Skyfall

PG-13 | 143 mins | Action, Adventure | October 31, 2012 (Philippines) 

Director: Sam Mendes

Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, and Ralph Fiennes

Agent 007 is definitely back, and the cool factor is higher than ever. 

Skyfall starts with Bond’s end. At the beginning of the film, we are treated to an action sequence -- James Bond (Daniel Craig) in pursuit of a crook who has stolen the precious hard drive of M's computer containing a list of all undercover MI-6 agents positioned in terrorist organizations. But the mission goes wrong when the head bitch in charge, M (Judi Dench), instructs young agent Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) to fire her sniper rifle, even with James in the way. Agent 007 gets shot instead of the thief and presumed dead. Fast forward 3 months and M is now pushed into early retirement for the stolen hard drive and the (wrong) decisions she's made over the last year. But courtesy of the return of now-out-of-shape Bond, M gets a second chance to redeem herself. 

This 23rd James Bond movie, more than an homage, is in itself an assessment on the 50 year old franchise. It taps into whether our world still needs undercover agents from super-intelligence organizations (like the MI-6) on the ground when everything can be easily supervised online. The franchise afterall stemmed from the Cold War and the espionage that was so widespread at the time. It is this theme of irrelevance and outdated-ness that overwhelms Skyfall. Even the new geeky Q/ Quartermaster (Ben Whishaw) suggests that he can do more in his pajamas, and his computers, in a week than Bond can do in a year. To further prove that point, the film's brilliantly menacing villain, Silva (Javier Bardem, with blonde hair!), challenges the idea behind and the need for the primitive MI-6. He shakes the MI-6 and is out to make M realize, with his clever methods comparable to Christopher Nolan's The Joker, that her ways and means are obsolete. 

Great story. Impressive action. Stunning visuals. From the tense three-way chase through grey London to the climactic and blazing finale in the damp Scottish highlands, Skyfall is simply gorgeous and exciting as hell. Emotional depth and all, the acting is excellent collectively. Craig splendidly channels the humanized version of the aged secret agent with all that charm and grit and handsome griminess; Dench's indelible performance as M could easily win her an Oscar; Bardem's portrayal totally makes his flamboyant and mad cyberterrorist character by far the best Bond villain; and Ralph Fiennes who plays Mallory will keep you guessing whose side he is on until towards the end of the film. I also love Daniel Kleinman’s work. His title sequence, with Adele's throaty vocals, is so surreal. And Thomas Newman’s musical score gets an A+ from me, his best to date. 

Sam Mendes' two-and-a-half-hour Skyfall is one of the best films of 2012 and the best James Bond film of the franchise. Highly recommended, Bond fan or not. 

Lesson to the next M: do not, I repeat, DO NOT keep a single file with the name of every agent in the MI6 on a hard drive sitting idly in your office. 

RATING: 9/10

Taken 2

PG-13 | 92 mins | Action, Adventure, Drama | October 4, 2012 (Philippines)

Director: Olivier Megaton
Starring: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen

Taken was one of my unexpected favorites in 2008. So imagine my excitement for this action flick's sequel.

The movie introduces Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) reestablishing his relationship with his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) and ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen). Taken 2 picks up a year after the events of the first film, where Bryan successfully saved his daughter from human traffickers in Paris. Now, Bryan will be haunted by the consequences of that rescue. The father of one of the men he killed to get Kim back is seeking revenge. On a trip in Istanbul, Bryan and Lenore gets abducted, but cleverly managed to escape with Kim's help. The action begins here, as this former CIA agent is forced to retaliate.

Taken 2 was a decent follow up, although predictable. A sequel where the baddies' nearest and dearest strike back at your hero and his family is just unoriginal. 

There's more running here. I mean far-better-than-The-Bourne-Legacy kind of running, and a cliché  but awesome car chase sequence.

The movie felt like Transporter. But of course, this was also directed by Transporter 3's Olivier Megaton. 

As a sequel, it’s rather underwhelming because the story wasn't as smart as Taken, nor as intense, although the fragile-daughter-becoming-the-heroine-and-not-the-victim-anymore subplot was pleasantly refreshing. The action and fighting scenes are great; it just lacked the brutality that its predecessor showed when a father was so hell bent on rescuing his precious daughter. Even Megaton's Colombiana had more kick-ass action scenes than Taken 2, I think. But Neeson made up for the slack, thank goodness. Maggie Grace did so very well too, playing a bigger role this time around.

It's a lot of fun if you fancy seeing Neeson run around -- shooting, driving, and killing thugs. It’s got a good amount of conflict, adrenaline and drama.

I’m not jumping up and down about Taken 2, but I had a good hour-and-a-half with it. 

RATING: 7/10

The Dark Knight Rises

PG-13 | 165 mins | Action, Sci-fi, Adventure | July 19, 2012 (Philippines)

Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine, Anne Hathaway and Marion Cotillard


Awesome. Is that enough movie review already, that this movie is awesome? LOL.

The Dark Knight Rises picks up 8 years later since Batman (Christian Bale) took the fall for Harvey Dent's crimes. Batman hasn't been seen since. Bruce Wayne seem to be forever mourning Rachel Dawes's death, who was murdered by The Joker (the late Heath Ledger). One chance encounter however with an enchanting jewel thief Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) sprung him up. Unfortunate news of Wayne Enterprise’s financial standing in his time off, and the new apparent threat of global terrorist Bane (Tom Hardy), forced Wayne to embrace his alter ego again.

The Dark Knight Rises clocked in at 164 minutes, just the right time to tell this powerful post-apocalyptic/war story while allowing the audience to breathe and digest the material. The KAPOW and SPLAT, inked and derived from the pulpy pages of comicbooks, is what a movie about superheroes and supervillains like this is built on. But the bone crushing violence in this movie was so carefully staged and filmed that it all felt more human and authentic than the wrestling matches I see on TV. Monstrous goon Bane crippling Batman, delivering damage so intense, genuinely broke my heart. The stream of pounding had me flinching so bad the whole time. Twas an agony to watch.

The central actors are by and large topnotch. Christian Bale has stated this is his last time to play the role of Batman, and he did a better performance here than he did in The Dark Knight, mostly as Bruce Wayne than as Batman of course. Anne Hathaway was perfect as Selina Kyle. She was gorgeously hot and wicked and entertaining, and when she talked she purred like a cat (was never referred to as Catwoman though). Her chemistry with Bale tramples over that of Bale and Marion Cotillard's. Cotillard's significance as Miranda Tate sure was murky for the bulk of the film, until the big reveal in the end. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays doe-eyed police rookie John Blake, and arguably his performance was better here than in Inception. Hardy's Bane was intimidating enough, despite his facial expressions being hidden behind a mask (but The Joker is still supreme nasty). Credit to Bale and Hardy for selling their characters' personal conflicts so well. And as always, Michael Caine gives much gravitas as the film's heart, Alfred. Disappointingly, Cillian Murphy lacked the menace that he displayed from Batman Begins, and only reminded me of a local singer Christian Bautista.

This was the series' best work in the musical score department, kudos to Hans Zimmer for a chillingly good theme overall. Wally Pfister's cinematography, his Gotham City, is solid.

The movie presented a perfect plot for a terrorist attack - putting a city into anarchy and using weapons of mass destruction. The movie ought to disturb viewers a lot more than it does, yes, because it would touch upon issues like terrorism and gun violence. But I don’t think the comicbook violence in the Batman world caused the senseless and merciless movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado. The business of easily and legally acquiring guns and ammunition made that happen. The Dark Knight Rises movie as a matter of fact promotes at length a gun-free type of violence.

This is the third and final installment in Nolan’s Batman series. Or not. The restored bat symbol that Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) discovered and Blake's final scene definitely points to another Nolan adaptation, with Gordon-Levitt in the lead role, I conclude, but not as Robin the sidekick in green and red costume. Blake's going to take on the role of Batman in the future! Why? It was well established earlier in the film that anyone can be Batman, that it’s just a mask. So Bruce Wayne who apparently faked his own death gave Blake the coordinates and tools necessary to find the batcave, seemingly entrusting all the Batman equipment to him while he enjoys his hiatus. And he was already Robin in the film (Blake was actually named Robin, we found out at the end). He doesn't need to suit up and become Robin in the future because he already served the sidekick role of Robin in the movie. Finally, that powerful symbolism at the end, with Blake RISING up as the screen goes black, then the title: The Dark Knight RISES. So, yeah, I had reason to think this movie was a prelude to John Blake's task being the Batman.

I personally prefer this John Blake version of Robin and not the original Dick Grayson; this is how artistic Nolan is at rehashing characters from the comicbook source. Maybe Nolan will choose to adapt Frank Miller’s four-part Dark Knight Returns? Maybe. But having other Batmans will be interesting, like a Blake version of Batman. He could be like Jean-Paul Valley (Azrael) from the Knightfall series who stood in for Bruce Wayne after he was broken by Bane.

The first chapter presented the central characters. The second gave us the most loved (or hated) supervilain. Summing up the entire series, in grand fashion, The Dark Knight Rises tells the story of a man and his city.

Imperfections and all, this movie is an epic Grade A comic-book production.

RATING: 9.5/10

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

R | 105 mins | Sci-fi, Action, Adventure, Horror | July 4, 2012 (Philippines)

Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Starring: Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Rufus Sewell

In light of the upsurge of twisted fairy tale movies comes an alternate retelling of historical events via Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. This was based on the mash-up fiction novel by Seth Grahame-Smith. It reveals the supposed secret life of the 16th President of the United States as a slayer of the undead. Abraham "Abe" Lincoln (Benjamin Walker), one of America's well-loved president, discovers vampires are planning to take over the US and makes it his mission to annihilate them. Like Harry Turtledove, the father of alternate history, Grahame-Smith masterfully wields this fiction genre where he rewrites classic literature and mix it with zombies and monsters. 

It's hard to imagine Lincoln as a vampire hunter. Learning about his 'real' life story and his ideals, and memorizing The Gettysburg Address in highschool, the title just seems silly and derogatory. But mind you the story (based on the book) itself was well researched and, though suggests ridiculousness, made sense to me that's for sure. How? Abraham Lincoln is an ideal vampire hunter because of his outdoorsy background and his towering height, he was in good shape. Lincoln portrayed as an excellent fighter has basis, he in reality likes fist fights (check "Ten Things You Don't Know About: Abraham Lincoln" on History Channel). A historian said once that during a campaign speech, he went down the platform to pound on a rival supporter who was beating up his own follower then went back and continued with his speech.

Benjamin Walker channeled the stern look of Lincoln well. Mary Elizabeth Winstead was good in her portrayal as Mary Todd, proving that she can take on serious roles and she's not just a Sky High character. 

I wasn't too impressed with the CGI, especially that scene where Lincoln chases a vampire through a stampede of horses. They just couldn't realistically create the animals, sorry. (Read: Don't watch it in 3D) The sound effects could be better. Twas so nonsensical when a 2-inch toy sword made of plastic that's dropped on carpet sounded like King Elendil's Narsil dropped on a mass of metal. The scoring could have added the needed depth to the story. It could've been worse, but at least the movie brought the novel to life enough. Bekmambetov's earlier directorial work, Wanted, was a flop for me. It was more of a comedy than a serious movie to me, so imagine my surprise when Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter worked out OK taken as a whole. 

More than the technical atrocities, I still enjoyed it. Well, mainly because of the refreshing story really. This is something different.  Vampire cum history lovers will like this! But, just a heads up, the vampires here don't sparkle in the sun. LOL.

RATING: 6/10

The Amazing Spider-Man

PG-13 | 136 mins | Action, Adventure, Sci-fi | June 29, 2012 (Philippines)

Director: Marc Webb
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Sally Field and Denis Leary

Unlike the earlier films, The Amazing Spider-Man is a mature and darker version of the Marvel hero's untold story. It tells the story of Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), an introverted loser highschool kid in New York City who was left by his parents as a boy in the care of his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field). He would later discover that he is the son of a top scientist who had done extensive research in cross-species genetics, leading him directly to Oscorp and his father’s ex-partner, Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans). He gets bitten by a radioactive spider that granted him incredible powers. Dr. Connors' experiment to regrow his right arm went out of hand and transforms into The Lizard, Spider-Man's nemesis. Peter would juggle with his affection for Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), whose eyes make me weak and strong at the same time, and his responsibility as a hero.

The movie is rich and dark; all the stunt work and the effects and the blood seem to be going for the Dark Knight track. Although the main character was altered from the original comicbook source -- i.e. Peter Parker would never expose his superhuman powers especially not showing off in the school gym to humiliate the school bully in front of his schoolmates-- I understand it was necessary to drive home that point. That feel of grittiness is definitely present in the movie. What stood out for me here was how that legendary heartbreak of Peter losing his Uncle Ben was made even more tragic. There were light moments too, comedic scenes that gets the audience laughing. 

Garfield has acting chops, he proved it in The Social network then and he proves it again in The Amazing Spider-Man now. Much to my own surprise, he actually is right for Peter Parker. I read someone cleverly wrote, Tobey Maguire may have been the first to bring the comicbook superhero to life, but it was Andrew Garfield that made him human. The guy gives the character a boost making you root for him. His on-screen chemistry with Stone was engaging, and their lovey-dovey moments was a welcome contradiction to the film's dark mood. Stone fuses cute and sexy naturally well and rocked those rain boots, er, Gwen Stacy's signature go-go boots. And those eyes of hers, Teddy Geiger must've wrote the lyrics "Cuz I could fall asleep in those eyes, like a water bed" for Emma Stone. Gwen Stacy is portrayed as gutsy rather than ditsy. Ifans was believable in his peculiar and personal battle as Dr. Connors and the Lizard. While I thought Sheen was effective as Uncle Ben, Field's character Aunt May fell short for me. Aunt May lacked character development, when she was supposed to be a central figure. She was so downplayed that the character appeared dispensable. Take Aunt May out of the story, the movie can still stand on its own.

My only little issues were that, one, the supposed untold story about his childhood is refreshing but hardly vital at this point though. It may all make sense when the sequel comes out (Yes, there is one. You should've known better than to leave right away, because Marvel movies always have teasers after the credits). And two, I still think it would've been a smarter and a more interesting story if Peter invented instead his webbing all by himself from scratch and not just use Oscorp's technology.

Director Marc Webb did not rely on CGI and did a splendid job overall. Webb understands that the audience do not want a lengthy, slow and boring telling of the origin story events so he kept it concise, snappy, easy to digest and most importantly let Spider-Man swing into action faster and longer. And boy, does he swing! This is the Spider-Man that any fan, and non-fan, would have imagined him to be. The rock anthems complemented Webb's vision for the movie, but Danny Elfman’s musical scoring of the Raimi movies is still the better arrangement for me. 

Expectations were high for this film, because it's an incarnation so soon of the Sam Raimi-Tobey Maguire letdown that is Spider-Man 3. But these expectations were positively met. The Amazing Spider-Man is what a blockbuster movie should be. It's worth a watch! 

RATING: 8/10

The Avengers

PG-13 | 143 mins | Action, Sci-fi, Adventure | April 25, 2012 (Philippines)

Director: Joss Whedon

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, and Tom Hiddleston

What can I say, all that geekiness and comicbook charm was achieved by The Avengers. It is now officialy my most favorite superhero film (Sorry X-Men: First Class). 

The Avengers is composed of the billionaire Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), the scientist Dr. Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), the demigod Thor (Chris Hemsworth), World War II supersoldier Steve Rogers/Captain America (Cris Evans), and spies Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). They were re-grouped by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), director of international peace keeping agency S.H.I.E.L.D, to save the world from the alien invading forces of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) who unfortunately gained possession of the cube-like Tesseract.

The film has a common superhero story of aliens invading Earth and there's a lot happening, but still the film felt refreshing and exciting. The film tapped into the conflicts and relationships of each character, like a regular messy therapy session with a shrink, only with superhero attendees. Marvel's The Avengers is packed with action from start to finish but did not fail to make us laugh as well. Iron Man's arrogant sense of humor were a given, but The Hulk was a revelation! He kept the audience laughing with his subtle comical moments, one with Thor, another with Creepy cool Loki. The characters of Hawk Eye and Black Widow were promoted to hero status and made a great debut. Ruffalo gave the The Hulk a character boost, and I must say, the uses to which The Hulk is put throughout this movie was unforeseen but certainly a pleasant surprise; it made him look stronger and catapulted him into the front ranks of the Marvel Universe's superheroes.

Surely it was no simple feat, so kudos to Joss Whedon for brilliantly executing this intelligent and witty story with a burdensome superhero all-star ensemble. Most of the heroes in this 2 hour and 23 minute movie are very well-known, but none are short changed. Although obviously, and naturally so, crowd favorites Ironman, Captain America and Thor got more screentime in the movie. In spite of that, Whedon showcased well all the heroes, gave each character enough story then he weaved all the superhuman stories together and made it work. Whedon clearly has a deep understanding, and love, of the source material. The effects are top-notch and all the actors were great. Even the supporting Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders, who was not trying to make us laugh like she does in How I Met Your Mother) and Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg). The chemistry is all that good.

One minor problem: It's not a prerequisite to watch the previous films, but for the benefit of first-time viewers they could've picked up more the movie's character and plot development element, maybe summing up the events that led to the encounter. 

The film's climactic battle is breathtaking, delivering its every promise. The Avengers is a spectacle filled with crowd-pleasing action and playful wit and humor. This is one of the best superhero film ever made and I am not exaggerating. The seven year wait and the films that led to assembling The Avengers were all worth it. Kids and adults, fans and non fans, will love the movie. This is a must watch. 

If you stick around for the post credit sequence, as with any Marvel film, you'll get a hint of what's coming. And the next villain is Thanos!

RATING: 8.5/10

Ladder 49 (2004)

PG-13  | 115 mins  | Action, Drama | October 1, 2004 (USA)

Director: Jay Russell

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, John Travolta, and Jacinda Barrett

Gets me everytime. Firefighters are definitely unsung heroes.

RATING: 9/10

X-Men: First Class

PG-13 | 132 mins | Action, Sci-fi, Adventure | June 3, 2011

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones, Nicholas Hoult

This prequel was a big gamble for Marvel. It's dangerous business to redo a well-known franchise such as the X-Men, presenting it contrary to conventional comic-book-inspired flicks -- with new actors, a different backdrop; less special effects, more dramatics. Risky, but Marvel should be proud of the decision, because it's worth it.

Eleven years ago, the X-Men film series was launched. I hated how Cyclops' character was played down in the trilogy, and was eventually killed, but I realize it's all Hollywood business. Because James Marsden puzzlingly decided to ditch the movie franchise in favor of a mediocre part in Superman Returns, produced by a competitor studio (but also directed by Bryan Singer), without a doubt 20th Century Fox and Marvel Pictures was not at all pleased with the actor who played Cyclops. So they prematurely killed the character to get back at him, to wipe out any future movie contracts with him to portray Cyclops. But that wasn't really my point. With the X-Men actors' starmeter rankings soaring along with their talent fees, 20th Century Fox couldn't afford to have Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry in another film together. So they decided to hit replay -- enter X-Men: First Class.

The first half lazily unwrapped the lives of Erik Lehnsherr (who will be Magneto) and Charles Xavier (Professor X), the dull intro counterbalanced by stellar performances of the lead actors James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as the younger counterparts of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen's characters. While the young Erik is in a Nazi concentration camp unconsciously demonstrating his magnetic abilities, fortunate Charles Xavier meets little Mystique, a blue-skinned shape-shifter, at home. Then it swings to the early 60s, with Erik hunting a German genetic scientist turned topnotch evildoer apparently seeking revenge for his Nazi torture many years ago. Prof. X, on the other hand, finally becomes an Oxford professor.

McAvoy is convincing as a telepath, projecting the extraordinary sensitivity that the role demanded. And he could well qualify as a stud with his brainy pick up line. "Heterochromia is in reference to your eyes, which I have to say are stunning. One green, one blue. It's a mutation. It's a very groovy mutation..." Fassbender wisely portrayed a younger and emotionally complex Magneto, brimming with rage. The rest of the cast were passable; Kevin Bacon as the resident baddie Sebastian Shaw couldn't be more stiff, he could use some lessons from Jack Sparrow, maybe teach him how to be an effective mischief with a drunken gait.

The story develops to Professor X recruiting a group of teenagers with mutant abilities to battle for the U.S. government -- Banshee, Havok, Angel, Darwin. They would later battle against larger-than-life nasty, Sebastian Shaw. The movie also explains how Hank McCoy transforms to Beast, Mystique's love interest. Director Matthew Vaughn bribed us with a remarkable warfare, in operatic proportions. Magneto dangling from the Blackbird lifting a submarine was epic. You'd twitch at Professor X stretching his abilities to telepathically communicate with Magneto.

X-Men: First Class nicely fused real life events and fictitious mutant heroes, from Poland during World War II to the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

I still couldn't understand why Havok instead of Cyclops made it to the First Class, which if I do the math, with Prof. X and Magneto young as they are in the film, would make him older than (big) brother Scott a.k.a. Cyclops. (I guess, James Marsden and Fox still isn't in good terms.) Anyway, it's no secret most people in Hollywood are far more interested in making money than being faithful to the source material. At least some fans will be satisfied to see Nightcrawler's red daddy, Azazel!

Even with its flaws, X-Men: First Class is a valuable boot up of the comicbook legacy that is the X-Men.

RATING: 8.5/10