Prometheus



My movie notes and minor spoilers ahead.

1. Visually stunning, almost bordering on epic.
2. SPOILERS: Dragon Tattoo lady was good, but imagine if it was ScarJo giving birth to an alien covered with just tissue-like clothing.
3. Fassbenderneato was amazing as David. I would imagine it is difficult to portray an android that's bordering on having no emotions at all to feeling disdain and disappointment to your human counterparts.
4. Overall, the story was good and had existed with the Alien mythology.
5. SPOILERS: Just too many plot holes that needed answering, i.e. Why did David spike the vodka drink? Why did the engineers leave star maps to what should have been their top secret military facility? Was the black goo the end game weapon for destroying earth or was it the long-headed aliens? Did David have prior knowledge of the engineers, their technology, and their targets?
6. Replayability: extremely high

Additional note: Read a funny piece online about Elizabeth Shaw's supposed SMS messages with the engineers. Do not read it unless you have already watched the movie.

Another update: Io9.com has just released a "All of Your Lingering Prometheus Questions, Answered!" page with an interview from screenwriter Damon Lindelof which answers at least some of my plot hole questions.

4 out 5 DREIs

Chronicle

I really wanted to start of my 2012 reviews with the Avengers movie. However, i'm putting my review of that movie on hold until I see it again in HD. So instead of a review about a super-secret-boy-band, how about a few notes about a "refreshing new take" on the superhero movie genre. Assume spoilers.

1. I thought that the first half of the movie started rather slowly. The pace could have gone a little bit faster with them developing their superpowers.
2. This movie reminded me too much about Repeaters. Where one person in their group ultimately turned to the dark side. Actually, that plot device have been used more than enough times already.
3. I particularly liked the handheld camera feel of the movie. The story never really was intended to be told/shown on a grander scale. Otherwise, it would have just been another I Am Number Four.
4. Nothing too groundbreaking, replayability is just at two or three times viewing. But I agree with all critics that it really was a refreshing take on this genre.

3 DREIs



http://thatsyogarbage.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/chronicle_p.jpg


1 - DREIs: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)



2 - DREIs: "Shite" No need to see this movie unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)


3 - DREIs: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)


4 - DREIs: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)


5 - DREIs: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

Chor: The God of Tanders

1. A very well made movie. You'd think that a Thor movie would be hard to make but they made it work.


2. Not as epic as say, Iron Man or Dark Knight, but more likely in the level of the Norton Incredible Hulk. Actually, the Thor movie is way better than the Hulk movie.

3. This movie could have been legendary if they added 15 to 20 minutes more of fight scenes. I know that would already have tripled the entire movie budget but nah I'm a movie viewer and that's what I would have wanted.

3. Bakit ang Earth hindi kasing-ganda ng Asgard? Kasi may magic. You actually look forward to Asgard scenes. Kudos to the creative and production team, Asgard looked amazing.

4. Is it me or did Natalie Portman look Black Swan crazy? Is she going to be Black Swan to my eyes for the rest of her career? (Just like Hilary Swank will forever be a boy) I hope not.

5. Kat Dennings! But she didn't show her side boob from hell..

6. Loki. Not the scariest villain but the movie pulled off the Loki persona - mischievous and scheming. But I didn't like the part where he had a fight with Thor, an actual fight. In the Marvel universe, I think he would have been killed with a single strike from Myowmyow.

7. In comics, Thor is always the difference maker. More of like a Deus Ex Machina for storylines. I'm excited to see how the Avengers movie will use this character - a god or a faulted human?
 
8. Overall, good movie and has a lot of replayability. 3.5 DREIs.
 
 
 
 
 
 
1 - DREIs: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)
2 - DREIs: "Shite" No need to see this movie unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)
3 - DREIs: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)
4 - DREIs: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)
5 - DREIs: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

James Cameron's Avatar

1. The best movie of the year. I was actually motivated to write in my blog again. Imagine that.
2. Although I haven't seen the ordinary theatrical version, I can say for a fact that this movie was MEANT to be seen in 3D. Like the first time I saw Miller's 300, I couldn't stop telling myself how awesome the Avatar 3D experience was.
3. I am still quite amazed on how this motion picture turned out, although I don't know if the same high will be experienced if you watched the non-3D version of the movie first.
4. I wonder if this was all from James Cameron's head (like Lucas with Star Wars) or if this was just a creative collaboration from his production team? Can't wait for the DVD/BR special features.

5. Too bad - I heard the PSP game sucks.

6. Runtime was long but the story was well told. Although it did have its "love story moments" in the middle that made me ask "Where's the action?" (And then just minutes after, a full blown war ensues. Go figure.)

7. Okay I did find one thing that didn't exactly sit well with me: ***Spolier Alert*** It seemed stupid that the Na'vi and would fight and charge to death at the end without formulating some sort of tactical advantage aside from - "Their sensors won't work!"

8. Is this a prelude to the idea of a trend that only CG-heavy movies can really rake in the cash at the global level?

9. I gave it 4.5 DREIs but its actually closer to a five than to a four.

4.5 DREIs


1 - DREIs: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)
2 - DREIs: "Shite" No need to see this movie unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)
3 - DREIs: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)
4 - DREIs: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)
5 - DREIs: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

Revenge of the Fallen

Critics hated it. I loved it.

1. While watching, I couldn't help but think: "How much MONEY did they actually put into this movie?" - I would have to guess the number of (expensive) CG shots trumped that of Revolutions and Phantom Menace.

2. Andaming robot. Not needing to develop a back story for the characters, Michael Bay went all out using as much robots as he can without choking the audience. (Although, I hated the two gremlin-like twin robots he used - too much personality, I say - if that's even possible for movie robots.)

3. The story/plot was okay. They did need 2.5 hours to finish it though. But with all the eye candy, who cares if it was a tad too long?

4. Anyone notice Michael Bay's self-promotion with the Bad Boys II poster? And oh yeah, he used the same ecstacy/reefer drugged up funny scene with the Witwicky mom.

5. Shia Le Bouf was good. Megan Fox was good. Turturro was good. Although Duhamel and Gibson, felt like they were playing bit parts.

6. Congratulations, Michael Bay. You managed to make Megan Fox even more hotter.

7. The Decepticons went terminator-style and upped the ante with the robots-in-disguise thing. I'm still not sure on whether this was a good idea or not.

8. Revenge of the Fallen. Yep, better than the first.

4 DREIs

1 - DREIs: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)
2 - DREIs: "Shite" No need to see this movie unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)
3 - DREIs: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)
4 - DREIs: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)
5 - DREIs: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

Movie Reviews

Recently Seen:

Ip Man - I was hoping for something along the lines of an epic like Hero or even something just as entertaining as probably Fearless. Those standards proved to be way too high. Waaay too high. Ip Man = Fail.
2 DREIs

Fast and Furious (Old Model New Parts) - Yes, it is an upgrade over the monumentally bad Tokyo Drift. But really, not much else.
3 DREIs

The 13th Warrior - I saw this first in the theater (1999? 2000?). Recently got an AVI copy. Liked it before, still like it now. Probably the best movie adaption of the Beowulf saga.
3.5 DREIs

The Invisible - It is predicated in this movie that people that are near death can walk around the world "invisibly." As expected, not a whole lot went on; and just too many holes in the plot.
2.5 DREIs

The Horsemen - Starring Dennis Quaid and Zhang Zhiyi. Whodunnit Cops and Serial Killers. It seems that they used as much movie cliches as they can. Aside from bad acting and sciptwriting, it was just too easy to figure out.
1 DREI

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - I saw the "unfinished" copy first, and then the final cut. I have to admit I liked almost everything about it, everything was relatively good - plot . But this is where Dark Knight sticks it to almost every other superhero movie - compared to the Joker, Sabretooth was just... forgettable.
3.5 DREIs

Punisher: War Zone - I saw one or two scenes with flashes of brilliance, but see Dark Knight reference above: Jigsaw = also forgettable.
2.5 DREIs

Dead or Alive - Surprisingly entertaining. I liked the fight scenes and the slowmo volleyball game. And besides, this movie had Holly Valance mostly half naked! Nuff said.
3.5 DREIs

The Spirit - Frank Miller is thought of as a god in the comic book industry. But even deity sometimes does stupid mortal things. Like making movies like these for example. Shot almost entirely in the same manner as Sin City, just infinitely more boring.
2.5 DREIs



1 - DREIs: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)
2 - DREIs: "Shite" No need to see this movie unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)
3 - DREIs: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)
4 - DREIs: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)
5 - DREIs: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

Terminator Salvation

1. McG delivered. Action-freakin-packed. When someone asks you: "What is an action movie?" You say: "This is."

2. Chel and Drei were right though: not much in terms of the story itself - but the action more than made up for it.

3. Christian Bale was amazing. It is hard for anyone to play John Connor and he did a good job of doing it. Method acting paid off, I guess... (and yep, I heard his 15-minute internet audio cursefest on this set... on a side note, continuous cursing is hard to sustain over a two or even three minute period, Bale was relentless for that entire time... THAT is something.)

4. Sam Worthington (Marcus) will probably have a Hugh Jackman-like career from now on.

5. (Semi-Spoiler Alert) The Arnold Schwaenenzggreenegegegr CGI should NOT have been there. It distracted you from the entire action sequence. I was thinking, if you can't put in the "real" Arnold, then DON'T put him in. (on another side note, the movie industry has made great strides in terms of computer animation and graphics for the past couple of years... but this goes to show you how we are still so far off in terms of people CG realism on closeups.)

6. (Major Spoiler Alert) I was really hoping they were going to finish the story. But instead, even after blowing up Skynet's main base, John Connor said something like - "Skynet's Global Network still remains strong, but the fight isn't over..."

7. I can't help but think of parralels between the Matrix and the Terminator mythology. The machines in the Matrix (sentinels, etc..) are way way way way harder to beat than Terminators (even if Skynet had nuclear capability). I'm just sayin.

8. Overall, good action flick. Monumentally better than the last one. However, I just had some issues with the CG and the ending.

3.5 DREIs

1 - DREIs: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)

2 - DREIs: "Shite" No need to see this movie unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)

3 - DREIs: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)

4 - DREIs: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)

5 - DREIs: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

Angels and Demons

1. The Da Vinci Code may have been a bigger box office and bestseller hit; but cinematically, Angels and Demons proved to be just above it in several levels.

2. More action, better paced, better acting (Obi-Wan did a fantastic job.)

3. Much like other book-to-movie adaptations, the book was more engaging. Although the movie itself, did not disappoint.

4. Just like The Da Vinci Code, I read the book before I saw the movie. I particularly liked the representation of the God Particle (anti-matter) and how Ron Howard integrated the use of the Hadron Collider to create it.

5. MINOR SPOILER ALERT: The thing that was missing though, and this was a huge part of the story in the book, was the Camerlengo's relationship to the deceased Pope. This was what I thought, what Dan Brown wrote as the match that started the whole fire.

6. I love wide-angle shots in a movie. It is sort of a like a gauge on how grand the scale of production is. And this movie had lots of it.

7. Replay Value: definitely worth buying an original DVD box set for. We got the original The Da Vince Code Limited Edition Box Set with Cryptex for the first movie. What box-set bells and whistles will they think of this time? Limited Edition Anti-Matter perhaps?

3.5 DREIs


1 - DREIs: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)
2 - DREIs: "Shite" No need to see this movie unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)
3 - DREIs: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)
4 - DREIs: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)
5 - DREIs: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

To Boldy Go Where A Few Has Gone Before: Star Trek Zero

Warning! Spoilers!

First, let me establish that I am a trekker. Not the all-out geek who knows all the sciences and can speak fluent Klingon, but I have always appreciated the TV shows and the movies. Particularly, Star Trek: The Next Generation (Picard, Riker, Data, Troi, Worf, La Forge, Crusher, etc..). I used to watch that show every week (Voyager and Deep Space Nine did not have the same intellectual appeal as TNG).

So with that in mind, I went to this movie with no expectations at all. I was thinking this is just sort of a run-of-the-mill prequel to the Star Trek Movies, and that the producers and writers just wanted to establish the history between Spock and Kirk. I was mistaken. This might very well be the best Star Trek movie ever made - everything was extremely well done. With my affinity for TNG - it is hard for me to say that. However, I was overwhelmed by how much thought was put into the plot and the scale that was placed in this production.

A few notes: James Kirk - great acting by Chris Pine, he portrayed the brash, young, Kirk masterfully and with great writing, his persona almost transcended the screen. Spock - one of the things I looked out for was if he remotely reminded me of Sylar, this movie will fail. Zachary Quinto made an extremely believable Vulcan and not once did Sylar cross my mind. Leonard Nimoy was here as well - for a good part of the movie.

There were a few references to Star Wars I noticed like: Luke Skywalker's adventure in Hoth and Qui-Gonn Jinn's "there's always a bigger fish" theory. I don't know, maybe its just me.

They now have the freedom to rewrite Star Trek's entire history (or historical events for that matter, characters did not change) because of the alternate reality they have created from Spock and Nero travelling to the past.

Overall, an entirely entertaining movie. Action-packed. Well-thought of plot. Sci-fi on a grand scale. Great acting and writing. Hopefully, they start bringing in TNG's mythology to the next movies.

4 out 5 DREIs

1 - Drei: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)

2 - Dreis: "Shite" No need to see these movies unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)

3 - Dreis: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)

4 - Dreis: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)

5 - Dreis: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

I Watched The Watchmen

I read the book. I liked the book. Then I learned that it was going to be made into a movie. This was the first time that I couldn't imagine how something could possibly be made into a movie. I mean I was just dumbfounded. "Unfilmable" is what some fans called it. It just wasn't made for the big screen. Even Alan Moore initially didn't want to be part of this. And rightly so, the storytelling of the comic just seemed impossible to tell without going beyond at least 10 hours (the movie was 2 hours and 40 minutes).
A lot was ultimately left out - the news snippets of each hero that provided the background, nothing to note about Rorschach's shrink who almost went crazy in the novel, and no Black Freighter back story. Even the ending was changed entirely- no octopus! Also, Dr. Manhattan's anytime and all time power was not efficiently explained in the movie.
However, I was amazed at Snyder's vision. I didn't think it could have been done. But he did. The film worked perfectly - the scenes were timed right, the action sequences were violent and always appeared to hit real hard. I didn't realize they made this movie so violent and so disturbing. And that was definitely part of its appeal. Two-thumbs up for the movie originally called unfilmable by the novel's die-hard fans.


Heartbreak Kid

Appleseed: Ex Machina

This may be the best animated/CG movie in probably.. ever. I mean I know that's saying a lot. But this movie even rivals Final Fantasy: Advent Children in terms of graphics and style, and way better in terms of characterization, story telling, and cinematics. You can definitely see John Woo's influence on the movie - not just with the birds but with the stylistic gunfights, the slow-motion, and the action.
The only thing is (I know this is a small thing compared to eveything that was grand in this movie, but...) I think the animators were still high from the Sentinel juice they drank while watching Matrix Revolutions. The problem was they KNEW that they were going to get a ton of comments about how the last scene was extremely like the Zion attack - but they did it just like that anyway.

Slam Dawg and Probe Nixon

I usually have an inner aversion to movies that have Best Picture Oscar nominations. This started around 1996 when the Academy chose to acknowledge snore-inducing bore-fests like The English Patient and Fargo. This was when 1996 also provided classics and infinitely-more-watchable movies such as Independence Day, A Time to Kill, The Rock, The Ghost and the Darkness, Trainspotting, among others were shown.
I have seen both The English Patient and Fargo. They were hmm.. okay.., even passable on some odd standards. But they are nowhere near where and what critically acclaimed movies should be. It is mind-boggling, even now, to think that at that time, these movies were the best for that year.
Sometimes though, they get it right when movies like The Departed and The Return of the King wins Best Picture, but more often than not, I just can't trust the judgement of these old people. Science-fiction, action movies, and comedies rarely get any attention.
This year though, I have seen three out of the five Best Picture hopefuls: Frost/Nixon, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The Benjamin Button movie had an interesting plot but was boring as expected. However, Slumdog and Frost/Nixon was better in every way than I expected. Slumdog Millionaire was masterfully done. Everyone has been talking about its wonderful story telling and characterization, but another aspect of the film jumped out to me - the soundtrack. Not the kind of soundtrack that you'll go and buy in the store because of the new songs but rather how the sounds were used to enhance the feeling and emotional awareness of the movie. Slumdog Millionaire is like a newly delivered Meat Lover's Pizza - it's fresh and it seems to have everything.
Frost/Nixon follows in the same mold as The Last Castle (and even Death Note) wherein two strong personalities try to outmatch each other. I have had only a little background with regard to the details of the Watergate Scandal but it didn't seem to matter when I watched this movie. It really was about two men and the people behind them preparing for what was an eventuality that would define their entire lives. The acting was superb and I really feel that Frank Langella at least has an edge over Brad Pitt on this category.
Although I haven't seen Milk and The Reader, I woudln't be surprised if either Slumdog or Frost/Nixon takes home either Best Picture or Best Director award. But if Benjamin Button somehow gets any of either award, then the "Academy" has just proven that even after all these years my aversion to them has real reason and merit, and would not have been baseless. Let's just hope my gut feeling is wrong and either one of the two films gets the Best Picture and Best Director award.

Twilight

I didn't know that a vampire love story would work. But it did. I was afraid that it was going to be a cheesy-high-school-teenage-romance-angst-ridden-flick (think High School Musical meets Interview), but it wasn't. It was surprisingly good.
Also, there are new ideas to the vampire mythology from this book/movie that I found surprisingly pleasant - diamond skin, sunlight immunity, and "vampire vegetarians;" and a few others borrowed - unique powers to each vampire, and possibly rival wolves.


"It's like eating tofu for the rest of your life!"

Bangkok Dangerous

Watched this on dibidi the other day.. Word of advice to anyone - AVOID THIS MOVIE AT ALL COSTS. Face it, this was no Hollywood-style big movie production. It was an asian flick so bad it felt like it was shot 30 years ago. You can sense that even Nicolas Cage didn't really want to be a part of this and that he may have been blackmailed to do this or something.

(EDIT: I was going to say that Bangkok Dangerous may have been the worst movie of the year. It is not. That title goes to Max Payne The Movie. Max Payne could have been worst movie of the decade if not for Olga Kurylenko.)

Recent Movies Watched

Eagle Eye - It had a few references to I, Robot but the overall theme was masterfully crafted to something new and fresh, the action sequences were breathtaking, and had more than one of those "holy s#!t" moments, which is enough to make it one of the top ten movies of the year.

War, Inc. - Same old semi-futuristic theme of corporations taking over countries and funding wars for the weapons race. Nothing really worth noting here other than Hillary Duff dancing sexy on a table trying to seduce John Cusack.

Martian Child - I guess since we all have that "loner" gene inside of us and at one time or another we felt no one understood us as kids, most of us can probably relate to this movie. A sobering look at a father and child relationship but really nothing extravagant or more than that.

Nim's Island - An adventure story from two points of view (Jodie Foster and that Little Miss Sunshine kid) with their struggle to meet at Nim's Island and save each other. I was surprised I finished this movie in its entirety. I didn't really expect much so I guess the plot and the script were engaging.

Speed Racer

Bad:

Cinematography - A movie of this scale should have had more wide shots. Instead, zooming in from close-up to close-up to another close-up to yet another close-up will almost make you nauseous.

Racing Physics - Okay, it was more like spinning rather than racing. The cars spin almost always during races. Intended spinning. The race felt like the cars were on ice with absolutely no traction. I particularly like the car battles, but these lightweight cars seemed indestructible.

Good:

Color Palette - It reminded me of Nickelodeon's Lazy Town. Which is somewhat a good thing. Seiichi loved that show and the hues always made us relax.

Roger Allam (Mr. Royalton) and Paulie Litt (Spritle Racer) - Great acting. They were more memorable than Speed Racer himself.

Bottom Line: Even if you're a fan of the original animated series, it's not the end of the world if you happen to miss this movie. Anyway, watch this movie when you have nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon and you just want to sit back on your couch. Just block it from your mind that this is a Wachowski movie and you're all set.

Quick Movie Reviews

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - It was a fairly good movie. Much like the other Mummy movies, it was action-packed and had a relatively engaging plot. However, you can tell that not having Rachel Weisz play the role of Evey had a negative impact to the overall feel of the movie. It just wasn't as refreshing without her. Anyway, this is an easy call, The Mummy Returns is still the best out of of all three Mummy movies.

The Dark Knight - It IS the best superhero movie in the history of film. Great special effects, cinematography, acting, story, and plot. Bad Batman voice. Nothing that will revolutionize the entire film industry, but it does stake claim to the best superhero film ever. Pending Snyder's Watchmen that is.

Felon - Nothing to see here. Please move along.

You Don't Mess With the Zohan - This may very well be the worst Adam Sandler movie.

Hancock - This movie got so many bad reviews from either friends or critics, I watched it without any expectations at all. Turns out it wasn't really that bad - it was an "okay" popcorn movie. Which means, watch it if you don't want to think about what you're seeing.

Impact Point - "A sexy volleyball thriller." - without sex.

Kung-Fu Panda - A measure of how good an animated movie for children is the children themselves. I watched this with my two daughters and within 15 minutes, they were already doing something else.

Pathology - "Mga doktor lang makaka-appreciate nyan..." - my wife

Rescue Dawn - Christian Bale actually agreed to do this movie? Elton Brand (professional basketball player and movie producer) must really have some deep pockets.

Harold and Kumar: Escapa from Guantanamo Bay - If you liked the first one, you'll like this one. Other than that, same same. Rob Cordry was exceptionally funny here, by the way.

Hot Rod - The highlight of the entire movie was the "punch dancing" scene. If not for anything else, you may see this movie just for that.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall - This is actually one of the funniest movies of the year. But why did it have so many dick shots?

Recent DVDs Watched

1. Be Kind Rewind - (Jack Black, Mos Def) - Started with a lot of promise, ended up being forgettable.

2. Forbidden Kingdom - (Jacky Chan, Jet Li) - Everyone involved in this movie must have gone to the cliche-till-you-die festival.

3. Pathfinder - (Karl Urban, Moon Bloodgood) - It had potential as a serviceable popcorn movie, but it failed even that.

4. Shinobi: Heart Under Blade - (Yukie Nakama, Joe Odagiri) - It had a few cheap references to Ninja Scroll I have to admit - but this movie was masterfully done. Buy the DVD or download if you have the chance.

5. Never Back Down - (Sean Faris, Cam Gigandet) - Another cliche-fest, but being an MMA fan, I actually finished the movie in its entirety without ejecting the DVD - which is a good thing for a movie I expected little of.

Huh? I Didn't Get It..

Motion pictures that I don't comprehend (in an intellectual level, at least) come few and far in between. But not since Revolver's awful plot did a movie make mo go.. "What the hell.. I didn't get it.."
And then, I saw The Fountain (starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz) on DVD. I just didn't get it. Well, the future part at least. But from the looks of things, a lot of people are struggling with their theories as well. Check this out.


"The hills are alive.. with the sound of.."

300: Best Movie of the Year

"We're in for one wild night."

Within the first few seconds, you'll realize that you're in for a wild movie. I can't even begin to describe how good this movie is. I can even go as far as saying that this is the best movie ever not in a trilogy.


The images that Zack Snyder and Frank Miller give the audience is almost intoxicating. You can really get a visual high from the movie. I lost count of how many "Astig!" "Ungas!" "Hanep!" "Ta***na, ang galing!" "Bangas!" "Lupit!" "F**k, sobrang ganda nito!" I might have said while watching the movie.


Honestly, it is that good. My wife said that this was the only movie (along with LOTR) that she couldn't find a fault with, cinematics-wise. Personally, the one thing I sort of got bored with in the movie was the Queen's speech in the council chambers. I felt like this was wasting 5 minutes in the movie and the speech itself was terribly done. (What am I saying? 5 minutes? If it wasn't for all the slow motion, the movie could have been over by 30 minutes! Ha!) Anyway, the story more than made up for this at the end of her speech when she did something that'll make you think: "Wow, she is a Spartan woman!" My point is, my wife was right. There really is nothing bad you can say about this movie. Even though it was a historical representation of the Battle of Thermopylae, it was never meant to educate on the accuracies of it but rather a fantasy story based on it.


All aspects of it are great: cinematography, sound, plot, dialogue, directing, editing, characters and even acting. Could anyone have given a better Leonidas' than Gerard Butler? Or David Wenham's (Faramir/Dilios) voice-over narrative. Or even Xerxes's performance? (Who by the way was Randy Emmers in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Who would have thought?)

I left the movie wanting to be a Spartan. Wanting to be part of something so great, so violent, driven by purpose, driven by a "No retreat, No surrender" principle. This is hands down, the best movie of the last four years (LotR:RotK 2003) and can possibly be for the next few years.

Spartans! Enjoy your breakfast, for tonight we dine in Hell!




Image from IMDB.com