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Re: WALL-E Gets Best Reviews Of The Year! @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:51:53 -0000

watched it along with wanted (here in the US) its Pixar's best yet! It's a heart wrenching portrait of loneliness and the desire to find someone to spend life with. with Pixar, the animation quality is already a given, but what impresses me is the story and how each time they go above and beyond. Wall-E is no exemption.

Re: Old Habits Die Hard @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:56:11 -0000

this was a disappointment, good thing there's Wall-E, the best movie this summer and maybe the year so far. watch out for it folks!

Re: Old Dog, New Tricks @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:34:34 -0000

the movie reminds me of the Truman Show and Bolt's character has almost the same arc as Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story, another Lasseter/Pixar production, where he realizes that the world he knew is not real. IMO, the weakest part of the movie was in the end where the studio caught in fire, I mean, they're in hollywood, where everything is fake, why do they have to use real fire? Of course, that had to happen so the reunion of Penny and Bolt would be more dramatic.

Re: Lifeless @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 02:35:47 -0000

While I agree with your overall review/rating of this movie, I disagree with some of your points. First, the book was better (having read all four) and the script wasn’t ok, it was a poor adaptation. Of course it moved quicker, well, it basically took the main plot points of the novel and brought it into the screen as is. Meyer’s “overwrought and often redundant prose” was in fact the strength, IMO, of the novel. She never took her work seriously and it became relatable to ordinary readers, myself included (compared to other novels who try to appear intelligent).
It’s a fact that novel writing is different than screenwriting--the former, there’s time to explore every detail and subtlety of the story and character, whereas, the latter, it needs to be succinct for every page counts as a minute of screen time. What the screenplay, IMO, failed to do was capture the essence of the novel--the forbidden love of Bella and Edward, a predator falling in love with its prey, a 107-year-old vampire meeting his mortal soul mate, the desire of a family of undead to live, an ordinary girl experiencing something extraordinary in her mediocre life--of course this topics were discussed in the movie, but that’s my point, we, the audience never felt these conflicts unfold in the movie. It happened because these events were the plot points of the novel. There was no flow. In its desire to be faithful to the book and the fans, the filmmakers just lazily translated the events on screen.
And as for Catherine Hardwicke’s direction, this is where it failed the most. She should’ve taken cue from Alfonso Cuaron’s take on HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban, a true director’s vision of a screen adaptation. It may have looked different, but it captured the essence of JK Rowling’s HP novel. As for the cast, both Stewart and Pattinson were lacking as Bella and Edward. Dr. Carlisle Cullen (Facinelli) looked like one of the Malfoys. Jacob (Taylor Lautner) looked like Hillary Swank with his long hair. Jasper (being a new “vegetarian” vampire) looked like he’s constipated. Only Alice and Laurent were at least convincing in playing centuries-old immortals living in the present. The “flight” scenes looked like “wire-fu”, seriously the only good time I had in this movie was listening to Linkin Park’s “Leave out all the Rest” at the end credits.

Re: Lifeless @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:59:49 -0000

ok, i was not advocating for twilight to be voted the best form of literature there is. When I was reading the 1st few chapters of Twilight, I thought it was horrible and cheesy, but the more you read it, the more you get hooked and even if it's bad prose like you say, the mere fact that it was a NY Times bestseller and continues to be, is proof that sometimes, it doesn't always take a well-written novel to be a hit. The connection her story makes to its readers is more important. Could it be that all you supposed longtime readers of literature just can't accept the fact that a bad writer like Ms. Meyer can have a bestseller? What say you Mr. 2nd placer for the Great Phil. Space Mission? Come to think of it, was it ever a best seller?

Re: Lifeless @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:03:19 -0000

well, the fact that you've "read most of the novels" suggests that there is something that attracted you to continue reading it even if it's bad. I even find Breaking dawn the worst, imagine, naming a baby Renesme?

Re: Lifeless @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:08:10 -0000

what twilight the movie did was just took the pages off from the novel and literally translated it on screen, there was no organic flow, it felt off, they even used Bella's voice over to start the movie. the novel was a 1st-person narrative already, that's just redundant. there was no artistry involved in making this movie.

Re: Lifeless @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 02:04:35 -0000

don't be too overly sensitive mr. phil, you are a critic first and foremost, shouldn't you know what it feels like for one's work to be judged? Though I agree that it was badly written, I don't go out saying that the script was better than Ms. Meyer's "overwrought and redundant prose" in the novel. That's what I disagree with you. If you claim that Twilight's (the novel) strength isn't its prose, then what is? The way it was written is its prose, the part where you gave credit for making the very same connection it generated to its readers.

Re: Lifeless @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 02:24:23 -0000

****spoiler**** if you've truly read the whole twilight saga, Jacob and the whole Quileute tribe weren't werewolves but shapeshifters, they just chose to assume the shape of wolves. Why can't we all just accept the fact that a badly written novel like Ms. Meyer's has captured the imagination of millions and just be happy for her? Does it lessen our intelligence? Does it affect the status of some people out there who claims they are followers of "legitimate" literature? Or is just pride? Come to think of it, while we argue here in this paltry blogosphere of ours, Ms. Meyer's reveling in her millions brought about by her badly written novel, LOL

Re: Lifeless @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 03:23:03 -0000

Again, I disagree, of course the script will be quicker and has to introduce jacob and the villains earlier on, it doesn't have a choice, its a screenplay, where the maximum number of pages in this genre is 120 or 2 hrs. (unless its a Scorcese or Stone pic). I don't have a problem with that. And I wasn't looking for "replicating the connection" I had in the novel, that shouldn't be the goal of the script, it should be the overall filmmaking, The script wasn't fluid in the beginning and Hardwickes direction made it worst.

Re: Lifeless @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:35:59 -0000

Ok, here’s the thing, you’ve written a novel and a screenplay, right? But have you written a script based from a previously written material? More importantly, have you read the Twilight screenplay? The reason I disagree with you about your claim that the Twilight script was good because the dialogue, sequencing of events and narrative aren’t always part of the script (you know this). The director’s vision through editing and other post-production tools can alter and affect the finish product that we see. A script is the film’s backbone or blueprint, but it’s not the movie. What I meant with “it didn’t have a choice” was the script can’t afford to spend too much time in exposition, unlike a novel which has the luxury of. So, it had to introduce Jacob and the villains early, but, introducing them early doesn’t mean it’s a narrative breakthrough, like what you claim.

Re: Lifeless @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:03:15 -0000

Oh, please, I wasn’t trying to start a fight with Mr. Phil. This is a free country and anyone has the right to argue with him. As a critic, he may have written a hundred movie reviews, but, it doesn’t mean that whatever he says about a certain movie--its script or screen direction-- will be the actuality that we, as readers would accept. While I admire his talent in breaking down a movie and dissecting it for us to scrutinize, I believe he will be more of service to the Philippine movie industry if he will involve himself with the story development production of the country’s top film studios so he can help improve the storytelling of the very same movies he always criticize.

Re: Lifeless @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:38:35 -0000

Ok, to all people here who bashes Ms. Meyer's writing style and work, let me remind you all of Anton Ego's (the food critic from Ratatouille) quote; "In many ways the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and read. But, the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things...the average piece of junk (like Ms. Meyer's Twilight as what you all say) is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risk something.....and that is in the discovery and defense of the new." So there, something to ponder about.

Re: Lifeless @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 22:32:59 -0000

I forgot to mention that if you do really want to see a "real" vampire romance movie, watch out for the Swedish film, "Let the Right One In" directed by Tomas Alfredson, If this film makes it to this year's Oscar foreign language film category, then I'm sad to say that our very own Ploning, doesn't have a chance. Its a vampire movie like you've never seen before.

Re: Lifeless @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:27:10 -0000

It's true the film was bad, but, this protracted argument just stems from your claim that the screenplay was better THAN the novel, which I strongly disagree. Have you read the screenplay? If so, can you provide us a copy? Please refer to my previous post about this.

Re: Lifeless @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:09:15 -0000

Well, what can you expect, the novel was 500+ pages long, of course it had to eliminate the book's excesses and lengthy expositions. The script wasn't better structured, it was generically written with cut and pasted images from the novel to the script.

I'm surprised that you regard the script as the movie, though it's true that we, the viewer, can only judge what makes it up on the screen, still, what we see overall is the director's vision of the script presented to him/her. If we're to accept that fact, then all directors are useless and the most powerful person in a movie is the screenwriter. All the director needs to do is just follow what's on the script.

And fyi, the writer's guild chooses 5 outstanding screenplays as nominees, by READING the scripts, while the rest of the members of the academy votes for the best screenplay. Here's what asinine, a good script, claimed by you, results in a bad movie? Then, why give Twilight 2.5 stars, if Hardwicke just followed what's on the script? This is why I was asking you if you have read the screenplay.

Re: Death Becomes Her @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:58:42 -0000

I haven’t seen 100 yet because of where I’m located, but since it’s an Indie film, I’d like to share with everyone an indie film that I was able to watch recently, Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire”. It’s about Jamal, a contestant in India’s version of the popular game show “Who wants to be a millionaire?” He’s one question away in winning the top prize of 20 million rupees and when time ran out for the last question, (to be continued the following night), he was abducted by police in suspicion of cheating. While he gets brutally interrogated, we see flashbacks of his life and how each question in the game show has its significance.

I brought it up because it reminded me so much of similar Pinoy indie films about poverty and the life of people in the slums. Most of my experiences with it were lacking, except for a few like Maximo Oliveros, but most of it were just too gratuitous and exploitative and used the poverty setting for “shock effect” to awe audiences abroad who’re not used to seeing such scenes. I’m used to seeing pictures of poverty but this movie didn’t exploited its setting and what it did was bring the audiences to it’s world and we became part of Jamal’s story. Anyways, this movie will blow you away. It’s a showcase of Danny Boyle’s depth as a director. Overall, it’s just a simple story of a man fighting for his right to live in a poverty-stricken world and to reunite with his childhood love. It’s an amazing movie which our Pinoy indie film directors should emulate and stop exploiting poverty scenes and settings in the guise of an art film.

Re: Death Becomes Her @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 03:07:12 -0000

I believe it was produced by independent British and Indian producers and Danny Boyle directed it. What Slumdog did right was not to highlight the poverty in Mumbai, India. It didn't attempt to evoke sympathy by showing the ghastly life of people in the slums unlike some of our Pinoy indie films, most notably, Brillante Mendoza films--Tirador and Masahista-- which deliberately used the poverty setting for shock effect, knowing it's audiences will be mostly Westerners who are not used to seeing such scenery.

Maximo and Serbis (if I may add) differs because the story remained with the character and the poverty setting was just the environment where the character lives. The two films focused on how the protagonists interacted with his/her situation to get what he/she wants. Check Slumdog at IMDB, it won this year's best film at the National Board of Review, making it one of the contenders for Oscar Best Picture.

Re: Death Becomes Her @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:16:55 -0000

First of, I’d like to make a correction--I meant “Kubrador” not “Serbis” (I haven’t seen it yet). I was confused for it was both a Gina Pareno starred film. Anyways, in response to your comment, when I watched Slumdog Millionaire, it hasn’t won best film yet at the National Board of Review. I watched it because I’ve read and heard favorable reviews about it, which I believe is the only way films like this will get noticed. Sure, I did checked it online at rottentomatoes.com, IMDB and read the reviews, and I won’t deny that it was one of, if not the only reason why I watched it. But still, it was a GOOD movie, if not, one of the top movies of the year, along with Wall-E, Milk (which I have yet to watch), Dark Knight, Let the Right One In, and the soon to be released, the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. And based from my personal experience of watching it, I can surely say that it tells me a lot---that not only its a good movie, but also deserving of the award from the National Board of Review.

As for poverty being the “mirror”, well, we already know that, and though it maybe “culturally correct” to portray the situation of the Philippines through this movies, it is wrong, again, to highlight and exploit it to cause a stir at film festivals abroad. Tirador, is a good example of that “mirror”, but it doesn’t have a story, it’s just a collection of vignettes on the life of people in the slums. Slumdog Millionaire, Maximo and Kubrador, differs because it focused with the character and again, just like what I’ve said, it used the poverty setting as a backdrop as to how that character interacted with his/her environment to get what he/she wants. Maximo, may not be about poverty, but, we see the poverty around him, which is what my point is.

Re: Death Becomes Her @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 02:34:42 -0000

Ok, going back to 100. Since I haven’t watched it yet, I have a question. What kind of cancer did Joyce have? Since most of the reviews says she was “terminally ill and had 3 months to live”, I’m assuming she had advance stage of cancer when she finds out. So, what kind? Is it breast, cervical, lung, brain, colon, bone, blood, liver, stomach, throat, skin cancer? The reason why I ask is, I don’t know how accurate the medical facts are in this movie. If she was a successful and independent woman before and just discovered she has three months to live, the kind of cancer she has is significant. She can’t just become ill all of a sudden with cancer, there had to be symptoms first, and if her cancer has advanced and became untreatable, wouldn’t it hinder her from becoming the successful businesswoman she is? So, all the 100 things she’s supposed to do would be unrealistically doable since (in the trailer I saw her taking some pills, which I assume are chemotherapy treatment) one side-effect of chemo is a compromised immune system, making one susceptible to catching common illnesses, (cancer patients mostly die from these side effects because their body's too weak).

The premise is promising, and I believe in the review and judging from the trailer, I can see it’s a good movie. But, what intrigues me is how filmmaker Chris Martinez, addressed the drama along with the medical realities.

Re: Death Becomes Her @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:40:38 -0000

I know that, but, I just want to know how realistically rooted the film's depiction of Joyce as she prepares for the "100 things" to do before she dies. I believe that, while there's a so-called willing suspension of disbelief in movies, the filmmaker should first persuade the audience to permit special dispensation for believing in things that are implausible. So, with the kind of cancer that Joyce had, were the 100 things to do believable and doable? Could her weakened body managed it? I'm not saying that it should be like ER or Grey's anatomy, but there's potential for more drama if the circumstances in Joyce's illness were more medically realistic.

Unfortunately, I can't watch it because I'm not in Manila:(, but I do enjoy this forum.

Re: Death Becomes Her @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:35:11 -0000

Ebs, I think you misunderstand. I liked Kubrador, and along with Maximo and Slumdog Millionaire, it wasn’t exploitative of the poverty in its setting. I can’t say for Serbis, I haven’t seen it yet. Like I said in my previous post, I was confused between the two (Kubrador and Serbis, both starred by Gina Pareno.)

Anyways, as for Tirador being exploitative, well, I believe that the minute it started, it already was an exaggeration. I don’t have to enumerate which scenes, they all are. Why? Because Tirador wasn’t a documentary, it’s a fictional movie that supposedly mirrors the life of people in the slums. The problem is, the characters on it were actors, not real citizens of Quiapo. This is why it was exploitative. The set-ups, scenes, dialogues were just a product of the director and writer’s imagination and exercising artistic license doesn’t translate one be vulgar in its depiction of reality but is an avenue for an able filmmaker to practice restraint. Sure, some would argue that, it’s REALITY, but how de we know? Did the researchers in this film put hidden cameras in every shanty at Quiapo to record the daily activities of its dwellers?

Chaotic? It sure was, but again, this where I differ from your opinion, if you have a chaotic subject, like that of Tirador, the more you should have structure. Just watch Slumdog Millionaire, because in essence it’s so much like Tirador with the same impoverished and chaotic setting. However, Tirador follows much of Babel’s style, where the characters are interconnected and their story intertwined. But unlike Babel, Tirador doesn’t have a unifying element. In Babel, it was the gun, Tirador has none. So, in the end, it felt disjointed and became a mere collection of vignettes.

This is where Slumdog, Kubrador and Maximo differs. Each of the protagonist in these movies have a goal---Jamal (in Slumdog) just want to reunite with the love of his life, Amy (in Kubrador) just want to get through the day of collecting bets without getting caught and Maximo, just wants his crush to notice him. And, yes the poverty around them was a background, and it also served as a character---an antagonist---because the choices that these character made were in result of how their environment affected them. This what I’m trying to put across. And as for Maximo, I disagree with you. The poverty around him did incite him. How? Isn’t it that his father and brother were petty thieves because of being poor? And Maximo happens to fall in love with a cop who at anytime can arrest his family, putting him in a dilemma as to what he will choose?

As for the “culturally correct” subject. Well, in my opinion (again, just my opinion), there are different audiences all over the world; separated by race, religion, nationality, taste and opinion, but we all share one thing: the craving for a good story. I believe that to achieve universality of a story--one that every audiences in the world can relate to--regardless of language or form, we, as the audience should care for the main character or protagonist. How? We must know what the character wants and what does he/she do to get it. Our filmmakers tend to forget this very simple rule. Why do they make films for the purpose of showing it abroad? Why not show them first at home? Slumdog Millionaire for instance wasn’t conscious of awing its audiences, it just want to tell a story. It even has a cheesy Bollywood inspired dance number at the end, honoring the country where its filmed. I mean, this is my point, our filmmakers have this wrong notion that in order for our films to compete globally, it has to appeal to foreign audiences, where in fact it should appeal to local audiences in the first place.

Re: Death Becomes Her @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:49:25 -0000

so, if filmmaker Chris Martinez, consciously decided to make the cancer unknown, then, Joyce's actions in response to her illness were questionable. Why? We don't know what cancer she had. I believe it's important because, we don't have a way of finding out if it were organic. So, all the drama--Joyce's journey as she faces the inevitable--were concocted to appear dramatic? It's kinda like cheating the audiences or emotional blackmail, IMO.

Re: Death Becomes Her @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 02:20:15 -0000

I guess, I need to watch “100” to answer my question. But, again, my point in raising the kind of cancer question was not to imbue the film with medical terminologies, etc, I just want the drama in Joyce’s dilemma---facing her inevitable death--be organic, meaning, the responses and action she makes is realistic with what kind of illness she has. Every kind of cancer is unique and so is the treatment. If what “100” did was give us a generic cancer, then, like I said, it’s hard to accept the plausibility of the overall performance of what Mylene Dizon, the actress who played Joyce, because it makes her acting fabricated not organic.

Again, Tirador, IMO was exploitative, because it doesn’t have a story. It just showed a collection of vignettes about the life of people in the slums. There was no protagonist, inciting incident and resolution. Now, the definition of a “story” may differ to other people. It may not follow the usual three-act structure of what we’re most familiar. But IMO, a story is defined as “footprints in the sand left by a character in quest of his/her heart’s desire against impossible odds”. Tirador’s structure doesn’t fit in that definition. What we get are staged sequences meant to mirror the poverty in Manila. And for what? If we do want a slice of life in the slums, then attach a hidden camera on every shanty at Quiapo a la Big Brother so we can truly see what are they doing. (I’m sure it’s far less graphic than what we see in Tirador)

The Babel parallelism was the interconnection and intertwining of the story and character. Nothing more, nothing less. As for actors portraying a role, I don’t mean it that way, of course they aren’t exploitative. The only issue on exploitation I’m raising here is highlighting poverty here in the Philippines and showing it at abroad just to cause a stir at film festivals. Slumdog Millionaire was about poverty, but it didn’t highlighted it. OK, I have a question: What is Tirador all about? Hard to give an answer huh? But if you ask me, what is Slumdog about? It’s about Jamal, a poor native of Mumbai, India who is one question away from winning 20 million rupees in a game show. Easy, right? That is my point.

Re: Death Becomes Her @ ClickTheCity.com Movies

agm_71@weyburn — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 02:27:25 -0000

Ebs, it was fun exchanging comments with you, but I guess, what we have here is a matter of opinion and I respect yours. Anyways, I just watched Milk and I was outraged it wasn't included for Best Pic drama at the Golden Globes. But, I was happy that Slumdog was in. I wish it wins Best pic for Oscar. lol