This week's pick is from a year before I was born. Hailing from the early days of MTV, "We Belong" is one of Pat Benatar's most remembered songs from her career that spanned two multi-platinum albums, 6 platinum albums, 3 Gold albums, and 19 top 40 singles. Benatar is one of the most heavily played artists during the early days of MTV. We Belong has been used in the soundtrack of the film, "Blue Valentine."
Monday, January 30, 2012
In Review: Haywire
Neatly done, tense, and well-directed, Haywire works in spots and keeps it going until you figure out the whole scheme of things; unfortunately, it leaves a few spots unchecked with gaping empty spaces and the large lack of emotional range makes for a somewhat shallow experience.
The Good
- succeeds largely at being a tense thriller
- action sequences are well-done, makes complete use of Carano's fighting prowess
The Bad
- Carano's emotional range rival that of a teaspoon
- largely unemotional script, unemotional characters that don't evoke your empathy
Synopsis
Mallory Kane (Carano) works as an agent for a private contractor working for the government operated by her ex-boyfriend Kenneth (Mc Gregor). After her last mission in Barcelona contracted by Rodrigo and Coblenz (Banderas and Douglas), Kane plans to retire, which Kenneth accepts, asking one last mission from her, a paid vacation of sorts to pose as the wife British agent Paul (Fassbender) who's meeting crimelord Studer to get further intel on his operations. As the night progresses, Kane discovers something that leads to events going haywire.
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| Carano, the film's main star, is not an actress, but an MMA fighter. |
Why so Serious?
Soderbergh apparently saw Carano battle it out at the Octagon and thought of making a movie centered on her hand to hand combat skills. The result is Haywire, and as expected, Carano as a seasoned fighter and her own stuntwoman is excellent. But as an actress, the depth of emotions she displays on this film is questionable. The camera loves her, and Soderbergh focused on that and avoided placing any scene that would require much acting effort from Carano. In doing so, the movie felt dry and shallow towards the end.
1, 2, Punch
Carano delivers punch per punch as I said above. The fight scenes were cool and believable, and unlike big budgeted thrillers that contain one explosion after another and one car chase scene at least for good measure, Haywire is more of a Jason Bourne movie where the action scenes are stripped down to hand to hand combat.
Most of the tension in the movie comes from the fact that people want to kill Mallory Kane and that every step she takes, they were able to track her and that they beat her up real bad when they get to her. Eventually this ploy loses its effectiveness that at the end, it kind of becomes dull that when Soderbergh tries to pull it off again, it goes flimsy and pointless.
A lot of the problem of with Haywire comes from the fact that Soderbergh failed to make Carano "act" the way an actress would. And while she is not expected to do such, the movie suffers from this fault. Eventually, everyone in the movie ended with 3 emotions: angry, serious, or in pain dying, because if they showed anything more, it would greatly upstage Carano. Another fault was that the characters were poorly developed. Aaron (Tatum) dies and we feel no empathy. As far as Soderbergh suggests, he and Kane only had a one-night stand, yet Soderbergh thought it would be necessary to play a flashback of them kissing to emphasize Kane's sadness from Aaron's passing. Sadly, Soderbergh could've built on this to make this more evocative. But he hasn't and chose to point that out anyways.
Other than those, Haywire is thrilling and would work most of the times. Just don't expect great depths.
Most of the tension in the movie comes from the fact that people want to kill Mallory Kane and that every step she takes, they were able to track her and that they beat her up real bad when they get to her. Eventually this ploy loses its effectiveness that at the end, it kind of becomes dull that when Soderbergh tries to pull it off again, it goes flimsy and pointless.
A lot of the problem of with Haywire comes from the fact that Soderbergh failed to make Carano "act" the way an actress would. And while she is not expected to do such, the movie suffers from this fault. Eventually, everyone in the movie ended with 3 emotions: angry, serious, or in pain dying, because if they showed anything more, it would greatly upstage Carano. Another fault was that the characters were poorly developed. Aaron (Tatum) dies and we feel no empathy. As far as Soderbergh suggests, he and Kane only had a one-night stand, yet Soderbergh thought it would be necessary to play a flashback of them kissing to emphasize Kane's sadness from Aaron's passing. Sadly, Soderbergh could've built on this to make this more evocative. But he hasn't and chose to point that out anyways.
Other than those, Haywire is thrilling and would work most of the times. Just don't expect great depths.
My verdict:
Sunday, January 29, 2012
In Review: The Artist
Primarily a visual and auditory feast, The Artist is a riveting and entertaining tribute to old Hollywood, peppered with heart-rending scenes and profound humor only to be ended very lightly for the premise and story line it took.
The Good
- stimulating, riveting, good-natured, and easy to follow story
- not much dialogues to closely follow as it is a silent movie, making it more stimulating as you don't need to process words, but just gestures and orchestral pieces.
- completely replicated the magic of old Hollywood films, from charming stars to lively storyline
The Bad
- quite weird to experience a silent movie in an age where everyone talks even when they don't need to.
- unknown actors can alienate moviegoers if not for the Hollywood hype
- too light an ending
Synopsis
George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) meets a fan Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) after a screening of his silent film "A Russian Affair" in 1927 when a crowd pushes her into bumping him while the press where taking pictures outside the theatre. The funny encounter lead to another when Peppy was taken as an extra in Valentin's film, "A German Affair," which lead to an intimate moment between her and Valentin that encourages her to pursue stardom--initially taking extras then slowly graduating to larger supporting roles. By 1929, talkies (movies that feature speech) had started becoming popular; George Valentin vehemently rejects this as he sees talkies as nothing more but a fad--ultimately separating him and Kinograph which has decided to produce only talkies from then on. By this time, Miller has grown in popularity and has been signed on by Kinograph as one of its main stars in the talkies era. Not one to admit defeat, Valentin starts his own production of a silent movie entitled "Tears of Love," which apparently launches the same time as Peppy Miller's lead role debut in Kinograph's talkie, "Beauty Spot." What follows next is a series of heart-rending events that tests the friendship of The Artist and the Aspiring Beauty.
Silence is Golden
The Artist's main strength lies in the fact that it is for a good long time speechless. Sometimes, dialog cards are shown as with silent movies, but what really makes up for The Artist's voicelessness is the music they used and the highly enticing visuals. Dujardin and Bejo make up for a really charming pair and Uggie the dog is no different as he is very delightful and dear that you actually watch for when he is coming back on-screen. An article from CNN explains why The Artist works in a time where we have 3D in our movie houses (see here). And I would have to agree that it goes beyond "shutting down the surround sound." it's replicating what has been lost so magically well, it screams brilliance and ingenuity.
Sad Movies Make me Cry
After I've seen Roman Holiday early this year, I have concluded that films made during the Golden Age of Hollywood were clean and innocent--untarnished with violence and sex as with the movies we have today where the virtue is more often than not, "the dirtier, the better." How Audrey Hepburn managed to sleep in Cary Grant's room, drunk with drugs, and not get raped at all is impossible had Roman Holiday been remade in 2012. And this innocence is also present in The Artist. It's a movie made in our time, but was taken from another. And this magic that we miss is what makes this work irresistible.
You also can find the similar charm in Jean Dujardin's portrayal of George Valentin and Berenice Bejo's Peppy Miller. Their flawless portrayal will fool you into believing that they really belong to the 1920s. Valentin has that charm reminiscent to Bogart's and Grant's, the charm absent in today's leading men who are more of gritty personifications of Hollywood and whose life outside the camera is one for evading it. Not to mention the Tintin-Snowy-like partnership between Uggie the dog and Dujardin makes for adding color to the black and white flick.
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| The irresistible pair of Dujardin and Uggie tries to placate the angry wife to no avail. |
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| Miller fantasizes an embrace from Valentin only to be surprised by a lack of knock from reality. |
And speaking of adding color, there are too many visual delights in The Artist--enough to justify your seeing a black and white film. One of the most memorable ones being Peppy Miller making love to Valentin's coat. The way Hazanavicius pairs that particular scene with the "Scene d'Amour" score used in Vertigo is haunting and impeccable. The spare dialog, which you can count as they are flashed through dialog cards, are written well. They come as trickles in summer and completes the overall silent cinema feel. There are also some imaginative use of dialog and sound in this film as it is about the transition from silent films to talkies. The way sound was used to convey certain scenes is brilliant and worth writing home about.
As the movie moves to nearer and nearer to conclusion, heart-rending scenes will pour in more and more often, and given how likeable Dujardin has made his character, it will be impossible to not empathize. This exercise in empathy is however ruined by the too light-hearted ending. In my opinion, the movie could still have ended positively without feeling too hastily done. I really wouldn't mind extra minutes just for a better ending as I am enjoying myself anyway. Although, I must say, the last scenes in the ending were revelatory enough to placate me.
As the movie moves to nearer and nearer to conclusion, heart-rending scenes will pour in more and more often, and given how likeable Dujardin has made his character, it will be impossible to not empathize. This exercise in empathy is however ruined by the too light-hearted ending. In my opinion, the movie could still have ended positively without feeling too hastily done. I really wouldn't mind extra minutes just for a better ending as I am enjoying myself anyway. Although, I must say, the last scenes in the ending were revelatory enough to placate me.
My verdict:
Sunday, January 8, 2012
In Review: Sherlock Holmes, A Game of Shadows
If you can forego little character development, use of incredible foresight and other improbable plot devices, then A Game of Shadows will prove to be a palatable popcorn movie, rife with action and thrills and an effective chemistry between its leads, that course perfectly served after the draining holiday offerings of the past film fest.
The Good
- fast-paced and action-packed
- Downey's charm and Law's dead-on timing and effective humor wagon for Downey is still easy to appreciate and has not yet trudged the lines of annoyance.
The Bad
- almost cartoonish improbability of some plot devices and scene progressions
- little use of other cast members; largely non-nefarious villain
Synopsis
Sherlock Holmes (Downey Jr.) traces a sequence of bombing and assassinations to one man, Prof. James Moriarty (Harris), whom his lover-adversary, Irene Adler (McAdams) is working for. As this early part of the plot unravels, Holmes requires the services of his assistant and dear friend, Dr. Watson (Law), who is to marry. Unfortunately, Watson refuses to participate and Holmes seems to rest his case, even offering to bring Watson to his "stag party," which is apparently a visit to a casino where one of the clues to his new case is at in the form of a gypsy fortune-teller, Madam Simza (Rapace). As Holmes digs deeper into his case, the newly-married Watson is forced to join his friend in a case big enough to start a world war.
Bad Bromance
Like the first installment, on-screen chemistry between Downey Jr. and Law is familiar to that of man and wife, which is to say that they're both effective and believable. While often Watson has to play comic relief on which Holmes pulls his tricks on, he is shown to be more hands-on in this movie, being allowed to use his own form of deduction he grew from watching Holmes; Holmes on the other hand is shown to be a more devoted friend than a jackass as he is shown in the previous installment. This is the case perhaps because Holmes does not have any lady in this film. Watson marries here, but for most of the time, he does not endeavor in any on-screen romance with his wife, either. So what it lacks in romance, Guy Ritchie fills in with action and brotherhood. I do not mind, I like the burger better without the cheese.
19th Century Fringe Science
It is both a blessing and, er, a curse that Shadows was shown late here in the Philippines due to the annual Metro Manila Film Fest. What's good about that is that you get to see reviews ahead of watching the movie, what's bad is you'd get spoiled. For weeks, I instead just watched the tomatometer (in Rotten Tomatoes) for this movie to battle it out for freshness. Unfortunately, the movie has bordered the rotten territory and I eventually lost interest, given how not enthralled I was with the first film. Now that I have seen it for myself, I do not understand why the critics were not pleased. What I will do is attempt to discuss probabilities why they did not like it all while reviewing it.
First (and least important) of all, the musical score was not really memorable, albeit for an action flick such as this, it does not always need be, as long as it plays at the right time and helps build up the thrill. During the holidays, I've seen some old movies myself and what I noticed is that films back then rely heavily on dialog and acting. There is little to no musical score unless the film itself is a musical or comedy, and even then, most scenes are left out without any background music, especially if it has a dialog. For modern movies, however, music is key albeit it is most of the time not noticed on first viewing. For a casual moviegoer, music is merely a natural addition, the salt to the dish, that if left out, may make the dish bland. Did Shadows have enough music? Not that you'd notice. It's mostly noise, explosions, grumbles, and bantering.
First (and least important) of all, the musical score was not really memorable, albeit for an action flick such as this, it does not always need be, as long as it plays at the right time and helps build up the thrill. During the holidays, I've seen some old movies myself and what I noticed is that films back then rely heavily on dialog and acting. There is little to no musical score unless the film itself is a musical or comedy, and even then, most scenes are left out without any background music, especially if it has a dialog. For modern movies, however, music is key albeit it is most of the time not noticed on first viewing. For a casual moviegoer, music is merely a natural addition, the salt to the dish, that if left out, may make the dish bland. Did Shadows have enough music? Not that you'd notice. It's mostly noise, explosions, grumbles, and bantering.
Second, while Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. were terrific in their roles and have a convincing chemistry, they barely had anything bright to say. Unlike the first movie where wit is present and the jokes are actually based on smarts, this one goes more for banter and a bit of slapstick. Don't get me wrong, the dialog is not bad, but if you compare it to the previous installment, this one falls flat on the smarts department. Funny, yes. Smart, I have my reservations.
Third, If you'd give props to Downey Jr. and Law, the rest of the cast inspires your ho-hum. You wouldn't particularly like Watson's wife (I actually didn't), nor will you find Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) irresistible. He does not provide any good insight as the Mycroft Sir Arthur Conan Doyle painted. He was instead depicted as streaking government official with minor importance to the storyline. Another troubled character is that of Madam Simza's. The writers did very little for the audience to like her and she is also not blessed with a good character development. Noomi Rapace, who appeared in the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and its sequels, was wasted in this film. Her facial expressions were either angry or pondering angry. Given that Sim is quite an important character in this film, she could've been given more character depth. Although I find it relieving because I dislike her based on the trailers as she's replacing Rachel McAdams as the movie's dame. And speaking of McAdams who plays Irene Adler, I actually personally like her; There is something charming about her, something charming about the way she plays Irene Adler. Then boom, she is given very little screen time! Injustice! And last for this barrel: Jared Harris who plays the main antagonist, James Moriarty. While you couldn't fault Harris' acting, there is something about the way the movie played out that didn't seem to make him menacing at all. You will know he's the villain, but you couldn't hate him so much. He's just not that detestable. He suggests that he lacks a soul, but he does not show it so much. The way his character was written just did not allow that. It's possible that his character's screen time is sacrificed to focus much on Holmes and Watson. But either way, Ritchie should have made him more menacing, more cold, more nefarious. He just didn't become any of those. He's just that. A token villain.
Fourth and last, this Sherlock is possibly a psychic who has insanely inhuman foresight. That plus the several practically improbable plot devices running throughout the film, which can be excused as passable.
Luckily for me, I was able to look beyond those and enjoyed the film thoroughly. If the film had any dragging moments, they were very few and very little to be noticeable, to destroy the movie. The real challenge perhaps is the suspension of your disbelief, which more often than not can be accomplished if you get too engrossed with the movie. Gladly, the movie is engaging enough that you can easily forgive its various flaws if it does engage you. If it doesn't, I think you can still appreciate the fight scenes, the destruction, the trickery, and some semblance of play on logic in the film. Ultimately, I find this film more memorable than the last one as this one just makes you wish for a third installment while the first one makes you wish that that's about it.
Third, If you'd give props to Downey Jr. and Law, the rest of the cast inspires your ho-hum. You wouldn't particularly like Watson's wife (I actually didn't), nor will you find Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) irresistible. He does not provide any good insight as the Mycroft Sir Arthur Conan Doyle painted. He was instead depicted as streaking government official with minor importance to the storyline. Another troubled character is that of Madam Simza's. The writers did very little for the audience to like her and she is also not blessed with a good character development. Noomi Rapace, who appeared in the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and its sequels, was wasted in this film. Her facial expressions were either angry or pondering angry. Given that Sim is quite an important character in this film, she could've been given more character depth. Although I find it relieving because I dislike her based on the trailers as she's replacing Rachel McAdams as the movie's dame. And speaking of McAdams who plays Irene Adler, I actually personally like her; There is something charming about her, something charming about the way she plays Irene Adler. Then boom, she is given very little screen time! Injustice! And last for this barrel: Jared Harris who plays the main antagonist, James Moriarty. While you couldn't fault Harris' acting, there is something about the way the movie played out that didn't seem to make him menacing at all. You will know he's the villain, but you couldn't hate him so much. He's just not that detestable. He suggests that he lacks a soul, but he does not show it so much. The way his character was written just did not allow that. It's possible that his character's screen time is sacrificed to focus much on Holmes and Watson. But either way, Ritchie should have made him more menacing, more cold, more nefarious. He just didn't become any of those. He's just that. A token villain.
Fourth and last, this Sherlock is possibly a psychic who has insanely inhuman foresight. That plus the several practically improbable plot devices running throughout the film, which can be excused as passable.
Luckily for me, I was able to look beyond those and enjoyed the film thoroughly. If the film had any dragging moments, they were very few and very little to be noticeable, to destroy the movie. The real challenge perhaps is the suspension of your disbelief, which more often than not can be accomplished if you get too engrossed with the movie. Gladly, the movie is engaging enough that you can easily forgive its various flaws if it does engage you. If it doesn't, I think you can still appreciate the fight scenes, the destruction, the trickery, and some semblance of play on logic in the film. Ultimately, I find this film more memorable than the last one as this one just makes you wish for a third installment while the first one makes you wish that that's about it.
My verdict:
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Pick of the Week: Future Love
This one hails from 2009 and one I recently heard, again, in class. There are three versions of this song, one is from a boy band called Varsity Fan Club, which features male vocals, running on a slower tempo, and is the original version of this song. A rendition of that version by Kristinia DeBarge appeared on her debut album, featuring the same tempo, and finally, this one, featuring a more uptempo beat and dancy feel with a rap verse from Pit Bull. Personally, I prefer the uptempo version out of all three renditions.
If this is the first time you'll be hearing this track, you wouldn't think it was a product of 2009 as it is still sounds recent as it could be.
If this is the first time you'll be hearing this track, you wouldn't think it was a product of 2009 as it is still sounds recent as it could be.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Short Story: It's Not my Fault
Tetay hasn't had lunch yet. Her brothers have gone out for the day and she was left to starve on the overpass. They told her that they’d bring back food, but when she looked over the overpass view at 3 PM, they were sniffing rugby.
A tall stranger with curious blue eyes passed by Tetay and gave her a piece of bread and his Coke Light. It was lucky that she was nearest when the foreigner got tired of his food because the competition with the other homeless kids can be fierce this time of the day. She greedily munched up the bread before the other kids could see her and get a chance to ask for a piece.
Today is just a bad day. It’s already 5 PM and she has only collected 20 pesos. Strangers with blank faces keep passing her by as if her pleas for help do not matter. She's only 8, and already she's very well acquainted with the world's cruelty. It wasn't her fault that she was born poor and her parents more bastards than she actually is. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't afford three meals a day, or even one. It wasn't her fault that she, too, is a child, who wants to play, be happy, and not worry where to get dinner.
But she is suffering anyways.
Already it is 9 PM. The burning sensation the Coke Light did to her stomach had come and gone, and still she is hungry. Her can has collected 29.75. She can buy dinner or something with it. But just some more. Some more strangers to bother and she can eat.
Then just as she turned, she saw a white plastic bag—small and emblazoned with a happy-looking red bee. Jolly Crispy Fries, it sang. It’s almost every child’s dream to eat at Jollibee. This man, coming towards her, has Jollibee fries. Her stomach did backflips. She wants those fries.
"Akin na lang yan…" she said aloud so the stranger could hear her.
I did not budge. It's not my fault anyways that she's there. I carried on munching my fries, ignoring the suffering souls around me, children who haven’t had their dinners.
Tetay could not believe it, she grabbed the stranger's arms, pleading, pleading in the manner she knows, "akin na lang yan…"
I pulled my arm away from the dirty kid.
Immediately, when Tetay felt her hope for obtaining the fries has gone, she went jumping and crying, throwing a tantrum that no one could hear or could care about, especially the man who continued eating his fries and murmured, "It's not my fault…" Unfortunately, that man, I, is hounded by the image of Tetay jumping and crying and throwing tantrums that he needed to blog about it.
That night, after getting home, I was revisited again and again by that vision of Tetay. I never thought that Jollibee, an image of happiness for children, in my hands, had become an image of depravity in the eyes of the beggar Tetay.
Author's Note: Lifted from my old blog, dated March 16, 2008
In my defense, I was 22 and I haven't had dinner yet! Haha. I remember how this event went and I feel bad I didn't give her those fries. That was the least I could've done. It's the Christmas season, a season of giving and I thought I share this with everyone. Hopefully you all find some depth, lesson, or at the very least creativity, kahit kunti. Haha. Have a great day, everyone.
Jerky Talks: If You Want a Clear Picture
Last week, I frequented Fitness First ABS CBN, which is admittedly harder to reach for me compared to other branches. While I can actually walk ABS CBN from my place, I often lack both the courage and determination to do such a feat, so I instead decided to take two jeepney rides, a route that circumvents the otherwise straight line from my place to ABS if I walked it.
And what I realized during those jeepney rides is that our country is really dipshit poor. I mean, if you want a clear picture of how poor our country is, you don't need to watch any documentaries, or indie films, or go all outreach program sister. You just need to take that jeepney ride on a Christmas season, and, oh, the things you will rubbing shoulders with!
On my count, there were at least 3 envelope givers who went inside our jeepney during one of my jeepney rides. These people will ride the jeepney and give envelopes and plead / oblige you (by means of sad stares) to give money. Most of the times, these are kids, but in one rare case, a couple, around their late teens, rode our jeep and rendered a weird song and hand dance number. I do not understand for a moment why I should give them any money. They are not kids, they are not disabled, and in proper time they would add another child to the population of the country that could not feed itself properly. What was immediately evident was that they are poor--and haven't taken a bath for days. Why should I give my change to them?
On my second ride, there were no envelope givers, but rather, just street kids who need free ride. One of the kids that took that free ride was extremely dingy. He was wearing slippers but his feet were sooty and street-sodden. It was evident that his life has been spent mostly on the streets, learning the tricks of the trade, and in a few years' time, this kid would either be an experienced thief, drug addict, or dead. I cannot imagine how the parents of these kids can allow their children to go through a life like this, hitching jeepney rides and virtually living on the streets. How can one bear a child and let them look like shit? How can there be such a parent?
Everytime I see people like this, I feel sorry for my country, because I know, people like me will not do anything but live their lives and try to get as much money as they could from their time. Enough money to buy comfort and to be able to rear their child well so that one day, children like this one can rob them, or cut them, or rape them, or beat them up. People like me, at most, can only make themselves feel good, feel like they contribute something, by doing charity work on some organizations. And in a way, that is help. But the truth is, no action could ever be enough unless we can find a solution for the people living in conditions like that child. Unless we can find a way to change the mindsets of these people who breed street dwellers, this will just go on and on until the children of our children of our children. Unless we can make sure that hunger, violence, and death does not get ahead of us.
Don't get me wrong, I am not vilifying the poor, they are already doing their best to achieve that. I may perhaps be generalizing too much, but one thing I know for sure, is that this country is poor, and the lines between social strata have not been this clear to me. I am lucky: I have a job and I do not hand out envelopes to eat. I am unlucky, however, to see how poor this country is, and to know just how much faith in the Filipino people I lost in just two jeepney rides.
We are not advancing as whole. Rather, parts of us are, and some of those parts fly where there are less disturbing realities. The rest are left to squander and look for hand-me-downs they could get either by force or by mercy--and eventually starve until they are left with a choice of turning to wrong or dying. And that's just sad to think of while you could not finish your plate because you've already had too much and you want some space for that perfect flan.
I did not enjoy my New Year's Eve dinner so to speak.
Author's Note: You may also want to read the companion story, It's Not my Fault.
We are not advancing as whole. Rather, parts of us are, and some of those parts fly where there are less disturbing realities. The rest are left to squander and look for hand-me-downs they could get either by force or by mercy--and eventually starve until they are left with a choice of turning to wrong or dying. And that's just sad to think of while you could not finish your plate because you've already had too much and you want some space for that perfect flan.
I did not enjoy my New Year's Eve dinner so to speak.
Author's Note: You may also want to read the companion story, It's Not my Fault.
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