The Dark Knight has finally arrived on the big screens here in the Philippines and I watched it on the first day so I can write this review before the movie goes stale. Here goes…
The movie gives a good intro of the Joker’s bad attitude in the very beginning in a bank robbery scenario. An intro which tells that The Joker is a double-crossing maniac and a psychotic villain who cannot be trusted. Heath Ledger did well in portraying evil Joker allthroughout the movie and is one of the reasons why I didn’t get bored even though the movie is a bit long.
Then of course we have Christian Bale as The Batman who in this movie seems to have played a role second only to The Joker – at least in my opinion. The “dark side” of The Batman is revealed when he finally gets pissed of The Joker while interrogating him. His batmobile was destroyed in the movie only to reveal the batcycle which doubled as an escape module for the batmobile. And oh, I loved the Lamborghini. Batman got a new lighter suit which he requested Lucius Fox to create because the older suit was heavy and made him slow.
Aaron Eckhart played the role of Harvey Dent, Gotham city’s new District Attorney who was also called the “White Knight” by the Gotham’s people. He teamed up with The Batman and Lt. Jim Gordon in sacking the city’s mob which kindled Joker’s passion even more. He eventually turned into “Two-face” after half of his face got burned in a building explosion planned by The Joker.
Gary Oldman (Jim Gordon) once more played a good role as a supporter of The Batman and is a bit more involved in this movie than the previous one. He saved the mayor and even saved Batman himself only to end up with his family being held hostage by Two-face.
All-in-all the movie is packed with a good balance of action and story which I think will be enjoyed by adrenalin junkies and critics alike but I think it would have been better named “The Joker” than “The Dark Knight”. A 5 out of 5 for this movie.
No, this is not a new movie but I feel glad to have watched it again last night on HBO because it’s one of the few drama/sci-fi movies that I really liked. I first watched it on the big screen back in 2000 and haven’t seen it again until last night.
The film stars Dennis Quaid and James Caviezel as father and son, Frank and John Sullivan respectively. The year was 1969 and Frank (the father) was a daring fireman while John (the son) was a six-year old boy. The first few scenes were about Frank’s job and his family then all of a sudden the year was 1999. Frank’s dead and John’s a policeman who rediscovered his father’s old ham radio. With a little help from the freakish aurora borealis, father and son were able to get in touch again through the radio and eventually got reunited.
The movie is filled with action, drama, mystery and science fiction. Both actors played well in their roles as well as the other actors and actresses. And to top it all up, the movie still got my attention 8 full years after I first watched it. It’s the perfect marriage of sci-fi and drama and is definitely a must watch!
Buy the Frequency DVD Today on Amazon. It’s a 6 out of 5. Yes you’ve read that right, 6 out of 5!
Here’s another “nobody” turned into “somebody” kind of film. The story begins with an account manager named Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) who has a very annoying boss, a friend who has an affair with his girlfriend, and suffering from panic attack. Wesley eventually meets Fox (Angelina Jolie) at a pharmacy who then tells him that his father died on a rooftop the night before. An assassin then appears and a gunfight ensues between Fox and the assassin. (Complete plot at Wikipedia).
James McAvoy did a pretty good job with his role which kind of reminds me of Tobey Maguire in Spiderman. The unassuming boy who turns into a “superbeing” with really special gifts. On the other hand, I don’t think Angelina was at her best in this movie. She did a lot better in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” but that may be due to the character that she needs to portray.
The movie has a very fast-paced storyline and high-speed action with pretty cool special effects somewhat reminiscent of Matrix Trilogy. Gun fights with bullets hitting each other in the air and “curving” bullets are quite new to this film though. If you love action, then you have to watch this movie. If you’re looking for “story” then I have to say that there’s not that much to see.
I’m giving this a 3.5 out of 5.
The movie in one three words – Unique and Funny. The movie Hancock stars Will Smith as drunk superhero with a bad attitude who does more damage to the city than help whenever he does his superhero duties. He does so much damage that people actually hate him whenever he fights crime.
One day though, Hancock saves Ray Embrey from being hit by a train but in doing so derails the train so badly that people who saw the “rescue” got furiously mad at him once more. Ray on the other hand pacifies the crowd and thanks Hancock publicly. Ray then makes it his mission to improve the public image of the not-so-popular superhero.
As the story goes, John Hancock meets Ray’s wife Mary (Charlize Theron) who also had special powers that Ray didn’t know of. Hancock asks Mary for an explanation which ended up in a fight between the two. Mary then tells both Ray and Hancock of her superpowers and that she technically is Hancock’s wife.
I won’t tell you the rest of the story but if you really want to read more of the plot and just go over to Wikipedia and read it there.
So what do I think of the movie? Well, it’s unique and hilarious considering that we are all used to superheroes being loved by the public. Hancock on the other hand portrays a drunk, sad and lonely superhero who’s got some serious problem and has no idea of who he really is. It’s actually more of a comedy-drama than an action movie.
Would I tell you to go and watch it? Yes, I would. It’s another must watch movie for the family.
Before I start with my “real” review of this film, allow me to summarize what I’m going to say in just one sentence – The 2008 film “The Incredible Hulk” is way much better than the 2003 film Hulk.
The movie is actually a reboot of the 2003 film and I’m glad that such an act was taken to justify the Green Marvel character. The movie has better effects and better actors and actresses. To avoid confusion as to the real origins of the Hulk character, the film starts with a flashback which effectively re-establishes the history of how Bruce Banner became Hulk and while the flashback is a bit fast (I hear a pair of moviegoers asking each other what was going on), I think it’d suffice for most.
The main reason though on why I think this is much better than the 2003 film is that it is more consistent with the stories popularized in the Marvel comics years back. To help with this consistency, a brief appearance of Tony Stark (Iron Man) in the ending as well as the mention of “Stark Industries” in the flashbacks was made. Even better than that, the Hulk’s enemy in this movie is the “Abomination” – another Marvel character.
This movie is a must watch especially if you’re a superhero (or in this case monster-hero) lover.
If you’re a Marvel and/or DC Comic lover, then Iron Man is a movie that you must watch. For those who don’t know who Iron Man is, here’s a short description of this marvelous super hero. He’s eccentric, rich, a playboy, intelligent, master of technology, and has lots and lots of cool looking cars.
Tony Stark acted by Robert Downey Jr. was such a proud superhero character with an attitude who as opposed to many superheroes, revealed himself to the press as Iron Man. There was lots of action in the movie which is pretty much what I expect from a film like this. Effects was amazing and the Iron Man character wasn’t a bit disappointing at all.
I don’t want to spoil your excitement so just go ahead and watch it if you haven’t done so yet. It’s a 5 out of 5 to me.
Official Site: http://ironmanmovie.marvel.com/
I was so excited when I first heard about the movie Forbidden Kingdom mainly because it stars two of the most popular names in martial arts film Jackie Chan and Jet Li. While I did plan to watch the movie on its opening date, I wasn’t able to do so because I had so many important things to do.
Now that I was able to see the film, all I can say is that I’m not really happy with it. I was not really sure if it was the “Karate Kid” feeling that I didn’t want or the fantasy part of the film. I was never really a fan of both. I also think that the movie is lacking in kung-fu action between Jackie Chan and Jet Li himself. They did have one good fighting scene inside a temple but that was just it. I was also expecting to see them fight a common enemy (The Jade Warlord) together but that didn’t happen.
The actors however did well in their individual acts. Here’s my quick assessment of their acting:
- Jackie Chan (Hop, the thrift store owner/Lu Yan, the Drunken Immortal) – as usual, Jackie did well doing the drunken fist style. Quite reminiscing of his movies back in his early days.
- Jet Li (The Silent Monk/Sun Wukong, the Monkey King) – I was quite surprised to see Jet Li as the Monkey King. I first thought that Jackie would have been a better fit for the character but Jet Li did quite well.
- Collin Chou (The Jade Warlord) – evil and powerful, he was able to portray the character well enough.
- Michael Angarano (Jason Tripitikas, the Traveler) – he was good in martial arts and was a better actor than Ralph Macchio but somehow his young age and the fact that he’s an American still gave me the “Karate Kid” feeling.
- Liu Yi Fei (Golden Sparrow, the Orphan Warrior) – darn she’s gorgeous. She was also able to show that avenging heart that she’s supposed to show.
- Li Bingbing (Ni-Chang, the White-Haired Witch Assassin) – she was supposed to be evil but I somehow didn’t feel that in her character. I think it’d have been better if she was given more actual fight scenes instead of her just using her hair in fighting.
All in all, I may not be a great fan of Chinese fantasy stories but I’d say that the movie’s storyline is interesting – especially the immortals. I would have given it a good rating if more focus was given to the Chan and Li instead of trying to give equal attention to all the main characters.
For lack of action and focus, I give this movie a rating of 3 out of 5. I simply expect more.
Official Site: http://www.forbiddenkingdommovie.com/
Writing a review for Sweeney Todd – the Demon Barber of Fleet Street could be summed up in a simple formula and that is: bloody + musical = wonderful. Directed by Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd is a barber starred by Johnny Depp who lost his family to the corrupt Judge Turpin after he was sentenced for 15 years exile for a he didn’t commit.
After his exile, Sweeney Todd comes back to London with a vengeance desiring to kill the judge but ended up slitting the throats of anyone he desires using a straight blade which he uses for shaving. As if that wasn’t gruesome enough, his lover / friend Mrs. Lovett covers for Sweeney’s crimes by butchering the murdered and baking them into meat pies selling them to unsuspecting customers and oh how they loved her meat pies.
Set the story aside and you’ll still love the movie as it is also a musical. The lyrics and the music are all so wonderful that I heard myself humming inside the movie house. Only a few phrases were said without music. It’s not the “Sound of Music” type of music but something sounding eerie, sad, funny and lovely.
What about the characters???
- Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd once again did a great performance. Didn’t know he could sing and act that well.
- Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin made a great performance but one thing I noticed which I did like was Judge Turpin’s accent and the emphasis of words. He was so Professor Snape.
- Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett was so psychotic you’ll love her in the movie plus empathize with her feelings for Sweeney
- Timothy Spall as Beadle Bamford looks almost identical to his Harry Potter character Peter Pettigrew. He was so able to portray that image of being a loyal henchman to Judge Turpin yet cannot be trusted by the rest of the world.
The rest of the cast also did well and just like Corpse Bride, this one is definitely another Tim Burton gory but lovely legacy. Watch it, read it, you’ll definitely love it.
People are dying of cancer but someone found a cure. People gets the cure and are totally healed of cancer BUT…
I Am Legend is about such a cure and its deadly side effect. Cancer is gone from the face of the planet and the human race is next in line toward extinction. A new disease spreads… millions die, a few survive, and there are those who are in between – alive but no longer human. Lt. Col. Robert Neville, M.D. (Will Smith) is one among many scientists tasked to fine a cure for the new disease and he’s running out of time. He and his dog are the only ones left in New York – there’s no other human left alive.
Yes, this is another twist to what I call the “Zombie Genre” but I have to say that Francis Lawrence did a great job in transforming Richard Matheson’s 1954 science fiction novel into a 2008 movie. Watch the movie and read the book.
I was so excited to watch it the first time I saw the Bee Movie in movie trailers but I have to admit that after watching it, I am quite disappointed. The graphics and animation was nicely presented but the storyline is not that good.
The storyline is more or less about a perfect society – in this case, the society inside a beehive. Everything is just as they should be. No traffic jams, everything is timed to the last second, everybody loves to work, and the entire hive is happy. One bee however wishes to go out of the norm and so he did. The movie was interesting enough to keep me awake but not enough to really impress me. One thing I noticed though is that movie could be geared towards anti-racism. Not sure though but the thought came to me when the main character referred angrily to the “white men”.
Perhaps my disappointment arose due to the fact that I enter the movie theater with my “child brain” – you see, the story is not really for kids but for adults but you can take the kids with you nonetheless. One nice part was Bee Larry King and to that I did laugh.
I’ll give the movie a 3 out of 5 but I still recommend it for watching as it’s not really bad. And oh, it’ll come out on DVD this March 2008.
