Category Archives: MOVIE REVIEWS

COWBOYS AND ALIENS, a review

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This is a late review since Cowboys and Aliens had its opening last August 10. We have watched it last weekend, but I wasn’t able to make a blog of it immediately. I’m not just in the mood to face my laptop and write a post on my website. Days are passing, so I’m blogging from my BlackBerry phone now to post something finally! So much of the explanation, here’s a quick review.
Well, Daniel Craig as we all know is a great actor, but his acting abilities were not showcased entirely on this movie. Yeah, aliens! But those were the old looks of an extra terrestrials that we used to see when we get to watch an alien movie.. Maybe I’m just looking for something “new” to aliens nowadays.
The story wasn’t twisted and just made it run along until the end. There’s nothing special nor extraordinary about the action and fight scenes, just the powerful bracelet. But it’s not as dumb as you would think for a movie. It just didn’t made me feel such an awe.
I give 2.5 STARS for this movie. :) :(

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, a review

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Rise of The Planet of The Apes is the prequel of the longest running movie franchise, Planet of The Apes. This movie was said to be the opening episode to create a new and different story to offer the audience.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a 2011 American science fiction film. The film is directed by Rupert Wyatt. It is a reboot of the Planet of the Apes series that will act as a foundation with an origin story for a new film series. Its premise is similar to the fourth film in the original series, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes in 1972, but it is not a direct remake in that it does not fit into that series’ continuity. 

The movie’s story was clearly presented all through out, but did not gave its audience to think more and get puzzled about, unlike the past episodes. It has a shocking yet interesting ending that implies a potential sequel that must be look forward to.

I give 4 STARS for this movie! :) :) :) :)

CAPTAIN AMERICA: The First Avenger, a review

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Captain America has been running in cinemas for over 2 weeks already. This was kinda late for us to watch it, when almost everybody have seen it. Well, as they say, “better late than never..” Part of our movie marathon itinerary, this is the first movie that we watched yesterday.

Captain America: The First Avenger is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America. It is the fifth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was directed by Joe Johnston, written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and stars Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke, and Stanley Tucci.

The film tells the story of Steve Rogers, a sickly man from Brooklyn who is transformed into super soldier Captain America to help the war effort. Captain America must also stop Red Skull, Adolf Hitler’s ruthless head of weaponry and leader of a terrorist organization, who intends to use a mysterious “tesseract” energy-source for world domination.

I just find it lacking of more action stunts and more awesome fight scenes. But, of course, the setting was during the World War I, so we shouldn’t atleast expect something big to happen. It was quite slow-paced. But still has entertained me specially on the last part of the movie.

Somebody from the Twitter world who has seen the movie during the US opening gave me a tip that I must not leave the movie house until all the credits have been displayed because there is a surprise spoiler/teaser on what’s going to happen next. So as I watched it, I remember that tip so we decided to stay to wait for that surprise.. And yes! I was surprised and got excited to what I learned about. That Captain America will be on the upcoming Marvel movie, The Avengers. He will be with other Marvel Heroes such as THOR, IRON MAN, and others to be mentored and trained by Samuel Jackson. The movie will be shown on May 2012, which made me really excited to look forward to!

I give 3.5 STARS for Captain America! :) :) :)

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: Part 2, a review

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Wow! Where should i begin.. I remember when we watched the first part of HP7 back in November of last year at IMAX. I have also wrote a short review about it that it’s not very exciting and a bit boring most of the time. But everything has been paid off after I’ve watched the part 2, and the most-awaited ending of Harry Potter’s adventures that ran for a decade.

I was able to watch it on its first schedule on the first regular screening day, hassle-free! Few people were on the cinema because it”s still a weekday and i had the luxury to enjoy it without falling in a long queue or having a hard time looking for a nice seat. It was just a perfect time for me to enjoy the movie!

It was just a 2-hour run, fully loaded with adventures, twists and revelations! Everyone in the cinema were so quiet, feeling  and understanding each scene that we don’t wanna miss a thing. I burst into tears on several scenes when everything was revealed and explained.

It’s great seeing Ron and Hermione always stick together to help and support Harry on his battles. I was astonished, astounded and overwhelmed on how everything was explained and every secrets unfolded. I had goosebumps a lot of times. The movie and the whole Harry Potter story was really one of the greatest work of art, as how J.K. Rowling ever thought about every episode of it.

It was a sad ending, that there are characters that must die to fight for Harry Potter’s success in killing Voldemort. It’s also sad that this is the end of Harry Potter movies, for all of us who witnessed how it all started. But everything must end. It’s just how it ended matters.

this guy played an important role in the movie.. i love him!

In overall, it’s a HAPPY ENDING!!! Albus Severus Potter is the cutest boy ever! Long live, Harry Potter! You will always be one of the BEST movie that has inspired many! And now, you’re a precious collector’s item.

Watch this, people! As a decade of wizardry ends now.. Overwhelming 5 STARS!!! Bravo! ;0 :) :) :) :) :)

TRANSFORMERS: Dark of The Moon

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You can lose faith to your friends and to other people.. But never lose your faith to yourself.

                 — Optimus Prime, TRANSFORMERS: Dark of The Moon.

Wow! Who does’nt want to watch this Transformers third installment? No wonder that on its first week, all of the cinemas are packed to the brim with a very long queue of avid fans and moviegoers. Of course, i should’nt miss my all-time favorite movie. I was there on the first and on the secondth so i must be present on the third! TF3 has given us a new story incorporated with the world Aerospace history with NASA. It was an intelligent idea for the movie writers of TF3 that makes it more exciting to watch. Of course, the action scenes were amazing and blazing with special effects.

The movie audience in the cinema where I have watched this was so quiet and attentive that they would’nt want to miss even a second of the scenes. There are laughing and funny moments too that made TF3 very entertaining, as always. It was just sad that Megan Fox is not anymore in the movie, being replaced by a high profile super model, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley who played the role of “Carly”, which was Sam’s girlfriend and eventually wife in the original cartoon. But acting wise, she needs to improve more so she can still be part of the cast in the next Transformers movie series. There are sad parts when other Autobots have to die to defend the Earth, who got killed by other Decepticons.

But definitely, Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg were able to nailed things out to satisfy the audiece who loves the Transformers. For my own ranking purposes, with all the 3 sequels of Transformers, the first one will always be the BEST, followed by TF3 and TF2. But then, for all the Transformers avid fans, every episode are worth watching for!

FIVE STARS forever for Transformers! :) :) :)

SUPER 8, a review

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I’ve watched this movie this weekend, and we were actually been waiting for this movie to be released locally. Super 8 is a science fiction film that tells the story of a group of children who are filming their own Super 8 movie when a train derails, releasing a dangerous presence into their town.
And that creature was an alien.

I just thought that this was an exciting movie. But most of the time, dull moments kills our excitement. There are a lot of slow moving scenes that kept us hanging but then later on, does’nt give any amusement at all.

I think the movie was overrated on their promotional advertisement before. But sadly, it was’nt something to be overwhelmed about.

I give 3 STARS for this movie, just for the kids effort. ;)

X-MEN FIRST CLASS, a review

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Just watched this movie yesterday, and it was a real BLAST! This is the fifth installment of the X-Men film series, which is also a prequel to the other films in the franchise.

This will all explain how Professor X and Magneto become who they are having their extraordinary mutant powers. They were actually great friends then, as Charles and Erik fought a powerful mutant, Sebastian Shaw as the leader of the Hellfire Club who wants to take over the world.

In the end, everything will be explained how and why they became as who they are now, and how the X-MEN started.

The movie is just so great, very entertaining and the special effects are exceptional! If given a chance to have an X-Men power, I would love to be a Telepath too! Just like Professor X and Jean Grey. A simple yet so powerful ability of a mutant! But for now, it’s still better to be “normal”.
An X-MEN fan must watch this! Worth your money, people! I give 5 STARS for this movie!

Here’s the movie trailer.. Enjoy!

KUNG FU PANDA 2, a review

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I’ve actually watched this movie the other weekend, but i will make a brief review about it just now. Kung Fu Panda 2 is of course the secondth installment of the American computer animated action comedy movie which features the voices of Jack Black (Po) and Angelina Jolie (Tigress)

The movie tackles the origin and the real family background of Po, which he soon realizes why he became the Dragon Warrior who protects the Valley of Peace. He will soon discover how to bring out the inner peace which Master Shifu has taught him.

The movie is very much enjoyable for the kids and adults young at heart as well. Still showing, i give 4 STARS on this movie! :)

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES, a review

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This is the fourth installment of The Pirates of the Caribbean movie series. As usual, Johnny played his humorous clever type of a pirate who loves adventures and mysteries. In this film, Jack Sparrow was joined by Angelica (Penelope Cruz) who was his imposter in search for the Fountain of Youth. Angelica is Jack’s former lover who happens to be the daughter of the ruthless pirate Blackbeard. This man posseses several magical powers, including the ability to shrink other ships down to miniature size and contain them within bottles.

Blackbeard forces Jack to join his crew and lead them to the Fountain to circumvent a prophecy that a one-legged man will soon kill Blackbeard. Meanwhile, Gibbs, who memorized, then destroyed Sparrow’s map, joins Barbossa’s crew in order to beat Blackbeard and the Spanish to the Fountain.

And so the adventure begins for Jack Sparrow and the whole gang.. This movie runs pretty long so, you better bring extra food and drinks when you watch this.

I give 4.5 STARS for this Johnny Depp movie! :)

PRIEST, a review

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It was a back to back movie marathon that we had last weekend, when we both watched the movies Priest and Pirates of The Caribbean on Stranger Tides. Our first pick was the movie, Priest because it’s running time is much shorter than the latter.

Priest is a 2011 American supernatural action film starring Paul Bettany as the title character who previously starred on the movie, Legion. The story is about humanity and vampires who have warred for centuries. And after the last Vampire War, the veteran Warrior Priest (Bettany) lives in obscurity with other humans inside one of the Church’s walled cities. But his niece was kidnapped by the vampires that made Priest hunt them down to recover his niece, that was then his own daughter.

The journey of the Priest and his daughter’s boyfriend began as they discover who was behind the vampire menace. There were revelations and twists in the story that makes it exciting to watch. the special effects are great as well as the stunts made by the characters.

I give 3.5 STARS for this movie! :)

FAST FIVE, a review

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I really have to make a movie review on this movie! I have always been a fan of the movie sequels of The Fast and The Furious because I’m fascinated by “lovely” cars racing along and even just for a show. But this movie sequel is different among the other four installments. Aside from being Fast and Furious “ALL STAR” casting, this movie has a lot more death defying stunts than ever!

Fast Five is considered the transitional film in the series, featuring only one car race with more attention given to action set-pieces such as gun fights, brawls and the heist of $100 million. This movie became the highest rated entry in the franchise, and financial gain, breaking box office records. As of May 8, 2011, Fast Five has grossed over $320 million.

You should’nt miss even a minute of the film while you watch it, because every scene counts! Action, Humor, “nice cars” and booties will never be out of sight. But this is really a must see Fast and Furious movie to watch for, i bet! Vin Diesel, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson fights, you will never be disappointed.

And i think, this is not the last Fast and Furious movie, there will be more to come. A return of a presumed dead character from the past will be back to rock the whole gang and to relive Dom’s heart.. :)

VERY VERY AWESOME! And i love the black Dodge Chargers! 5 blinking STARS for this movie! GREAT!!!! :)

THOR, a review

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After a long wait for its release, we have finally seen the Marvel Comics movie, THOR. It seems like people had been hungry for great hollywood movies after the Lenten season that has passed, that’s why in Festival Supermall Cinema in Alabang, Thor is shown in four cinemas to accommodate the viewing crowd.

This film stars, Anthony Hopkins ( Odin, King of Asgard ), Chris Hemsworth ( Thor, son of Odin ) and  Natalie Portman ( Jane Foster , a scientist ). The story tells about the great war of the Kingdom of Asgard against the Frost Giants of Jotunheim who wants to conquer the Nine Realms, starting with Earth. But King Odin, does’nt want it to happen and wants to maintain peace, so the Asgarian Warriors defeated the Frost Giants and seize the source of their power: The Casket of Ancient Winters.

As THOR prepares to ascend to the throne of Asgard as King, it was  interrupted when the Frost Giants attempt to retrieve the Casket from them. Thor went to Jotunheim to confront Laufey, the leader of Frost giants on why such a retrieval attempt without permission from his father and against the King’s order. Thor asked the help of his dear friends together with his brother Loki, who happens to be his father’s adopted son who came from the Frost Giants race without Loki’s knowledge as well as everybody else’s.

As they went to Jotunheim, a big battle began between the five of them against the numerous Frost Giants. King Odin came to the rescue to intervene and save their lives. The King was so upset for what Thor did, and for his arrogance, Thor was exiled to Earth together with his hammer. But he will only be able to get back his powers if he is already worthy to weild it.

The special effects are awesome in this movie, and you will laugh once in a while on some humorous scenes of Thor when he landed down to Earth. It is a spontenous and exciting movie to watch for all the Marvel heroes advocate out there.

I give 4.5 STARS for this movie! :)

RIO, a review

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Last Thursday, i was able to watch the movie, Rio with my eldest daughter as one way of our bonding together. We got the first showing time of the day.

Rio is an American-Brazillian animated movie, that features the voices of Jesse Eisenberg for Blu, and Anne Hathaway for Jewel. It is a story of 2 Macaw birds, who happens to be a “rare species” of their kind. Blu is a male Macaw who grew up to be a domisticated bird, who doesn’t even know how to fly.

Jewel is the female specie of Macaw, which was under the custody of the Bird facility headed by a scientist from Brazil. Linda, Blu’s human companion since he was a baby bird was convinced to bring Blu to Brazil, to meet Jewel and save the Macaw species. And so, the adventure begins..

The movie is great for the kids as well as to adults young at heart. It’s a whole lot of fun! I give 4.5 STARS for this movie! :)

HALL PASS, a review

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As we try to have a movie day last weekend, we ended up watching this comedy film starring Owen Wilson, HALL PASS. This movie is about the two male best friends who’s been married for a long time that makes them frustrated to have their “single” life back. Means they want to have some good times again without being concerned with each other’s marriages.

Their wives, who were bestfriends too, decided to give them a HALL PASS, a week off from their marriage without any consequences. So the two guys were excited to spend their 1 week hall pass wisely. But it turned out to be a one hell of an experience for them.

You will laugh out loud with all the toilet humors in this movie, entertaining. I give 3.5 STARS for this comedy film. :D

MOVIES THIS APRIL

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Here are some of my picks for movies to watch this April 8, onwards!

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ARTHUR
PG-13 Comedy
Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner
Showing APRIL 8, 2011

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SCREAM
R-13 Horror/Mystery/Thriller
Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette
Showing APRIL 15, 2011

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RIO
GP Animation/Adventure/Comedy
Jesse Elsenberg (Blu), Anne Hathaway (Jewel), Goerge Lopez (Raphael)
Showing APRIL 15, 2011

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THE CONSPIRATOR
PG-13 Drama
Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Tom Wilkinson
Showing APRIL 15, 2011

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WATER FOR ELEPHANTS
PG-13 Drama
Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz
Showing APRIL 22, 2011

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FAST FIVE
PG-13 Action
Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson
Showing APRIL 29, 2011

***visit this website for movie posts to watch out for this coming MAY! Enjoy the movies!

LIMITLESS, a review

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Of course, it’s weekend! And it’s movie time for us! So we’re able to watch two movies in a day, which are both great picks. :)

Limitless is another techno-thriller film, based on the 2001 novel, The Dark Fields. The story is about a “pill” for the brain that when you take in that pill inside your body, your brain starts to unlock a lot informations stored in it even from your unconscious mind. It also makes the person become a “super fast learner” that will give him a 4-digit IQ. All the informations in the world are all accessible at any time in the brain of the person for as long it  has taken the NZT-48 pill.

The pill has not been approved for commercial consumption and is still under experiment and study. Bradley Cooper who played the role of Eddie Morra, who was a broke man who has no direction in his life became a super human by having an extraordinary intelligence that made him wealthy and powerful.

But there are consequences for everything. And everybody wants a piece of it. Enjoy the roller coaster ride of Eddie Morra on how he outwit, outplay and outlast the pill.. haha! just like the Survivor tagline. Nothing so special, just entertaining.

Nice one to watch, I give 4 STARS for this! ;)

SOURCE CODE, a review

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I have’nt heard about this movie until we saw the movie schedule of Festival Supermall in Alabang. Since its a new set of movie released before the weekend, we gave it a shot to watch it. Jake Gyllenhaal starred in this movie, from the not so long ago film, Prince of Persia, which I’ve also watched.

Source Code is a sci-fi techno-thriller movie that tells about the experiment of the armed forces intelligence, that became a breaktrough in solving a crime, just a few hours after it happened. Jake, who played the role of Captain Colter Stevens, who’s brain was used to enter in the 8-minute last memory of the brain before it dies. It is scientifically explained in the movie how it works for a dead person to be able to grasp certain informations left in the brain before termination.

Captain Stevens, does’nt know at first that he’s already dead, and the only thing functioning in his body is his 8-minute brain memory which is very critical in getting into somebody’s character or personality which is also dead. Seems confusing at first, but you wont get lost throughout the story because it is cleverly presented. You wont get bored in finding out the truth about the crime that happened a few hours after he entered to the last 8-minute before the bombing incident that costs the lives of all the passengers of the train that exploded.

It is a spontaneous intelligent movie. And in the latter part of the story, i cried. I could’nt help but to shed some tears which i never thought that i would. It’s a surprise scene for me, that really touched my heart. Find out why. I love this movie, but i hate it for making me cry.. :)

I give 4.5 STARS for this movie.. Bravo!

SUCKER PUNCH, a review

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Sucker Punch has to be a good movie. It is a fantasy-adventure movie but it was boring from most of its scenes, that makes it just a fair one to watch.

It was a story about a girl who lost her family because of her wicked stepfather, who killed her mom and sister for the fortune left by their mother to them. Baby Doll, was sent to a mental institution by her stepfather, whom she was framed up as the one who killed her sister. The mental institution was just a facade of a group who recruits girls to dance in exclusive events, where the administrators of the assylum benefit from its income.

Baby Doll came to be the best dancer who mesmerizes everyone whenever she performs. But while she’s dancing, her mind travels to a fantasy world where she becomes a fighter with a gun and a sword. He met a wise man that instructs her on how to escape from the world that she’s been living in suffering.

They managed to escape with the help of the other dancers who believed in her goals and plans but had to be a sacrifice along the way.

It’s more of a “cartoony” movie for me, not as interesting. But i like the movie soundtrack.. It really rocks!

I give 3.5 STARS for this movie..

SAW VI, a review

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SAW VI was actually a 2009 movie, and i wonder why it has shown just now.. And we’ve watched it at the best time.. Last full show!!!

Anyway, this is a prequel of SAW V, which was released in the Philippines just last year. This movie explained what happened before the fifth installment of SAW.

There were a lot of twists that solved the misteries behind the killing of Jigsaw, even if he’s already dead. It will explain how Jigsaw’s daughter and husband do the “killings” in what they call the “game of life”.

It’s R-13, which has a lot of cuts on the “bloody” scenes when i was watching it, but still the story makes it complete and well understood.

There’s just one thing that Jigsaw wants to show. The will to survive. What will you dare to do, to fight for your life.

I give 4 STARS for this horrific movie.. RAWR!