Movies Opening This Week (Week 11)

Henry Sellick returns with his stop-motion friends minus the Tim Burton factor.

Coraline

The world is routine for Coraline (Dakota Fanning), but when she discovers a portal to another world right in her room, she sees a spooky "Alternate mother" (Teri Hatcher) and pretty much a lot of very nasty but interesting things. Directed by Henry Sellick, the stop-motion master behind Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas.

Movies Opening This Week (Week 10)

Revolutionary Road

Watched this year's Golden Globes? Watched Titanic?

Well if you've watched either of those, I'd assume that you already know the winning combination of di Caprio and Winslet, and how awesome the combination is, especially with Kate if the Globes can attest.

Anyway, the movie is based off the novel by Richard Yates, and is directed by American Beauty's Sam Mendes. It's about a couple living in the suburbs of the 1950's who are trying to come to terms with their personal problems whilst raising two children.

You'd think the producers would merely cash in on the lead stars (since they're oh-so profitable) but it doesn't. It seems that it will rely on the "I can relate to this" card to capture audiences, and with the acting prowess of the two I don't see anything going wrong with that.

Taken
A thriller that actually looks half-decent, Taken is about a former soldier whose daughter goes to Paris. Unfortunately, some people have taken her and her friend, so the soldier marches on to find out the mystery.

Some have said that it is a bit demoralized despite the fact that it's directed by a Frenchman though.

Movies Opening This Week (Week 6)

Last week oversaw the release of colossal stinkers, Delgo specifically, and this week? Well, only Seven Pounds is of interest.

Seven Pounds

Will Smith is the everyman with a job at the IRS called Ben Thomas, and he has to choose 7 people and change their lives. Why? Well, it's a secret. And this is why Seven Pounds is interesting. Why would he give his house to a woman he doesn't really know all too well? Why did he choose all the othres? Of what magnitude is this sin he committed? When you watch it, you'll find out.

WTP: The Dark Knight Re-release

What's the point?

You do know about the so-called "Oscar buzz" the Dark Knight is getting but that's just the result of fandom. Unfortunately, Warner Bros. has tricked itself into believing that The Dark Knight is Oscar-worthy by planning to re-release the movies in theaters in the next year for Oscar consideration. I'm kind of fine with that, except for one thing...
...the DVD has already been released. I even have an original copy in my hands. (Borrowed for ripping 'cause I'm cheap)

So what's the point in trying? Heath Ledger already got his Golden Globe nom, isn't that enough?

REVIEW: Boy band satire with a Christian twist

Altar Boyz
Showing: April 4-27, 2008 8:00 PM on Fridays & Saturday; 3:30 PM on Saturdays & Sundays at OnStage Greenbelt 1

Ever heard of an openly Christian boy band united by divine intervention? Well, this is the case for the five members Matthew, Mark, Luke, Abraham and Juan. (And yes, Abraham's Jewish.)

So what now? Well, Manila is the last stop of their "Raise the Praise" world tour and they bring all their "world-renowned" antics and songs with them. Their aim throughout the 75 minute concert is to unburden the souls of the audience through a counter, yes, a counter made by Sony (The so-called Soul Sensor DX-12). And as the numbers drop, their acts and performances increase.

And is it enjoyable? Well, it's pretty decent, but many of its jokes are dry and its "hip" resident, Luke, is trying too hard to be cool.

However, when viewed another way, Altar Boyz' satire of today's boy bands are spot-on, complete with a "sensitive" member, a supposedly heartthrob-ish frontman, and all the moves.

What's uncommon about it is the inclusion of a Latino member (Juan). Still, this member is portrayed stereotypically, and the writer knows it ("My [adoptive] mother taught me how to speak English with a Spanish accent."). However, it's still a minor gripe.

A bit of the comedy also lies in the songs. And when I say the songs, I mean the lyrics. For example, in the near end of a certain song about premarital sex prevention, leader Matthew gives it a suspenseful pause (I think it goes something like: "We'll have to wait 'till our wedding day, but until then I'm just gonna have to mastur... my faith."). And to cite another example, the "sensitive" Mark gives a speech about being discriminated because of the fact that he's "different", and that he has to go out to the world and say "I am a........ Catholic" which also brings me to the character himself. Mark is visibly smitten with Matthew, you can tell. He goes near him, he goes face to face with him, and snatches Matthew's towel from an audience member! He is probably the funniest thing in the play, but he's also the most annoying singer of the bunch (though I'm not saying he sounds bad). For the rest, though, the comedy is just too over-the-top to be funny, or just plain corny.

Plus, there's also this scene in the near end about disbanding. So it's a bit of a treat to witness a band breaking up on stage. Other highlights include, "The Confession Box" and... a beatboxing Jew?

The denouement is as corny as denouements can get, but overall, it's good to say that the play is tolerable and at times genuinely funny. The announcer (who announces how many minutes there are before the show starts) has changed to a corny one as well ("The Altar Boyz will be getting jiggy with it in -insert number- minutes.") but whatever, it's viewable.

Rating: 7/10