directed by Avid Liongoren written by Charlene Sawit-Esguerra
It isn't often that I view writing movie reviews, which I do mainly for my own pleasure, as a form of advocacy, but in the case of Saving Sally, as in the case of last year's Heneral Luna, that is very much the case.
Saving Sally, the first live-action/animation hybrid feature film in the Philippines, or at least, the first in a long, long time, is a film that deserves, and unfortunately, needs to be championed.
It is the story of student/comic-book creator Marty (Enzo Marcos) and the love of his life, the spunky inventor Sally (Rhian Ramos), his best friend who lives under the close watch of her abusive foster parents (Archie Adamos and Shamaine Buencamino), and who longs to be free. Marty, in the meantime, longs to tell Sally how he feels about her but can never muster up the courage. When she hooks up with the self-absorbed, shallow alpha-male Nick (TJ Trinidad), Marty is, of course devastated, and to show the extent of his devotion, volunteers to be the messenger between Nick and Sally when she is grounded by her draconian foster parents. Marty stays true to his friendship with Sally, as frustrating as it is, and gets words of wisdom and moral support from his dad (Bodjie Pascua) and mom (Carme Sanchez). From this ongoing frustration, Marty draws inspiration for a story that may or may not land him a job writing and drawing a comic book for publisher Renegade Comics (Peejo Pilar). What matters most to Marty, however, is the well-being of his beloved Sally.
The film is not quite the grab-you-by-the-balls, narrative tour de force that Heneral Luna was when it graced movie theaters last year, but I'm honestly hard-pressed to think of any other film which can boast this much painstaking effort packed into each and every frame. This film was ten years in the making, and it shows in the sheer detail and craft of the images on the screen. The environments are mostly, if not entirely animated.
It doesn't exactly have anything particularly profound to say about the human condition, but really, it doesn't have to be that kind of story. I'm fairly certain it will resonate with anyone who's ever ached from the pain of unrequited love, as well as the comic-book/pop culture geeks to whom it lovingly pays tribute. There's also a shout-out to every nice guy (or every person who fancies himself a nice guy) who has ever felt frustration at the girl of his dreams falling for a bad boy. It touches on the evils of child abuse, and indeed that's what drives quite a bit of the narrative, but it is, at its heart, a love story and it is a rather tender one at that. It avoids sentimentality, and, for a fantasy movie, has a remarkably grounded take on human relationships, whether it's between parents and children or friends. Sure, a number of story tropes play out here, but many of them feel valid because they happen in real life.
Also, I'd like to give kudos to this crew for daring to film almost the entirety of the film's dialogue in English. It showcases just how proficient Filipinos are in the language, and how naturally they can act in it without coming across as overly theatrical. I hope this gives the movie's international prospects a boost.
This film is about to be pulled out of theaters after today, but I hope it finds its audience abroad and on home video.
8.5/10
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Monday, December 19, 2016
More "War" Than "Star": A Review of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Mild Spoilers)
directed by Gareth Edwards
written by Chris Weitz, Tony Gilroy, John Knoll and Gary Whitta
The very first thing I'll say about this film arguably the most "spoilery;" its story leads directly into the events of the very first Star Wars film.
"Rogue One" is primarily the story of the scrappy Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) the daughter of Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) an Imperial Scientist who is forced out of an early retirement by an ambitious officer (Ben Mendelsohn) who has plans for his brains. The forced re-recruitment ends in tragedy as the young Jyn (Beau Gadsdon) is separated from her father, and then raised by Clone Wars veteran Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker).
Years later, Jyn, a hustler and small-time criminal, is rescued from an Imperial penal convoy by the Rebel Alliance, who send her along with Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and reprogrammed Imperial Droid K-2S0 (Alan Tudyk) on a mission to visit Gerrera on the planet Jedha, whom the Alliance believes will lead her to her father and find out whatever it is he's reportedly built for the empire, especially since they have received reports that an Imperial cargo pilot Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed) has already gone to Gerrera to relay a message from Erso. Jyn is told the plan is to extract her father from the Empire once he has been located, but Andor is secretly given a much more grim order as to what to do with him. When the small troop of rebels learns what exactly Erso has built for the Empire, they realize it's something worse than anything they could ever have imagined, and the future of the rebellion itself is cast into doubt.
Of course, the vast majority of people who walk into this movie will know how the saga eventually plays out, but the fact that, but for a few cameos by some of the franchise's best known characters, most of the cast is new, the storytelling still manages to feel fresh, especially considering the unconventional and, to my mind at least, extremely gratifying casting choices.
No doubt, people have been writing about Jones' plucky heroine Jyn or Donnie Yen's awesome blind space monk Chirrut Imwe or even Alan Tudyk's snarky former Imperial droid, but for me the best character of the bunch was Diego Luna's Andor, arguably the most nuanced character ever to step into the Star Wars Universe. He's basically the dark underbelly of the rebellion that no one in the original trilogy ever spoke of. There's been quite a bit of dialogue in the original films about people dying for the rebellion, but none about people killing for it...until now, and I don't mean the righteous kills like shooting down stormtroopers but the kind of cutthroat aggressiveness that actual rebellions have to be made of to survive. Maybe casting a Latin American was a bit of a nod to all of the insurgencies that have been waged in that part of the world, complete with the murky moral compass that has characterized many of those movements.
Luna himself comes across as a curious choice for the role, which could have gone to any of a number of British or American actors, but to me I think he essayed the role perfectly. Unlike Oscar Isaac, whose Poe Dameron in last years The Force Awakens was more of an archetype, Luna, with his lean and mean look, really does come across as a battle-hardened veteran ready to do anything and everything in the name of his cause. The accent helps too, especially when played off against the well-known American accents of the stormtroopers, the effete British accents of the Imperial officers, and the hodgepodge of different accents of the new cast, which include a curious concoction by Whitaker, who basically wheezes all of his lines, apparently because his character is on some form of perpetual life support. Jones still has to hold the film together, though, and to her credit she does a great job of it. For the second year and Star Wars movie in a row the story is anchored on a solid performance by a British actor. Fellow Brit Riz Ahmed, on that note, does an engaging job as Bodhi Rook. The duo of defrocked kyber crystal monks Imwe and Malbus (Wen Jiang) make for some wonderful onscreen comedy and action, with Donnie Yen putting on display the best hand-to-hand combat ever seen in a Star Wars movie, and even getting one of the film's best lines as a bag is shoved over his head: "Are you kidding me? I'm blind!"
The approach Edwards has taken to the narrative, a much grittier one than the franchise is used to, is a most welcome one. While the franchise has always had a political undercurrent, with George Lucas taking not-so-subtle jabs at the second Bush administration in 2005's Revenge of the Sith, this is probably the closest a Star Wars film has actually come to depicting a war, and I think Edwards and his screenwriters deserve a big pat on the back for that.
I was also glad to note that CGI was avoided whenever possible. It was also nice to see that the actual use of CG was so well-done that the aerial dogfights in the film were pretty outstanding and could easily count among the franchise's best. The Force Awakens lacked some proper X-Wing-on-Tie-Fighter action, in my opinion, and this movie more than made up for that deficiency in its own third act. My memories of the prequels with their godawful video game graphics has effectively been banished, for the most part. I say for the most part, because I feel the decision to feature Moff Tarkin, played in the original Star Wars by the late Peter Cushing, in the film was an unfortunate mistake. Tarkin is played here by a body double, with his likeness digitally imposed, and in all honestly it is never fully convincing. Another well-known character makes a prominent digital appearance right at the film's end, but that was judiciously timed and presented. Tarkin's appearance was just creepy, and for me, a major drawback, one that not even Darth Vader's well-written and staged appearance could offset.
That flaw notwithstanding, however, this is definitely a worthy addition to the canon, and one I easily enjoyed more than last year's entertaining but dishearteningly safe "The Force Awakens." Notably absent from the crew of this film is legendary composer John Williams, though his iconic themes are peppered through the film and grace the end credits. Michael Giacchino, a last-minute replacement for Alexandre Desplat, turns in admirable, if slightly unremarkable work; that he was just pinch-hitting really shows here.
It's funny to think that I hadn't even planned on seeing it. I was suffering from some serious prequel fatigue, and I'll admit that some of the glowing reviews, which I basically just skimmed, got me rather curious. Well, my curiosity has since been satisfied and I am genuinely happy to have seen this film.
8.5/10
written by Chris Weitz, Tony Gilroy, John Knoll and Gary Whitta
The very first thing I'll say about this film arguably the most "spoilery;" its story leads directly into the events of the very first Star Wars film.
"Rogue One" is primarily the story of the scrappy Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) the daughter of Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) an Imperial Scientist who is forced out of an early retirement by an ambitious officer (Ben Mendelsohn) who has plans for his brains. The forced re-recruitment ends in tragedy as the young Jyn (Beau Gadsdon) is separated from her father, and then raised by Clone Wars veteran Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker).
Years later, Jyn, a hustler and small-time criminal, is rescued from an Imperial penal convoy by the Rebel Alliance, who send her along with Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and reprogrammed Imperial Droid K-2S0 (Alan Tudyk) on a mission to visit Gerrera on the planet Jedha, whom the Alliance believes will lead her to her father and find out whatever it is he's reportedly built for the empire, especially since they have received reports that an Imperial cargo pilot Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed) has already gone to Gerrera to relay a message from Erso. Jyn is told the plan is to extract her father from the Empire once he has been located, but Andor is secretly given a much more grim order as to what to do with him. When the small troop of rebels learns what exactly Erso has built for the Empire, they realize it's something worse than anything they could ever have imagined, and the future of the rebellion itself is cast into doubt.
Of course, the vast majority of people who walk into this movie will know how the saga eventually plays out, but the fact that, but for a few cameos by some of the franchise's best known characters, most of the cast is new, the storytelling still manages to feel fresh, especially considering the unconventional and, to my mind at least, extremely gratifying casting choices.
No doubt, people have been writing about Jones' plucky heroine Jyn or Donnie Yen's awesome blind space monk Chirrut Imwe or even Alan Tudyk's snarky former Imperial droid, but for me the best character of the bunch was Diego Luna's Andor, arguably the most nuanced character ever to step into the Star Wars Universe. He's basically the dark underbelly of the rebellion that no one in the original trilogy ever spoke of. There's been quite a bit of dialogue in the original films about people dying for the rebellion, but none about people killing for it...until now, and I don't mean the righteous kills like shooting down stormtroopers but the kind of cutthroat aggressiveness that actual rebellions have to be made of to survive. Maybe casting a Latin American was a bit of a nod to all of the insurgencies that have been waged in that part of the world, complete with the murky moral compass that has characterized many of those movements.
Luna himself comes across as a curious choice for the role, which could have gone to any of a number of British or American actors, but to me I think he essayed the role perfectly. Unlike Oscar Isaac, whose Poe Dameron in last years The Force Awakens was more of an archetype, Luna, with his lean and mean look, really does come across as a battle-hardened veteran ready to do anything and everything in the name of his cause. The accent helps too, especially when played off against the well-known American accents of the stormtroopers, the effete British accents of the Imperial officers, and the hodgepodge of different accents of the new cast, which include a curious concoction by Whitaker, who basically wheezes all of his lines, apparently because his character is on some form of perpetual life support. Jones still has to hold the film together, though, and to her credit she does a great job of it. For the second year and Star Wars movie in a row the story is anchored on a solid performance by a British actor. Fellow Brit Riz Ahmed, on that note, does an engaging job as Bodhi Rook. The duo of defrocked kyber crystal monks Imwe and Malbus (Wen Jiang) make for some wonderful onscreen comedy and action, with Donnie Yen putting on display the best hand-to-hand combat ever seen in a Star Wars movie, and even getting one of the film's best lines as a bag is shoved over his head: "Are you kidding me? I'm blind!"
The approach Edwards has taken to the narrative, a much grittier one than the franchise is used to, is a most welcome one. While the franchise has always had a political undercurrent, with George Lucas taking not-so-subtle jabs at the second Bush administration in 2005's Revenge of the Sith, this is probably the closest a Star Wars film has actually come to depicting a war, and I think Edwards and his screenwriters deserve a big pat on the back for that.
I was also glad to note that CGI was avoided whenever possible. It was also nice to see that the actual use of CG was so well-done that the aerial dogfights in the film were pretty outstanding and could easily count among the franchise's best. The Force Awakens lacked some proper X-Wing-on-Tie-Fighter action, in my opinion, and this movie more than made up for that deficiency in its own third act. My memories of the prequels with their godawful video game graphics has effectively been banished, for the most part. I say for the most part, because I feel the decision to feature Moff Tarkin, played in the original Star Wars by the late Peter Cushing, in the film was an unfortunate mistake. Tarkin is played here by a body double, with his likeness digitally imposed, and in all honestly it is never fully convincing. Another well-known character makes a prominent digital appearance right at the film's end, but that was judiciously timed and presented. Tarkin's appearance was just creepy, and for me, a major drawback, one that not even Darth Vader's well-written and staged appearance could offset.
That flaw notwithstanding, however, this is definitely a worthy addition to the canon, and one I easily enjoyed more than last year's entertaining but dishearteningly safe "The Force Awakens." Notably absent from the crew of this film is legendary composer John Williams, though his iconic themes are peppered through the film and grace the end credits. Michael Giacchino, a last-minute replacement for Alexandre Desplat, turns in admirable, if slightly unremarkable work; that he was just pinch-hitting really shows here.
It's funny to think that I hadn't even planned on seeing it. I was suffering from some serious prequel fatigue, and I'll admit that some of the glowing reviews, which I basically just skimmed, got me rather curious. Well, my curiosity has since been satisfied and I am genuinely happy to have seen this film.
8.5/10
The New and Improved Metro Manila Film Festival
Starting every December 25 since the 1970s, movies houses in Metro Manila, and later all around the country, have shown exclusively Filipino-made movies for a two-week period. I imagine that in the beginning, the idea was to showcase the very best films Filipino filmmakers had to offer, and I can even remember a period of time when this was so.
For many years, however, it seemed that the festival, once meant to showcase Philippine cinema's finest became just a protectionist cash grab designed to benefit whoever was most capable of pandering to the lowest common denominator.
Lately, it seems, the festival has been invigorated with an exclusively "independent" film slate, which means, as it does in Hollywood, a bunch of Filipino movies financed independently of any major studios, and freed of the constraints of commercial filmmaking. In short, these are movies produced by filmmakers driven solely by the imperative of telling the stories they want to tell, and not of cramming as many lowbrow jokes and movie stars mugs into the running time as they possibly can.
For the first time in years, I find myself looking forward not just to one or two films in the festival (because even at its worst, the MMFF has always managed to have a few gems amidst all of the dreck), but to the festival itself. I can also say, with complete honesty, that I am looking forward to at least one movie in this festival more than I was to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. This is a refreshing turnaround from the years in which I groaned at the knowledge that my beloved Hollywood films would be booted out of cinemas to make way for trashy local movies.
Come Christmas Day, I am happy to say this year that I will be excited to go to the movies!
For many years, however, it seemed that the festival, once meant to showcase Philippine cinema's finest became just a protectionist cash grab designed to benefit whoever was most capable of pandering to the lowest common denominator.
Lately, it seems, the festival has been invigorated with an exclusively "independent" film slate, which means, as it does in Hollywood, a bunch of Filipino movies financed independently of any major studios, and freed of the constraints of commercial filmmaking. In short, these are movies produced by filmmakers driven solely by the imperative of telling the stories they want to tell, and not of cramming as many lowbrow jokes and movie stars mugs into the running time as they possibly can.
For the first time in years, I find myself looking forward not just to one or two films in the festival (because even at its worst, the MMFF has always managed to have a few gems amidst all of the dreck), but to the festival itself. I can also say, with complete honesty, that I am looking forward to at least one movie in this festival more than I was to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. This is a refreshing turnaround from the years in which I groaned at the knowledge that my beloved Hollywood films would be booted out of cinemas to make way for trashy local movies.
Come Christmas Day, I am happy to say this year that I will be excited to go to the movies!
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Disney's Sailing Princess: A Review of Moana
directed by Ron Clements, John Musker, Don Hall and Chris Williams
screenplay by Jared Bush
Following the fantastic Zootopia, I was expecting very good things from Disney with their animated tale Moana, which tells the story of a chieftain's daughter from the South Pacific who sets sail to appease an angry god and save her people.
Inspired by folk tales from the South Pacific, this film is the story of Moana (Auli'i Cravalho), the daughter of the chieftain of the island community of Motunui, grows up captivated by two things: the ocean, and the stories she hears from her grandmother (Jenny House), particularly the tale of how demi-god Maui (Dwayne Johnson) stole the heart (actually a jewel) from the island goddess Te Fiti (sort of a Mother Earth figure). One day, these two converge as Moana, trying to settle into her role as the next in line to lead her people, is confronted with a frightening phenomenon; her people are unable to catch fish or harvest coconuts or crops. Moana's grandmother is convinced that the world is cursed as a result of Maui's theft of Te Fiti's heart. The Moana must then find Maui and travel with him to Te Fiti's island in order to restore her heart and end the curse, over the objections of her protective father (Temeura Morrison). The question is whether or not Moana can get the egotistical Maui to cooperate long enough to save the world.
There's a lot to love about this movie, from the gorgeous South Pacific island backdrops to the high seas adventure to the catchy songs by Lin Manuel Miranda and Opetaia Foa'i, to the lead character herself, Moana, and her burly traveling companion, the demi-god Maui, who is Johnson at his comedic best. I doubt if anyone watching World Wrestling Entertainment in the 1990s and early 2000s ever imagined "The Rock" would one day be singing in a Disney film -(and singing well, too!)-but here he is, with a whole song number to himself. The casting of unknown Cravalho was a canny, if not necessarily inspired choice.
Ultimately, though, this was the movie with which Disney followed up Zootopia, and as such it is, well, a bit of a step down.
Moana's journey to redeem her people and find herself feels vaguely like Fa Mulan's journey to preserve her father's honor in 1998's Mulan, albeit without the war and gender-bending. That's not particularly detrimental, but next to Zootopia's decidedly more subversive storytelling it has a slightly well-worn feel to it. Moana's songs are certainly catchier than Mulan's, especially the signature "How Far I'll Go" as well as Johnson's "You're Welcome." Also, as fresh as the movie feels from a visual perspective, a lot of the territory seems distinctly familiar. Zootopia wore its film noir, buddy-cop influences on its sleeve but used them to come up with something surprisingly new. Moana isn't quite as brave. A lot of the homages were distinctly fun, though; the Mad Max-inspired sequence involving demon coconuts was a laugh riot!
The bottom line for me is that this movie is worth the trip to the cinema, but it wasn't quite the home run for me that Zootopia was.
They should have the Oscar for Best Original Song in the bag, though.
7/10
screenplay by Jared Bush
Following the fantastic Zootopia, I was expecting very good things from Disney with their animated tale Moana, which tells the story of a chieftain's daughter from the South Pacific who sets sail to appease an angry god and save her people.
Inspired by folk tales from the South Pacific, this film is the story of Moana (Auli'i Cravalho), the daughter of the chieftain of the island community of Motunui, grows up captivated by two things: the ocean, and the stories she hears from her grandmother (Jenny House), particularly the tale of how demi-god Maui (Dwayne Johnson) stole the heart (actually a jewel) from the island goddess Te Fiti (sort of a Mother Earth figure). One day, these two converge as Moana, trying to settle into her role as the next in line to lead her people, is confronted with a frightening phenomenon; her people are unable to catch fish or harvest coconuts or crops. Moana's grandmother is convinced that the world is cursed as a result of Maui's theft of Te Fiti's heart. The Moana must then find Maui and travel with him to Te Fiti's island in order to restore her heart and end the curse, over the objections of her protective father (Temeura Morrison). The question is whether or not Moana can get the egotistical Maui to cooperate long enough to save the world.
There's a lot to love about this movie, from the gorgeous South Pacific island backdrops to the high seas adventure to the catchy songs by Lin Manuel Miranda and Opetaia Foa'i, to the lead character herself, Moana, and her burly traveling companion, the demi-god Maui, who is Johnson at his comedic best. I doubt if anyone watching World Wrestling Entertainment in the 1990s and early 2000s ever imagined "The Rock" would one day be singing in a Disney film -(and singing well, too!)-but here he is, with a whole song number to himself. The casting of unknown Cravalho was a canny, if not necessarily inspired choice.
Ultimately, though, this was the movie with which Disney followed up Zootopia, and as such it is, well, a bit of a step down.
Moana's journey to redeem her people and find herself feels vaguely like Fa Mulan's journey to preserve her father's honor in 1998's Mulan, albeit without the war and gender-bending. That's not particularly detrimental, but next to Zootopia's decidedly more subversive storytelling it has a slightly well-worn feel to it. Moana's songs are certainly catchier than Mulan's, especially the signature "How Far I'll Go" as well as Johnson's "You're Welcome." Also, as fresh as the movie feels from a visual perspective, a lot of the territory seems distinctly familiar. Zootopia wore its film noir, buddy-cop influences on its sleeve but used them to come up with something surprisingly new. Moana isn't quite as brave. A lot of the homages were distinctly fun, though; the Mad Max-inspired sequence involving demon coconuts was a laugh riot!
The bottom line for me is that this movie is worth the trip to the cinema, but it wasn't quite the home run for me that Zootopia was.
They should have the Oscar for Best Original Song in the bag, though.
7/10
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