Category: Movies

Metropolis – a Series of Philippine Indie Films

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On November 2, 2009

Philippine Independent Films is fast becoming popular worldwide. This is proven by the awards the Philippines has been getting from respected award-giving bodies. These films boldly embodies the Filipino experience with excellent artistry & insight.

With this in mind, I suggest that you go see the Indie Sine at Robinson’s Galleria on November 24 (November 21) for Metropolis, a series of independent film screenings.

The event is presented by Anahata Foundation for the benefit of its community-based projects involved in movement, performance, fashion, media, visual arts & concern for the environment.

Metropolis will feature the ff. 3 Philippine Indie Films:

Iskwaterpangk (2006) | 1:00PM (2:00PM)

An urban punk rock vibe not to be missed. Directed by Khavn De La Cruz.

Batad (2006) | 3:00PM (4:00PM)

The coming of age of an indigenous Ifugao boy. Directed by Benji Garcia.

24K (2009) | 5:00PM (6:30PM)

a Hawaiian Orchid Award nominee.
The secret world of post war treasure hunting. Directed by Ana Agabin.

Tickets are sold at Php150 per film and available before each screening. You can also text your name to +639296944138, +639087568699 or +639278748789 for reservations/group bookings.

I hope you do catch the film screening as this is for a good cause. Plus you would be able to watch quality films made by Filipinos. The filmmakers will also drop by to introduce their film & share their insights about the industry.

The Brockas will perform live after the film screenings at 8:20PM.

I’ll be there to watch all 3 movies. Will I see you there on November 21? I sure hope so! See you! 🙂

** The organizers moved the date to November 24, 2009. With this change, I will not attend anymore due to schedule conflicts.

PicPanda.com

Battle for Terra Movie Review

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 20, 2009

Last night was the premiere of Battle for Terra at SM North Edsa. I’d like to thank Jonel for giving me his tickets! It was the 1st time for me to watch a movie in full 3D! Wohoo great job SM Cinemas!

Now I know the feeling of watching a movie that makes you feel like you’re not watching a movie per se. Watching a movie in 3D, IMHO draws you closer to the film. To add to that, the movie had amazingly clear images & cool surround sound! That made the experience even more awesome!

Battle for Terra was a 2007 animated film that won the Grand Prize for best animated feature at the 2008 Ottawa International Animation Festival. It was originally shown as 2D but was rendered in full digital 3D. The movie is currently and exclusively shown at all SM Digital theater branches nationwide (regular showing will begin on October 21, 2009).

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me in the movie house wearing the 3D glasses 😛

The story had a different twist into the human-alien movie. This time it is the humans who invaded a peaceful alien planet (Terra). Will an unlikely friendship between a human and an alien help the 2 races stop a war & help them coexist before it is too late?

I really liked how they turned the tables & gave us a different perspective on aliens experiencing invasion. I liked how the twist is the aliens are the ones being invaded; truly unique and i find that makes the movie more interesting. I will not share the story, but I suggest you watch it. Winning the best animation award isn’t for nothing right?

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with some of the movie bloggers

Other pictures can be found here.

My Rating for Battle for Terra: 4 out of 5 stars.

Official Website of Rochelle Sy Chua where she talks about her travel experiences in Taipei, Taiwan, Philippines and Asia, as well as her adventures in food and restaurants

The Ugly Truth Movie Review

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 5, 2009

I was able to watch this last saturday and I must say that I enjoyed the movie. Well, one big factor was Gerard Butler! I just love him (especially after watching him in “300”).

It’s a romantic story about a local tv show producer, Abby, and a man named Mike, who is host of a segment, “Ugly Truth”. Abby, after coming from a disastrous date, just so happened to watch Mike on TV. She ended up calling him, and arguing with him over the air regarding their thoughts on relationships.

The next day, the station owner hired mike so he could help save Abby’s show from being cancelled. They hated each other.

Finally, Abby met the man of his dreams. She and Mike reached an agreement. The agreement is, Mike will teach Abby how to get the man of his dreams. If he is successful, Abby will work with him. Otherwise, Mike will quite the show.

It worked! Let me share with you what Mike taught Abby, girls might find this useful (hehe!):

Don’t Criticize
Laugh a Lot!
Guys love to visualize – so look your best!
Don’t talk about your problems
Guys love long-haired girls

Somehow, Abby realized that the guy of her dreams learned to love her because of pretentions (religiously following Mike’s lessons). So they broke up. In the end, Mike and Abby fell in love with each other. How? You have to watch it! I don’t want to give too much spoilers (thought I kinda shared the whole story already :P)

Great lesson taught here. Yes, there are effective ways to get the man of your dreams but will you be happy by pretending to be that perfect girl?

My Rating for The Ugly Truth: 4 out of 5 stars.

Official Website of Rochelle Sy Chua where she talks about her travel experiences in Taipei, Taiwan, Philippines and Asia, as well as her adventures in food and restaurants

The Happening Movie Review

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On September 6, 2009

I just finished watching the Happening on Star Movies. Honestly, I couldn’t understand it. All I know is that people started dying when the wind blew through them.

So I have to read the plot through my favorite site, wikipedia 🙂

There was an epidemic wherein if a person get affected, he/she stands motionless first then ends up killing himself/herself. It’s airborne so people get easily affected.

There were scenes that are hard to watch:

People jumping off high buildings one by one
People hanging themselves
a Man letting a mower ran over him
People firing guns at themselves
survivors killing 2 kids because they were trying to break in their house

Mark Wahlberg’s character together with his family & friends spent most of the time running away from the epidemic.

After awhile, it just stopped. So people went back to their lives. Not knowing that what happened was just a warning.

The movie ended just like how it started. People started killing themselves again.

I’m kinda confused, I dont know what to feel. I’m not sure if I liked the movie or not. But what I’m sure of is I ended up stunned & wondered what I have watched 😛

My Rating for The Happening: 2 out of 5 stars.

Official Website of Rochelle Sy Chua where she talks about her travel experiences in Taipei, Taiwan, Philippines and Asia, as well as her adventures in food and restaurants

Disturbia Movie Review

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On September 5, 2009

Was able to watch this late last night via DVD. There’s a wellness circle in our office wherein we can borrow DVDs for 1 week (free of charge). I have chosen Disturbia as I have watched the other titles available.

It’s a story about a boy named Kale (played by Shia LaBeouf) who lost his dad while driving home after a fishing trip. A year after, Kale was reprimanded by his Spanish Teacher for not completing his assignment. Kale punches his teacher when he mentioned his father.

Kale ended up being subjected to 3 months house arrest w/ a monitor fitted in his ankle that prohibits him from roaming beyond the boundaries of his home.

To fight boredom & to entertain himself, he surveys his neighborhood with his binoculars. His friend Ronnie and girlfriend Ashley joined him in this hobby of his.

One night, Kale became suspicious of a neighbor named Robert Turner when he saw him return home with a dented mustang that matches the description of the car owned by a serial killer.

The movie just revolved around Kale spying on Turner and Turner trying to kill Kale’s friends & mom and framing Kale for it.

Kale ended up killing Turner out of self-defense. He was released of house arrest out of “good behavior”. A funny description of the police for Kale’s help on finding the serial killer hehehe.

Overall, a good movie! Shia is just an eye candy for ladies hehehe! But the story and the experience of watching it is nice as well.

My Rating for Disturbia: 3 out of 5 stars.

Official Website of Rochelle Sy Chua where she talks about her travel experiences in Taipei, Taiwan, Philippines and Asia, as well as her adventures in food and restaurants