DEATH OF TRADITIONAL CINEMA

Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) likes to daydream, a lot. It's what keeps him going through the day. It's also this quality that makes him a weirdo in front of his officemates at Life Magazine, particularly to new head honcho and resident A-hole Ted Hendricks (Adam Scott).  And yet, as we later learn in the movie, Walter's daydreaming becomes his ultimate tool for triumph. It's his rich and vivid imagination that defeats the impossible. As director, Stiller approaches the material with an overt sense of childhood fascination of grand adventures, of becoming the hero of the story. Mixing equal amounts of humor, pathos, and eye-popping special effects, the result is a jetsetting experience that allows us to empathize with Walter Mitty as we tag along for his adventures. As actor, the always charming Stiller makes Walter Mitty a triumphant representation of the ordinary guy whom nobody noticed, but is out to conquer his fears and the world.  Kristen Wiig, w...

Mel Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST has extremely polarized those who have seen it upon its release mainly because of its subject matter, which is religious in nature. Bring up any spiritual theme onscreen and people will speak up. If at all, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST became an effective film because it sparked cinematic discourse. Either love it or hate it, the film knows what it wants and pursues it. It has a single direction. It quickly appealed to me because of its departure from the previous Jesus films, most of which ambitiously wanted to cover Jesus's entire life story. The result is an approximated two hours of condensed history that you'd feel burdened to watch by second viewing.  PASSION is different. It focuses on Christ's final hours, and filmmaker Mel Gibson pulls no punches in his delivery of blood and gore. We have been so occupied with what we have been taught about Christ's suffering for our sins, and how we should be grateful and all by doing...

Racism is a very sensitive material to deal with in cinema. The slightest error or inaccuracy and people are quick to react. The reason is that racism is a very emotional issue; it speaks to the heart of the oppressed.  THE HELP, based on the bestselling book of the same name may be accused of the same skewed view that white people solve racism, which also happened with THE BLIND SIDE, the semi-controversial film that won Sandra Bullock her Oscar. While this may be true, I am inclined to believe such claim for THE BLIND SIDE rather than this movie. First of all, THE HELP's relevance and timelessness is easily felt.  Set in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 60s, THE HELP centers on Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Emma Stone) and her observations in her hometown after returning from college. Seemingly the only woman left unmarried in her circle, her pals led by the narcissistic and self-absorbed Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) have made it a mission to set her up with a g...

Whoever said that silent cinema is dead clearly hasn't seen THE ARTIST, which I can safely say the feel-good movie of this year's Oscars lineup. Jean Dujardin is in top form playing the proud silent actor George Valentin while equally entertaining and deeply affecting is Berenice Bejo as the cheerful actress Peppy Miller. The tandem is a match made in heaven.  A tale of love, ambition, change, and redemption, THE ARTIST has everything- thrills, humor, romance, spectacle, nostalgia, and a very lovable dog. The film concerns a silent movie actor, George Valentin faced with the inevitable shift of Hollywood into talkies, and the arrival of a girl, Peppy Miller who is big on dreams and bigger on heart. She will affect his life in ways he will not expect, and the redemption in the end is every moment worth it of all the dialogue we've been robbed off.  Guiding the plot into absolute cinematic heaven is Ludovic Bource's exceptional musical score, highly-deserving of its Ac...

Here's a movie written by a screenwriter who knows how to thrill using normal conversation. With co-writing credits such as STATE OF PLAY (which is another journalism-themed thriller), FLIGHTPLAN, and the upcoming HUNGER GAMES movie, Billy Ray dishes one intense scene after another in SHATTERED GLASS, a true story based on an article written by H.G. Bissinger for Vanity Fair about The New Republic Associate Editor Stephen Glass.  But wait there's more. Billy Ray also directs this cat and mouse game (he proves to be quite an effective suspense director with this, and his 2007 film, BREACH), putting to a good test the code of ethics of journalism. In this tale however, the offense committed against the moral foundations of journalism is clear cut, and the penalty shall be exacted without consideration whatsoever. Hayden Christensen gives the performance of his career as Stephen Glass, the journalist who became famous with his heavily-researched and thought-provoking articles, ...

In almost every family, there's that one member everybody is annoyed with. Such is the premise of Jesse Peretz' OUR IDIOT BROTHER, with Paul Rudd playing Ned, the titular 'idiot' brother. Ned is not an idiot per se (but then again, what really defines idiocy?), and the reason he is tagged as one is because of his infectious optimism and generosity. In a family of women, with three sisters and her mom, Ned stands out separated, yet her mom Ilene (Shirley Knight) loves him of all her children. The sisters' contempt for Ned is obvious to everyone but Ned, and this is quite funny especially the way each of them lie in front of him out of familial duty. Paul Rudd is exceedingly effective as Ned, where we see a human stripped down of all ego and pride, and yet he is mocked and ostracized for his smallness and shortcomings.  The actresses playing Ned's sisters are all charming and funny, and surprisingly dynamic; each actress gives their unique portrayal of a unique...

It is one of the serious contenders for basically any category this year at the 84th Academy Awards (it has five nominations) and the kind of film that Oscar voters usually root for, but awards or no awards, THE DESCENDANTS is an undeniably poignant and often humorous exploration of family, life, and death, and about things entrusted to us. George Clooney gives a quiet performance as Matt King, the workaholic father and husband who has to deal with his wife, Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) succumbing into comatose after a boating accident.  As the trailer would tell you, Matt learns that his wife was having an affair, and the treatment of that subject is neither complacent nor judgmental; Matt seeks out the "other guy" for answers, and yet he admits later in the movie his own shortcomings that led to his wife's unhappiness.  Also, he would have to deal with taking care of his two daughters, which he has never done fully before since his wife was around to do that. An uneas...

There are many film directors who are excellent in their craft even if they do not write their own material, Scorsese, Spielberg, and Eastwood to name a few. However, I still prefer those who can write and direct, with names like Almodovar, Wong Kar Wai, Coen Bros. and after watching THE CONTENDER, my admiration for Rod Lurie solidified not only as a one-time success with his later film NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (which I saw first).  Like Eastwood, Lurie knows how to turn words off the script into interesting visual drama. Politics is really Lurie's comfort zone, and like in NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, this sophomore film from Lurie surprised me when I least expected it. Both feature heroines in great distress who rise up to the occasion and prove among everyone they are equal with men, but whereas NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH ends on a sad note, THE CONTENDER emerges triumphant. Joan Allen plays Laine Hanson, a Senator tapped by the United States President Jackson Evans (Jeff Bridges) to be hi...

There are sports dramas, and then there are sports dramas. WARRIOR, transcends the sports drama genre mainly because of the pureness of the sibling story at its core and the unflinching performances of its seasoned cast. Both Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy are compelling to watch, but it's Nick Nolte who plays their reformed father on a path of redemption who's really the show-stopper.  The mixed martial arts sport serves as the arena for siblings Tommy (Hardy) and Brendan (Edgerton) to dish out long standing family issues, and what's ironic is that neither of them wanted the confrontation. Each has a purpose for being in the ring- Tommy wants the money to fulfill a promise to a fallen comrade; Brendan needs to win or else their house will be repossessed by the bank. Eventually, they meet in the end. Brendan is willing to forgive, but Tommy is not. There is a subdued rage within Tommy that bursts whenever he pulls punches.  Through dialogue, we get a glimpse but never fully...

Film within a film-structured movies are always interesting watch. Not only do they provide a much-needed deconstruction of form and content of cinema itself, but also that much-needed emotional punch a cinephile would surely love.  Like in BAD EDUCATION (Almodovar, 2004), we witness the characters tell the back story via montage, as if we are part of the cast of characters watching an actual movie. The form was successful in evoking pain and regret, and also of empathy. In TUHOG, Jeffrey Jeturian and screenwriter Bing Lao tackles sensational media in the Philippines, especially in cinema. The film opens as a film producer hears a pitch for a possible movie- a story of a grandfather who rapes his own granddaughter.  The director of the film soon after visits the victim of the crime, Floring (Ina Raymundo). Coercing both she and her mother, Perla (Irma Adlawan) to sell them the movie rights to their story, we witness as exploitation cinema unfolds. To think of it, capitaliz...

Finally. Tom Tykwer is back in Germany making a film in his native German language. In all respect, THE INTERNATIONAL was a pretty solid action film however incoherent the storyline, and PERFURME: THE STORY OF A MURDERER was over the top and too self-important (beautiful cinematography and production design, though). I suddenly missed RUN LOLA RUN. Tykwer's "3" moves in a slower pace than RUN LOLA RUN, but fast enough that it doesn't border on sleep-inducing. It is a tale of three people, of modern relationships, and in between a truckload of philosophical references.   Freud and Spinoza gets mentioned in the dialogue and the characters debate with their personal ideologies.  The trailer alone prompted me to make this movie mandatory viewing: (and this is also the basic plot of the film) a man and a woman who have never married has been living together for about 20 years. Their relationship has reached a certain stage where nothing is new or exciting anymore; they ...

I have seen Brillante Mendoza's SERBIS (At Your Service) and liked its take on Philippine cinema vis a vis family as intertwined; I have also seen his TIRADOR (Slingshot) and admired it for its wit and ferocity; so when the first few minutes of KINATAY (The Execution of P) unfolded, I wasn't certain where Mendoza is headed, until I realized that what seemed as random events are actually metaphorical devices for later events in the film; the mass wedding at city hall, the classroom discussion about police procedure, and the image of a child so innocent- all have ripple effects for later occurrences. KINATAY, as the second half begins proves to be a difficult experience to go through. Coco Martin plays Peping, a criminology student suddenly pitted in the shadowy underworld of unspeakable violence. Throughout the film we see his transformation from optimistic to disillusioned, from confident to fearful. Via carefully mounted stylistic shots, especially during that lengthy van sc...

Like any other mockumentary, Antoinette Jadaone's SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION FROM LILIA CUNTAPAY intends to flesh out a bitter truth out of its subject matter, in this case the role of bit players in local cinema, as represented by one particular bit player, whose presence in film and on TV for about 30 years is extremely underrated. However, unlike any other mockumentaries (Christopher Guest and Jerrold Tarog conveniently come into mind), SIX DEGREES breathes striking vigor to the film medium because the actor is actually playing herself! And not just as a means for comedy, but rather as an echo for her own life story. Jadaone and her crew made a research on Cuntapay's life, located where she lives, and out of it she wrote a performance art that is to become Cuntapay's crowning glory, sort of a retrospective cum tribute to her "non-existent" presence in the movies. In its ultimate, SIX DEGREES is able to achieve a sense of recognition for Cuntapay that she righ...

ENGKWENTRO comes as a huge surprise. It is a violent, bleak, and unforgiving film and yet it flourishes in beauty; the handheld shots are visceral and they add depth and intensity to what’s happening onscreen. The story, which is THE most important element, succeeds in delivering a representative documentation of an actual phenomenon in the Philippines, which is the prevalence of state-sponsored vigilante killings. Pepe Diokno’s script, co-written with four others including lead actor Felix Roco and scribe Jerry Gracio (LIGO NA U, LAPIT NA ME) manages to compel because of the human element at the center of the story, which is the strained relationship between siblings Richard (Roco) and Raymond (Daniel Medrana). Set against a backdrop of urban decay, a suppressive legal system that is blind to reason, and real characters that are caught in between, ENGKWENTRO delivers a solid, suspenseful action story within its 60-minutes running time. Within that short span of time, Pepe Diokno, in...

A marital breakdown is interesting subject for cinematic discussion as it is, but Derek Cianfrance pushes the boundaries further, making the journey of discovery for us a bit more poignant and bittersweet by juxtaposing the back story of how his two main characters met, fell in love, and started a new life.  Cindy (Michelle Williams) and Dean (Ryan Gosling) seem an okay couple living an ordinary life with their young daughter, but we see that Cindy is discontent and frustrated, and Dean starting to implode. Cindy wants Dean to achieve more from his life, yet Dean says that he's already content with his job (as a house painter) that allows him to be with his family everyday. Meanwhile, Cindy works her ass off as an on call nurse, all the while resisting sexual hints from her boss and a former flame whom she has a chance encounter. This puts a heavier load on her already strained perspective at her marriage to Dean. Through flashbacks, there is a reference to marital relationships...

Corruption is a term Filipinos are very much familiar with. Hailed as one of the most corrupt countries in Asia, and even the world, the Philippines has a very rich historical documentation of tyranny, theft and yes, red tape. So when a filmmaker like Dennis Marasigan, who's already proven he can make a compelling and realistic political film via "Vox Populi," decides to adapt Malou Jacob's play to the screen, he's more than welcome.  ANATOMIYA NG KORUPSYON is set during the Marcos era, when corruption in the country is as its peak (or I could be mistaken or inaccurate, depending on who you ask, say Imelda Marcos); at first I didn't notice the period in which the story takes place. My friends readily saw the Marcos picture hanging by the office (the setting is in a Family Court). For me, the black vintage telephone and the trendy dresses worn by Che Ramos and Bea Garcia (who play office clerks) gave the milieu away.  At the center of the story...

Refn is a filmmaker who has style, but he bored me to death with VALHALLA RISING. I was willing to give him a second chance. So I watched DRIVE. It's one film you can readily consider a midnight movie, (not particularly referencing to the 'midnight movie' phenomena) because it is perfect for a midnight watch, like if you have a lineup of films to see, DRIVE would be the main event. Ryan Gosling is breathtaking to watch in a very tense and controlled performance of a stunt driver moonlighting as a getaway vehicle driver. He gets in the crosshairs of the mob and a beautiful young mother (Carey Mulligan), where the angelic, humble simpleton transforms into a crusader of righteousness. DRIVE has as its central character the quintessential innocent man pitted against the grand scheme of things, and affairs that are not really his; his biggest mistake is that he cared for another human being/s. Any Coen Brothers film would have this element, yet filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn...

LIMITLESS is a fresh, fast, and addicting thrill ride with a decent logical story and a star-making performance by Bradley Cooper. It being a morality tale, there's a moral lesson in the end- not quite what I expected but satisfying enough. There were questions in my mind after watching the film, some plot holes that were left in the dark, but after reflecting for a while, I found the answers in the story itself.  Eddie Morra is a struggling book writer who's hit rock bottom. He's about to get evicted from his apartment, his girlfriend (Abbie Cornish) breaks up with him, and he has a serious case of writer's block.  A chance encounter with his ex brother-in-law introduces Eddie to an underground drug called NZT, which can eventually allow a person to access 100% of his brain. The film then shifts its focus on the drug as it is the sole cause for the fortunes and misfortunes of the film's characters. Even so, the NZT suddenly becomes a main character. Eddie gets r...