Ikaw na Nga My Househusband

I only managed to watch two movies in the 2011 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). I am interested to watch Asiong Salonga's biopic at first because it was a long time since I saw a Pinoy action movie. I heard the issue of Manila Kingpin with its director and the botched up editing, which made me decide to avoid watching it. My beloved wanted to see Maricel Soriano starrer “Yesterday Today Tomorrow” but it was already pulled out of the Trinoma Cinema because it is at lowest end of the box office ratings. In the end, we decided to see Bong Revilla's movie, “Panday II,” and “My Househusband” that stars the real life couple Ryan Agoncillo and Judy Ann Santos.

Panday is terrible because the movie was used as a political propaganda movie for Senator Revilla. I will not talk about Panday. I suggest that you to this review of the movie to understand how terrible it is. It was fortunate that we chose to watch My Househusband because it made up our afternoon that was wrecked by Bong Revilla's movie.

I expected My Househusband to hinge its story on the love triangle between Judy Ann Santos, Ryan Agoncillo and the comedienne Eugene Domingo. This expectation was borne out of the movie's TV commercial that hinted on such story. Thus, it was a relief to discover that Eugene Domingo's character is not a mistress of Ryan Agoncillo's character.

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My Househusband is a story of a man who was forced to be a stay-at-home husband (Ryan Agoncillo) after he resigned on his job as bank manager. His wife (Judy Ann Santos) took the helm in earning money for the family. The movie was spiced up by the presence of their “crazy” neighbor (Eugene Domingo) who acted as their conscience, of sorts.

What I like the most with this movie is that it made me laugh. Eugene Domingo is excellent is saying her punchlines. Her scenes is not “pilit” (forced), which is unlike the way Benjie Paras was used in “Ang Panday”.

Ryan Agoncillo and Judy Ann Santos' acting in the movie are good. Being real life husband and wife made them act naturally as a couple in the movie.

Of the many Pinoy movies I watched last year, I rank My Househusband as one of the best. I believe that it is one of the best movie of the 2011 MMFF.

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Let There be Dragons

Slaying a dragon is one of the many noble goals that a knight has. Typical fairy tale stories tell of a knight that attacks the dragon's cavern to save a kidnapped princess. Dragon slaying is a tricky business. These monsters have tough hide, sharp talons and nasty fire breath. Though the prospect is perilous, the brave knight always attacks the dragon and emerges victorious.

Dragons are not just mythical monsters but they also represent the things that we should defeat. In fairy tales, the dragon is the embodiment of the knight's fears. In Christianity, the dragon represents all the Evil that Christians should struggle against.

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Saint George slaying the Dragon.

The movie “There be Dragons” will not be named as such if the story has no dragon in it. Dragons abound in the movie and the protagonists faced those monsters in their own ways. “There be Dragons” shows a writer that is researching about the Opus Dei founder, Saint Josemaria Escriva, for his new book. The writer discovered that the saint has a connection with his father, of whom he had never seen for a long time.

The movie presents two parallel, but intertwined, stories of Saint Escriva and the fictional childhood friend, Manolo. Saint Escriva and Manolo took a different path when dealing with life and the turmoil, which is the Spanish Civil War. Saint Escriva took the path of a believer in Christ while Manolo took the path of a non-believer.

Spain, during the civil war, is a land of chaos. It is the time when people are forced to choose which side to support. Either you are a communist or a fascist. Either you support the Church or you are the one who mock them. Francisco Franco led a rebellion against the popular communist government of Spain. In time, the Spanish Civil War became an international affair. Communist volunteers came pouring in Spain to support the government while Nazi Germany supported Franco. Cities were bombed and many civilians died. Death toll on both the fascists and communists were high. Priests and devout Catholics were mocked and executed for their Faith.

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Saint Escriva contemplating about his new religious society.

Spanish Civil War is not the best time to be a priest. But Saint Escriva chose to fulfill his vocation and wrestled with the dragons that threaten his faith in God. The communists’ hatred to the Church and the Catholic faithful forced Saint Escriva to flee for a lot of times. He was forced to conduct the Holy Mass in secret. He even saw a priest friend executed on the streets. The movie showed us that even a saint has a hard time defeating his inner dragons. Saint Escriva refused to go on their journey through the Pyrenees. It is the low point of his life but God enabled him to conquer his dragons.

Reviewers of the movie gave it low approval points. It is understandable because parallel stories within the movie usually confuse the audience. It is confusing because it is hard to distinguish who is the focus of the movie. The story of Saint Escriva is sometimes upstaged by the story of Manolo, which has plenty of battle scenes. Another complaint is that viewers who don't know Saint Josemaria Escriva have a hard time grasping his story.

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The things that made “There be Dragons” shine is its theme that all people can relate to. All of us has our own dragons that we have to face, even if we try our very best to avoid them. They are the dragons that will destroy our hope, our faith and our love to the people around. The question is will you face these dragons bravely like the knights of times past? Or will you be a coward and flee from them forever?

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Watching the Perfect Ip Man

Propaganda movies are movies that aim to inspire people to subscribe to the agenda or ideology that is being portrayed. The Nazis are expert in the field of propaganda that many Germans were fooled by their twisted ideology. Communists also utilized propaganda movies during the Cold War. The Ip Man movies that watched were not propaganda movies but they gave me a feeling that it is.

Ip Man is the master of Bruce Lee. He originated from Foshan and escaped to Hongkong when Maoists took over the Chinese government. Ip Man established the martial arts of Wing Chun.

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I first saw the Ip Man movie while am riding a bus on the way home. The fight scenes are superb and I can see that the actors are well-rehearsed in their stunts. I also enjoyed watching the whole movie from the time when Ip Man defeated the Northern master, Jin Shanzhao, to his fight with Japanese general Miura at the end of the movie. I wanted to watch the whole movie, that’s I am glad when my brother brought not only one but all of the Ip Man movies.

Ip Man has three movies. The first movie is set during the time when Japanese soldiers invaded mainland China. Ip Man 2 is set after World War and at the time when Ip Man is establishing his dojo in Hongkong. Ip Man Zero is about the young Ip Man and was set prior to Sino-Japanese War.

Each movie has excellent fight scenes at the each end. Ip Man Zero has intense fight between Ip Man and the Japanese instigators. Ip Man 2 has a fight between Ip Man and a Japanese general who is a karate master. Ip Man 2 has a fight between Ip Man and a famous British boxer. Ip Man won all those fights.

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Ip Man vs the boxer.

What I noticed about the Ip Man movies is that Ip Man was portrayed as a perfect person. He is the one who saved the country from the evil plans of the Japanese. He is the one who upheld the pride of whole Foshan against a Northern martial arts master. He is the one who defeated a Japanese general and inspired the people to fight the Japanese. He is the one whom all Hongkong masters depended on when standing against foreign pigs (the British colonizers). Having a perfect character is not a problem in a fictional movie. Ip Man movies, however, are supposedly biographical. I can’t believe that the true Ip Man can do all those things. A perfect Ip Man in the movie made me feel that I am watching a propaganda film and not the biography of the man.

My complaints are minor and can be ignored if Ip Man movies are treated as fictional. I enjoyed the watching all of the three Ip Man movies. The fight scenes didn’t disappoint because they are few of the best fight scenes that I saw in a Chinese movie. The movie is very colorful and shows how colorful the Chinese culture is. The Ip Man movies made we want to learn Wing Chun.

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Three Idiots: Not Really Idiotic

I think that the first Bollywood movie that I really enjoyed is the movie “Slumdog Millionaire.” It is a movie of a young man who joined the Indian version of the game show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” His life story, and the whole film, is narrated through the young man’s recollection based on the questions during the show. Slumdog Millionaire is full of drama, humor and dance numbers. I thought that I would never find another Bollywood film that as enjoyable as Slumdog Millionaire, until I encountered this:

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Three Idiots is a movie about three friends; Farhan, Raju and Rancho who are studying at Imperial College of Engineering (ICE) in India. ICE is one of the leading engineering institution in India and many engineer-wannabes dream of entering that college. The three friends have different motivations in entering ICE. Farhan entered the engineering institute to obey his father's wishes even though his dream is to be a photographer. Raju, on the other hand, wants to be engineer and also to raise the status of his family. Rancho entered ICE because his passion is learning new things.

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Raju, Rancho and Farhan.

Three Idiots is filled with laughter. I especially love the part when Rancho entered the college dorm. The upperclassmen are making fun of new students by making them do silly things. Rancho managed to avoid the initiation by “electrocuting” the upperclassman who peed in front the door of his room. The electricity reached the upperclassman from the spoon, which connected to the fuse box, by traveling through the urine. The upperclassmen never bothered Rancho again.

There are other funny episodes in Three Idiots and I suggest that you watch the movie to see those funny antics of the characters in the movie.

The real struggle in the movie is between Rancho and the terror professor who is nicknamed as “Virus.” Virus represents the things that are wrong with the engineering education in ICE. Virus is the professor who always aims to finish first. He treats college as a form of competition between students and he consider those who have low grades as worthless. This form of thinking caused the students to prefer rote memorization over understanding the concepts in physics and engineering. Intense competition was also fostered and it pressured many students to fight for the top spot. This pressure caused the suicide of one of the engineering students and Virus' own son.

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Three Idiots trailer.

Rancho, on the other hand, is the opposite of Virus. He doesn't care much about  grades and competition. His goal in college is to learn as much things as possible so that he can use it later in life. He doesn't rely on rote memorization but uses his creativity to make engineering concepts work in real life. Rancho's style was successful in the end because he became the most famous inventor in India who has hundreds of patented inventions.

I like the way the movie is presented. It showed what is lacking in college education nowadays, and that is not only confined in India. My country, the Philippines, also have such problems. Creativity and in depth study of concepts was replaced by shallow means, which just aim to get high grades on the class card. College is only seen as a means to get employed, not to develop mental capacity that can be used to invent and innovate things. I believe that this is one reason why there is a lack of inventors here in the Philippines because students were trained not to become inventors or innovators but only as employees of some high-level corporations.

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A shot of my favorite dance segment in Three Idiots.

Three Idiots is a good movie. It is full of laughs and also has enough drama for those want it. The dance segments, which is very usual in Bollywood films, are well-made and has catchy tunes. So, if you are looking for a good Bollywood movie, I suggest that you watch the Three Idiots.

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Inglourious Basterds

Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France, the Allied Forces sent Jewish soldiers to spread terror among the German soldiers. The group of soldiers were called as the Inglourious Basterds.

Inglourious Basterds is the fourth Quentin Tarantino movie that I watched. The first three movie are all the movies in the Kill Bill series. Fast-paced, action-packed, and unique editing style – these are the elements that I saw in the Kill Bill movies which I also saw in this movie.

The Inglorious Basterds are commando group that is being headed by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt). The group is successful in spreading fear among the Nazis and even Hitler was annoyed by their existence. The Basterds are, like what Aldo Raine had said, “not into Nazi  imprisoning business.” They are into Nazi killing business. German soldiers that they killed are scalped while those whom they left alive were marked with the Swastika on their foreheads.

The movie opened with a scene showing the visit of the Jew Hunter (Col. Hans Landa) to a house of a Frenchman. Col. Landa is searching for a Jewish family (Dreyfus family) that is not yet netted by the Nazis and he suspected that the Frenchman is hiding them. That first scene already raised up the tempo of the movie because the emotional tension is quite high. Landa made the Frenchman admit that he is hiding the Dreyfuses under the floorboards. Landa promptly ordered his soldiers to kill the Jews by shooting them through the floorboards. Shosanna Dreyfus escaped death and was not seen by Landa since then.
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Landa and Shosanna's path crossed years later in Paris. Landa is still the feared Jew Hunter while Shosanna has a new identity as movie theater owner. Shosanna got the opportunity to have her revenge when her movie theater was chosen as the venue of the premiere of a Nazi propaganda film, which will be attended by Adolf Hitler and high-ranking officials. Shossana used the opportunity to kill the Germans and end the war by burning down the whole movie theater.
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That is summary of the movie of Quentin Tarantino. But where are the Inglourious Basterds? Why aren't they included in the summary. My answer is that most of the reviews of this movie is focused on the Inglourious Basterds when the movie is really about the revenge of Shossana Dreyfus. The high-ranking German officials will still die even if the Basterds are not included in the story.

However, this does not mean that the notorious Basterds are not important in the movie. Their half of the the movie is enjoyable and they are the ones that gave the pace and action that is expected on Tarantino's film.
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I really enjoyed watching the Inglourious Basterds and I can say that this movie of Quentin Tarantino is much better than his Kill Bill movies.

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One Hour Photo

(Source: New Video)

How does an old man - with  no family, no relatives or even friends - feels as he age? An answer to that question was given in the movie, One Hour Photo, which stars the award-winning actor Robin Williams.

One Hour Photo is about the obsession of an employee of the one-hour photo lab at SavMart. Sy Parrish (Robin Williams) got obsessed with the Yorkins, who are the regular client of the photo lab. Sy Williams fantasized to be the Yorkins' favorite "Uncle Sy." Sy Parrish got to know more about the Yorkin family by looking at their photos, which he posted on the wall of his house.

In the course of the movie, Sy discovered the infidelity of the husband and he decided to inflict justice to his "beloved" niece Nina Yorkin.

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"Uncle Sy" and Nina Yorkin
(source: Unreality Mag)

One Hour Photo is one of my most liked movie that stars Robin Williams. Another Robin Williams movie that I liked is the "Dead Poet's Society" that I watched when I was a freshman in the University. Another movie that I watched, starring Robin Williams, is Hook where he acted as the old Peter Pan.

What I liked about the movie is Robin William's portrayal of Sy Parrish. I felt his obsession with the Yorkins. I felt his desire to belong to a happy family, which he truly lacks. The fact that Sy Parrish knows everything about the Yorkin family added to the terror. It made me think of a situation where I am haunted by a person that is so obsessed to me. Stalkers of actresses in the Philippines pale in comparison with "Uncle Sy."

The director's attention to detail in the movie also helped creating the idea of Sy's character. The style seems to say that "Uncle Sy" knows all the details of your life. It is true in the movie because he knows  many things about the photo lab's patrons from the woman who only take photos of her cats to the amateur porn director.

I also like the twist in the story when "Uncle Sy" discovered the infidelity of of the husband. Sy Parrish made intricate plans to teach the husband a lesson for destroying "his" happy family. If you will watch the movie, you will in the end that Uncle Sy just taught the husband a lesson, nothing more and nothing less.

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A Good Retelling of Rapunzel's Story

Rapunzel. Rapunzel. Lay down your hair...

That is the popular line in the Grimm's fairytale story of Rapunzel. Rapunzel is a lady famous for her very long hair. Her hair is so long that it is used by her Prince Charming to climb the high tower that serves as her prison.

In Grimm's fairytale, a farmer was caught by a witch stealing her pumpkin in her yard. The pumpkin was a special request by the farmer's wife but the witch does not care about that and she still demands repayment for what he tried to steal. In exchange of the pumpkin, the witch demanded the farmer's child once it is born. The witch locked Rapunzel, who is the farmer's daughter, inside a tower. Her hair grew long. Finally her Prince Charming came and visited her in her tower. The witch discovering his visits, blinded him in one of his visits. In the end, Rapunzel restored the prince's sight by hear tears and they lived happily ever after.

There are many things worth pondering in Grimm's version of Rapunzel's story. The first is why the farmer allowed his daughter to be exchanged with a pumpkin? Second, why did the witch exerted an effort to lock Rapunzel in a tower? What will she gain by locking Rapunzel inside that tower?
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Disney's movie “Tangled” managed to address those questions in the retelling of Rapunzel's story.

Tangled began with a magical flower that grew from a part of the sun that fell to the ground. An old woman discovered the magical flower and it is using it to restore her youth by singing to it. A good queen, who is pregnant, fell ill and there is danger that she and her child might die. All the soldiers and citizens of the kingdom searched far and wide for a cure. They discovered the magical flower and they uprooted it and made a concoction that healed the queen. The queen birthed a girl with a blond hair and she was named Rapunzel. The old lady want to retrieve the magic of the magical flower and she discovered that the magic transferred to the hair of baby Rapunzel. She kidnapped Rapunzel, locked her in the tower and acted as her true mother for the sake of keeping the power of her magical hair for her sole use of keeping her young.
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Tangled “explanation” to the questions of Grimm's fairytale is logical and is good enough for me.

And that's not the good part. What I like with the movie is the way the story flows. The singing portion of the movie is not cheesy and I like their beat and relevance to the movie.

My favorite part is when Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder is in the middle of the sea and surrounded by a host of lanterns.
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The ending of the movie is also good because I didn't expect the twist at the end. I don't want to spoil the ending for you, dear reader, so I suggest that you watch Tangled to know the ending.

Just like in Grimm's version, the Rapunzel in Tangled lived happily ever after.

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Angelina Jolie: Changeling

Last December, when I am aboard a vessel, I decided to borrow a DVD movie from the ship’s store. I am bored and because I don’t have much to do, I browsed the ship’s store collection, looking for good movies to watch. I am glad that I found this:
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The movie that I found is “Changeling,” which starred Angelina Jolie. I am not a fan of Angelina Jolie, even though some say that she is the prettiest Hollywood actress. I have watched her movie Tomb Raider and Beowulf. Tomb Raider is ok but Beowulf is not. It is not Angelina Jolie’s acting that made Beowulf bad but the whole movie is bad. I also watched Angelina Jolie adopt many children around the world and she became more popular because of that. I guess if she ever goes to the Philippines, I will go to her and tell her that she had to adopt me. Anyways, I am glad to have found Changeling because I watched in TV shows that Changeling is a good movie.

The movie does not fall to my favorite genre of war movie or the genre where there’s sword fighting and large-scale sacking of medieval castles. The reason why I got attracted to this movie of Angelina Jolie is the plot. Changeling is a movie based on the true story of Christine Collins who found her son missing after she returned from her work in a telephone company. Her case became popular and the corrupt police officials, in a bid to fix their public image, speedily “located” her son and returned her son in front of the media. The story could have ended there, but the twist is that the police gave her the wrong child. Christine Collins tried to tell the police that she got the wrong child but she was just ignored and made look like an evil mother in front of the public. Christine Collins’ struggle to find her son became a struggle to clean the corrupt police institution.

This is the best Angelina Jolie film that I watched so far. I like the way she portrayed Christine Collins. I like how the whole movie re-lives the Los Angeles in 1928. The movie has the right amount of tension that the audience interested throughout the film. I like the way how the movie tackled corruption, murder, trust and the great love of a mother for her child.

This Angelina Jolie movie is great. However, its end is sad because Christine Collins did not found her only son.

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Ang Tanging Ina Mo: Sana Last na Nga!

Yesterday, me and my beloved watched the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) movie “Ang Tanging Ina Mo.”

Ang Tanging Ina is led by the comedian Aiai de las Alas. Other artistas in this movie are Eugene Domingo (of the super funny Kimmy Dora), Marvin Agustin, Shaina Magdayao, Nikki Valdez and many more popular and not so popular artistas in the Philippine Showbiz. The movie is directed by Wenn de Ramas.

Ang Tanging Ina is sort of a continuation of “Ang Tanging Ina Ninyong Lahat,” which was shown in 2008.

In Ang Tanging Ina, Ina Montecilio (Aiai de las Alas) thought that she had a head tumor after she was x-rayed after an accident in the first scene of the movie. Ina was afraid to tell her sons and daughters of her illness and did comical and dramatic scenes just to hide her illness to them. In the end, it was discovered that Ina doesn’t have tumor at all and she will not die (which means that there is a possibility of another Tanging Ina movie in the future).
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Tanging Ina Mo, as far as I could see, has no problem in its comedy aspect. Being MMFF 2010’s top grossing movie, I guess that Aiai de las Alas caught the tickle-bones of Filipino moviegoers. I heard people inside the theater laugh out loud with Aiai de las Alas and Eugene Domingo’s antics. But my question is, since Ang Tanging Ina Mo was packaged in its TV ads as a funny movie, then why didn’t just make Ang Tanging Ina a funny movie all the way?

The truth is I am confused. Is Ang Tanging Ina a comedy or a drama film? If it is comedy, then why is the large portion of the movie full of dramatics? I am anticipating a funny movie but all I see are characters crying, which destroys my mood to have some fun in the movie.

Another thing is that this movie depends heavily upon Aiai  de las Alas and Eugene to deliver the funny scenes. They don’t have enough comedians to give more variety to the comedy that is in this movie. Having Marvin Agustin, Shaina Magdayao and all other drama actors and actresses do not help in making the movie as funny as it could be.

That’s my complaint with Ang Tanging Ina Mo. If Star Cinema will produce another sequel of this movie in the future, I hope that they focus more in the comedy and not on the dramatics. Moviegoers go to watch the Ang Tanging Ina movies to laugh and not to cry.

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Father's Day, A Date and KC Concepcion

Frankly, I have never been a fan of the Filipina actress KC Concepcion. I always see her just someone who got the privilege to enter showbiz just because she is the daughter of Sharon Cuneta. If KC Concepcion has a mother who had lesser fame, then maybe she will never be famous.

To those who don’t know, KC Concepcion is one of the famous young actresses here in the Philippines. She is one of the ace stars of ABS-CBN network, the owner of The Filipino Channel (TFC). KC Concepcion starred in many romance movies and is also well sought product endorser.

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KC Concepcion

During Father’s Day, me and my beloved decided to watch the movie “I’ll be There,” which is starred by KC Concepcion, Gabby Concepcion (her real father), and Jericho Rosales. At first, I am hesitant to watch this movie because it’s a drama movie. But still, I gave it a go.

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I have nothing against the movie. Actually, I liked it. This movie of KC Concepcion is different from all the Filipino drama movies I saw. There is less heavy drama and less histrionics. The movie just focused on the central theme, which is the relationship between a father and daughter. The love story between KC Concepcion and Jericho was not glossed over but used to enhance the major story. 

In the movie, KC Concepcion returned home from abroad to claim her share of the inheritance. The tension is high because Gabby abandoned his family abroad and KC Concepcion did not saw him for fifteen years. The story circulated on fixing the relationship between the two. The drama between KC Concepcion and Gabby Concepcion is also somewhat real because in real life Gabby left KC Concepcion.

I could say that the movie is good. KC Concepcion’s acting is OK. Jericho’s character is nice. However, my major problem is the comedienne Cacai Bautista. Her character was placed as comic relief in the movie. However, her character is over-acting and makes the scenes unrealistic and corny. The director should have toned down her performance and planned better scenes to lighten up the movie’s mood. Another problem is Gabby’s acting because he can’t show his emotions well because of botox. He sacrificed his facial expression to make himself look young.

Those are just my little disagreements. However, all in all, this movie of KC Concepcion is good.

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Amazed by the Battle of the Red Cliff

The ancient Chinese really know how to invent military strategies and these are what awed me when I watched John Woo’s Red Cliff.

Woo’s film is about the epic battle at the end of the Han Dynasty and prior to what historians call as the age of Three Kingdoms. Prime Minister Cao Cao convinced the Han emperor that the only way to unify the whole of China is to invade the kingdoms located at South China. He claimed that the Han Emperor’s uncle, Liu Bei, is instigating a rebellion. Zhuge Liang went to the Kingdom of Eastern Wu to forge an alliance against Cao Cao. Sun Quan, leader of Eastern Wu, agreed to the alliance after he was convinced by Viceroy Zhou Yu. To make the long story short (just watch the movie if you are curious), Cao Cao was defeated after the brilliant strategies and bravery exhibited by the warriors of the allied forces.
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 Prime Minister Cao Cao

Viceroy Zu Yu (front) and Sun Quan (middle).

The fight scenes in this film are great. And the drama is not boring because it is an important part of the story. What gripped me with excitement are the strategies employed by Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang to defeat Cao Cao. My favorite is the strategy as picture below:

That is the tortoise formation formulated by the allied forces. Cao Cao’s army was led inside the maze-like formation where they were confused and routed.

Red Cliff is great and I am glad to have watched it. Now, Red Cliff joins my favorite films like Lord of the Rings, Kingdom of Heaven, Braveheart, and Prince Caspian. I recommend that you watch this film too.
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Oh by the way, before I end my post, I would like to show my most favorite character in the movie. He is Zhuge Liang, the legendary strategist in the movie and in the Chinese history. He is the one dressed in white in the picture below:
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 Zhuge Liang after stealing 100,000 arrows from the enemy.

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In 2012 the World will End in Boredom

I did not expect that our world will end in year 2012 as predicted by the Mayans, thousands of years ago. I also did not expect that our own world will die because of boredom. Death by boredom, this is what I think is the hidden message that the apocalyptic film 2012 is telling the filmgoers.

2012 is about the catastrophic death of the world in the year 2012 because of the sudden increase of activity of our sun that triggers the heating of the Earth’s inner layers, causing the instability of the Earth’s crust. What you will have is the sudden movements of the crustal plates accompanied by strong earthquakes and tsunamis. Your eyes fill feast on falling buildings, exploding volcanoes, big cracks on the earth, and large waves that eat up large coastal cities.

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The graphics and special effects of the film are cool. It is nice to see building dropping like dominoes in the first part of the film, but as the film goes on you will be bored and the continued catastrophes will only make your eyes glazed. The focal characters do not also help much and their problems, as shown in the film, are puny in relation to the catastrophic events that are happening all around them. The beginning of the film is also turned me off because the scenes are too slow in directing to the focus of the film.

Another problem that I had is their premise of who can only be saved. Only the G8 countries (the 8 richest nations in the world) were informed of the catastrophe. Is the group of G8 countries equate to the whole nation of the world? Where is the United Nations? Are they saying that the poor nations do not deserve to know that the apocalypse is coming? Is the gene pool of human beings living outside the G8 countries not worthy enough to continue in the post – apocalyptic civilization?

The information black-out on the information about the apocalypse is overrated. Other nations, outside the G8, also have the capacity to collect information about an event as large as what occurred in the film.

2012 taught me one thing: never watch a movie showcasing large scale catastrophes ever again.

Harry Potter 6 is Disappointing

I went to Trinoma yesterday to watch the movie adaptation of the book Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. All I could say is that I am disappointed with the movie. It is a basic fact that the movie can not measure up against the book since the book is more detailed and the movie is limited in time and budget. However there are so many things that are amiss that I think should be included in the movie.

The Tension of Draco

Aside from the main protagonists, Draco should be given more focus since his role is essential in the story. The movie should also show the tension experienced by Draco Malfoy. It is given that Voldemort gave him an almost impossible mission to kill Dumbledore. The movie showed snippets of Draco, but I believe he should be given more exposure. I need to see more emotions coming from Malfoy.
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Dull Moments

The movie also has its many dull moments. Even the scene of Dumbledores death is not that exciting. The movie also seems to be a bit rushed. There are sudden cuts between scenes that surprised me. However, I think that is the result of condensing the whole book into 2 and a half hour movie.

There are so many things that happened in the book that were not included and many of things are essential. The attack of the Death Eaters to the house of the Weasley’s is not included in the book and I do not know the purpose why it was included in the movie.

The magic that is present in the previous installments were also gone.

Wow Moments

My favorite part of the movie is the first scene where the deatheater’s kidnapped the wandmaker Ollivander. The death eaters mode of traveling as jets of dark clouds is good to watch.

Another part that I liked is whenever Harry and Dumbledore enters the pensieve so as to watch the memories of people. I like to see dark ink floating down the water and forms the memory of the person.

I also liked the scene where Harry and Dumbledore enter Voldemort’s secret cave. However, I think that it still lack the tension that is in the book and the scene is also a bit rushed.
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The actors and actresses did their work well. I especially liked Snape and Dumbledore. I just wish that  they gave more exposure to my favorite character, which is Luna Lovegood.

All in all, the movie is fine but it did not meet my expectations. Reading the book and completing the text with imagination is better.

Joint Security Area

I have seen this movie first in UP Film Center and it became one of my instant favorite movies. Since then, I had pored over many DVD shops to acquire a copy of this movie. Finally my great brother tracked one copy of this in UP Shopping Center and once again I watched this movie at the comfort of my home.

Joint Security Area

Joint security area or JSA is the area at the both sides of the boundary of the two Koreas. The North Koreans guards the northern part of the JSA while the South Koreans have the jurisdiction over the southern portion. All in all, the JSA is being administered by the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission.

This is the setting of the movie. JSA is a high-tension area where the opposing North Koreans and South Koreans are seeing each other face to face.

This movie is about the friendship (or some will say as fraternizing with the enemy) of four soldiers stationed in the JSA and the subsequent tragedy that ended their happy moments. South Korean soldiers Sgt. Lee Soo-hyeok (Byung-hun Lee of the Koreanovela "Stairway to Heaven") and Sgt. Oh Kyeong-pil became friends with North Korean soldiers Nam Sung-shik and Jeong Woo-jin. The two SoKor soldiers leave their post every night to visit their NoKor friends. They spend their happy moments by sharing stories, drinking, playing cards and any other antics to while away their duty time.

Tragedy started when a NoKor official discovered their friendship, which started a confusion that left the official dead and one of their NoKor friend. Fighting between the NoKor and SoKor troops ensued.

To protect one another, the SoKor soldiers lied that Soo-hyeok was kidnapped by the NoKor soldiers. Kyeong-pil rescued Soo-hyeok, leaving the two North Koreans dead. Sung-shik, on the other hand, says that the two SoKor soldiers attacked their post during that night.

Maj. Sophie E. Jean (Yeong-ae Lee of "Jang Geum") of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission was sent to untangle the mystery of the incident. She found out the truth and the forbidden friendship between the four soldiers. To protect the survivors, Maj. Jean decided not to submit the true story. In the end, Soo-hyeok killed himself.

What attracted me initially to this movie is the fact that I saw the two famous Koreanovela stars to act in the big screen. And I was awed. Yeong-ae Lee and Byung-hun Lee are excellent artists. They portrayed their roles well. Tae-woo Kim (Sung-shik) is also excellent and one of the jewels of the movie.

The cinematography, which is evident in various Koreanovelas, is present in this movie. The placing of elements in a scene is what I admire in most of their works.

I like the scenes where the four soldiers play and exchange stories upon stories regarding the war and their animosity with one another.

The scene when Soo-hyeok stepped on a mine and cried in front of the two NoKor soldiers is very funny as well as other scenes like the when Soo-hyeok and Woo-jin spat each other playfully during their morning duty.

All in all, I am giving this movie a thumbs up. Nice plot and all the wonderful elements of the Korean films had to offer is present and very nice to watch.

Operation Valkyrie

-->During the Second World War, before Hitler’s Germany bowed down to the allied forces, a group of military officers and politicians sought to end the war by assassinating Hitler and placing all Nazis under their control. Operation Valkyrie is the code name of the operation that will mobilize the reserve forces of the Wermacht or the German army in case of dissolution of peace and order inside Germany and all the occupied nations. This is just a front for a deeper plan concocted by the top coup plotters.

The plan to assassinate Hitler was lead by Claus von Stauffenberg. Stauffenberg is the one who formulated the operation, which was unwittingly approved by Hitler. The coup plotters created the plan to show the whole world that not all people in Germany are Nazis, and thus save Germany from being punished due to the crime perpetrated by the SS and the Nazis. Phase one of plan is the assassination of Hitler. This was done by bombing the meeting attended by Hitler. The second phase is the mobilization of the reserve forces and by deceiving the army into a belief that it was the SS who assassinated Hitler and sought to take over the government. The third phase is the arrest of all SS commanders and soldiers and all the top members of the Nazi party. This will ensure that the new government will not fall to the hands of the SS or the Nazis. All this operation hinges on one element --- the death of Herr Fuehrer.

The death of Adolf Hitler is necessary in this plan since he is the big boss of both Nazi and SS. Another thing is that he is the chief mastermind of all the crimes perpetrated by all his underlings. Hitler would rather die than accept the fact that Germany will be defeated in the war and negotiate with the Allies (he did kill himself when the truth of his defeat dawned on him). Hitler’s death should be done to remove this hardheaded leader and create a leadership gap. Another thing is that Hitler is the revered leader of Germany, and his death will flare the anger of the people against their killers.

Operation Valkyrie failed. History confirmed it. Hitler escaped the bombing with no major injury. In the end, the reserve forces realized that they had been tricked and stopped the operation and released all those people that they arrested. In the aftermath of Operation Valkyrie, 5,000 people were arrested, including the families of coup plotters and many of those arrested have no connection whatsoever to the plot. 200 of those were executed. Stauffenberg and other top plotters were luckily killed through musketry. Others died by hanging because Hitler wants them to suffer a painful and slow death. Those who were not executed were imprisoned or sent to concentration camps.

Operation Valkyrie is a good movie to watch. Even though the fact that many people knew that Hitler escaped the assassination, this did not dampen the atmosphere of excitement. This is a movie that captured those hard times experienced by the plotters. Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Knighty, and others did well on portraying their characters.

So, if you are on those who are interested in the Second World War or just want to see a cloak-and-dagger type of story, then Operation Valkyrie is recommended for you.

Movie Review: Prince Caspian

(Source: Fanpop)

“Uber-good!” that is how I describe the second installment of Disney’s The Chronicle of Narnia series. From the story, the set, the actors and actresses, the fight scenes, the creatures, the cinematography ----- they are so stunning. The Chronicle of Narnia: Prince Caspian now ranks as one of my favorite movies of all time.

The kings and queens of old: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy returned to Narnia just to find their kingdom in ruins. The Narnians are literally hiding under the rocks. In place of the Narnians, the Telmarines ruled the land. For three centuries, the Narnians were leaderless and the effect of this is very devastating. The trees that once danced now turned deep unto themselves and just became ordinary trees. The talking animals, now forgotten how to speak, just turned into normal animals. Other magical creatures like the minotaurs, centaurs, and fauns were dispersed and their conquerors, the Telmarines, thought they were extinct. The castle of the two queens and two kings lay in ruins.

Prince Caspian, after escaping death from the hands of his uncle, discovered that the Narnians still exist and became the hope for all the Narnians. His key to their trust was the horn owned by Susan, which he blew while he was being pursued by his uncles' soldiers. This same horn brought the four children back to Narnia.

The four children were not they used to be in the end of the first movie. They had forgotten the lessons that Aslan taught them. Apparently, Lucy was the only one who retained her trust to Aslan, thereby making her see him. The final battle scene happened near Aslan’s How, wherein the remaining Narnians made their last stand against the war machine of the Telmarines.

Stunning Scenes

As a fan of large battle scenes, my favorite scene in this movie is the battle near Aslan’s How. It is like the battle scene in “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe” times ten. The caving in of the How’s underground complex is excellent. The fighting, the swordfight, the strategy used by the opposing forces, the war machines of the Telmarines, and the rescue of Aslan of the beleaguered Narnians by the aid of the trees were totally stunning. I couldn’t help but remember the siege of Jerusalem by Saladin in the movie “Kingdom of Heaven.” This battle scene ranks as one of my favorite.

The attack on the Telmarine castle is also worth watching. The sequence has comedy (thanks for the three mice lead by Reepicheep), action, and drama. I was really moved, especially when the Narnians were forced to leave their friends inside the castle. Seeing your soldiers and friends being murdered helplessly will surely break your heart.

The scene of temptation by the Ice Queen is also excellent. The tension is there and the threat of the return of the evil queen is real. Caspian and Peter fell to the temptations of the Ice Queen but Edmund save them all by breaking the ice of the Ice Queen.

Favorite Characters

The mouse, err the great knight of Narnia, Reepicheep is my most favorite character in the movie. He is a good swordsman, courageous, and had lot of respect to himself. Reepicheep served as the comic relief in the movie. It would be fun to team him up with Puss in Boots of the movie Shrek.

My second favorite are the minotaurs. I do not know why, but I like their hard knack for battle. Very dependable creatures. Their shining moment is during the lone minotaur’s heroic stand in keeping the gate from closing while Narnian forces were retreating from the Telmarine castle.

Of the four children, Lucy stood out. I like her innocence and her love to Aslan. She represents what I wanted to be with respect to my Christian faith, innocence, and undying faith.

Aslan is another of my favorite. He is a lion and a very kind one. And I really love to have a lion.

Underlying Message

C.S. Lewis is the author of the book series “The Chronicle of Narnia.” Lewis is a member of a circle of great authors that includes J.R.R. Tolkien. The series was the product of the their project to come up with a great work that could be a start of English myth. In this project, Lewis created Narnia and Tolkien created Middle Earth.

Both works have underlying Christian message. The elements of Christianity is much more obvious in Lewis’ work than that of Tolkien’s. The war between good and evil is the central theme in “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Christian elements like courage, humility, and faith are all present. Some analysts say that Aslan represents Jesus Christ and leads the good creatures of Narnia. The sacrifice and resurrection of Aslan in the first book is an imitation of Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection.

The movie adaptation of “The Chronicles of Narnia” is worth watching. An example of a good a movie that never aims to waste the time of the audience. The hardworks of the Narnia team is well spent. They really created one hell of a movie that may make Lewis smile.

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Read my review of CS Lewis' book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.