Summary: A couple years after the near destruction of Chicago, the Transformers face backlash from the world and go into hiding. A down-on-his-luck father and his daughter then find a transformer and their lives are changed forever.

Review: What people really expect from a Transformers movie is a fun action movie with giant robots, good special effects, and the chance to turn off their brains for some action and large spectacle. So it is very disappointing that what we get after 3 tries is a long boring movie with dumb humor, only a few entertaining action sequences, and an extreme overuse of explosions and special effects that at times looks worse than the first movie. 

The movie's worst problem is its length. Clocking in at about 2 hours and 40 minutes, the tolerance for the movie's problems nosedives at about the 1 hour-30 minute mark. The plot starts off reasonably well, but as the movie progresses, more elements just keep getting added in and the plot becomes this huge mess. 

The characters don't fare better. Mark Wahlberg's character is just a generic hero type; his daughter is a typical teen that gets on your nerves as the movie goes on. The Transformers get a new team of characters that feel mostly expendable but some get a few pretty fun moments. Bumblebee really feels like a side character and Optimus Prime should be in the movie more. And of course the Dinobots , which received heavy promotion, are in the movie for about 10 minutes and they did not feel significant. 

The special effects are shockingly obvious at times. There are moments when it is painfully obvious the actors are in front of a green screen. The movie also has a lot of explosions and destruction, and in a 2 hour-40 minute movie, it gets old and boring really fast. After a while, you just become dulled to explosions. They become loud noises and flashy lights instead of adding to the spectacle.

Many of the problems I have stated have been problems in the previous movies, so if you can get past these, then perhaps you will like the movie. However, the movie's running time and its special effects blunders cannot be forgiven. One also can't help but get the feeling of been there, done that.

                                                                              AM+DG
                                                                      1  Ali  Aldaba  1-C
                                                                      
                                                              Film  Critics  Circle  Report
                                                      Paranormal  Activity:  The  Marked  Ones

                                                                       SPOILER  ALERT:

                     The  following  statements  are  my  opinions  and  thoughts  on  the  aforementioned  film. 

Honestly,  I  would  rate  the  frightening  scenes  3  out  of  10.  I say  so  because  I  only

felt  fear  in  anticipation  of  what  would  appear  and  scare  me.  When  the  scary  scene  itself 

happens  however,  I  did  not  feel  terrified  as  I expected  myself  to  be. 

          I  would  rate  the  film  an  overall  rating  of  7  out  of  10.  I say  so  because  of   the  scenes  that  occurred  in  the  near  ending  of  the  film’s  rising  action.  What  occurred  in  those  particular  scenes  were  two  main  characters  and  two  other  supporting  characters  risking  themselves  in  an  attempt  to  rescue  the  main  protagonist  who  was  abducted  by  Satanic  witches.  Their  attempts  in  doing  so  involved  breaking  into  the  house  where  the  protagonist  was  being  held  and  even  murdering  witches  who  were  guarding  the  house  with  weapons. 

          Specifically,  my  favorite  part  of  the  whole  film  was  in  the  near- climax.  That  part

was  when  one  of  the  two  main  characters  begins  searching  for  the  other  main  character,  a  girl, 

and  finds  her  falling  from  and  through  the  house’s  ceiling  to  her  death  on  the  floor. 

                       I  would  say  that  this  film  was  a  fine  installment  in  the  series  because  it  exhibited

some,  if  not  a  lot, of violence,  one  of  the  qualities  I  search  for  in  horror  films.

Mico E. Aquino  

2-O

                                                Catching Fire

Not having read the book, I cannot say whether or not the film is faithful to the second book of Suzanne Collins' hit series, Hunger Games.

In Hunger Games, the first installment of the trilogy, the viewers had no idea what was going on. All they knew was that the Hunger Games- an event in the story- was some sort of Battle Royale done every year to commemorate a 'War'. This alone tells us that this was set in a dystopian future. What we do not know is the logic behind the Hunger Games, why it is done, what its purpose is. In the next installment, Catching Fire, we find out.

Catching Fire's story is excellent, as it explores the various secrets "behind the iron curtain", as one would put it. The Iron Curtain, as historians define it, is the partition that separates the Communist countries from the Capitalist countries during the days of the Cold War. The concept of the Iron Curtain and how it was a deciding factor between the relationship of the Communists and the Capitalists during the Cold War is sort of similar to the situation in Panem, where, for some reason, Capitol is richer than any of the of the Districts, even when put together. Now, the definition of the phrase "Behind the Iron Curtain" is that, up front the Communists look like they're having a better time than the Capitalists, but in reality, they're having more trouble than the Capitalists trying to keep things together. This is similar to the situation in Panem where, up front, President Snow and the government are "suppressing" (more like "neutralizing") riots and that any forms of rebellion are being suppressed, but in reality, the rebelling population show no signs of being deterred because of Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) being their inspiration/symbol of hope. And from here on out begins President Snow's campaign of making Katniss Everdeen a symbol for his government instead of the Rebellion. President Snow's attempts fail, and he is forced to change the rules of the year's Hunger Games' "The Reaping", where, instead of any random citizen, the "Tributes" will be the winners of past Games, for at this point he is convinced that all winners are symbols of hope for the Rebellion and seek to, as Grand Moff Tarkin said, "crush the Rebellion with one swift stroke!"

This plan backfires, however, for the Rebellion has spies all the way to the highest echelons of the government, in the form of Plutarch Heavensbee, the Gamemaker for the year. With Plutarch, the rebels successfully ruin the Game and, with Katniss in tow, begin their long-planned 'Revolution' against Panem.

Final score: 9/10

“They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power.” 

― Patrick Henry

Short Film (10 minutes!) Groupings:

Cereal Killer - VALLENTE (1A), VILLACAMPA (2H), TICMAN (3B), GARCIA (4C), EDUARTE (1I),             ESQUIVEL (1I), FLAVIER (1I), COLOQUIO (2O)

Base One - PAMINTUAN (1F), EUGENIO (2N), MUSNGI (3C), DELA CRUZ (4L), DIAZ (1M), ORETA (1N), DIVINO (1O), MADRID (1O), SANTOS (1O)

Godmother - DAWANG (1A), QUIZON (2E), CANSINO (3B), TRINIDAD (4B), BAYOT (1G), ICARANGAL (2N), BALMACEDA (3F), FLORENDO (4L)

Ballpen - CHAN (1A), MARCELO (2C), ASTILLA (3B), ARMADA (4B), DAWANA (1G),  DIVINO (1G), AQUINO (2O), ASPERILLA (4M)

Misunderstood - MALLORCA (1G), OLANO (1G), LAVINA (1H), BAUTISTA (2O), LACSON (1A), CONEL (2H), FLORES (3B), BUMAGAT (4C)

Hunger - SANTOS (1I), IBANEZ (1J), SAN PEDRO (1L), DOREGO (2O), ALDABA (1C), CORONEL (2K), CRUZ (3C), DE DIOS (4H)