to reality is what I love the most, only that the disappointment for me in One More Chance was by the ending, because, not to be bitter; but I really don’t like happy end romantic movies. And although it’s proper for the story, it’s best if the characters Basha and Popoy did not end together. However, it’s still the best for me.

Then we have Starting over Again; which themed a complicated love story. Girl loves guy and goes for him whatever it takes, and guy eventually falls for her, then she left him for no clear reason, then one day, she regrets everything she’s done and wants him back, but he doesn’t want her any longer.

That is a typical love story formula, let’s face it, but the twist was that the female protagonist was the one chasing after the guy and not vice versa; and the fact that I thought it was almost a happy end made me a bit sad, but then when it reached the resolution part; you’ll realize it’s beyond the typical love story we’ve all expected. I was happy with the ending; it was just PERFECT.

The reason why the movie was not a happy end was greatly satisfying; and I’ve always pleaded on my Facebook account that I am hoping that they don’t end up together, although the story was revolving around them. But ending them happy together was for me unfair and unrealistic.

Two people should not end up together again, even when there’s a serendipity sign that you’ve met again and you thought it’s for the reason that you’d have your second chance; NO, it most of the time is just for closure; like the ending of Starting over Again.

The reason why the character of Toni left the character of Piolo was also satisfying; it was just realistic as possible.

Toni is a very promising actress, she’s gone a mile and now she’s taking up a notch in being sexy on screen (which I hated to some actresses because they don’t allow themselves up for sexy scenes when in fact they’re actresses and its disappointing).

Piolo Pascual remains a respectable actor channeling every emotion on screen to the viewers. Truth be told, I almost tear up on his scenes, and not on the desperate and pitiful female character, which I take side most of the times.

Starting Over Again is directed by Olivia M. Lamasan and starred Piolo Pascual and Toni Gonzaga with Iza Calzado and is produced and distributed by Star Cinema.

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE | MOVIE REVIEW [SPOILER]

– ★★★★½

 ‘I died watching the book’s magnificence re-engineered masterfully on the silver screen.’

I’ve been a Hunger Games fan ever since before the movies came out. I’ve read the entire series with no halls barred from day one to day four neglecting my duties as an online teacher that day, and I’ve no regrets, just pure fascination on the entire series.

The Hunger Games movie came out with a blast, injecting a political and showbiz paradigm of a new America called Panem with an awesome movie that garnered 83% fresh in rottentomatoes.com and was followed up by The Hunger Games: Catching Fire movie this year.

Catching Fire is a follow up movie telling the aftermath series of events right after the first film and how Katniss Everdeen tries to outrun the trauma she’s gotten into and tries to be neutral on the recent spark of revolution she’s given to the citizens of Panem and the desperation of the government to kill off that uprising including Katniss herself.

Why was The Hunger Games book and movie a trend lately? Because of the unique story of a new dystopian tyrant world ruled by one central successful district called Capitol and the rest are slaves or workers for them. And it cannot linger away from most political transgressions in most countries nowadays; only less showbiz killing and showoffs on cam. Also the addition of the effervescent Jennifer Lawrence who’s stunning and down-to-earth celebrity who tries to concisely diminish the usual celebrity ladder to fame which is to look like a skinned doll and try to be delusion in front of the camera: no, JenLaw is not that type, and I can say she is a role model for us human beings who doesn’t need to look perfect in order to please everyone.

Months ago I’ve seen and been impressed by the trailers of the movie and how I was not afraid that it would fail me as a fan and how will it be true to the book. And then I’ve read fantastic reviews from critics all around the world telling how good the movie was… until today.

Here’s what I can say to the movie.

THE MIRAGE

What I love about reading books that’ll be turned into movies is for the reason that I want my imagination to be brought to life; when you read something, you promote yourself to an illusionary world where you are the director and the camera man. When I precisely have a vision on a revolutionary epic story and will be translated to the silver screen; it makes me excited.

But due to the fact that, let’s be honest, an adaptation of a film from a book doesn’t need to be exactly what the book says since the true meaning of adaptation is not a Xerox copy; instead, the entire plot is taken into precautionary re-telling of the tale with small modifications but intends not to destroy the said plot.

But this one, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire movie is a true manifestation that you could adapt and Xerox at the same time! The movie did not go far away from the book, and still has the essence and contents in it.

The mirage of the events of the story inside my mind happens to look SOMEWHAT exactly in the movie! I have to applaud the director, Francis Lawrence, for doing such an amazing job to stay true to the book. Not all scenes happen to look exactly what I imagined, but close to that of the movie, especially the arena.

THE ACTING

Jennifer Lawrence won a best actress, b*tch. JenLaw is pleasing to me seeing her acting in all the hurtful emotions displaying a traumatized girl was a bravo.

And the rest of the cast were amazing in delivering their characters. I applaud Phillip Seymour Hoffman who played the role of the illusionary antagonist, Plutarch, who, I thought was scary and if I hadn’t read the book, I wouldn’t know that he’s part of the rebellion especially when he speaks with Donald Sutherland who played President Snow creating a nonchalant tension in the way he looks and speaks that displayed arrogance and evil-ish look.

THE DIRECTION AND MUSICAL SCORE

Thankfully, they’ve also changed into a perfect director, Francis Lawrence, who gave out the essence of the book beautifully. It’s one of those action packed books that they didn’t ruin at all. Instead, they magnify every scene that still captures your attention with strong musical score.

OVERALL

In totality, I was beyond amazed by the film and how it was taken from book to the screen with amazement! Not all my favorite books that were brought to the silver screen were this epic. I die watching the book’s magnificence re-engineered masterfully on the silver screen.

CRITIQUE – 4 ½ /5

THOR: THE DARK WORLD | MOVIE REVIEW

– ★★★☆ ☆ 

‘In the tone of disappointment, it’s like nothing happened.’

Thor: The Dark World is a sequel of the Thor movie in 2011, also a follow-up to the cross-over film: The Avengers, and an eight installment in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. Starring Chris Hemsworth (Rush) as Thor, Natalie Portman (Black Swan) as Thor’s love interest, Jane Foster, Tom Hiddleston (Midnight in Paris) as the vengeful Loki, Anthony Hopkins as Thor’s father, Odin, Christopher Ecclesston as Malekith and Rene Russo as Thor and Loki’s mother Frigga. The film was set to release November 8, 2013, yet ahead in the Philippines which was on October 30^th.

I truly am a GAGA fan of the cinematic universe. How I begged for something like this; films that are interconnected with each other and one day will cross-over in one epic movie and proceed. Marvel  Cinematic Universe is the answer to this plea.

They have created oneness and interrelated concepts in comic characters like Iron Man (which truly was the best of all franchises), Captain America, Hulk and Thor. They also even managed to expand the world in television and created a spin-off story about the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. which disappoints fans a bit, but not me.

I remembered not liking the first Thor movie due to its long precedence of build-up and little non-satisfying action scenes. And it doesn’t differ in Thor: The Dark World.

The movie started off with an explanation of Malekith’s treason to the Universe with Anthony Hopkins lame voice over. I wasn’t INTO IT because there was no intensity in the actor’s voice; he was just like a bored story teller and it should’ve been created with impact since it’s the opener of the movie, and it’s just infuriating hearing Hopkins lazy on that build-up.

And the build-up continues on and on in about an hour out of 112 minutes of the film which bored me to death, not even Frigga’s death created much impact.

There was a part where Malekith and his gang had already infiltrated Asgard which I also didn’t feel the threat due to the fact that there was no build-up on how Malekith would intensify his revenge.

The interesting part only exaggerated when (SPOILER, MAJOR SPOILER) Loki died and he battle between Thor and Malekith who acquired the Aether (A dark force in liquid form to extinguish the 9 realms and create darkness) from Jane who had possessed the said element.

Yet still the action scenes feel heavy.

Although, there were truly funny moments in the film that delights me, since everyone should know that any Marvel Cinematic Universe film would not be possible with no touch of comedy in it. I remember laughing my ass out loud when Loki transformed himself to Captain America that made Chris Evans’ uncredited cameo. The comedy lasted throughout the climatic ending, which wasn’t even present in the build-up part that lames it all up; not even the amazingly funny Kat Dennings’ made an strong laughable moments in the build-up parts (but not in the climax where she and her intern was really funny).

So everything sums up to the climax part and the rest of the film was a blah.

Thor gave me the impression that there are ups and downs in any cinematic world, and Thor was a down. The action scenes were ‘bad’ heavy; the build-up was too much that gives a bore; the climatic part wasn’t that satisfying; there were no ‘HELL YEAH, THAT’S THOR’ moment; and there was really nothing to say about the film but disappointment and nothing happened.

Thor: The Dark World is directed by Alan Taylor.

CRITIQUE:

Story – 2

Cinematography – 2

Musical Score – 3

Acting – 4

Direction – 3

Visual Effects (YES) – 5

OVERALL – 3.1