40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS (***)
Though sex comedies are all the rage now in Hollywood, I find rarely any of them amusing (with the exception of AMERICAN PIE). Most of them are reprehensible, viewing sex as teenagers would (but they are targeted towards that demographic). Hollywood seems to be going through a phase where it is obsessed with bodily fluids, and going into 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS, I was expecting the same type of crassness. The movie shocked me, but in such a positive manner, that I left the theatre smiling and impressed. Here is a comedy where instead of sex controlling its characters, we have a character trying to be in control of sex.
AMERICAN ADOBO (***)
AMERICAN ADOBO is a rare gem among Filipino films. It is a funny and heartwarming story about Filipino-Americans trying to weather the trials of life's relationships and how the bonds of family and friendship help them make it through. What makes it entertaining is its humor and charm, but what makes it unique is its warmth, intelligence, and honesty. It is to Filipinos what SOUL FOOD is to African-Americans.
BIG FAT LIAR (***)
Life is unfair. How SCOOBY-DOO, a movie so lame, so deprived of creativity could triumph at the box-office, is mind-boggling. It was a success of marketing over craftsmanship and style ( though it had neither). If I knew that BIG FAT LIAR would be coming along a few weeks after a 3-D canine special effect, I would have advised to avoid the dog altogether. Alas, I cannot. But it's not too late to recommend this sly piece of entertainment fit both for kids and adults. The movie depicts the exploits of a feisty and wildly creative young teenager named Jason Shepherd (Frankie Muniz of MY DOG SKIP). He's the smartest kid in school (he'd have to be to get away with what he does) and fibs when he gets into trouble (as do all intelligent young lads). He does this so excessively, that it would make Geppetto rethink his relationship...
BUFFALO SOLDIERS (***)
I wish I could rate it higher. Upon close inspection, nothing serious is at stake and it ends too conveniently. But its personalities never break character. BUFFALO SOLDIERS is a dark biting satire, not on the sad state of war, but on the sad state of hardened men accustomed to hard times living in privilege. It likes to show that peacetime isn’t all it’s cracked to be, and that some guys just really need the tension, the “juice”. Robyn sums it up nicely: “You’re bored.”
COACH CARTER (***)
Team sport movies follow a tried and true formula: (1) They present players not winning as much as they’d like; (2) employ an inspirational leader who teaches them valuable lessons about life and the sport they love; and (3) have them improve remarkably towards a crucial game (usually a championship), (4) which will be decided by a final play. Members of the genre know how to tick these items off their task list, but the better ones know how to set themselves apart. COACH CARTER does so by making a statement about how our society values the student-athlete, putting more emphasis on “athlete” than “student”, regardless of word order.
EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS (***)
People reading this review who have already seen EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS are probably looking in astonishment. Three stars? Has the Flipcritic gone flip? Gosh I hope not. Like all of you, I had seen the trailer, and like many reactions, I thought it was odd. But see, that's what the movie fully intends to be. It's not so much a horror film as it is a comedy. From the trailer alone, you know that the movie never proposes to take itself seriously. So why should we? And on those terms, I really enjoyed it (Really! I did!)! All of us know by now that the movie is about giant spiders wrecking havoc on a small town. They got to be huge because of a toxic canister that falls into a nearby lake (It is always amusing to know that it will almost always be a toxic canister that causes a...
FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX (***)
I can only guess as to whether FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX is better than the original film (1965) it was based on. But on its own, it is solid entertainment, showing wondrous desert cinematography, impressive special effects (designed to serve the story, not supplant it) and an absorbingly clear-cut plot that doesn’t have time for nonsense. Like ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, it plays against its rules with great skill and logic.
GUESS WHO (***)
Times have changed. How much depends on whom you ask. If you ask me, the issue is nonexistent. Though cultural differences still distinguish us, apart from the color of our skin, it should never get in the way of two people who want to be with each other. GUESS WHO knows this, and has no intention of taking on the subject of interracial marriage with the same elegance and gravity that its originator had wrought. It merely shows how silly our remaining prejudices are, remnants of an ignorant past. Most of all, it just wants to make us laugh, and that it does very well.
HEARTS IN ATLANTIS (***)
They say the best days of one's life are during childhood. Life does not seem so cruel when you're a kid and we all tend to yearn for the innocence and joy that enraptures us during adolescence. HEARTS IN ATLANTIS is a film which captures that essence. It paints a colorful portrait of youth's wonders, and the painful realization of its passing.
KATE AND LEOPOLD (***)
No matter how flawed many movies may seem, there are some that are able to wipe away all of their mistakes with their merits. One such film is KATE AND LEOPOLD, a film so contrived, so illogical (even by its own scientific standards), and in some instances so badly handled, that if it weren't for its lead's performance and pretty decent script, it would be another tiresome retread not worth showing even on TV.
KUNG AKO NA LANG SANA (***)
Lord Almighty, will wonders never cease? Despite my severe dislike of Sharon Cuneta movies, here is one that is not only sweet, but unusually smart, uncommonly mature, and genuinely warm. All my instincts were switched on attack mode before seeing this movie, especially after my recent experience with Sharon’s last emote-fest MAGKAPATID. Yet KUNG AKO NA LANG SANA disarmed me, with its intelligent script and charming characters. What a treat!
KUNG FU HUSTLE (***)
I must admit that after the first 20 minutes of KUNG FU HUSTLE, I considered myself the last person qualified to review it. Slapstick schlock, Stooges’ slaps, butt cracks, bad dental hygiene, and other all-too-easy comedic potshots were flashing before me (Thank God it wasn’t my last breath). I couldn’t understand what some people were laughing at. Was all this still funny in the 21st century? Maybe they understood the kung fu stereotypes the film was spoofing. Yet, I have seen my fair share of 1970 and 1980 martial arts movies. How could I not spot them as well?
LILO AND STITCH (***)
Let's face it. When it comes to animated features, Disney practically assures great entertainment. Even some of their less impressive works by their standards (see: ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE, THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE, POCAHONTAS) are still dynamic pieces of diversion by anyone else's. They practically invented the formula for full-length animated films with SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARVES, and now with LILO AND STITCH they continue their long-standing tradition of merriment.
LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD a.k.a. DIE HARD 4.0 (***)
Those close to me wonder how I can justify liking John McClane over Optimus Prime. Jean-Luc Godard once said that the best way to criticize a movie is to make another. And though LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD is not a remake of TRANSFORMERS, it is the superior action film, and comparing both reveals one’s strengths and the other’s weaknesses. Yes, both movies involve spectacles of mayhem and destruction, and involve preposterous plots, but DIE HARD 4.0 is a fine example of how managing expectations and a coherent visual strategy can be crucial in gaining a rapt audience.
LOVE ACTUALLY (***)
I wonder with gleeful fascination what Richard Curtis was thinking when he wrote and directed LOVE ACTUALLY, a work of such unabashed gooeyness, refined without a hint of malice. He’s one of those rare writers who are oh so very good at imbuing sweetness, and self-mocking wit into their screenplays, filling them with little nuggets of wisdom here and there. He’s so accomplished at it that you can hardly think of a British romantic comedy without stumbling fondly upon his past works (THE TALL GUY, FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, NOTTING HILL, & BRIDGET JONES DIARY)....
MEN IN BLACK 2 (***)
Before MEN IN BLACK 2 came out locally, I had read the reviews of my favorite movie critics (Ebert, Turan, Wilmington, Berardinelli to name a few) grumbling about its lack of freshness or creativity, making it tiresome. After seeing it today, I only have this to say... did I see the same movie they were talking about?
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III (***)
Regardless of what you think about Tom Cruise, whether he be an immensely talented actor who is cursed by his good looks, or a narcissistic megalomaniac of the highest order, one thing is certain: He’s money in the bank. Aside from another Tom (Hanks), no other Hollywood superstar is as consistently bankable when it comes to his movies. Love or hate him, he’s worth every penny.
MURDER BY NUMBERS (***)
Here's a nice change for a suspense thriller. Instead of finding out things along with the characters, we know everything in advance and watch them get where we are. MURDER BY NUMBERS is a unique whodunit that doesn't concentrate on who did it. Its treat is the mindgames between the murderers and the police. In an age where thrillers try and entertain us by making guess who the killer is, it's stimulating to find one where we have to guess how the killer will outthink the good guys (and vice versa).
ONG-BAK (***)
I have seen a great deal of fight choreography, and ONG-BAK’s skirmishes can speak for themselves. There are one-on-one scraps here that have to be seen to be believed. Not because of their balletic grace and intricacy, but for the impact each fighter is willing to give and receive. There is a saying that if you can’t take it, don’t dish out. Boy do these guys take it.
OVER THE HEDGE (***)
You’d be surprised by how much mileage is squeezed out of the plot’s simplicity. Yet it perseveres, due to an uncommon wit absent in many of its peers. It jabs its well-timed inside jokes like a confident pugilist. Its barbs on how prosperous societies value food are both hilarious and perceptive. Its CGI animation is crisp, but not overly flamboyant. Its characters’ mini-adventures are most of the time impressively conceived, such as Verne’s careening through the neighborhood, to RJ’s rescue of his friends. And few animated films can claim to have a reference to Tennessee Williams, a dig at Pepé Le Pew, or the best bullet-time joke I’ve ever howled at.
PANIC ROOM (***)
Try making a movie about two people locking themselves in a box, before three others do everything they can to get them out of it. Sounds mediocre and not very interesting. Now try to making it a suspenseful psychological thriller, without cheat scares, cheap dialogue, or cliche moments. Impossible you say? Not when you have two terrific actors as your leads, and a great filmmaker at the helm. Despite a commonplace plot, Jodie Foster (THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS), Forest Whitaker (GHOST DOG) and director David Fincher (SE7EN) pull it off with PANIC ROOM.
POSEIDON (***)
So many inferior action movies step wrong in so many ways. They inject the unnecessary or bring up the topical (even MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3 can’t help itself near the end). What makes POSEIDON gripping is that it wastes no time, since its people have little of it. It’s a lean thrill machine.
SHALL WE DANCE (***)
Though I love to dance, there are very few dance movies that I hold dear. Those that fall short of recommendation are basically about one-upmanship (YOU GOT SERVED) or tiresome clichés (DIRTY DANCING: HAVANA NIGHTS, HONEY, etc). But those that strive for quality are those that exhibit taut choreography (MOULIN ROUGE), romantic artistry (AN AMERICAN IN PARIS), or wondrously conceived sequences (SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN). Those that are dearest to me are somehow able to show how joyous and meaningful dance can be (TAP). To love dance is not just to appreciate the technique, but also to enjoy its very act.
This is something that SHALL WE DANCE does. It isn’t concerned with how well its characters dance, but with how dance makes their characters well. It’s not an exceptional movie, and it uses some unnecessary cutesiness for additional laughs. But its characters are charming, its weaknesses relatively harmless, and its final romantic moments strong. Most of all, it depicts characters who learn to brave and enjoy dancing.
SPIDER-MAN(***)
I truly hope Marvel continues to produce adaptations as well-crafted as SPIDER-MAN. They'll be releasing a barrage of movies in the next few years (DAREDEVIL, THE FANTASTIC FOUR, SPIDER-MAN 2, X2 and my favorite character HULK). And if they continue to keep the quality of the films high, DC will have to watch out. I also hope Spidey goes back to squash the spider which bit him.
STUART LITTLE 2 (***)
Most sequels try hard to make you like them. They have to work against the identities of their predecessors, but most of the time, they end up repeating themselves. Sometimes this works (like MEN IN BLACK 2) and sometimes it doesn't (see: U.S. MARSHALS). STUART LITTLE 2 is a sequel that doesn't try to look better, or impress you. It doesn't repeat it's original formula (the first wasn't that impressive to begin with). It just tries to tell a simple story as affectionately as it can.
TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES (***)
When the first two TERMINATOR films were released, the US and the USSR were in the midst of the cold war. They existed in a time when nuclear war did not seem like such a far-fetched idea. The I.T. industry was still in its infancy. Hence, the movie-going public was still somewhat oblivious to the idea of computers becoming “self-aware” and taking over human decision-making. This milieu, along with the sleek and forceful filmmaking style of James Cameron, helped make the TERMINATOR series one of the best sci-fi/action films in film history. Does T3: RISE OF THE MACHINES make a worthy addition? Yes. But only to a certain extent.
THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE (***)
THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE has been marketed as a horror film, yet frights are furthest from its mind. It chronicles supernatural happenings based on true-to-life accounts, but not merely for shock value. It doesn’t reject the paranormal ideas that it presents, yet it doesn’t completely give them the benefit of the doubt. Here is a movie that gives both points of view, secular and religious, on what might have led to the death of a tortured soul. And at its end, we, like the jury, are called to question our reasoning and faith, for the fate of the accused, and for ourselves. This is the kind of false advertising that I approve of.
THE JACKET (***)
A gulf war veteran returns to the U.S. after surviving a fatal head wound, and after a surreal series of events, finds himself in an even stranger mental institution. Its chief doctor treats his supposed psychosis with a straightjacket and morgue drawer. But that’s not the strangest piece of what happens to Jack Starks (Adrien Brody of THE PIANIST). What is is what he finds in his dark prison, and where it brings him.
THE OTHERS (***)
If
Alejandro Amenabar's THE OTHERS had been shown twenty years ago, it would've been considered one of the horror genre's best. It's a good old-fashioned ghost story with some turns and twists that are worthy of its contemporaries. I generally do not like thrillers that resort to cheat scares (sudden sound blares and unexpected figures which dart in and out of places), and this film does have several of the kind. But they are effectively intermingled with an ever-growing sense tension that I didn't mind them. Here's one movie where unanticipated shocks are well placed.
THE POWERPUFF GIRLS MOVIE (***)
It's easy to dismiss THE POWERPUFF GIRLS MOVIE as a mere 90-minute marketing campaign to sell cute Cartoon Network merchandise (doesn't every major studio do that?). I can already sense disdain in certain circles towards the hyper-cute appearances of these three young heroines. But for those who are familiar with the "Cartoon Cartoon" programs at Cartoon Network (I'm a huge fan of DEXTER'S LABORATORY), we know that there is an intelligence that accompanies their frenetic energy. It can be twisted at times, but it is inspired.
THE SENTINEL (***)
Michael Douglas gets a lot of flak for playing victims. His most memorable characters seem to be one ever since FATAL ATTRACTION, as he has the unique ability to blend presence with vulnerability. But what most audiences have forgotten is that he can be one of the steeliest of leading men (has there ever been anyone more presidential than he was in THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT?). Let’s face it, when he’s in a suit and a tie, very few actors are as commanding.
THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE (***)
THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE has got to be one of the silliest, goofiest, most rambunctious attempts at kiddie fare in recent memory. Its heroes reek of juvenile joviality and daring childishness. And yet, I liked it. No... I loved it. Despite its apparent idiocy, it's damn funny, in an immature sort of way. So sue me.
THE SUM OF ALL FEARS (***)
No novelist in the past two decades has mingled political intrigue, government operations, and military know-how, and captured them with such technical weight, intelligence, and suspense, better than Tom Clancy. The Jack Ryan series that have been translated to movies (THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER - the best of the lot, PATRIOT GAMES, and CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER) are some of the best political and military thrillers that have been put on film. They have astounding realism and are presented with such strong pacing and remarkable clarity for the amount of information they carry (one wonders if Tom Clancy has as many contacts in the US government as they do in others). His latest book-to-movie offering is THE SUM OF ALL FEARS, which is just about that: a terrorist attack resulting in the destruction of a major metropolitan city by a nuclear bomb, and its all-too-frightening consequences.
THE WEDDING DATE (***)
Weddings. Has there been a more dependable romantic-comedy subject for the past two decades? Search for “wedding” at IMDB.com, and you’ll get at least nine popular movies surrounding the theme. Perhaps no single event in a person’s life, make that two people’s lives, captures the tension and neuroses of entire families as does a nuptial celebration. And just when I thought one couldn’t possibly wring more out of the matter, along comes THE WEDDING DATE, and what a smart little charmer it is.
UNFAITHFUL (***)
Lesser movies would turn this story into a run-of-the-mill thriller, where someone cheats on somebody else, which would result in the cheatee killing the cheater, or the co-cheater killing the cheater because the latter once to end the affair. But what makes UNFAITHFUL refreshing is that it doesn't sink to the depths of mediocrity. It simply tries to show its characters dealing with the situation. It is true that the movie has a single violent act, but it doesn't turn it into a story of escape. Near the end, there's hardly an attempt to even try and do so. The aftermath of this brutal incident is treated with melancholy rather than with suspense.
