10 Songs

1. These are My Twister Words - Radiohead
   
2. First Train Home - Imogen Heap
3. A Choppy Yet Sincere Apology - The Riverboat Gamblers
4. Want - Adam Lambert
5. Notion - Kings of Leon
6. Found - Phillip Larue
7. Ignorance - Paramore
8. Red Lipstick - Skint and Demoralised
9. Before the Worst - The Script
10. Sooner or Later - Michelle Branch
    

RacsOview: "The Final Destination" (2009)

Gore! Blood! Pork and Beans!

"Final Destination" is back, with more blood, more body parts and more deaths. It is gorier than ever. Bloodier. Violent-er.

This time they set it on a race track. So expect big explosions and car debris flying. We have new faces also in the franchise, however they end up all dead.

I was not really looking for some substance to the movie, I know it will stink if I did just that. What I did was just expect how each of them died. You guys all know the drill. They were supposed die to begin with but one of them got all Charmed's Phoebe and saw the future and they all evaded the death trap. But all of them are supposed to die so death comes one by one and kills the remaining survivors depending on the order that they should die.

So that's pretty much what I did. I enjoyed the blood, I drunk it all. Haha! And I was entertained. But like I said. Don't find substance. There aren't any at all.

My Grade: F (for Substance)/ B+ (for pure Gore fun)
LAMB RATING:

RacsOview: "Battle Royale" (2001)

I saw this one right after seeing Quentin Tarantino recommending the movie. It was on the top of his list and all. That made me interested. He is one of my favorite directors after all. If you guys have not seen Tarantino's list then you should watch this first.



So I have seen it. Initial reaction? "Battle Royale" is one disturbing shit. It was like "Das Experiment" anime style.

Here's the story. A randomly selected class was put in an island to kill themselves. The catch. Only one should live. If many survives after three days, then those many will die. The protagonist is this Nanahara dude, a guy that you probably have seen in the rather famous "Death Note" live action film as Yagami Light. He has the hots for this chick which he protects. Another dude, who was on their side, claims to know the way out of that killing field is a previous participant and is sort of an expert.

There is no question that this movie, the way it was made, it is original. It was like "Survivor" only instead of voting out your tribe mates you kill them . You have to outwit, outplay and outlast. And like I said, it was like "Das Experiment", a movie that I dearly love, only "Battle Royale" is not an experiment gone awry.

But I really do not get it. Yes it was original. Yes it was bloody fun. Yes it is sick and controversial. But I just could not shake the feeling that it was uber melodramatic. It was too Anime. They even have to talk before they kill. Why can't they just kill one another, they still have to talk and talk and talk. Even the gestures of the actors where too animated. The stomping of the feet when angry, the banging of things and stuff. Even their deaths were animated. It just felt tad too much of a live action version of some anime. Or it was anime only actors were used. I do not really know if it was styled liked that. Though technically it was good. It kinda reminded me of "Kill Bill" as well. Tarantino might have taken some inspiration from it.

"Battle Royale" was an exceptionally well made, cult classic. I know this movie has its followers, cult followers. Many are calling this as an instant classic. But I am not buying it. It was too cartoon for me, and it was not even a cartoon. Even the hacker was cartoon. I am a programmer and I have not seen anyone program like that, like he was playing the piano or something. I could go on ranting about it too cartoony. Don't get me started on that duel between that "nice" dude and crazy sick dude. I just wish that they stayed out of the bitter old man angle.

I have to agree with Quentin Tarantino though that it was a good watch. I was at least, very entertained.

B-

RacsOview: "Yossi and Jagger" (2003)

"Yossi and Jagger" could easily be dubbed as the Israeli "Brokeback Mountain". But if you guys do not know, "Yossi and Jagger" was released 2-3 years before Brokeback. It is a good thing though, to be compared to Brokeback, it being a masterpiece and all. But "Yossi and Jagger" stands on its own, and is one of the best films of 2003.

"Yossi and Jagger" is about Yossi and Jagger. Duh. Yossi is the commanding officer of a Israeli military troop. Jagger is second in command. The catch is, they are a thing. They go out on "secret" rounds to kiss and do stuff, you know what I mean. They both love each other. Just so happen that Yossi is like Ennis. He is sort of reserved. Closet. Well they both are. Jagger is like Jack. He wants to live with Yossi. He wants them to spend their lives together.

I like it when a movie is short yet it delivered the goods. "Yossi and Jagger" is just about an hour long. Yet everything was put on screen. The movie needs not be long to convey a message. Take note comedies. Shot in a very miniature budget, the movie never felt small. It was so striking how it grabs hold of your attention and never lets go.

It was superbly acted. Ohad Knoller and Yehuda Levi were both superb and deserves acting recognition for their work. But I think that Levi stole the show. Everyone in the movie seem to be talking about him all the time, and the movie kinda revolved around him. His love for Yossi. Yaeli's secret love for him. His death. Knoller was superb as well. He has the emotional roles and has the longest screen time. And he sure does know how to tug our emotions. He was not showy and flashy, He was in love, yes, but he did not show it that much unless they were alone. His facade broke when Jagger died. Yes he died. Spoiler fuck. Sorry. Anyway. Assi Cohen as the guy who loved Yaeli who was in turn in love with Jagger was superb as well. He crumbled when he professed and dismissed.

I sometimes feel sad that small gems such as this movie hardly get noticed. I just wish that sometimes the government finds a way to support small films. "Yossi and Jagger" was simply overlooked. I did. With it's short running time, "Yossi and Jagger" lands a place as one of the best films of the decade.

A+

RacsOview: "The Opposite of Sex" (1998)

I always wonder what will happen to Christina Ricci post Addams Family and Casper years. She always had this baby faced pug eyed look that I think she could not easily over come. I have not seen most of her works in the 90s and have only seen her current works and is sorta not impressed other than her work in "Monster" where I found her annoyingly good. It was only a while ago that I saw her work in Don Roos' comedy "The Opposite of Sex" that I thought that she is a great actress if given the right role.

"The Opposite of Sex" tells the story of bitchy sixteen year old Dede Truitt. She left her mom after the death of her step dad whom she loathed much. That was pretty much obvious throughout the film. She then went to pester her half brother who was a gay professor. She did a series of what could be unfortunate events that messed up the life of her brother, Bill and his gay then bisexual then gay again lover Matt. And so on and so forth. I do not like giving summaries.

Christina Ricci was a bona fide bitch in this movie, and she played the part of that money grubbing bitch well. She was also the narrator of the movie and I even think that she narrated very well. Well, I partly think that what made the voice over successful was that uttered word was very well written. Don Roos' biting comedy is very well written. It was comic with out going too much over the board. It was the right amount of comedy. The thing of it was. Everything that happened in the movie was not, if it happened in real life, comedy. If that shit happened to me, believe me, Dede would be dead just as soon as the story begun. The mixture of the characters and how they reacted to what happened to them made the movie hilarious. It even got so manic that a gay character suddenly appeared, Jason, claiming as Matt's lover, then he made things hell for Bill.

The movie was cast to perfection. Don Roos' sort of muse, who was also in "Happy Endings", Lisa Kudrow as the uptight Lucia was all aces in her role as well. I never really believed the hype that "Friends" created for Lisa Kudrow. But after seeing her in "Happy Endings" and in this movie consider me a fan. She was hysterical. A bitch in her own right.

I know that the movie at times pokes fun at homosexuals. But I think it was not offensive. It was just one woman's (one bitch's) point of view of what homosexuals are. The movie kinda did show that they are at time more normal, more human that of straights.

It was a great movie. I was not expecting to be this ecstatic about it. This is one of the best films of 2008. It was great fun. A comic gem.

A

RacsOview: "The Brothers Bloom" (2009)

After winning his well deserved Oscar in 2002, Adrien Brody has not given us a performance that would make us believe that he deserved that win. I am still waiting for that performance to come and with "The Brothers Bloom" Adrien Brody just had one helluva fun onscreen. It was not his best, but I kinda enjoyed seeing him having fun. But I still do want to see him kill it again. He should.

The movie is about conman brothers, with one, trying so hard to escape the life because he felt that all his life, everything that happened to him was written for him. Then in comes a epileptic photographer that they were supposed to con. Younger Bloom fell in love with the eccentric photographer. Then a series of real and con events happened. Story ends when younger Bloom having the life he wanted, though with rather expensive expenses.

Other than Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz seems to be having hella fun as well. That sequence where she showed Brody her learned skills was funny. She was charming an sort of cute naivette. Mark Ruffalo was good. Could have been better. Rinko Kikuchi in another semi mute role was also a fun to watch though at times she felt caricature.

No grounds were rattled with this film. It was just a showcase of actors having fun. Everything that happened was sorta predictable. There really was nothing new. It was just well made. As if they were extra high creating the film. It was fast paced but sort of long. There were just too many twists and turns. There seems to be an abundancy in ending. At times you felt that it was supposed to end, Then other scene pops in. I sort of did got lost in all of those.

Nevertheless is was OK if not mediocre at best. The actors elevated this film. Thanks to them. But I just could not get over the feeling of disappointment.

C+

RacsOview: "Antichrist" (2009)

This movie crept the living wits out off me. But watching the movie felt like somewhat a breath of fresh air. It was not you normal kind of movie. You will not even find this kind of movie in art houses. It was that unique. And it was a welcome experience though it made my heart raise like I was going to cardiac arrest.

"Antichrist" has got nothing to do with religious beliefs whatsoever. It was not even about higher being or such. I do not even know why Lars Von Trier gave the movie that title. The movie was about a couple who recently lost their son who died falling out of their window down to the ground floor while the couple were having their sexy time. And though I think that it is not really that apt to say, that sequence was gorgeously shot. Kudos to recent Oscar winner, "Slumdog Millionaire" DP Anthony Dod Mantle who made every shot of this movie picture perfect. It was beautifully dark and gloomy, pretty much what the whole tone of the movie was.

The couple went to a cabin in the woods to do a sort of therapy. The husband being a psychologist and all. It was a therapy gone awry since they both succumbed to what could be the scariest cabin therapy ever. It was in that cabin in the woods where all of the hate for the movie was rooted. The wife was starting to lose her wits though she appeared to look as though she was getting better. But when she thought that her husband is leaving her, and with the aide of some weird research shit, her vulnerable innards broke loose. She sort of lost it all. She ended up performing the infamous "clitoridectomy" or cutting some part of her vagina that made her curl up and lose more of her sanity. Fuck. That shit was painful. It looked very real. Then literally it felt as though all hell broke lose when animals started to to the cabin. It started to rain acorn again. Oops. I got carried away.

I do not understand why Lars Von Trier got called as a "misogynist" for this movie. Just so happen that the nutso wife put a have whatever that was on her husband and nearly killing him with a shovel and almost burying him to death... Well so it was torture. Making the woman a violent self mutilating bitch made Lars a misogynist (I just researched the term and I like using it cause I sounda kinda literate). Whatever.

Guys. Charlotte Gainsbourg was perfect. She was creepy, morose, tough and weird. You just want to bitchslap her just to get pass through her exterior. Her clitoris cutting scene was not the peak of her greatness in the movie. It was in her silent moments in the forest that made her performance disturbing and maddening. But I think much love has been given to her, thus her win. But I think Dafoe deserves the recognition as well. He was equally as believable as Gainsbourg was.

I admire Lars Von Trier and his efforts in this movie. It could easily be dismissed as too personal, or childish in a way, or someone who lost his marbles. But it was evidently more than that. It was an expression of feeling. It was a reflection of emotions. And it was successfully put to screen. Though it might give you nightmares pretty much like what "The Exorcist" did. It was not scream your lungs out scary, it was so disturbing, the visuals and other shit, that it turned out to be very scary. Now I am worried I won't sleep well again. Frack.

A

RacsOview: "The Bad Seed" (1956)

I decided quite lately that I will watch more old movies and I started my quest with "The Bad Seed". I was intrigued by it. It sounded like a more human version of the devil kid in "Orphan". So I scoured DVD racks again and looked for it. I just finished watching it.

"The Bad Seed" is like "The Omen" kid less the son of the demon angle. It was like "Orphan" less the rare young looking but old disease. It was just about a very evil kid. In fact she was so evil that she made Esther look a little angelic. Rhoda was a murderer, but she claims that she was taunted to do her acts. But as the movie suggests. It was not entirely the kids fault. It was genetic. Imagine that. I recently saw a time traveling movie that also blamed weird genetics. This time, they blame bad genes for the kids sociopathy.

The movie was good. It was very well polished. The cinematography reminded me of "Good Night and Good Luck", it was black and white beauty. Despite the superb acting of the whole ensemble lead by Nancy Kelly, the movie felt too stagy. For me. It was like I was watching a stage play, recorded, and is playing in my laptop. Even the dialogue sounded rehearsed at little times. Maybe it is just me. I do not how they talked back then. Maybe back then things sounded so formal and cutesy.

Nevertheless "The Bad Seed" was a well executed demonic but not demon kid thriller. A well acted, very polished movie that might make you consider about having kids of your own. You might have the bad seed gene.

B

RacsOview: "The Hurt Locker" (2009)

Quite frankly, I am already fed up with war movie. Not unless they are a par "Inglourious Basterds". So going to see "The Hurt Locker" was not my cup of tea. And I do not drink tea. But for what it was, "The Hurt Locker" was a very good film. Brilliant in fact.

The movie was about soldiers assigned in Iraq, these are the soldiers that defuse bombs. So it is to be expected that the movie has lots of flying limbs and blood. But what I liked about the movie was that it was more about the soldiers than it was about war. How one withstands the perils. The lost in translation moments. The boredom. The crying for missed loved ones. And other shit like that.

It was a movie that I think something Ridley Scott could have made. I did not expect that a woman director would have this much ruggedness to create this movie though Kathryn Bigelow is pretty much known for her action flicks. Bigelow has overcome the banalities of war drama movies in Iraq and all the cliche. Lately the movies about the war in Iraq are blah, and one has to watch documentaries because live action films fail to capture what it was like being there. But "The Hurt Locker" brought the viewers to Iraq and made them experience the danger, thus many exclaming the thrill.

Jeremy Renner was all aces in his role as the thick on the outside and rather cocky bomb detonator mad max. If the movie got awards traction, Renner could find himself being noticed as well. I will not be surprised if some of the cast willl get notice as well, becasue the rest of the cast especially Anthony Mackie was superb as well.

It was a thrilling and well made movie. Informative and dangerous. "The Hurt Locker" is the sort of movie that could get another woman director in the running for best director.

B+/A-

Carlo Carlo Carlo...

I have been rather silent about it, though I have been openly opinionated about it in person. Carlo J. Caparas. As you guys all know that he was selected by the president of the Philippines to be a National Artist. People got hella mad. They think that he does not deserve the title. He does not.

News in. The supreme court held the announcement of Caparas as National Artist. People rejoice. I rejoiced. But Caparas broke it all when he decided to run for Senate. Dang. He thinks that people are trying to be to elitist about their choices. He wants to teach people a lesson.

But I think it is the people that is teaching him a lesson. Man. Take notice. If people got angry when the president selected him as National Artist, what the hell had gotten in to him that made him think that people would like him more now? Weird. Totally.

20 Favorite Actors

Here are 20 of my favorite actors. As started in FilmExperience blog. Enjoy.


Daniel Auteuil, Warren Beatty, Gael Garcia Bernal, Marlon Brando
Charlie Chaplin, James Dean, Leonardo diCaprio, Dolphy
Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Heath Ledger, Coco Martin
Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson
Gary Oldman, Max Von Sydow, Spencer Tracy, Stanley Tucci

RacsOview: "Inglorious Basterds" (2009)

I am so loving this year in movies. With Quentin Tarantino's latest offering, I am so loving this year even more. I had serious doubts about Tarantino creating a war film. But hey I was proven wrong. Very wrong.

"Inglourious Basterds" is about a group of Jewish American Nazi descalpers spreading fear in a Nazi occupied France. They simply call themselves "The Basterds". They were pretty much comprised of gore loving soldiers. But believe me, it was not entirely about them. Anyway, moving on. There was this German movie premiere of a movie about a Zoller guy who killed like three hundred people in three days, solely, with a sniper rifle and bucketloads of ammunition. Basterds saw this movie premiere as an oppurtunity to kill a hella lot of Nazis. But they are not alone. Apparently a french girl who owns the cinema that the movie will be shown in has a secret agenda herself. And that was pretty much it. I really do not want to ruin the whole story for you. You should enjoy the pleasure of watching the movie yourselves.

Evident in the film was Quentin Tarantino having so much fun. And when he is having fun expect lots of zaniness on screen. And I daresay, he created a movie that I would rank alongside "Pulp Fiction" as his personal masterworks. That is saying much because I loved all the movie he directed and when I said that I love them, I mean it like, mad love.

Christoph Waltz. What can I say about him... Believe all the buzz. He was SUPERB and PERFECT. He was a madman. He was scary, manic scary. But he was the actor you was sort of wishing that had more screen time. This was a genius work. Playing the Nazi employed "Jew Hunter", Waltz, like Tarantino, was having a blast in the movie. I do hope he gets nominated for this. For now, I would go out and stretch that he deserves to win.

I think that there is little love for Diane Kruger in the film. Though she may not have those scene stealing scenes a-la Waltz, Kruger was still aces in her role as the German actress spy. She popped in the screen halway in but hey does she make an impact.

This is what I love about Tarantino. He makes sure that every bit of character in the movie has their own story to tell. Melanie Laurent as the scheming cinema owner was superb as well. That scene where she saw Col. Landa again was to die for. Her immediate reaction when Col. Landa left the table was genius. Brad Pitt was not bad himself too. Even over the top Eli Roth. Though I found other characters more engaging than the basterds.

Every aspect of the film was admirable. You hardly felt that it was long. It was the bearable kind of long unlike "Funny People". In fact, I was still craving for more. I knew that the movie was ending but I kinda was hoping that it would not stop there yet. I need to see some more! I did not even mind the long talkies. I love em talkies. Especially Tarantino ones. Tarantino talkies are specially flourished and garnished to perfection. They can talk about cat shit for crying out loud and yet you can't help but feel that you are also engaging in the conversation.

Tarantino on an artistic high. Bloody, comic and perfect. I LOVE IT.

A

RacsOview: "Time Traveler's Wife" (2009)

I went out to watch this movie because Rachel McAdams is in it. I love her. She is hella pretty. It was only very recent that I knew what her really age was. nevertheAGE, I still love her. I do firmly believe that there will come a day that she will be given the right role and she will win the hearts of everyone and critics alike. So going through the movie was merely out of love of Rachel McAdams.

"The Time Traveler's Wife" was about a guy who was genetically born to time travel. Whenever he (Eric Bana) time travels, he leaves his clothes behind and throughout the movie. He did it a lot. He then time traveled to the past so that he could instruct his wife to be, what she is going to do in the future. In comes Rachel, meeting the current time traveling Eric Bana and tells him that they are going to be a thing in the future. Then the story continued. It was a relentless shifting of time lines, jumping from past, present and future. It got comic at times. Time traveling could be fun, and they sure did prove that.

But I could not bring myself to think that this was a well made movie. It got as impossible as the movie's premise was. It got lost somewhere in the whole time jumping stuff. It got to tiresome, however you got so used to it that you can understand it fully.

Is it just me or was the "climactic" death scene lame. It made the girl's father an unwilling murderer. The ending was also lame. It was. It did not live up to its boggling story. I could not also but help to feel that the movie never did really lift off. It was just there. I nearly dozed. Something I am currently lacking. The actors were OK at best. This was not their best work. They could have made this a far better material but in the end it was just an OK entertainment. Something to pass time.

What boggles me more was that if you are a time traveler, you simply just live forever. There are multiple time lines. You live more than once. You die as much as you live. Time traveling is a head scratching shit.

In the end, all I can really just say was that Rachel McAdams was gorgeous. Nuff said.

C-

Suffering From Paranoia

It is now official. I am indeed paranoid. I can not stop myself from thinking too much. I seem to have lost the ability to sleep. Frack. I'm totally messed up. I am awake now for two days. I am restless. I am a zombie. I need some gorram break.

Dang. Anyway. I just got back from a screening of "The Time Traveler's Wife". I will be reviewing it as soon as I get a shut eye. I left my laptop at work and I am blogging via my iPod. Some really handy shit.

Gotta get some sleep. Wish me luck.

10 Songs

1. Want - Adam Lambert
   
2. A Choppy Yet Sincere Apology - Riverboat Gamblers
3. Notion - Kings of Leon
4. Found - Philip Larue
   
5. Ignorance - Paramore
6. Before the Worst - The Script
7. Fire - 2NE1
8. Good Girls Gone Bad - Cobra Starship
9. Very Busy People - The Limousines
10. Savior - Rise Against
    

Pop Goes the Camera

Since I can not sleep. I just browsed through the net and looked for songs to put in my iPod. Thank God for YouTube song searching is easier.

I searched if Adam Lambert was doing anything. I know he will be a star someday. He is a star right now, but believe me he will be bigger. I stumbled on this song...




... and I can't get it out off my head. It is pop fun. Playful and bubblegum-my. It is ultra catchy and if given the right release I think that this song will be a hit. I also found this song...




... and I fell in love with it. The rendition was perfect. It was heartfelt and tugging. I copied them videos and are on heavy iPod rotation.

I think I will sleep now. I really should.

I Can't Sleep!

Fuck. I have been lying in bed for six hours now and I can not sleep. Fuck.

My head is splitting already. My heart is raising. I don't know why.

I NEED SLEEP.

FRACK.

!

RacsOview: "Taxidermia" (2009)

What the gorram frack was that all about? That is all I can say after watching the movie for about an hour and a half. I did not know where it was going. I do not even know how this movie got conceptualized to begin with. It was the very definition of WEIRD. And when I say weird, it was SUPER WEIRD, like it was the weirdest possible movie you could have ever seen. And quite frankly I have never seen anything like it. I can not even say that I liked it. But I was mesmerized. I managed to muster something within me to sit through it and watch it from beginning to end.

It was three generations of oddity. A weird gene passed to three lifetimes of whatever that was. The first oddity was this guy who can spit fire through his penis. His sequence alone was weird. He was masturbating then his cum shot through to space. Err. Whatever that was. Second was this guy who was born with a pig tail was turned to a one man eating machine. There was this weird eating contest where they eat gunk. I do not know if that was food. It kinda reminded me of "Drag Me To Hell" and its gunks. I can not explain the frack happened to him. Next was his son. Who was a "carcass stuffer" as dubbed by his father. He performed a sort of operation to himself, which eventually beheaded him, then it was what immortalized him to art. Fuck. What the hell just happened?

The movie, goes without saying, was deliberately disturbing. I do not know how the creator of this film even concocted such a bizzaro piece. It was also gruesome and icky. I almost vomited when I kept on seeing this eating olympiads eat their soul out in this eating olympic. I can almost feel my dinner going up my throat. I just closed my eyes and let that, that, errr frack slip away from me eyes. Right then there I know this is going to be a gunkfest.

I tried to decipher what it was. I really did. But I think I fail to capture what it was trying to say. It was given that the creator created a world of his own and that it was sort of a weird mirror to what our world is right now. However I think that it was created in a way that not many could fully appreciate or even understand what it was. He had a specific audience in mind, the eccentric kind.

One could easily dismiss the film as too eccentric, abysmal and useless vomit fest. But one has to go all the lengths to understand this transfigured world and what it was trying to manifest, or reflect, or whatever. The movie was totally weird. It was. It really was. I could not stomach watching it again, yet I know that those scenes in the movie will somehow linger in my mind for days to come, especially when I am taking a crap.

I could not say I like it, but I sorta admire the effort put into this. It was after all superbly made, it was jut not that good to look at with the gunk and all. Gunk. Finally a movie that would make ue of "gunk" as an apt adjective. It is a gunk movie, a good gunk movie at that.

A-/D+

P.S. For those who felt the sudden urge to see this movie. I must warn you not to eat before going to it. Watch it with an empty stomach.

ESTHER is EVIL

Damn you girl!

RacsOview: "Orphan" (2009)

This crazy kid is so fucking creepy and scary. That was is my initial reaction. I have got to tell you. Who ever this girl is should work in the army. She could kill them fucking enemies slyly, sheepishly and crazily. All you have to do is her tick her off and then she will go berserk.

But other than her, Esther, being fucking scary and creepy and very effective at that, the movie was contrived with cliche and banality. But that does not mean that the movie was not effective or something. In fact I actually felt that it was. I was on the edge of my seat. I was cursing a whole lot that that fuck kid would not show up out of nowhere.

I guess I am just happy that my mother and father do not have plans to adopt someone. I am also happy that I am that old enough, so is my sister. I think our family is smart enough to know when something is wrong. That bitch kid is going down.

Anyway. I think I got carried away there. Back to the movie. It was not that scary. It was just hella creepy. That kid knows how to fucking scare. That kid is mental.

Go watch it. Then let us all pray that they do not manufacture Esther dolls.

B

RacsOview: "Management" (2009)

Just when I thought that Jennifer Anniston will never make a good movie, "Management" comes and proves me wrong, well, half wrong that is. "Management" was rom com formulaic movie. But what it lacks in originality it makes up for charm and fine acting.

Steve Zahn plays Mike, a puppy eyed guy who works in a motel owned by his family. One day he eyed a beautiful customer who was just checking in the hotel, Sue, played by Jennifer Anniston. Long story short, Mike pursued Sue, and went all the lengths just to be with her. He even sky dived an parachuted just to get near to Sue. Sue on the other hand was elusive. She does not quite know what she wants and needs in life, and Mike helped her see that. And they lived happily ever after.

The thing with the two leads. Zahn and Anniston. On paper, they do not have chemistry at all. But the combination of puppy eyed childish hooks by Zahn and the uptight semi bitchiness of Anniston was what made the chemistry between the two slow burning. Anniston was good in her role, though I think she could offer more. I just wish that one day she given one hella performance then she could bitchslap Brangelina. But this movie is Zahn's. I think that this kind of role is starting to be a signature role for him, but Zahn made this one rather special. He was really charming and moving. There was a desperation to have the girl of his dreams. A girl that he can only dream of.

The movie however fell flat trying to mix the quirky with the serious. It was working well when it was quirky. But it went overboard at times. Especially with Woody Harrelson's character, who went too cartoonish. When it was serious, it felt forced. But when it was quirky, it was warm and sweet. When it was both, it was just off.

"Management" may not be the movie that would make buzz for Anniston and Zahn. But it sure was a good watch. Only if people get to see it. It was a good movie. A good way to spend almost two hours of your time. But then again you could go up and watch "Ponyo" instead.

B-

RacsOview: "Watchmen" (2009)

There are only a few movies that were adapted from comic books or graphic novels that were successfully put to screen and "Watchmen" belongs in the many films that failed. But this is no major failure, there were indeed some nice moments in the movie that has the elements of making the movie a great one.

Some of the huge cast did impeccably well with the material that they were given. Jacki Earle Haley was superb even though most of the times he has a mask on. He was the best in show by a long long mile among the other cast. Billy Brudup was good as well as the blue orb-ish Dr. Manhattan. But then again, you can barely notice that he was acting with all the layers of visual effects put on to him. But needless to say, he has the most interesting character to play with.

Having read some parts of the graphic novel, I really could not say that the movie stuck with its material that it was based on. But for the little time I read, I was engrossed. Compared to the little I spent watching the movie and just being bored. I enjoy talky movies. This one is hella talky. But there are just some moments of it that dragged a whole lot. There were also times when the pacing was too glacial. The transition were at times a dud.

But all negativity aside, I still can say that "Watchmen" was a technical feat. Pretty much what "300" was, only better. It was Znyder's signature glossy comic book looking feel. Dark. Yet the colors pop. Which makes the production work all the more commendable.

All in all it was an OK movie. Not Good. Verging on bad. I did not hate it though.

C

RacsOview: "Handumanan" (2009)

Writing a review for a failed movie is easier actually. It is easier to find words that you can throw in and brand to the movie. But then. Reading one at times could get offensive. But then. Writing a review is entirely subjective. Just happens sometimes, those who wrote them bad reviews are unanimous. And I have not found a single soul who enjoyed watching "Handumanan".

I'll try to digest it. First. Woman. Writer of pocketbooks. Turns out she is writing old fashioned and non sexed up pocketbooks, so it goes without saying that it does not sell. She resigned and then went on vacation, soul searching. Boy. Grew up fond of reading the works of the aforementioned writer and any romantic pocket books in general. He went to this place (I forgot where. I just remember it is somewhere south) where he was assigned to go to. Incidentally he got sick sleeping in the cold outside, in the beach. Woman owns the resort, then she founds the boy chilling and sick. They formed a friendship. But boy ends up loving the woman. TWIST! A model hunk was tossed in the story. He is looking for his parents. He went to that "place" because he saw his picture being used as cover of a pocket book. Turns out the pocketbook was written by the woman. They met because they got to talk online and decided they should meet. LOVE TRIANGLE! Well, sort of.

TWIST! Woman is dying. She has cancer. Then things started to feel "Y Tu Mama Tambien"-ish. Two guys, one woman. But they did not have sex which the boy thought that the two were doing, which got him jealous. TWIST! Turns out, I think, the model's mom is the woman.

There is so much going on in this movie. I think that the ambition and the premise where all promising. It really was. But I think that it all started and stopped there. All it was, was just a good premise. The execution was really poor. There were tad too many pointless scenes. There were also moments of it that it felt extremely boring, as in, boring definitive. At the start I was hoping for things to get better, I really was, and I was doing that until it ended in such a very flat note.

Nothing could be said really about the acting. But one stood out. In an awkward kind of way. But I do not want to delve into that. It was just, uhm, awkward.

Errr. I do not know how to end this. Let's just end it.

D+

RacsOview: "Goodbye Solo" (2009)

I really have no idea going through this film, about what the movie was about. I was not able to do a little research on it and I failed to see the poster before I saw it. I was thinking that maybe it was about a dude who was named after Han Solo of "Star Wars". I was also thinking that it may be a goof ball comedy. So imagine how way off I was. I totally missed it.

"Goodbye Solo" is a story of a white old passenger and a black cab driver. Sounds familiar? No it is also way way off from "Collateral". Anyway. The white passenger "William" is going to this cliff place where when you throw a stick on the end of the cliff, the stick flies back. We all know from the start that he is going to jump or something. He then hires this black driver named Solo, to drive him there. He paid Solo a hundred bucks as down payment. But persistent Solo, instantly knew that William is going to kill himself. The rest of the movie was pretty much Solo's constant and unceasing attempts to get inside the head of William to maybe and probably make him not kill himself.

The movie was predominantly about friendship. It was the sort of friendship of the unconventional kind. Solo offered friendship to William, wholeheartedly. He let William into his family, into his life. That made the climax all the more heartfelt and sincere. In the end, it was more that friendship. It was a story of life, not survival, not suicide. It is how one spends his life and affect others. Some may choose to go transient, and some may intertwine their lives with others. Connect.

William has a solid brick wall. Solo in all his failed attempts learned to value his life more. Appreciate everything he has and everything that may cross his way.

This is the type of independent filmmaking that I love. I do sometimes enjoy the artsy fartsy kind of indie, but something as straightforward as this, sincere, simple yet profound. There is artistry in small works. Better than the gorram crap that is being shown mainstream.

"Goodbye Solo" is not a perfect movie. Yet you feel a connection with it despite its flaws. And the movie haunts and lingers with you hours, days, weeks after you have seen it.

B+/A-

I Missed "Kinatay"

I feel so stupid right now. I have constantly been browsing about indie Filipino films and I feel so fucked to have missed that "Kinatay" got a one day screening at the University of the Philippines in Diliman Quezon City. And I was not able to see it because I only heard the news a week after the showing. Stupid me.

I heard that when you see "Kinatay", "Manila" would look outdated. So now I am very excited, and angry because I missed it. Fuck. FUCK.

RacsOview: "District 9" (2009)

I rarely enjoy action films, but what I really am extremely addicted to are Science Fiction films. They usually go hand in hand but most of them fail. I can only thank God for giving us Joss Whedon. Now I am extremely grateful for Neill Blomkamp.

As you may have remembered, "District 9" is the movie that I was most eagerly waiting for this year and I was not disappointed in any way. All I can say is that I was wowed by the movie throughout. It was everything I was expecting it to be and more.

D9 proved that you need not have that big a budget to create a sci fi extravaganza. You need not have a star studded cast. All you need is (30 Million Dollars) a good concept, an original idea, an influential producer, and in this case, a talented new director.

It was timely satire disguised as a sci fi alien chase movie. Just remove the aliens from the picture and you got yourselves something that we often see in our everyday life. Greed. Hostility. Terrorism. But those were not delivered in your face to the audience. He managed to somewhat distract the audience from taking the movie as a message movie. The blood splattering madness, brain chunks all over the place and on your edge seat thrill ride made the movie deceptive, in a good way. All positives in to make sure that your eyes are glued from start to finish.

For die hard action fans, all I can say is that once it starts, it never slows down. But it was not bogged down and busy as "Transformers" or "Terminator: Salvation". In fact with the release of this movie, the aforementioned movies, and many more others that I dare not mention anymore, looked child's play.

Gritty. grim and bloody, aliens from "District 9" come to our planet bearing gifts. The best film of the year so far.

A

RacsOview: "Ponyo" (2009)

I saw this movie last year and I can still remember how the movie brought the inner kid in me. So imagine how much of a treat it was to see it again. And I have got to say that I love it more than before.

I loved how the movie was didactic yet it did not feel as though the morals are not being force fed. The movie was more than just a love/friendship. It was also about the environment. Much like "Wall-E" only the environmental issues in "Ponyo" were not the center of the story.

What the movie did successfully which I think everyone who have seen it experienced as well was that it makes us feel the wonders of being young. And for those of us who are not categorically young anymore, "Ponyo" reminds us of our youth, and how fund those years were. It was a celebration of youth.

Stepping aside from your usual 3D CGI animation, "Ponyo" marvels as a visual feat. It proves as that drawn 2d animation could be just as beautiful, if not, possibly more. It was the right mixture of supernatural, magic and technology. All beautifully drawn to screen. I was wrong to think before that this was among the lesser of Miyazaki's work. It might not be his best, but it sure is still a masterwork.

With his new movie, Hayao Miyazaki proves that he is our generation's Walt Disney. An innovator of sorts. A magician in his own right.

A

RacsOview: "Mangatyanan" (2009)

Since I am already in the mood writing about Neil Ryan Sese's praise in his work in this movie, might as well write a review of the film since it will have a commercial release in the Philippines on September.

"Mangatyanan" is a movie about Himalaya a.k.a. Laya and how her past still haunts her in the present. That past life of her that haunts her includes her father abusing her and her mother leaving her with her dad because her mother thought that her father is cheating with another woman. Laya was assigned to photo document the rare ritual "Mangatynanan" which eventually lead her to finally resolving the ghosts of her past and move on with the present.

Here are SEVEN (7) reasons why I LOVE "Mangatyanan".

(1) Che Ramos who played Laya, the troubled young woman, gave a pitch perfect performance. If she had not been that good or effective, the movie would have easily crumbled because she was pretty much in every scene.

(2) Mailes Kanapi, underused stage actress, gives yet again another superb performance. Though this seems like a reprisal of her role in "My Fake American Accent", no one can deny the fact that she knows how to steal a scene.

(3) Neil Ryan Sese. See previous post.

(4) This is Jerrold Tarog's follow up to his previous masterwork "Confessional" and methinks that his follow up is better than his previous work.

(5) I just love the score. It was composed by Jerrold Tarog. Talk about being multi talented. If you want to here it go find "Mangatyanan" in multiply.

(6) Irma Adlawan gives yet again another superb work. Though this is not her personal best, you just can't help but fall in love with her.

(7) It is our story. We are all Laya in our own ways. Some of us feel the need to let the past just be past but sometimes we just could not let past be. The past is what makes us what we are right now. Ghosts of past may resurface, they may haunt us, they may make us not move one. Facing the past is what we should do. It is our only way to move on. The main reason why this worked was that the movie was written superbly. I just could not see any fault in it.

I saw this movie twice in the competition. The more I think about it, the more I love it. I am now thinking and feeling that this is the best movie in the recently held "Cinemalaya". I need to see it again. I wish I could. I should.

A/A+

In Focus: Neil Ryan Sese

I have only seen Neil Ryan Sese's works in Cinemalaya and I think that we should all turn our focus on him, at least for a bit, and take a look at some of his performances that we should take notice of.

I think I am in the minority who thinks that he deserves the best actor trophy more than Baron Geisler in last year's Cinemalaya. Though I have a soft spot for Julian Duque last year. His performance in "Huling Pasada" was natural. You hardly felt that he was acting, his performance was so natural. This is something that actors nowadays fail to do. It was not forced. It was honest and sincere. Come to think of it I love the movie more now, and I do not know why I suddenly feel the big urge to see it again. He had an arduous task of shouldering the movie to himself, since He was the lead, and he did such a task effortlessly.

This year he was in two Cinemalaya entries. Let us start with "Sanglaan". In "Sanglaan", Sese plays a loan shark who has the hots for the pawnshop's counter attendant. Once again, Sese proves that he gives natural performances effortlessly. If only he was given more material to work with then I think he would get noticed more because apparently he has a far more interesting character.

But it wasn't in "Sanglaan" that he excelled the most, it was in "Mangatynanan" that you would definitely take notice of him. Sese plays Eric, a freelance photographer who tagged along with a troubled young woman to photo record a now rare ritual called "Mangatynanan". As Eric, Sese was like a psychologist trying to get inside the mind of Laya, who has layers of shield guarding her. He was a bit cocky, but that adds to his charm. It was his very natural delivery that made this performance worth remembering. If the jury really took a very good looksee at "Mangatyanan" they would have noticed the gems that could be found in the movie and one of those was Sese's performance.

I know he has a good future ahead of him. I just wish that directors and casting directors would just cast good actors for a change. They should hire talented actors, not mediocre ones. Filipinos continue to waste good talents. Neil Ryan Sese could be seen in some mainstream movies, but he has very small roles. He has already proven that he can carry a movie to himself, I just wish he'd be given more chances to showcase his greatness.

10 Songs

1. A Choppy Yet Sincere Apology - Riverboat Gamblers
2. Notion - Kings of Leon
   
3. Found - Phillip Larue
4. Before the Worst - The Script
   
5. Savior - Rise Against
6. Ignorance - Paramore
7. Sana Ako'y Marinig - OST Dinig Sana Kita
8. Good Girls Go Bad - Cobra Starship
   
9. Falling For You - Colbie Caillat
   
10. Fire - 2NE1
    

Meryl Streep is God

I just love MERYL Streep. I am now close to saying that I love her more than Nicole Kidman. Nicole better be good in "Nine". I think I am in the majority that wants Meryl to win her third ASAP. She deserves it. Methinks that she should have won for "Devil Wears Prada" and "Adaptation". And personally I would award her at least seven (Kramer Vs. Kramer, French Lieutenant's Woman, Sophie's Choice, Silkwood, Postcards from the Edge, Adaptation, Devil Wears Prada). They should just let her win just to grace us with her superb speeches. Here's one...



I am wanting to see "Julie and Julia" so much....

RacsOview: "State of Play" (2009)

What do you do when your material is not that original to begin with? You do you best to make it memorable, you make is as interesting as possible. I think that is what Kevin McDonald did with "State of Play".

The movie was formulaic. It was about a politician and his bestfriend journalist. About a multibillion company. Death. Newspaper. Blog. Internet. Conspiracy. All of that toss in together to build one story. Politician, played by Ben Affleck, had an affair with his co worker who was in secret a spy of the big company. Journalist friend, played by Russell Crowe, went to all the lengths to determines what was behind the killing along with blogger journalist played by beautiful Rachel McAdams.

The movie was twisty. Which made the movie at times unpredictable. But what I liked most about it was that it was very well made. The tension and thrill never went down. However there were times that I wish that the thrill could have been upped a tad more.

In the end it was just your typical spy/politics/journalism story tossed in with great performances and a rather good script. And don't you just love to watch Helen Mirren? I do not know why but I do enjoy watching her all the time. Even though she was given scant time, she still managed to upstage everyone else in the cast, even the every luminous and beautiful Rachel McAdams.

B

RacsOview: "The Informers" (2009)

I really do not know how to review the movie. That does not mean though that I did not like. As a matter of fact I sorta did love its mindfuckery and on the surface nonsensical plot.

"The Informers" is a scattered story about individuals doing about with their lives. The difference with this movie is that not all of them are connected. It was a series of stories told in parallel with each other. The movie may be very hard to digest, I could only just imagine how hard it was maybe to adapt this from a novel that was deemed unadaptable.

On first glance the movie could be easily be dismissed as the life of the rich and the famous but something was rather odd about it. There was something hidden in the story and that the viewer had to unearth but sometimes the movie is just not giving that much. Things started really normal, just your typical day. Then things started to blur out and people started to talk ambiguously. The scattered plot lines are hard to predict, you do not actually know where it is going to.

The movie would have worked more if the actors gave us more. What was delivered were flat one note to dull performances, and that is saying much since the movie is star studded.

I actually think that after watching the movie that the movie could easily be dismissed as unwatchable because of its nonsensical plots and multiple story lines not connected with each other. But that does not mean that it has no story at all. At least the director should have polished it more. The movie itself as a whole was the story, and it is just that it had mini stories to tell, and I admired it for that.

B

RacsOview: "The Boat that Rocked" (2009)

I am not a big fan of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, methinks he should have lost to Heath Ledger in 2005. So just imagine my hesitation to see "The Boat that Rocked". But I guess I somewhat and somehow enjoyed watching it. It was fun to watch and it was easy to digest. It is a crowd pleaser and you can say that Richard Curtis may have been having fun watching the movie. And this is one of those rare moments that I kinda did enjoy watching Hoffman, in fact, I have never seen him this loose and he is having fun as well.

It was about a pirate radio ship that was playing pure pop and rock and roll 24/7 that pissed a certain politician who went all the lengths just to shut them down. It was how the people in the ship, crew and DJs, mesh with each others lives to create what could easily be dubbed as a zany crew of pop and rock and roll-holic bunch of gentlemen and lady. The rest of the cast were to die for as well, heck even the cameo by Emma Thompson.

What I really liked about it was that the movie captured the rock and roll crazy 1960's that made this a movie nostalgia. The costumes and most especially the set played a whole deal lot to make this movie effective and memorable. The ship was another character to this movie, though it was not human, you felt that the ship was alive as well.

This is the type of movie that you just have fun watching and you just don't mind whether there are flaws. If you just cozy down and just dig in the madness you would find that the movie was one helluva boat ride. Never mind that some of the characters were never really created, nor that the movie at times was historically incorrect. Nevertheless it was a solid 2 hours something movie that I really enjoyed.

B+

It's Speed Racer! Oh Wait....

it's "Amelia"

RacsOview: "Binyag", "Booking", "Sagwan",

I tried so hard to come up with an individual review for each of the three titles in this mini review, but I just could not muster the time and effort to do so. That is why I did a sorta capsule review. Primarily for the sole reason that these movies are so much alike. These are those types of movies that sexploited the male machismo so much and put it upfront like selling meat. Commonplace, cheesy, poorly acted and blah. This is more than three hours of time wasted. I did not even bother looking for a photo.


Binyag: F
Booking: F
Sagwan: D

RacsOview: "Orapronobis" (1989)

I never really got in to he Brocka craze before. I was sorta snobbish to Filipino films back then because at that time, craploads of commercial cheesy and corny Filipino movies were only accessible to me back then. So I easily dismissed them as something that I would not even watch.

Three years ago, I saw "Insiang", a Brocka film and it got me thinking that maybe I was wrong about Filipino films. I was right! I was wrong! There are many unknown, unnoticed, independent, controversial, small films that were and are being created by Filipinos that I think should be brought out on front. So with that, I went gaga over Filipino films, most especially Brocka's and Bernal's.

So when I got the chance to see "Orapronobis", I did not even think. I just went out to see it in a heartbeat. After seeing the movie, heck I was sooooo mesmerized and impressed. The movie was dead on straightforward. Brave and unflinching. The story was about the vigilantes after the martial law era in the Philippines and how they terrorized the lives of civilians.

The movie did not receive support from the government whatsoever for the creation of this movie, and I think that the government would not even support it because it clearly bring it to front that they are lacking.

What I liked most about the movie was that the suspense and terror was sustained from start to finish. It made the movie all the more effective and haunting. You felt that it was personal, but the passion was there. It was a message movie but it was not forcibly didactic. The second to the last scene was harrowing, I got the chills all over me.

One of the bests ever. You have got to see this.

A+

"Ang Mahiwagang Titi Sa Noo"

Recently there was this fiasco about Carlo J. Caparas being a national artist as endorsed by the President of the Philippines. Every year, they (the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP)) select about 3-4 artists to be named as "National Artist" either for visual and written arts (fashion, film, TV, books, etc.). Apparently there is this thing called "President's prerogative" wherein they allow the president to choose his/her choice/s. For many years the power has not been used and this year our dear president chose four! Methinks she chose that much because this could be her last year. One of them is Carlo J. Caparas, a well renowned comic artist, tv and film director. He became famous because of his iconic comic characters and massacre movies.

Many were infuriated because they think that he does not deserve the title. I agree. He does not. Yes his massacre movies may have served their purpose but they did not contribute whatsoever to the improvement of our film industry. He may have his moments of brilliance such as "Panday" and "Pieta" but those are not enough for him to go in the ranks of Ishmael Bernal and Lino Brocka, two legendary directors who clearly made their name known here and abroad.

Anyways. While I was working, I got so interested about Caparas' portfolio that I took a moment to take a look at his resume in wikipedia. And I found out that this year he will be making "Ang Mahiwagang Titi Sa Noo" which translated to "The Mysterious Penis on the Head". Apparently many some wiki contributor may have made fun of him. But hey it cracked me up.


All this writing just to lead to this picture. I love it hahaha.

If you feel strongly against it. You can sign this petition.

Random Rant... to myself

I noticed lately that I got too attached to the movies that I see, too attached that I sometimes fail to objectively look at the movies well. The problem is that I was too subjective and I easily get inside the hype. Especially with the recently concluded Cinemalaya film festival.

So this weekend, all alone. Doing nothing. I come into thinking that I grade the movies I see too high even though the flaws are glaring in front of my eyes. I remember back in 2005 when I only gave "Brokeback Mountain" the only A+ grade that year, and it dawned on me that I became so generous in giving that.

So please bear with me guys... I am adjusting the grades as of the moment. I am rethinking the movies...

RacsOview: "Sugar" (2009)

I hardly enjoy sports movies. And more often, I enjoy them when the sports side of the story is secondary, which is often the case. "Friday Night Lights", "The Wrestler" comes into my mind when I think of good sports movies, and "Sugar" rightfully deserves a slot among the ranks of the bests sports movie ever.

"Sugar" follows Miguel 'Sugar' Santos and his pursuit to make it as a big time baseball pitcher. He did made a splash early on in his stay in America, but he soon faltered and his career began to take a swerve to the awry side. He left Kansas city and moved to New York in order to live a different life, far different from what he dreamt it to be when he was young.

I admire the fact that the movie's story and flow was rather simple and easy to follow. I also liked how the creators of the movie seem to have an interesting flare to music, which for me, elevated the story's emotion. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck seem to have matured after their rousing debut "Half-Nelson". It was evident that they created the movie, and somehow created their own signature.

The movie might not be a great source of inspiration to dream big and aim high. I think that that is not it was trying to impart. The movie was telling a story of what happens in real life, and to make the best out of what is in front of us.

Beguiling, touching and smart, I know this movie will be making festival and critics' list towards the year end. And I know it will be in mine.

A-

RacsOview: "Tokyo Sonata" (2009)

This movie got raved in the previously held Asian Film Awards, besting out "Ponyo", "Departures" and other asian films in competition. So with that, I hurried and scavenged for this movie and luckily I found it, and I must say, I am really lucky that I found it and seen it.

"Tokyo Sonata" is a story of a middle class family living in Tokyo, Japan. The father, recently got the boot from his work and is desperately looking for a job akin his previous job but could not find one. The mother of the family is lonely, and always looking for something to do. She is also the flailing chain that binds the family together. The older son, the prodigal one, is always out, doing jobs his parents know nothing of. Then the youngest son who is a piano prodigy who always gets in trouble in his school.

The movie tackles socio economic issues, pressing issues that are really happening today. I felt like a voyeur in the movie, I felt as though I was actually there waiting for things to unveil. The movie revolved on how the characters in the movie would react to the scnearios posed in front of them. And for me that is where the charm of the movie was. It was real.

There are those rare films that really grab hold of your attention, and the feeling while watching the movie still lingers in your head, hours, days had already gone by. For me, this is one of those rare movies. I know that I have been grading movies too high lately, I know, I am contemplating it and fixing them accordingly. But as for this film, I have no hesistations whatsoever to give it a high grade. I loved every minute of it.

Thanks eBay.

A

RacsOview: "G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobras" (2009)

Errr, I really do not how to begin. Uhmmm. If there is a movie that would make "Terminator: Salvation" a great movie, this movie would be it.

It has a cheesy plot. Cheesy dialogue. Cheesy visual effects. Cheesy cheesy cheesy. It was a mess all over. But that said, there were little parts of it that I kinda enjoyed. Especially the chase to the Eiffel Tower. PLUS, Baroness was ultra hot. I never would expect that I would love Sienna Miller. And I did, in an ultra crappy movie.

Anyways, I do not want to waste my time reviewing this because there is nothing about it is really worth reviewing. With the possible exception of the Baroness.

D+

RacsOview: "Terminator: Salvation" (2009)

Pre show, I had very low expectations on the movie. I think that the franchise dies in the third installment, and had the way of thinking back then that any more installments to this franchise is over kill. James Cameron made two super masterpieces, the first two, and all fizzled came third. And notice also the diminishing returns.

Yet I still decided to watch it because I have nothing else to do, since I do not want to burn myself out through incessant working and programming. After seeing it, I think that the franchise has been resuscitated back to life, but not really alive, more of half life.

The movie got me questioning whether Christian Bale really have that raspy voice or did he just forget that this is a Terminator set and not a Batman one. Bale continues to lose his pathos as an actor. He should venture more in to artsy, risky roles rather than settling for blockbuster movies. He was great/superb in "American Psycho" and rather good in "I'm Not There" but he continues his slump and his John Connor was no exception. But thank God for Sam Worthington who was great in the movie, probably the best factor in the movie.

The fight scenes were awesome. It was executed properly. The effects were astounding, verging on manic mad to sometimes cheesy.

Nevertheless, it was a solid action film that could have been more. It was worth my time, at the very least. Not good, not bad.

C+

Trailer: "It's Complicated"

OK so we finally got the title of the latest Nancy Meyer offering, the movie is entitled "It's Complicated" and the trailer has popped just recently. It looks like good solid fun and Meryl Streep looks like she is on the roll. I hope that she gives another performance that will give her, her long awaited third Oscar. But I think that she has more chance winning in supporting for "Julia and Julia" but she will have to slug it out against Mo'Nique.

I hope she wins. I really do. Anyways watch the new trailer of "It's Complicated".

RacsOview: "Funny People" (2009)

I know that everyone has been saying it, and I think that it bears repeating because it is true. THE MOVIE IS TOO DAMN LONG.

But that does not mean that I hated it. in fact there were some scenes and moments in the film that got me saying that this is a great film. But there were redundant scenes that made the movie a bogged down, tiresome and overwrought. I just wanted to cut the scenes myself. There were lotsa times that I just want to end because either I have seen it before or the scene just got too long. I just could not get why it was that long when the movie would have worked well at a tighter time span.

But kudos to Leslie Mann and Eric Bana who were bests in show. Even though Bana was not introduced towards the last third of the movie, he sure did made a whole lot of impact. That too can be said to Mann who continues to excel in comedies. Adam Sandler gave one helluva performance as well but he was easily upstaged towards the end.

C+

RacsOview: "Dinig Sana Kita" (2009)

I think it is just right that I do a full review on this movie because I have seen it twice and will be seeing it again after recommending it to friends. I know that this movie will be released this year, and they should whilst the iron is hot. The movie has great wordofmouth popularity and I think that they should not let the heat settle down, they should release it while every one is eager to see it. Almost every screening has been sold out and they have to open up another slot for another screening. IT IS that famous. Plus among the movies in competition this one got its first commercial release late this month.

"Dinig Sana Kita" is a story about a troubled rocker teenager who has issues with his parents and a deaf dancer who is looking for his mother. The two cross each others lives when they first met in a police station. They got to know each other more when both of them attended a sort of summer camp to bridge the differences of deaf/mute people with people with normal speech and hearing that lead to a budding friendship.

This movie proved that you do not have to go all out crying to be that dramatic. Filipino mainstream filmmakers nowadays feel the need to create a tearjerker movie that has lots of actual tears. Something that most poignant moments are those well executed scenes such as the after the dance recital scene. There were hardly tears in it but it was well played, well acted. Sincere and heartfelt.

What I liked most about the movie was the fact that it was a family/friendship/message movie disguising as a love story movie. The movie delved on the characters' personal issue more than building up the chemical romance between the two leads. Interesting to think that the story was not that original, nor groundbreaking, but it was epic in its execution and story telling. It too was exceptionally acted. Zoe Sandejas as the lead troubled rocker chick was a breakthrough and a revelation. But for me it was Romalito Mallari's whose star shone the most. I said it before and I will said it again., he gave one of those performance that they need not say anything to convey emotion (well he's deaf mute).

Mike Sandejas proved to (at least me) us that after two movies, he can make movies about contemporary living worthwhile watching. Movies about love, family teen angst and all that thingmajigs are commonplace and banal. Sandejas made the typical story to a wonderfully spun gold, beautifully made wonder. Plus I admire his love for music.

A-/B+