A Movie Blog

Well if you want to know how Hollywood directors project flooding waters on screen, here’s one for you: blue balls. Yeah, just look at how Orlando Bloom and Geoffrey Rush plays with them on the set of the Pirates of the Caribbean 3. But of course they are not playing. They are acting as if they’re some pirates in the ocean. Geez, so this is how hard it is to be an actor; pretending to be somewhere else you’re not, and someone you’re not. Still they make a lot of money so what the heck. If this is what it takes to afford a Beverly Hills cosmetic surgery, then who would ever complain?

Still, I think Orlando is having a good time. The set looks like a children’s party at the least. PotC 3 is set to hit theaters on May 25.

Pic Source

It is nice to see Gerard Butler fully-clothed at the ‘300‘ premiere. Before, I thought Butler is a dirty old man who played that dark and mysterious character in Phantom of the Opera. And even the trailers of 300 didn’t help in vanquishing that image of him in my mind as he seemed to be always shouting in the film, wearing only a small-piece of clothing. I didn’t even notice his six-pack abs[?]. But these photos of Butler at the 300 premiere totally erased my previous notions of him. This dude is younger than I thought and he looks amazing too.

More Gerard Butler pics after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Remember that guy from Lord of the Rings 2: The Two Towers named Eomer? Yes, that is Karl Urban. And here he is right now in a starring role in Pathfinder. The movie is quite interesting. I first thought that it was Conan the Barbarian or something because Karl looks the part. I don’t know if Brad Lindemann would love to see this flick, but I sure am gonna miss this once it hits local theaters.

Cast:
KING LEONIDAS - Gerard Butler; THERON - Dominic West; XERXES - Rodrigo Santoro; QUEEN GORGO - Lena Headey; STELIOS - Michael Fassbender; DILIOS - David Wenham; CAPTAIN - Vincent Regan; ASTINOS - Tom Wisdom; DAXOS - Andrew Pleavin; EPHIALTES - Andrew Tiernan

Directed by: Zack Snyder

I am already so excited to see ‘300′ on the big screen. I’ve seen the trailer so many times already but I just couldn’t get enough of it. I understand that this film is quite bloody but the cinematography and special effects are too much to resist. Here are some pictures from the film. Some of the guys look like they got pec implants from New York cosmetic surgery but nevertheless, enjoy!

Read the rest of this entry »

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.

Starring: Zhang Ziyi, Daniel Wu, You Ge, Xun Zhou

A loose adaptation of Hamlet, “The Night Banquet” is set in an empire in chaos. The Emperor, the Empress, the Crown Prince, the Minister and the General all have their own enemies they would like to finish off at a night banquet.[IMDB]

The film has a very interesting premise yet I found it not so engrossing. Despite the lavish set and powerful cast, the film didn’t really meet my expectations. Zhang Ziyi tried so hard to play the role but it just doesn’t suit her. I like her better in House of Flying Daggers and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

The film has a dark theme of raw ambition, betrayal, and jealousy. However, I find the presentation so theatrical that I failed to really connect with the characters. I just hope it would have been presented with more depth so that scenes would become much more engaging.

Rating: 3/5

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: 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.