Category: Movies

I haven’t been sleeping nicely since year 2013 started.  I am so absorbed at work that I realised I needed to do something to bring balance into my life.  So in spite of having only 3 hours of sleep, I ended up watching Jack The Giant Slayer at 1AM in the morning at the Newport Mall.

I’m not sure if I didn’t like the movie much or if I was too tired but I slept most of the time while watching Jack the Giant Slayer.  Maybe the abnormally cold temperature inside Newport Cinema had something to do with it but I felt there was something missing in the movie.

Jack the Giant Slayer was based on two fairy tales: Jack and the Beanstalk & Jack the Giant Killer.  It tells the story of an ancient war between human and giants.  Jack is the hero of this story – a young boy who must rescue a beautiful princess when the gateway to the human world was accidentally opened to the giants.  This includes fighting for the the princess’ kingdom and its people too.

The film was a modern take of the ancient fairy tale adventure that we grew to know when we were still kids..

Jack the Giant Slayer had a budget of $195 million yet it only earned $50 million and that’s just sad.  In my opinion, there are hits and misses on this film.  Unfortunately, the misses overpowered the good ones which made the film earn so little 🙁

The pros:

• Acting –  I liked the acting of the main characters in the film.  They made do with whatever the story was and that was admirable considering the rawness of the material
• Special effects – the film used a lot of CGI effects.  I loved how the giants looked and how the kingdom panned out in the film.  It was eye candy all over!

The cons:

• Target audience mismatch – At first, I didn’t wanna watch the movie because I had the impression that Jack the Giant Slayer was for kids.  However, the movie was tagged PG-13 which I felt was a disconnect.  People had the impression that the movie was for kids but it was actually for teenagers and adults alike.
• Story flow – I do not know how to explain this but I wasn’t really too giddy about the scenes in the film.  In fact, there were a lot of times that I was confused about the story.  Two things that I didn’t like: (1) are the giants really the villain here or are they just props in the movie? (2) Can Jack really slay giants?  I felt that his character was so weak.  Elmont (Ewan McGregor) was more heroic in this film than the main character!

I liked the movie but didn’t love it.  I must admit I wasn’t really wowed and the only thing that stuck in my head was how handsome Ewan McGregor was in Jack the Giant Slayer.

My Rating for Jack the Giant Slayer: 3 out of 5 stars

I started to keep track of Jennifer Lawrence’s movies after watching her at Hunger Games.  Lawrence’s portrayal was too impressive that I thought she would definitely be a big star.  In less than one year that actually happened!  Jennifer Lawrence became an A-list star with several best actress awards to boot (Oscars included!).

Silver Linings Playbook was the movie that made Jennifer Lawrence a huge household name.  One of the best movies in 2012 was this romantic comedy about two troubled individuals determined to win back their lives and cope with their troubles.

Silver Linings Playbook has a strong and awesome cast.  The movie stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert de Niro and Jacki Weaver.  The acting was so good even for the ones with small roles like Chris Tucker’s and Julia Stiles’.

Patrizio Solitano (Bradley Cooper), a man with bipolar disorder, has lost a lot including his house, his job & his wife.  He was released from a psychiatric hospital after spending eight months there and found himself living back with his parents again.  Pat is determined to win back her wife and rebuild his life.  His parents sole wish was to get Pat back on his feet.

When Pat met widowed sex addict Tiffany Maxwell (Jennifer Lawrence), his life changed.  Tiffany offered to help Pat win back his wife, as long as he helps her in return by entering a dance competition with her.  As Pat & Tiffany trained and got to know each other, an unusual bond formed between them.

Silver Linings Playbook is not our usual romantic comedy film.  It is serious and I appreciate that it actually felt real!  It’s not like the fairy tale type that we can just connect with our fantasies but this is something we can learn for our own interactions & relationships.  The film is about two misfits trying to make a relationship work.  It made me believe that a right partner would not help solve our troubles but they are the ones who can live with them.  It’s a type of movie that made me realise that no matter what kind of shit we are in, we can still make good decisions and be able to go through with them in a positive way.

As what the title of the movie says, there is always hope and comfort in the midst of difficulty and trials.  That’s what Silver Lining is all about.  We can all learn from the movie.  I highly suggest you watch it.

My Rating for Silver Linings Playbook: 4.5 out of 5 stars

♪♫♪♫♪♫  I dreamed a dream in time gone by… When hope was high… And life worth living… I dreamed that love would never die… I dreamed that God would be forgiving ♪♫♪♫♪♫

Sorry, I still have a hangover from watching Les Miserables!  It was so heartwarming!  I didn’t even notice that the movie was 3 hours long!  I had to take some tissues off my bag to wipe away the tears from my face.

Les Misérables was based on the 1862 French novel by Victor Hugo.  It tells the story of Jean Valjean.  He was an ex-convict who broke parole in order to live anew.  In the movie, we get to see how Valjean lived his life.  We saw how he was tracked down by prison guard Javert.  We also saw how he fulfilled his promise to Fantine on taking care of Cosette.  We witnessed the rebellion of France.  Most of all, in Les Miserables, we’ll get to pick up a lot of lessons in life, love, friendship, loyalty, faith and selflessness.

One key takeaway for me is that showing kindness to people even if they don’t deserve it is worth it!  It can change lives!  I believe this should be applied to real life as well.  No matter who the person is, we should show kindness and sympathy.  That’s the true power of being a Christian.

The Cast

We went to a karaoke place as soon as we finished watching Les Miserables. You know, that made me appreciate the stars in the movie even more!  Singing live is already hard but acting at the same time?  All the stars in the film should be given credit for their awesome work!

• Hugh Jackman – A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!  I’ve renewed respect for this actor!  Imagine being able to balance singing and acting PLUS doing both EXCELLENTLY!  He was definitely a natural, it didn’t feel awkward at all watching him compared to the other stars in the film.  Apparently, Hugh Jackman is an actor, singer and dancer in several stage musicals such as Carousel, The Boy from Oz, and a Steady Rain.
• Anne Hathaway – I liked seeing Anne in the movie, and loved how she is an actress first and, a singer second.  You can really feel the pain in her eyes!  That was how effective she was.  I never thought she could sing well too!  (P.S.  message to Star columnist Ricky Lo – you’ve done such a bad job interviewing the actress.  Shame on you for not being humble enough to apologise and admit your mistake)
• Amanda Seyfried – Amanda did a decent job portraying Cosette.  While she isn’t a great singer, she did justice to the role.  Cosette doesn’t have much of a character and was mostly only perceived to be attractive.  Amanda executed well plus she also infused a bit of Fantine in Cosette.  Very impressive!
• Russell Crowe – A lot of people think that Russell Crowe was a misfit in the movie.  I thought otherwise.  The character he portrayed was heartless and stone cold and he actually portrayed it very very well.  I would forgive him for singing monotonously as it fits the police inspector character!

Trailer

If you haven’t watched Les Miserables, please make some time in your schedule to watch it!  Of course, bring some tissues as you’ll surely need them!  Me and my cousin actually stayed at the theater for a few minutes after the movie was finished because our face were all red because we cried too much!

Here’s a preview:

Les Miserables, the film adaptation, is definitely one of the best films that came out last 2012.  According to some friends, the film was better than the musical.  My cousin even mentioned that she only understood the story after watching the film.  I haven’t watched the musical and never even read the novel, but after watching this film, I now appreciate it!

My Rating for Les Miserables: 5 out of 5 stars

I was in the mall and I didn’t wanna go home yet.  I decided then to just watch a movie since it has been a few weeks since I last saw one.  Good thing my friend was available or else I could have watched Rock of Ages alone.  I saw the trailer and I knew I would love the movie especially since it was about Rock and Roll!

Also, with a superb cast consisting of Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mary J. Blige and Paul Giamatti made it much more exciting to watch!  I wonder how they can rock the movie and sing those songs which are obviously not in their comfort zone.

The movie revolved around 2 characters – Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough) and Drew Boley (Diego Boneta), on their journey to reach their dream to become famous rock singers.  Love, Talent, Friendship, Music and Loyalty are things that you can see in the movie.

The movie stars that I was looking forward to watching in Rock of Ages were actually supporting cast members.  However, I love that every character had its own unique qualities and special moments in the movie.  I appreciate the flow of the story and how all the characters fit into it.  Rock of Ages will really make you remember your love for rock and roll.  I, myself, did!

While I recommend the movie, I do not think it’ll suit children or even young teens.  They might follow what Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise) was doing in Rock of Ages, hahaha!  Considering the multiple tongue action, breast fondling and sex that rock stars do, we don’t want the youth today to be doing those things.  However, we wanted to preserve Rock and Roll!  Let’s just concentrate on the music and not follow what rockstars usually do behind the scenes, alright?

The music blew me away (featuring the music of Bon Jovi, Guns N’Roses, Def Leppard, Foreigner, Journey, Poison, Pat Benatar, Reo Speedwagon, Whitesnake, Night Ranger & Twisted Sister).  I realized how I missed listening to beautiful rock & roll music.  Actually, I ended up searching for the soundtrack of Rock of Ages in the iTunes Store as soon as I came home!  I must say the soundtrack is just as awesome as the movie!  Even if you haven’t watched Rock of Ages, the soundtrack itself will make you sing your heart out!  I never even thought that Tom Cruise could sing!

If you watched the movie and bought the soundtrack, it’ll double the fun!   Rock on! 😀

My Rating for Rock of Ages: 4 out of 5 stars

Straight from Tagaytay, I went to the mall so I could catch the first day screening of Snow White & the Huntsman.  As the title implied, the movie is about Snow White.  I remember a few months ago that I was able to catch Mirror Mirror which was another movie version of Snow White.  Mirror Mirror was lighter, cuter and more fairy tale-like while Snow White & the Huntsman was darker, more action-oriented and I guess caters to a more mature audience.

The story basically revolved around 2 women:

• Snow White (Kirsten Stewart) – daughter of King Magnus (Noah Huntley) and Queen Eleanor (Liberty Ross).  Snow White was destined to surpass Ravenna as the fairest of them all..
• Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) – a powerful sorceress and the Dark Army’s master whose power was only as strong as her beauty.  Ravenna captured beautiful women and drains them of their youth.

This is a Snow White movie.  The mirror that the evil queen depended was part of the movie.  Of course, the 7 dwarves were also present or else it wouldn’t be a Snow White movie.  Significant details that involved those characters/thing include the Mirror telling the Queen that Snow White would both be her ruin and her salvation.  According to the mirror, if she takes the young girl’s heart, she will become immortal.  While the seven dwarves naturally helped Snow White as she is the only one who can defeat Ravenna and end her reign of terror.

A handsome prince was in the Snow White & the Huntsman too but this time around, there were 2 guys.  Even until the end of the movie, I couldn’t tell if Snow White ended up with the Huntsman or the Duke’s son.  Considering Snow White was portrayed by Kirsten Stewart, I couldn’t help but relate Snow White to Twilight.  There was even a scene when Snow White was resurrected from death, which was actually similar to the scene in the last Twilight movie.

I like the movie only because Charlize Theron was there.  She was very effective as Queen Ravenna.  Even if they made Charlize Theron look 20 years older, she still looked stunning!  I actually doubted the mirror when it said that Snow White would surpass the Queen’s beauty hahaha!

I also prefer Snow White and the Huntsman over Mirror Mirror.  This has something to do with my age, I guess hahaha!  But of course, you might not agree with me.  It really would depend on your preference 🙂

My Rating for Snow White and the Huntsman: 3.5 out of 5 stars