Fast and Furious Race - a Total Recall of a Successful Franchise

One of the most anticipated movies of this year is the 5th movie of the famous speed car-racing movie franchise Fast and Furious, this time dubbed as "Fast Five". Before hitting theaters this May, let's look back and see what this action-thriller has been for the last ten years (I spent the whole day yesterday watching again its first four films).

The Fast And The Furious (2001) - The first film from the franchise was released in June 2001 and went straight to top spot on its first 3-day in North America with $40.1 million . Starred by Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster. The first film was a huge success that accumulated $207 million world wide considering the small budget of just $38 mil. Directed by Rob Cohen, who later directed xXx, Stealth, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Plot:
Dominic Toretto (Diesel) with his team including his girlfriend Letty (Rodriguez) hijacked a truck stealing millions of merchandise. Pursuing them was LAPD Brian O'Conner (Walker) who was in undercover joining Dominic's team to get enough evidence to take them in. He fell for Dominic's younger sister Mia (Brewster) and become more close with her brother. The two got along and Dominic introduced him the "Race Wars". A sort of brotherhood formed and Brian got himself protecting Dominic and his team from the authority. (My rating is 3.5 out 5 stars )


2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) - after two years the second movie was released with more budget ($76 mil) and also debuted at number one on it's first week with $50.1 million and ended with $236 mil during its theatrical run world wide despite the absence of Vin Diesel and the two female lead. New casts were added which include Tyresse Gibson, Ludacris, Eva Mendez and Devon Aoki. Directed by John Singleton who later directed Mark Wahlberg in Four Brothers and this year's new film Abducted.

Plot:
Brian was discharged from LAPD from freeing Dominic (was shown at the end of the first film). He was contacted by the FBI to do another undercover job with Monica Fuentes (Mendez) for money laundering headed by a ruthless drug lord. In doubt of being accompanied by an FBI agent, Brian demanded for a known driver who can do the job with him and in return they will be both cleaned from their past charges. He turned to his old friend Rome, whom he had a little drift with before joining LAPD. With the help of fellow street-racers Tej (Ludacris) and Suki (Aoki), Brian and Rome need to finish the job before the drug lord finishes them. (My rating is 2.5 out of 5 stars)


The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) - released after three years, the third installment didn't much live up to its predecessors when it comes to box office gross but wasn't a disappointment either. It still managed to accumulate a worldwide gross of $158 million despite casting younger and unknown actors which include Lucas Black, Bow Wow and Korean American actor Sung Kang. Directed by Justin Lin who later worked on the other two movies from the franchise.

Plot:

Sean (Black) is a high school student who constantly moves from one town to another due to his stubbornness. He was sent to Tokyo by his mother to join his father after involving in a crash because of street racing. Despite the warning from his father, Sean found himself joining his fellow-American student, Twinkie (Bow Wow) who introduced him to "Drift Racing". He met Han, a Japanese drift racer who later taught him to drift against DK, a nephew of famous Yakuza. Tired of moving and running away, Sean made a good deal with the Yakuza and needs to race again and win against DK for him stay in Tokyo for good. It was revealed that Han was a good friend of Dominic (Vin Diesel) who made a short appearance at the end of the film. (My Rating is 3.0 out of 5 stars)


Fast and Furious (2009) - released in April of 2009 which opened with $70.1 million on its first 3-day. The fourth film reunited all the four original casts together which became the most successful film in the franchise so far. It earned a total of $353.2 million world wide and holds the record of the best live-action car movie ever created. Justin Lin was once again took the directing job for the fourth film.

Plot:
The plot happened between the second and third movie, where Brian was back in LAPD pursuing a drug dealer while Han and Dominic were in Dominican Republic hijacking trucks of fuel. When Dominic learned about the death of Letty (Rodriguez) he went back to LA pursuing her killer who was also being pursued by Brian to lead him to the drug lord Arturo Braga. The two met and once again involved in car racing, only this time with Dominic is on for revenge at the same time. After avenging Letty's death, he chose not to run from authorities, he was convicted and was sent to jail for 25 years, and on the bus while on his way to his prison, Brian, Mia and two other new racers rescued him. (My rating is 3.0 out of 5 stars)

Fast Five (2011) - picking up from where the last movie left off, Dominic, Brian, Mia and fellow racers are being pursued by cops headed by a new character Hobb (played by Dwayne Johnson). Still directed by Justin Lin and three main characters reprise their roles (except for Rodriguez whose character died in the last film). Also Rome (Tyresse Gibson), Han (Sung Kang), and Tej (Ludacris) are back in this action-thriller film. We still don't know if this film is better than its predecessors but no matter what it will be another box office success and the guys behind the franchise are already working on the sixth and final film. Sounds so exciting right?..can't wait to watch it in cinema this May

February Movie Summary

I watched a total of 22 movies last February, quite a number but a bit fewer compare to my list last January which reached to 29 films. I know It's probably insane (because I'm really crazy about movies) to keep track of all the movies you watch everyday but for me I just find it fun, it's like I've never seen that movie without having it on my list, good or too disappointing or whatever, I just like seeing them enumerated (if you notice them on the right hand side of my blog).

Most of this movies were not really part of the plan for my movie marathon or I was not eager to watch them. I could just count in my fingers those movies that I really wanted to watch and gave everything up to watch it, some made me sleepy at work 'coz I had to watch it 'coz I couldn't wait to watch it on my rest days and these movies are Robert Downey Jr and duo-comedy "Zach Galifianakis "Due Date", Russel Crowe's prison-break thriller "The Next Three Days", the all-time Oscar Best Picture "The Godfather", Josh Radnor directing-debut in " HappyThankYouMorePlease" and Jason Statham's latest action "The Mechanic".

Some movies were just latest and thought was fun to watch but rather disappointing like Jack Black's Guilliver's Travel, Dwayne Johnson's Faster and Hilary Swank's The Resident. Others were old but really great like the first Toy Story film and the Oscar Best Picture winners Chicago, American Beauty, and The Godfather. Movies like "Bulong", "Just Go With It" were both funny since I watched it in cinema along with friends and family. The horror flick Vanishing on 7th Street, Musicals Burlesque and Nine, teen action-thriller Tomorrow When The War Began, Sandler and Nicholson comedy Anger Management, and Woody Allen's star-studded comedy "You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger" were not really my favorites but pretty good one. The horror-comedy Hatchet is the worst movie on my list while The Godfather and The Next Three Days are the best.

Tangled - Movie Review

Tale as old as time has once again brought to live by Disney and I’m not talking about the Beauty and Beast, I’m talking about the young girl who has been known for her very long hair, Rapunzel. The story didn’t need a retelling to do for it to be famous but Disney in a way relive Rapunzel’s tale not just to be enjoyed by the children of today’s generation but the adults as well.

Rapunzel was kept in a hidden castle for years by a woman whom she thought was her mother. Every year, during her birthday, she watched these hundreds of lights in the sky from a faraway place. Curious with what was out there, Rapunzel wanted to see these lights closely on her 18^th birthday and decided to leave the castle for the very first time. With the help of a young bandit Flynn whom he made a good deal with, her chameleon friend Pascal and the castle horse Maximus, Rapunzel will see these lights brighter than she could imagine.

The movie was a lot of fun, it doesn’t require too much thinking but not too shallow either. Beautifully scored and voiced by Mandy Moore (Rapunzel) and Zachary Levi (Flynn), this animated re-imagination of the classic tale will once again capture you heart and perhaps would last for another century. (4 out of 5 stars)

My Picks for 2011 Oscar Academy Awards

The Academy is probably busy as of this very moment preparing for tomorrow's biggest and prestigious event in Hollywood, the 83rd Academy Oscar Awards. But before they unveil the winners that would shape the movie history for years to come, allow me to declare my own list of Oscar winners.

Best Animated Film is "Toy Story 3". With the absence of "Tangled" and "Despicable Me" in nomination list, it shouldn't be hard for the animators of Academy to be unanimous on this category, not even the threat of "How To Train Your Dragon" winning the Best Animated film as awarded by Annie Award, the prestigious award for animated feature films.

Best Original Song is "Coming Home" by Gweneth Paltrow, the original song from the movie "Country Song". The song got sweet melody and Gweneth's voice is really soothing to listen to. I personally like all the nominated songs but of course I have to pick one. I always thought that"I See the Light" of the animated movie "Tangled" as the best song, but that was before I downloaded "Coming Home".

Best Original Score, is "Inception". "127 Hours" and "The Social Network" got a pretty good scoring but "Inception" will take home the Oscar, all technical awards actually, so add the Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, and Best in Visual Effects. After being snubbed in Director category, Oscar would do anything to make it up with Nolan, because he really deserves it...and by the way add the Best Art Direction to it too.

Best in Cinematography and Best Adapted Screenplay is "The Social Network". There is no question in these two categories, it's clear that the Facebook story will take home these two awards.

Best in Original Screenplay would again be "Inception". Simply because it's the most unique and original story among other nominees.

Best Supporting Actress is Melissa Leo in "The Fighter". I almost didn't recognize her in this film, I knew she was in it but hardly notice her because they were other female casts in the film. But I did notice how great the actress was who played Mark Whalberg and Christian Bale mother, then I realized I was referring to the same person, Melissa Leo. She was just great, no other words, that's it.

Best Supporting Actor is Christian Bale in "The Fighter", who else could it be?. If Geoffrey Rush would win it only means bad luck for "The King's Speech".

Best Actress is Natalie Portman in "Black Swan". Well it wouldn't be easy for me 'coz I always think (up to this very moment I still hope for her to win) Annette Benning to win this year 'coz I really felt bad when she didn't in "American Beauty" last 1999. But it's unbelievable for Natalie not to win, 2010 is for her and 1999 is the year that was for Benning.

Best Actor is Colin Firth of "The King's Speech". I'm not really a fan of this British actor but I've seen a lot of his films in the past and his performance as a stutterer king deserves him to win the Oscar finally after being upset last year by Sean Penn.

Best Director is David Fincher. He did a great adaptation of Facebook story which become so phenomenal. It almost won all the critics awards, not just in US but in UK as well. I really like Tom Hooper (especially his previous film "The Damned United" is one of my favorite films) but David is more deserving. He still has so many things to prove.

Best Picture is "The King's Speech". The battle between American history and British history in Oscar will be over soon, and it would end with a very good speech from the 'King' . "The Social Network" developed the confidence after sweeping almost all the critics awards but the "King" proved its dominance in BAFTA and Guild Awards. It was a very tough competition indeed.

These are just my own prediction, whether they win or not I would still stand for it. I really spent time watching all of these nominated films so I would be able to come up with my fair conclusion. Click here for the list of nominees.

The Next Tree Days - A Movie Review

'The Next Three Days' is one huge film not just because of Oscar winner Russell Crowe is in it but also because it's written and directed by his fellow Oscar winner Paul Haggis whose works in the past were Oscar favorites. He is known for his work for 'Crash' which won the Oscar Best Picture in 2004, he also won the Best Original Screenplay and was nominated for Best Director. He has two other Oscar nominations which include two Best Screenplay for both Clint Eastwood films, the Best Picture "Million Dollar Baby" and "Letters to Iwo Jima". He also wrote the the latest James Bond film "Casino Royale" in 2008. Russell Crowe on the other hand won Best Actor for "Gladiator in 2001 and got two other nominations for "The Insider" and "A Beautiful Mind". The two joined forces last November hoping for another Oscar buzz. But unluckily the movie didn't turn out to be as planned. It was a boxoffice flop 'coz it was released along with the latest Harry Potter film, and got mixed reviews from critics. Judging from all these you won't be expecting too much from the film as you start playing it but don't be surprised if you'll get yourself glued to every scene after its first 25 mins.

John Brennan (Crowe) was a college teacher whose wife (Elizabeth Banks) was sent to prison when her boss was found dead after a serious argument with her. After three years, justice seemed unclear and John left with no choice but to plan on how to have his wife escaped with the help of a prison-break expert (Liam Neeson). Filled with edge-of-the-seat scenes, one after the other. Paul Haggis didn't waste any scene and took his time showing every detail that justified the implausible plot. Elizabeth Banks' performance was at her best so far, and Crowe as always is one of the finest actors in Hollywood, he never failed me, though I was a bit unhappy with "Robin Hood" I didn't really take it out on him, it was the story itself the made it boring which Ridley Scott didn't carefully work on.

One strong point of the film which made the thriller effective is how Director Paul Haggis played with audience's thoughts (those who are really watching closely) and that's when John Brennan's well thought-out plans worked, it was so smooth that it would appear like you know what would happen next. For those who want to watch the film, just a little tip, listen to Liam Neeson's character in the film, every word he said, his advised to Russel Crowe in the bar set all the thrilling mood, it was also the turning point of the film, so you have to start paying more attentions for the next scenes after that.

Most movie critics were not satisfied with this thriller film, but some of them really did find it gripping and terrific and I belong to the latter group who had seen every bit of the film that most of them missed. It was indeed an enjoyable ride, it was like watching Liam Neeson's "Taken" with a bit of Hilary Swank's "Conviction" drama.(4 out of 5 stars)

Movies, Food, Rewards

Almost done for the week, just three hours and couple of minutes more and I'm out for two-day off. Always looking forward for it, always think of it as a reward, whatever I do, may it be a dinner with friends, a movie date, or just at home cooking some of the dishes that can be found online, I always make sure it's enjoyable. I don't have plans for the next two days yet but it looks like movies and cooking are in placed already, I would just wait for the invitations of friends for future activities probably.

Last week, I watched a couple of recent films which includes the Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston comedy "Just Go With It" which I watched with friends in cinema, I also watched horror flick starred by Hilary Swank "The Residents", Jason Statham latest action movie "The Mechanics". I got to watch the latest movie of Woody Allen's "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" with greatest casts which includes Naomi Watts, Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin and Frieda Pinto. I also watched Rob Marshall's back-to-back musical films "Nine" and Oscar Best Picture "Chicago".

For last week menu, my sister cooked her favorite Sweetened Chicken Tosino while I tried the Creamy Chicken Curry which she didn't like much because of the butter. I did like it (of course) but I agree with her that I had put more butter in it and it was a bit oily and yellowish. I also think the curry powder that I bought wasn't the right type, didn't know that it was already a mixed powder with all the ingredients for chicken curry and not just the curry powder itself. I bought 3/4 kilo of chicken with 6 big slices, there were 3 slices left which we fried the next morning, yeah we are really good in recycling, it did taste good hehe..

I'm looking forward for another more rewarding rest days. More movies and we will try out cooking 'Beef Steaks' and some other menus in www.pinoyrecipe.net. Great day to everyone!

Completed the Billboard HOT 100 No.1 Songs from 1993 to Present

Just completed all the number one songs of Billboard Hot 100 since 1993 to present. I may haven't mentioned here but apart from movies I also love music. Now the Billboard Hot 100 has reached its 1000 number one songs I just couldn't wait to have them all. But of course that's a lot of songs, requires more space and of course the time and effort for searching and downloading them. Billboard Hot 100 started tabulating since 1958 and this week they reached the 1000th song with Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way'.

I've been collecting all Billboard Hot 100 songs ever since I got my first PC in 2006, so most of the songs are pretty new 'coz I though I would be ok with it, now the milestone for music has reached I have to go with it, need to have my own milestone too (hehehe). To date I collected 223 mp3 songs from 1993's Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" down to Lady Gaga's "Born This Way". I got hits from Alladin Soundtrack to Mariah Carey's multiple hits to Usher, Rihanna and Lady Gaga. Probably next weekend I'll complete the year up to early 80's. How will I listen to all these?I don't know yet hehehe. Happy Friday to everyone!

Just Go With It

Had another good time with Enzo, Joebert and Lecel yesterday. Chui wasn't able to make it so it was just the four of us. The last time we went out on a movie date (we watched "Little Fockers") it was Joebert who was not around.

We watched in Trinoma Cinema (again!), same cinema (Cinema 7) where Little Fockers was shown, and this time its with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston comedy film. Though there were other movies shown which includes "Bulong", "My Valentine's Girl", "127 Hours", "The Mechanic", "Vanishing in 7th Street" and "The Rite" but we decided to watch "Just Go With It" because I have watched already the three movies that they wanted to watch. Enzo and I wanted Jason Statham's The Mechanic but the two ladies (assuming Joebert is a real lady hehe) with us didn't want the action flick. With my brainwashing power I was able to convince them to watch Adam Sandler's movie.

The film was of course funny, what would you expect from Adam Sandler (though he had one serious movie in the past)?. As what said in the movie, it was pretty stupid but just go with it. The movie didn't require you to think, you just need to go with each scene and laugh the whole time. There was no room for you to be inspired or to learn from what they went through except of course not to tell too many lies but everyone knows that.

For anybody interested to know about the plot of the film here it is. Danny (Sandler) is a surgeon who always tells women that he is married to take advantage of them. It was a pretty safe move for him to hook up and break up. But when he met the super hot 23-yr old Palmer (Brooklyn Decker) who doesn't want to be with married man, he thought Palmer was the right woman for him. So he went a head and live with this piled up lies. He asked his longtime friend and personal assistant Katherine (Jennifer Aniston) to pretend as his wife to win Palmer's heart and you probably know what will happen next. It's too predictable. What surprised me in the film is Nicole Kidman's role and the little Bailee Madison. Thought Nicole would just make a cameo in the film, didn't know that she had more scenes and she is really stunning, very beautiful as always, and really funny. Bailee on the other hand started to get more attention than any other kids star in Hollywood and she is really good, seen her in two movies last year "Letters To God" and "Conviction". Brooklyn Decker is super hot, I can still picture her out with some of her scenes. Meanwhile Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler are still in with the usual role they get, nothing new.

'Just Go With It' is not bad a movie if you are looking for fun without expecting too much from its plot or actors. It's something that you would enjoy the most when you go out with friends or family probably. (2 stars out 5)

Perseverance and a good faith really work

We just moved to a new room, again!..it's a smaller room this time, we had to let go of the bigger one 'coz it's just too expensive for Php 5,000.00 a month, just for a room without the water and electricity (imagine that!), I was fine with it before since my cousin was paying the half of it, but now, since she's back to Zamboanga and it's just me and my sister left I have to shoulder everything basically, so we need to cut down the expenses, my sister is still on the job seeking process now, though I don't really pressure her to get one, I want her to enjoy her stay here in Manila.

And since we moved to a smaller room I have to go back to using my pre-paid internet, Globe USB Modem connection (we got free wi-fi in the previous room) and 'coz of it I may not be able to update my Facebook so often like I always did (as if somebody would care...lols!). I may not be able to post here in my blog so timely. But that's ok, I'll be subscribing to unlimited broadband soon, I just don't know which one is better and something that my pocket will agree with hehe..

At work, everything is a bit better, lesser stress, though sometimes I get frustrated with the shifting schedule, I was only given two split off for two weeks, imagine that? so what I did I was out during the rest day of my supervisor, I mean rest days, I was out for two days too, so I was still able to get a four-day off for two weeks, I deserve it, I work my ass off the whole week and I deserve a rest, and I got bunch of movies to watch, screw the people who work on schedules, they should do something about it, though I shouldn't get deducted with it, but I don't really mind if they will, actually. So far they haven't asked to answer for it, not sure if they just ignored it or maybe they haven't noticed it, but it's quite impossible, don't really care anyway, I have all my reasons for it.

My sister and I are doing great so far, it's like bonding everyday, though we just stay at home, cooking any food we like, watch movies, talking about our life before in Zamboanga, reminiscing how sweet and hard at the same time for all of us back there, those were the days where we didn't much care and it's funny that we now realized how deprive we were before, perseverance and good faith really work (Alhamdulillah!). 'Til next time, timing out from movie stuff for now, great day everyone!

'Bulong' shows a new face of local horror and it's enjoyable

Had a little bonding time with my younger sister and my niece last Monday in a movie house in SM Megamall. We laughed our heads off with Vhong Navarro and Angelica Panganiban's horror-comedy film "Bulong". Apart from being so funny, the plot was pretty new, though it involved 'kulam' and 'demonyo' theme but the story as a whole was presented in a unique way,far better than the previous horror films produced locally. It was beautifully acted. Vhong surely never fails to make you laugh and we always see him doing that for a quite a while now and he is getting better each time but to my surprise Angelica did as great as he did. She is even better as comedienne than a serious actress I supposed. Chito S. Roño scared our asses off with 'Feu Shui' and "Sukob" and this time he will give you a fright that you won't forget that you find yourself bursting with laughter almost in every scene. Though the effects were really poor (as expected with low-tech and limited production budget) and the scoring was a bit unpolished but the film was very enjoyable. You'll leave the cinema smiling and you won't mind if a friend of yours will invite you to watch it again and again.

A decent horror flick..better than 'Shelter' and 'Paranormal Activity 2'

Vanishing on 7th Street is a horror film that combines supernatural, mystery and apocalyptic style of scaring people who are really into scary movies which is somehow a bit of unique style considering horror films nowadays are either about exorcism or ghost stories with long hair and black eyes (lol). With decent performances from Thandie Newton, Hayden Christensen and John Leguizamo, the film is just as good as it is. It's not really scary but thrilling, and though some happenings remained unanswered until the end, the film ended just fine. Nothing really especial about it though (except for the plot perhaps) but it was satisfying 'coz it's not predictable and you would really wanna seat though it once you started.

Four group of people found themselves in a bar as they looked for the people they love. They were just four of the few people left in 7th Street alive as others were vanished mysteriously in the dark (with their clothes and other stuff they wear left behind). As soon as they realized that the darkness devoured these people and power is running out, they have to do all things necessary to keep at least a spark of light with them to survive. Directed by Brad Anderson, who directed Christian Bale's The Machinist, Vanishing on 7th Street, though it could have been better, it's a good horror flick that I have watched this year so far, compare to non-sense 'Shelter' and 'Paranormal Activity 2'. (3 out 5 stars)

"Due Date" is as funny as Hangover

My first movie of the month of February is from Todd Phillip's Due Date which features the new comedy duo, the star of Hangover Zach Galifianakis and Mr. Tony Stark himself Robert Downey Jr. They were really both funny, I got myself laughing the whole time.

A father-to-be Peter (Downey Jr.) bumped into an aspiring actor, Ethan (Galifianakis) who wanted to make in it Hollywood. Both were heading to LA. While on the airport their stuff was switched and was confiscated because of some weeds and was enough for the two to be on the No-Fly list. The two had to take the road together unfortunately and that's where all the fun and catastrophes begun. Supported by the power casts which include Michelle Monaghan (Eagle Eye, Maid of Honor), Jamie Foxx (The Kingdom, Law Abiding Citizen), Danny McBride (Up In The Air, Land of The Lost) and Juliet Lewis (Conviction, The Switch) and Todd Phillip was in the film too (with Juliet Lewis and Zach Galifinakis scene).

The movie didn't much live up to Todd Philip's previous film, The Hangover, but the film was not a disappointment either when it comes to box office gross. The critics got mixed reviews too and Rottentomatoes was a bit unhappy with it, gathering only 42% (as opposed to be at least 60% to be considered to be as a good film) but for me I enjoyed it just like I enjoyed "The Hangover" because the lead actors didn't fail me at all. 'Till next movie experience, good eve everyone!

Little Trivia: This film is the third movie of Director Todd Philip with Juliet Lewis in it, the first one was 'Starsky and Hutch' followed by 'Old School'. They're working on the fourth one now which is "The Hangover 2" with Zach Galifianakis who had two movies together (Hangover and Due Date)

My Rating (3.5 stars out 5)

World Wide Box Office Gross: $209.7 million

Production Budget: $65

Back-to-Back Will Smith Movies on Sunday

Got a triple-action treat from Will Smith today. Watched his old movies from late 90's and early 2000's. I don't remember his full movie that I first watched but I'm sure it wasn't one of the MIB or Bad Boys films but I remember watching 'Wild Wild West' in 1999 with Kevin Klein and Salma Hayek, I remember him and Sisqo then rapping the soundtrack of it on MTV (I was in 3rd year high school then). Since then he became such a huge movie star and seen him in many films which include "I Robot", Shark Tale", "The Pursuit of Happyness", "I Am Legend", "Hancock", "Seven Pounds" and last December I was able to watch "Enemy of the State". With this number of films on his record I still missed a lot of his hits which include "Bad Boys I and II", "Hitch", "Ali" including the other three movies which I just saw today.

Independence Day (1996)

I first watched "Independence Day" after taking breakfast early this morning. It's a 1996 action-thriller film directed by Roland Emmerich (The Day After Tomorrow, 2012). When a city-like alien space ship positioned itself on the skyline the people of America was puzzled but when it started to attack and destroy all the cities, the President of America (Bill Pullman) must unite with his people together with the marine pilot Capt. Steve Hiller (Will Smith) and an electronics and computer expert David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) to defeat the aliens and draw them away from planet Earth. It was breath-taking. I was surprised that the movie '2012' was almost a copycat of this film, no wonder most critics were unhappy with Roland's latest film. (My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars)

Men In Black (1997)

Watched this film after lunch. Though I have watched this before in cable channels, I didn't really get the gist of it since I wasn't able to watch it in full (and I don't like watching movie in cable channel or online streaming, I prefer in DVD or playing from my hard drive). Just like "Independence Day", Men In Black is also about aliens, only they co-exist with humans and Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) and Agent J (Will Smith) maintain their peaceful living on earth without letting the human race know that they really exist. These aliens should really behave 'coz if they don't MIB will turn them into tons of green slime. Though the film was a bit short and less action, it was funny and considering it was released in the 90s the special effects were really cool. (My rate 3 out of 5 stars)

Men In Black II (2002)

Watched this sequel MIB II right after the first part. It was released five years after the first movie and was directed by the same director, Barry Sonnenfield (who will be back with MIB III sometime next year). Agents Jay was back in action fighting aliens but couldn't do it alone. He had to restore the memory of Agent Kay as he resigned the job before the first movie ended. With the help of Frank (the talking dog) and the four alien-worms MIB should defeat Serleena before she conquers The Light of Zartha and destroys the world. Added cast was Lara Flynn Boyle, the 'Jackass' star Johnny Knoxville and Rosario Dawson (who later worked with Will Smith again in 'Seven Pounds'). The film is funnier than the first one because of Frank, and Will got more of the spotlight here compare to his parter. But the film was still vague and it got lesser actions this time (2.5 stars out of 5)

'It's Kind of a Funny Story' is a kind of a good movie too

"He is not busy being born is busy dying" as what Bobby (Zach) said which was quoted from Bob Dylan song according to the film 'It's a Kind of a Funny Story'. It was a pretty cool light-comedy-drama film starred by Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover, Up in the Air) with Emma Roberts (Hotel for Dogs, Valentine's Day), Viola Davis (Eat Pray Love, Doubt, Law Abiding Citizen) and Kier Gilchrist. The movie talks about how beautiful life is when much appreciated and how little things we really wanna do can add up to make it more meaningful. Simple things like art, music and letting people that you love know how you feel (bad or good) can save you from getting your mind too messed up (that you wanna kill yourself sometimes). We often feel depressed and frustrated because we don't see the beauty of the things we have and the people we love 'coz its presence and simplicity blind us and it takes other people to show it to us.

Zach Galifinakis is really an awesome actor, his funny acts are effortless and he showed some serious faces here too which shocked me. Viola Davis is adorable as always, since seeing her from 'Doubt' I can't help but to get impressed with her performance in each movie she's in, she's just so natural and pleasing. Emma Roberts and Kier Gilchrist also did a pretty good performance especially when their together. Not the best movie of 2010 and you won't be laughing throughout the film but it does keep you smiling 'til it ends. It was simple but inspiring in someways. Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck who also directed the critically-acclaimed movies like 'Sugar' and 'Half Nelson' which I haven't seen yet but I will because of this film.

My Rating (3.5 stars out of 5)

US Box Office Gross: $6.4 million (only released in US)

Production Budget: $8 million

'Love and Other Drugs' is not addictive but it surely keeps you high for a moment

The film centers on Jamie (Jake Gyllenhaal) who works as a pharmaceutical representative for Pfizer and finds himself falling in love with an artist Maggie (Anne Hathaway) who is sick with Parkinson's Disease. Started as a casual affair 'til everything went serious. Though Maggie is into him, her disease holds her back while Jamie gives up everything for her, even his own dreams. The film was funny and a bit dramatic. It also got several sex scenes of Anne and Jake so that film is basically not for everyone.

What amazed me about the movie is Jake's character, he has everything and he can have what every man on earth desires but he gave up everything to be with someone he loves. I can say it's really a brave thing to do, it takes a lot of courage to do that. I really like the part when he said "Sometimes the thing you most want doesn't happen and sometimes the thing you never expect does happen...you meet thousands of people none of them really touch you and then you meet one person and your life is changed forever.." Most us men (guilty of this too) always wish to have fun and always wanna runaway from responsibilities and Jamie was like that 'til he met Maggie.

The movie is not the best love story ever but it's a good one. It was a pretty light comedy-drama. You don't need to feel so sad about it or too happy giggling with their lame and cheesy lines. It was just enough and worth remembering. I don't know how director Edward Zwick pulled off something like this albeit previous films he did like Defiance, Blood Diamond, and The Last Samurai.

And by the way, here is one more line from Jamie, who knows this will work for you or for me.

"Let's just say in some alternate universe there is a couple just like us, only she is healthy and his perfect, and their world is about how much money they're gonna spend on vacation, who is in bad mood that day, or whether they feel guilty about having a cleaning lady...I don't wanna be those people, I want us..you..this.."

My Rating (3.5 out 5 stars)

World Wide Box Office Gross: $84.8 million

Production Cost: $30 million

Movie Everyday : "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"

"Extraordinary things can only happen to extraordinary people, maybe it's the sign that you got an extraordinary destiny, something greater than you can imagine" that's what Reepicheep said to Eustace when he turned into a dragon in the third film adapted from C.S. Lewis' book "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" (the fifth book in chronological order). Like the previous two films 'Dawn Treader' is magical and full of adventures.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader brings back Lucy, Edmund, Caspian and Reepicheep (talking rat) from the last film, and accompanied by their cousin Eustace who always disbelieves everything they say about Narnia. As they sailed on a Dawn Treader (ship) against the current of the Narnian's sea from island to island, the main characters have to battle sea monsters and their own greatest enemy which is themselves and their own fears while looking for the Seven Lost Lords.

What's good about this sequel is that most of the characters from the last film were still in it though Susan and Peter were just shown for one or two flashbacks (as their characters were in America). Aslan and White Queen were also shown in some of the scenes. Noticeably the film is a lot shorter compare to its predecessors and wasn't co-produced by Walt Disney anymore which resulted to not-much-good box-office return. Produced with $150 millions but only reached $100 million in North America (though they collected $367 worldwide) which considered to be a boxoffice failure. But despite all these I still recommend the film, it's a family treat especially for kids which can benefit from a fantastic imagination and a lot of lessons for their take away.

My rating (3 stars out of 5)

Worldwide Gross: $366.7 Million

Production Budget: $155 Million

Movie Everyday - Paranormal Activity 2

Today's movie is 'Paranormal Activity 2'

Genre: Horror - Supernatural

Katie Featherson is back this time with the new director, Tod Williams. It's the prequel of the first movie, so it happened that Kristi (Katie's sister) was also haunted with the same demon that terrorized her and Micah on the first film. The movie was a bit dull and sadly it didn't live up to it's predecessor, it was not just so scary at all despite having the same concept. I wonder how would it turn out to be like if it was directed by Oren Peli (the director of the first movie). It could have been a lot scarier than the first one.

I just don't know what they have to offer on the final movie coming out this year (also directed by Tod Williams) and I'm not excited to watch it (though I like to see Molly Ephraim again on the sequel).

My Rating (2.5 stars out of 5)
Worldwide Box Office: $171.6 Million
Production Budget: $3 Million

'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' is a small comedy film with huge laughs!

Been snubbing the film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" since it came out last 2002. It was because I found the title so weird and the only actor I know in the film is Joey Fatone of the N'sync of 90's boy-band as one of the supporting acts. It didn't interest me at all until yesterday when I was looking for a feel-good-movie to watch. And as soon as I started watching the film I can't help but to be impressed with how everything was seriously presented but really really funny. Thought it got a typical plot for rom-com films it was smartly written which really sets aside from dull and corny films of the same genre. And by the way to give justice to what I'm saying about this film, I've watched two other romantic comedy films today (Bewitched (2005) and Life as We Know It) but they were nothing compare to My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I got my self laughing the whole time especially with Toula's father and his mother.

After watching the film, I did a little research about it, it was written and starred by Nia Vardalos (who also starred in My Life Ruin) and she was nominated in Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the film as well as in Golden Globe for Best Comedy Film. And wait there is more, the film was just produced with just $5 million but grossed around $369 million world wide (see boxofficemojo.com) and it's the highest romantic comedy film in North America with $241 million since 2002. Pretty amazing right?..'til next great movie experience, good eve everyone!

'The King's Speech' will leave you speechless!

Do you still recall the feeling you get after listening to a beautiful and inspiring speech? It's a warm feeling that makes you smile everytime you get reminded of it. And most especially it changes the way how you see things, gives you hope and makes you believe in something, even if it's almost impossible to happen.

That's the kind of feeling that the film 'The King's Speech' gives you. It will leave you speechless as it ends and before you knew it you find yourself applauding along with the crowd. Such a wonderful movie. If there would one movie that deserves the Oscar Best Film besides 'Inception' and 'The Social Network' it would be this film. And maybe a month from now, the more members of Academy would have the chance to watch it, the closer it gets to grabbing the Oscar statuette.

The King's Speech is based from a true story of King George VI (starred by Colin Firth) and his stammering problem. Pressured from the sudden ascension to the throne and to give a speech to the people of Britain, his wife Queen Elizabeth (starred by Helena Bonham Carter) looked for a speech therapist to help him out with his speech problem. Queen Elizabeth disguised as a regular citizen and hired Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Lionel is known for his conventional way of teaching where trust and equality are important. No special treatment even for royalties. Their differences somehow clashed, especially when the two just started out but friendship bloomed eventually between the two and remained friends for the rest of their lives.

This is just the second movie of the British Director Tom Hooper. His first film is 'The Damned United' last year (which is also a good movie and one of my all time favorites by the way). From directing TV shows and series, his works are now being recognized internationally which he really deserves. 'The King's Speech' is one of the strongest front-runners for this year's Oscar Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Colin Firth and if I am to decide, it has already won.

'127 Hours' another triumphant story from Danny Boyle

I can still hear my heartbeat slowing down. It was beating too fast a few minutes ago while watching the last few scenes of Danny Boyle's 127 Hours. It was really intense. James Franco (Spider Man, Eat Pray Love, Pineapple Express) did his best performance of his career so far.

127 Hours is based from a true-to-life story of Aaron Ralston (starred by James Franco), an adventurous man that got himself trapped in a deserted canyon in Utah when a rock crashed on his right arm locking him inside the hollow canyon. Trapped for 127 hours with nothing but a camcorder, a tumbler of water, a pocket knife and some climbing tools. Left with hopeless chance of getting rescued after being trapped for several days, Aaron must rely on his own survival instinct to get through.

The plot was pretty common for a film and you probably know what would he do in the end just to survive, but the film is not just about survival. It's about looking to someone's life or your own life why you end up in such situation and how you would give up anything to turn things around. One of the best scenes in the film is when Aaron was so weak and hallucinated, he saw all the people that he loves on a couch smiling at him which was significantly emphasized at the end of the film. It was indeed a triumphant true story.

The movie could have been boring if not because of the beautiful musical scoring of the Oscar award winner A.R. Rahman. The same person who was responsible for the scoring of Danny Boyle's Oscar film Slumdog Millionaire. All through out the film, background music and sound effects made the movie symphonic which plays pretty well with James acting. What made his effort worth remembering is that there was no supporting cast to back him up in most scenes. There was no interactions with anybody so he had to act alone. There was even one scene where he had to show his emotions without any words at all which was really outstanding. It reminds me of Tom Hanks solo performance in the film "Cast Away". And if with luck he might gain his first Oscar nomination for this performance. 127 Hours may not be an Oscar piece like Boyle's previous film but it was equally beautiful and it sure gives you the same pretty light feeling of triumph as the movie concludes.

'Little Fockers' comes with little fun

Me and my friends decided to have fun and headed out to cinemas to watch the Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro starrer, Little Fockers. With too much expectation in mind, we were all excited to LOL with the movie. But unfortunately the movie has little fun to offer. The movie is predictable and the old trademark of the first two movies is absent. I was expecting it to revolve around "Circle of Friends" and "I'm watching You" of De Niro and Stiller famous tangle. But they tried to focus the spotlight on young Fockers, the twin offspring of Greg (Stiller) and Pam (Teri Polo). It was worth of a try though, only it didn't much play off. The character name of Jessica Alba, which is Andi Garcia is really funny, but it's just the name, that's it, not even her character as a whole added to the fun.

However, there is still a reason or two for you to have fun watching it and one of it would be seeing Dustin Hoffman in the film. He is the funniest Fockers in it. Though his scenes were few, they were all smartly acted, his Mexican dance move is just unforgettable. Barbara Streisand just did pretty good too. She brings the fun and regulates the corniness in all scenes she's in.

I did enjoy that day. But not really because of "Little Fockers". Yes I have to admit I laughed hard in some scenes but what made my day complete, it's because I spent it with friends and with the woman that is so dear to me. Wish we had more time together that day. Anyway, 'til next movie experience.

'Never Let Me Go' is Gripping and Moving

I have never watched any movie like "Never Let Me Go" before. It was gripping and moving.

It's an adaptation of a novel of the same title which I first heard before watching the film but never got the chance to read it. Though books are complete and original, I still prefer watching the movie version over reading it or sometimes I read the book after watching the film then watch it again after finishing it. It's nice to see how things come to life in a movie. I'm enjoying the beautiful scoring that makes each scene more intense and I really admire the actors in it while portraying the role.

Just a heads up, the movie is not made out of eye-popping special effects, no action or high-octane scenes but purely drama about life, love and letting go presented uniquely in a different situation. 'Never Let Me Go' is a sci-fi, romantic - drama that is set in 1970s in England. It's a tale of three people who learned to live their lives according to what they were raised for. Created out of science and eventually would die for it. While most of us grow up freely with hopes and dreams of what we want to be, Kathy, Ruth, Tommy and the rest of the students of Hailsham are deprived with it. They were raised to be donors (of their body parts). They were clones of their originals (this is far from clone-movie of Michael Bay's 'The Island' by the way) that got only a lifespan up to four donations. With little knowledge on how it came to be they moved on without questions. The three were inseparable, Ruth and Tommy became lovers but Kathy is secretly into him. What Kathy didn't know that Tommy had been in love with her ever since they were young. After studying in Hailsham, the three were exposed to real world with normal people but still bind with the rules. They soon learned about the Deferral where donation could be put back to three or four years and donors would have the chance to live together normally as long as they can prove that they are really in love with each other. And with this, the three lives became more interwoven, and whose gonna end up with whom? that's the twist of the story. The end would actually determine if you really like the movie or not. In my case, the ending was just fine, I'd prefer it that way.

It was beautifully acted and Romanek's way of transitioning from one scene to another was pretty smooth. The scoring was simple but really played off (I always look into film's scoring, it's the most important component next to acting as it brings life to the film as whole). The song Never Let Me Go that was played several times in the film which obviously where the movie title based from, was just in tune with one of the most intense scenes in the film (apparently not just local Filipino films are using the song title in the film as its movie title).

Starred by two of the young and talented British actresses, Oscar Best Actress nominees Carey Mulligan (An Education, Wallstreet: Money Never Sleeps ) as Kathy and Kiera Knightly (Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of Caribbean Trilogy) as Ruth with new comer Andrew Garfield (The Social Network,New Spiderman Movie) and based from the novel of Kazuo Ishuguro and directed by Mark Romanek, 'Never Let Me Go' will show you that sometimes no matter how hard it is, letting go is just the only way. It's really up to us on how to make each and every second we live worthwhile, especially with the ones we love.