DEATH OF TRADITIONAL CINEMA

Arguably the mother of all Filipino camp films, Joey Gosiengfiao's TEMPTATION ISLAND is scatter shot, over the top, and also relentlessly funny. Maybe it is created that way because of the campy nature of the film. If you can get past the non sequitur (the models get whisked in a deserted island after a shipwreck, yet Anita Linda who plays the mom of one of the models gets safely home in Manila?), the cheesy effects (of course it was a different time so a little understanding is extended), and Dina Bonnevie's bad acting, then there's plenty of good stuff in TEMPTATION ISLAND. First of all, the lines are outrageous. And here's my favorite: Suzanne: You have no right to touch anything that doesn't belong to you. Azenith: Kesehoda ka.   Ke mayaman, ke mahirap, ke malinis, ke marumi, pantay-pantay tayo rito.  Suzanne: Aba, aba sumusobra ka na! Minsan ka lang naging survivor eh komunista ka na. And besides wala kang makikitang pagkain dyan because I'm on a very...

A CRY IN THE DARK is a perfect example of how pervasive the media can be, and how irresponsible it can become in pursuit of making the headlines. When a trekking holiday up on Ayers Rock in Australia ends up in tragedy for couple Michael and Libby Chamberlain (played with full conviction by Sam Neill and Meryl Streep), a legal fiasco ensued and a media frenzy soon became a sensational serial. It’s bad enough that the couple lost their baby daughter to a dingo (insert Meryl’s famous line: “The dingo took my baby!); now they also have to deal with public reaction, bumbling cops, and the possibility of spending their lives in prison. And the fact that they also have to deal with their relationship as husband and wife and as a family is not yet included in this terrible ordeal. Director Fred Schepisi masterfully crafts a suspenseful and momentous legal and moral playground that is also a harrowing picture of an Australian family in peril at the same time. What’s different from all other...

TAKING CHANCE is the stirring true story of a soldier's dedication to another soldier whom he doesn't even know, but felt it is his duty to bring him home. Kevin Bacon leads this HBO original movie as Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, who goes on a cross country trip to bring home the remains of Private First Class Chance Phelps to his family back in Wyoming. While the plot is paper thin, what makes TAKING CHANCE a must-see is the inspired performance of Bacon, and Ross Katz' relaxed pacing. Bacon as Strobl gears completely into character, while Katz masterfully weaves through every fine detail, like the folding of a flag, an Officer's salute, or the opening of the casket.  Moreover, you can clearly see how taking Chance back home has deeply affected Strobl's life. It made him realize that he has an important role in the armed forces, and his doubts about his existence were clearly answered on his journey of self-discovery. The original score by Marcelo Zarvos helped car...

DOWNFALL may as well be the first film to have intimately told the story of the Second World War from the point of view of the Germans, most especially the infamous Fuehrer Adolf Hitler. Bruno Ganz is electrifying as Hitler, and in DOWNFALL you can effectively see how a person who is regarded everywhere as a monster, is also respected by the people in his inner circle. Of course, there are also traitors to the Third Reich, those who saw the impending doom and surrendered to the invading Russians. As in other films, most especially Bryan Singer’s VALKYRIE, we can see that even Nazis had distaste for Hitler’s policy. DOWNFALL tells the last ten days of Adolf Hitler’s life. It begins on Hitler’s birthday, where the Russians greeted him with a siege on Berlin. Hitler and his men are forced to remain underground, and this is where all the tension starts. Hitler’s amour Eva Braun (Juliane Kohler) insists on partying and drinking to forget their sorrows; meanwhile, Braun’s brother-in-law ...

Peter Weir's last film was MASTER AND COMMANDER starring Russell Crowe. That was like a decade ago. There are just those filmmakers who come out with a movie once every blue moon (Tarantino, Malick) but when they do, you bet your ass it's a labor of love. Weir always had a talent for focusing on humanity, and he has a way of making his characters grounded to being human, exposing both the strengths and weaknesses in a manner that human beings ought to be portrayed. In THE WAY BACK, we see a ragtag group of POWs who escape from a Siberian gulag (prison) during the second world war. We observe how different elements stand in the way of their freedom, and how men, historically theorized to be animals, descend into their basic instincts. But THE WAY BACK is no VAN DAMIEN'S LAND nor TEMPTATION ISLAND (Oh that Joey Gosengfiao camp classic!); instead, most of the moral debates are in theory, being mentally jousted by the characters. "Will they eat the other man in the event...

The first of Tati's series of Monsieur Hulot films heavily resembles MR. BEAN'S HOLIDAY. That's how influential Jacques Tati is to contemporary cinema. As the lovable but occasional troublemaker Hulot, Tati is easy on the eyes. His character, despite his most sincere efforts, ends up causing mayhem to the people around him. In M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY, he vacations in a seaside resort where the bourgeois also happen to be visiting. A series of mishaps involving Hulot deconstructs the pitfalls of the bourgeois, and we happen to be along for the ride for all the misfortunes. This is exactly the kind of film that just puts a smile on your face. As soon as the first mishap occurs onscreen, your eyes become glued to what happens next, anticipating Hulot's misadventures.   RATING: 4/5

The topics of terrorism, jihad, and the war on terror has been done countless times on film that people have become tired of them; FOUR LIONS however is an exception.  Funny, sharp, and bitingly hits home, Chris Morris's directorial debut centers around four Muslims who come up with a plan to become suicide bombers. The plan does not go smoothly, as their opinions clash with one another. Along the way, Morris exposes through his satire the shortcomings and pitfalls of radical thinking, as the characters fall prey to their confused belief. Overtly, Morris expresses his disdain for terrorism. While respecting the beliefs of the characters, he views the  whole idea as a joke, with the persons involved as a bunch of buffoons (one character even dresses as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle towards the ending). While filled with sight gags, unforgettable one-liners, and insanity, FOUR LIONS is also a probing look at a global phenomena that is often misunderstood, herein presented thr...

.  Finally. Yuen Woo-Ping returned to directing films. The stunt choreographer of some of Hollywood's most action-packed films such as THE MATRIX and KILL BILL, who was also the director of Jackie Chan's SNAKE IN THE EAGLE SHADOW and Jet Li's TAI-CHI MASTER brought out the big guns, even having Michelle Yeoh and Jay Chou and surprisingly, David Carradine in supporting cameo roles. Of course, you'd expect nothing less from Master Woo-Ping, in the action scenes department at least. TRUE LEGEND has some of the most breathtaking, acrobatic fight scenes I have seen in a while, and like most Wu Xia films, I feel tired for the characters, getting hit endlessly and still able to stand up and throw a kick. The story is somewhat a fusion of FEARLESS and IP MAN, where the hero is an established master (wushu in this instance) and encounters a tragedy, where he has some soul-searching and then he fights foreigners in the end for Chinese pride. Oh, and there's even the GLADIA...

I have an affinity for films that tackle about film as an art, and as a cultural identity. So I had no trouble with BE KIND REWIND. This is just the kind of film that puts a smile on your face all throughout. Danny Glover plays Mr. Fletcher, a video store owner in Passaic, New Jersey who only rents out VHS tapes. The building on which his video store is situated has been declared condemned by the local government, and is given a deadline to make some repairs, or be relocated. Enter Mos Def who plays Mike, Mr. Fletcher’s trustee on the video store, and Jack Black, who plays his friend, Jerry. When Mr. Fletcher leaves town for a while to attend a commemoration of the life and death of his idol, jazz player Fats Waller (whom he also says to be born on his very building), and also to meditate on what to do to save his video store, he entrusts the video store to Mike, specifically saying to keep Jerry out. Jerry is the film’s troublemaker. He tries to sabotage a power plant believing it...

I have a keen eye for remakes, especially those done frame by frame. That's just me; I don't like seeing the same film with the same treatment twice. (which is why LET ME IN is a letdown for me. It has some effort, but I just liked the original better). I had very few hopes with THE NEXT THREE DAYS, seeing the first twenty minutes of the film as frame by frame recreation of the original French thriller POUR ELLE, and that I loved the original one so much. I forgot that Paul Haggis (CRASH, IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH) wrote and directed this Hollywood version, so I was surprised and delighted to see that he made the material meatier, added fine details, and the thing about every prison has a key, well Haggis takes it all too literally. Crowe is great in a father role. He has the physique, the professor looks (he plays a teacher here), and the kind charisma when he wants to. Elizabeth Banks is no joke either. Her imprisoned mother role who's also terrified of her fate and that o...

POUR ELLE raises a somewhat cliched but nonetheless relevant question: does the end justifies the means? Moreover, is breaking the law justified in order to prove your innocence and reclaim your freedom?  Lisa Aucler (Diane Kruger) is arrested and imprisoned for allegedly killing her boss. Her husband, Julien (Vincent Lindon), a schoolteacher is devastated and shocked. Through all the denial, and the guilt, and the diminishing hope that he has now that they lost in the final appeal, Julien eventually decides to hatch a plan to spring his wife from prison; and that is only logical, for a man who is running out of options will meditate on extreme measures. He asks for advice from Henri Pasquet (Olivier Marchal), a man who's escaped from jail seven times, and has written a book about it. Pasquet advises him on the basics, saying that every prison has a key, and that Julien needs to find the right one. Of course this is metaphorically speaking, and I'm afraid the Hollywood remak...

Aside from being a political biopic, FAIR GAME is also a great spy tale based on the memoir of its heroine, Valerie Plame, who was exposed as a CIA agent allegedly as a means to get back at her husband, diplomat Joseph Wilson. This is already too familiar, especially that this story is said to have inspired Rod Lurie’s film NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (remember the Vera Farmiga character?) Anyways, FAIR GAME attacks the issues surrounding the “Plame Affair” head on, and director Doug Liman works around the details with maximum impact and a burning desire to give justice to its heroine, who is a victim of political struggle. Every scene unfolds in vivid detail, like a great spy thriller. Towards the second half there’s a great verbal joust between leads Naomi Watts and Sean Penn which proves the film is something to be taken seriously, because the events feel real, and the actors are so deep into their characters the tension is   intense. Many a film had already exposed the Bush admini...

Here's my problem with ON STRANGER TIDES. The plot feels too thin, there is humor but not sufficient, and the action and kidding around reduced substantially. Basically, the film does not get exciting until such time the mermaids come out (and I'm not just saying this because they are sexy). If at all, the mermaid concept is the only one that doesn't feel recycled. But don't let these hinder you from watching the film. PIRATES 4 is still fun, and Captain Jack still has his quirky moments (you should see how he gets angry at................ the grass!) The bit about Blackbeard feels misplaced, yet Ian McShane does his best to give form to his character. Penelope Cruz's Angelica is pumped and geared for action, but sadly she is no Elizabeth Swann. The relationship between Jack and Angelica is strained and complicated, and despite the best efforts in storytelling I still cannot figure out Angelica's motivations concerning the fountain of youth. What's posit...

The jokes are pretty funny, if you are easy to please like me. Yes the jokes are lowbrow humor and trying-to-be-hip, but they are funny. I laughed out loud several times. The story of this ultra modern, totally bastardized, has-that-NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM-feel retelling of Jonathan Swift's famous classic is another topic for discussion. Bombarded with hypercommercialism (including a face time for Fox's blockbuster films), a penchant for the song and dance and just about any cliche you can think of, GULLIVER'S TRAVELS fails to rise above its mediocre being simply because it relies on everyone kidding around. While seeing Emily Blunt and Billy Connolly and Chris O'Dowd in hijinks puts a smile to your face, the overall impact of the sloppy script makes the experience less enjoyable. So the filmmakers rely on eye-popping visuals and Jack Black's charisma. There goes the formula. Stop me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that red robot resemble the alien from MONSTERS V...

I was quite surprised with SENIOR YEAR. I thought Jerrold Tarog would conclude his CAMERA trilogy already, but then again even Lars Von Trier hasn't completed his America trilogy, and he's making another set of similarly-themed films. Nevertheless, SENIOR YEAR is an impressive, nostalgic (yes I can relate to about 80% of what happened in the film) and thought-provoking achievement in telling the ups and downs of being a high school senior. While one cannot escape comparing SENIOR YEAR to Auraeus Soilito's PISAY, Tarog's take on high school life has a more universal approach (because PISAY is more political, and let's face it not all of us graduated in Philippine Science High School).  Tarog said part of his influence in making SENIOR YEAR are John Hughes movies, and rightly so because if you'll take notes from a high school film, it better be John Hughes. Like Hughes, Tarog's storytelling is light, humorous, and hopeful in the end. While SENIOR YEAR chro...

So this is where the ARTHUR's THEME by Christopher Cross came from. In respect to this as the original, Dudley Moore is hysterically funny, especially when he laughs at his jokes. In the remake Russell Brand is also funny but Moore embodies the rich spoiled persona better. John Gielgud who plays Hobson, the butler is sarcastic, blunt, and equally funny. Liza Minnelli's big eyes are distracting, but in that scene at the barn where she pretends to beg Dudley Moore for money, she is totally hilarious. The original and the remake has their own share of pros and cons, but what makes this film shine really is the earnest heart of its main character. RATING: 4/5 

Song Hye Kyo does her best to turn in a more mature dramatic role as the legendary Gisaeng (courtesan) who faced political turmoil and remained steadfast, but the dark treatment and the slow pacing makes HWANG JIN YI's story forgettable; the scenes are lost in the tedious 141-minutes running time. I haven't seen the TV series so I cannot really make a comparison, but what's sure is that the costumes in the movie are breathtaking.  But still, it's Song Hye Kyo so it's worth watching. RATING: 3/5

Mikael Hafstrom is a very complicated director for me. I found his DERAILED to be tacky and detached. 1408 is eerie, especially with the way he played Karen Carpenter over and over, but it moves too slow. I started noticing the improvement in Hafstrom's craft via SHANGHAI, which isn't really a great political gangster film but it delivers enough suspense and intrigue. His latest film, THE RITE wins me over simply because of its unorthodox take on the issue of exorcism and the supernatural genre in general. As Anthony Hopkins' character Father Lucas puts it, there's no spinning heads and the like (a snide reference to THE EXORCIST?) so it may appear that the filmmakers wanted to play it safe. However, I saw it as a fair treatment of the subject. It neither condemns nor condones exorcism. The film lets you believe what you want to believe and respects your decision. The relationship between Hopkins and Colin O' Donoghue who plays the young Father Kovak is dynamic a...

We all knew THE GREEN HORNET because of Bruce Lee, but to those of us young enough not to have remembered the TV series, we’ll just have to rely on what the updated version tells us, pretty much what also happened with MIAMI VICE, but Michael Mann’s visceral style of filmmaking gave the Colin Farrell- Jamie Foxx version a unique attitude. Michel Gondry is a prolific filmmaker. His SCIENCE OF SLEEP, ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, and BE KIND REWIND are all thoughtful and creative features, which is why it beats the hell out of me why he took on directorial duties of a film that is all flash and no bang. Seth Rogen is already typecast for his sarcastic and motormouth characters. Here he just doesn’t know when to shut up, and you could pretty much blame him for that since he co-wrote the screenplay. There’s more foolishness in this movie than action, and the even bigger fiasco happened when they made a fool out of an Academy Award-winning actor. Christoph Waltz should never hav...

HEREAFTER is a honest, life- affirming and introspective look into the human side of the afterlife mystery. Most films would render their own interpretations of what comes after death; HEREAFTER instead presents vague details open for anybody's interpretation. Peter Morgan's script is so heartbreakingly human it moves you. It also helps that under Clint Eastwood's capable hands and keen eye for detail, HEREAFTER makes you relate to its inspiring characters. At the heart of the film is George Lonegan (Matt Damon), a man blessed with the gift to communicate with the dead. George regards his gift as a curse, as he believes it hinders him from having a normal life. When we are given a glimmer of hope about George's life with the arrival of Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard), a woman George meets at a cooking class, we believe that there may be life after all in living amongst the dead. Maintaining a relationship with someone who can speak with the dead is complicated; it chang...

Guns blazing, bullets flying, and cars flipping. Exactly what you'd expect from a FAST AND THE FURIOUS sequel.  This is a much anticipated movie for a lot of reasons: first, Michelle Rodriguez dying in Part 4 is simply unacceptable; second, the storyline in said movie is too thin to be remembered, and lastly; there's not much action. FAST FIVE solves all of that. THE ROCK is a nice addition; he gives a legitimate character to the plot.  Like a hybrid of OCEAN'S ELEVEN and ITALIAN JOB and GRAND THEFT AUTO and NEED FOR SPEED: CARBON, yeah that pretty much sums up the movie. Tyrese and Ludacris provide comic relief, and the action is relentless. I just somehow wished they'd stop using Joaquim De Almeida as the bad crime lord; he played said role too many times already. FAST FIVE is a popcorn flick, but it has the most coherent story in all FAST AND THE FURIOUS films. And believe me when I tell you they almost brought all the characters back (except Devon Aoki).  If y...

First of all, I personally disagree that LET THE RIGHT ONE IN necessitated a Hollywood remake, especially if you are going to retain 90% of the original film's elements and dialogue. What saves LET ME IN from being alongside the Hollywood remakes of SHUTTER, THE GRUDGE, and every other evil spawn of such films you can think of is the unnerving performance of its two talented leads: Chloe Grace Moretz is effective as Abby, the vampire girl. Kodi Smit-Mcphee is restrained and intense as Owen, the human boy. Richard Jenkins is always mesmerizing, herein playing Abby's dad. The scenery is also beautiful. What I didn't like about LET ME IN is that I had to watch the same movie all over again, with very few changes. I loved the original Swedish film so much. Maybe that's it. RATING: 3/5

(Alternate title: SAW 3D) The SAW franchise finally comes to a close. Love it or hate it, SAW has made a significant impact in the gratuitous violence subgenre of horror, and with it the franchise’s antihero Jigsaw becomes an instant classic character— thanks to the macabre portrayal of Tobin Bell, who will always be remembered for this defining role. There’s nothing like the first time watching the first SAW movie, where the viewer is totally clueless, and then comes that final twist where Jigsaw makes himself known to his victims, and to the audience. The sequels tried to capture the intensity of the first SAW movie, and most of them made up for the lack of enigma with heightened onscreen violence. In this seventh and last instalment (please do not make a SAW prequel!) the plot takes off shortly after the final moments of the sixth film. Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) barely makes it out alive after being trapped by Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell) in a head contraption. Now Hoffma...