Scorching Reviews

The Island (2005)

Stuck on Michael Bay's Island

[7/10 · 22 July 2005]

The Island is the newest action movie from director Michael Bay, the guy who made Pearl Harbour and The Rock. This time he tackles a utopian community where one by one people are sent to "The Island" a place where free from contamination, which seems to have engulfed the world. Lincoln Six Echo however begins to question life in the colony and soon discovers that there is more to the Island than it seems.

Well generally films by Bay are high on action but does poorly in terms of the screenplay. Well for this one there was still a lot of action especially in the second half of the film. However the screenplay has improved for this one. The screenplay on this one is actually pretty smart even if the concept was unoriginal given the track record of Bay.

I thought the acting of the main characters was sufficient enough. Ewan McGregor did a good enough of a job. He did a good job in some of the lighter moments of the film. Scarlett Johansson who was great in Lost in Translation does not shine in this one as basically her role takes a back seat to McGregor's character. Sean Bean as usual performed well as the bad guy.

One thing I was rather disturbed about was the rather blatant "product placement" in the film. It was like they were shoving the brands down your throat instead of it placing it more subtly in the background.

Also some of the other actors who were given top billing I thought were under utilized in this movie. The story really revolves on Lincoln Six Echo with bits and pieces of the others.

War of the Worlds (2005)

The War is On!

[8/10 · 29 June 2005]

Well the signs going into this movie were pretty good. Critics loved the movie plus we got Spielberg and Cruise teaming up so I was expecting a good one. I t was definitely in my top 10 list of movies to see over the summer.

Basically this movie does not go very far from the original version released some decades back. Same plot just updated in terms of time and technology.

I always grow tired of movies whose main selling point are the effects. I loved the minimalist special effects in this one. This however is still effective in getting the message of fear and dread across.

In terms of the acting, I thought that Dakota Fanning did a great job. It's actually quite hard to believe that she is only 11 years old but can do have a masterful performance. I can still remember the first time I saw her in a episode of CSI some years back and she has certainly progressed since then. I thought that Tom Cruise did a good enough of a job as the caring father trying to protect his children Nothing extraordinary but just enough. Nothing much to say about supporting other than that Tim Robbins should have been given longer screen time.

I also quite liked the way they were able to put across the theme on family relations and how it is tested in stressful situations.

I guess my main gripe and I fell that many will feel this too is that the end came rather abruptly and that how it was all resolved just felt unsatisfactory.

The Interpreter (2005)

A movie of two halves

[7/10 · 21 April 2005]

My first reaction after seeing this movie was how dramatically different the first and second half of the movie was. It was like all the tension, which was building up finally exploded at the climax of the story. I thought it was a good political thriller despite the rather predictable nature of the story. The main weak point of the story however was the rather weak storyline of Tobin Keller and how it was linked to Broome.

The obvious strong point of the movie was the strong performance of the two lead actors Kidman and Penn. Kidman was particularly strong as the Interpreter who hears more than she should.

Overall Sydney Pollack did well in harnessing the talent of two premiere actors and produce a satisfying political thriller.

Flight of the Phoenix (2004)

The phoenix has crashed again!

[6/10 · 10 March 2005]

Flight Of The Phoenix stars Dennis Quaid, Giovanni Ribisi and Miranda Otto. It tells the story of a group of people who are stranded in the Mongolian desert after their plane crashes.

Well the movie really started out realty fast so much so that we hardly know anything about the characters. Yes there were a few hints here and there but overall characters personalities were like a mystery to me. Also because of this we were not able to see any character development even in the main characters.

If you want to see a group of people build a plane for over an hour or so then this movie is for you. There was hardly any conflict in this movie and whatever was presented was really dull. The filmmakers tried to add some elements of danger but they were just too far between and too little to save the movie.

I also was did not like the story because it was largely very predictable. Even so I thought it could have been saved if by some chance at was presented in a different way to spice things up.

Also I thought that most of the performances were ordinary. There was also the problem of there being way too many characters in the film, which frankly just clogged up the film.

Overall this movie left a very sour taste in the mouth. The story was the main thing that brought it down and the performances were ordinary.

Hostage (2005)

I was Hostaged by this film

[7/10 · 10 March 2005]

Hostage is the latest film starring Bruce Willis and some less known actors supporting him. First thing that I noticed about this film was how similar the plot line was to 24 and Assault on Precinct 13. A rather unoriginal film but then again how many unique movies do you get to see these days anyway. Despite this I still think the plot line was solid enough for the purpose of this film. The pace of the film was rather slow at times especially in the middle of the film.

In terms of acting I thought most of the cast put in a rather sub-standard performances. Villains who were supposed to be at least to a degree menacing was nowhere near that. I thought the only person who did a good enough of a job was the star of the show Bruce Willis.

There was nothing much to say in the technical aspects of the film like music, costumes or cinematography.

Panaghóy sa subâ: The Call of the River (2004)

The best of MMFF

[7/10 · 18 February 2005]

Well it's been a long year and I'm down to reviewing the final film for 2004. Panaghoy Sa Suba (Call of The River) placed second in the recent Metro Manila Film Festival. As expected, it didn't do so well at the box office as it was too artsy for the common moviegoers especially since MMFF is the season where a lot of families go out to see movies.

It was quite intriguing to see a movie that was not in Filipino or English play out in the screen. I thought Cesar Montano did a good job both as a star and director. His great vision and creativity really helped this film. He was also very effective as the lead star and was able to express a wide range of emotions that was required for the film. Also performing well was young actress Rebecca Lusterio. She did a great job portraying Bikay, the younger sister of Duroy. I hope to see her in many more film projects in the future perhaps venturing into other genres. I think that the fact that this film was in her local dialect really helped her.

Some of the camera shots in the film were done very well. The scenery was made breathtaking even though I feel that if a lesser effort would have looked completely different.

In terms of the story I feel that the writers could have delved further into the lives of the lesser characters in the film. I certainly won't be raving about the story of this film.

Constantine (2005)

Just like a diesel it only heats up in the end

[7/10 · 17 February 2005]

I'm not that familiar with the Hellblazer comic series, which this film is based on. I think this helped me keep an open mind free of any unrealistic expectations especially about the characters. One thing though that was surprised was the lack of many elaborate, gut-wrenching fight scenes.

Also given that most movies adapted from comic books are fast paced this started at a snail's pace. A lot of talking and introduction of characters. However as the minutes came and went the pace picked up and the elements, which seemed insignificant at the start came into place to provide a good climax.

Also given that this was adapted from a comic book I really was not expecting that a very deep storyline but surprisingly it was certainly above average and was quite intelligent for it's class.

My major gripe about this film was the acting performance of the actors particularly of Keanu Reeves. I never really rated him as an actor and found him one-dimensional. This movie further reinforced that belief. Most of the lines he delivered were rather flat with little emotion shown. The others did well enough but I felt Reeves overshadowed all of them given his significant screen time.

The effects I thought were fine. Nothing as extravagant perhaps as LOTR but nonetheless effective given the purpose. Cinematography I thought was ordinary.

Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

Better than Shaolin Soccer!

[7/10 · 16 February 2005]

Stephen Chow's last project "Shaolin Soccer" was a funny and enjoyable and as a result of that I expected to enjoy his next project Kung-Fu Hustle. I got to say that I was NOT disappointed with his one. So much so that I like this even more than soccer. The humour was not over the top like other comedies. Despite it being in Chinese with sub-titles did not in anyway deter me from enjoying the movie. It really was able to cross both the cultural and lingual barrier which may exist in foreign films.

I particularly loved all the references that were made to famous American movies like the Matrix and Spiderman. They were delivered in a subtle but effective way. Also despite his rather limited screen time Chow made up for it by delivering quality inputs from behind the camera. The characters were both lovable and detestable. I especially loved the couple who were very ironic.

Overall a quality followup to SS. I cannot wait for his next project.

Blade: Trinity (2004)

Sad way to end the trilogy.

[6/10 · 14 February 2005]

I was rather surprised that they actually thought of producing a third movie considering that the second one was a rather poor film. Unfortunately this film was even poorer. The whole plot line was just so disjointed and unoriginal. It all started with the rather dull premise which frankly set the tone for the rest of the film.

Also I also found the action scenes, which could have saved this movie despite it's faulty story, to be rather ordinary. Even the supposed big battle with the main enemy at the climax of the film didn't live up to expectations. All the time they were hyping on how " perfect" and "unbeatable" his opponent was. I was rather surprised that little was done in terms of defeating him. Can't help but say "what that's it".

I was also quite surprised and amused that they cast Ryan Reynolds as one of the leads in a big action movie like this. The last time I saw him was in comedies: " Harold and Kumar" and "Van WIlder". I just couldn't help but chuckle when I saw him all buffed up and killing vampires.

I think Wesley can breath a sigh of relief because he can finally move on to other project which perhaps can help his sagging career.

Ocean's Twelve (2004)

Twelve is less than eleven

[7/10 · 13 February 2005]

Well the whole cast is back for another caper this time in the shores of Europe as they are all banned from the casinos of the US. THis time however there is an added twist as Terry Benedict wants his money back and a cop is hot on their trail.

One thing I liked about the first film was the way Soderburg was able to mesh together all eleven characters to form a cohesive and fun story. Sadly however he was unable to duplicate it here. It seemed like that only a few characters that were getting substantial screen time. Yes, they were all back but it seemed like it wasn't necessary. All that top billing for guys like Garcia and Mac for bit parts.

I also found the story not as enthralling as the first. Whereas the story of the first felt original and exciting this was more bland. It just didn't have the same punch as the first. The first was a really fun I also found it a little confusing at times and only really fully understood the movie after much discussion with those who have seen the movie.

Well compared to the first movie there were a lot of really funny moments. Whereas the first was more serious this was a little more light.

Well i'm really hoping they put this franchise to bed. I think by doing a sequel like Twelve it has really damaged the reputation it had produced after the first movie.

Shark Tale (2004)

Disney - Pixar = Shark Tale

[7/10 · 8 February 2005]

Since this animated movie did come from Dreamworks the same company that made Shrek than it cannot be avoided that I compare the two. This movie just didn't have the same "enjoyment factor" as Shrek. The humor was not as good and the characters were not as lovable.

Frankly the only character that I liked in the movie was that of Oscar (will Smith). The rest were just dull considering that this was a comedy. I thought the most disappointing character was that of Jack Black. He did a great job in School of Rock and I was expecting more of the same in this one but got very little of his wisecracks and antics. Perhaps it was a miscast and another actor could have been drafted in.

I also felt that some of the characters were given less than desirable amount of screen time. I guess this was an effect if studios loading their cast with many star names with an eye to using this as marketing tool to sell the movie. I definitely would rather have had less stars but it would have meant more screen time for the main characters.

In terms of the animation, I'm not really as astonished with the quality of the animation. Yes perhaps it may have the same quality as previous films like Shrek or Finding Nemo but given that almost everyone is using this technique it now looks all so ordinary. If this movie were done a few years /months ago then I would definitely be raving about the animation.

Aishite imasu (Mahal kita) 1941 (2004)

Just didn't do it for me!

[6/10 · 8 February 2005]

This was the official entry of Regal films to the 2004 Metro Manila Film Festival. Even though this was top billed by Judy Ann Santos and Raymart Santiago definitely the highlight of this movie was the performance of Dennis Trillo as Ignacio/ Inya. He acted really well and was very convincing throughout the film So much so that when I saw him as Ignacio I was a little surprised since I had gotten so used to him as Inya. He really deserved his award as best supporting actor in the MMFF.

As for the acting of Santiago, I thought he also did a good job. Perhaps not as good as that of Trillo but nonetheless very good. Santos' performance on the other hand was rather patchy as we could really see her good acting ability in some scenes but rather overacting in some other parts. I thought that there was no way she could have beat out Vilma Santos for the top acting prize.

If the filmmakers intended this to be a movie that promoted a sense of patriotism, I'm afraid I felt no such feelings. It seemed like the love story angle eclipsed every other subplot that may have been presented in the film. I also was disappointed with the story of the film.

Other than the performance of Trillo, there wasn't much to praise in this film.

Mano po III: My Love (2004)

Good work

[7/10 · 8 February 2005]

Some people were pointing out that there was nothing new shown in this movie that was not already shown in previous films. However since this is the first Mano Po movie I have watched I actually found the screenplay satisfactory. Nothing great but nonetheless it was ample. One thing that I found refreshing was the fact that this film was less of a mellow dramatic soap opera type of drama, which is prevalent in Philippine movies. Yes there are no shouting and slapping matches in this one. There were some sub-plots, which seemed unnecessary such as the story of the children of Lilia.

In terms of performances, I thought that the lead actors did a splendid job in acting out their roles. Vilma Santos did a great job and really deserved her best actress honour at the MMFF. Certainly her efforts overshadowed those of here co-stars, Christopher De Leon and Jay Manalo. It's a shame really that her duties in Lipa are keeping her from other movies. Eddie Garcia, I thought could have done a better job in delivering his lines. I realize that he is playing a character that was not that fluent in Filipino but some of his words were just garbled and found it hard to understand.

My only gripe maybe in the casting of Jay Manalo as the husband of Lilia. In the story Manalo is portrayed as the same age as De Leon and Santos which frankly I find hard to believe since Manalo looks many years younger.

In terms of production, I thought Regal Films did a good job in setting an overall atmosphere by bringing in good costumes and props. It was also nice to see them speaking in Chinese so as to make the situations more authentic and believable.

Raising Helen (2004)

Boring and unimaginative

[6/10 · 2 February 2005]

There aren't many points that U can praise about this film. The story was unimaginative and lackluster. It was boring and unimaginative, The many different sub-plots did not have much cohesion and felt unnecessary. Even though this movie was packaged as a comedy there were only a few mildly amusing scenes which were just too far of each other to have any lasting effect.

What is it with Kate Hudson and romantic comedies?? Surely she is not trying to take the throne away from Meg Ryan. I thought she did a good enough of a job in How To Lose a Guy In Ten Days, but in this one she didn't perform as she should. Perhaps the script and plot line had something to do with it. I think it's high time that she get more diverse roles. She had such a promising start to her career it's a shame she has yet to come up with a good follow-up. I also didn't think there was much of a chemistry between the two lead actors.

King Arthur (2004)

Poor film

[6/10 · 25 January 2005]

It was certainly strange to see characters such as Arthur and Guinevere who have for years have had a set image, all of a sudden changed dramatically. Well perhaps it would be slightly unfair for me to comment considering that I have yet to read up on this supposed alternate version of Arthur. Even so it was a little hard to imagine Clive Owen as Arthur, Stephen Dillane as Merlin and Ioan Gruffudd as Lancelot. Plus I did not like the way their actors progressed throughout the film.

Despite this film being promoted as a high action fast paced film, this was anything but that. There were a lot of parts that were dragging and was just plain old boring. To top it all was the truly anti-climactic and rather predictable ending to the film. I guess you could have guessed that it would end up the way it did considering there wasn't much of a build-up to the film's climax. Everything about this film was just ordinary. From the cast, to the action scenes to the ending it was just a very big mess

The Notebook (2004)

The best among the Sparks adapted movies

[7/10 · 24 January 2005]

If you have previously watched films that were based on a Nicholas Sparks' novel than you can pretty much get the tone of this movie. It really has the same framework on this one. People have been saying that thus novel by far was the best from Sparks and there was a good chance that it would translate in to a good film. Well among the three movies I got to say that this movie is indeed the best one as it had the best story. The characters too were far more complex and developed.

I thought the acting of the veteran actors was stronger than their younger counterparts. Even if they only had a limited screen time and were doing very little they were very effective especially at the latter part of the film. The young ones did a good job especially from Gosling. Unfortunately for McAdams I had only seen Mean Girls a few short weeks ago and it was a little hard for me to see her doing two completely different roles.

Definitely a good tearjerker of a film & I was expecting a lot considering the rave reviews of those who have seen it before me. It did just enough for my expectations to be met.

Santa santita (2004)

A good followup to Crying Ladies

[7/10 · 24 January 2005]

The last time Unitel Pictures released a film it was the award winning Crying Ladies, which took in many awards during the Metro Manila Filmfest of 2003. Well the company has made a rather drastic change for it's next project in Santa Santita. Here we see a more dramatic film with a more serious storyline. This time it is Laurice Guillen who is directing this movie.

My very first reaction when I found out that Angelica Panganiban was to star and given the plot I thought that she was miscast due to her age. But to my surprise she is already 18 and therefore fit the profile. It seemed only yesterday that she was playing kiddie roles and it was quite a shock to see her in such a mature role. Overall I think she did a good enough of a job. There were times that she was found lacking but overall it was OK. There were also some good performances from the other characters in the film. However it seemed as if the other characters such as Sister Dolor seemed out of place or to a degree completely useless.

In terms of the storyline, I was rather interested to see how events would play out given that this theme on faith healing and religion is a largely unexplored here in the country. I thought the storyline was interesting enough. I just wish they had emphasized more regarding the "powers" of the lead character as they only presented a few examples of such.

With Guillen at the helm of the film you can expect that there would be a very strong aspect to the film. That's certainly just what we got in the film.

The Village (2004)

Not the best but it's up there

[7/10 · 20 January 2005]

Just like any film from director M. Night Shayamaylan you can expect that there would be a twist neat the end of the film which pretty much defines how good or bad that movie is. I got to say that despite what a lot of people said I actually liked the twist of the movie. I definitely think that this was better than the one they had in Unbreakable and perhaps Signs. I was pretty shocked when they revealed the true nature pf the Village.

Another great aspect I felt was the performance of Bryce Howard, daughter of acclaimed director Ron. She seemed to be very comfortable with her role and seemed to fly through her role as a blind woman. I especially liked her performance towards the end of the film. I guess the fact that she was trained on a stage acting where there are no take twos unlike the world of cinema.

I guess one of my main disappointments with the film because I though the movie would take a more supernatural approach as seen in the trailer. Yes there were few parts that had thus but generally it was more of a drama. Plus they had a love story placed in as a major theme which made it even bizarre.

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

Good enough

[7/10 · 20 January 2005]

One of the greatest films ever made was the Manchurian Candidate which starred Frank Sinatra. Almost half a century later comes a remake this time starring Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep and Liev Schriber. Instead of Korea the action shifts the sands of the Middle East. The basic premise however still remains as a war veteran aspires for political success.

Well all remakes will always be compared to it'd predecessor and since only good films get remade you can expect that the newer version would have a built in disadvantage. Well I thought of doing a review purely on it's merits and not how it stacks up to the older movie.

I thought generally that the performance by the actors was nothing extraordinary. I was really expecting a good performance from Denzel but I have seen him act better in his other movies. However If I were forced to choose one performance that stood out it would definitely be that of Streep. The highlight of which was an empassionate speech in behalf of his son to her fellow politicians. Every thought was set out very clearly and was very effective. Unfortunately she only had a limited screen time in this movie.

In terms of the story it was a roller-coaster ride. At the start it seemed very interesting. As the first few scenes played out I could feel the tension building up. Unfortunately it was never sustained in the middle. Much so that it got pretty dull. It did pick up once again in the latter part only to once again go down in the end as I though that it was predictable.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

You ought to dodge this movie

[6/10 · 13 January 2005]

In Dodgeball, a gym is about to close down unless sit can come up with $10,000 to pay off a debt. With the help of many odd characters who frequent the gym the owner must join a Dodgeball tourney. In their way are a team from a rival gym who are out to close out the gym.

There really isn't that much to talk about this film in terms of the story. The story as expected was rather thin. There really was no story to talk about.

The gags and jokes I thought were unoriginal and pretty lame. I'm not really a fan of Ben Stiller as I do not really agree with him in terms of what is funny and what is not. This movie just reminded me too much of BASEkeball which I really did not enjoy. I guess one the only thing that I thought that helped this movie were the cameos played out by many stars.

Wicker Park (2004)

Mediocre & rather confusing

[6/10 · 12 January 2005]

I thought the storyline for the film was solid enough perhaps a little unoriginal but none the less adequate. What I really did not like about the film were the numerous flashbacks. It would at times get confusing and it was hard to pick up from an event right after a flashback. It was like the scenes were scattered like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, which unfortunately was a lot of pieces. I was really expecting a better ending to film. I was expecting a chaotic or at least a livelier end to the film.

The director also used quite a lot of split screen shots that seemed rather awkward. There were also a lot of shots that were shaky and could have been done better.

In terms of the acting performance, I thought that Rose Byrne shone the brightest among the three lead actresses. She really fit the bill as the villain in the movie and was very convincing.

Cellular (2004)

Low Bat Action

[7/10 · 12 January 2005]

When I first heard of the basic premise of the film, the first thing that I thought of was the movie "Phonebooth". Just like the said film this one really didn't have much material to work with other than the one presented and did not really have the chance to grow into a more complex story. Well this resulted in a light movie which anyone will enjoy especially after a long day/week at work.

Admittedly I did not really think too much of Evans as an action star. He's not really your prototypical action hero and I even thought of him as too much of a "pretty boy" and unfit for a film such as this. Well I thought he did a good enough of a job, nothing great but adequate enough. Kim Basinger who I haven't seen in a film in a long time, I thought was the best acting job in the cast. Jason Statham meanwhile just couldn't get rid of his English accent considering that he was playing a LAPD cop.

Overall this action thriller was OK enough of a film. Just like any movie of this genre today much more was invested in the action aspect more than the story telling that it may have. Even though sometimes you fell like you are watching one long cellular phone advertisement, Cellular is a good action thriller film.

2046 (2004)

Confusing but with beautiful visuals

[7/10 · 11 January 2005]

Well this is the first ever Wong Kar Wai film that I have ever watched. A lot of people having raving about his previous projects like "In the Mood for Love" and "Chunking Express". I was expecting a film with a very art house feel to it and I got just that. The director used a lot of colours in a lot of his shots which was very beautiful. Visuals were especially beautiful in the train scenes where we saw a good mixture of colours. Also a pretty strong aspect of this film was the really nice scoring. I especially love movies where scoring is done with classical music which is of course rather rare these days. There was a good mixture of Asian sounding music along with some Western classics.

As for the story of the film, it certainly was a rather complex story so much so that I found it rather confusing. A few subplots which I thought were rather interesting ended rather suddenly. Things got really weird when they started to show scenes from the train. It was a little hard to grasp events in that part of the film. To me the link between the author's story and the guy in the train was not really that clear.

Catwoman (2004)

Dreadful effort

[6/10 · 6 January 2005]

The first and foremost thing that I thought of when I first saw the trailer of this film was: "Oh no surely cannot be the Catwoman movie". Frankly instead of feeling some sort of anticipation for this film I felt the exact opposite. The whole Catwoman suit just looked horrible. Definitely the previous Catwoman incarnations such as the one worn by Michelle Pfeiffer were way better. I'm not too sure what the costume designers were thinking when they designed the suit.

Well I thought the story was very lame. Cosmetic magnate out to rule the world with a deadly weapon ….. killer cosmetics. Scary! Surely they could have thought of a better storyline than that. No one was daft enough to actually make a movie out of this poor concept. Surely one of the poorest screenplays of all time and there have been many poor ones.

I also found the camera-work to be very poor. The camera shots were flying at such a quick rate that somehow you cannot keep pace. I have not been this dizzy in a film since The Blair Witch Project.

If there is one thing this movie proves it is that yes actors are human. Even the best ones like Halle Berry come up with duds like this. A poor follow-up movie to her award winning role in Monsters Ball. I guess you cannot win 'em all.

Ella Enchanted (2004)

Nothing enchanting about this

[6/10 · 26 December 2004]

There have been complaints of how some studios would target young audiences with less than sterling films. Well I guess this is one film that supports such a claim. First and foremost I thought the plot was sub-standard at best and lacked any originality. Just run-of-the-mill stuff for this movie. Where have we seen this plot line before? Yes I realize that this film was conceptualized to be a fairy tale but the filmmakers could have done something to spice things up.

This movie was a disappointing comedy film. Again some of the stuff felt rather recycled. The dwarf who was supposed the scene stealing comic relief in this one was annoying more than anything.

Anne Hathaway in earlier in her career was very charming and seemed like she would develop into a good actress. But as the months/films go by eventually you expect her to somehow graduate into more mature roles. Well based solely on this film she has yet break free from the image generated by her earlier films like The Princess Diaries. She is a good actress but I feel that if she continues to make films like this then she might be remembered more as just one of those stars who were unable to fulfill her potential.