Chopsuey!

As my Blog-header suggest I'm all about viewing, may it be free TV, cable or the movies (lately my eyeballs have been stuck watching NBA basketball). During the course of last month up to this time of day (as I write this) I have watched a total of 6 movies in the movie theater (my most in a span of two months) all of whom I'm going to critique for this entry. Now, Let me remind you that I have not done this in a long time since my other blog from friendster so the critic in me might be a little rusty, please bear with me.

*Note: 1. All ratings expressed herein are of the author's personal opinion and taste.
2. Photos used in this review are those already circulating in the web. No copyright infringement intended.

Legend of the oranges:

One Orange: Hey you are wasting a whole lotta money mister. Best save up for the rainy days.

Two Oranges: Some saving points but not enough to save it from humiliation.

Three Oranges: Good News: You're not going to die even if you miss out on this one.

Four Oranges: If miss on this you're missing a whole lot.

Five Oranges: Excellent. Just pure fuckin' genius.

Kick-Ass - Unpredictable. That's the only one liner I can put up for this movie. Personally I don't really know that a Kick-Ass comic even existed. Had not a fellow artist introduced the gig to me I would have had missed out on this big riot all together. Personally when I heard that there was going to be a movie about Kick-Ass, my initial reaction was "what-the-heck", it's not big as a comic as the X-men, Ironman, Spiderman etc etc. so why the big fuss by this artist (referring to the enthusiastic fellow of a co-artist in my former office). Inside of me it made me curious. So I kinda readied my money for the event. Seizing the opportunity to see it on theater on opening week I made a go for it.

In the mall (where the theaters are usually located here in the Philippines), I was utterly disappointed to see where the movie was showing. It was located in one of the set of theaters where very few movie goers would normally go... Very much unlike the blockbuster heavyweights where it enjoys the great venue. Not to be disappointed I still opted to get in just to get the thing over and my curiosity satisfied. I didn't care if it was worth it or not, I just wanted to know the flow of the movie and later critic it (as I am doing now). As I sat there I was astonished with what I saw, it's generally unpredictable! (Although the first scene was ordinary for me). The movie is really not your typical superhero movie. Hit-Girl is mind blowing! I won't go so much into details (because I want you to personally watch it) but after I watched this movie I made a post on my facebook account that says: Kick-Ass really kicks ass (Hey that's saying a lot not a lot of the movies I watch makes it on my Facebook wall). The storyline is fascinatingly accurate for it's comic version (yes after watching the movie I got a hold of the actual 2D version on print) unlike some of it's comic-based predecessors.

If you could own it on DVD, I would definitely recommend for you to buy it, not a single cent spoiled on this one amigos. It's definitely worth the watch over and over again.

Rating:

Clash of the Titans- Accurately inaccurate best describes the movie.Well this is the movie that I really anticipated, but it came a little up short to my expectation. Clash of the Titans is a movie adaptation straight the myths of Greeks, of Perseus in particular. First adaptation was in 1981 of the same movie title, so there was a huge amount of expectation for this version of the movie. If there was something lacking in the first film it was expected that this version would fill specially with the advanced digital age that we have. Unfortunately, what I think was the undoing for the movie is the fact that the movie makers missed out on some minor details. For example, Pegasus is Black? Heck Tri-star picture would have a large say on that can't they? And why the heck is the fallen in the movie? Isn't the guy supposed to be in Transformers? LMAO. Another thing, Perseus and Andromeda should have been the main couple and not the girl whom Gemma Arterton played (Gemma by the way was way too hot in the movie that when she played as Strawberry Fields in the Quantum of Solace). Another mortal flaw is the depiction of Acrisius where he was depicted as the husband of Danae. Actually in Mythology, Acrisius should be the grandfather of Perseus not the husband wronged by Zeus. And why is it the Kraken was related to Hades when it should have been Poseidon's pet?

Yes we wanted a great watch, but we also wanted a movie that is true to form. I know there are liberties for great creative effect but changing history is not the way to go. Tell me now how the children would react watching this and relate it to what they learn in school this only brings confusion to all the young minds. Overall, Id say that the movie is visually stunning (save for the horrendous outfits of the gods) but accurately missed on it's base story.

Rating:




The Losers - The Losers is another comic tuned movie flick scenario. Plot: The team composed of Clay, Jensen, Roque, Pooch and Cougar is sent to the Bolivian Jungle on a secret search and destroy mission. The team soon discover though that they have been setup by a double crosser named Max. They rescued some children and another of Max's cohorts blew the 'copter that carried the children. Since it was a covert mission, the US government knew nothing of their mission but since the incident involved children massacred there was a huge international uproar. The group then decided to hide in Bolivia for the mean time and pretend that they are dead. Months after the incident, Clay is approached by a mysterious lady named Aisha who promises Clay and his team that she can help them track down and get revenge on Max for what he did to the team. and the story goes on and on...

Movie story is so and so, action scenes not too alien to buzz about. Technically it's an ok movie but for me there is no punch to it. I mean yeah you sit at the movie house and not really enjoy what you're watching. Sorry, but that's just how it really is, I'll tell you the good parts: Jensen pretending to be a psychic shooter, Aisha's steamy scene, The scene where a car is lifted up about 50 yards into the air when blown and Roque's death scene. And that's about it.

Rating:



Iron Man 2 -Ok alright Robert Downey Jr. did another superb job on the sequel, I mean he's really the best guy for the job. Playing as Tony Starks is like au natural for Robert. Praises for that. Actually I like how the movie is done, great effects, great CG animations everything is visually stunning. I only saw a few glitches in the story: 1. How can whiplash survive getting bumped by a car so many times and not suffer any fracture? Heck, Tony Starks even had a chance interviewing him at jail. 2. As seen on the photo Iron man's suits were designed with a circular chest plate to complement the arc reactor's circular design, how then at the end, since Tony redesigned his reactor to triangle, did the suits also changed their format (to become triangular chest plate)? Can Tony have done it in such short time of notice? 3. How can a totally revamped whiplash lose so quickly when showing up with a lowly engineered suit he gave Iron Man the fits?

Little details really but it could have helped the story if it was elaborated even more. There were also little surprises in the movie: 1. Nick Fury coming out of the dark. 2. Black Widow showing up (Boy, Scarlett is one hot girl) 3. Captain America's broken shield used as props (Be very keen-eyed on this as this was shown as Tony is constructing the means of creating a better reactor) 4. If you can be patient wait for last end credit detail and see Thor's Hammer at the end. Again this is a kind of movie where visuals overtake details and this movie offers a great deal of visuals stunning you to the end.

Rating:




Furry Vengeance - Being a Comedienne is one of the hardest job in the world, for one you have to think of a skit that's funny and very appealing, and of course you have to be original cause if somebody else have beaten you on that punchline chances are your joke would stink. Enough for the intro and let's get down to business. Brendan Fraser in my opinion is one of the better comedic actor because he acts so naturally his punchlines sells.

In Furry Vengeance, Fraser plays as Dan Sanders, who is the manager of a land development firm. The construction site? A protected forest! Troubles begin once the local animals discover his leadership role in the destruction of their habitat. With the leadership of a Raccoon, Sanders soon lands atop the forest's Most Wanted list, and realizes how much trouble a few feisty forest creatures can cause! The pesky critters bedevil Dan night and day, sabotaging his work, his peace of mind and even his wardrobe.

Looking at this short synopsis you might identify it as been there seen that mode, which is really sorry since it features a strong cast in Fraser and Brooke Shields alone. Rotten Tomatoes (from where I copied most of the synopsis for Furry..) gave the movie a passing rate of 7 percentile. I will not be as hard as them as there are still some scenes that'll definitely bring a smile to your face. Well it's a matter of taste really.

Rating:



A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) - How many sequels did this film had? 8? And this installment brings us back from the start. I'll be direct to the point. The movie is actually far cry from when I used to hide in the blanket just seeing Freddy show up comparing it to this edition (or maybe I have just outgrown the fear?). But yes, it's not as creepy as the last films, but it's better visually (you gotta owe that to the new technology). I think the story is also better narrated this time. There are scenes where you get surprised but after that you don't feel the same chill you felt in the last movies. It's different really, I think this is one of the films where Michael Bay's magic didn't work for his favor.

Rating:






So that's it. It's only May and there are a lot of pretty good movies lined up, Please never expect me to put up a review for the Twilight series since it's never going to happen. I just don't like it and I'm not intrigued by it. Expect me to put up an effort to Robin Hood, Shrek and a lot more movies this 2010. Until then. Godspeed!

Última palabra: Feel free to write your comments on this review, would like to hear from you.

The Last Months...

I have not been able keep up, The upheaval is too hard, it choked me to the ground... I could've died.

I secured a job in January, a day job, and it gave me the usual chills... High hopes, high standards, the sense of idealism was back. Then reality slammed me back to the ground. It was at the second week of January when I received a call for a job interview, as I have done with the previous affairs, I cooly said: "yes I'm coming" then scheduled for the job queue the next day. And what a day it was.

After getting to the directions I was told on the phone, I found myself wandering in the middle of Makati not knowing where to go I phoned the office for further directions. After getting further directions I saw myself staring at a private lot, I knocked and eased my way to a stairway leading to a small neat unit passing as an office. With all these said and done I took my test. At the middle of the exam felt uneasy all of the sudden, I know I wasn't feeling really good... I was also setting myself to flunk the exam. After that I proceeded for a little chit-chat with the employer and was told to wait for a call shortly days afterward.

Needless to say when I got home my suspicions were correct. I was getting a flu. It got me bed ridden for exactly two days. I should have taken it as a stern warning.

Days after I recieved the you're-hired-call. I was happy, confidence was back and as aforementioned high hopes, high standards, the sense of idealism was getting unto me. I guess I hoped too much and that was my undoing.

I will not go detailing all of what happened in the days following my decision but then again what I'm going to say is: I came, I saw and I surrendered. The people in the office are quite good the environment was not as friendly, it was intoxicating. Too much restrictions and too much yelling (which made me feel small, feeling everything I did in the period was wrong and I didn't do anything right) destroys the spirit and pulls you down. The weight was weighing me down, I can no longer push it up... It was then that I knew the fight is not worth fighting. Responsibility is overtaken by the need for self-esteem. Sun Tzu once wrote in his book The Art of War, which I am an avid follower, stated that "there are five essentials for victory:

(1) He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
(2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
(3) He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
(4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
(5) He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign."

I took number one out. I am happy with my decision and will live by it, I think it was for the best of both parties. It's best that we don't pull each other down, me not cutting the company's continuous development and them not slighting me and my individuality. I have high respect for everyone and I don't want to damage anybody's reputation. With that I will have my final words on this subject: Respect begets respect.