Pulse

With my plans somewhat affected by the transport strike, I thought that the best way to spend the afternoon was to watch Mirror Mirror.

I won't bore you with what the movie's all about because the story of Snow White has been told many times over. Did that make the movie predictable? Well, not quite because the story is quite different, shows a feisty heroine, a funny prince and is told from the point of view of the wicked queen.

There are many ways to tell a story and while this movie is a retelling of a classic tale, it has elements which make it fresh, different and a joy to watch. Julia Roberts as the evil queen is one of them. She is amazing; comic but radiating evil nonetheless.

The transport strike affected the movie too. The cinema personnel cited traffic as the reason the movie started late and got interrupted 4x. Apparently, four of the six reels got delayed.

I hope that those things don't happen again when I watch Snow White and the Huntsman.

Labels: movies

With my morning extremely busy, what with three things to do, in three different sections of the hospital, all happening at 11 am, I decided to relax in the afternoon with lunch and a movie.

Truthfully, I wasn't that thrilled to see Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. I know nothing about the book it was based on and the trailer did not really excite me.

I was surprised to discover it to be musical, with numbers scattered all throughout the movie. The animation was superb, with the attention to detail simply amazing and the colors vibrant.

As with other Dr. Seuss' stories, it imparts many lessons about relationships, protecting the environment, initiating changes, etc. Yet these were with ease and with laugh out loud moments in between.

It's a story about choices and that while work is necessary, it's also important to have other pursuits, not be swallowed by personal successes and to see the bigger picture.

Photo from this site.

Labels: movies

With my Shang Cineplex points due to expire soon, I decided to redeem a free ticket. Problem was the cinema only allows reward tickets for screenings that are at least a week old. That left me with either Jack and Jill or Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Having heard bad reviews about the Adam Sandler starrer, I opted for the latter especially since it stars Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, both Academy Award winners.

The movie is not about 9/11 but the days that follow. That's how the movie describes itself in its poster. That should have been my clue but I missed it. I only saw the poster after I saw the movie.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close tells the story of a young boy who loses his father in 9/11 and subsequently "loses" his mother in the days that follow. How they overcome the tragedy and meet interesting people along the way is what the rest of the movie is all about.

As the stages of mourning and grief are the central themes of the story, the movie felt heavy most of the time. While the movie was interesting, its actors wonderful, I wished I'd opted for the Adam Sandler starrer, if only for some laugh out loud moments.

That said, I hope Shang Cineplex changes its policy about the award tickets and allow members to have more options.

Photo from this site.

Labels: movies

I was at Fully Booked before the screening of One for the Money looking for Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series which the movie is based on. I realized that there are several books in the series and thought that I would be in big trouble if I happen to like the movie.

Labels: movies

Billed as a Valentine's date movie. This Means War tells the story of two undercover agents, partners and best friends even, who fall in love with the same girl. How and who wins the girl are what the rest of the movie is all about.

The movie was laugh out loud funny. Reese Witherspoon was very much in her element and so were the male leads, Chris Pine and Tom Hardy. While I was turned off initially by fast and foul talking Chelsea Handler, I eventually got used to her brand of humor.

Reese Witherspoon's height is occasionally a liability, especially when she is paired with much taller men. The male leads' heights are a good match to hers, helped by her wearing heels most of the movie.

Compared to The Vow, this is a much better date movie as men will enjoy the action and women the romance. Both will probably laugh at loud at the comedy.

Photo from this site.

Labels: movies

With John Lloyd Cruz on my mind, I sneaked out of the presentation and wished that there would be no traffic on my way to the cinema.

Unofficially Yours tells the story of two young people who had a one night stand but unexpectedly find themselves working together. How their relationship, or lack thereof, proceeds from there is what the rest of the movie is all about.

John Lloyd Cruz is such a charmer that any romantic pairing would work. He definitely has chemistry with Angel Locsin but their love scenes felt choreographed and unnatural, a far cry from those he did with usual partner Bea Alonzo. Angel Locsin succeeds in portraying sexy but John Lloyd is funny when he shows his sensual side and that's what made the movie a joy to watch.

Patrick Garcia, the cause of Angel Locsin's character's hesitation to fall in love, is revealed towards the end. While he is the leads' contemporary, I felt that he was miscast because he looked too young for the role.

I was initially peeved with the characters' penchant for leaning backwards with contorted faces when expressing disbelief but as they get repeated over the course of the movie, I realized that even my secretary does it so maybe it's what's current. Still, I didn't like it.

The movie is fun to watch. There are moments which will make you laugh out loud and moments that will tug at your heartstrings and make you cry. I did.

Photo from this site.

Labels: movies

Since seeing the billboard of The Vow along EDSA, I've been excited to watch it. It seemed like a feel good Valentine movie.

Based on a true story, The Vow tells the story of a young couple whose lives are changed by a vehicular accident. The young wife suffers a brain injury and loses much of her recent memory, including her whole history with the husband. How they survive this crisis is what the rest of the movie is all about.

While it is a love story, it didn't quite meet my expectations of a feel good Valentine movie. The leads, Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams, have chemistry all right. I guess I was expecting more of a dreamy, magical romantic movie than a peek into real life.

It's still worth watching though. I just thought I'd warn you not to expect something "just like in the movies" because this film was as real as it could get.

Photo from this site.

Labels: movies

A chance encounter visisiting the newest addition to the family led to an impromptu movie date for S4 and I. Realizing that we both wanted to watch The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, we rushed from the hospital to the cinema just in time to buy a ticket and some snacks.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the movie adaptation of the hugely successful book of the same name which tells the story of Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist, and his unlikely partner, Lisbeth Salander, a highly volatile young investigator as they crack a murder case.

People who've read the book would appreciate that the film was largely faithful to the book. Rooney Mara was a revelation. She nailed the part of Lisbeth Salander so well and deserves very much the Oscar nod. Daniel Craig was able to shed his James Bond persona and breath life into the unkenpt, unfit, vulnerable Mikael Blomkvist, a far cry from 007.

I've read the book but S4 hasn't and that explains the huge difference on how we reacted to the film. While S4 kept guessing who the real perpetrator was, I knew how the events would play out on screen and that sort of lessened the impact of the scenes on me.

That said, the film is a must see for both types of people.

It also means that I should stick to my tips on how to have a great movie experience. The Hunger Games will just have to remain unread in my elibrary until I've seen the movie.

Photo from this site.

Labels: movies