Movie 12: An Education

Movie 12: An Education (2009)
February 27, 2011
HBO

Director:
Lone Scherfig
Writers:
Nick Hornby (screenplay), Lynn Barber (memoir)
Stars:
Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard and Alfred Molina


In the early 1960's, sixteen year old Jenny Mellor lives with her parents in the London suburb of Twickenham. On her father's wishes, everything that Jenny does is in the sole pursuit of being accepted into Oxford, as he wants her to have a better life than he. Jenny is bright, pretty, hard working but also naturally gifted. The only problems her father may perceive in her life is her issue with learning Latin, and her dating a boy named Graham, who is nice but socially awkward. Jenny's life changes after she meets David Goldman, a man over twice her age. David goes out of his way to show Jenny and her family that his interest in her is not improper and that he wants solely to expose her to cultural activities which she enjoys. Jenny quickly gets accustomed to the life to which David and his constant companions, Danny and Helen, have shown her, and Jenny and David's relationship does move into becoming a romantic one..

This was actually based on a article/memoir written by Lynn Barber a British journalist, who writes for The Sunday Times.
Here's an interesting article on her time at Oxford http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1299123/Lynn-Barber-blamed-broken-heart-sleeping-50-men-Oxford--real-story.html

It's a coming-of-age film and a period satire on 1960's England. Of course, I'm a 80's child and don't know much about this time except from what I see on tv and of course, the Beatles movies (A Hard Day's Night, Help!).

The themes are time universal though,
a girl on the verge of womanhood, but also an exploration of issues such as social class, racism and the value of education

at 16 year old, we are all told what to do, what we need to do.. Go to school to get a job. we go to school to prepare ourselves for life.. to go to the university to get good jobs.. but as Jenny the main character realizes:

Jenny: Studying is hard and boring. Teaching is hard and boring. So, what you're telling me is to be bored, and then bored, and finally bored again, but this time for the rest of my life? This whole stupid country is bored! There's no life in it, or color, or fun! It's probably just as well the Russians are going to drop a nuclear bomb on us any day now. So my choice is to do something hard and boring, or to marry my... Jew, and go to Paris and Rome and listen to jazz, and read, and eat good food in nice restaurants, and have fun! It's not enough to educate us anymore Ms. Walters. You've got to tell us why you're doing it.

Carey Mulligan gives a wonderful performance. (She's actually 24 playing a 16 year old) she just blooms.
Wide Eyed and innocent.. we see her grow in this film..
Peter Sarsgaard is creepy and i don't understand how a parent can let their daughter go out with a guy like that.

a little predictable and no real consequences with all the naughty behavior being done.. (she dropped out of school, we don't see how hard it is for her.. we just see in the next scene that she asks for help then she's back to her road towrds applying to Oxford)

It's still a good movie and Carey Mulligan is cute as button.
7/10

Movie 11: The Time Traveller's Wife

Movie 11: The Time Traveller's Wife (2009)
February 27, 2011
HBO

Director:
Robert Schwentke
Writers:
Bruce Joel Rubin (screenplay), Audrey Niffenegger (novel)
Starring Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams



When Henry DeTamble meets Clare Abshire in a Chicago library they both understand that he is a time traveller, but she  knows much more than this about him as he has not yet been to the times and places where they have met before. He falls in love with her, as she has already with him, but his continuing unavoidable absences time travelling - and then returning with increasing knowledge of their future - makes things ever more difficult for Clare. Written by Jeremy Perkin


I haven't read the book but watching the movie, i thought to myself "is this another nicholas sparks movie?" hehe
it has themes of love, life and loss..

The chemistry of the two characters was really good.. eric bana was really good, better than his Lucky You performance..
Rachel McAdams does another great job.. she really expresses more than what the screenplay offers..
the secondary characters did their job well but could offer more..

I haven't read the book but there's a feeling that lots has been cut to fit it into the movie.. Timetravel is always a hard thing to write and of course there are many holes in the story.. I have so many questions and always want to know more about each time frame.. what lacked in the screenplay translation was made up in the beautiful cinematography..
what great use of the lens and special effects to make this movie with scifi elements an immersive experience..

It's a solid movie!

6/10

Movie 11: Drive Angry 3d

Movie 11: Drive Angry 3d (2011)
February 25, 2011
Robinsons Pioneer

Director:
Patrick Lussier
Writers:
Todd Farmer, Patrick Lussier

Nicolas Cage ... Milton
Amber Heard ... Piper
William Fichtner... The Accountant
Billy Burke ... Jonah King
David Morse ... Webster


A vengeful father escapes from hell and chases after the men who killed his daughter and kidnapped his granddaughter.


I haven't seen a movie like this in a long while..
Drive Angry, a 3D explosion of sex, violence and mythology.. Balls to the wall with blood and hillbillies and hicks, Cage is like his Cameron Poe (Con-Air) character but on the on the other side of the track... a hillbilly with no mercy..
the first 5 minutes show what kind of movie this will be..blood, guts and more blood.. a 70's throwback to the pulp, metal on metal, grindhouse era.. gritty yet polished and stylized beacuse of the 3D...it's an straight forward action flick.

William Fichtner does a good job as the Accountant. He has those crazy ass one liners, delivered with quick and dry wit and a cooler than you attitude..
the rest are just bleh.. maybe it's because this was made for the white trash folk, others might not be able to really appreciate it as a whole.. peppered with one liners and other self aware action humor.. it's trying to be one of those cult movie classics.. it can be.. not sure right now.. but it can be.. then there's a scene there where a fat guy walks by and takes pictures on his cellphone, which was hilarious..
Kinda got boring in the middle and the end was predictable.. it was outlandish, but still predictable and kinda anticlimatic, for me at least..

watch it every now and then if you want some mindless action in 3d... just a popcorn flick for lazy day..

Movie 10: Piranha

Movie 10: Piranha (2010)
Feb 15, 2011
at Home

Director:
Alexandre Aja
Writers:
Pete Goldfinger, Josh Stolberg

Lake Victoria's annual Spring party by 50,000 young revelers is about to turn into a feeding frenzy with prehistoric hunger-pains. With knee-trembler's above the waves and tremors below, released from their dormant sleep, thousands upon thousands of flesh-eating nippers are released into the lake with whetted appetites and razor-sharp teeth. With a motley crew of strangers thrown together to defend these shores, it is now up to them to prevent the largest eat-out in human, and piranha, history

This movie is a throwback to the 80s horror films. It has sex, blood and gore..

I didn't get to watch it in 3d but they I can imagine that this movie is sick!!
Mostly the dialogue and acting is really bad but blood and gore is superb!
It's funny to have Elisabeth Shue, Christopher Lloyd, Ving Rhames and Richard Dreyfuss there..
Jerry O'Connell is does his usual usual asshole role.. but I really HATE the acting of the kid Jake played by Steven McQueen.. I don't know if it's him, or the screenplay but I just found myself facepalming every time he
 was on screen..

It's semi fun movie.. if you fast forward through all of the kid's scenes it hella fun..
Watch it for the blood, but otherwise, not worth a full screening..

3/10

Movie 9: Step Up 3D

Movie 9: Step Up 3D (2010)
Feb 15, 2011
At home

Director:
Jon Chu
Writers:
Amy Andelson, Emily Meyer

Rick Malambri Luke
Adam G. Sevani Moose
Sharni Vinson Natalie

and Mike Chan (from Glee) is here haha

A tight-knit group of New York City street dancers, including Luke (Malambri) and Natalie (Vinson), team up with NYU freshman Moose (Sevani), and find themselves pitted against the world's best hip hop dancers in a high-stakes showdown that will change their lives forever.


This movie's off the hook!
It's a really long music video..
the plot and story is meh, but the dance sequences are dope!!

I didn't watch it in 3D but my bro says this movie rocks a hundred times better in 3d!
You'll find yourself bobbing in your seat watching this..

It's a real fun movie.. watch it in 3d!!

7/10

Movie 8: The King's Speech

Movie 8: The King's Speech (2010)
Feb 1, 2010
DL

Tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George, aka Albert aka 'Bertie' reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stammer and considered unfit to be king, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country through war.

This movie is nice. I love biopics! i find myself researching on the real people these characters are based on.
Have a listen to the actual speech King George VI recited.



Colin Firth deserves to win all the awards so far and I hope he wins in the Oscars.
He's the Duke of York and suffers a bad stammer/stutter and Firth plays this disability well and we see how he struggles and fights to show that he has a voice.
An all British cast with the Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, and Guy Pearce as brother Edward.
Even Dumbledore was there.
All these supporting characters, and even Rush underplay their roles so that there is more room for Firth.

The costume work was beautiful, and the sets were other worldy.. (well, I've never been to the UK)

I like the cinematography! it's so awesome to watch.. I wanna watch it in the theater.
It's a movie of Valor (Bravery), Kindness, Strength and overcoming adversity.. You find yourself rooting for him throughout the movie.


Not a lot of effects and action, this movie should be watched for the masterful acting of the cast.
I enjoyed, and I hope you do too!

9/10

Movie 7: My Sister's Keeper

Movie 7: My Sister's Keeper (2009)
January 31, 2011
Star movies

Director:
Nick Cassavetes
Writers:
Jeremy Leven, Nick Cassavetes
Abigail Breslin Andromeda 'Anna' Fitzgerald
Sofia Vassilieva Kate Fitzgerald
Cameron Diaz Sara Fitzgerald

In Los Angeles, the eleven year old Anna Fitzgerald seeks the successful lawyer Campbell Alexander trying to hire him to earn medical emancipation from her mother Sara that wants Anna to donate her kidney to her sister. She tells the lawyer the story of her family after the discovery that her older sister Kate has had leukemia; how she was conceived by in vitro fertilization to become a donor; and the medical procedures she has been submitted since she was five years old to donate to her sister. Campbell accepts to work pro bono and the obsessed Sara decides to go to court to force Anna to help her sister

It seems so simple when you read about the plot, but you wouldn't understand how difficult a situation this is until you put yourself in their shoes.
Your sister is sick and you would do everything to save her. How can you choose not to do it anymore?

It's a movie about life decisions, family decisions, faith and letting go.
The movie touches on difficult situations but is not that painful to watch.
It shows the drama, love, fighting, and encouragement that all people face in battles but it also shows that most of the time it isn't happy or encouraging to go on fighting but instead a painful road to ride on.

My grandparents have fought this battle when i was young, I can only imagine what my parents were going through.

It's a tearjerker of a movie but the message is just we have to live our lives.. Love and care for each other and in the end, let go and let God.

Watch it!
9/10

Movie 6: Everybody's Fine

Movie 6: Everybody's Fine (2009)

Jan 23, 2011
Star Movies

Frank Goode lives by himself in Elmira, NY, a recent widower with heart trouble, retired from a factory job, proud of having pushed his adult children toward success. In the summer, all four kids bail on a reunion, so, against doctor's orders, Frank decides to surprise each with a visit. He sets out to see his artist son in New York City, his daughter the ad exec in Chicago, his son the conductor on tour and presently in Denver, and his daughter who's a performer in Vegas. None are as he imagines or hopes. Will they let him see themselves as they are, and can this dad adapt? Written by  


A road trip of self-discovery, this movie is very heartwarming..
It has an indie feel to it and the characters are very well written..
The actors just play it just right, meaning they underplay their already superstar status..

So it's
Robert De Niro as Frank the father    
Drew Barrymore     as Rosie the performer daughter from Las Vegas   
Kate Beckinsale as Amy the ad exec
Sam Rockwell as Robert the touring conductor

It's like a good book, I recommend it to parents with adult children..
8/10

Movie 5: Black Swan

Movie 5: Black Swan (2010)


Jan 22, 2011
Downloaded, streamed to Ps3

Nina (Portman) is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica (Hershey) who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side - a recklessness that threatens to destroy her - Fox



This movie was directed by Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, π , Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain)
I've only seen π and The Wrestler so far. Pi blew my mind and we all know about the award winning Mickey Rourke perfomance in the latter.. I've had Requiem for a Dream on my laptop for over a year and haven't had a chance to check it out yet.. I've heard The Fountain is alright as well..


Black Swan is shot in a very raw manner just like The Wrestler. This time, it shows the behind-the-scenes of the ballet world. It gives a glimpse of the pains ballerinas go through for this art.. We see shots where the ballerinas bend and break their bodies for the sake of form and figure, how they mend their ballet shoes, how they spend hours in front of the mirror fixing their makeup, how they manage passing by all the creeps in city subways.. in short, how they devote their lives to perform..

So Portman is vying for the role of the lead in Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake."
If you're unfamiliar, here's the story:

"Virginal girl, pure and sweet, trapped in the body of a swan. She desires freedom but only true love can break the spell. Her wish is nearly granted in the form of a prince, but before he can declare his love her lustful twin, the black swan, tricks and seduces him. Devastated the white swan leaps of a cliff killing herself and, in death, finds freedom." (a line from the movie)


Portman's character, Nina is just right for the role. Nina is the perfectionist dancing most her life to please her mother. But innocent, frigid and sexually repressed which is not what the black swan represents.

Portman gives a great performance here. I was in awe how she showed her range and just nails it. She can be that innocent little girl and then she goes 180 becoming more daring.. So Nina transforms herself to be the Black Swan the director demands.. if she doesn't, Lily, (Mila Kunis) would be there to replace her.. Lily is more suited for the role, with her sex appeal and carefree attitude.. ( and sweet tat on her back)

Kunis delivers a level of depth in this film.. She really puts on a performance compared to her flat characters before..(I mostly know her from That 70's show and the voice of Meg in Family Guy)

Having the raw style of the Wrestler, this film however,  is more akin to the style of Pi and Requiem as Nina's transformation takes her on a psychological ride to become what she needs to be.. It's not a horror film but more of a film of discovery..  an opening of the mind..haha i don't know how to describe it. just watch it!!

The whole movie is like an opera/ballet show and the last act is where this film becomes great.. So Nina performs as the White Swan and transforms into the Black Swan..
No words, just movement and music..
I don't know how they shot the intricate dance sequences but youre right there on the stage with dozens of dancers all around the actors..
The lighting was fantastic, of course, they were on a stage where all the lights are suppsed to be, but as a photographer, I can see how they used lighting in tandem with the dance and music to give you each emotion they want the viewer to feel..
Finally the music just hits you with bringing you along with drama, suspense and in the end, triumph and peace..

Just like a magnificent ballet show, you feel all the ups and downs and in the end, there's nothing but applause for the work of art...

So I highly recommend this..
Of course, it has adult material, but all for the sake of the theme of the film..
9/10

Movie 4: Letters to Juliet

Movie 4: Letters to Juliet (2010)


Jan 11, 2011 DVD

An American girl on vacation in Italy finds an unanswered "letter to Juliet" -- one of thousands of missives left at the fictional lover's Verona courtyard, which are typically answered by a the "secretaries of Juliet" -- and she goes on a quest to find the lovers referenced in the letter

Letters To Juliet (2010) Official Trailer (HQ) - For more funny movies, click here

This movie is for those wanting a fantasy.. compared to Going the Distance which shows some reality..

typical and predictable, i would say it's a little below your average rom com, but better than Bounty Hunter or What Happens in Vegas.

Amanda Seyfried is just okay for me.. but other people find that she only has 2 expressions.. what do you guys think?

Christopher Egan plays the lead guy.. don't know much about him.. but pretty annoying, or maybe he's just playing his British wrong.. he's actually from Sydney

I dunno.. the movie was really so-so.. you'll enjoy it once.. but forget about it at once..

Movie 3: Going the Distance

Movie 3: Going the Distance

Jan 11, 2011
DVD (Blu-ray copy daw.. haha)



A romantic comedy centered on a guy and a gal who try to keep their love alive as they shuttle back and forth between New York and San Francisco to see one another.



I just love Drew Barrymore.. she's not as zany here in this movie as compared to her other characters before.. she's more real in this, and even starts to show her age (35) in some scenes.. though she supposed to be 31 in the movie

Justin Long.. is just the same character.. hehe

This movie is nice! There are funny moments and some genuine moments, and kinda R rated with the language (feeling 40 yr old Virgin) and it tackles something real like the long distance relationship situation, also even gives a nod to the current economic situation like the decline in the newspaper and music label biz...

but that's the problem, it's trying to do too much.. too much that it feels a little awkward..
too much that the editing suffered and there are some dropped subplots that could be interesting to see further and the "honeymoon" period is aptly a montage but a little rushed..

what really made this film a flick to see is the chemistry between drew and justin..
but overall.. a forgetful movie..


Score: 4/10

ps. you will remember Charlie Day and his scene on the crapper

Movie 2: 127 Hours

Movie #2
127 Hours (2010)


Jan 7, 2011
Downloaded watched on ps3

A mountain climber becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone near Moab, Utah and resorts to desperate measures in order to survive


Full Trailer



I like this trailer coz of the song - Never Hear Surf Music Again by Free Blood

You can also watch almost up to 6 minutes here

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Watch-Nearly-6-Minutes-Of-127-Hours-21485.html

Directed by Danny Boyle who made 28 Days Later…,Sunshine,  Slumdog Millionaire 

you can expect this to be a very stylized and you'll expect a very sensual visual and audio treat..

Too bad I watched this on just my TV, but the dessert sequences are awesome.. if this was on IMAX, the shots would just consume you

James Franco plays Aron Ralston. This is a true story of a real life mountain climber and how he SPOILER cuts of his arm to survive after almost 127 stuck under a rock. SPOILER i know but how what can you expect reading the title and seeing the poster? Anyways, it's how Danny Boyle directs this and how Franco really puts on a performance. I mean, how can you really stretch the plot for 1 and a half hours?

But they do a great job and I found myself rooting for him even though I know whats going to happen.

I recently got into mountain climbing and I try to imagine if I am capable of what he did.

This is a movie of perseverance, of examining your life and asking yourself if you regret anything.

Aron was so sorry of his selfish ways and how he thought he can do everything on his own. 

This is a movie about living your life and about hope if feel you can't take it any longer..

Very inspiring, I recommend it to those with a strong stomach..

haha

Movie 1: Mulholland Dr.

Movie #1 

Mulholland Dr. (2001)

Jan 6, 2011

Downloaded watched on laptop

A bright-eyed young actress travels to Hollywood, only to be ensnared in a dark conspiracy involving a woman who was nearly murdered, and now has amnesia because of a car crash. Eventually, both women are pulled into a psychotic illusion involving a dangerous blue box, a director named Adam Kesher, and the mysterious night club Silencio.

This is one creepy movie. It's the type of movies that has twists and turns and you're trying your hardest to get a grasp of the situation until you don't know which way is up.

It has everything from comedy to drama to action to girl on girl.. It has Billy Ray, it has a mob boss, it has cowboys..

Set in the city of angels, and looking like its in the early 90's (shot in 2000 but the script of it was already in the works by early 90's) everything feels so dreamy..

I don't want to spoil it but at first viewing, you're just going to go crazy.. it takes a second or even more viewing to get everything.. and of course, you can go online like I did..

Starring Naomi Watts (King Kong, The Ring) and Laura Harring (John Q, former Miss USA) and performances of Justin Theroux , and even  Billy Ray Cyrus is there!! haha  

This is must see film. People have responded to in at the extremes but after watching it, you must agree that this is a piece of work!

Movie Review: Up in the Air

2010 Movie Review #1
Feb 23, 2010

got this from Tavis Coburn

All I can say is that it's a nice movie.
It's very sharp with a mellow tone, steady pacing, and mood. It's funny, thought-provoking, uplifting yet tragic. A dramedy if you will; it's very cosmopolitan and american. The writer director really knows how to make the mundane/everyday seem interesting. He creates a satire of the current economic slowdown in the US, and he handles the subject matter with a warm touch, a human touch. Such a solid story only gets better with the performances of the 3 leads. The characters really drive the film and we root and feel for them. You want to get know them and their stories. The movie ends and I find that I have enjoyed it very much. But there is a feeling in the pit of your stomach. A feeling that so much more reaches out in this deep movie hiding beneath a popcorn flick. It has an indie feel, so I don't know if everyone will get it.


Anyways, read more of my review below. There might be spoilers, might...

I'll start with a quote:

Ryan Bingham: How much does your life weigh? Imagine for a second that you're carrying a backpack. I want you to pack it with all the stuff that you have in your life... you start with the little things. The shelves, the drawers, the knickknacks, then you start adding larger stuff. Clothes, tabletop appliances, lamps, your TV... the backpack should be getting pretty heavy now.You go bigger. Your couch, your car, your home... I want you to stuff it all into that backpack. Now I want you to fill it with people. Start with casual acquaintances, friends of friends, folks around the office... and then you move into the people you trust with your most intimate secrets. Your brothers, your sisters, your children, your parents and finally your husband, your wife, your boyfriend, your girlfriend. You get them into that backpack, feel the weight of that bag. Make no mistake your relationships are the heaviest components in your life. All those negotiations and arguments and secrets, the compromises. The slower we move the faster we die. Make no mistake, moving is living. Some animals were meant to carry each other to live symbiotically over a lifetime. Star crossed lovers, monogamous swans. We are not swans. We are sharks.


Clooney plays himself again. He's the cool, suave and sophisticated frequent flyer who has a solo flight philosophy which he lives and enjoys. He meets this girl, Alex who is Clooney's female equivalent; she's the smart and sexy jetsetter. They meet up all across the country for their weekend get-aways and escape from reality's. (is that correct grammar/spelling?)
Ryan (Clooney) who fires people for a living, is now tasked to take a new gun Natalie, under his wing and show her the ropes.
Natalie is played by Anna Kendrick. I don't follow the Twilight series, so I don't know her from there but I am excited about Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and I know she plays Stacey Pilgrim.
Natalie is the extremely driven young girl fresh out of school. The Type A personality (competitive, ambitious, business-like, aggressive) finds it difficult at first to be the one who brings the news of the worse day of there people's lives but she gets the hang of it.

This movie is about life and what matters most to you.. everything else is just up in the air.

With the exception of the famous actors, every person we see fired in the film is not an actor but a real life recently laid off person. The filmmakers put out ads in St. Louis and Detroit posing as a documentary crew looking to document the effect of the recession. When people showed up, they were instructed to treat the camera like the person who fired them and respond as they did or use the opportunity to say what they wished they had.

As the movie progresses, we see how their lives transform; how their way of thinking and living is put into question. After tough questioning from his new associate, Bingham ponders on what it would be like to settle down. As her boyfriend dumps her, Natalie finally gets to cut loose after years of living the square life. Alex in her cool yet mysterious ways, shows her true colors. The movie however, just breezes by and ends quite abruptly leaving you wanting more. And for me, it's just the right amount of wanting more.

I'll end with this quote:
Ryan Bingham: If you think about it, your favorite memories, the most important moments in your life... were you alone? Life's better with company.
Think about it.

GRADE: 9/10

George Clooney as Ryan Bingham
Anna Kendrick as Natalie Keener; Stacey Pilgrim, Scott's younger sis.. I can't wait!!
Vera Farmiga as Alex Goran; I'm not really familiar with her work but she's simply lovely here.
Jason Bateman as Craig Gregory; Teen wolf.. haha.. still waiting for the Arrested Development movie
J.K. Simmons as Bob;
He works with Reitman again (Juno) and takes a small role as Bob, an employee that Ryan and Natalie fire.

Sam Elliott as Maynard Finch;
Sam with the persona of an all american cowboy.. I know him from Tombstone (1993) and more recent films like Hulk (2003) and Thank you for Smoking (2005)
He has that deep voice that i wish I had.

Directed/Written by Jason Reitman

Movie Review: Miss You Like Crazy

I'm back! After a almost a year of laziness and work preventing me from writing movie reviews like before, the itch returned and this is me scratching it.
Well this is actually the third full movie I watched for the year, and I was unable to review the first two, Invictus and The Red Shoes. I'm unsure if I still want to write something about them.
I can't guarantee I'll write a review for every full movie I watch from now on, but I'll try.
Here we go:

2010 Movie Review #1
Feb 23, 2010

I was actually on my way home when Koi from OneCore received a call from @piamagalona, and she said she had some extra tickets to the movie.
Kapal naman my face so I asked if I could tag along. Premiere night at Megamall! Sweeeeet!





Star Cinema gave one more chance to the John Lloyd and Bea love-team in this movie directed by Ms. Cathy Garcia-Molina, who also directed JLC's more recent movies with Sarah Geronimo. (I just learned that this director likes having the leading lady wear wigs which I think is hilarious. Nice touch!)
The love team that gives everyone butterflies in the stomach and makes your hair stand on end is back in another song-title-turned-movie. Was it any good? let's see...

So..

Alan Alvarez (John Lloyd Cruz) is an account manager in the bank owned by the family of his girlfriend of four years, Daphne Recto (Maricar Reyes). While he's sure he loves her and has no regrets about the life and love he's chosen, he's been feeling restless and lonely, asking himself if this is the life he really wants.

Mia Samonte (Bea Alonzo) works as a front desk officer in a hotel in Malaysia. She and Alan have their fateful meeting on board the Pasig River Ferry. Mia is a breath of fresh air in Alan's otherwise stale and stifling existence.

Fate and faith, and time and timing are two of the themes discussed in the film. And yes, the idea of a whirlwind romance. Could you really fall in love with a stranger in a matter of days? And should that prove to be real, can your love withstand time and distance? Can that love survive the reality heartbreak brought about by history and an innate sense of responsibility and decency?

I actually came into this movie not watching a single trailer nor even seeing the poster. What I don't like about some local trailers is that they give so much away.
Anyways, let's sound it off:

- The movie for me was a little dragging, kinda predictable yet had kilig-moments that Filipinos will just eat up
- Some scenes were just too long and I found myself checking my phone, playing with my bucket of popcorn or chewing on my straw
- The movie buff in me says it's predictable but I still saw the genuine shock in the audience as events unfolded. So let me know if your found it predictable like I.
- There's just something with these actors, but every move makes the audience scream.. (no not me, i pramis! haha)
- The Support cast did their part and I especially liked Ketchup's character, ang kulit!
- Then I hope Ina Feleo does well also. I remember her on stage when I was still in school. She's very talented.
- I enjoyed One More Chance a little more than this. I think it's not really something you'll remember years from now


GRADE = 6.5 / 10

Well, that's just my opinion. What the hell do I know?
I still encourage you guys to watch it. It's still an enjoyable movie.
And I assure you, the song will get stuck in your head for a while!



Complete Cast
John Lloyd Cruz
Bea Alonzo
Maricar Reyes
Jun Urbano
Ryan Eigenmann
Malou De Guzman
Ina Feleo
Ketchup Eusebio
Dianne Medina
and Bembol Roco

Special Guest Appearance Tirso Cruz III
Noel Trinidad

Introducing Gerald Hans Isaac (Malaysian Actor)

Directed by Ms. Cathy Garcia-Molina

Miss You Like Crazy opens in Philippine theaters on February 24, 2010.

Sources:
MovieNews
PinoyMoviexpress
WhyNotCoconut