DON’T FLUSH THE SLUGS!!!

FLUSHED AWAY






Honestly, I didn’t watch those previous animations from Aardman guys who gave us
Chicken Run & Wallace and Grommit. Stop-motion clay/plasticine animation is not
really my thing. I’m into CGI and traditional animation. Well, good thing is that “Flushed away” is all CGI. Thanks to Dreamworks!

I love it. Coz it has jukebox musical in it. Slugs’ songs are bloody hilarious. The slugs are filthy cute and I love their segue especially that “Mr. Lonely” scene. I thought they were annoying when I saw them during the trailer but they stole the show. Also watch out for that “Sailing” scene coz it’s my fav part.

Hugh Jackman as Roddy St. James and Kate Winslet as Rita Malone gave voices to the two main characters. They are amazing. Kate has a powerful voice talent and Hugh once again showed us his singing supremacy just like in Happy Feet. This time it’s Tom Jones!

The animation is not that splendid maybe because the characters still resemble classic plasticine stop-motion. I told you it’s not my thing but I was amazed with their complex water animation.

By the way, they spoofed scenes from other movies! I was laughing when I saw Nemo, Wolverine’s outfit in Roody’s closet of course Hugh played that X-Men role, James Bond is here too, and a lot more!

I was just disappointed coz the movie was released here so so so very late! It was released in the US last Nov.3 2006 and the DVD went into the shelves just last week Feb 20, 2007 in the US. Hmmpppp!

Better late than never.

Hey kids! Give it a try! I know you will love this!

MISLEADING BUT REWARDING

BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA




Bakit misleading?
I will tell you later.

Ito ay isang adaptation mula sa isang children’s book na sinulat ni Katherine Paterson at na-published noong 1977. Pagkatapos ginawa rin itong TV-Movie last 1985 . Di ko pa nababasa ang book at di ko rin napanood ang tv-movie so di ko pwedeng i-compare ang 3.

Ang 2007 film adaptation ay sinulat din ni Katherine pero kasama na niya ang kanyang anak na si Donald Paterson na isang American writer at siya ring nag-produced ng film na ito.

Maganda ang pagkagawa ng film na ito sapagkat iba ang approach. May pinipili itong audience. Mga manonood na may malalim na imahinasyon. Maganda nga na panoorin ng mga bata para malaman nila ang kaibahan ng fantasy at reality.

Kwento ito ng 2 magkaibigan na sila Jesse at Leslie na gumawa ng isang fantasy kingdom na sila lang ang nakakakita pag binubuksan ng malawak ang kanilang isipan. Tinawag nila itong Terabithia.


Medyo mabagal ang takbo ng story pero ok lang sa akin kasi ang ganda pagmasdan nila Josh Hutcherson bilang Jesse at Anna

SohiaRobb bilang Leslie. Marami nang nagawang movies si Josh tulad ng Zathura & Little Manhattan. Kaya nakikita ko na magiging heartthrob actor din siya tulad nila Leo DiCaprio atbp. Si Anna naman una ko siyang nakilala sa Indie film na “Because of Winn Dixie at nakilala sa buong mundo bilang Violet bubble gum girl sa Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. This time hawig na niya ng konti si Keira Knightley w/o the British accent.



Misleading ang movie dahil sa trailer nito. Akala mo talaga kahanay ito ng Narnia o kaya Harry Potter.Ito lang ang pagkukulang ng movie di gaano naipakita ang kagandahan ng Terabithia. Di gaanong na-explore nila Jesse at Leslie ang kanilang mga pantasya.

Rewarding naman dahil maganda naman pagkagawa. I love the soundtrack too. Maraming aral lalo na when it comes to friendship and loyalty. The film will moved you. Higit sa lahat ang ganda talaga tingnan nila Josh at Anna.Mas nagustuhan ko pa sila

kaysa sa visual effects ng movie.

THE NINCOMPOOPS & THE HIP-HOPS

EPIC MOVIE


HUH!!!??? This is so baloney!
Honestly, I like spoof flicks such as the 4 Scary Movies and Not Another Teen Movie. Ewan ko dito sa “Epic Movie” parang ewan.

Kahit ginastusan nila ng konti ito para ma-parody ang Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, the Harry Potter film series, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, X-Men: The Last Stand, Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory, Nacho Libre, Snakes On A Plane, The Da Vinci Code, Mission Impossible 3, Superman Returns, the Star Wars series, The

Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Casino Royale, Talladega Nights, Click and Borat feeling ko kulang pa rin dahil di talaga nakakatawa this time. Nakaka-amazed lang dahil paano nila pinagsama-sama ang mga movies na nabanggit ko sa isang movie.

Actually ang pinaka-plot ng movie ay ang Narnia at siningit lang ang iba.

Masyadong hip-hop ang movie na ito. Black hip-hop music all around. Akala ko ba epic movie pero medyo naligaw yata ang,

Ameican Idol,MTV’s Punkd at Cribs.

Natuwa lang ako sa mga characters pero ang mga jokes hindi talaga.

Wala rin silang pakialam kahit maraming loopholes na kapansin-pansin. Marami talaga!
Example lang ang boom mic sa ilang eksena at may isang action scene na biglang naging Japanese actor agad ang isang

character. Siguro parody din yon na sila lang ang natawa.

Basta hintayin nyo na lang ang video at rent mo na lang o kaya next year sa cable if ever curious ka na panoorin ito.

"RENT ROUGE" ROCKS!!!

RENT

Well, the last musical that I really loved was Moulin Rouge where I fell so deeply in love with the songs. Then I was amazed too with Chicago's astounding choreography and performances. Recently, there was HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL from Disney TV which for me the best teen musical ever. And here come's RENT!
The Dark Musical!

I just love the rock songs here. Adam Pascal who played Roger who was also in the original Broadway production was really awesome! I was shocked too coz Rosario Dawson can sing. The rest of the cast who are also from the Original Broadway Debut have pristine voices-
so magical!


Chris Columbus' direction is ok but there was no Baz Luhrmann's style in Moulin Rouge and Rob Marshall's touch in Chicago. He has his own dark style.

Well the songs I mean all the songs are remarkable. The main killer of course is SEASONS OF LOVE. They opened it with a bang. I love it love it love it!

Well, it was only shown here in Glorietta recently. Honestly, I wasn't able to catch it on big screen. Why such a limited release? SM CINEMAS didnt gamble? Why?

Well, the Original DVD is already out at least I can sing along with the subtitle. You can rent "RENT" now. I suggest you should buy it coz this is a one heaven of a treasure.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

ASTOUNDINGLY BODACIOUS!

ROB-B-HOOD

Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of Jackie Chan but I watched some of his movies especially his Hollywood flicks. I tend to ignore his Asian films. I was really surprised that I love Rob-B-Hood.
This is the first time that Chan played a role of a bad guy. He is always Mr. Nice Guy in all his films. He is a gambler, burglar and a kidnapper here but the old-fashioned Jackie is still there.

The action scenes are really Chan’s trademark. It’s undeniably funny. His buddy “Octopus” played by Louis Koo is really handsome. Morenong Chinito. He is hilarious too. He is a famous actor/commercial model in Hong Kong, He is endorsing a famous softdrinks there and that brand is very palpable on some scenes in the movie. Of course, the apple of the eye in this movie is Baby Matthew. He is so cuddly and cute. I love him!!!!

The most surprising part of the film is that drama scene. Watch out for that. I expected that it will happen in the movie and I was surprised that I shed some tears. Dramatic talaga ako.
Rewarding flick! Highly recommended!

CURSE OF THE FART FLOWER

CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER

What?Seriously?

Honestly., nasayang ang dough ko after watching this flick. Curse of the Golden Flower?Baka “Curse of the Fart Flower!

Na-excite lang ako panoorin kasi ito daw yong official entry ng China sa Oscars. Since, nasundan ko mga entries nila like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero at House of the Flying Daggers. It was directed too by Zhang Yimou (Hero & Flying Daggers). Oh my Great Wall of China! Anlayo nito. Kung perfect 10 ang Crouching, 8 ang Hero, 6 ang Daggers. This one 2 lang dahil sa costumes ka lang mamamangha !

Boring screenplay. Panget pa color ng subtitles kasi minsan di mo mababasa lahat dahil mabilis ang transition at pag super maliwanag ang set ng movie ayun hindi na clear ang white subtitles.So bad. May mga mali pa sa historical facts. Basta nakakairita paano nila binuo ang story.

Horrid production design. Pansinin mo ang mga chambers ng palace. Ugly colors dahil rainbow ang design. Masakit sa mata. Di siya attractive.

Eto pa, merong announcer sa palace ng arrival of the Prince, or the Empress or the Emperor. Nakakairita ang boses niya. Natatawa ako. All throughout the movie naririnig ko ang obnoxious voice niya dahil every hour nagsisigaw siya ng oras na ng kuneho, ahas at iba pa! I hate his voice. Duh…

Basta costumes lang maganda dahil ang battle scenes nila ay dragging. Gusto nilang gayahin ang LOTR o Braveheart pero di nga umabot ng ¼ sa pag-copy. Patawarin sana si Yimou dahil nakakaantok ang war scenes nila.

Mabuti na lang dahil nandoon si Gong Li na maganda at ang Taiwanese singer na si Jay Chou na nagpa-cute lang sa movie. Cute naman siya sabi ng friend ko.
Hintayin nyo na lang sa Arirang baka ipalabas nila ito.

AMBITIOUS BUT THIS AIN’ T CHICAGO

DREAMGIRLS



Have you ever wondered why Dream girls got 8 Oscar nominations but failed to grab the Best Picture nod?
Hmmm… it’s lucid actually. It’s not that good enough. I didn’t see and feel any enchantment here. There’s an enormous excitement and delight when I was watching Rent, Moulin Rouge, High School Musical & Chicago. Watching Dream girls is comparable to watching gigs in comedy bars like Klownes or Cirkoh. LOL !

The film is not bad at all coz some songs are amazing like Patience, Listen & the hair-raising rendition by Jennifer Hudson’s of “And I’m telling you I’m not going”. The choreography? Nothing Extraordinary. The costumes? Well, they were good coz u can see & feel the Motown era.

The cast?
Beyonce? Sexy and just Beyonce.
Jamie Foxx? Huh??? No glitter at all.
Eddie Murphy? Wow! I hope he wins the Best Supporting nod. Great role.
Sharon Leal? Who is she? Well, she’s a Filipina and she’s here as the replacement singer. I’m so proud.



Jennifer Hudson? Ultimate singer and performer. She was an American Idol finalist and proved to the world that she deserves to win in the Oscars for Best Supporting Actress. Watch out for that hair-raising rendition of “And I’m telling you I’m not going”.

Bill Condon who directed this film was the writer of the Academy Award Winner musical “CHICAGO”. But where’s the Chicago magic?

Just like it’s screenplay they wanted to crossover to pop but they just can’t. They didn’t cross the streak of Moulin Rouge & Chicago at all.

Highly recommended to R&B fanatics, Beyonce & Jen Hudson fans and music lovers.

Grabe napaka-late ng showing nito sa atin!!!

DISHEARTENING GUST

BABEL


The director of 21 grams once again gave us a depressing picture. I guarantee you that after watching Babel you won’t feel good. It’s sad.

They used the same editing/screenplay formula from Crash, 21grams, Traffic & The Constant Gardener. You will feel the same rush. Sometimes the film may confuse you at all. Did you know that our local industry also have that editing recipe? Remember Star Cinema’s “Jologs”? I was surprised that we thought something like that ahead from Hollywood. I don’t know if Jologs copied another film too.

Why Babel? The title is from the bible in which humans tried to build a tower high enough to reach God. God punished their arrogance by creating different languages, making it difficult, if not possible, for people to communicate with each other. The title is just appropriate. The film also punishes the regular moviegoers or someone who loves popcorn movies coz this is not the film for them. If you don’t like watching a film with subtitles over it? Then forget Babel. I like watching a film with captions though.

Well, I love the acting cast ensemble. Brad Pitt surprised me. Not enough for an Oscar nod. They didn’t show much from Cate Blanchett & Gael Garcia Bernal. They just wasted their roles. I totally agree with the nominations fpr supporting roles of Adrianna Barraza as the illegal immigrant Mexican nanny in the US and Rinko Kikuchi as the rebellious deaf-mute teen who resorts to dangerous games. I totally object her frontal nudity scene. It’s not necessary. The director should’ve done it better without exploiting the reputation of the young actress.

Remember Gustavo’s crying guitar being used as musical score in Brokeback Mountain?
It’s here in Babel too. Still melancholic.

Well, I’m not recommending this to everyone. Only to brave flick buffs who are monitoring the Oscar nominated films.

SOME TERRIFIC, RADIANT & HUMBLE PIG

CHARLOTTE'S WEB



This classic adaptation from E.B. White's beloved novel is definitely one treasure I must keep.I love Dakota Fanning so much with her passionate acting as Fern. She's perfect for the role.Of course, Julia Robert's voice as Charlotte the spider is remarkable. I like Steve Buscemi's voice too as Templeton the rat.

I must not forget the cute voice of Dominic Scott Kay as Wilbur the Pig. Great voice talent ensemble.

I must say congrats to the beautiful screenplay written by Susannah Grant and Karey Kirkpatrick. I remember Susannah being nominated for the script of Erin Brockovich & her brilliant adaptation of a Cinderella film " Ever After". I love the script
coz I cried a lot. I shed tears everytime people are eager to see the miraculous web by Charlotte.I don't know but it's an ordinary miracle. Maybe because the music is uplifting and mellifluous too. Who composed the score?

Well, it's Danny Elfman who did Spiderman 1 & 2, Big Fish, Hulk, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride & Desperate Housewives theme. His music is amazing. I'm wondering why he was snubbed by the academy.

I also adore the puppy love romance with Fern and her classmate. It's cute just like "Little Manhattan".

The movie is funny in some parts. I was laughing to the scarecrow scenes with the crows of course. It was hilarious.

The unique thing about this film is that I became a child again. It opens with a soulful narration. The opening sequence showed some pages from the book's illustrations.It's like listening to a children's book too while someone's reading it. It was terriffic.

.....When you wake up everyday
Please don’t throw your dreams away
Hold them close to your heart
Cause we are all a part
Of the ordinary miracle
Those are some of the lines from the themesong "Ordinary Miracle" by Sarah McLachlan. It's haunting.

If you want some
heartwarming family film. Swing, stick, loop & spin with Charlotte's web!

MAGNUM OPUS!