Tagged Movies

The Poser Phase

Y Tu Mama Tambien. Everyone nodded in approval. I heard a couple of Wows and someone quipped “Great choice.” I was at a college organization’s Orientation of Applicants. I was an applicant, scared shitless. Y Tu Mama Tambien was what I blurted out when I realized it was my turn to share what my favorite…

Movie Review: 127 Hours (2010)

Genre: Drama Directed by: Danny Boyle Stars: James Franco 127 Hours is about mountain climber Aron Ralston (James Franco) who goes on a journey to a remote Utah canyon but finds himself trapped in a lonely crevasse after a boulder falls and pins his arm. What happens next is 127 hours of trying to survive and get out of the earthy prison. So wait, wait, wait a minute, does that mean you’re gonna have to watch a man struggle to set himself free through the duration of the movie? Well, yes. But thanks to Danny Boyle’s filmmaking precision and James…

Movie Review: Rabbit Hole (2010)

Genre: Drama Stars: Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest Directed by: John Cameron Mitchell A couple struggle to go on with their lives eight months after their young son was killed in a tragic road accident. Cliche? Maybe. But that’s what is beautiful about Rabbit Hole. It tells the tired story of loss and grief in the most unusual yet true-to-life manner — silent, devoid of histrionics, and occasionally humorous. It’s a simple story made complex by the characters’ emotions. Rabbit Hole revolves around Becca and Howie Corbett, played by Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart, and their difficult, almost impossible…

Movie Review: Black Swan (2010)

Genre: Suspense, Thriller Director: Darren Aronofsky Stars: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel The moment she broke her toe nail, it was on. Directed by Darren Aronofsky (the same man who gave us The Wrestler and Requiem for a Dream), Black Swan is a passionate, tension-filled suspense drama about a ballerina named Nina (Natalie Portman) who is chosen to play the much coveted lead in New York Ballet Company’s production, Swan Lake. The role calls for not just a perfect portrayal of the innocent White Swan, but also the much more difficult Black Swan. Although Nina performs the White Swan…

Movie Review: Miss You Like Crazy (2010)

Genre: Romance, Drama Director: Cathy Garcia-Molina Stars: John Lloyd Cruz, Bea Alonzo When I first heard that John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo would be doing a movie together after three years, my first reaction was “How in the world are they gonna top One More Chance?!” Not that One More Chance is a perfect film. But it was perfect for John Lloyd and Bea. It was one of the best mainstream Pinoy romantic drama movies I’d seen in recent times — well-acted, well-directed, well-shot, mature and surprisingly solid. That said, Miss You Like Crazy is bound to be compared…

Movie Review: ‘The Hangover’ and the Headache That Didn’t Come With It

Last Thursday, Globe and Warner Bros Pictures invited me to the special screening of “The Hangover” at Greenbelt 3 in Makati City. The people were friendly. The cocktails were fantastic. The movie was entertaining. Entertaining. Hmmm. A good friend asked me if “entertaining” was enough for me to actually like a film. I answered him with a confident “of course.” “Sometimes,” I told him, “I just want to see a movie to be entertained. I have a habit of checking my Film graduate self at the theater door before watching. I don’t expect to be bothered or hope that the…

Movie Review: Milk (2008)

Genre: Drama; Director: Gus Van Sant Stars: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, James Franco Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the United States. Well, the film is about that. Oh yeah, it’s so timely. With Obama now the President (not that Obama is gay) and the Proposition 8 issue and all. And since it’s a biopic, you know what to watch out for — acting performances. And man did Sean Penn deliver a divine one. It’s probably his best ever. His every twist and turn is so swishy convincing, even…