DEATH OF TRADITIONAL CINEMA

Joyce has cancer. She only has about three months to live. She has reached this stage in her life where she has accepted the truth that she's not getting better.  Instead of wallowing in self-pity, she decides to arrange everything in her life- patch things up with people she had issues with, clean up her apartment, go to places she's never been and do things she haven't done before.  An ironic and often humorous take on death and dying, Chris Martinez's debut film "100" takes us on an enjoyable life journey from the POV of a dying person, and this makes the experience all the more bittersweet because the main character knows she has a deadline, and she has decided that she needs to make the most out of her remaining time. Played with no nonsense and with intensity by Mylene Dizon, Joyce becomes a character we can easily relate to. We witness her exodus from a workaholic career woman who's probably made a mess out of almost all her persona...

I am not a true blue comic book enthusiast, but this latest SPIDER-MAN big screen reboot feels amazingly fresh. First of all, Andrew Garfield is more than capable in playing Peter Parker, effectively manifesting Peter's curiosity, rage, and teenage exuberance. Second, the treatment employed takes a darker approach from the get-go, unlike in Sam Raimi's universe where it gets murky only during Part 3- and this is a welcome departure because we are able to glimpse upon Peter's unresolved issues with the disappearance of his parents. Third, the same formula and treatment for the villain is there, where such is recognized as a victim of consequence, and therefore presented in the end as a human being. Rhys Ifans plays Dr. Curt Connors/ The Lizard impeccably, reminiscent of Alfred Molina's charmed performance as Doc Ock.  Using the latest in 3D technology, the filmmakers maximized the visual feast (the film is best seen in IMAX) while refusing to sacrifice script qu...

I can barely remember the first film. All I know is that it had Medusa on it and Gemma Arterton. But I definitely remember it being better than this sequel, in fight sequences and story exposition at least, yet WRATH OF THE TITANS is still passable escapist entertainment. Never mind Sam Worthington's wooden acting here. The story is still compelling, but quickly told as if in a hurry, unlike the first film which made much more sense. I can see what the writers did linking the betrayal of brothers Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades of their parents, which also happens here in turn with the next generation. In fact, there has been countless retelling of the story of the Titans (Tarsem Singh's IMMORTALS last November is the most recent) that any hope for faithfulness to the source material seem far out. For those of us who did not have too much background on Greek myth in high school, we'll just have to rely on what feels real, or what seems logical.  Several things that w...

As musicals go, ROCK OF AGES passes for some decent entertainment. It is equal doses funny, nostalgic, and hard-rock slamming. I mean it's not CHICAGO or DREAMGIRLS (which could be the barometer for period piece musicals) but it sure provides a hell amount of fun. Russell Brand alone will suffice.   At its core is a love story between a small town girl and a city boy, Sherrie and Drew (Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta). Yes, the line is familiar, and you've probably heard it gazillion times, you Gleek, and you bet your ass they sing that song here, but Journey's timeless song fits better in this era (and in this story) rather than in GLEE. But fret not. Lea Michele sings way better.  Maybe a bit too much cheesy on the young love/follow-your-dreams angle, ROCK OF AGES manages to push forward because leads Hough and Boneta are sexy together. Yes their conflicts are textbook cinematic cliche, but you can't help but hope that they end up together in the end. And...

KIMMY DORA AND THE TEMPLE OF KIYEME promises a lot but delivers less. Its predecessor is such a surprise hit both commercially and critically because of the wittiness of Chris Martinez's script and Eugene Domingo's comic timing. Having twins who are extreme opposites of one another as your main characters provides endless ideas for humor, and that's just what the first movie did. Martinez and director Joyce Bernal played around with mistaken identities, sadomasochism, and even reduced the male leads (Dingdong Dantes, Zanjoe Marudo) as objects of desire solely for comedy. The formula was successful. The jokes were fresh. Just don't mention the song number.  The sequel disappoints in a number of ways. First and most obvious reason is the injection of horror element. Sure, ghosts and screaming female leads can be guilty pleasure, but not in this instance. I hated the fact that what the filmmakers and Eugene Domingo achieved in the first film were reduced to a mimi...

THIS MEANS WAR starts fashionably enough, with an all-out action sequence off a Hong Kong skyscraper rooftop involving two suave CIA agents played by Captain Kirk and that guy who ate guys for breakfast in WARRIOR. They incidentally kill the brother of the bad guy, and the bad guy (Til Schweiger) obviously will be out for blood later on.  The film then becomes a race to win over a girl (Reese Witherspoon), with the previously mentioned plot fading in the background, only to resurface stupidly in a contrived moment in the climax. The agents utilize the CIA's toys in order to get ahead of one another in getting the girl. This would tell you a lot about how preposterous the situation is, where government resources are used for playtime, and their boss (Angela Bassett) who is amazingly oblivious to this fact.  Sixty percent of the movie would be dedicated to this tomfoolery among these grown men clearly not acting their age. When the guys aren't competing, we get a ru...

Basically it's a movie created for the fanbase. I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd anticipated, or at least as much as I enjoyed Kenneth Branagh's onscreen adaptation of THOR (my favorite of the recent Marvel movies). The story doesn't really get my interest until the second half, and to my surprise the seemingly quiet character manages to provide the most fun. The HULK deserves an award for best comedic and show-stopping performance. THE AVENGERS is a movie propelled by star power, but I have to admit that Joss Whedon does a good job of piecing together the stories of the superheroes, and uniting them against a common enemy. Robert Downey, Jr. is always charming to watch as Tony Stark; so are Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Chris Evans as Captain America. Meanwhile, Mark Ruffalo competently and most appropriately portrays the mild-mannered Bruce Banner, whereas Jeremy Renner and Scarlett Johansson give fierceness to their characters Hawkeye and Black Widow, resp...