A Movie Blog

One of the most-awaited films in 2007 is the sequel to the 2005 comic book adaptation Fantastic Four called The Rise of the Silver Surfer. The Silver Surfer is supposed to be evil but when he met the Fantastic Four - Mr. Fantastic, The Human Torch, The Invisible Woman, and The Thing - he betrayed his evil boss Galactus to save planet earth.

The Silver Surfer’s abilities include: superhuman strength, energy manipulation, molecular transmutation, control over the fundamental forces, virtual invulnerablity, degree of cosmic awareness, the ability to travel at trans-light speeds, and virtual immortality. I don’t really understand what this powers are but something tells me that this guy is very very strong. I wonder if the Fantastic Four would be able to defeat him had he not shifted sides.

I am so excited to see this film. I sure am not gonna miss this.

It was really not my plan to watch Apocalypto because I was pretty aware of the presence of some gory scenes in the film. I hate to admit that I can’t stand the sight of blood much more the sight of man getting decapitated. Yes, Apocalypto has that. Luckily, I managed to get through it and reached the end credits without puking.

The movie was intense and was very raw and brutal. I really admire the cast of this film. The scenes looked so real that I was wondering if nobody got hurt while they were doing the shoot. The piercings looked so real too. Are they?

Mel Gibson is impressive and brutal as usual. He really didn’t give me a chance to think about something else while watching. It is hard not to get engrossed in a Mel Gibson film, andI really admire the guy for that.

Warning: Spoilers abound!

Superman Returns has the usual Superman-saves-the-world theme. There was practically nothing new to begin with. When the world is in a mess, Superman saves the day. He is the savior that the world has always been waiting for, and now that he is back, everyone is more than happy.

The funny thing is, when Superman was away for five years, everything seemed well. But when he comes back, the world suddenly needs help all the time. There’s so much saving to do. But then again, isn’t this the very premise Superman is built on eversince? Yes it is, so just get in and enjoy the ride…sort of.

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If not for Jodie Foster, I would not have had the guts to watch this flick. When I saw the trailer of Inside Man a couple of weeks ago, I was not impressed but I was hopeful that there was something about it that might really interest me. Well, I watched Inside Man yesterday, and I must admit I was a bit disappointed.

The cast is powerful. Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Clive Owen, and Willem Dafoe. Those are big names. Before I saw the film, I was even wondering why the movie didn’t create big waves in the box office, considering the glamorous cast ensemble. After watching it, however, I somehow got the answer.

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[Caution: Spoilers Ahead]

X-Men:The Last Stand is the darkest sequel in all the three installments. The previous sequels have managed to put the number of deaths to a minimum, having Jean Grey die in a deluge in X2 and practically having no casualties [?] in the first sequel. However, X3 dares to create an atmosphere of grief, terror, and despair as it maneuvered to take the life of three important personas in the once formidable, but now vulnerable, X-Men Team.

Jean Grey has come back carrying a deadly personality within her - The [Dark] Phoenix. This personality contains all her joys, desires, and rage. And this is where she unleashes her great power; a power that even Professor Xavier and Magneto could not handle, even with their powers combined. The Phoenix was totally unstable that she killed Cyclops effortlessly with a Death Kiss. Likewise, Professor X might have given her a hard time, but he is just no match for her, and he ended up pulverized into tiny bits of human debris. That scene really shocked me, as it did the people who watched the film, and who have been following the sequels all throughout. I even thought I was just seeing things, but no I wasn’t. Charles Xavier, the mutant considered as the world’s most powerful telepath and whose powers can kill a person in an instant through his mind, was blown to pieces!

After Xavier’s death, Storm and Wolverine were left with the responsibility of continuing Charles’ vision and stopping Magneto and his army of mutants from destroying The Cure, a mutant who can ward off another mutant’s X-gene and make the latter a normal human being. These are humungous tasks to handle, and knowing that Beast, Shadowcat, Iceman, Colossus, and even Angel are there to help, doesn’t even lighten up the load. They are about to engage in a battle, they know they already lost before it even began.

The visual effects are not flawless but they are acceptable. One scene worthy of note was when Magneto brought all his allies to Worthington Labs in Alcatraz Island, by literally executing a bridge transfer.

I cannot say that I enjoyed the film, but I cannot say the film is bad either just because it did not meet my expectations. I just felt that Brett Ratner overdid something in the plot, in which it affects the entire X-Men story as a whole, with Cyclops’ death and all. My heart was heavy when I went out of the cinema and wished that things did not turn out the way it did.

Here’s a seven-minute sneak peek of X-Men 3: The Last Stand. Check it out and get even more excited.

Ciao.

After the strike of the rogue wave, everything felt like Panic Room and Flightplan, except for the massive carnage. But that doesn’t mean it was bad. Those two movies were certified hits in the first place. Poseidon has the potential to measure up, if not exceed the greatness of those Jodie-Foster hits.

Poseidon is not just a story of tragedy. Amidst the who-will-die-next thrill are scenes of a father trying to win back her daughter’s love and trust, the typical mother-and-son bond strengthened by nearly fatal situations, strangers trusting one another for survival, and many other forms of relationships that were established in moments of survival, set in the middle of the ocean.

The visual effects are terrific. Flawless, even. Wolfgang Petersen has done a magnificent job.

There’s just one thing that disturbed me. Fergie of Black Eyed Peas, did more than just sing. She really was part of the plot after all, even if she just showed up in less than 5 minutes or so.

Poseidon is all in all, an entertaining film. Here’s my Four Stars!

I watched Mission Impossible 3 yesterday with a friend. As I said in my personal blog, I went to the cinema without any background information about the movie. I didn’t read any movie review about it nor I watched its trailer. My only reference to the movie in question is its prequel which I found to be quite good.

The story line is fast-paced and is delivered in a very much edge-of-your-seat manner. Believe me, there was no dull moment in MI3, and I was really happy about that. It was worth the money I spent.

Though Tom Cruise is not in his glorious days as of the moment, bombarded with bad publicity concerning his tie up with Katie Holmes, I still appreciate the fact that he is one of those actors that really does well in the action movie genre.

Though deception and betrayal is common in most action movies, and though MI3’s way of handling the situations surrounding these elements is not outstanding, it is adept enough to use several components that patch up the weak spots properly, and bring out an above-average manuever.

Lastly, MI3 is no Minority Report, but it is one of Tom Cruise’s good movies so far.

Four Stars for me.

The third installment of the X-Men movies is remarkably promising. With a nice plot, and new additions to the list of mutants, there is ample stuff to amuse the viewers.

Here is the list of new mutants included in the The Last Stand sequel.

Beast. He appeared [I think] in the prequels, but he was totally forgettable then. I hope this time, Beast will be given a much longer and a much richer screening time.

Kitty Pride. The “hollow” girl is back, and it seems she is now joining the real action.

Angel. One of the most loveable mutants in the X-Men team. I would really appreciate it if he would show a lot of stuff than just flapping his beautiful wings. I would be watching how Brett Ratner, delivers this.

Juggernaut. Dangerous and irritating. He is Rogue’s archenemy in the Uncanny series. But since Rogue’s strength and flying ability is not YET present in the movies, then Colussus would be Juggernaut’s match.

Callisto. Her powers are unknown to me but it seems this gal has something to do with Storm.

Multiple Man. This is interesting. I would love to watch how the replication is rendered in the film.

Psylocke. Possessing powers similar to Xavier and Jean Grey, Psylocke is another interesting addition to the cast of characters.

Jubilee. She was seen in the previous movies but she was not given enough attention. I hope this time she would be.

I wish Rogue’s character would really be patterned to the Rogue in the X-Men series. I miss her ability to fly and her invincibility. I hope that will happen in X-Men 4…lolz.

When I saw the name of Yuen Woo Ping as the Martial Arts Director of this film, I immediately expected a kick-ass movie. And fortunately, I was right. House of Fury is FURIOUS!

The fight scenes were amazing. The delivery was so natural, that I even doubted if wirework was applied. [Of course, wirework was there!] See? Woo Ping is really great eh? He has this uncanny ability to twist the truth, from the viewer’s perspective at least.

Gillian Chung gave an astounding performance. Her Twins Effect and Blade of the Rose moves dwarfed compared to the ones she did in the House. Perhaps putting in so much CGI is bad after all. It was good then that Woo Ping decided to limit the effects to the minimum.

Go, see this movie. The fight scenes are enough for your money’s worth. Besides, the family-affair plot might be an added bonus.

FIVE STARS for me.

I have just watched Jet Li’s FEARLESS. As always, Jet Li’s fight scenes are nothing but amazing. Whew! Staged in early 1900’s, the story revolves around the significance of Wushu in the Chinese culture, and the remarkable courage and repentance of a Chinese fighter, who brought back the pride of the Chinese race against seemingly insurmountable period of depression and shame.

My take on the movie? It’s simple, but riveting. I’d say you should watch this flick.

Though, I watched the movie because I just wanted to check on the astounding stunts and wirework, I just couldn’t brush off the idea that in certain aspects of my life, I am confronted with situations where my being ‘fearless’ is required. I never thought that a Jet Li film could make me think like this, but I sure am glad that at least, I got something beyond what my eyes wanted to see. Being fearless is never easy, provided, there really is such a totally fearless individual. Even the most courageous, or bravest man in the whole world, must have something that he is scared of, be it concrete or abstract, living or non-living. If that’s the case, ‘nearly fearless’ or ‘ almost fearless’ might be the right terms to use to describe the attitude that I must possess as I am confronted with these life-changing decisions.

As fas as I know, I have just done a ‘nearly fearless’ act just hours ago. At first, it was hard. But, when I got into it, it wasn’t that difficult anymore. I must bear in mind that certain things have to end, in order for other things to begin. And I am glad I have witnessed the realization of such notion through the actions that I just did.

Now, I am looking forward to begin a new chapter of my life. It seems that, a new and fresh page has been prepared for me to write on and continue my life story. The world is waiting for me to write something; and I, myself can’t wait to write my first word, my first line, my first verse on that very page.

A new path is laid down, and the uncertainty of where that path leads to threatens me. However, just like an adventurous traveller, I need to be prepared to face my greatest fears and conquer them. There are so many things to do still, so many hurdles to jump over. If life is this unpredictable, and complicated, I think no one can afford to be totally fearless. It’s life’s fears that make life interesting and worth living after all. c”,)

Rating: 4 STARS

Being a Jodie Foster fan, I just cannot let this movie pass by.

When I saw the trailer, I thought it has the same overtones with The Forgotten. I can’t imagine the feeling of suddenly being told that everything you hold dear were all lost, as what Kyle Pratt [Foster] experienced when the plane crew told her that her child, just three hours sleeping beside her in a passenger plane, never set foot on the plane because the child was already dead in the same hospital where her husband lost his breath after a certain terrible incident. Confusion rules over Kyle as she thought about the moments she had with her daughter the night before the flight, the conversations they had in the cab, and the lost and found encounter they had at the airport. This just can’t be true.

Watching Foster getting confused, stunned and angry, made the scenario very real, that I also couldn’t help but get perplexed about the whole situation. Was Kyle just talking to a ghost in the cab, the same way that she talked to her dead husband, the night before the flight too?

Sarsgaard and Bean also played vital roles in making the movie very involving. Sarsgaard’s sudden shift from a concerned US marshall to a cunning highjacker-kidnapper was shocking.

Though I personally believe the movie is very good, I just can’t figure out how in the world did the kidnappers snatch the child from Kelly without being noticed, considering that the girl is situated where many people could have seen such deed. The manifesto and the hospital records, I can concede, but the snatching thing is beyond me. And the last 20 to 30 minutes was not very convincing. As Foster finally proves to all that she was right, that she was in her right mind, and that there indeed was a daughter, the scenes before that are not very well made I must say.

RATING: 2 STARS

Cory Yuen’s Blade of the Rose did not impress me. The plot, which depicts women ruling over an empire, and making men their slaves would have been an interesting story to get curious about, and which I really did. However, that is just what it is good at —> enticing curiosity. The moment you step inside the cinema, and you get to see how the story goes and how the visual effects [more importantly] are rendered, it was quite disappointing.

I noticed that most of the cast was taken from The Twins Effect. Even Jackie Chan was also there. In comparison with the fx used in the Twins Effect, Blade of the Rose is somewhat inferior.

The movie may not be that bad, but it terribly fails to meet my expectations.

RATING: 4 STARS

A movie about Christians and Muslims during the Crusades in Jerusalem. I don’t really know much about it, so my ignorance in this matter prompted me not to dwell on the contextual aspects of the movie. For a more in-depth examination of the film, take a look at Steven Greydanus’ review on the movie.

First and foremost, I watched the movie because I liked Troy. Epic movies have a magnetic effect in them, as what LOTR and other epic movies have successfully manifested. However, I wasn’t really interested in this another epic movie. I heard comments from my friends that this movie is good, knowing certainly they said that mainly because of Orlando Bloom’s presence. I was hesitant to watch, but still, I proceeded.

The stuff was not bad. And it wasn’t that good either. The ’seige’ scenes resemble so much with LOTR’s Two Towers and Return of the King. And these scenes are terribly bloody–(what do you expect in a war?), but ineffective. Furthermore, the plot (I think) is quite baised against Christians. Watching the movie made me think Christians were really the bad guys. This is perhaps due to the unbalanced treatment on the two conflicting groups. There was too much focus on Christians behaving badly.

Tiberias’ (or was it George?) longing for the Holy Land to be a land where Muslims and Christians live in peace, I guess, is the part that moved me. I don’t know exactly what really happened, but I sure do hope that longing was fulfilled. However, I know pretty well, it still hasn’t been fulfilled, in a larger scale. I was betting on the fictitious twist of events, not the reality of things.

Well, since I don’t really know much about the ‘historical’ aspect of the epic, my view of the movie is inclined on the effect it had on me. Honestly, I don’t really know if I liked it. I think I didn’t.

Rating: 2 STARS

I was expecting a very interesting movie as I was hurrying to my seat in the moviehouse. This must be cool. I’ve seen the first two parts of the “trinity/trilogy” already, and I could say they were quite good. This third sequel must be three times more amazing than the first two. I sat and watch. And was greatly disappointed.

Til now, I am figuring out what went wrong. What happened to the third Blade movie? The effects are not impressive. The fight scenes are dull. I could not even clearly see what’s going on because the camera seemed to be pointing at nowhere during the fight. There were so many camera movements that made me dizzy. I wanted a clear-shot fight, not a chaotic one.

Jessica Biel was the only character I liked while watching. Ryan Reynolds was not funny. He tried to be witty, but I didn’t get it. Wesley Snipes failed to impress me. Yeah, the tough aura was there, but it wasn’t enough to save the movie from its misery.