Tuesday, October 6, 2015
+
AMDG
AMDG
23 Mikael
M. Laurel Submitted
09/23/15
10M FCC
Movie of the Week
“Everest”
Directed by Baltasar Kormakur (2 Guns)
Starring:
Jason
Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) as Rob Hall
Jake
Gyllenhaal (Southpaw) as Scott Fischer
Josh
Brolin (Labor Day) as Beck Weathers
Keira
Knightley
(Begin Again) as Jan Hall
Robin
Wright (The Chronicle) as Peach Weathers
Summary:
The film is based on a
true story. In 1996, a group of mountain climbers prepare for an expedition to
the summit of Mount Everest, expecting an adventure where they would overcome
great odds and face their fears. However, an unexpected storm hits, and the
expedition turns from an overwhelming challenge into a fight for survival.
Review:
When I entered the cinema to watch
the movie the other day, the left and right rows and columns of seats were
nearly empty. It’s no surprise; the movie wasn’t promoted as much as
blockbusters such as Terminator Genisys
or Jurassic World. However, I believe
Everest could go down as one of the
most underrated movies of the year.
In my opinion, the film’s cinematography was its best
part. It magnified the Everest and showed its vastness one moment, then scaled
down and showed the mount’s minute details the next. Lighting was very good as
well, as it set the tone for particular scenes, like when the storm hit; that
scene’s lack thereof gave it a slight feeling of suspense and danger, which was
most likely its intended tone.
The composed musical score wasn’t a masterpiece, but
like with the lighting, it set the tone for many scenes, particularly at the
end, where there was a feeling of extreme melancholy.
The make-up was superb. Many actors were glammed up
so well to the point that they looked almost exactly like their real
counterparts (pictures were shown at the end). Clarke and Gyllenhaal were
almost unrecognizable. Beck Weathers apparently got hit with frostbite, and
Brolin’s makeup really made it looked like he had that particular disease.
However, I do believe that many characters had
one-dimensional personalities. One particular example is Scott Fischer, who was
energetic, daring, and happy go lucky throughout, and I’m quite sure that the
real Scott Fischer would not have been happy go lucky all the time, especially
in situations of near death. It would have helped if a little more serious
scenes with Fischer were added to test Gyllenhaal’s acting chops a little, and
to intensify the movie more.
Speaking of which, there were many cases in Everest where the actors weren’t quite
as intense as they should have been. Even in climactic situations, many of the
actors, I felt, were too calm. They showed emotion, but didn’t exaggerate it as
much as they should have.
Taking note of the pros and in spite of the cons, I
think Everest was a very good film.
It was definitely flawed, but its positives outnumbered its negatives, as
shown. It could have been much better though, with the stellar casting and
visuals that it had. However, the film was still well executed, and it got its
point across clearly. It was still able to tell a shocking and tragic tale
about survival on top of Mount Everest.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Jose Miguel B. Fernandez
Film Critique
10-D
Inside
Out
To
start my review, I will first give a short summary of Inside Out. The
main character in this movie is Riley; at the start of the movie, we see how
she got her emotions/feelings (joy was gotten from birth, sadness followed soon
after, disgust when she was forced to eat broccoli, anger when she retaliated
against her dad for forcing her to eat broccoli and fear when she nearly
tripped over a lamp wire). To continue, she lives in Minnesota but then due to
her father’s work, her family is forced to move to San Francisco. Riley doesn’t
take this lightly as there are many setbacks to being in SF (for example: being
away from friends, new school, moving truck not arriving, not having her hockey
team, etc). The movie then focuses on Riley’s emotions as sadness and joy are
accidentally taken away from the main control room ( spoilers ahead). When joy
and sadness are roaming Riley’s long-term memory, the remaining emotions
(anger, fear, disgust) are then forced to take control of Riley, disabling her
to feel joy and sadness. After a few days, anger gives Riley the idea to run
away by stealing her mom’s credit card and using it at a bus station; luckily,
joy and sadness return and get Riley to go back to her parents. She then joins
her university hockey team and the movie ends.
To
start the actual review, I would say the movie was pretty good. The animation
was well done; the story is clichéd but that’s acceptable because it’s a kid’s
movie. The humor was fairly good too but what I really noticed that for a movie
made for 5-12-ish children, the theme of running away and depression wasn’t
really appropriate. Nonetheless, it’s a good movie. 7/10
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Joaquin Quizon
12-E
Terminator Genisys
Story: The story
was quite good, quite fresh and really is a great take on the whole time
travel plot of the series. Although there are a few plot
holes here and there, it is overall a
great story that is entertaining and keeps you interested.
8/10
Cast: The cast
was great; Emilia Clarke was phenomenal as Sarah Connor, even pulling off a
great American accent. Jai Courtney also plays Kyle Reese
well and Jason Clarke puts in an
amazing performance as John Connor. However, the biggest
praise goes to the big man
himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who reprises his role as the
terminator and shows that
even in his advanced age, he can still put on a wonderful
performance. 10/10
Sound and sight: They
brought back the old theme song which really got me watching the
movie and the way it was filmed was great, a typical action
movie which I enjoy a lot .
The explosions were great and so were the shooting scenes
and overall, it was a great sight
to behold. However, the cgi was a bit off in some parts.
Overall: Great
cast with great directing and story make for a great movie that features a
classic. If the director keeps this up, I can see another
trilogy coming up for Terminator.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Martin Paterno
10-B
A few
weeks ago I watched Ant-Man. I found this movie really fun to watch,
because of its hilarious script, great action scenes, and its never-ending
comic relief. For those of you who don’t know, the original Ant-Man in the
comic book universe, Hank Pym, creates a suit that lets him shrink down to the
size of an ant. In Marvel’s movie adaptation, however, Hank is an old and
retired Ant-Man who gives his suit to Scott Lang. I really liked the
cinematography of this film because it would be following an ant- sized man
beating up the bad guys, so the audience would see a speck and henchmen flying
around.
Overall,
I’d give this film a 7.5/10. Why? Well I do think Ant-Man is a good film
but compared to legends like Titanic or The Godfather, Ant-man
doesn’t really have that extra “oomph” like the two movies mentioned above.
However, in the end, Ant-Man is still something nice to watch; it does
have its moments and is an action-packed film.
Monday, February 23, 2015
SHARKNADO 2: THE SECOND ONE
A BITING REVIEW
By Lorenzo Vallente
Film Critics Circle '14-'15
Directed by: Anthony C. Ferrante
Starring: Ian Ziering
Tara Reid
Vivica A. Fox
Mark McGrath
PLOT SUMMARY:
The protagonists of the first movie
are on their way to New York for a signing of their book, How To Survive A
Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters, when another Sharknado begins.
This time, the movie is set in New York. What havoc will the sharks cause in
the Big Apple? Watch this fantastic movie and find out.
REVIEW PROPER:
We all know this movie is terrible. I am not
here to disprove that indisputable statement. I am simply here to defend the
creativity, imagination, and brilliance of the filmmakers helming this disaster
of a film. "Oh Lorenzo, what ever do you mean?" any sensible reader
would ask. Well, dear educated readers, bear with me as I make my case.
As stated before, this is a terrible
movie. We know it and even the filmmakers know it, and there lies my first
point. The movie is incredibly self-aware and it works much much better because
of it. Don't expect the brilliant awareness of 22 Jump Street in this
movie. However, why would you? It's SHARKNADO. Moving on, the movie knows it's
stupid and the filmmakers go through the arduous process to keep it so. It
piles on lots of bad jokes, unintentionally (or are they) hilarious scenes of
drama and action that get more and more ridiculous by the minute. Again, this
movie knows all this and winks at the audience every step of the way. By
intentionally setting out to make a 'so bad it's good' film, it entertains us
immensely in the process. And that's what we go to the movies for, to be
entertained.
Well, we have to talk technical so…
The plot is absurd and has always
been so. The acting is terrible, and the 'stars' make every effort to look as
goofy and self-aware as possible, which (I suppose) is commendable. The
directing is functional and sometimes has surprisingly good camera shots. The
scene where the characters of Ziering and Fox are running to the roof has solid
camerawork. The slow-mo sequences also delight. The scene where Ziering splits
the shark in half in slow-mo is incredibly satisfying. The special effects are
terrible. They look as if they were ripped out of a Gamecube game, but it's
SyFy so you can't expect much more. The lighting is fine, as none of the scenes
are too dark or too bright. It must seem ridiculous to critique this as a
legitimate movie, but it must be done.
It is also necessary to point out
that opposed to other films of the Z-movie type (ex. Octoshark Megalodon
Crocodile vs Anaconda), the two Sharknados are by far the least painful and
most fun ones of them all. I think this movie is more aware than the first
Sharknado and succeeds to be a little more entertaining as well. This movie
piles on the cameos so keep your eyes peeled for famous faces hidden in tiny
roles.
Overall, as a film, it is utter
garbage. However, as a piece of ridiculous, guilty entertainment, it is a
masterpiece. Someone asked me if I found it disconcerting that people are now
making intentionally horrible movies as opposed to trying to make amazing and
thought-provoking ones. I answered that I did not. As long as an audience remains
entertained and forgets about their worries for 2 hours, a movie has done its
job. And I believe this movie passes that test with flying colors. Thank you, Sharknado,
for making me believe in entertaining schlock.
Sharknado 3 will be released in July so keep an eye out
for it.
RATING: 10/10
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Night at
the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), the night guard in the
past 2 films, is overseeing an event for the Museum of Natural History in New
York and uses some of the exhibits as part of his event but, things go wrong
when the exhibits act out against the audience. It is later discovered that
they acted out because of what happened to the Tablet of Ahkmenrah. The tablet
started to corrode which made the exhibits act out. Ahkmenrah says that he
should see his father since he knew the secrets of the tablet and that he did
not know why that happened to the tablet. Larry soon discovers that Ahkmenrah’s
parents were in the British Museum so he, his son, and some of the exhibits
travel to London to discover what happened to the tablet and on how to fix it.
As the final film of the trilogy, “Night at the
Museum: Secret of the Tomb”, is able to satisfyingly end the franchise as well
as deliver a more or less enjoyable family comedy movie. First of all, this is Robin
Williams’ final on-screen role (his last movie in 2015 will only feature his
voice) and I think he was able to deliver as Teddy Roosevelt. He serves as the
guide for Larry and does it well. His last scene is quite emotional because of
what he tells Larry and how it relates to his life. Rebel Wilson is a lovely
surprise as the museum guard, Tilly, because her scenes were very funny and she
stole the show whenever she was on screen. I liked her so much that I wished she
had more scenes in the movie. I also enjoyed Crystal the monkey as Dexter since
she had some enjoyable scenes in the film.
Also, there is a cameo made by 2 certain
celebrities near the end of the film that I thoroughly was pleased with because
of the pedigree they have as actors and they are not usually seen in comedy
movies. The CGI used in the film is fine and the exhibits brought to life are
good to look at. The subplot between Larry and his son, Nick, is correctly handled
since there is satisfying closure given between them in the end, though it did
feel a bit like filler to the story since it was not that important to the
story. The ending of the film is one of
the best parts because it is able to give the main characters of the film
closure in their stories and somewhat emotionally give closure to the entire
franchise as a whole.
This film though has its downsides and the biggest
one is its plot. It falls under a very generic story plot that has been done
too many times. For some people, the plot twist of the movie would not be a
surprise because of how generic it actually is. The comedy is so-so since it
was not bad, thoug, it was not that good either with most of the jokes directed
towards kids but, there is one joke that I was surprised was in the movie
because it was more for adults.
I believe that the native American Sacajawea was
not paid too much attention in the film since she has a few speaking lines in
the entire film even though she is seen throughout most it. Dan Stevens as Sir
Lancelot feels very stereotypical in the way his character is supposed to be in
the story. The rest of the cast give an okay performance, though it is not
something to be bragged about.
Despite the fact that they did not only change
museums but also countries, the film does not take full advantage of it as it
sometimes feels as if they are still in the same museum in New York. They do
show though new exhibits never seen before. They do also go out into the London
streets even if it was not that long.
In the end, Night at the Museum: Secret of the
Tomb serves as a fulfilling conclusion to the 8- year old franchise with
some standout performances and a good and somewhat emotional ending.
Monday, December 1, 2014
DRACULA
UNTOLD
by
“The Cansinos”
SUMMARY: The
movie is about a man named Vlad. When Vlad was a young boy, Turks, by the
orders of their sultan, took him from his home, Transylvania, to be trained to fight
for them. When he grew up, he returned home to Transylvania and claimed his
throne as prince. During the Easter celebration of the Transylvanians, a
Turkish soldier arrives unexpectedly and Vlad offers the usual tribute of
silver coins but then the soldier declares that the sultan demands an
additional tribute of 1,000 boys. Vlad refuses but his army is weak compared to
the Turkish army so he approaches the Turkish sultan, Mehmed, and offers
himself in place of the boys. The sultan refuses and demands Vlad’s son in
addition.
Out
of desperation, Vlad goes up into a high mountain cave to seek help from the
vampire who cannot leave the cave. The vampire gives Vlad his blood and tells
him drinking it would give him the powers of a vampire for three days but will
also give him an intense thirst for human blood. The vampire tells Vlad that if
resists the urge to drink human blood in those three days, he will turn back to
a human but if he does drink blood, the vampire will be free from the cave and
Vlad will forever be a vampire.
Vlad
returns home and uses his powers to defeat the incoming Turks then he sends his
people to a monastery to escape from them. During the journey through the
forest, his wife learns of his curse but accepts that he will regain his
mortality after defeating the Turks. Then, a mysterious man appears and proclaims
himself Vlad’s servant and offers his blood but Vlad resists the urge and
leaves the man alone. As the people near the monastery, they are ambushed by
the Turks but Vlad and his men successfully drive the Turks away.
The
next night, the Turkish army marches on the monastery and Vlad uses an enormous
swarm of bats to repel them but the army turns out to be a decoy so several
Turkish soldiers could infiltrate the monastery and take his son. His wife
tries to defend their son but falls from the edge of the monastery wall and
Vlad, even with his superhuman powers, fails to save his wife. His dying wife
successfully pleads with him to drink her blood before the sun rises and he
loses his powers so he could save their son. He permanently becomes a vampire
and goes back to the monastery and turns a small group of survivors into
vampires and together, they storm the Turkish camp with black clouds covering
the skies. They vanquish the Turkish army and Vlad kills Mehmed and saves his
son. The vampires confront Vlad and demands his son be killed for he is human
but a monk keeps them at bay with the Christian cross. Vlad orders the monk to
take his son and uses his power to clear the black clouds in the sky. The
sunlight turns the vampires to dust and Vlad into a burned corpse.
Then
the mysterious man from the forest who seemingly knew about Vlad’s curse takes
him into the shadows and revives him. In the present day, Vlad meets a woman
with a striking resemblance to his wife and they have a conversation about a
line of poetry they have in common. The vampire who cursed Vlad watches him
from afar and anticipates his future saying, “Let the games begin.”
Adrian’s rating: 4/5 stars
REVIEW:
The
movie doesn’t tell Dracula’s story but remakes it and Dracula himself. The
movie changes Dracula from an evil bloodsucking monster into a good prince and
a loving and caring father and husband who would do anything to protect his
family and his kingdom. Aside from that, the plot was good. The actors really
acted out their part really well and the special effects looked real.
5/5 stars
Arvin’s rating:
Arvin’s rating:
REVIEW: The
movie portrays a side of Dracula that isn’t seen in its other adaptations. For
one, the movie focuses on Dracula’s humanity more than his monstrous side that
people commonly know about him. He is a father who loves his family to the
point that he risked the safety of his kingdom just so his son wouldn’t suffer
as he did. In the movie, Dracula has shown fear and desperation, both very
human emotions that other interpretations normally don’t portray him having. He
showed fear that the Turks will attack his kingdom and fear that his family
would get hurt. Yet, he also showed desperation when he confronted the vampire
in the cave in order to gain the power to save his kingdom, and more
importantly, his family.
Near the end, the movie
showed Dracula “dying” since he didn’t want to be a monster. This is a contrast
from other adaptations and even the text since Dracula was previously portrayed
to love being a vampire and not someone who wants to die. In my opinion, this
more human side of Dracula was refreshing and made Dracula Untold unique
compared to other interpretations of Dracula.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Maui Dimagiba October 12, 2014
Migo Fernandez
Emman Salcedo
9D
Rurouni
Kenshin: The Legend Ends
The
Legend Ends is the third film in the
Rurouni Kenshin trilogy, based on the Japanese manga series of the same name.
The entire series revolves around Kenshin Himura, a wanderer whose mission is
to protect the people of Japan to redeem himself from his sins as a former
assassin known as Battousai the Killer. The trilogy is one of the many
adaptations of the original manga, including an anime and a video game.
The
third film follows Kenshin after his defeat at the hands of the Shishio, a
heavily disfigured warrior who was originally a replacement for Battousai the assassin,
hired by Kenshin’s employers but soon becomes a madman whose goal is to take
over Japan. Kenshin is separated from his love interest Kaoru during his
climactic battle against Shishio at the end of the second movie, and ends up
diving into the ocean from Shishio’s battleship in order to escape his wrath.
At the start of The Legend Ends, Hiko Seijuro, Kenshin’s mentor and
trainer as a child, finds Kenshin washed ashore, and takes his unconscious body
to Seijuro’s home. When Kenshin wakes up, he decides that he needs to train
more in order to defeat Shishio, and asks Seijuro to teach him one final
technique, the ultimate technique that can be used against Shishio to end his
plans to conquer the country.
Visually
and aesthetically, the film is absolutely breathtaking. The set for Shishio’s
ship, which was the main battleground for the climax, presented a sometimes
claustrophobic, sometimes cramped, but always gleefully destructible
environment that was the perfect place for the film’s final battles. The visual
effects were also great, making up most of the film’s heavy but stylish
violence, from the blood oozing from a character’s wounds to the explosions
from a firing cannon. The film was also beautifully designed; no matter where
the characters were, the set they were in would always complement the scene,
whether it’s an elegant background for a solemn conversation between characters
or a small and destructible space for a violent clash. Even the costumes added
to the film’s authenticity, from Saito’s neat dark grey uniform as a Meiji
Government official to Kenshin’s graceful red and white shining “armor”.
The
story itself doesn’t fall flat in any way and actually makes for a decent set-up
for the film, but it does take the film down a familiar path of retribution and
justice without taking any groundbreaking or at least different steps along the
way. Even the characters cannot make up for it; not much is given about the
characters, and though the film gives a substantial amount of flashbacks to the
first and second movie to be able to let viewers who have not seen the first
two installments of the trilogy comprehend the story, the members of the
audience who have not heard of Rurouni Kenshin might have trouble caring for
the characters.
That being said, even with a
story that’s all too familiar and a lack of character development, the best
thing about the film, the thing that perfectly makes up for its flaws, is the
fight choreography. Though the film is filled with stylized visual effects, it
still leaves enough space for the audience to appreciate a battle between
characters. Each battle is thrilling and violently raw, from Aoshi and
Kenshin’s battle in the forest to the climactic clash of Kenshin and Shishio.
The choreography is the main centerpiece of the film for casual viewers, and it
definitely adds to the movie experience for Rurouni Kenshin fans. Though this
type of fast-paced and intricate fight sequences are common in other foreign
films such as The Raid, albeit in a modern setting, it cannot beat the
authenticity of having a samurai action sequence in a realistic 1870’s Japanese
setting.
Maui’s score: 9/10
Migo’s score: 8/10
Emman’s score: 9.5/10
Consensus: The final
installment of this fast-paced, manga-inspired trilogy is spectacular, not only
for its violent, raw, and sometimes unsettling sequences of clashing swords,
but also for its ability to be breathtakingly beautiful at the same time.
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