I was able to watch a Cinemalaya 2008 film last weekend with my girlfriend and I was lucky enough to catch Chris Martinez' entry 100. I say lucky because I really didn't have any expectations on 100 when I came to the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Heck, I didn't even have a clear idea which movies were showing for that day, so it was really a serendipitous thing.
On to the film: it is about a lady (played by Mylene Dizon) who decided to take control of her destiny when she learned she had cancer and the movie got its title from the 100 things a dying woman would do before her fateful day would come. The film has the good stuff: humor (thanks to Eugene Domingo and Tessie Tomas), a good dose of Filipino satire and of course, a nice poignant story about closure and life's meaning.
Like any other indie film, 100 has some rough edges in terms of the production and the movie seemed to get absorbed in itself (the film ran two hours). I was imagining that there were a few scened that could have been cut from the editing room to make 100 a more lean and tight movie. But maybe that's commercial movie-bred brain talking.
100 is very, very likable-- It's not artsy and it's pretty accessible to a wide spectrum of audiences. It even won the Audience Choice plum in the recently concluded Cinemalaya film fest awards. And speaking of awards, film stars Mylene Dizon won the Best Actress award, Eugene Domingo ran of with the Best Supporting Actress trophy and director Chris Martinez won Best Director and Best Screenplay in the Cinemalaya film festival's competition.
But if the movie ever do get to be distributed in the mainstream cinemas, I would recommend it. If it doesn't, then I sure hope the producers come up with a DVD.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: 100
Geeks are often depicted in Hollywood movies as socially inept geniuses who write software, hack computer networks and just slack off. 21 is a movie about geeks who don't use technology but use pure brain power to take on the world. And that world is the glittery place called Las Vegas.
Starring Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe), Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns) and Kevin Spacey (American Beauty), 21 shows the life an MIT college student leads as he joins an elite group of campus math geniuses who is trained by their math professor how to count cards and beat the Las Vegas odds in the game of Black Jack. Of course, a lot of drama and casino happen in th e movie, but the heart of the movie centers on the transformation of a simple Harvard Medical School aspirant into a greedy, high-rolling, Black Jack gambler.
The story is truly fascinating, especially the process of card-counting and the how the students and the professor use this legal technique to game the Vegas system. However, the story was hard to follow in the beginning because a lot of jargon about card playing was introduced and the "system" the team follows is a bit complicated as well. This would be a frustrating for people who dislike math or numbers. Director Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde) had no choice but to go take a safer route in terms of creating a believable story because the concept was complex. One more thing: I think Jim Sturgess and Kate Bosworth are an odd choice for the lead couple, she too old looks for the role for me.
21 is definitely a movie math geeks will enjoy, and I have reason to believe non-geeks will enjoy as well. Just ignore the jargon and the math, you'll find the film a jackpot.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: 21
I once read that a story could be done two ways: put ordinary characters in a very interesting situation or put interesting characters in an ordinary situation. The Savages can be classified in the latter group.
The Savage family the movie focuses on is composed Jon (Philip Seymour Hoffman), younger sister Wendy (Laura Linney) and their elderly father Lenny (Philip Bosco). Each were living their own separate lives until Lenny suffers from dementia brought about by old age. Siblings Jon and Wendy then come together to go through the process of looking for an adequate nursing home for their father while dealing with their own hangups-- Jon is a theater professor with a romance issues while Wendy is a struggling playwright who is in an illicit affair.
Director-writer Tamara Jenkins has created a family drama that is not as quirky as Little Miss Sunshine and not as outright weird as The Royal Tenenbaums. There is witty situational humor and a healthy dose of real issues most people face and experience great pains and deal with them beneath the surface. The strong actors' performances seal the deal for this finely written film.
From an Asian perspective, the concept of sending your elderly seems a far-fetched idea to a lot of families and the way Jon and Wendy handled their situation could be a good cultural exposition to lot of people. The movie is just a story about taking care of an aging father, but also a story of two people growing up.
Note: Starting with my review of The Savages, I'm adding a portion in the post called "Liza's One-Liner," where my girlfriend shares her thoughts on the movie with just one or two sentences.
Liza's One-Liner: "the acting was very good but the story was sad, even if the movie ended on a good note. i never really thought of how getting old will affect me and the people around me before i saw this movie. it's scary and sad :("
Rating: 4.5/5
Tags: The Savages
After watching Atonement, my girlfriend asked me what I though of the movie. I said, "What a sad, sad movie."
A sad movie it is. While I wasn't able to read the novel by Ian McEwan the film was based on, I could imagine it's a fine piece of work. The story itself is simple, but the weight of the unfolding events and the performances by the Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and newcomer Saoirse Ronan probably made this period drama Oscar-worthy.
Speaking of the story, Atonement is about a romance between a British heiress (Knightley) and an up and coming Cambridge fellow (McAvoy) and how a young, perhaps too imaginative pre-teen girl (Ronan) puts everything in a very unfavorable situation. A few years after their life-changing encounter, the three meet again and the drama of redemption and retribution happens. Anybody watching the movie should look out for the scene towards the end where the young girl is now a nurse and she confronts the couple in their derelict flat. Good stuff.
I wouldn't be surprised if you feel the need pop a Prozac after watching Atonement. It's a tragic romance that doesn't twaddle in the melodramatic.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: Atonement
Fox Searchlight Pictures' films do not perform generally well in the box-office since it tends towards "non-mainstream" themes and slants toward the indie genre. So when one of its releases jump the $100 million box-office earnings hurdle, there must be something up right?
Juno is that film and it has won over critics and the movie-going public with a story about an acerbic, fast-talking teen rocker who realizes she's pregnant. Ellen Page plays Juno Macgruff with much skill and ease that her performance ties Diablo Cody's excellent writing and Jason Reitman's skillful direction together in one tight bundle. Here's a sample line from the movie, said by Juno as and advice to a prospective adoptive couple:
You should've gone to China, you know, 'cause I hear they give away babies like
free iPods. You know, they pretty much just put them in those t-shirt guns and
shoot them out at sporting events.
Nice line huh?
If the movie is a lens to what's happening in American society, I am personally surprised by how the characters reacted to Juno's pregnancy. It seemed like it was automatic to visit an abortion clinic, parents to outright accept the situations and find adoptive parents in classified ads. This is probably because of the cultural differences in the Asian and North American contexts.
Storywise, Juno is no heavyweight, but it's the dialogue and character development that gets it over the hump.
Rating: 4/5
Three brothers take a train to go to around India and visit the "spiritual" hotspots. Sounds trite, right?
But taken under Wes Anderson's helm and a name "The Darjeeling Limited," the trip goes in a whole different and not commonplace.
Anderson has directed Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums his latest project is another showcase of how he deftly handles black comedies. Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman play the three brothers who try find spritual enlightenment in a holiday. While the film works well with the Indian backdrop, the movie avoids "the story in a travelougue trap."
Dialogue is also sharp and the overall feel is that this is not your typical film. You may feel uneasy at first because the movie starts off the bat with a prologue featuring Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman. This is classic Wes Anderson.
The movie is all about the brother's relationships and their emotional baggages. There's a scene in the finale where the brothers, after going through the trip, jump on the train and leaving their luggage behind. The Darjeeling Limited does well because of the quirky characterizations and situations the lead characters are in. Think "Y Tu Mamá También" crossed with "The Namesake." If those movies are not your cup of tea, then take a trip elsewhere.
Rating: 3.5/5
Tags: The Darjeeling Limited
American Gangster is Ridley Scott's take on the the organized crime genre, and it looks and feels like a tribute to the gangster classic The Godfather.
Set in the in New York City during Vietnam War era, the film looks at two lives at the opposite ends of the crime and law spectrum. On one end, we have Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), a Harlem-based gangster who rose through the ranks and on the other end is Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), an honest cop in the New Jersey Narcotics Division. What brings the two eventually together is the heroin problem that was sweeping the United States at that time.
The film is a good primer on the business of the mob and the drug trade, similar to how The Godfather gave the world an idea how the mafia works. Only this time, American Gangster would focus more on the operational side of things, rather than the succession aspect. The build-up of events in the film is very plausible and the action, while far from being slam-bang, is adequate. What the film focuses on is the relationships and situations each of the lead character is in. The subplots on the tumultuous domestic lives of Lucas and Roberts give more texture to the film.
The only thing I could find weak about the film is it may be something you have seen before, especially if you were around during the 1970's. There are corrupt cops, sexy drug mistresses and colorful drug dealers to spice things up, but American Gangster is a finely produced film that won't blow you away. Definitely watch it if you like The Godfather.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: American Gangster
The nice thing about January is that a lot of stores offer discounts to inventory items they want to move. Video stores are no exception-- I was able to get a Philippines-only release of the Mexican erotic roadie Y Tu Mamá También.
Released in 2001, Y Tu Mamá También (And Your Mother Too!) is essentially a buddy movie and teen movie rolled together in one soft taco. When two teenage boys lead the cast, expect a lot of sex and raunchy dialogue, as we see the story of Tenoch and Julio (portrayed by Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal respectively) take the sexy older woman Luisa (Maribel Verdú) on a road trip to Heaven's Mouth Beach.
Director-writer Alfonso Cuarón takes the viewer on a journey on the Mexican country-side, complete with stop-overs and all. The main story of the trio unfolds as they travel and know more about one another, both personally and sexually (yep, you read that right). The sharp exchanges between the characters help balance the movie and steer the movie away from the B-movie zone.
The bad thing about these local releases of DVD's is that they strip most of the special features and leave just the movie. (Darned local distributors!). I would have loved to see the extras of this finely made movie; it is definitely a must see.
Note: This movie contains explicit scenes of sexual acts, recommended for folks older than 18.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: Y Tu Mamá También
An entry to the 2007 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), Katas ng Saudi (Juices of Saudi) is a commentary on the current state of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) told in a comic and heartwarming tale. (Trivia time: Approximately one in every ten Filipinos are working outside of the Philippines and three in every one hundred Filipinos are based in the Middle East.)
"Katas ng Saudi" is a phrase used to describe the fruits of labor of a Filipino professional in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The movie shows what are the "fruits" of laboring in the Middle East for ten years for an engineer (played by a hefty Jinggoy Estrada) who goes back home to the Philippines to a family he barely knows. Add to that a host of sycophants (his mother, his brother-in-law, distant relatives and friends) to make things worse, the hapless balikbayan* is left wondering if going home was a good idea.
The movie shows a microcosm of life for OFW families: a parent who missed a good portion of his children's lives and wanting to be a part of it, relatives making the balikbayan guilty for not helping the family, and the question of practicality in working abroad versus staying home to be with your loved ones. Director and writer Jose Javier Reyes makes very good observations on contemporary Filipino society and distills them in to an easy to appreciate film.
While the acting from the main cast (Estrada, Lorna Tolentino as the wife, Shaina Magdayao as the rebellious daughter) is decent, storytelling is where Katas ng Saudi earns its chops. The "A" grade** from the Cinema Evaluation Board is a very well-deserved fruit of the film creators' efforts.
*balikbayan - A Filipino term to describe a person who went home from overseas.
**"A" grade - The highest grade the Cinema Evaluation Board gives to a film based on direction, screenplay, acting and technical merits.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: Katas ng Saudi
Let me share a little anecdote that relates to Gone Baby Gone: My girlfriend and I had a lengthy debate about the moral and ethical complexities the movie presented. We watch movies a lot and we rarely debate about a movie. That's how compelling Gone Baby Gone is.
The story from the outset is about disappearances and abduction, thus the title of the movie. However, director Ben Affleck (yes, the actor) puts a great deal of depth in the movie that it makes you wonder if the title really refers to the missing children that figure in the central theme of the story. Casey Affleck, Ben's brother, is effective as a Boston-based private investigator who gets tangled in a conspiracy that involves the drug syndicates and the police. Michelle Mohagnan, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman complete the movie's solid lead cast.
Ben Affleck's directorial career has have a promising start with Gone Baby Gone and Casey Affleck doesn't let down. My only problem is the Boston accent, but other than that, the movie is a must see despite its limited release.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: Gone Baby Gone
Kal Penn in drama?!? That alone compelled me to watch The Namesake, a limited release film that was made in 2006.
To my pleasant surprise, the movie transcends its initial novelty and actually presents a very well-crafted story about a family moving through generations and surviving in a foreign land.
The movie's title is derived from Kal Penn's character, Gogol Ganguli, and its common name with author Nikolai Gogol. Gogol was named after his father's favorite author and the unfolding of this is relevant in the story was paced deliberately and patiently.
The film is essentially a family drama and how it deals with transitioning into a new life, inter-cultural relationships, and of course, going back to one's roots. Although the story focuses on an Indian family, I was able to relate to a majority of the scenarios presented, especially the drifting away of a child from his family. I'm doubtful, however, that non-Asians may not fully appreciate the movie.
The Namesake is an intimate film about family and culture. People who have migrated before or have family who have left for a different country will find this movie moving. I sure did.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: The Namesake
How does a lovely couple of five years get back together after breaking up?
That's the question the movie One More Chance tries to answer. The good thing is that the film presents a situation that answers the question with more correctness than goofs.
The couple central to the story is Popoy (John Lloyd Cruz) and Basha (Bea Alonzo) . Their story is given enough background-- they were college sweethearts who, after five years, get engaged. The conflict of the movie arises when Basha gets fed up with Popoy's controlling ways and opts to have more space and personal growth by breaking up with Popoy. Popoy, on the other hand, is devastated as his plans are quashed and deals with the break-up unwisely. The story moves forward and gets better at that point.
What I like about the movie is the good exposition of how people these days deal with break-ups and how the people/environment that surrounds them (friends, family, work, etc.) is affected by the personal turmoil. What I don't like is the very weak supporting cast-- it was virtually a hodge-podge of vets and newbies that really do not make their marks in the movie. Also, I found the last third of the movie a bit too contrived to let the loose ends tie together sloppily.
One More Chance is a movie an older audience would appreciate (as opposed to I've Fallen For You) and people would enjoy it for its honesty, good balance of tear-jerking moments and a solid performance by John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo.
Rating: 3.5/5
Tags: One More Chance
Ang Lee does it again with Lust, Caution, a beautiful period drama set in 1940's Shanghai, China.
The story is about how a young, idealistic lady is thrust in a world of war and espionage, along with how the situation changes her physically and emotionally. The title of the movie is very suggestive and captures the essence of the world the main protagonist (played by Tang Wei) lived in-- as a spy, she infiltrated the enemy by being a mistress to one of its top ministers (played by Tony Leung).
The sex scenes are charged, but done with taste. There is one scene where the sadistic tendencies of the minister was portrayed and if an amateur was at the helm, it would have come as sleazy. But thankfully, Ang Lee is an artist. Also, I remember the ending to one of Lee's popular work, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, with Lust, Caution's, because the sense of tragedy and missed opportunities were there.
Lust, Caution is a screen gem that people who can watch (18 years old and above) it should not miss.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: Lust, Caution
I feel bad about Rendition. It has the elements of being a powerful drama about ethically gray topics (such as torture) but I couldn't help feel my eyelids shutting on various stretches of the movie.
Perhaps it is the failure of the main leads (Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gylenhaal) to connect with me. Witherspoon plays a wife of American-Egyptian engineer Anwar Ib-rahimi suspected of terrorism and Gylenhaal plays an agent who observes the torturous interrogation of Ib-rahimi. The interplay of the two threads along with other minor subplots is not as good as movies like Crash or Babel-- and I think that is the main weakness of the film.
The cast is solid and director Gavin Hood's skill to create political tension is evident, but it's too bad I never got to appreciate it as a whole. I can't help but wonder if I was being subject to torture while watching the film.
Rating: 1.5/5
Tags: Rendition
The Philippine movie industry has been sputtering since the start of the millennium. The local studios seem to be satisfied with promoting accessible love stories that rake in the cash. The latest cash cow in the offing is Paano Kita Iibigin ("How would I Love You").
Joyce Bernal seem to go on cruise control in her latest project. While the story has its textures, the movie is generally uninspiring. Central to the this tepid romance is Regine Velasquez and Piolo Pascual, playing Martee and Lance respectively.
Martee is the down-in-her-luck single mom who finds a job in the unlikeliest of places-- a down-trodden resort with a devoted Christian staff. (The folks keep on saying "God is good" a lot of times). Lance, on the other hand, is the resort owner trying to forget his checkered past and seems to enjoy being a total jerk to everyone. The two are not a good match, but they do try. The age difference of the actors (Ms. Velasquez is almost 10 years older than Piolo) seems to take its toll on their credibility as a screen couple. The good point is that the supporting cast does a masterful job of keeping things interesting (Eugune Domingo is as funny as always) and the movie has its share of humorous moments.
While this highly-marketed movie performed as expected on the box office, it didn't really make a splash from the creative side of things. And as far as the splashes go, the movie seems to be satisfied in making splashy scenes with the two pretty leads.
Rating: 2.5/5
Tags: Paano Kita Iibigin
What do get when you mix a school rivalry story with a high-energy dance/step routine showcase?
The answer is Stomp The Yard.
In the vein of recent dance/teen movies (Step Up, Take the Lead), Stomp the yard differentiates itself by incorporating a dance that seems to be popular in Georgia and southern U.S. states (Stepping) and mixing it with Urban/Street dance.
It's easy to see why the movie topped the box-office charts for a time. The choreography is superb and the cinematography complements is. The cast is replete with newcomers and they do little enhancement to the story.
Speaking of the story,it's quite predictable: A edgy ghetto dude comes to an unfamiliar territory, gets caught up in a frat rivalry, picks the underdog frat, helps them overcome the other's domination of the National Stepping Championships. Oh, there's a love story entiwined in all that.
Stomp The Yard is a good dance movie. I wish they would just show the dance sequences straight, rather than deal with the story though.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: Stomp The Yard
I read somewhere that Anthony Mingella's Breaking and Entering had parallelisms with the Oscar-winning film Crash. So, I came in to the movie with a certain level of expectation.
Now let me get this out of the way: Euro-Crash it ain't.
Set in London's King's Cross district, Breaking and Entering is a movie that has cultural and social underpinnings. In the spirit of the aforementioned Crash and Babel, it presents and interweaving of apparently differerent live getting caught up by cirumstances, and in the case of this movie, it's crime and passion.
This is obviously a Jude Law vehicle. He leads the cast as Will Francis, an visionary architect who plans to uplift the derelict portions of the city. Juliet Binoceh and Robin Wright Penn round out the impressive cast. Acting-wise, each had power moments, but the story seemed to strangle them.
Speaking of the story, there are plot mechanisms that seem too contrived. The romantic link between a few characters in the movie looked out of place to me.
Too bad Breaking and Entering twiddled between safe and average-- it really had the potential to so show a more jarring and powerful drama.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: Breaking and Entering
Will Smith got a nomination for his performance in this movie so it must me good right?
If you ask me, only half-true.
While performances of Will Smith as stockbroker Chris Gardner and Thandie Newton as his sarcastic wife were really commendable, I personally think the two things that pulled the movie down were a) Jaden Smith and b) the last third of the movie.
Jaden Smith could be a good actor someday, but there were more than two times his eyes betrayed his child acting. Could this be ADD for his part? Who knows.
The last act of the movie lacked the power of the first two-thirds. I wanted to tell the director, Gabriele Muccino, that yes, we get the picture-- Will Smith was struggling as a homeless intern and we are waiting for his triumph.
All in all, Smith was The Man who was really in pursuit of getting over the what-could-have-been-great hump.
Rating: 2.5/5
Tags: The Pursuit of Happyness, Movie Review
