June 29, 2012
There were so many reasons why I was ready NOT to like this movie. First of all, the original Sam Raimi-Tobey Maguire trilogy was so recent. They were done very well and did so well also box-office wise. I did not really feel the need to make this reboot at all, much less, too soon after the "Spider Man 3." I was also very leery about the choice of Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider Man. Watching the trailers, I do not know what it was about Garfield's face and body build that did not seem right to be Peter Parker. Anyway, the hype surrounding this film really built up, as evidenced by the grand first day showing today in almost 100% of cinemas all over the country. Of course, it was inevitable that my whole family will still go and watch!As it began by telling Peter Parker's high school life, you see that Director Marc Webb was trying so hard to make it different from the first Tobey Maguire movie, and this can be noticed as the movie went along. The story of how Peter was bitten by the super-spider was so far-fetched and unbelievable. The story of how Gwen and Peter became a couple seemed so rushed. The story of Peter's parents, which was what I thought would be a main theme in this movie, was hardly tackled in any significant detail at all. Andrew Garfield painted a different Peter Parker than Tobey Maguire. Garfield made the role his own by amp-ing up the angst. I have to grant that Andrew was a better dramatic actor than Tobey. His scenes with veteran actors Martin Sheen and Sally Field (as Uncle Ben and Aunt May) were heartfelt and sincere, as with his romantic scenes with Emma Stone (as Gwen Stacy). However, he seems to become too schizophrenic when he dons his Spider Man costume, as he becomes all too cocky for comfort. Emma Stone acted very well as Gwen Stacy. She was a much better love interest than Kirsten Dunst was as MJ in the first movie. I guess it was because Gwen was written to be smart and courageous, unlike MJ who was nothing more than a mere damsel in distress. Rhys Ifans does an effective departure from his usual comedy roles to play the tragic Dr. Curt Connors. It was just too bad that the story of his descent into his Lizard madness was all too sudden to be affecting or logical. Admittedly, there were really very awesome-looking visual effects in this movie. The cartoon-y bright multi-color palette of the Tobey version was replaced by a darker and more serious mood in this one, making it fit more into the Marvel canons. Overall though, while the effort was there but the final impact of this film could eventually be forgettable. Even the extra scene in the end credits hinting a second installment was predictable. After watching, all my three kids declared that they liked the Tobey version than this. Ultimately, we still remember the Tobey Maguire films too much for this film to take any serious roots into our memory. Let's see if the next installments of this reboot series will make a difference.
June 14, 2012
It is 1987. Sherrie (Julianne Hough) rides a bus from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Los Angeles, California to fulfill her rock and roll dreams. On her first night in Hollywood, her idealism was shattered when her luggage with her precious rock music records were stolen. She meets struggling musician Drew (Diego Boneta), who helped her get a job in THE legendary rock club on the strip called The Bourbon Room, run by odd couple Dennis (Alec Baldwin) and Lonny (Russell Brand). Sherrie could not have come at a better time because The Bourbon Room has booked her idol, rock superstar Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise), to play his final gig with his band Arsenal before going solo. Also on Stacee's case are the mayor (Bryan Cranston) and his rabidly anti-rock wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones), his oily manager (Paul Giamatti) and Rolling Stones reporter (Malin Akerman).The actors really give it their cheesy all in their singing and acting. Julianna Hough and Diego Boneta were charming and good singers as the central couple, but they were upstaged by the senior stars, particularly Tom Cruise. Cruise plays a character so far off from the type anyone thought he would or could do. I had my doubts when I heard he would be doing this role and doing his own singing to boot. This was a very physical role for Cruise as he hardly had wordy lines to say. He had the aging rock star look down pat, shirtless and drunk the whole time. I can imagine Steven Tyler like this when he is not on American Idol! However, if you watch and listen to Cruise's performance of "Wanted Dead or Alive" and "Pour Some Sugar on Me," you'll really believe that he is indeed a rock god! Not too successful though was Catherine Zeta-Jones, whose scheming Stepford-wife-type character was poorly written and executed, especially in the epilogue.Some songs fit right in, some songs were pretty awkward. The musical mash-ups were very well done. The popular TV series "Glee" has robbed this movie of surprises since it obviously got its inspiration from this musical play, particularly the finale number "Don't Stop Believing," a song which remains to be "Glee"'s biggest hit. Many of the songs in "Rock of Ages" have also been sung on "Glee." (Was it coincidence too that Director Adam Shankman also directed a couple of "Glee" episodes"?) The song that got the most riotous audience reaction though was REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling," which I will never hear in the same way again after the hilarious scene where it was sung here. OK, the story is not the main attraction here. The multiple intersecting story lines were all Hollywood cliches -- small town girl going to the big city to find her luck; boy meets, loses and gets back the girl; an old business institution on the brink of financial ruin; a jaded star gets a wake-up call; stripper madame with a heart of gold (Mary J. Blige), etc... -- you name it. Scenes of explicit sexual, alcoholic and drugged debauchery (which you cannot really separate from a movie about rock and roll), as well as sexy pole-dancing scenes in a strip club, may make some members of the audience uncomfortable. This movie is not for young kids at all. But the mixing in of very popular songs, most of them Number 1 hits, made this fun and entertaining for people who grew up in the 80s like me. As a kid of the 1980s where glam rock anthems and power ballads ruled the music scene, I really enjoyed and was singing along with practically all the songs in this movie. By sheer chance, we are set to watch the local musical play production of "Rock of Ages" tomorrow night, and let's see how these two versions compare.
June 10, 2012
The first "Madagascar" was unexpectedly funny and entertaining. Those four lead characters Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman were delightful and pretty likable. However, the second one already gave me the feeling that the franchise was getting tired. Now that the Penguins already have their own TV show, I don't really want to see them on screen anymore! However, how could I say no to the kids who wanted to see this third installment? I just had to grin and shell out for the tickets.
Missing their zoo in New York after a long stay in Africa (from the second film), our four friends now make their way to Europe in order to find a way to go back to their old home. While being pursued by the French Animal Control officers, led by the superhuman-ly relentless Captain Chantel Dubois (who wants Alex the Lion's head on her wall), the four join a circus animal train to escape. How opportune that this particular train was en route to New York too. So now, Alex and friends have to help their new friends get their circus act together in order to be finally NYC-bound.
I felt that this whole flimsy story was just there to in order set up the stage for one spectacular scene: a very colorful and beautifully- animated "Fantasia"-inspired sequence of multi-animal circus acrobatics accompanied by Katy Perry's hit song "Firework." The relationship of the four friends, which was the center of the first two episodes, were hardly tackled at all. This time it was just all about the action of eluding the animal catchers and getting to New York. The voice work was flawless as usual. Having Frances McDormand there as the vicious Capt. Dubois and Jessica Chastain as the cute jaguar-trapeze artist Gia were nice to know as the final credits were running.
Overall, I did not enjoy this one too much. I did not really have any LOL-moments while watching this particular installment. There were in fact a lot of cringe-worthy moments led by that very lame sequence where Marty was painted white with big polka dots and wearing a huge multi- colored Afro wig. As for the new characters, the ability of Vitaly the Tiger to go through small hoops was too impossible, the face of Stefano the Seal is too annoying to be cute, and the bear "girlfriend" of King Julien the Lemur felt unnecessary. This one is really strictly for the kids.
June 7, 2012
In the year 2089, a couple of scientists Holloway (Logan Marshall Green) and Shaw (Noomi Rapace) find pictograms in various caves and ancient temples which suggest that human life originated from a faraway star system (I don't know how they came up with that wild premise). Under the sponsorship of old trillionaire Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce in atrocious old-age make-up), they embark a 2-year expedition with more scientists in a vessel called "Prometheus" to search for these "engineers" of the human race. The aliens and alien technology they encounter there threatened not only the crew members, as well as the very existence of Earth itself. Can the Prometheus escape this alien threat that they have unleashed upon themselves?The set decoration, cinematography, editing, sound and visual effects are by all means top-notch under the assured direction of veteran Ridley Scott. This is certainly a beautiful film to watch. However, the utter disregard for any scientific principles of research investigation and medicine is really very distracting. These "scientists" in this crew do not follow very basic scientific procedures, really very illogical. Would you so carelessly remove your helmet in an unknown atmosphere just because your equipment says it is safe? Would you do an autopsy of an alien head with your face mask hanging around your neck? Could you simply get up and run right after a bloody do-it-yourself Caesarean operation? Would the DNA of the ancient "engineers" still EXACTLY MATCH with human DNA after thousands of years without any mutation? There simply too many mind-boggling questions. Was that breath-taking opening shot of a volcanic lake supposed to be Earth? When that white alien drank the black stuff, his DNA was seen mutating in the water, what then? Could an android (Michael Fassbender) really be deceitful, and why would he be? What is the point of Charlize Theron's icy character Vickers? Even the epilogue puzzles with even more questions. The way that last alien looked with the big horn on its head felt totally forced, and obviously shoehorned to coincide with the original "Alien" movie, also created and directed by Ridley Scott. So overall, this movie is just OK. It is indeed a visual spectacle, but the story development leaves so much to be desired. Some movies you could enter and leave your brain checked at the door, but not this one. In this type of movie, you will expect some scientific credibility in order for it to work. Unfortunately, "Prometheus" fails in that regard.
May 26, 2012
I am not exactly a Will Smith fan. I think the last Will Smith film I watched and liked was the first "Men in Black" film back in 1997. I was surprised to learn that there will be another installment of "Men in Black" this year, the third of the series. The second MiB was shown in 2002, and I did not even care to finish that one. Will the ten years between the last episode and this one make a difference? I needed to see that.In this film, a vicious alien villain known as Boris the Animal escapes from his prison on the moon, where he had been locked up since being arrested by Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) back in 1969. One day, Agent K disappears from the present day. His partner Agent J (Will Smith) realizes that K had been assassinated by Boris forty years ago, which caused a major change of events, allowing Boris' alien race to overrun the Earth. J had to find a way to travel back in time to 1969 in order to save K and rectify the tragic consequences of his death. Can J save K and in turn save the Earth from the clutches of Boris?The odd couple was just as they were before in the first films. Will Smith is still his old loudmouth Agent J as Tommy Lee Jones was his tight-lipped Agent K. As J goes back to the past, he will interact with the young 29-year old K, perfectly played by Josh Brolin. Brolin amazingly captures the laconic persona, and even the distinct voice, of Jones so well that they seemed to have been one and the same actor. It was also good to see Emma Thompson again in a major film as she portrayed Agent O, another senior agent with a soft spot for K. The younger Agent O was played by a cutie named Alice Eve, but she certainly did not convince us that she would look or act like Emma Thompson when she grows older.I must say that this film was really a most entertaining one. Well, maybe more for me than for my kids. Younger audiences may find the jokes about 1969 cultural references, such as the hippies, the racial tension, etc., to be a bit difficult to grasp. But the fun action sequences with some exciting futuristic vehicles and weaponry, the imaginative and repulsive aliens made by no less than the master monster-maker Rick Baker, the thrilling integration of the historic Apollo 11 lift-off, and the touching revelation of K's big secret made this a very good and enjoyable movie to watch. 3D did not seem necessary. Director Barry Sonnenfeld got it right this time, and this segment certainly gave perfect closure to the story arc of the whole series.
May 10, 2012
Being a Jason Statham film I was thinking I could just watch this on DVD like the other Jason Statham films I had seen before like "The Mechanic" or "Killer Elite." I decided to give this one a go because I had some time to kill before a meeting and I was definitely not going to watch "What to Expect When You're Expecting."
"Safe" had all the well-executed and exciting action scenes, brutal fistfights and explosive gunfights and unbelievable car chases in the streets of the Big Apple, expected of a Jason Statham film. Much to my surprise though, this particular Jason Statham film actually had a good story in it.
Jason Statham plays Luke Wright, an ex-cop who had fallen from grace and is now languishing in the mixed martial arts circuit. One day at the subway, feeling at the end of his rope and contemplating suicide, Luke spots a young Chinese girl in peril from some Russian hooligans. He decides to help the girl escape, and this brings him and his ward into some really harrowing danger facing not one, but three deadly gangs: the Chinese, the Russians and the rouge cops within the NYPD itself.
Jason Statham of course, we all know what he can do, and he does not disappoint in the flawed action hero area, bad-ass as ever. Granted that the young Chinese actress Catherine Chan, who played the girl-in-distress Mei, is not exactly the Asian Dakota Fanning, she was able to pull off her 'math genius with a prodigious memory' character well-enough for a first-timer in a starring role. Interestingly, a Filipino-Chinese Hollywood actor Reggie Lee plays a big role as Mei's adoptive father and does quite well also.
I think this was a well-written action film with a multi-layered story that you can follow while enjoying the exhilarating action scenes. The dramatic moments are not too cheesy nor forced. As Chinese and Russian gangs are involved, you will have to read quite a number of subtitles. Overall this is an entertaining way to kill some spare time, despite the generic title. Recommended for fans of incredibly violent slam-bang action.
May 10, 2012
I admit I am a bit wary about Tim Burton and his quirky dark films, some of which I did not really like too much. However with so much advanced hype about this particular collaboration with Johnny Depp, I felt compelled to watch it. I am happy I did. It was certainly one of the most visually-arresting fantasy-black comedies I have seen, since maybe "Death Becomes Her." The story of "Dark Shadows" begins in the 18th century when the Collins family crossed the Atlantic to begin their fishing business in Maine. Love-struck maid Angelique (Eva Green) took a fancy to the Collins scion Barnabas (Johnny Depp). Her love remained unrequited though because Barnaby became enamored with sweet Josette (Bella Heathcote). With the traditional fury expected from a woman scorned, Angelique resorted to powerful black magic to kill Josette and turn Barnaby into a vampire. The main story picks up 200 years later in 1972, when Barnabas was released from his grave by a road crew. He not only meets the very dysfunctional current generation of Collins, he also meets Angelique again! It seems that this witch also survived the centuries past, and is now the CEO of the competitor fishing company, Angel Bay. So, will Angelique finally possess Barnabas' love? Or will the pretty doe-eyed governess Victoria (also Heathcote) succeed to win him back, where her look-alike Josette failed 200 years ago?A lot of the charm came from the cast who played their characters in this dark comedy so tongue-in-cheek, it was delightful. Johnny Depp, playing an undead character from 200 years ago waking up again in 1972, so funny as he encounters recent inventions. Eva Green, I have never seen her attack a role with this much ooomph and passion before. I have seen her before drably playing characters in films like "The Dreamers," "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Casino Royale." This performance as Angie is a high point in her acting career. I had never seen Bella Heathcote act in anything before, but I understand how Barnabas could be so mesmerized by her beauty. Of course it won't be a Tim Burton without Helena Bonham-Carter, and here she plays a trippy redhead psychiatrist. I do not always like her characters before, but here she is also so funny! The other supporting characters played by Michelle Pfeiffer, Jackie Earl Haley and the kids were not so remarkable. The character twist that involves the daughter Carolyn was so sudden and out-of-the-blue that it does not really contribute much to the improvement of the story.For me, the best feature of this film is its amazing look. The visual effects, costumes and set design were all top-notch. They set the mood and the period of the story very effectively. And the soundtrack of early 70s songs, beginning with "Nights in White Satin" over the opening credits, wow! The song choices were unexpected, surprising and nostalgic at the same time. Despite my raves, I know this film will not really appeal to all sectors. I found out during the credits that this was based on a TV show. I had not see this since the series was from the late 60s so I would not know how faithful this film was to its inspiration. I enjoyed it a lot. I found it very well-conceptualized and well-executed, despite the shortcomings of the script. I must admit the derivative script is not really the highlight of this film. It seems it contains various elements which had been bits and pieces of several ghost and vampire films we have seen before. Much to my chagrin, the violent make- out scene and the final conversation on the cliff edge came straight out of the "Twilight" films! However, the film as a whole was just very beautiful to watch, in a Gothic and eerie sort of way. Just don't expect too much, sit back and enjoy it!
May 9, 2012
After the uneven, not-so-good results of other remakes of 80s TV series like "Charlie's Angels," "Miami Vice," or "The A-Team," I was not really expecting to like this remake of "21 Jump Street." This is especially since it was going to be a comedy, which usually mocks the original, instead of pay tribute to it. However, with critics fawning all over it with rave reviews, I was compelled to give it a chance.
Like the original TV series that inspired it, a couple of young-looking cops -- fat nerd Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and dimwit jock Jenko (Channing Tatum) -- are given the assignment to go undercover in a high school to investigate the proliferation of designer drugs. The film follows their misadventures as the case also challenges them individually and tests their friendship.
After raunchy comedies had their heyday last year (with "Hangover 2," "Bridesmaids," "Horrible Bosses"), the gross-out gags here were tame in comparison. I did not enjoy seeing high school kids being bullies or drug addicts or foul-mouths. However, the chemistry between the two leads, and the heart of the story line about their friendship did make a difference. The surprise climactic cameo guest appearances were very welcome indeed, though I was disappointed about how that ended.
I have not seen "Superbad" which launched Jonah Hill into comic superstardom. I only knew him from his more serious Oscar-nominated turn in "Moneyball." He is quite funny as Schmidt. He was not afraid to make fun of himself. Anyone who would not be embarrassed about running around in a dorky green Peter Pan costume while chasing criminals should be given top props. Channing Tatum is more known as a romantic lead ("Step Up") or action hero ("GI Joe"), so he was the unknown quantity in this movie. While his straight man act is quite unexpectedly okay, he still looked a bit uncomfortable in a lot of scenes.
Overall, this film was OK. It was a hilarious and fun ride in general, and it had a heart amidst all that. Warning though that you would have to go through rough patches of obscenities and drug scenes involving high school kids which may not really sit well with all audiences.
May 3, 2012
"A Cabin in the Woods" had received so much critical praise as an excellent horror film, so this horror movie fan could not resist a bait like that. I did not read anything about the plot nor have I seen the trailer before going into the theater this morning. What can I say, this must be one of the most convoluted horror stories ever put in screen!
It starts with a couple of old guys (one of them Richard Jenkins) in an unspecified company talking about their mundane lives. Then, the scene cuts to some college kids (one of them Chris Hemsworth) who were about to go on a road trip. It is only later when you see the connection between these two disparate sets of characters. We would then see a situation seen in countless horror flicks where the characters are trapped in a lonely cabin in the God-forsaken woods where they are killed off one by one by zombie rednecks. But is that all there really is to it? Not by a long shot!
The five college kids are stereotypical of what we see in practically every horror movie we had ever seen before: the whore, the athlete, the scholar, the fool and the virgin. Cliché you say, but this literally multi-layered script by wunderkind writer Joss Whedon (who just gave us the masterpiece called "The Avengers") and Director Drew Goddard would actually attempt to explain why these five characters should be present in all horror movies all over the world. I know that sentence probably made no sense, but that is the main premise of this over-reaching screenplay. You would never imagine what the bigger story would be, and who actually gets to deliver the explanatory lines towards the end.
Acting is not a focus here, and it may actually be intentionally bad as a send-up to most horror flicks. The character of Chris Hemsworth could actually be played by any jock actor and it would not have made a difference. The computer-generated effects were excellent especially in the grand mayhem scenes where practically all the horror creatures of movie lore make a gory appearance. This movie had an ambitious conceit which would be the main bone of contention of those who like and dislike this complicated film: Do you buy Whedon's wild theory about horror movies or not? I certainly liked it and I'm buying it.
April 28, 2012
The anticipation for this film has been building up so many months since the showing of the solo movies about each of the heroes that comprise this superstar group -- Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and finally, Captain America. These individual films were all very good on their own, so very expectations are foisted on this special film that would unite all of them in one big adventure. Even though I am out of town now, that did not stop me from catching this film with some Marvel comics geeks. And for once, a film has come that fulfills it's advanced hype, and then some!The film follows how these heroes were called together and assembled by Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. to retrieve a blue high-energy cube called the Tesseract stolen by the Asgard god Loki. It was fun how the film depicted the clash of their individual big egos of the heroes, and they did not really get along with each other right away, as would be expected. There is humor along with the high-intensity action. I felt though that some "funny" scenes involving Tony Stark were too self- indulgent for comfort in a "team" film like this.It was great to see all of these heroes get their fair share of screen time, even the lesser known ones, like the super-archer Hawkeye (the very busy Jeremy Renner) and the amazing fighter Black Widow (stunningly portrayed by the beautiful Scarlett Johansson). The others played their characters as they did in their solo movies, and amazingly, they all worked so well together here: the imperious Thor by Chris Hemsworth, the patriotic Captain America by Chris Evans and the haughty Tony Stark / Iron Man by Robert Downey Jr. People doubted if Marc Ruffalo could take Ed Norton's place as Dr. Bruce Banner and the Hulk, but Ruffalo actually imbued this character with a unique charm previously unseen in other incarnations. The Hulk received the loudest cheers from the crowd! Even the ever-loyal Agent Coulsen (Clark Gregg) gets his own dramatic moment.This film is a definite must-see not only for all fans of Marvel comics, but for fans of action/fantasy films in general. This is real triumph for director Josh Whedon. Don't miss the extra scene included in the middle of the final credits for it will surely get you excited.
April 21, 2012
This is definitely my type of movie. A movie that combines my interests for monarchic history, political intrigue and Shakespearean literature ALL IN ONE! It presents to us the premise that the William Shakespeare we know is just a front for a certain Earl of Essex who could not claim authorship because of political reasons. The twisted tale woven by writer John Orloff may not really be accurate historically (who knows?), but definitely,it was very imaginative and clever, as delivered to us on the screen by veteran director Roland Emmerich. I will see Emmerich now in a different light after disliking his more famous works, like "Independence Day," "Godzilla" and the clunky "2012."The story took its time in expounding on its complicated plot lines. Some viewers may be turned off by the flashbacks and fast-forwards in scenes, as we meet the characters at different ages played by different actors, which may really be quite confusing at first. But you will certainly be rewarded greatly for your patience in hanging on. The actors were generally British and not really well-known to many, except perhaps for the exceptional Vanessa Redgrave as Queen Elizabeth I. Rhys Ifans played the elder and very talented Earl of Oxford with so much tragic restraint and nobility. Edward Hogg was properly slimy in his portrayal of the treacherous adviser Robert Cecil. Rafe Spall plays loutish actor Will Shakespeare with ironic glee. I heartily recommend everyone to watch this film. It is now showing exclusively in Ayala Cinemas only. Films of this devious wit and admirable cleverness are really rare to come by, and we should not waste the chance to watch it!
