DEATH OF TRADITIONAL CINEMA

One of the reasons why we go and see a movie is because it appeals to our emotions. From the way the trailer was made and released a couple of months back, Tom Hooper's big-screen adaptation of LES MISERABLES wanted to tug our heartstrings. However, promises made sometimes do not equate to promises fulfilled. Heavens forbid, this movie could be this year's SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, or SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. Opening with an underwater shot and cut to a number of rugged inmates pulling the ropes of a huge boat, we are introduced to convict Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), who is ordered by prison guard Javert (Russell Crowe) to lift and move the wet French flag tied to a heavy wooden log. Valjean does as ordered and showcases a magnificent feat of strength that amuses Javert. Valjean is soon released on parole, but outside life proved harsh as no work would take him on due to his criminal history. His crime: refusal to go hungry. His sentence: 19 years.  The story of LES MISERA...

As an escapist tale, ARGO works well. Everybody loves a triumph, and ARGO delivers that success story on a silver platter. But when you think about it, most of the film is hell bent on escapism it blatantly ignores the important political issues it gets its premise from. An exfiltration specialist, Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) is called in as adviser on planning a rescue mission of six diplomats trapped in the Canadian Ambassador's house in Iran in 1979, during a highly-publicized raid on the US Embassy in Tehran where all the staff were held hostage. He comes up with an absurd idea of producing a fake movie, and letting everybody know about it, so he can disguise the six as a Canadian film crew, and they will all fly out out of Iran under the Iranians' noses.  The setup deemed next to impossible, but the road to its execution is ridden with equal doses satire and suspense. John Goodman plays real-life Oscar-winning make-up artist John Chambers, while Alan Arkin is a ...

David Michod's debut film ANIMAL KINGDOM is an instant crime classic from the first frame. Teenager Joshua "J" Cody (James Frecheville) goes to live with his grandmother, Janine "Smurf" Cody (Jacki Weaver) after his mother, Smurf's daughter dies of heroin overdose. Living basically with his uncles, who all have a tainted history with the law, J quickly learns survival in a cruel world. He starts out as an observer first, but when you live with armed robbers and drug dealers, and a mother who tolerates them, you are unwittingly either an accomplice or a pawn. A cold-blooded murder sets things in motion, and the sudden appearance of the eldest of Smurf's sons, Pope (Ben Mendelsohn) becomes a test of loyalty for young J. When his uncles randomly murder two uniformed cops as retaliation, the police grills the whole family for a confession. The detective assigned to the case, Detective Senior Sergeant Nathan Leckie (Guy Pearce) pays particular attent...

Quirky is one undeniable term to describe filmmaker Wes Anderson's MOONRISE KINGDOM, although this is not news to Anderson's legion of followers, and if you've previously seen one or two of his films (I've only seen THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, FANTASTIC MR. FOX, and THE DARJEELING LIMITED), you'll recognize Anderson's signature style in terms of editing, production design and even the use of strong colors, as if in a playful, childlike mood.  Young love is often invigorating. There's always a feeling of sheer thrill, of rapid heartbeat, of seemingly endless joy when girl meets boy. MOONRISE KINGDOM captures all that and more. The film actually deconstructs the usual conflicts of love stories, i.e. parental hindrance, peer pressure, personal issues like abandonment/neglect, rebellion and plays with the idea that adults are outwitted by children, wherein in the end the children's ordeal is actually a mirror of their guardians'.  Anderson transpo...

Opposites attract. A young man who's lost the will to live enjoys crashing memorial services, for the sake of fleeting sympathy, or mockery or self-inflicting pain. A young woman, with only three months to live, embraces life at its fullest. Morbid, right? In the hands of a lesser director, maybe but acclaimed filmmaker Gus Van Sant paints his picture with such charm and sincerity that the subject of death and dying becomes bearable.  Achingly beautiful and poignant, RESTLESS is a simple story, told without embellishments, and devoid of any grand gestures or emotions. Absent are wrist-slitting dialogue about how shitty each of the characters' lives are, excessive back story, and unnecessary conflict, like parents/guardians in the way of young love and stuff like that. It's REMEMBER ME in a minimalist treatment, and without a contrived historical backdrop, and A WALK TO REMEMBER without the melodrama.  We get it. The girl is dying, but she fully understands her ...

A lot has been said about this movie and the Lee Child novel source material, "One Shot" being far apart (I have read that Reacher is supposed to be blonde), which is great if you haven't read the book because the film experience will be unique. In respect, JACK REACHER delivers some okay police procedural elements, and gritty action blended with humor. Rosamund Pike's lawyer character is totally underwritten, though, more like a sidekick. I'd have more respect if they made her the love interest, but I understand that's against character of Reacher as a do-gooder.  Events are set in motion by a seemingly random shooting of five people in a park in Pittsburgh. The clues lead to a former US Army sniper James Barr (Joseph Sikora), which the police quickly arrest. While in holding, he denies the crime, and writes on a notepad, "Get Jack Reacher".  Reacher, a former military police, goes to investigate the shooting, teaming up with Barr's...

You know how it's going to end, but you watch it anyway for the sake of the emotional journey. FRIENDS WITH KIDS is written, starred, and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt (her directorial debut) about two friends (Westfeldt and Adam Scott) who mutually decide to have a baby, without the marital responsibility and/or social expectations. The premise seem ridiculous, but as the film progresses the idea becomes clear with reason, and the results are often hilarious leading to a realization of some universal truth about family, love and relationships. Also co-starring BRIDESMAIDS alumnus Maya Rudolph, Chris O' Dowd, Kristen Wiig, and Jon Hamm (Westfeldt's real-life partner), FRIENDS WITH KIDS stylishly brands humor about a very sensitive and serious subject (having a baby and actually raise it), and through mockeries and sarcasms the subject is actually put into the table for open discussion. However, by the film's third half the tone of the story becomes dead seri...

A man is being tortured in a CIA black site in Pakistan to obtain information about the 9/11 bombing. Present in the room is rookie officer Maya (Jessica Chastain), bearing witness to the man's horrible ordeal. You'd be quick to assume the film sanitizes and condones torture as means to an end, yet filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow does not underline her stand on torture as means of interrogation with self-righteousness, or provocation. As far as I'm concerned, the story just presented what went on during the time. A nation was attacked and it retaliated, by any means necessary. It doesn't mean it is right, but by presenting it we are asked the question whether it was necessary, hence whatever your opinion on torture is reserved and noted. With it, ZERO DARK THIRTY engages us in a decade-long search for the infamous Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. Filled with suspense at every turn and inspired performances, especially from its lead star Jessica Chastain, for a fat tw...

It's hard not to compare the new Judge Dredd reboot with the Indonesian film "THE RAID" (or "THE RAID REDEMPTION" in US and other territories) because the similarities are so identical; and not just storywise, mind you but in production design as well.  Compared to the previous Judge Dredd film topbilled by Stallone, Pete Travis's DREDD favors full-on blood, gore, and violence. It is not concerned about back stories or plot twists, just full on action. Also, Judge Dredd becomes much more of an enigma, with Karl Urban not removing his helmet for the film's entirety, which fans and critics have said to be much more faithful to the British comic source material.  Satire is less than minimal. Humor is dry. Dredd seems emotionless (perhaps the filmmaker's intention), and all other cops walk and talk like robots, in unison with the appearance of their uniform (unforgivable and inexcusable).  Even the chief villain, Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) app...

Spell star-studded.  For what it's worth, EL PRESIDENTE is an enjoyable escapist action-epic flick, which is capably helmed by Mark Meily who's proven already he can do epic via BALER. The scope and spectacle of EL PRESIDENTE resembles that of Marilou Diaz-Abaya's triumphant JOSE RIZAL, although much is left to be desired in this retelling of General Emilio Aguinaldo's life story. My first argument is that in the fat 2 hours and 40 minutes running time, many elements were missing for a film that's supposed to depict Aguinaldo not only as a freedom fighter, but also a husband and a father. No doubt about Aguinaldo being a Filipino. The film is patriotic as one could wish for, and at times that patriotism becomes the film's weakest point especially with the preachy tone.  In respect, EL PRESIDENTE incorporates some of the important issues surrounding the founding of our first republic, and captures the intensity of the times when dissenting opinion am...