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Movie Review

Review: Man of Steel

Posted on June 17, 2013

First time I heard about the reboot I had to climb into my brain to figure out what exactly was so wrong about Superman Returns. Wiki was quick to remind me that it had a solid story and a strong cast, and it turned out–as it always does–to be about the money, or rather lack thereof. Well WB shouldn’t worry about this new outing. And from what I have seen and despite a few things I have heard, Man of Steel definitely deserves its box office receipts.

With Zack Snyder and Chris Nolan at the helm I knew I am not to expect a god-of-thunder-meets-metal-man type flick. There will be no bright colors, no script peppered with wisecrack-y jokes–although Man of Steel had its charming taps at humor. The movie digs deep into Superman’s origins the way no one has dared to before, and that is where it anchors its success. For a comic book hero who was born special, invulnerable, how else can people relate to him than to see him falter, shaken, in all means vulnerable? Here we see the man at his weakest, second guessing his every step, and it is from there where he emerges at his strongest. Built on a strong foundation of noteworthy actors, not excluding the silently charismatic Henry Cavill, the film succeeds in this feat.

As with any other movie, Man of Steel met its own share of hiccups. There were so many facets of Kal-el‘s past and present that Snyder wanted to show, and it is easy to see the seams where they were patched together. I could have seen more of Amy Adam‘s brightly feisty Lois Lane, and a lot less of the fight sequences that totaled at least one city and one small town. Those two hours were far from smooth sailing, but it aced it in sheer entertainment value.

And lastly, because I am of the female persuasion, I just really have to put down in writing that Henry Cavill was just breathtakingly fine. That shy unassuming smile on that chiseled jaw would be the death of me. As the small military lady said, “he’s hot,” and really, somebody had to say it.

Click for a sneak peek below. If you haven’t seen it–twice–you really should.

Photo and video credits to owner.

Movie Review

Review: Epic (2013)

Posted on June 9, 2013

This movie had a really great trailer. A sweeping view of the forest as the camera zooms to follow a Leafman, scored with a great song that sounds like something Deathcab for Cutie would do. This snippet of the adventure continued as the film rolled, starting the story of MK (Amanda Seyfried), a 17-year old girl presumably visiting her estranged father Professor Lombard (Jason Sudeikis). The eccentric professor could not be too bothered by the reappearance of his daughter as he is in the middle of proving the existence of tiny little people in the forest surrounding his home. Yes. Tiny little people. Good thing he was not crazy because they do exist! And are in fact waging war to protect the balance of the forest. The Leafmen keep the dark Boggans in check from polluting the forest with rot and decay. But the Boggans led by Mandrake (voiced by the sinister Christoph Waltz, of whom I will now forever be frightened of) see a hole in the defenses as the Leafmen’s Queen Tara (Beyonce) engages in an elaborate once-in-a-hundred-years’ ritual to choose a pod that will be her heir. The Boggans attack, killing the Queen, and she falls just as MK runs to the forest. The human girl shrinks to tiny people size, and guess who’s not laughing at her father’s crazy now.

The adventure continues as MK together with head Leafman Ronin(Colin Farell. IKR, weird) and rogue, irresponsible, insensitive (okay, he made penance in the end) younger Nod (Josh Hutcherson) and pod-caretakers Mub (Aziz Ansari) the slug and Grub (Chris O’Dowd) the snail journey to protect the chosen pod, just as Mandrake continues his pursuit.

The story is elaborate and convoluted enough to make for a rich Pixar movie experience, or a shambled pile of unorganized plot lines. And it pains me to say Epic scores somewhere in the middle. In my initial disappointment, I was quick to surmise that maybe I’m just too old for movies with talking slugs and tiny people. But I have enjoyed my fair share of Pixar and Disney outings, so that can’t be it. The movie had its healthy share of laughs (slug humor at its finest), tears, PG romance, and tense intense action scenes. But throughout the 102 minutes of film I sat there biting my lip for more. More jokes, more moments, more coordination maybe. Just, more. For one, quite a few things were left unclear. I mean, was I the only one curious about what happened to MK’s mother and more importantly, to poor sweet Ozzie the dog? Beyonce’s Queen Tara was likewise either underdeveloped, miscast or both, apart from other nitpickings I tried to swat away. As one critic pointed out, the movie lacked the usual special-ness of a Pixar film, and although I did not march angrily back to the ticket booth for a refund, I was sad the movie was not epic as promised.

Photo credits to owner.

Movie Review

Review: Iron Man 3

Posted on June 9, 2013

I realize this review is hilariously overdue. But in the grand scheme of the world that is the Internet, sometimes time moves so fast it becomes irrelevant. Yeah, that’s just an excuse. Haha. But I digress. And I don’t have an entire essay about Iron Man 3 anyway. As I have said, by this time everyone has watched and re-watched and raved about the sublime awesomeness of this movie. Just two things I’ve picked up from Marvel‘s most recent comic-book movie outing:

1. Nuking an alien wormhole and surviving to not enjoy telling the tale will cause paranoia and panic attacks. Pretty understandable, even if thou art Tony Stark, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Just imagine: one day there you were strutting about thinking you are the most awesome being on the planet. Next thing you know, something called the god of thunder lands heavily on top of a fighter jet, an energy cube opens a gateway to the hell of the universe, and yeah say what? Aliens are real and are out to get you. Cue anxiety attack;

2. Pepper Potts is a superhuman human being. Not because of Extremis, not because she survived a 500-foot fall into an inferno and lived to destroy the super villain who threatened to kill the love of her life. But because she is an intelligent, strong, self-sufficient individual who stood her own in a vicious battlefield of men. And she saved Iron Man‘s ass. That too.

Oh, one last thing: 3. as Tony Stark would tell you as the film draws to a close, it is called a suit of armor for a reason. And once you’re ready, you have to take it off.

Photo credits to its owner #IronMan3 #Pottsrulestheworld

Movie Review

Review: It Takes a Man and a Woman

Posted on April 20, 2013

Yes, I am at least two weeks late. But yes, I am still writing about it, which should tell you a lot about what I thought about this movie. Spoiler alert: two thumbs up, a few salty tears, and a belly aching from laughter.

Star Cinema and Viva Film‘s latest outing It Takes a Man and a Woman reunites Sarah Geronimo and John Lloyd Cruz in their blockbuster roles as the cheerful yet painfully naive Laida Magtalas and blunt, egotistic, son of a billionaire Miggy Montenegro. Continue Reading

Movie Review

Review: Beautiful Creatures

Posted on March 3, 2013

Lena and Ethan start the nth star-crossed love affair of this generation.

I had no plans of watching this film for two basic reasons – 1. I had virtually no time to waste, and 2. I was pretty much ready to retire Twilight and the entire concept of forbidden love in a little cramped box that is my adolescence. I thought we all have to stop romanticizing forever and grow up. But as a sucker for guilt trips and free tickets, I thought and hoped two more hours of adolescent cliche shouldn’t hurt very much.

Based on a novel of the same name, the film Beautiful Creatures tells the tale of Ethan Wate, played by Alden Ehrenreich, a boy old for his years and wiser and braver than their small town of Gatlin, South Carolina allowed. His boring high school life is recently plagued by strange dreams of a strange unknown girl that leaves him parched and wanting in the morning. One day, Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert), the niece of the town’s reclusive founder arrives. A new girl in school, a new specimen for the religious and the oppressive of their town to examine and judge, the girl in Ethan’s dreams. The boy is smitten. The girl has a haunting past, a suspended present, and an undecided future. They fall in love through the thick of magic, and the tug of war between light and dark begins.

It is an interesting enough story that can sustain your interest in its 124 minute run. The plot and twists, though not entirely original, still manage to surprise. It employed witty, humorous dialogue; fast and smart, like Gilmore Girls gone South Carolina

But I give more credit to the actors than to the story itself. The film made the en vogue decision to book a big name actor in nearly every supporting role. From the cool debonair Jeremy Irons to the mad megalomaniac of Emma Thompson, to the sexy scene-stealer Emmy Rossum, the film was rife with talent. The relatively unknown leads also performed to par. Ehrenreich and Englert played a good game of wit throughout, displaying good chemistry, with Ehrenreich’s dorky charm a good balance to Englert’s moody goth. The film was also able to evoke darkness and horror from beyond the dark Ravenwood manor. The town of Gatlin itself was a supporting character, alive and breathing down your neck.

The movie plays interestingly around the popular themes of eternity, destiny and choice. At the very least, the story tries to impart a few lessons that don’t require a magic spell. Twilight fans will be wanting a more handsome lead, but the plot runs its own course and deserves a separate merit. At the end of it, I did not feel compelled to go off and read the series. That could be just me; I need a new literary genre. But I did leave my seat saying, “not bad, not bad at all,” and that is a lot more than I honestly expected.

Photo credits to gamezone.com

Movie Review

Review: John McClane and John McClane Jr Like to Die Hard

Posted on February 23, 2013

A Good Day to Die Hard

The only thing I knew about the Die Hard films was that it was Joey and Chandler‘s favorite movie. Good thing my sparse knowledge doesn’t matter, because apparently none of the preceding four films had anything to do with the latest one.

A Good Day to Die hard is the fifth, and possibly not the last film in the franchise. That is if the fact that Bruce Willis can still hold and shoot many guns and barrel an armored Mercedes Benz truck through a vicious car chase scene at his age is indicative of anything. Also the film did well in the box office given its none-too-shy $92M budget.

The film revolves around two story lines – John McClane and his “vacation” in Germany to look for his imprisoned and estranged son John “Jack” McClane Jr played by Hollywood newbie Jai Courtney (who looked to me like a Phillip Phillips meets Shia La Beouf gone way buff), and the convoluted story of a political prisoner being harassed by a corrupt German politician. Of course, there is a “file” in question that people will shoot anyone in the head for, and of course, the American CIA is involved, the hero that will save the day. Did I hear you say “twist”? Ah, you will not be disappointed.

There are other things, however, to be disappointed about. For one, I already saw a version of that twist in Charlie’s Angels (though yes, that probably does not count as a legitimate action movie). And the John and Jack father-son drama got old and predictable pretty quickly. The actors have definite chemistry and a lot of funny moments, but I really wish Willis didn’t have to say “I am your father” too many times. He was like a clingy, gun slinging Darth Vader.

By this time, you would’ve realized I do not watch too many Rambo-type action films, because yes, often, the genre doesn’t put too much value on a well written script. But the Die Hard franchise had such a good rap and Willis is a good actor, so I was a little hopeful.

If however, you came in to the theater to see a long and violent car (truck) chase scene through heavy traffic wherein a lot of German cars get totaled, lots of heavy artillery and explosions every few frames, a sexy evil German lady in stilettos and a gun, and the two McClanes surviving bullet wounds, falls off buildings and what looked like a uranium contaminated explosion, then this is the film for you. A Good Day to Die is an action film at its very core, and it was a good adventure. I just really hope that one day, in general, the movie villains will stop gloating and exposing their megalomaniac intents before they kill the protagonists. That will make a good new twist.

Photo credits to sanfrancisco.cbsglobal.com