directed by Chad Stahelski
written by Derek Kolstad
I'll be honest; I expected so little of the original John Wick, the 2014 sleeper hit, that when it came out in theaters I didn't even bother to see it. For one thing, I had been badly burned by Reeves' disastrous, overpriced action-fantasy 47 Ronin, and from what I saw from the trailers, John Wick really looked like just another run-of-the-mill shoot-'em-up. I ended up getting it on DVD, as I was intrigued by the glowing reviews it had gotten during its theatrical run. With its simple but interesting premise of a retired (and fabled) hitman taking revenge on the son of a Russian mobster who killed his dog and stole his car, and its virtuoso action sequences courtesy of co-directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, it won me over and not only did I enjoy it, but I found myself looking forward to its sequel when I first read that they were making one. The Russian mobsters who called him 'Baba Yaga' or 'The Bogeyman' in the first movie may have been terrified by his return, but I was pumped for it.
The film John Wick: Chapter 2 picks up just where its predecessor left off, with the titular retired assassin played by Keanu Reeves having just wiped out an entire Russian gang on account of the mob boss's kid having killed his dog and stolen his car. Wick gets ready to settle back into retirement as he asks his friend Aurelio (John Leguizamo) to patch up his nearly totaled car (the one the Russian mobster's son stole), and prepares to resume grieving for his dead wife Helen (Bridget Moynihan). He takes all of the guns that he dug up from his basement in the first film and cements them over again. No sooner has he done this than a visitor comes calling: Italian mobster Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) pays John a visit and asks him to do a job. John, wanting to resume retirement, refuses, but there's a bit of a problem; Santino has what is called a marker; it was through him that John was able to leave his life as an assassin behind. To put it differently, Wick owes him, and he's going to collect...or else. Wick's arm having been twisted, he learns that the target is no other than D'Antonio's sister Gianna (Claudia Gerini) who is about to ascend to a prominent position at the "High Table" or basically the top brass of all criminal organizations in the world. John knows he's in for a world of trouble if he does it, but he has no choice, and as a result, all hell breaks loose, and Wick's problems start with his Gianna's bodyguard, a fellow assassin named Cassian (Common), and just keep on getting worse from there. Not even his connections to the assassins' community and the sanctuary of the Continental, headed by Winston (Ian McShane) may be enough to keep him safe from what he has unleashed. He may need a little help from a mysterious figure from his past, the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne).
These days it's hard to watch a violent movie and have a whole lot of fun; where I live thousands of people have been summarily executed by vigilantes and potentially crooked police officers in the last seven months. Even though John Wick's world is clearly some kind of hyper-reality with its extremely complex underground society of assassins that even has its own currency, I still felt uncomfortable throughout some of the lengthy shooting sequences. It's sort of like an extended version of the hate church massacre in Kingsman: The Secret Service, albeit without the semi-comedic undertone, and that made me uncomfortable way before my own country was drenched in the blood of alleged small-time criminals. Even under the best of circumstances, how many times can one watch Keanu Reeves flip someone over and shoot them in the head and say 'cool!' anyway?
That said, Stahelski and his crew deserve a huge pat on the back for showing audiences what's possible in an action movie. An ex-stuntman and trained martial artist, Stahelski has put his knowledge of how to construct the perfect action scene to good use in this film, particularly in his depiction of the hand-to-hand combat scenes, with the centerpiece of the film being the confrontations between Wick and Cassian, culminating with a brutal knife fight on the New York subway. There are no quick cuts, computer-generated trickery or even wire-fu here; just some meticulous choreography and canny choices of camera angles. The film has a gratifying old-school feel to it, which is easy to appreciate, even amidst the near-pornographic violence. There's more to Stahelski than that, though; his use of visuals here was pretty inventive. The early gunfight in the catacombs of Rome and the climactic confrontation in an art museum filled with mirrors reflecting neon colors were strikingly unconventional set pieces and all the more memorable for it.
What's also interesting is that the non-stop nature of the violence in this movie, which racks an even higher body count than the last one, seems to serve as a sort of commentary on how violence never really ends. Wick does this one last job to be able to leave his life as an assassin for good, only to open up several new cans of worms. Maybe I'm giving screenwriter Derek Kolstad a little too much credit here, but if nothing else he does a commendable job of expanding a story that originally wasn't mean to even have a sequel. Here, as in the previous film, he also gives viewers glimpses into Wick's humanity, and not just by showing his tender affection for his dead wife, but by the fact that he actually spares the lives of a number of characters throughout the film, a decision which may yet prove significant in the future. And yes, minor spoiler: the film definitely sets up a sequel.
Whether it's the directing or the script, though, none of this would have worked without a leading man who was utterly committed, and the filmmakers have it in Keanu Reeves, for whom Stahelski served as a stunt double in The Matrix movies. Keanu's dedication to this role is wondrous to behold, even without the minute-long youtube video showing him shooting three types of guns and consistently hitting targets at a rifle range somewhere in California; Stahelski's aversion to quick cuts means that there is generous exposure of Reeves doing his own shooting, punching, kicking, grappling and throwing, looking all the while like he has The One Ring tucked away somewhere, keeping him from getting even a day older. Granted, I'm pretty sure no one can really accuse Reeves of acting a whole lot in this movie, but as was the case with Jan de Bont's Speed and the Wachowski Siblings' The Matrix (the first one at least) Reeves' real gift as a performer is the ability to let the story drive the action without drawing too much attention to his own shortcomings as a thespian, even when he's the lead character. The role of the taciturn assassin is as smooth a fit for him as the tailored suits his character wears throughout the film.
This film is a rock-solid piece of well-crafted entertainment, though anyone queasy about hardcore violence should probably sit this one out.
8/10
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Teen Romance in Space (Sort of): A Review of The Space Between Us
directed by Peter Chelsom
written by Allan Loeb, Peter Chelsom, Richard Barton Lewis, Stewart Schill and Tinker Lindsay
As a kid growing up in the 80s I was repeatedly exposed to two things: 1) movies involving visitors from outer space and 2) teen romance movies. Of course, the 1980s following the runaway success of Steven Spielberg's E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, every other movie that came out for much of the remainder of the decade featured benign visitors from another planet. Notable examples, for me, include Cocoon, Flight of the Navigator, Batteries Not Included, and My Stepmother is an Alien, to name but a few. There weren't quite as many teen romance movies that I saw, but they were part of the pop culture landscape as well. Years before Patrick Dempsey set the small screen on fire as "McDreamy," I saw him as the gangly nerd in one or two teen romance movies. John Cusack was a staple of my youth.
Watching The Space Between Us, a teen romance movie about a boy born on Mars (Asa Butterfield) and the earthbound love of his life (Britt Robertson), I found myself distinctly reminded of both those types of 80s movies, and I have to say, for all the film's flaws, I found myself having a genuinely good time.
The film starts with a crew of astronauts being sent on a mission to colonize Mars, a project that's the brainchild of bazillionaire/philanthropist Nathaniel Shepherd (Gary Oldman, looking suspiciously like Richard Branson). The leader of the team (Janet Montgomery) turns out to be pregnant, a fact only discovered while the crew is en route to their destination, and she ends up giving birth on Mars, in their colony dubbed East Texas. The reduced gravity results in her death, while her son, Gardner, survives. Because of the PR nightmare involved in sending a pregnant astronaut into space and having her die, Gardner is kept a secret from the world for 16 years, and raised on Mars by the scientists who colonize East Texas. As a teenager (Butterfield) with irrepressible curiosity, however, he yearns to see the world of his mother's birth, as well as his online (and only) friend, a troubled teenager named Tulsa (Robertson) and the team of scientists who raised him, led by Kendra Wyndham (Carla Gugino) relent. After his skeleton is given carbon fiber reinforcement (don't ask), he rockets off to Earth. His body, which grew up in much lower gravity, almost immediately reacts badly to the new environment, but you can't keep a good teen down, and before long Gardner escapes his quarantine to meet up with Tulsa, whom he recruits for a special mission of his own: to find his father. Unfortunately, with the Earth's gravity constantly wreaking havoc on his body, Gardner is on borrowed time. Still, even borrowed time is enough time to fall in love.
As I write this, this film has received a critical drubbing and has been savaged at the U.S. box office. That said, there's actually a lot to like about this movie, which boasts an impressive cast and really remarkable production value.
Chelsom has an extraordinary eye for beauty, as shown by his brief Mars shots and the shots of Gardner and Tulsa driving cross-country to find his dad which show some truly gorgeous scenery. There's a shot I particularly loved: the two of them are driving en route to Arizona and in the background, the sky is filled with hot-air balloons. Had this movie been better-received, this is one of the shots with which it would have been identified.
Another thing, to my mind, really works is the chemistry between Butterfield, who turns in a truly amiable performance, and Robertson, even though she looks noticeably older than her character's seventeen years. While I could have done without their 80s-ish sex scene, and a lot of their banter kind of fell flat, I did enjoy the back-and-forth between them, and the contrast in their characters, that led them to where everyone knew they were headed. One memorable moment, for me, was one in which Gardner spies Tulsa playing (and singing) a song she composed on an electronic organ in a Costco. There simply weren't enough of these in this film.
And that, ultimately, is the problem. Although the film looks great, its script is littered with so many absurdities and gaffes in simple logic that not even the star-crossed lovers or their supporting thespians Oldman and Gugino can elevate it. The movie asks us to believe that a kid who's never been on Earth, and who is actually infirm, can not only escape quarantine, but then consistently elude the authorities, even with all of the technology at their disposal just by walking and hitching rides. It almost plays out like a running gag throughout the film. Then there's all the pseudo-science about Gardner's terrestrial condition, which makes one wonder why nobody thought this would happen in the first place. It's just a lot of bad writing, which is a shame because the premise was really interesting, and had the film been better constructed the love story, which has shades of Roman Holiday, would have played out a lot better.
I'm ambivalent about recommending this movie to anyone but the most die-hard romantics, but I think it's fair to say that this movie is quite likely to strike a chord with people who remember the young-love stories of the 1980s, which had their fair share of silly scripts.
5.5/10
written by Allan Loeb, Peter Chelsom, Richard Barton Lewis, Stewart Schill and Tinker Lindsay
As a kid growing up in the 80s I was repeatedly exposed to two things: 1) movies involving visitors from outer space and 2) teen romance movies. Of course, the 1980s following the runaway success of Steven Spielberg's E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, every other movie that came out for much of the remainder of the decade featured benign visitors from another planet. Notable examples, for me, include Cocoon, Flight of the Navigator, Batteries Not Included, and My Stepmother is an Alien, to name but a few. There weren't quite as many teen romance movies that I saw, but they were part of the pop culture landscape as well. Years before Patrick Dempsey set the small screen on fire as "McDreamy," I saw him as the gangly nerd in one or two teen romance movies. John Cusack was a staple of my youth.
Watching The Space Between Us, a teen romance movie about a boy born on Mars (Asa Butterfield) and the earthbound love of his life (Britt Robertson), I found myself distinctly reminded of both those types of 80s movies, and I have to say, for all the film's flaws, I found myself having a genuinely good time.
The film starts with a crew of astronauts being sent on a mission to colonize Mars, a project that's the brainchild of bazillionaire/philanthropist Nathaniel Shepherd (Gary Oldman, looking suspiciously like Richard Branson). The leader of the team (Janet Montgomery) turns out to be pregnant, a fact only discovered while the crew is en route to their destination, and she ends up giving birth on Mars, in their colony dubbed East Texas. The reduced gravity results in her death, while her son, Gardner, survives. Because of the PR nightmare involved in sending a pregnant astronaut into space and having her die, Gardner is kept a secret from the world for 16 years, and raised on Mars by the scientists who colonize East Texas. As a teenager (Butterfield) with irrepressible curiosity, however, he yearns to see the world of his mother's birth, as well as his online (and only) friend, a troubled teenager named Tulsa (Robertson) and the team of scientists who raised him, led by Kendra Wyndham (Carla Gugino) relent. After his skeleton is given carbon fiber reinforcement (don't ask), he rockets off to Earth. His body, which grew up in much lower gravity, almost immediately reacts badly to the new environment, but you can't keep a good teen down, and before long Gardner escapes his quarantine to meet up with Tulsa, whom he recruits for a special mission of his own: to find his father. Unfortunately, with the Earth's gravity constantly wreaking havoc on his body, Gardner is on borrowed time. Still, even borrowed time is enough time to fall in love.
As I write this, this film has received a critical drubbing and has been savaged at the U.S. box office. That said, there's actually a lot to like about this movie, which boasts an impressive cast and really remarkable production value.
Chelsom has an extraordinary eye for beauty, as shown by his brief Mars shots and the shots of Gardner and Tulsa driving cross-country to find his dad which show some truly gorgeous scenery. There's a shot I particularly loved: the two of them are driving en route to Arizona and in the background, the sky is filled with hot-air balloons. Had this movie been better-received, this is one of the shots with which it would have been identified.
Another thing, to my mind, really works is the chemistry between Butterfield, who turns in a truly amiable performance, and Robertson, even though she looks noticeably older than her character's seventeen years. While I could have done without their 80s-ish sex scene, and a lot of their banter kind of fell flat, I did enjoy the back-and-forth between them, and the contrast in their characters, that led them to where everyone knew they were headed. One memorable moment, for me, was one in which Gardner spies Tulsa playing (and singing) a song she composed on an electronic organ in a Costco. There simply weren't enough of these in this film.
And that, ultimately, is the problem. Although the film looks great, its script is littered with so many absurdities and gaffes in simple logic that not even the star-crossed lovers or their supporting thespians Oldman and Gugino can elevate it. The movie asks us to believe that a kid who's never been on Earth, and who is actually infirm, can not only escape quarantine, but then consistently elude the authorities, even with all of the technology at their disposal just by walking and hitching rides. It almost plays out like a running gag throughout the film. Then there's all the pseudo-science about Gardner's terrestrial condition, which makes one wonder why nobody thought this would happen in the first place. It's just a lot of bad writing, which is a shame because the premise was really interesting, and had the film been better constructed the love story, which has shades of Roman Holiday, would have played out a lot better.
I'm ambivalent about recommending this movie to anyone but the most die-hard romantics, but I think it's fair to say that this movie is quite likely to strike a chord with people who remember the young-love stories of the 1980s, which had their fair share of silly scripts.
5.5/10
Sunday, January 29, 2017
A Comedy about Concerts and Carwashes: A Review of Sing
written and directed by Garth Jennings
There's something almost cynical about how today's animated films from the leading studios are made and packaged. They're either highbrow, blatant Oscar-bait like Pixar's products (or poor facsimiles of highbrow Oscar-bait, like Finding Dory) or lowest-common-denominator idiocy designed to sell toys, like Minions or The Secret Life of Pets. While I was pleasantly surprised by the earnest, entertaining and intelligent Zootopia, which seemed to step out of comfort zones a little bit, but not quite as pleased with Moana, a film which leaned heavily on formula, even as it purported to be iconoclastic with its brown-skinned heroine.
While, arguably the most daring animated film of last year was the stop-motion spectacle Kubo and the Two Strings (with my personal favorite being Zootopia), I also found myself enjoying the ensemble musical-comedy Sing, which really doesn't have awards aspiration and which, at the same time doesn't pander purely to six-year olds. It's content to be its own thing.
Sing, which features the voices of Hollywood heavyweights Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johanson and Reese Witherspoon, is a story about reaching for one's dreams, even when it seems too late or too improbable. It begins with Buster Moon (McConaughey) a koala who has been in love with the stage since his childhood, but whose beloved theater is about to shut down, making one last-ditch attempt to save his theater by staging a singing competition. Due to a printing error by his geriatric personal assistant Ms. Crawley (an iguana voiced by the director Garth Jennings), the prize money offered is One Hundred Thousand Dollars instead of the One Thousand Dollars Buster actually has on hand. The contestants include exhausted homemaker Rosita (Witherspoon), a pig who has to take care of 25 piglets, the flamboyant Gunter (Nick Kroll), another pig who isn't much of a singer but is a consummate showman, teenage gorilla Johnny (Taron Egerton), son of a career criminal who doesn't want to follow in his father's footsteps, porcupine Ash (Scarlett Johansson) a rocker whose boyfriend is used to hogging the limelight, street hustler Mike (Seth McFarlane) street-hustling mouse with a talent for crooning, and Meena (Tori Kelly), a shy elephant who can belt out tunes with the best of them, provided she can get over her stage fright. Buster doesn't have the prize money but hopes to impress Nana Noodleman (Jennifer Saunders) who used to be the top-billed actress at the theater and happens to be loaded, in order to get her to sponsor the show.
High jinks ensue, and while things don't quite turn out as planned, in the end all that talent comes together for something really special.
My favorite release of Illumination Pictures remains to be the original Despicable Me, which really surprised me with its refreshing bad-guy-turned-instant-daddy story, which immediately got old by the second movie. This film, unlike any other film in Illumination's catalog since its breakout smash, actually has some of the heart that made Gru's inaugural adventure so appealing to me, and it's in large part to the vocal performances. While McConaughey has the lion's share of voice/screen time, the rest of the ensemble gets its opportunity to shine; in particular the stories of Rosita and Johnny stood out, though Meena, voiced by real-life singing sensation Kelly, got the musical spotlight late in the film.
It's a properly silly film; there are plenty of questions that can keep nitpickers in the audience busy, like why is Rosita stuck at home taking care of her two dozen plus one kids when she's actually a genius-level inventor? How are people not screaming in agony when Ash flicks her quills everywhere while on stage? How did Buster Moon and crew build a tank just by slapping together all the thin glass panes they could get their hands on? It is a lot of good fun, though, and all of the musical numbers, which are the film's true highlights, deliver the goods.
The good news for parents is that, while this film was clearly made with kids in mind, the little tidbits about chasing one's dreams after it may be too late may yet resonate with some from the slightly middle-aged set. And some of the tunes may ring a bell with more than just the Taylor-Swift-adoring crowd.
7.5/10
There's something almost cynical about how today's animated films from the leading studios are made and packaged. They're either highbrow, blatant Oscar-bait like Pixar's products (or poor facsimiles of highbrow Oscar-bait, like Finding Dory) or lowest-common-denominator idiocy designed to sell toys, like Minions or The Secret Life of Pets. While I was pleasantly surprised by the earnest, entertaining and intelligent Zootopia, which seemed to step out of comfort zones a little bit, but not quite as pleased with Moana, a film which leaned heavily on formula, even as it purported to be iconoclastic with its brown-skinned heroine.
While, arguably the most daring animated film of last year was the stop-motion spectacle Kubo and the Two Strings (with my personal favorite being Zootopia), I also found myself enjoying the ensemble musical-comedy Sing, which really doesn't have awards aspiration and which, at the same time doesn't pander purely to six-year olds. It's content to be its own thing.
Sing, which features the voices of Hollywood heavyweights Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johanson and Reese Witherspoon, is a story about reaching for one's dreams, even when it seems too late or too improbable. It begins with Buster Moon (McConaughey) a koala who has been in love with the stage since his childhood, but whose beloved theater is about to shut down, making one last-ditch attempt to save his theater by staging a singing competition. Due to a printing error by his geriatric personal assistant Ms. Crawley (an iguana voiced by the director Garth Jennings), the prize money offered is One Hundred Thousand Dollars instead of the One Thousand Dollars Buster actually has on hand. The contestants include exhausted homemaker Rosita (Witherspoon), a pig who has to take care of 25 piglets, the flamboyant Gunter (Nick Kroll), another pig who isn't much of a singer but is a consummate showman, teenage gorilla Johnny (Taron Egerton), son of a career criminal who doesn't want to follow in his father's footsteps, porcupine Ash (Scarlett Johansson) a rocker whose boyfriend is used to hogging the limelight, street hustler Mike (Seth McFarlane) street-hustling mouse with a talent for crooning, and Meena (Tori Kelly), a shy elephant who can belt out tunes with the best of them, provided she can get over her stage fright. Buster doesn't have the prize money but hopes to impress Nana Noodleman (Jennifer Saunders) who used to be the top-billed actress at the theater and happens to be loaded, in order to get her to sponsor the show.
High jinks ensue, and while things don't quite turn out as planned, in the end all that talent comes together for something really special.
My favorite release of Illumination Pictures remains to be the original Despicable Me, which really surprised me with its refreshing bad-guy-turned-instant-daddy story, which immediately got old by the second movie. This film, unlike any other film in Illumination's catalog since its breakout smash, actually has some of the heart that made Gru's inaugural adventure so appealing to me, and it's in large part to the vocal performances. While McConaughey has the lion's share of voice/screen time, the rest of the ensemble gets its opportunity to shine; in particular the stories of Rosita and Johnny stood out, though Meena, voiced by real-life singing sensation Kelly, got the musical spotlight late in the film.
It's a properly silly film; there are plenty of questions that can keep nitpickers in the audience busy, like why is Rosita stuck at home taking care of her two dozen plus one kids when she's actually a genius-level inventor? How are people not screaming in agony when Ash flicks her quills everywhere while on stage? How did Buster Moon and crew build a tank just by slapping together all the thin glass panes they could get their hands on? It is a lot of good fun, though, and all of the musical numbers, which are the film's true highlights, deliver the goods.
The good news for parents is that, while this film was clearly made with kids in mind, the little tidbits about chasing one's dreams after it may be too late may yet resonate with some from the slightly middle-aged set. And some of the tunes may ring a bell with more than just the Taylor-Swift-adoring crowd.
7.5/10
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Love Packed Into Every Frame: Saving Sally
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
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
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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