A Pinoy @ The Movies: Angel Has Fallen

              (The movie poster from the Net) 

Who loves conspiracy-action movies? I do!😱

And although you have an idea on how everything will end up, you still wanted to see it because you want to know what's between the opening credits and the expected ending.

So, I dragged my mom to watch this movie because she loves action. I once brought her along to watch Mission Impossible Fallout and she enjoyed the action sequences.

Angel Has Fallen is the third in the 'Fallen' series that started with Olympus Has Fallen, where Koreans have successfully taken over the White House, and London Has Fallen, where terrorists were able to bring chaos to that city, which made me think, their theme song should have been 'London Bridge Has Fallen Down'.

But this time, it's back to Washington D.C., where Gerard Butler is part of the US President Morgan Freeman's Secret Service. Butler's stellar employment record was about to bring him directorship to lead the entire SS team, much like his role in the movie 300 where he led Spartan warriors who looked like GQ models, when an old friend decided to turn him into a scapegoat. As to why and how, you may have to watch the movie.

What I love about these conspiracy-action movies are the creative action scenes and political plots that make you feel you're watching Keifer Sutherland's 24 but with a two-hour time limit.

But other than Gerard Butler (who I sometimes confuse with Clive Owen) and Morgan Freeman, both Hollywood favorites, I was happy to see Jada Pinkett Smith add a strong feminine character to the equation, replacing the void left by Angela Bassett, who sometimes distract me with the way she purposely rounds her mouth when she speaks. They had Bassett killed in London Has Fallen.

Here, Jada was the smart FBI agent who I thought would have ended up catching Butler as she was on his trail. But I was shocked that they, too, didn't want her around. 😩 Oops!

Angel Has Fallen is like Harrison Ford's The Fugitive because he had to run and hide, Angelina Jolie's SALT because he could free himself while being guarded in a car and in chains, and probably any other movie where they wanted to do away with the US president. 

I would have wanted Angel Has Fallen to try harder when it came to hiding from the audience who was the brains behind the conspiracy. The minute he came into the picture, I immediately knew who it was; I didn't tell my mom, of course. She was so focused on the gunfire and flying dead bodies. 😛

The final action scenes also disappointed me. A hospital could blow up in flames? Really?! 😷And with all the police and Secret Service crawling around the perimeter, they were still able to bring in explosives? Oh well, that's why it's called a movie.

The first hour of the film impressed me, especially the drone attack, while Nick Nolte was also a surprise in the second half, although I'm not sure if he could really type.😝

I'd like you to watch Angel Has Fallen only if you like Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, and conspiracy-action movies.😆

A Pinoy @ The Movies: Ang Larawan

During the Christmas holidays, I tweeted the SM Cinemas and Robinsons Cinemas asking them as to when they were going to screen Ang Larawan (The Portrait) here in Bacolod City (in the Philippines) because, unlike the other films participating at the Metro Manila Film Festival, this film was pulled out from the cinemas because it wasn't as popular as the other films in the festival. 

Luckily for moviegoers in Bacolod City, both cinema chains finally screened Ang Larawan in the first week of January! 

As expected, and worthy of being awarded the Best Picture trophy during the festival, the movie was fun to watch. No wonder my friend Roselyn, who lives in Hollywood but watched the film in Makati last month, wanted to applaud after every number. From the production design, to the music, libretto and dialogues, and the voices of the lead actors, this musical is a must-see. Forget the other trashy MMFF movies. Yes, it's time we educate the moviegoers to watch the films that really matter. 

Today's moviegoers don't need to pay at least 200 pesos to watch trashy comedies in cinemas. All they need to do is switch on their TVs to watch poorly-made, poorly-acted, poorly-written Filipino television dramas that, to me, are comedies pretending to be dramas.

It's time we had better films, not only during the Metro Manila Film Festival, but all year-round.  

Ang Larawan, which was based on an English play written by the Philippine National Artist for Literature, Nick Joaquin, titled A Portrait of the Artist As Filipino, is set in the pre-WWII Manila, where two unmarried sisters fight off their two other siblings from selling their ancestral house in the charming Old Manila.

As to how it all happened and ended, you need to listen to the music, watch the acting, and admire their voices. I have an issue with the lead male though. Paulo Avelino's voice isn't exactly made for singing. Instead of music, I was hearing noises. Although he was probably hired because he was handsome and could draw the younger moviegoers, he was a miscast. 

I am sure there are other young, male actors who could sing out there. Piolo Pascual comes to mind, but he was probably very expensive. Forget Coco Martin; he could carry a handgun and shoot a target while tumbling, but that guy couldn't carry a tune even if it meant saving his family in Ang Probinsyano. Would Gary V. or Martin Nievera count? How about Jed Madela? Jake Zyrus?

And another thing. Zsazsa Padilla portrays a conga singer. But when she showed off her conga skills, she was shaking her shoulders like she was trying on a new bra. Again, I am sure there are singers out there who can sing and dance properly at the same time. Verni Varga, anyone? Sultry, sexy, and a real performer! They could have gotten Dayanara Torres. They could just have made her look Asian-ish, train her to sing a few bars, and she'd shake her shoulders like a real conga dancer! After all, she wasn't called a 'dancing queen' for nothing.

And Rayver Cruz as Zsazsa Padilla's partner looked like he belonged elsewhere. He was actually in my hometown to celebrate the opening of a new mall last year. He didn't belong in the movie; he belonged there. At the mall.

And if you saw the movie, remember the opening scene where the two sisters served tablea tsokolate to their male guest? It reminded me of my mother's tablea tsokolate at home.The old tradition was, if you served pure tablea tsokolate to the guest, he or she was welcome and would be seen by the master of the house. If you served diluted tsokolate, that's a message to the guest that he or she wasn't welcome at all and had to leave.

The two sisters served pure tsokolate. So does my mom. Ha-ha-ha!

I wish they make more Filipino movies like Ang Larawan. It's very educational, telling the new generation of what it was like before when the world was charming and peaceful. When everyone had manners and decency. When everyone enjoyed a cup of tablea tsokolate, played the piano at home, and sang like they meant it. :-)

A Pinoy @ The Movies: Thor: Ragnarok

It was Cate Blanchett who invited me to watch Thor: Ragnarok than Chris Hemsworth and his hammer.

Her unmistakably deep, husky voice suited her very well as Hela, the goddess of death. Cate has always been a mean enemy, just like she was in Elizabeth: the Golden Age, where she admonished the Spanish ambassador to "go back to his rat hole".

I so pitied Thor and Loki while Hela was kicking their godly asses during their god-to-god combat scenes. Hela was more powerful than any of them. But as to how both guys fared, you have to watch the film.

         (This time it's Bravo! Yellow Cab Pizza)

Watching Thor: Ragnarok was actually the topping on my pizza that day, literally. Thanks to Yellow Cab Pizza, my tummy was full before I went to the cinema.

A couple of weeks before, I tweeted Yellow Cab Pizza to complain about the boring pepperoni pizza I had before I headed to the Masskara Festival grounds in Bacolod City. And as good companies usually do, they listened to their customer!

Yellow Cab offered me free lunch that day to make up for the previous disappointment. And before I left, I complimented Jonalyn and her staff at Yellow Cab Pizza at the SM Mall in Bacolod City because, this time, their pepperoni pizza was full of cheese and their pasta was yummier. So thanks to Yellow Cab Pizza! Burp! 

And just like my lunch, the movie was fun and worth it. Yes, it's a comic-book movie with flying superheroes from other galaxies with Earth-ly, cheesy humour and Star Wars-y spaceships. So, be prepared to enjoy it like a kid. Though you may need popcorn, I, on the other hand, needed an iced java coffee to cap my pizza and pasta.

After the movie, I could still hear Cate Blanchett asking, "Dear brother, what were you the god of again?"

Though she was a bad girl, I never forgot why she was the reason I watched the movie. Sorry, I'm not a fan of Thor and Loki; I'm not from Asgard. Ha-ha-ha!

So, if you're also watching Thor: Ragnarok, don't forget your popcorn. Or pizza. Or pasta! 

A Pinoy @ The Movies: Pirates of the Carribean - Dead Men Tell No Tales

Javier Bardem is one of the best actors out there. If you saw James Bond's Skyfall, he was so good as the bad guy they gave him the honor to kill 'M' (Judi Dench) as a reward.

Here, in Dead Men Tell No Tales, the latest installment of the Pirates of the Carribean franchise, Bardem is Capitan Salazar, a ghostly Spanish-speaking captain who, after educating the audience on how to properly pronounce his name in Spanish: 'sa-la-thár' (si, the 'z' has the 'th' sound in Espańol), would destroy an enemy pirate ship and kill all, except one, on board. He would spare the life of one pirate so he could to tell whatever happened to the ship, because, he says, "dead men tell no tales".

Other than the Dead Men Tell No Tales title, it's also known as Salazar's Revenge, which immediately reminded me of the best hopia in the Philippines: Salazar hopia! Ha-ha-ha! So, you can just imagine me sitting at the movie house eating my cheesy hotdog with upsized Coke, while thinking I was biting the yummy Salazar hopia every time Capitan Salazar showed up on screen.

Although Geoffrey Rush, an Oscar winner, and Johnny Depp, an Oscar-nominee, are very good actors, in this installment, however, Javier Bardem, with his floating hair, Edward Scissorhands-ish make-up, and deep Spanish accent, carried the movie.

Will Turner's son, Henry, played by Brenton Thwaites, and Kaya Scodelario, a scientist accused as a witch, had the most fun with the action scenes. Do watch out for scenes on Jack Sparrow and Kaya's execution. The stunt choreography was very creative and entertaining.

This is what I like with this franchise. It's always an all-star cast, where there is hardly a weak link among the actors. Each is allowed to shine, but some just naturally outperform others.

Orlando Bloom, after having been trapped under the ocean, resurfaced after ten years to reunite with Keira Knightley at the end of the movie. Thankfully, she wasn't allowed to deliver long lines, or Capitan Salazar would have killed her himself. Ha-ha-ha!

Do catch Dead Men Tell No Tales, and perhaps, you can probably bring along the real Salazar hopia to munch while you watch. 

Just don't forget how it's properly pronounced. Ja-ja-ja!

A Pinoy @ The Movies: The Circle

I wonder if The Circle's original title was Facebook-slash-Google-slash-Apple reality TV.

Because all I saw during the movie was a gargantuan of a company based in sunny California, run by two guys resembling the likes of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (founders of Apple), and was about to control the virtual and real lives of everyone on Earth.

Emma Watson, as a new employee at The Circle, and even without her magic wand, magically became a star employee and a reality Internet star without having to disrobe like one Kardashian and without having to dress up like one Hilton.

Although we are all familiar with those apps and programs that have made our lives easier, these things have also taken away our privacy, especially with those cameras that follow us everywhere, even when we pee. The film also reminds everyone that we are all under surveillance by what we do online or in reality, which in turn reminded me of the George Orwell's novel, 1984, that talks about Big Brother watching over us all the time.

And even if they threw in Watson's family's sad episode and her near-drowning kayaking, the scene where her friend, Mercer, flew off a bridge was probably the lesson everyone with a smartphone should always keep in mind: technology can kill.

And this made me ask: what is the movie's message anyways?

No more privacy for all of us? We know that already.

More transparency? Hmm. There's Wikileaks for you.

That computers and apps will rule the world?  'Skynet' did that in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

And you'd also be wondering what convinced Tom Hanks and Emma Watson to do this film? Huge talent fees, perhaps?

Did I like this film? To some extent, I did because it's reality.

Should you watch this film? Nah, you can pass. Just go back to your social media. 

A Pinoy @ The Movies: LION

Artsy films always have limited viewership and are not that widely marketed. I must have missed watching this film while I was in Seoul during its pre-Oscar season run. Thankfully, I was able to catch it weeks after the Oscars at a local cinema in Bacolod City. 

Lion reminds me of Philomena, a story of a mother's search for her lost son. Dame Judi Dench, playing Philomena, was nominated for an Academy Award in her portrayal of a real-life mother who crossed an ocean in order to find her lost son. In Lion, Dev Patel, also portraying a real-life adoptee, crossed an ocean in order to find his family in India.

Nicole Kidman was also nominated for her role as Patel's adoptive mother. Here, Kidman and her husband are an Australians couple who adopts two Indian boys instead of having their own because "there are already too many people on Earth".

As to why the movie was titled Lion, you have to watch the film.

As the film was based on a true story, Patel's journey from a lost boy in India, to his adoption in Australia, and finally his search of his family back in India was an emotional 118 minutes of superb acting.

His desire to find his lost family ended up in a discovery of who he really was as a person and as a son. Don't worry, the film has a very happy ending that is different from that of Philomena's.

And you'll also find out how important Google Earth's role figured in Patel's search for his Indian family.

Go watch the film, and download Google Earth. You'd probably want to find out where Ganesh Talai is. 

A Pinoy At The Movies: Logan

This is one superhero movie that doesn't feature cars being blown up, buildings razed to the ground by a mere stare, or a whole lake turning into a tsunami. 

Logan is not your typical super hero movie because this superhero is weak, drunk and got buried in the end!

Yes, the almost 200-year old Wolverine finally got killed in the end, unless, of course, somewhere in the future, the franchise resurrects him like the way they did to Charles Xavier.

If you are expecting a display of superpowers like in the other X-Men movies, you'd be disappointed. There isn't any Storm or Cyclops here, where a lot of CGIs were required in almost every action scene. Here, the only CGI was probably every time Logan shows off his shiny andamantium blades. 

Here, an older, aged Logan wasn't as strong and had a drinking problem. He lived like an ordinary human, providing stretch limousine services and had regular customers. He was also looking after two mutants. 

His ordinary life became interesting when a nurse from a mutant-producing corporation was able to track him down and made him a babysitter for his own mutant daughter. 

And what happened to him and his daughter?

Well, that's as far as I can go. You have to watch the movie to see the journey of the father-daughter tandem. And if you think engaging the Wolverine in a hand-to-andamantium-hand combat was scary, wait till you see how ruthless his daughter could be.

Like father, like daughter, I guess.

Logan will make you think how mutants just wanted to live a 'normal' life, and with a life spent among humans, there might have been a lot of painful kills here that you wouldn't necessary see in the other X-Men movies with comic book plots.

It will also make you think how you'll react to the next X-Men movie when Logan superbly humanized an X-Man, and succeeded in offering a superhero movie without a superhero.

Go watch it!

A Pinoy @ The Movies: La La Land

This is a movie about every aspiring actor's Hollywood dream. Maybe that's why it connected with a lot of Hollywood people. And it's a song and dance, too!

Emma Stone's character Mia is an aspiring actress just like Reneé Zellweger's character Roxy Hart in Chicago. But unlike Roxy Hart, Mia didn't have to kill anybody; she just had to fall in love with Ryan Gosling's Sebastian, a pianist also struggling to find real work in Los Angeles, or LA, short, thus LA-LA in the title, or perhaps, it's the la-la-la singing when one is in love.

The story line is pretty neat and simple: struggling boy meets struggling girl, both try to figure out how to achieve their dreams, both succeed, and they live happily ever after. Or did they?

As the most scenes were shot in Los Angeles, it reminded me of my LA visit where my fellow movie buff, Roselyn, toured me around. We had fun pretending to be struggling actors ourselves while we were driving around Hollywood, where she lives. 

La La Land is a very 'easy' movie to watch, no heavy thinking required like Chicago, as its songs were fun and life as actor seemed easy. Mia could actually get by in an expensive city by working as a barista! Hmm. That gives me an idea. Ha-ha-ha!

The last song-and-dance film that won the Oscar Best Picture was Chicago in 2002, where Catherin Zeta-Jones won best supporting actress.

Will La La Land win best picture, too? Let's sing and dance to that!

A Pinoy @ The Movies: Great Wall

This movie isn't a travel documentary about China's five-thousand-mile-long fortress, which Donald Trump wanted to duplicate in North America to keep away Mexican tourists. It is a fantasy version of a Chinese tour documentary on how to enjoy a side trip to the Great Wall when you visit Beijing.

It's always entertaining to watch these fantasy movies which use historical elements as their jump-off point. And Great Wall is one of them.

Great Wall is about a fictional monster that plagued China every 60 years thousands of years ago, and this monster happened to be the main reason why the Great Wall of China was built. History books would tell us the main purpose of the Wall was to keep nomads away. This movie tells us, however, that these 'nomads' were actually monsters which wanted to devour villages in China.   

At the start of the film, Matt Damon and his sidekick were being chased by Chinese bandits along some slopes which looked like the rainbow mountains of the Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park. I thought it would have been amazing on screen if they actually featured those colored mountains, but I doubted if it was logistically possible for the whole production to shoot scenes on those colored slopes with galloping horses and bow-and-arrow warriors. I wonder if the Chinese government would want those ecological wonders to be disturbed.

Aside from the captivating computer-generated images of the battles between man and monster, I was especially impressed in how well the Chinese soldiers, both men and women, dressed up for the war! Their costumes were perfectly tailored in very leathery fabric and chic designs. I guess, if these Chinese warriors and soldiers had to die in battle, they would at least die in haute couture. 

Other than Matt Damon, familiar faces in the movie include Willen Dafoe and Lu Han, a former member of EXO, a Korean boy band, who played a clumsy young soldier. Of course, it's part of the marketing ploy that, in order to attract young viewers for the movie, they should cast an actor who's popular with the young. 

And with EXO's millions of fans in Asia, it shouldn't be a surprise if most of the ticket sales were generated by these young screaming girls, who also happened to be screaming their lungs out when I was at Incheon International Airport on the day EXO was flying to another country.

But you won't be screaming if you watch Great Wall (unless you're Lu Han's fan). You will just be entertained by battle acrobatics, stunts, costumes, and how you'd be able to appreciate a virtual tour of the Great Wall of China by simply buying a movie ticket.


Enjoy!

A Pinoy @ The Movies: Assassin's Creed

This is why I liked the film: a sci-fi movie with 15th century Europe origins, lots of stunts and a Da Vinci Code-ish conspiracy!

When I saw the official trailer of Assassin's Creed, the interesting BASE jumping scenes from medieval Spain's towers and its intriguing genetics-slash-reincarnation-slash-medieval-Spain history were all I needed to decide to watch this. (BASE stands for buildings, antenna, spans, Earth - from which a BASE jumper jumps or takes off.)

As the movie's title says, Assassin's Creed is the story about assassins, whose main obligation is to fight the Knights Templar, the Pope's private army. This reminded me of Angelina Jolie's Wanted, where she also played an assassin for the Fraternity, a group of assassins who kill to change the course of human history.

The trained killers in Assassin's Creed were like ninjas who perfected the art of parkour, running through the narrow alleys of Madrid, jumping from rooftops and balconies while engaging their enemies in hand-to-hand combat. They also love to stand on rooftops to enjoy the view of the city.

The stunt director, as well as the stuntmen and women, deserves a Templar knighthood because, one, the action scenes in the buildings and narrow alleys of 15th-century Madrid and on the plains of Spain (where the rain mainly stays according to Eliza Dolittle!) were captivating, and, two, those stunts were not easy to do while wearing thick robes and passing through cafés serving yummy churros con chocolaté, and resisting to stop by. Ja-ja-ja!

Michael Fassbender, who played Magneto in X-Men: First Class, plays two characters: Aguilar de Nerha, an assassin during medieval Spain, and Callum, a convicted killer condemned to die through lethal injection in 2016. 

Marion Cotillard plays a scientist, who runs a high-tech laboratory in Spain, but whose accent is British when she's happy and becomes American when she's inside the lab.

Her father in the movie is played by Jeremy Irons, one of my favorite actors, who was elegantly sinister, just like in Reversal of Fortune, the movie that won him an Oscar.

Unlike Da Vinci Code, Assassin's Creed is more like an action film with a dash of sci-fi, conspiracy, and a few Spanish language lessons. Yes, if you speak a little Spanish like I do, you'd probably test your proficiency against the English subtitles while the actors deliver their Spanish lines. And you'd probably also realize that you badly need to review a lot of your Spanish lessons, too! Ja-ja-ja!

I didn't know this movie was based on a video-game series. But even if you're not a fan of the game, or even if you don't have an X-Box to play with after, you'd still enjoy the action scenes, the story and the Spanish lessons.

My favorite quote of the movie?

"We work in the dark to serve the light."

A Pinoy @ The Movies: Doctor Strange

          (Doctor Strange movie poster)

This movie made it worth my getting out of bed early on a Sunday morning! Tickets to early morning screenings (before 12 noon) are discounted; and if I could just wake up early, I could save KRW5,000. And I did!

And who doesn't like Benedict Cumberbatch and his acting?

 In Star Trek Into Darkness, he was Khan, an emotionless superhuman. Here, in Doctor Strange, he's a surgeon who became a sorcerer.

Doctor Strange is probably the best Marvel movie in years. Unlike the Avengers series where there are too many characters and too many fighting scenes in too many cities making you forget who's really fighting whom, Doctor Strange offers just one mesmerizing lead character played by one mesmerizing actor.

Doctor Strange reminds me of Inception (where buildings and streets turn upside-down), House M.D. (about an arrogant doctor who's always full of himself), and Harry Potter (where you get your own weapons and a special cloak). 

But it's the movie's comic book style of storytelling that makes it a good movie: slow, clear, great special effects and funny! The action scenes didn't have to be Avenger-ish to impress. Even if the buildings and streets turned 360-degrees during chases, it was superbly done with no one getting dizzy inside the cinema. 

I wasn't surprised Tilda Swinton was cast as the Ancient One, the hairless, lead sorcerer who taught the Cumberbatch find his powers. Tilda was always effective as a fantasy character in costumes like she was as the White Witch in Narnia. She was funny in Grand Budapest Hotel with Ralph Fiennes and impeccable in an American accent in Michael Clayton, where she won an Oscar.

Early this year, I watched Benedict Cumberbatch play Hamlet with all his British-ness at the National Theater of Korea. But this morning, I walked for 15 minutes from my apartment, braving the 3'C temperature to watch him speak in an American accent in one of the best superhero movies in years.

    (Pinoy lunch of dinuguan, kare-kare 
        and pancit after Doctor Strange)

Inside the theater were mostly kids with parents who probably also woke up early for the screening. As the movie was over by noon, I headed to the pinoy market at Hyewha-dong for a Filipino lunch. Sadly, the restaurant run by 'Ed' always didn't have 'bago-ong' for their 'kare-kare'. 

Early morning screening or not, I highly recommend Doctor Strange, and don't leave the theater once the closing credits show up as there are a couple of post-credit scenes. You don't want to miss Thor with a mug of beer as well as the last quote of the movie:

"Because I see it now what's wrong with the world. Too many sorcerers." 

A Pinoy At The Movies: Jason Bourne

These Jason Bourne series have always been a hit because, one, who doesn't love conspiracies? 

Two, the action scenes raise your adrenalin levels to post-triple-shot-espresso-coffee!

Three, the story brings you to multi-continental locations!

Four, these Bourne Girls (as opposed to Bond Girls) are smart and their lines actually always have sense. Ha-ha-ha!  

Five, you have a superhuman who doesn't need a cape or supernatural powers. He only needs amnesia. Ha-ha-ha!

But perhaps, the best reason behind its popularity is Matt Damon, the very likable and humble Hollywood superstar who doesn't get himself involve in scandals or tabloid stories. He is just a good actor who makes good movies!

In this latest Bourne movie, Jason, in his search for his identity, finally got bits and pieces of his memory while dodging CIA operatives and assassin's bullets. And he still thinks and moves like a trained assassin himself, even though he now survives on punching in illegal fight clubs.

Julia Stiles, who's also a very good actress, reunites with Bourne in Greece. Nicky Parsons, Stiles' character in the series, was his contact in Paris, while posing as a student. Nicky, in this installment, however, wasn't able to dodge a bullet. 

While the movie amazed us with these outrageously choreographed action scenes in Athens, Berlin, London, and finally in Las Vegas, at the end of it, were all the killing and damaged transportation equipment worth it, considering the only thing he learned in the end was that his own dad set him up to be Jason Bourne? 

I guess, from his point of view, it was. After all, for us to find peace of mind, don't we always need closure? Or in his case, finally knowing who his dad was and why his dad was killed. And killing his dad's assassin in Las Vegas was probably just a bonus ending. His dad's killer was played by Vincent Cassel, who, in Ocean's Thirteen, stole fake diamonds in Las Vegas. Mr. Cassel probably likes shooting in Vegas.

Last month, I saw Matt Damon and Alicia Vikander when they came to Seoul to promote this movie. Although Alicia may be an Oscar winner for The Danish Girl, she sounded like a robot in this movie with a boring presence. 

Other actresses in the Bourne series always had presence: Franka Potente, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen and Rachel Weisz. Vikander looked lifeless in this movie.

And what to do with Tommy Lee Jones? He may have been very good in The Fujitive, but here, his wrinkles were distracting and his character was missing some sinister aura, much like Robert Redford was in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Perhaps, his character would have been more interesting if it was a woman. Hmm.

I guess this is the last time we would see Matt Damon as Jason Bourne. He got his memory back and some revenge in the process. And unless he renews his soon-to-expire multiple passports, he may have a difficulty leaving the continental US, unless Jeremy Renner helps him out. If you saw Bourne Legacy, Renner was able to make passports for him and Rachel Weisz from a motel room, and both were able to fly to Manila! 

So, what's next, Jason?

A Pinoy At The Movies: Samantha Morton, My 'Secret' Favorite Actress

                   (Samantha Morton in Elizabeth, 
                              the Golden Age)

I was flipping channels today and ended up at the Sundance Channel. While I didn't have any other option because, one, the news channels are reporting on a tragic terrorist bombing that just happened in an international airport, which is sad, and, two, the other TV channels are showing unrealistic Korean dramas full of mother-in-laws from hell and a bunch of Korean actresses competing against each other as to who has the most plastic surgeries.

So, I just stayed with Sundance Channel, and luckily, it was featuring an interview with the award-winning actress Samantha Morton.

Everyone has his or her favorite actor and actress. It's usually a famous Hollywood like Meryl Street, Angelina Jolie, or Cate Blanchett. But for some movie fans, they also have a secret favorite. And I think mine is Samantha Morton! And it's no secret anymore. Ha-ha-ha!

If you saw Minority Report, that Tom Cruise sci-fi movie about Precogs who were able to foresee a crime before it happens, Samantha was the Precog Tom Cruise dragged all over the city.  

But in Elizabeth, the Golden Age, she almost stole the show from Cate Blanchett. In this movie, Samantha was Mary, Queen of Scots, while Cate Blanchett was Queen Elizabeth I.  It would have been a cinematic gem that would have rivaled the Cullinan or the Koh-i-Noor diamonds in its brilliance if the two had a scene together.  Sadly, history has no account of the two being in a catfight, and Mary eventually lost the fight and with it, her head.

But Samantha Morton's scene where she, as Mary, Queen of Scots, was being arrested for treason, was memorable and impressive, with or without a crown on her head.  As the whole movie itself was brilliant, these fiery scenes made us all enjoy it even more. By the way, the diplomat in that scene, who told her she was being arrested, was played by Tom Hollander, the captain of the ship Endeavor, which the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl blew out of the sea in Pirates of the Caribbean.

So, there. The Sundance Channel just made me admit my 'secret' favorite actress. 

Who's yours?

A Pinoy @ The Movies: The Dressmaker

When I was growing up, having a pair of pants made wasn't difficult. I remember there was an in-house seamstress in 'balay-dako' (big house), where I grew up. 'Iyay Loring', as she was called, was an old maid from a town in Iloilo Province whose main job was to sew and make dresses, night gowns or pajamas for everyone. Imagine bringing your piece of fabric to your seamstress without having to cross the street! She was just in the next room! 

And there was 'Tia Sitas'. Tia Sitas was also our go-to seamstress if Iyay Loring was too busy. As she lived on the other side of town, she would just come over to the house, get your measurements and later deliver your finished shirt, blouse, pants or dress, or whatever clothing you asked her to make for you. 

But later on, my father, brother and I depended on 'Marcial' and his assistants to do our shirts and pants.  Marcial's shop was just near the town's commercial center, and I remember my father driving me to his shop whenever I flew back home. During the years I worked in Manila, I'd visit Divisoria to buy some fabrics for Marcial to turn into pants for office wear. And years ago, Marcial, was killed in a horrible vehicular accident. God bless his soul. And his sewing machine!

So, when I saw the official trailer for The Dressmaker, I decided to watch it as a tribute to these three dressmakers who helped clothe me since I was a kid.

Kate Winslet, who I correctly predicted to win an Oscar for The Reader, is the dressmaker. When I saw the trailer, I immediately wanted to watch it because I knew I'd find it funny and good. And it was!

Set in a small town in Victoria, Australia, Kate's character went back home after having been forced to leave when she was young. As to the reason why, you have to watch it. Dungatar, the fictional town, is supposed to be an hour by train from Melbourne. I wonder if my train ever passed this town when I traveled to Ballarat in January 2007 upon the invitation of a good friend Taro, who lived there with his wife Cathy. 

Having trained in Paris, Milan and in Spain, she was armed with the haute couture the small town needed. The scenes where everyone was running about town wearing her creations were always funny. You would think that those glamourous dresses should be seen in the streets of New York or Paris, but here they were, being worn by women at the outback. Ha-ha-ha!

Liam Hemsworth, Katniss Everdeen's, boyfriend in Hunger Games, is a countryboy-slash-boyfriend of Kate Winslet in this movie. While Hugo Weaving, Neo's nemesis in The Matrix and the elf Elrond in Lord of the Rings, is the cross-dressing sergeant of the small town. 

The Dressmaker is not only a funny movie about love, haute couture and revenge, it's also a good way to remember our neighborhood dressmakers, whose work is usually forgotten in all the craving for expensive designer clothes these days. 

And if you're nice to your dressmaker, perhaps, she wouldn't have to burn your village down someday. Oops! 

A Pinoy @ The Movies: Star Wars - The Force Awakens

                      (A Stormtrooper and 
                      BB-8 at the CGV lobby)


Don't worry, no spoilers here.

Last Thursday, on opening night, I joined the hundreds of Star Wars fans at CGV Cinema at I-Park Mall above the Yongsan Station in Seoul in getting transported to 'a galaxy far, far away' by the franchise's Episode 7, The Force Awakens.

Some die-hard Star Wars fans watched the film in Jedi costumes and some even had light sabers. Of course, they were foreigners. The only time I would expect to see a Korean walking around in a Jedi costume would be Halloween night in Itaewon.  

If you want to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens, you should at least be familiar with the story and the characters. This is already Episode 7, remember? It's like watching the TV series 24. You need to watch from the very first hour, and not just jump into the 10th hour as you might lose track as to how many bad guys Jack Bauer had already killed. Ha-ha-ha!

Going back to 'a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away', in the night's -3'C temperature, fans braved through the chill, took to their reserved seats, and hushed down when George Lucas' familiar opening crawl started to hypnotize everyone into the dark side. Ha-ha-ha! 

Just like the episodes before, the Star Wars films always make living in other planets look so easy! So, I wondered why Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway found it so difficult to find a habitable planet in Interstellar? Or why Matt Damon had to be celebrated for growing plants in The Martian? Ha-ha-ha!

I used to have the complete set of three Star Wars films A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, which I played when I was doing some chores in my Manila apartment usually from Saturday night until early Sunday morning. I guess being transported to another galaxy while actually doing some household chores here on Earth made the work easier. Ha-ha-ha! Especially if you have the Force with you.

And considering this episode was after 30 years since, seeing the familiar characters Han Solo, Princess Leia (who's now a general with a perfect hairdo even in a time of war), and Luke Skywalker (who now looks like a Jedi needing some rehab) just proved that the Force was indeed with them.

And I guess the Force was with the fans as well. After the movie, they cheered and clapped, proving it was worth the wait.

And me? With the freezing temperatures waiting outside as I made my way home, I didn't need the Force; I needed a hot chocolate. And maybe some Jedi instincts as to where to get one, quick. Ha-ha-ha! 

So, may the Force be with you, too!

A Pinoy at the Movies: Woman In Gold

I saw its movie poster a month ago, and I thought, if this was a Helen Mirren movie, it should be good. Then I forgot all about it.

Luckily, there are art cinemas in Seoul that still carried it when I finally remembered to watch it. And on the night when Tom Cruise was in Seoul, I went to watch his ex, Katie Holmes, playing a supportive wife to Ryan Reynolds. And although Dame Helen Mirren has the lead role, she, too, plays second fiddle to...the Woman In Gold.

Woman in Gold is the description of the Portrait of Adele Block-Bauer painted by an Austrian painter, Gustav Klimt. And if you saw the painting, Klimt literally covered the lady in the portrait in gold.

Before the Nazis occupied Austria, the painting was known by its original name, Portrait of Adele Block-Bauer. But when it was hung at the Belvedere Palace in Vienna during the Nazi occupation, the gallery's director changed its name to Woman in Gold to conceal the fact the Adele Block-Bauer was a Jew.  

This priceless portrait, which was now part of the Austrian psyche, was the subject of a lawsuit filed by Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren) who now lived in California, and wanted to be reunited with the painting of her aunt, Adele Block-Bauer, played by a stunningly beautiful Antje Traue, a German actress.

As always, Helen Mirren gives an outstanding portrayal of someone real, her lines sprinkled with Austrian-German accent. Ryan Reynolds, without his Green Lantern superhero powers, is Mirren's young lawyer married to Katie Holmes, his very supportive housewife, who was de-glamorized you wouldn't even remember she was once married to Tom Cruise.

This film reminds me of Monuments Men, a film about the recovery and retrieval of works of art looted by the Nazis all over Europe during World War II. 

As to whether Maria Altmann was eventually reunited with her aunt, you have to watch the movie. And if this film's no longer available at the theater near you, you can still catch it at Cinecube in Gwanghwamun and CGV Arthaus in Myeongdong.  

  (The CGV Arthaus has a cinema library                        open to moviegoers)

A Pinoy At The Movies: Pompeii

                                                 (The movie's official poster)

When I was little, I read all the volumes of the encyclopedia our parents bought for me and my brother (my sister wasn't born then).  I remember reading about a buried city called Pompeii in one of pages, which narrated the history of the city and had pictures showing what was excavated at the ruins. Pompeii was showered with molten lava, rocks and everything that Mount Vesuvius spewed out on that day in 79 AD.

Remembering my reading of this city actually drove me to watch the movie. In a way, since I already read the 'book', it was time I saw the movie.

I have always been fascinated with period movies, especially those that tell the story of the olden times, and especially if the production design, costumes and actors are topnotch. Gladiator, Cleopatra, Troy, Elizabeth, Elizabeth: Golden Age and The Other Boleyn Girl are just a few I watched and could remember.

But this one was, well, good enough. Good enough to put faces and stories into what I remember from the encyclopedia, plus a couple of lessons on volcanology: one, do not build a city next to an active volcano, and two, you can never outrun a megaton of an explosion.

I wonder if gladiatorial combats were the only pastime during the Roman Empire. Why? Because the lead actor, Kit Harington playing Milo, was a gladiator from a Roman province of Britannia.  His character immediately reminded me of Gladiator, while the dialogue and accents of the actors reminded me of the TV series, Spartacus, whose language was so very contemporary Hollywood.

And not to be outdone, Kiefer Sutherland, playing a Roman senator from Rome, spoke with a British accent! Maybe because, in the movie, he spent most of his political career in the ancient Britannia?? I just couldn't shake the image of Jack Bauer every time Kiefer Sutherland is on the screen all dressed up looking like a very rich and powerful senator with bodyguards around him. In his hit TV series 24, he always fought bad guys alone and wore affordable work clothes. Ha-ha-ha! He also fought with swords this time, no guns.

The lead actress, Emily Browning, played Cassia, the daughter of the rich Pompeii mayor Severus and his wife Aurelia. Cassia was returning from a one-year vacation in Rome (yes, she could afford staying in the one of the world's most expensive cities for a year without any obvious employment!). Severus was played by Jared Harris, whom I recognized as Professor Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes, while Aurelia, Carrie-Ann Moss, was Trinity in The Matrix series.

Well, if you're familiar with the history Pompeii, this movie doesn't have a happy ending. While the story of Milo, Cassia and everyone else revolved around power, forbidden love and an occasional horseback-riding and gladiatorial entertainment, the ending was actually the highlight for me. 

The narration I read in the encyclopedia when I was little came to life in the last minutes of the movie. This was the reenactment on how Pompeii was buried by Mount Vesuvius and it cost me KRW9,000 at CGV Yongsan for this continued education. Ha-ha-ha! 

The visual effects of the final hours of Pompeii were realistic enough for me: dark ash clouds, molten lava flows, tsunami flowing into the city, fiery boulders landing everywhere, and the most painful scene of the sea swallowing the villa where Severus and his family lived. Painful because that villa not only was huge and could be owned by a billionaire in these modern times, it was spectacularly seated by the sea with a stunning view of the ocean at the front and Mount Vesuvius at the back. It could be a holiday resort by now.

I wonder if Milo and Cassia were among those excavated among the ruins of Pompeii. Though my childhood education of Pompeii only included photos of nameless frozen bodies buried in ash, I think I can now include these characters whenever I remember Pompeii. Or when I visit this historical city in Italy someday. :-)

A Pinoy At The Movies: American Hustle

If I had to pick three scenes that I'd never forget from this movie, they would be:

One, Christian Bale showing off his big belly. So very un-Batman.

Two, Amy Adams showing off her cleavage in almost all the scenes. In Doubt, she was all covered as a nun and in Enchanted, she was also covered up as a princess running around New York City in a gown.

Three, the disco scene at Studio 54 that started off with Donna Summer's I Feel Love, and ending up with Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper dancing to Don't Leave Me This Way was like a scene out of Saturday Night Fever. 

American Hustle is a comedy with great acting and characters, and lots of scam and con artists. If you were born in that decade or later, and wanted to know how men and women dressed up and looked during that decade, this movie would show you how it was, plus the music!

A few weeks ago, when they announced the nominees for the 2014 Academy Awards, I wondered when this film was going to be shown in Seoul. I had to watch the movie before March 2, 2014, the Oscar's night as American Hustle received a lot of nominations including Best Picture. At that time, I couldn't find any theater showing it. But luckily, without any intention of squeezing a movie into my weekend, I was able to catch it at a neighborhood CGV cinema.

              (Crowds in Myeong-dong during the weekend)

           
I was rushing from Myeongdong when I decided I needed to watch all the Oscar-nominated films before they all finish their runs in Seoul. That night, after the Mass at the cathedral, I was almost distracted from the idea. As usual, Myeongdong was full of shoppers and tourists, but last weekend, there were k-pop fans, too. 

          (A k-pop boy band performing in Myeong-dong)

Right in the middle of the main alley, was a stage which looked liked an open bus, and on top of it, was a k-pop boy band dancing and singing, while their fans were....well, screaming! Ha-ha-ha! I just stopped by for a couple of minutes to take a photo, and then headed off to CGV. I had a date with the 70's!

I don't know which of its ten nominations would bring it an Oscar. But win or lose, it is a must-see film.Their performances were amazingly good and funny. Christian Bale had to fatten himself with 40 pounds more to be a scam artist, Amy Adams had to display her cleavage without any qualms, and Jennifer Lawrence, last year's Oscar best actress, played a tough 70's housewife complete with nail polish and ignorance on how not to use a microwave oven. Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Renner completed the lead cast.

I am not sure if Amy Adams would have an edge over the Oscar favorite (and mine!) Cate Blanchett for the best actress. Amy Adams's co-star in Enchanted, by the way, was an unfamiliar face to me that time, Idina Menzel, whose Let It Go has been very popular this winter season. She'll be singing that song at the Oscars. Now that it's spring, I hope that's the last time I'd hear that tune.

So, if you still have time before the Oscars on Sunday night in the U.S., or Monday morning in Korea, do catch American Hustle. Who knows? You'd pick up a trick or two from these scammers.