Twilight - A Pleasant Surprise

I just watched Twilight today (first screening at Alabang Town Center) and 3 hours after leaving the cinema, I'm still in that Twilight high. To think I did not that have high expectations on the movie. I did not believe that Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were fit as Edward Cullen and Isabella Swan respectively. So I was not really overly going gaga whenever Robert would appear in the TV shows or wherever promoting the movie. I also can't understand why they're making that much a fuss with his hair. It's so...unruly! Though I do like the books, I was not that much of a fan to buy the merchandise or watch the special preview last night. I just watched the first screening to make my officemates envious. Hehe.

But after watching the movie, I totally changed my mind. They're really perfect for the movie and what makes it better was that everything was exactly how I imagined it to be when I read the book. From the cinematography (I haven't been to Oregon or Washington but I imagined it to be that way--beautiful) to the way the actors portray the characters. Alice looks like Alice. Dr. Cullen looks like Dr. Cullen and everyone else (although I imagined Jacob to be taller).

Leo was laughing throughout the movie because of the audience reactions throughout the different scenes. I can't really blame him. Looking back, it was indeed hilarious if I wasn't caught up in the moment. When Edward first came out, half of the moviehouse softly screamed. When Dr. Cullen first appeared, he solicited the same reactions. The lady seated behind us kept on saying "sh*t" whenever a "kilig" moment would play in the screen. I don't think she was being sarcastic. It's her way of expressing her "kilig"-ness

The story is really quite simple. It's basically a love story between a human girl and a vampire boy. I still can't figure out what made these book series a hit as I've read a bit of paranormal romances and there's nothing different about the story. I guess Stephenie Meyer got her language and target audience right. The teenager age group is one of the most powerful market (next to children) available to be exploited. It's odd though that what was meant for the teenager audience spilled over to the adult age group (read: my age group. You should see the Twilight hysteria happening in the office right now. I gave my previous boss a Twilight shirt and mousepad which I saw in the bazaar for her birthday and she was SO ecstatic), same as the Harry Potter series. It was only natural that they make the series into a movie. By putting an actual physical face to the images floating in the imaginations of the teenage readers' brains can make any hooked reader into a rabid fan. And everyone knows how rabid teenage fans can be. Hey, I was a teenager once so I can relate. Think notebook covers, accessories, shirts, the whole shebang!

Nevertheless, I'd watch it again just to see Edward's brooding and piercing glare. And I totally forgive Robert Pattinson for his hair.

Now, let me surf for some Twilight clips and articles to assuage my Twilight thirst and keep my Twilight high maybe until New Moon the movie comes out.


(Images taken from filmonic.com and reviewabook.blogspot.com)

For The First Time

For some reason, I want to watch this movie. I think nadala ako sa love team ni Richard Gutierrez and KC Concepcion. Haha!

I'm not really a rabid fan of Richard or KC. I mean, hey, they're such a gorgeous couple and one can't help but just admire them. And note, ang ganda ng kili-kili ni KC. I don't think there's anything NOT beautiful about this girl.

There's this one particular scene that I like in the teaser--when KC and Richard was sharing an ice cream cone. Ang guwapo ni Richard!

The Dark Knight

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Science Fiction & Fantasy

The point that I had to go to the restroom twice throughout the movie does not distract me from the fact that this movie is absolutely great. It surpasses even it's predecessor, Batman Begins.

Though there has been a lot of hype on Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker, maybe I'll give in that he did a credible job. He's absolutely scary everytime he speaks and he licks his scars during pauses. The point that his make-up is smeared and not perfect adds to his menace. I don't know why they have to always reiterate how he got his scars. I think I heard it thrice during the movie. Maybe they want to push the fact that the Joker is demented and as Alfred pointed out, there are criminals who doesn't need a reason to be criminals.

I love Batman's motorcycle and how agile that piece of machine is. I also loved it when Batman jumped off the building in Hongkong and glided to the other building. Seeing those bat wings in flight makes one feel nostalgic.

I'm sure the series will not end here and I don't know when the next movie will be shown. I hope they won't have to wait for 3 more years to show the sequel and I hope no one in the cast has to die. I don't know who will replace The Joker now that Heath Ledger has passed away but he sure has big shoes to fill.

Pirates of the Carribean: World's End

Rating:	★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Action & Adventure

Five words: ANG GUWAPO NI ORLANDO BLOOM!!!!! (Orlando Bloom's so handsome!!!!!).

Anyway, I got that out of my system. The movie reminded me why I fell in love with him during Lord of the Rings.

As for POTC, this is the third movie that we've seen this year that's the end of a trilogy. Previous ones were Spiderman and Shrek. And sadly, all of these movies fell short of expectations.. Leo said that they followed the path of The Matrix trilogy. The Wachowski brothers wanted to say so many things thus leading to the complication of the plot and the poor showing of Matrix Revolutions in the movies.

The writers of Spiderman, Shrek and POTC fell into that trap as well. The first movies were all very simple. For Spiderman, it's just Spiderman discovering his powers and having one nemesis; for Shrek, it's just Shrek saving a princess; and for POTC, it's Captain Jack Sparrow wanting to get the Black Pearl Black. See, simple plots lines. But as the movies progress, the plots get more convoluted and complicated. It's just so sad.

So far, I can't remember a trilogy movie wherein the last movie really ended the series with a bang. In my opinion, only Return of the Jedi (Star Wars) and Return of the King (Lord of the Rings) (hmmm....both with "Returns" in the title...what a coincidence?) have successfully finished what their first movies have started. For both "Return" movies, I left the cinema with a happy heart, but with the recent movies, it left much to be desired. Heck, even POTC gave us a headache trying to sort through the multiple plotlines and the disappearance of motives and reason. You can only suspend reality for quite some time.

But well, Orlando Bloom's gorgeous. Yumyum :) I want to watch Lord of the Rings again!!!

Don't Give Up On Us

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Romantic Comedy

I'm a belated Piolo and Juday loveteam fan. The only movie of theirs that I watched (other than this) was Till There Was You (did they have another movie together other than those two?). That movie made me a convert.

Till There Was You was released, if I'm not mistaken, early last year. I didn't want to watch it at first as Piolo sported long locks in the movie. But at my officemate's urging and support (she did lend me the DVD), I watched it.

One thing I liked about the film was the scenery. Half of the movie was set at Baguio and it's surrounding towns--specifically Banawe and Sagada. The views were breathtaking--especially that of the Banawe Rice Terraces. I told Leo we should go there one time. Really beautiful place.

I also liked the story--sort off. Judy Ann's character (Abby) went off to Baguio to run after the wife to be of her brother, who happens to be her bestfriend (Sabina, played by Cheska Garcia). Sabina ran off in the middle of her bridal shower and disappeared off to parts unknown. A tape found in Sabina's bag pointed Abby to Vince (Piolo Pascual) at Baguio.

To make the long story short, Abby and Vince bonded while they looked for Sabina all over Baguio, Banawe and Sagada. Abby was very determined to find her bestfriend so she can drag her back to her brother. She just could not accept Sabina's decision. When they finally found Sabina, she did not want to return and wanted to stay with her lover in Sagada.

So where does leave Abby and Vince? Well, Vince wants a simple life and is quite happy in Baguio--singing in the Ayuyang bar, while Abby works in the very competitive world of Advertising (she smokes in the movie! Does she really smoke?) in Manila. Vince is scared that Abby will not be contented in Baguio and Vince thinks he will not succeed in Manila as a recording artist. So we then see our two lovebirds tearfully part ways. Abby hies off to Australia to accompany her parents while Vince tries his luck iin Manila to record a very emotional album.

Abby and Vince fatefully meet again during the successful release of his album. Through the rain, he saw Sabina walking down the street and he follows her to a restaurant, and there was Abby. They tearfully reunite amidst hugs and kisses.

What made this different from their previous film was how they showed their passion. Their previous movie was more "nakakakilig" because they really showed their affection for each other. For this movie, parang pigil. May daya nga yung mga kissing scenes nila. Piolo was covering the screen, not like their previous movie. Maybe because he was being sensitive over Juday's relationship with Ryan Agoncillo. It was just too funny. It's better if they just hugged without trying hard to do their kissing scenes.

I really hated Juday's character, maybe because she was so cut-throat and very abrasive. Typical yuppie. I sometimes forget that I am a yuppy and can sometimes show impatience. She was right in saying that our time is very precious and every minute counts. I've reached the point wherein a day is not enough to do everything that I need to accomplish. Even if I work 14-15 hours a day, it's still not enough. I have to sit back and smell the roses.

Anyway, Piolo has a new movie coming out soon with Regine Velasquez. I have to watch that. They look good together.

Pan's Labyrinth

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Science Fiction & Fantasy

Ever since Leo saw the trailer of this movie, he wanted to watch it. Moreover knowing that it was nominated at the Oscar's. It won for best cinematography, make-up and art direction. It should've won the Best Foreign Language Film of the Year. It was really good.

The story is set in Fascist Spain where there was this young girl called Ofelia who travelled to rural Spain with her pregnant mother to be with her stepfather, a ruthless captain. In her new home, she meets a fairy who shows her a different world.

According to the different synopses I read, Ofelia created the world from her imagination to help her deal with the ugliness of the war but I would like to believe that the world that she sees is indeed real. That she indeed came "home" when she died from the mortal plane. Though the writer might not meant it to be, I can still believe it to be real.

Though the story is not common, it's still not something new for me. Filipino folklore is rich with faeries and children disappearing because they ate the food of the faeries. They disappear to live with the "other" folk as they've forgotten the mortal world when they ate the food.

Watch it! Get the DVD!

TMNT

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Animation

When Leo showed me the trailer of this movie, he was very excited. Apparently, he's a fan since he was a kid. Moreover knowing that the leader of the turtles is his namesake.

I was not expecting much from this movie. After all, I can't get the image of the old cartoons from my head (TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles). I also remember how it was such a big hit to the kids that they would submit drawings of their Turtles to PhilStar (or was that Inquirer) to feature in the kids section.

But I was surprisingly entertained, not only by the graphics but by the story as well. The graphics were very good. I'm not an expert but I like the way it looked. It also seemed a bit dark. As for the story, it's not original but it gave the immortal angle a different twist.

There are some flaws though. Like how all 13 monsters ended up in New York City. Or probably more background on Casey and April and probably on Splinter as well.

Nevertheless, I recommend it anyway.