This is probably the most obscure title I have to type. And I haven’t even gotten to the pictures.
Any fan of the Jane Austen classic Pride and Prejudice would probably have a working knowledge of the wet shirt scene, a.k.a. sexy Mr Darcy scene, a.k.a. sexy lake scene. Although in the book in its consistent theme of strict prudence when it came to the man who owned half of Derbyshire, this scene never happened, the BBC mini series adaptation thought it fit to install a few minutes wherein the dapper Colin Firth falls off his horse into his own lake, just when Elizabeth Bennet was taking a walk. Continue Reading
Gru is back. Because the first film moved a lot of hearts and a lot of moolah.
Despicable Me 2 picked up where its predecessor left off, showing what the ex-hapless villain Gru is up to after doing the 360 and completely shunning his evil ways. For one, Gru has converted his evil lair into an unnecessarily elaborate production line for bad-tasting jelly, his new found occupation. This while staging the most kick-ass birthday party for his ball of endless cuteness, Agnes, the youngest of his three adopted geerrrls together with Edith and Margo. But of course the many adventures of a full time dad and a new entrepreneur is not a thick enough plot for a sequel. There has to be some bad guy action!! Enter the Anti Villain League (AVL), who send their new agent Lucy Wilde to recruit (tase and kidnap) the reformed Gru. The goal: to catch the villain who has stolen a mutagen that can transform the most adorable creatures to mindless killing machines. Why Gru? Because as an ex-villain, he is expected to know exactly how to catch one. Still sound like a thin plot? Well throw in a blind-dating side story, a girl-phobia back story, a dash of spunk from the flexible and fumbling Agent Wilde, a presumed dead macho villain and his smexy accent, his douchebag Latino-Justin Beiber son, and large doses of pranks and musical vignettes care of the hilarious minions. It looks a little bit like this: Continue Reading
Himura Kenshin returns in two sequels set for release in Japan in 2014.
Yeah that was intended to be grammatically confusing. I guess I cannot be witty or original with titles right now as I am still cartwheeling with joy from the announcement that my favorite scarred samurai is coming back for not one, but TWO confirmed sequels!!
(short pause for fan boy and fan girl high fives)
As reported by ANC News last July 3, Japanese magazine Jump Square announced that director Keishi Otomo will return to helm two upcoming movies– Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika-hen (Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire Arc) and Rurouni Kenshin: Densetsu no Saigo-hen (Rurouni Kenshin: The End of a Legend Arc). Takeru Sato will be reprising the titular role of Kenshin Himura, with Tatsuya Fujiwara (popular as Light Yagami to fans of the Death Note live action films) and Shuya Nanahara of Battle Royale fame playing the role of Kenshin’s greatest nemesis ever, Shishio Makoto.
I’m going to take a calculated guess that fans of the manga and the series could only hope for nothing else than the Shishio arc to come alive in a movie. The first film has quieted our qualms of a shaky, corny rendition of the cult hit. So by now I think we are all just on the edge of our seats to see the Kyoto plot played out (very much condensed!) on the silver screen. As for the third sequel, I am crossing my fingers this is the Shinichi arc. If yes, then 2014 is going to be one epic year.
A know-it-all FBI agent, a Boston cop who has a personal grudge against hygiene, a Russian drug mob (of course), plus throw in an chauvinistic albino, a muy caliente FBI boss, a Wayans brother, Joey McIntyre (I don’t know why) and a slew of genius SNL casting spots and you got yourself the Heat. The female buddy cop comedy is the first of its sort from Paul Feig(Bridesmaids) and arguably the first of its kind in a genre dominated by men. The movie is led by comedy genius Sandra Bullock as FBI agent with a long rod up her bottom, Sarah Ashburn, and firecracker Melissa McCarthy as the f-word bombing, grungy Boston cop Shannon Mullins. Ashburn, an intelligent, driven yet obnoxious and universally hated agent gets assigned to Boston as a final test for a promotion from her boss. There she meets–and wrestles with–Mullins, who for all her crazy antics and civilian beating will make you wonder if she really is a cop. The two slip and stumble over their strong initial dislike of each other but eventually seal a diplomatic truce to break the case of Larkin, a Russian drub mobster who has been slicing and dicing (not in a fun way) all the small dealers in town to get monopoly of the business.
It is a comedy of errors and contrasts, with a few socio-political swipes at female equality in the testosterone-fueled workplace, and has a predictably happy ending plot. In a few adequately cheesy bits, we get a glimpse of Ashburn’s sad childhood (which explains a lot) and Mullins’ 110% dysfunctional yet loving family. There were guns–lots of them–blown up cars, and a drunk dancing montage at a shady bar. Though not perfect, the movie succeeds in what I would surmise is its main goal–getting the audience to crawl on all floors laughing. Bullock is always smart and pitch perfect in comedies, and McCarthy is a rising star in the form of a careening bulldozer. My favorite scene is when McCarthy’s Mullins was looking for her Captain’s balls. And really, you just have to see it to believe it.
In my ongoing yet choppy quest to go organic without completely breaking the bank, I have come to know a true friend in Human Heart Nature (or to me, just Human Nature). The brand is proudly Filipino, pro-poor and pro-environment, its slogan already strumming the right chord on my social conscience. Add the fact that the products are affordable, organic, and effective, well then I am sold. The following are my tried and tested favorites: Continue Reading
