Genre: Drama; Directors: Sam Mendes Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Michael Shannon Suburbia. Boring as it seems, suburbia is a deep well of materials for film and TV. The loneliness and grief found in suburbia, as shown in films such as American Beauty and The Safety of Objects, make me wanna thank God I’m living a cosmopolitan life despite EDSA and MMDA. Wala lang, nabanggit ko lang. Revolutionary Road is about two people who are trapped in a predicament called “family.” Personally, I know so many people who call that walled place they stay in a “prison,” rather than a…
Tagged Reviews
Movie Review: The Reader (2008)
Genre: Drama; Director: Stephen Daldry Stars: Kate Winslet, David Kross, Ralph Fiennes “What would you have done?” “Is that kinder?” These questions may not have an impact on you now but watch The Reader and you’ll see. And the funny thing is, the movie does not answer these questions. It just asks. And it’s up to you to find answers for yourself. Only two emotions get the better of me: shame and guilt. Director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter David Hare (people behind The Hours) explored these emotions gracefully in The Reader. You can just imagine how much this film affected…
Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Genre: Comedy; Director: Danny Boyle Stars: Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto After watching the film, I felt disappointed. I wasn’t expecting myself to like it. But I DID. Tremendously. Haha. And this might be the first time that I’m rooting for an Oscar frontrunner. (Two years ago, I liked Little Miss Sunshine better than The Departed; Crash than Brokeback Mountain; Munich than Brokeback Mountain; The Hours than Chicago.) But then again I haven’t seen The Reader yet. But so far, Slumdog gets all my loving. People say that there’s nothing new to the story. It’s the same old third-world…
Movie Review: Doubt (2008)
Genre: Drama; Director: John Patrick Shanley Stars: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis My professors at Film school had always said that the measure of a good film is if you are still able to digest the story completely on first viewing after you turn it to mute. Stanley Kubrick also uttered something like that. In other words, it has to be visual. Show, don’t tell, they say. I believed that, too. Until I realized that sometimes, what is told is just as important as what is shown. Films can still be great even with the visuals…
Movie Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy; Director: David Fincher Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is stuffed with dualities — young and old, birth and death. Unfortunately for Benjamin, the two words that came to my mind after seeing it were long and cold. First of all, I have to say I am a bit disappointed because I love almost everything and everyone in this film. David Fincher is one of my most-loved directors. Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton are some of my fave actors. But amidst the amazing visual display and the technical…
Top 25 Local TV Shows I Miss: Part 2 – Comedy Shows
Heto na ang second part ng list na ‘to. If you missed the first part, click here. 15. ANG TV 4:30 NAAAA! ANG TV NAAAAAA! Doo waa didi didi dum didi dumm… Ang sabi ng mentor ko, who happens to be WikiPedia (hahaha), “Ang TV was the first kids’ gag-variety show in the Philippines. Prior to 1992, Director Johnny Manahan enlisted a group of multi-talented kids (& pre-teens) to create the first ever gag-variety show for youngsters in the Philippines. Most of the country’s current stars can point their humble beginnings to Ang TV. Popular celebrities like Claudine Barretto, Jolina…
Top 25 Local TV Shows I Miss: Youth-Oriented Shows, Etc
I grouped the programmes by genre. So the rankings don’t really matter. Ehehe. Sa batch na ‘to, yung talk shows, drama anthologies, and youth-oriented shows. 25. MAGANDANG GABI, BAYAN! As my friend Dam-dam pointed out, there were two things that really made this show very, very interesting and enjoyable. Halloween Special. As in. I swear, magkamatayan na tayo but I would not miss their Halloween episode. It was just sinisterly spooky. The reenactments were desperately haunting I couldn’t understand why I would always want to watch it even if I knew that I would be so totally afraid to be…
Movie Rundown: The Dark Night (And Other Batman Movies)
Note: I was supposed to write a full-blown genre criticism of The Dark Knight but I figured writing something too Film-graduate-ish is uncalled for. So here are some random thoughts about it and the other Batman movies. For what it’s worth, I saw the following movies again recently. You know, just to refresh my memory. The Dark Knight (2008) Genre: Action, Thriller; Director: Christopher Nolan Stars: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman One of the things I hate the most is too much hype. This unsolicited noise has always spoiled fine movies…