DEATH OF TRADITIONAL CINEMA

When you go and see biopics, especially those wherein you are not much familiar with the subject, you take the filmmaker's vision as truth, like what I did with Mark Meily's BALER. I found out soon enough that the main characters were fictional. I've learned my lesson since. Make no mistake. BALER, a film from the Philippines (and I am proud of it) is a marvelous achievement, and a colorful take on the historical Siege of Baler which took place during the Spanish occupation in the Philippines.  David Fincher's THE SOCIAL NETWORK, from a script written by Aaron Sorkin, feels too close to reality.   You take look at the happenings in Fincher's film, then reflect on what might have transpired in the inception of Facebook, and the striking likeliness is unshakable.  The Mark Zuckerberg portrayed in the film is a cold, unapologetic opportunist who developed saw a breakthrough and wasted no time creating it, even if it means sideswiping countless piles of bodies in the...

SECRET WINDOW opens decently enough, with Johnny Depp up to his usual quirky character. It won't be long until you realize that no other actor can play Mort Rainey, the eccentric writer and main character from Stephen King's story. The role was destined to be for Johnny Depp.  There is also enough mystery to propel the movie forward. The appearance of a shady character named John Shooter (played with much gusto by John Turturro) who accuses Mort of plagiarism gives SECRET WINDOW an enigmatic feel. The plot however becomes predictable by the second half, and you'd already figure out who is doing the killings. Saved only by a haunting finish that keen viewers will have seen coming miles away, thanks to some foreshadowing, SECRET WINDOW I guess would have been enjoyed better in print.  Nevertheless you'd be quite mesmerized by the effort they've given to the setting, production design, and musical score. Depp is good here, but the material really is hokey.  One thi...

Before Kathryn Bigelow had people's jaws dropped when she bagged the Oscar for Best Director for her testosterone-filled THE HURT LOCKER, she was already making films catered mainly for the male crowd, such as POINT BREAK, an edge-of-your-seat thriller that showcases Bigelow's able hand at directing action sequences; hell, she can even beat the most known male action directors around! POINT BREAK is more than an action film-it is a moral study, where characters are neither one-sided nor flat offshoots of the action genre. In here, Keanu Reeves who is the hotshot cop arguably gives the best performance of his career, and Patrick Swayze as the surfing bank robber Bodhi is pure charisma and character acting so much that he absorbs the bank robber persona and projects it with much energy and moral dignity.  Gary Busey co-stars as Reeves' partner, and here he gives maybe the most memorable performance of his career. Having said that, I don't recall any of his films at all...

Watching a Coen Bros. film is like going to Jollibee when we were still kids-it excites you like hell. Watching a Coen Bros. movie for the second viewing is like awaiting for your salary on payday- the shit cannot be contained.  This is the first time I have seen a Coen Bros. film for the second time- I saw THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE in the technicolor version, and when I found out the Coens intended it to be B&W, I quickly got hold of a copy of the original B&W. So far such copy is sitting at home. I also want to watch A SERIOUS MAN sometime in the future for the second time; that film is so hideously deep in meanings I did not fully understood everything. I have yet to watch for the first time BLOOD SIMPLE, BARTON FINK, and RAISING ARIZONA. My next on the list is THE BIG LEBOWSKI, since I quickly became a Jeff Bridges fan upon seeing TRON LEGACY. Oh wait, I did see NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN twice. See I hated it upon first viewing-I thought it was boring. I favored P.T. A...

I love war films and spy thrillers. Put them together and my attention is all yours. ENIGMA is a encoder/decoder machine used by Nazi U-Boats during WW2. It is also the title of a film directed by a man you recently hated for messing up Narnia. It is also the characteristic of the female in question: Saffron Burrows, whose character you'll be guessing whose side she really is on, until the very end. Dougray Scott is marvelous as a British codebreaker who gets jilted by his lover (Burrows). Scott really embodied all the sorrow of his character, projected onto his somber face. He teams up with a "glorified file clerk" played by Kate Winslet in a very notable performance, in order to unlock the secrets, and along the way, they stumble onto a huge government conspiracy that could affect the outcome of the war. My criteria in films such as this is simple: do not take me for a fool. I liked this the same way I liked Bryan Singer's VALKYRIE, but VALKYRIE is a bit self...

I loved the crazy humor. There was one scene here involving Gnomes that I was literally kicking in laughter. However, the ending was rushed. I wanted more. RATING: 3/5

AN EDUCATION delivers a very promising material- a young girl who meets an older man, gets educated about life in a very different manner, and eventually she learns the importance of a proper education. This is a period piece in which the role of women in society, and education's part in shaping women's lives and aspirations is center stage. It is also filled with imperfect characters whom you will come to love as the story threads on. Carey Mulligan is adorable as Jenny. She perfectly played the part of a teenager in a crucial crossroads in her life. Peter Sarsgaard is charming and unapologetic for his character; Dominic Cooper is a prick (I meant his character). Olivia Williams plays Jenny's teacher, and there is a knowing aura in her that credits authority for Jenny's knowledge-hungry and somewhat reckless nature. Emma Thompson has a brief moment but very powerful presence.  Alfred Molina is a real thespian, and he can maintain to be funny even when he's angr...