The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)

On the surface The Other Boleyn Girl seem like your typical love triangle – two sisters battling for the heart of one man. And had the film been titled something more common as “The Other Woman”, and set in a period more contemporary, it could make some money here in the Philippines. But being a historical drama of Henry VIII’s England, I seriously doubt it’ll make decent money.

John Rambo (2008)

Potentially John Rambo could have had more punch than the boxer movie Rocky Balboa, but it’s a dud. At least with Rocky you had some nostalgia albeit forcefully jammed down the movie goer’s throats with some old clips and locations.

This movie is emotionally dead. Such a big waste of opportunity if you think about it considering its intent was, like Rambo III, to try to bring attention to a war torn country: Burma in this case. But when part III succeeded, part IV failed.

Replays (Coup Holdiays Redux)

(I wanted to edit Coup Holidays because it sounded bad to me, and this is what I came up with. For, thinking such writing would never see the light of day in a government newsletter, I gave it to my boss because I was facing deadlines. It did (or will) see the light of day, minus a few names and harsh words. Well here are the words in entirety. Here's to living somewhat dangerously in dangerous times.)

One cold December night I was watching the Return of the King on DVD when in the scene where Aragorn was meeting an army of the dead, I got a crazy idea.

Maybe this was what the Manila Pen Siege was all about; Sen. Trillanes, ala-Aragorn, beseeching the ghost of Andres Bonifacio to lead an army of dead Philippine revolutionaries to help him capture the leadership of this country.

Atonement (2007)

‘If you can go back in time and change anything, what would it be?’

You cannot, obviously.

Atonement is a film about wanting to go back, but maybe the more accurate description is it’s a film about being burdened with a pain in the past. As in life, there is not much the lead can do. What is done is done; there is no going back.

We make amends, do penitence; then maybe fate will look kindly, and give back that which was destroyed. Maybe . . .

Rendition (2007)

I looked the movie up on imdb.com and was only to happy to see the quote I loved and decided to start the piece with it.

“In all the years you've been doing this, how often can you say that we've produced truly legitimate intelligence? Once? Twice? Ten times? Give me a statistic; give me a number. Give me a pie chart, I love pie charts. Anything, anything that outweighs the fact that if you torture one person you create ten, a hundred, a thousand new enemies.”

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

This movie was a surprise in a low key kind of way. Actually, I was waiting for good old western style shooting; gunfights; cowboys; especially when one of the most popular leading men around, Brad Pitt, is the lead as Jesse James. I wanted action and I wanted to be dazzled. Instead, what I got was a puzzle, skillfully crafted, that I wanted to solve and savor even long after I have finished the movie.

And the puzzle is; who was the bad guy? A strange question if you think about it since the demarcation lines between good and bad are always evident in movies. But strange as it is, it is the only question that came to mind when I finished watching the film.

Coup Holidays

The government’s security agencies, for the umpteenth time, uncovered plot to destabilize the government. This time, they say, the plotters plan to use the Anniversary of Edsa II (Jan 20) and the Mendiola Massacre (Jan 22).


This recent news is just one in a long line of attempts and alleged attempts against President Arroyo since she took power in 2001. Many of these tidings of doom have come on or before special days like Labor Day, Edsa Anniversaries; and most recently Bonifacio Day.

Lions for Lambs (2007)

I have searched my memory and I have come to the conclusion that Lion for Lambs is the first Tom Cruise starring movie that has made me think – all thanks to Robert Redford who directed it.

But I must warn Cruise fans out there Lion for Lambs doesn’t have much of a story; no cat and mouse suspense; no death defying action; no sex. The film isn’t about making Tom Cruise looking cool. It’s a debate film, if that is the appropriate description; as all of the characters at one point or another have engaged in a debate with fellow characters. And the issue of the day is the War on Terror.

Independence Day (1996)

Independence Day’s opening sequence is incredible; one of the best I remember. Dozens of fifteen square mile saucers landing on earth from a mother ship that seems to half the size of the moon; a musical score in the background giving you a feeling of dread; and a line from an R.E.M song “it’s the end of the world as we know it…”

It’s both scary and in some strange way festive, which, if you think about it, seems unfitting in a story that is about worldwide destruction. In this case, the pair of emotions worked because, in all likelihood, a real alien presence would arouse both fear and joy.

I am Legend (2007)

What if you had the world to yourself? Too big? Then, make it a city; let’s say New York – all its money, cars, art, buildings, weapons; everything is yours.

I can’t help opening this piece with material wealth because it stood out in the trailer; the aircraft carrier, the sports car, the laptop…

When I was in high school, I had this fantasy of being trapped in a mall and helping myself out to all the goodies. I am Legend main character, Robert Neville (Will Smith), has all the wealth of New York and is obviously feeling empty. He talks to a dog, sometimes engaging in full debates; he arranges mannequins in a video store as if they were fellow patrons; and he watches reruns of NBC news!

The Kingdom (2007)

The Kingdom is not a very good film in spite of being relevant with the times. It’s a donut because it started big and ended great, but it had no fulfilling content in between.

There is an historical recap at the opening credits where you’ll get some highlights encompassing almost a hundred years of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ; from the colonial days to the crash landing planes of September 11.

It was Galman . . . .

“It was Galman who did it”.


Like a broken record, this line was repeated by 16 soldiers over and over again since August of 1983 when the exiled former Senator Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr. was shot at the airport tarmac.


So what is their point in saying it over and over again?

What's five minutes. . . .

What’s five minutes to a busy man? A lot, it would seem, if Manny Pacquiao would be believed; Scheduling difficulties (maybe mishap is the appropriate word) being the top reason floated around to quell the firestorm that resulted from his ‘snubbing’ the City of Manila.

He is a national icon and fresh from a boxing victory that made the Philippines proud. It’s a safe bet that every Filipino in the land (or abroad) wanted to shake his hand immediately after defeating Barrera, but unfortunately there’s not enough of Manny to go around.

Ratatouille (2007)

It is not often that you will see a unique idea in movies nowadays, especially when an adaptation of a book, television show, or comic character can guarantee money. But thankfully, once in a while you will find courageous and inventive filmmakers that can treat you with a sight you have never seen before.

The Insider (1999)

Before Russell Crowe took a stab at a Roman Emperor and was remembered for eternity for an Oscar award, he played a real life, down and almost out, former employee of a tobacco in The Insider.

Judas, the Traitor?

A traitor is someone who betrays. Being a traitor requires first relationship. It can be as close as best friends; a husband and wife; an officemate; or the relationship can be as far as the Philippines is to a Filipino; or as an employee is to a company.

And because that person is a friend or an employee or of a particular nationality he or she is expected to act in the interest of the relationship which makes the proverbial knife in the back by this person to be one of the most painful assaults anyone can inflict another.

U-Turns

My parents and good old Sesame Street taught me how to cross a street; look left first and then right, cross when it’s (more or less) clear.

Those childhood lessons were valid up to at least three to five years ago when intersections littered the streets; one intersection is found virtually in every crossroad in the city’s highways.

Since X road cannot be in motion at the same time as road Y; thus what could be a steady stream of traffic is cut in regular intervals. Looking left and right was valid because you were sure to get a safe chance to cross. Problem was in the rush hour those regular stops became only one, a traffic jam or jams, since it was a city wide epidemic.

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix (2007)

Finally, finally, some prospect of combat!

Four films have past with only a hint of the real danger, but not now. The nameless enemy, or rather He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, is no longer just a whispered legend wreaking havoc by proxy, but up and about the world of wizards bringing death.

A pity Harry Potter is still not up to the task in combating the now fully corporeal Lord Voldemort but that is to be expected. He is a boy after all, and like all beings he must earn his “spurs” as they say, before he can ever be called a match for the top bad guy. Besides what would the much publicized 7th installment be for if he marches for the big fight just now.

Within a Minute: The Making of Episode III (2005)

The ‘making of a movie’ is a guaranteed staple on TV even before the film hits the theaters. It is advertising; it’s raising the hype; it’s showing every little tidbit of how our beloved stars go about in their job. Did he do his own stunts; how much was she paid; what new things did he learn – they all show this in 'the making'.

My interests are more than what happened behind the scenes. As a mass communication graduate, I have developed an interest in the technical aspects of film making. I do love to learn what my favorite stars do on films like any other fan but since I have made some school film projects of my own with my classmates, intellectual curiosity made me more curious as to how professional make theirs.

Transformers (2007)

Remember the sound effects had as a cartoon when they transform?

Many of the boys, including myself, were mimicking that ‘transforming’ sound after every episode. Transformers were so popular that everyone wanted to be one in those days.