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Showing posts from October, 2017

Thor Ragnarok (2017) PG (not really a review)

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Bonifacio High Street Cinemas, Central Square, BGC Imprisoned on the other side of the universe, the mighty Thor finds himself in a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against the Hulk, his former ally and fellow Avenger. Thor's quest for survival leads him in a race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home world and the Asgardian civilization.- WWW In Thor 2, it was implied or established that Thor, Loki and Odin were not really gods, but a highly advanced species who likened to gods.  In Thor Ragnarok they are back to being Norse gods. This movie made all of us happy.  It has two strings of after credits teasers and the script was well-written, with the best line coming from a Make-A-Wish-Kid . We had lots of laughs(including the part where they seemingly promoted to the Filipino audience the Vice Ganda-Pia Wurtzbach-Daniel Padilla Christmas movie---LOL---I'm sure most of the moviegoers at the Bonifacio High S

The Barker (2017) PG

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It's not as great as Kita Kita, and the buildup and flow of the story is not seamless(like it was not shown how Bela and Coco fell in love etc.), but for a first directorial job for the big screen, Dennis Padilla does have a future.  Empoy Marquez and Shy Carlos are good actors.  Empoy is even very graceful and he's such a natural. Shy Carlos who is NOT in any way related to Sarah Carlos(well, at least that's what I think---they do have a great resemblance so people often mistake Sarah for Shy....Shy or Schai is Schirin Grace Sigrist in real life), is beautiful inside and out.  Regarding the many kissing scenes she had with Empoy she said, "Pogi naman si Empoy at hindi na kailangan paghandaan yun." (Empoy is charming and I don't need to prepare for it)  One newspaper even misquoted her regarding what she said about her imagining kissing Piolo Pascual.  When I heard and read her REAL quote, she was just saying that as actors it's the same when you ki

Bad Genius (2017) Inspired by true events PG

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Wow.  Just wow!  The acting is almost very seamless and the situation is very real.  Although fictionalised,  the story is based on true events.  The genius, Lynn, is played by a new comer, but we thought she's already a seasoned performer.  Her co-stars are probably more popular than she is, but she will go places, I believe. Well, she has been a model for six years now, but of course, not all models could act, like not all all actors can effectively be a model. I felt every emotion. Did her "bestie" use her from the very start, or was there even an ounce of sincerity? Who is the real bad genius?  Is it Lynn or somebody else? I agree with Lynn's father.  She could have just taught everyone instead of teaching them how to cheat.  It's crazy.  They have seminars for cheating.  Aren't those seminars vehicles for learning too.  They have to STUDY the codes, don't they?  It's so crazy. I am tempted to talk and talk and talk here.

The Foreigner (2017) R-13

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Quan is a humble London businessman whose long-buried past erupts in a revenge-fueled vendetta when the only person left for him to love -- his teenage daughter -- dies in a senseless act of politically motivated terrorism. His relentless search to find the terrorists leads to a cat-and-mouse confli ct with a British government official whose own past may hold the clues to the identities of the elusive killers. -WWW Initial release :  30 September 2017 ( China ) Director :  Martin Campbell Based on :  The Chinaman; by Stephen Leather Screenplay:   David Marconi Music composed by :  Cliff Martinez Languages :  English, Standard Mandarin(no subtitles) The story is definitely not new, but it is very real.  Terrorism is very, very real.  This time it stems from paramilitary operations where Mr. James Hennessy( Pierce Brosnan )was very much a part of and not the recent usual suspects. Chan and Brosnan are very believable.  Chan's fig

Seven Sundays(2017) PG

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We were going to hit several birds with one stone(I hate the saying hitting two birds with one stone and now I say several) and one of those birds was watching this movie: SEVEN SUNDAYS. The stars were well chosen and the director, Ms. Cathy Garcia-Molina, never fails to deliver. It had old and new elements, but the story was well told and greatly acted.   OK, I didn't like the racist remarks towards the end of the film, but we have to be open minded about this.  This was a very arrogant person trying to diss their family and they were just united as a family. I think the message of the movie is that no matter what differences we all have as a family, at the end of the day, " Damay na! " My folks loved it.  They did not expect to like it and they said it even exceeded their expectations. Many heartstrings were pulled, but spirits were lifted too.   I won't make this long anymore.  Congratulations to the cast and crew! #familymovie

Geostorm(2017) Parental Guidance

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After an unprecedented series of natural disasters threatened the planet, the world's leaders came together to create an intricate network of satellites to control the global climate and keep everyone safe. But now, something has gone wrong: the system built to protect Earth is attacking it, and it  becomes a race against the clock to uncover the real threat before a worldwide geostorm wipes out everything and everyone along with it.-WWW Initial release :  12 October 2017 (Metro Manila, Philippines) Director :  Dean Devlin Producers :  Dean Devlin ,  David Ellison ,  Dana Goldberg ,  Marc Roskin ,  Rachel Olschan Music composed by :  Pinar Toprak ,  Lorne Balfe Screenplay :  Dean Devlin ,  Paul Guyot ,  Kieran Mulroney ,  Michele Mulroney When GEOSTORM's first teaser, at least the first one I saw, was released, I said to myself, "What? Another disaster film? Another I told you so film? Another conspiracy theory?&qu

Blade Runner 2049

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Officer K (Ryan Gosling), a new blade runner for the Los Angeles Police Department, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. His discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former blade runner who's been missing for  30 years. Initial release :  4 October 2017 ( Italy ) Director :  Denis Villeneuve Cinematography :  Roger Deakins Music composed by :  Jóhann Jóhannsson ,  Hans Zimmer ,  Benjamin Wallfisch Screenplay :  Hampton Fancher ,  Michael Green Visual Effects : John Nelson, Paul Lambert, and Richard R. Hoover Gerd Nefzer  et al Being a fan of Harrison Ford I am quite disappointed that he only appeared towards the end of movie.  If the movie is divided into three parts, let's say Mr. Ford only appeared during the last third of the film, but his presence is still vital and he still delivered. Gosling, De Armas and Wright enjoyed the limeligh

Victoria & Abdul (PG) 2017

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bdul Karim arrives from India to participate in Queen Victoria's golden jubilee. The young clerk is surprised to find favor with the queen herself. As Victoria questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance that her household and inner circle t ry to destroy. As their friendship deepens, the queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes, joyfully reclaiming her humanity.-WWW Initial release :  15 September 2017 ( United Kingdom ) Director :  Stephen Frears Screenplay :  Lee Hall Production companies :  Working Title Films ,  BBC Films ,  Perfect World Pictures Producers :  Beeban Kidron ,  Eric Fellner ,  Tim Bevan ,  Tracey Seaward Based on real events...mostly(there are some goofs and some cinematic effects, but yes, the story is based on the journals of Queen Victoria in Urdu and the journals of the Munshi found in Karachi in 2010) I hope a lot of people would be able to

Last Night (R-13?) 2017

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( source ) ( source ) Was it because of the "suicide" theme?  Is that the reason why they rated it R-13?  Maleficent is more traumatic than this movie and there are many animated films that gave children and adults alike sleepless nights, so I don't get it.  Why give this that kind of rating?  The movie is actually refreshing.  It could have "landed" sooner than later, but notwithstanding the prolonged scenes, the movie gives a light giddy feeling inside. I was warned that it had a "twist", but it was not what I expected the twist would be.  It wasn't the first time that one of the characters was like "that", but it was a bit different.  Bela is indeed a raconteur extraordinaire , and I would surely watch her other screenplays in the future, with or without her. The acting is good and so is the direction, but I'll leave everything else to the experts:   REVIEW: ‘Last Night’ is dark, mysterious, and captivating MOV