Movies Opening This Week: Those Graphics Were Great Edition

Another year, another Nic Cage movie. Wait a sec, didn't I already say that last time? (No, I didn't... And kinda did.) Anyway, the man gets a bit of a lower sense of prominence since his new movie is a bit more of an ensemble piece... and did I mention it was in CG?

G-Force

Disney's at it again with their CGI crap, and now they're kind of cashing in on the success of the Bolt's own hamster character. But unlike that good movie, this movie will definitely, simply suck. I mean, come on, hamsters that are super-spies escape their prison (a pet shop) and save the world from a big baddie? Really?

Ultimately, it's geared for kids, thus the premise. With that in mind, I'll just say that... the graphics are pretty great-looking.

But enough child's play, let's go to a movie with... uhhm... a child.

Orphan

Esther is mature for her age, but when you insult her, you're a dead bitch.

Apparently, this movie's marketing is leaning strongly on the Esther character. Why does she act like she has PMS? Why does she kill people? Well, we'll find out when the movie opens then! The editing of the trailer is really good as it sets an intense mood, but will the film hold up?

Truly, it reminds me of movies like The Orphange or hell, Dark Water among many others.

I wonder if they'll use guns to kill her?

But I do know one movie that uses a lot of guns, and that's the high-profile Public Enemies.

Public Enemies

Michael Mann returns from his Miami Vice slump with this new movie starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale-- probably two of the biggest actors right now. I know a lot of people will flock to the theater just to see the star power, but personally I think I'm gonna wait for the DVD.

I've heard a lot of the reviews stating that Johnny Depp is a bit subdued while Christian Bale is uninteresting. I'll let my eyes decide when I watch it, but these two adjectives are not exactly the first things that come to mind when you come up with such a cast. Other things that spring to mind include the fact that it's only shot on a consumer HD camera. If you're gonna make Crank, fine, use the cheapest HD cam you can find. But if you're making a period piece such as this, you might as well kill yourself. I mean, we're talking about Michael Mann here, so there's probably gonna be a handful of intense gunfights. But what good are these nicely choreographed shots when they're blurry and pixelated?

Damn it, I'm talking too much right now. Maybe I'll lighten up with a little Gerard Butler...

The Ugly Truth

To tell you the truth, I don't understand how the title applies to the new romantic comedy. I mean, it's not like there's a mystery to it.

Set in the modern world, it's about a producer named Abby (Katherine Heigl) who falls in love with the surgeon next door. She looks for advice in the form of "love guru" and sports commentator Mike (Gerard Butler) who promises to spill the beans about sexual tension, men and women, etc. etc..

Obviously, this is gonna be the same fluffy, light, typical rom-com fare. But I think it will be good only because Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler are pretty charismatic. You've seen this movie before, but you probably never saw it with these two, so it's safe to say that it just might be slightly above mediocre. Of course, I'm just judging from the trailer because it's admittedly pretty funny. Who knows if the movie will actually be crap?
This movie also reminds me of another one... can't really whip up its name though.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua review

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

Drew Barrymore, George Lopez

Disney Pictures

In the 2000's, Disney started showing bad signs of quality loss. When Home on the Range was released, Disney then said that it would be the last traditionally animated movie they'll ever make (but now they're eating their words) and this was when it all started sliding down.

Fortunately for Disney, they just settled their contract dispute with Pixar by buying it off, rendering the animation studio to be stuck with Disney as their distributor. This then started the indirect proportion between the quality of both studios- no one cared especially Disney, because they got the benefit of being able to both profit from and copy the works of this studio.

What do I mean by "copy from"? And why the hell is all this information important?

Frankly, one could argue that Beverly Hills Chihuahua traces its origins to the 2003 Pixar film Finding Nemo. True, Finding Nemo wasn't the first road trip movie, but both share a lot of similarities: premise, the use of talking animals, the road trip, the necessity of using quirky characters, as well as requiring the presence of a sorta-kinda disabled character. So there you go, Beverly Hills Chihuahua basically tries to copy the layout Pixar laid in the fish story, and it fails miserably.

Perhaps some guy walked up to a Disney executive and said, "let's rip off Finding Nemo's premise of finding a loved one-- but with dogs! It would make more money than that movie because dogs charm the socks off of everyone!", and truly did it earn loads of money, but less critical acclaim. Obviously, there's something wrong with this damn movie.

First set in Beverly Hills, the premise sees ultra-pampered chihuahua Chloe getting swept away from her master and into Mexico. When admirer Papi knows about this, he goes and finds her- meeting several quirky animals along the way. Chloe, who's also richer than any of us due to her nastily jewel-encrusted collar, also meets several animals along the road like a mouse, an iguana and a German Shepherd with a psychological nose problem and, apparently, the only thing near to a deep, 3-dimensional backstory.

But instead of fun (although there are some actually fun parts), there's stupidity, there's face-smacking-ly-bad and/or pointless scenes, and ultimately, some racist overtones to go with it. Seriously, even if Chichen Itza is in Mexico, doesn't mean it has to be infested with decidedly stereotypical "tribal dogs". Ethnic groups in movies are all right with me, but when you hear the voice of the tribal chief and just know that it is the tribal chief, there's something ethnically wrong with the movie.

Of all the random things that happen in this flick, it ultimately comes to that awfully predictable ending as well as that "climactic" fight for you life scene. Damn it, if the colors and CGI weren't so impressive, I would've walked out. To be honest though, I already did walk out several times during the movie, and when I came back I can automatically just disregard those other parts because I am able to understand what already happened in my absence. It's that predictable and stupid. Even if I do predict some of the events wrong, I still call foul on this movie.

To be fair, the voice acting is pretty good, the two main human actors are one-dimensional and the kids (as well as dog lovers, I guess) will love it- if only for the charm the dogs exude. Ultimately, it's mediocre- something that's more likely to come out of Dreamwork's ass- and it hits a few high notes along the way, admittedly.

Rating: 4/10

History of Pixar: George Lucas' brain tumor (Part 1)

Why am I doing this? Well, I'm actually doing this partly for the heck of it, and partly because they're an influence to my "creative" side. 'Tis the power of Pixar, but how about you consider this as a precursor to my Pixar Movie Marathon, eh?

And hey, why not take a stroll down memory lane in everyone's favorite animation studio anyway?

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Where would Hollywood be right now without Pixar? No, I'm not just talking about 3D animation, I'm talking about their role in moviemaking in general. Where would Hollywood seriously be without them right now? We wouldn't have countless titles to enjoy, like Iron Man, Titanic, The Dark Knight, The Tuhminaydah or hell, Star Wars, without Pixar! What I'm talking about is CGI, people.

So how did Pixar come to revolutionize CGI anyway? Well, apparently, before Pixar was Pixar, it was called the Graphics Group and they were just a bunch of NYIT (New York Institute of Technology) people hired by George Lucas to make special effects, thus the creation of what was, and what still is, the ever-revolutionary, ever-present, ubiquitous Renderman.

But in the Lucasfilm days, it was actually the Motion Doctor first, and it allowed 2D animators to just sit down and work without nearly any training.

And then came the Jobs, Steve Jobs... when he left Apple in 1985. He bought the Graphics Group for 5 million dollars and became CEO (he likes the position, doesn't he?). Why did Lucas sell them to Jobs in the first place? 

It was probably because his brain tumor was starting to spread on his storytelling methods, probably located back then on his brain's left hemisphere (and now on his ass) with the release of the bestiality-promoting Howard the Duck. Well, at least that tumor wasn't bad enough to screw up the 3rd Indy and the Return of the Jedi.

Anyway, the Steve Jobs buyout was the time when the company was renamed Pixar- a fake Spanish word that means 'to make pictures or pixels', as well as the time when John Lasseter saved it from financial fail with a stroke of genius.

(To be continued)

REVIEW: Wall-E

Although I've already watched Wall-E not a few months ago, it was just some terrible bootleg- and I rarely tolerate crappy bootlegs- so now that Wall-E's DVD is almost here, there's probably bound to be some excellent bootlegs. And yeah, we have one and I watched it again. Frankly, it's better the second time around because of said quality boost, and the in-jokes I missed are now pretty darn clear which is why i'm only reviewing this movie just now. So without further ado, I give you my review of Wall-E.

Littered with iconic moments and oozing with imagination and slapstick, Wall-E is a testament to how powerful actions are from words, cliché it might sound. The first 30 minutes of the whole shebang will attest to that where personality rings in every little frame despite the lack of dialogue.

The latter part falls short of the Chaplin-esque power of the first half-hour, but more of the antics, I think, that are reminiscent of that part may probably ruin the whole movie without getting its message across, so I guess I won't bash this fact much.

Still, just the fact that Pixar struck gold with their goal of putting emotions in the robots is something impressive. But contributing most to that feat is Ben Burtt's sound design which provides the voices of the robots. I mean, from a man who made R2D2 a likeable character, I'd expect as much.

Story-wise, Wall-E does pretty good. Basically it's about a robot who compacts trash (have you noticed that Pixar loves trash compactors?) and develops a personality after watching Hello Dolly every day. Hey, he's the last robot on Earth and it's been 700 years since the humans left for outerspace; anything could happen. Anyway, you see him going about his usual business of collecting items of interest and compacting the rest of the garbage until he finds a plant. This leads to EVE looking for said plant, but Wall-E doesn't know this and falls in love at first sight. This sparks a series of events that put Wall-E in outerspace.

Still, when you look at it in another perspective, you'll see that it discusses more complex topics not meant for a kid's movie, most especially consumerism. I mean, just looking at it skin-deep already yields a lesson about the environment, what more if we dissect it further? Really, I think this is gonna be the kind of movie that's gonna be made mandatory for viewing by film students.

But you know what my only gripe with this movie is? PRODUCT PLACEMENT. More specifically, Apple. You'll hear the start-up tone after Wall-E charges his battery, you'll see Wall-E using a post-apocalyptic iPod to watch Hello Dolly. I know that as an Apple fan I shouldn't actually mind at all, but I'm just bothered, and I feel that it dampens the consumerism issue it tries to discuss.

So what else have I to say that's already been said? The visuals, the score, the characters... I don't see anything else wrong with the movie to be honest, but it's not quite my favorite Pixar movie. There's one question left in my mind, though: How did that plant survive?

RATING: 9.3/10

Posted with LifeCast

50% Warrior, 50% Lover, 100% Retarded

Ever heard of the newest Disney film Beverly Hills Chihuahua? Yeah, I could make fun of its taglines in several, unforgiving ways, but no, that would be immature. So, what are my views on this trailer? Well, they're immaturely outraged.

If the trailer is any indication, the concept is stupid and unoriginal in the sense that it once again uses dogs (catchy songs in CGI flicks remind me of Madagascar, bleugh), it will confound, it will shock, it will suck.

You might be saying, "But awww, the dogs are cute, the song is catchy as hell, and it's Disney! DISNEY! Give it a chance, please!". Well, I'm sorry to report that Disney is not perfect. Remember: Disney made High School Musical and Hannah Montana. From a 10-year old girl's point-of-view, this may not be very bad, but from a more "knowledgeable" view, it's safe to say that Disney, too, does make mistakes.

But of course, Disney is pretty much having a hiatus from making good movies, and instead focusing on making more damn mistakes! If you don't know what I'm saying, look below!

I actually saw a life-sized cardboard cut-out of the main cast when we were in Robinson's Place to watch Mamma Mia, and when we came out of the theater, we saw that the cut-out was divided into 2. Hmm... looks like I have to find this person and befriend him/her.

Besides, what happens in HSM4? Senior summer? Spring break? Christmas vacation?

But going back to the topic, Beverly Hills Chihuahua is something I'd expect from a company like Dreamworks, not DISNEY. If Mr. Walt was here, he'd put a stop to this unless it was actually a good movie! But no, I condemn this movie to the very bone, and I'd bet Mr. Walt is rolling around his grave right now!

And a word of advice, but this is directed to Pixar, the incorruptible animation studio everyone can trust. DISASSOCIATE YOURSELF WITH DISNEY NOW, pronto before you catch their illness! Back then, everyone thought Disney was incorruptible like you, but what do you know? They've got blood on their hands!

REVIEWS: Rats and Unintentional Comedy

Ratatouille
Disney-Pixar
Directed by: Brad Bird
In a nutshell: Nobody has ever made a rat more lovable and compelling than Ratatouille. After watching the flick, my heart was light and filled with joy. No really.

I loved Brad Bird's other Pixar masterpiece The Incredibles and I regard him highly as a film director. His latest masterpiece- Ratatouille - is by no means different in terms of greatness- and that's great.

Story
The story starts out with our rat hero Remy (Patton Oswalt) who is born with a greater sense of smell and taste and thus, aspired to be a chef. Because of Remy's extraordinary ability, his father- boss of the rat clan- appoints him a job as poison detector. But one day, when Remy and his brother Emile go inside the house of an old lady, much chaos ensue and the clan is exposed- making them run away to find a new home.

However, the sewers weren't kind to Remy as he becomes separated from his family. So now, all he has is a book by his idol chef named Gusteau which he reads. He becomes hungry, and this forces him to hallucinate that the illustration of the chef in the book is talking to him. The chef advises him to look around, and he finds an opening to reveal that he has been under the city of lights- and food: Paris.

Then we go to the life of Linguini who is a clumsy redhead hired to be a garbage collector of the restaurant of Gusteau- which has deteriorated since the chef's death. When Remy finds the same restaurant and improve the soup that Linguini ruined because of his clumsy antics- and a food critic loved it- their fates cross and they discover a way to fulfill each other's dreams.

Slapstick antics
Pixar made excellent use of the comedic opportunities the story provided- and with perfect comic timing and panache. If you thought a person on a bicycle hitting a car is so stone age, just wait till you see the comical effect this same scene would have in this movie.

Indeed, it's truly hilarious. But not all comedy in the film is full of slapstick, and that's because the smart dialogue is also effectively funny in its jokes.

Experiencing Paris
Another technical achievement by Pixar is its 3D rendering of the city of lights- and the various aerial views of the city never cease to amaze me. It simply looks stunning, eye-popping even. I mean, it's probably the best animated portrayal of France I've ever seen because it's bustling and realistic.

The food being prepared in the kitchen is also really mouth-watering, and during the course of the movie I just wanted to EAT SOMETHING! GAH!

Obviously, if you haven't gotten my point yet, the look of the film is very much superior. Even the human characters look better than ever, and Pixar finally perfected fur!

Cuddly... rats?!
People hate rats- except for hamsters- and that's a fact.

But after watching this movie- oh my God- I don't want to hate them anymore. Who knows who you're killing? It might be Remy's real-life counterpart!

But sarcasm aside, the movie really made me love Remy, but not exactly love all rats in general. I don't know, but it oozes some kind of charm despite the fact that the protagonist is a rodent people love killing- especially if it's in the kitchen. I mean, you just want to hug the rat and squeeze it until it dies with love! LOL.

Message
Pixar definitely got its message subtly across. And among other messages, the one that stands out is the foundation of the movie itself: "Dreams can come true no matter how impossible.". You know, Chef Gusteau's book title ("Anyone Can Cook") has that meaning when thought about deeper.

I mean, I know that message is so cliche. I mean, since Pinocchio, many Disney films have geared toward that moral and it became tired when other studios tackled the theme. But here, it's just really, really affecting.

Balance
Putting the movie in synopsis form is rather taxing, and that's because in the inside, when you flesh the thing out, you'll find that it's actually a pretty complex balance of conflicts Remy- and Pixar- have to contend. And the balancing act they do beautifully as people manage to get how Remy balances the act of being one step closer to achieving his dream, all the while constantly wanting to make his father proud and abide by family values. I mean, whew! The thing's really a tough act to follow!

Overall
I'm glad that I finally got to watch Ratatouille! And I guess waiting for almost a year after its initial release was still worth the wait. You probably already know how I'll rate this film, so I need not summarize everything for you because it's so good, it should've been inside the category of "Best Picture" in the Oscars months ago.

Rating: 10/10

The Forbidden Kingdom
Lionsgate
Directed by: Robert Minkoff
In a nutshell: The film has a story based from a real Chinese legend- but that doesn't stop them from making unintentionally laugh-out-loud sequences. Action scenes are expertly choreographed however, so action junkies wouldn't want to miss this.

Obviously, this is the movie that pairs Jackie Chan and Jet Li for the first time in cinema history. But are they worth the price of admission?

Story
The movie starts out with this teenager who seems to have an affinity for Hong Kong Kung Fu movies. (So yeah, there are Bruce Lee jokes involved in the later scenes.) He goes to the pawnshop of an old man and sees this golden staff. And this staff takes him back to the past into the legend of the West. And oh my God, the transition between modern day and Chinese history was so unintentionally funny because the teenager falls from the top of a building- and he does so to very cheesy effect.

Moving on, the boy "lands" into a Chinese village which is attacked by the Warlord's soldiers. The boy manages to escape because of a drunken master (Jackie Chan) who they later learn is immortal.

They also encounter the generic pretty Chinese girl (every movie should have that!) who is coincidentally good with jade darts and whatnot as well as a monk in white (Jet Li).

But exactly what role does the staff play anyway? Well, it's actually the weapon of the Monkey King who gets into a duel with the aforementioned Warlord. Yes, the Monkey King was on a roll, but he was too trusting and was tricked into thinking they were gonna have hand-on-hand combat. So when the Monkey King was about to turn into stone, he couldn't possibly at least give the Warlord the staff, and so he sends it someplace so it can wait until the "chosen one" comes out.

Now you can piece the things up together by yourself and answer as to why the American teenager was transported to the past by the staff anyway.

Why Jackie Chan hates the film
In an interview back then, Jackie Chan vocally announced that he "didn't like the film"- and for good reason: the plot is so stupid, you can predict everything that'll happen next.

You'd probably know that the boy would be able to release the Monkey King from his stoned state (WHY THE HELL DIDN'T THE WARLORD DESTROY THE STATUE-FIED MONKEY KING IN THE FIRST PLACE?!), or that Jackie Chan or Jet Li would fight and stuff, or that the American boy would probably fall in love with the Chinese girl. It's all familiar, and it all feels derivative- like it's been done before.

Saving grace
The movie's saving grace, however, is the real stars of the show namely, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, and that's because they get to do what they do best: FIGHT. And those fights are choreographed so well, you will probably not mind about the stupid story- and not care for the American who "just wants to go home".

Forgettable
Hell, even in the review I already forgot their names!!! But the only unforgettable thing about this film is the white-haired lady! Boy, did she make me and my siblings laugh unintentionally!

Unintentionally funny
I found the movie so bad it was funny, which is why I'd rate it higher than it should. That's the thing that provided me a lot of entertainment (besides the action scenes): the laughs! What makes them more entertaining is that they're uncalled for!

If you've watched this film, however, it'd probably be hard to take things seriously, and that's because there's an American amidst the Chinese setting! Maybe that's why I couldn't appreciate Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai! God, when are people gonna learn?

Scenes to look out for include the cheesy fight scene featuring the Monkey King (which I forgot to mention is also Jet Li) complete with very cheesy effects (you know that running in the air thing), the fall of the American teenager from the building (the "AAAAAHHH!" accompanied with the bad acting makes it HILARIOUS), the way the White Haired Lady's hair is able to grow and whip stuff (talk about excellent shampoo!) and a lot more along the journey.

Overall
It's hard to take this film seriously, and worse, it has a bad plot. But Jackie Chan and Jet Li save it from mediocre territory because of their excellent fighting prowess and great kung fu choreography courtesy of Yuen Wo Ping.

Basically, it's one of those movies that you'll likely consider a guilty pleasure, and nothing more.

Rating: 6.5/10

WALL-E: Who knew?

Disney-Pixar's imminent summer blockbuster Wall-E is sure to keep John Lasseter and Disney laughing all the way to the bank. But if you viewed Pixar's history of films, the only blemish they had was the lackluster Cars and even that earned a certified Fresh rating in Rotten Tomatoes. So as you can guess, Pixar- along with Finding Nemo (my favorite!) director Andrew Stanton- can do no wrong.

If you saw the trailer- either in the Internet or in the new Narnia flick- you'll find that the titular character (which is also short for Waste Allocation uhhh... -checks Rotten Tomatoes- Load Lifter Earth-Class) is honestly charming and adorably rusty even in those trailers. Oh, and he's funny too. CAPTION: The vacuum's stuck to my belly! (Click for video)

But despite the apparent lack of dialogue in the scenes, forgive my corniness, their actions speak louder than words and it also tells a larger story.

The big picture is about a post-apocalyptic Earth where the humans have fled to outerspace and Wall-E is the last robot on Earth and he's been doing what he has been doing for the past 200 or so years. He has a friend in that lone garbage-filled desert- a cockroach- but other than that, there's nothing else in his life.

Then comes the interplanetary robot Eve who looks like something out of an Apple product (although Jonathan Ives- designer at Apple- was said to have approved of its design beforehand) coming out of a spaceship. At first, she zaps Wall-E with her laser beams and then they fall in love. Who knows how this romance will fare, because the next thing you see is Wall-E clinging for dear life... IN A SPACESHIP!

This new and unique animated story may just be what we need in these troubled times, although it's only gonna be shown in late June (the 27th to be specific). However, I speak for many- if not everybody- when I say this: I want Wall-E NOW!

REVIEWS: A speck of dust and clover that's not so lucky (plus a dose of movie news)

Horton Hears A Who
Starring: Jim Carrey, Steve Carell
In a nutshell: It's a surprisingly effective and wonderfully animated Seuss adaptation.

I've a feeling you've already heard about Dr. Seuss (real name Theodor Seuss Geisel) and his beloved poetic literary treasures but if you haven't, you're living in quite a cave. But most of the movie adaptations of his stories don't really hit it off (esp. Cat in the Hat) and do you think an animated CG film is gonna change it all?

Well, yeah. I guess it does.

The latest of the pack is the adorable Horton who hears a speck of dust crying for help and catches it using a pink flower. Of course it's not because he's crazy or anything (because that's what the other animals think) but it's because he has significantly better ears. And what do you know? There's a civilization in that speck of dust complete with a mayor, his wife, his 96 kids and the civilians he governs. The place in that little speck of dust is called Who-ville, and as expected, the people in that thing are called Who's.

Rising action? Well, Horton catches it, right? And since he hears the mayor inside it, he socializes with him while the peers who pass by Horton thinks he's crazy as mentioned before. Same goes for the mayor, who interacts with the elephant through a horn in a pipe. Now, the mayor now knows that Who-ville is not all that safe, and it is definitely on the move. So he requests Horton to put the speck of dust in a safe spot and Horton does just that. In between, a lot of obstacles block his way of course, so the question is, will he be able to save the speck of dust that is Who-ville?

First off, I want to comment on the style on which the movie is animated. It just feels right, as in, the animators at Blue Sky nail the trademark Seussian cartoon look and gives it a bit more charm and that's what makes it work mostly.

More of the charm that it emanates is due also to its effective voice actors whose characterizations are spot-on as well especially with Jim Carrey as the eccentric elephant Horton and Steve Carell as the equally kooky mayor. Actually, Jesse McCartney's here too, but he only has, what? 2 lines and a song?

Well anyway, the retelling of the story is tweaked a little and tries to remain faithful. Only during one hand-drawn animated scene that obviously spoofs Japanese anime's over-the-topness does it diverge from its story. But it's a funny reference to be honest, and the divergence is not a bad thing either. But whatever, the movie still retains the spirit and its moral without preaching too much about it. And it just proves that a being no matter how small is a life form created by God to serve a purpose, and that we too are also just a speck of dust in this God-knows-how-large universe. So whatever life is around we must cherish it. Heck, it also keeps some rhymes that obviously come from the real story for the narrator to recite, and it doesn't feel old if that's what the kiddies are afraid of or something. I dunno.

It's highly recommendable, but if you want something with a little more maturity, then take a look at this next review:

Cloverfield
Starring: Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Odette Yustman, Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas
In a nutshell: It's fast-paced, filled with scares, and nauseating (as in II-1 DVD nauseating).

Something is not right with this picture. Can you tell me?

Oh wait, some fireballs flung something across the street a while ago.

Was that it?

OK, I am sounding like an asshole over here, being cornily sarcastic and everything, but whatever, it's the nausea, I swear.

Have I told you how I got it?

Oh right, no.

So here's the thing, a few people are in this farewell party and this guy is documenting it using his camera because the guy-who's-leaving's brother wanted him to. But suddenly, the lights go dark and there's a lot of noise. Everyone goes up the roof and sees all these fireballs destroying the Chrysler Building and everything around it. Soon, they discover that it's all caused by some monster... and it has minions too!

This sounds routine for your average disaster/monster flick, but it's got a different perspective- a first person perspective. Or maybe a YouTube perspective?

If you've watched all those home videos in YouTube or whatever video hosting site you go to, this is the kind of home video that will make you dizzy with the shaky camera and everything, only it's scary, and it feels so natural that you feel like one of the running refugees. Some of them, the initially 5-member ensemble, go and try to rescue a girl (who's of course the girlfriend of one of them) and try to escape the monstrosity that could kill you any second. Not just that, the aforementioned minions bite people and are just crawling everywhere: The subway, the streets, the ceiling...

You know what? The scares are just effective and made much more effective by the first person perspective. But it's not all scares, it's got a little heart, especially with its characters that you'll feel kind of emotionally attached with if you get immersed in the movie (which you probably will).

Ironically, it ends with "I had a good day.". I didn't because I gotta barf now. Before I leave you though, I gotta say that if you're looking for a worthwhile thriller to rent or buy on home video, it's gotta be Cloverfield. Excuse me.

Ratings: Horton - 8/10
Cloverfield - 8/10 (Would've given it a nine if it wasn't so nauseating, but it's just part of the "feel". you know?)

Movie News (courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes' Weekly Ketchup)
Pixar's line-up for the next 4-5 years
Wall-E is just the icing of the cake of Pixar's potentially gut-putching box-office wrenching hits for the following months and yet they are already revealing their movies that are in production and in release for the next 4 or 5 years.

There's Up which is about an old man in his 70's who meets a young naive trooper of sorts. Together, they sail the skies in an adventure (of course the storyline's gotta be vague!).

And then in 2011 there will be two movies. One of them is called Newt which is about two newts who have to reproduce because they are the last of their kind. However, they have contrasting personalities and the male newt has some twisted ideas about mating (partly because the diagram about it is blocked by a coffee maker). The other one is called The Bear and the Bow which is about a Scottish royal family and their involvement with a witch. There's already a voice cast for this and from what I hear, it's a good one.

Plus in 2012, there will be a sequel to the lukewarmly received Cars as well as a Toy Story 3 on June 8, 2010. And if you like to keep some goggles on at the theater, Toy Story 1 and 2 are being re-released in 3D.

Oh God, HSM 4 already?!
High School Musical 3 is still in pre-production and yet a fourth script is being written. Can you believe it? They got writers for this!

Bush movie gets larger cast
Oliver Stone's W now has a bigger cast.
"with Rob Corddry (The Daily Show) landing the role of press secretary Ari Fleischer, Fantastic Four star Ioan Gruffudd to play Tony Blair and Thandie Newton signing on to play (the much older) Condoleeza Rice."
Why am I curious about this movie? Well, the director of World Trade Center is the one in the helm.

Prince of Persia video game adaptation casting rumors
Initially, Orlando Bloom was slated to become the titular character based on a trilogy of Prince of Persia games called Sands of Time but now, Jake Gylenhaal is being considered for the role. I guess Disney has a bit more work to do though... just look at who they're casting for!

Promising Movies (My picks for the new season)

I love watching movies, and it's all the better in the cinema. But in the many movies you're able to watch, only few stand out, for me at least. And without further ado, here are the movies you'll have to keep an eye out for:

Where In The World Is Osama bin Laden?
With such an eye-catching Indiana Jones style poster, who wouldn't stop and take a glance at this, at first glance, knock-off? Well in reality, this is the newest work of the director of the acclaimed fastfood docu Super Size Me and is about a man's quest for, well, finding Osama Bin Laden. Of course, his motive for this is to make the world safe(r) for his about-to-be-conceived child, but from the trailer, it looks like a hell of a comic search. I mean, just the witty line "If I learned anything from big budget action movies, it's that complicated global problems are best solved by one lonely guy." would make me want to see it. And clips of President Bush saying, "He may be hiding in a cave with the door open." LOLOLOL. Or maybe a line to save your life ("How do you say 'don't take me, take the cameraman'?")?

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Get Smart
Though I have bad feelings that the movie won't get many raves, Steve Carell is at it again with his signature comedic acting, now with Anne Hathaway in the new spy satire Get Smart. Based from the trailer I saw, I think it starts with an agent named Maxwell Smart being assigned to a mission and is promoted but definitely not doing good with it. Therefore, Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) is there to help him discover the schemes of the KAOS organization of terrorists. You know what? Expect it to be a comedy in the vein of Johnny English, only funnier hopefully. It gets even more attractive when you see its huge roster of stars like The Rock (though I haven't really regarded him as an A-list actor), Alan Arkin (of Little Miss Sunshine fame) and even Heroes' Masi Oka!!!

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The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Walt Disney and Walden Media's successful adaptation of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe proved that an age-old bible-ish series of beloved books are still great escapism, especially for the kiddies. Therefore, they're doing it again with the same director, most of the same actors and of course, a few new things. Judging from the trailer, this installment was more or less how I pictured it while I was reading the Chronicles of Narnia books in elementary (este, during Chinese), only grittier, better and even more fantastic. I have a feeling that this will be a must-see for all those Narnia fans and newbies alike, and more people will be attracted because, well, it has a less juvenile feeling than Lion! And it also has an imaginative story. The effects look like a screamer as well.

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Iron Man
After Spiderman, Superman and the X-Men took the big screen, it's time for Tony Stark to get the modernization treatment. So what about this Marvel hero? Well, he's a rich inventor and industrialist who gets kidnapped to make a devastating weapon. Instead, using his cunning and wit, he makes himself a hella cool suit of armor to escape his captors. After that, he vows to be a superhero and do superhero stuff, including trying to keep the identity of the superhero undiscovered and separating that life from his corporate and personal life. The movie stars Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr. (Zodiac) and even Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow!

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Indiana Jones and The Crystal Skull
Ahhh, ask any movie buff what the funnest movie in history could be, and it's indisputably Indiana Jones. Though it's not the kind of franchise that doesn't get better each time, every one of them is a very fun and entertaining ride. Really, when I watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (I think that was the installment I first watched, because it had this temple with all the babes who had the ability to sort of hypnotize Indy and make him do whatever they want) as well as the first movie (Raiders of the Lost Ark), I was pretty much hooked! He would dispatch all those Nazis and makes you jump out of your seat like crazy!

But also thanks to the legendary Steven Spielberg's direction (of all three!) and the equally legendary George Lucas (in case you didn't know, he made Star Wars and the THX movie system thingy) who wrote the story, the movie experience is completely free of bad err, experiences!
And 20 years after that last installment, they still got Harrison Ford at hand, as well as a few new faces (Shia LeBeouf, Cate Blanchett) for the fourth outing of an albeit older Indy. And even better is Steven Spielberg's reprising role as director, and judging from the trailer, it's gonna be really explosive. I don't think there are any Nazis left though, because the movie'll probably be set some 20 years later or something. Hopefully, its signature humor and wit and thrills also come to stay because I wouldn't want to look at a 2008 edition that would actually pale to its 80's predecessor. It's gonna have some technical polish for sure, but the feel will hopefully be the same as the last time we saw him. (Because the trailer does just that.)

There's also gonna be a lot of plotholes because of the 20 years of Harrison Ford's aging, as well as Shia LeBeouf's casting as his son.

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Batman: The Dark Knight
Why so serious?

Oh what list would be complete without this? With Heath Ledger's parting performance as the Joker, and the same director (Christopher Nolan) as the highly acclaimed Begins, you can just wonder what can go wrong with the flick. And once it releases, the movie will most likely spark a debate on who's the better Joker- Nicholson or Ledger. Why? Because even in the trailer, he looks pretty terrifying instead of funny even with the heavy make-up and all. It's also bound to be very explosive and not to mention dark and gritty, because that's what Batman movies are supposed to be. Plus, it also features a lot of star power: Christian Bale, the aforementioned and late Heath Ledger, Michael Caine (Sleuth), Gary Oldman (Harry Potter 3,4,5) and Maggie Gylenhaal (as replacement to Katie Holmes). But you know what? I'm restraining myself, so I'm just gonna say this flat-out:

I CAN'T WAIT! DAMMIT JULY 18 PA TALAGA!

Ahem. Here's a beautiful YouTube-uploaded trailer. Seriously, after the trailer loads (it's pretty slow), click Full Screen.


Will it be the Batman to end all Batmans? Most probably appropriately.

Persepolis
It may not be part of the new film season, but I haven't really seen this flick in local theaters. Hopefully it won't be relegated to Ayala Cinema exclusivity (like There Will Be Blood or Across the Universe). But anyway, it's about a girl named Persepolis who lives life as a child in Iran which was against the shah at the time. And then the police would wrongly apprehend her uncle. But when she becomes a teenager, her boldness would cause her trouble in her home country so her family decides to send her, even if it was a very hard choice, to Austria where she would experience liberation, drugs and people who have sexual intercourse casually. But after breaking up with her boyfriend, she becomes homesick and returns to Iran, which was actually even more turbulent than when she left despite the fall of the shah.

This movie is based on Marjane Satrapi's bestselling biographies (there are currently 2 under the same name- Persepolis) and Satrapi herself directs. And you know what, I think it deserves the Oscar more than Ratatouille though I haven't even watched both. Why? Because the trailer just looks so... promising! If I get the chance to watch it now, I'd watch. Oh, and did I mention it's black and white (with a few touches of color here and there)?

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Edgardo... now YM-ing?!

The nurdz (for less offense...) now get to experience the real world. lol. Good, Eggy! You're making great progress. You are well on your way to becoming a Pokemon master!... wait lang.... ay Gameboy pla un! Suri! Anywayz, tomorrow may be Friday the 13th but it's doing wonders for the mathematical genuises in my former beloved section 5! I mean, even Aldric is on right now!

Ratatouille Report (because I want to seeeeeeee iiiit!)

This just in: it releases July 29 instead of August. :-D Just a little fun tidbit.

Cat, wat's happening?!

Your life is sooooo complicated (TM) right now. Take a breather and just... have... fun!

Brian...xd

Ayan, mahaba pa ba ito? Lol.

Special Features of L.E. project, on YouTube on Saturday

If Nuevo permits, you'll be seeing the stuff I've concocted (but not accepted) as well as the blunders of our "actors". Of course, you won't be seeing the interview proper unless YouTube extends its limit...