reviews by a non-reviewer

Clerks

2008-08-20T21:59:00.000-07:00

Directed by	Kevin Smith
Produced by	Scott Mosier Kevin Smith
Written by	Kevin Smith
Starring	Brian O'Halloran Jeff Anderson Marilyn Ghigliotti Lisa Spoonhauer Jason Mewes Kevin Smith
Cinematography	David Klein
Editing by	Scott Mosier Kevin Smith

After its original release 14 years ago, and its re-release 4 years ago i got to see the movie Clerks--finally. I have heard a lot of good things about the movie, and because i didn't have any means of watching the movie back then the urge to see Clerks nags me for so long. I wasn't surprised when the scenes unfolded before me, I had some kind of idea how the movie would go, because of the things I heard about it. What amazed me is that director/writer/genius Kevin Smith was six years younger the present day me when he made this movie. But blame it on the demographics, geography, and state of being; I would have never thought of doing something Smith did when I was 24.
I have always been amazed by movies that are simple yet striking, (simple pero rock 'ika nga). Truly adversity displays genius. The good thing about the movie is that it didn't bank on effects because of budget constraints or on a very complex, pa-profound, existenialist storyline na sakit ng indie industry ng Pilipinas. The story is so simple, dalawang Clerks, dot-dot-dot... Umandar yung istorya sa mga komplikasyon ng dalawang bida, ng mga pangyayari na sanhi ng kagaguhan nila, o ng mga di maiiwasang pangyayari. The movie doesn't pretend to be something else other than what it is, walang icing, purong cake lang.

Clerks revived the independent filmmaking industry in the US, lahat na nagsisunuran, so breakthrough talaga. The print was in black and white because it's much cheaper, but it gave the movie a whole new refreshing feel about it. Basta, mahirap ipaliwanag pero napakagaling talaga ng pagkakagawa ng pelikulang ito, walang eche-bureche, basta ginawa lang nila ang gusto nilang gawin at wala silang pakialam kung magiging isang haligi ng industriya ng pelikula ang ginawa nila.

untraceable

2008-05-05T04:58:00.000-07:00

Directed by	Gregory Hoblit
Written by	Mark Brinker Allison Burnett Robert Fyvolent
Starring	Diane Lane Colin Hanks Billy Burke Joseph Cross Mary Beth Hurt

this film is supposed to be a thriller, why am i saying it's supposed to be a thriller? the fact that it was branded as a thriller, but there's not that thrilling.

the movie is a bout a deranged computer whiz who's set up a website where he kills people with the aid of other people visiting his website. sounds like an episode of millenium, huh? diane lane plays a single mom working as an agent for the FBI in the computer crimes division. she's on the graveyard shift because of her daughter. she spotted this website killwithme.com (which is a working website that redirects you to the movie's promotio0nal game) where a cat is webcast and is left to die of starvation. the website eventually featured human beings to die in some geeky way. like injecting coagulants, death by heat lamps, and making a victim sit in a tank of water but would eventually turn into acid as the number of hits the website receives.

whenever there's this movie involving computer stuff and all it would be a given that the antagonist is some techno prodigy with a psychiatric problem, this movie is not any different from it all. parang iisa lang yung dating nung mga kontrabida na techno geek. buti na lang at hindi world domination ang trip ng kontrabida sa pelikulang ito kundi nagmukhang die hard 4, hehehhe.

Puwang ( Space Between)

2008-04-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

Written & Directed by
Anna Isabelle Matutina

Producers
Anna Isabelle Matutina
Jules Katanyag
Pam Miras

Starring
Elmo Redrico
Roence Santos
Bon Reyes
Lorena Landicho
Seymour Sanchez

Cinematography
Wowie Hao
Alma Dela Peña

Editing
Anna Isabelle Matutina

Music
Lionel Valdellon

Production Design
Richard Legaspi

Most Pinoy movies about families would banter you with all those heavy drama stuff, not like this one. the movie triumphantly encapsulated the "pamilyang pilipino" without the sobrang theatrical dialogues, and that's what i liked about this movie. PUWANG (the space between), a short narrative from premiere film & TV editor, and indie filmmaker sunshine matutina. when roence reodica mistakenly lit a cigarette the wrong way in the opening scene, boom! ayun na, nahuli na yung atensyon ko. bibihira at sobrang unique nung dating, i somehow knew that the character she portrays has all these baggages, emotional and otherwise para magkamali syang sindihan ang yosi nya sa filter.

the cinematography was good, yun talaga yung totoong feel ng hospital, not those kind you seen on daytime drama, sobrang liwanag ng hospital sa daytime drama. i don't know what kind of lightings the filmmaker used, but the scenes inside the hospital makes you feel that you're inside one, and you are inside the scene voyeuring this family. the atmosphere of the movie captures the tension without bringing too much tension on screen. nasa tinginan lang, mga tahimik na sandali nung mga gumanap huling-huli mo na yung "PUWANG". the first time i saw this movie medyo oblivious ako kung bakit "Puwang", sa interpretasyon ko nung mga sumunod na pagpanood i reckon that the title refers to the spaces between the siblings, inside the family, between father and children. (tama nga kaya ako?)

every family has gaps to fill, and the family in this movie is no different, yung "puwang" na namamagitan sa kanila ay nagkaroon ng dugtong, ng tabon. the last part of the movie is remarkable, wala gaanong "talkies" pero alam na alam mong the spaces and gaps were filled. that's what's beautiful about this movie, the highlights were not bombarded with words. films like these make me admire actors and filmmakers that can relay the emotions without being hysterical, na karaniwang problema ng pelikulang pilipino. may emosyon ang bawat haplos, buntung hininga, di pagbukas ng pinto, pati tinginan, kahit walang dialogue may inentsity. Elmo Redrico was remarkable in his protrayal of the invalid father, mata pa lang acting na. his lines were so short, but you can feel the emotions sa mata pa lang, tsaka sa mga hawak.

as i always say most indie movies would conceal their incapabilities by making their films pa-profound and would leave the audience either dumber or clueless, this movie is far from that, walang mga artsy-fartsy, simple lang. and that's what makes it a good movie. the lack of dialogue is more than compensated by the intense acting from the actors. i' ve always wondered how filmmakers were able to capture the emotions and convey them on screen, wala mang pang-hollywood na special effects ang pelikulang ito, it still has a lot of movie magic.

DOWNLOAD JUNO (FULL MOVIE)

2008-03-31T01:15:00.000-07:00

Before Sunrise / Before Sunset Motion Picture Soundtrack Download

2008-03-31T01:03:00.000-07:00

The Before Sunset soundtrack (combining tracks from Before Sunrise, for which there was never a soundtrack album) is a romantic musical journey, featuring "Just in Time" by Nina Simone plus multiple tracks by the film's star Julie Delpy. The album also includes classical tracks by Johann Sebastian Bach and Henry Purcell plus performances by Yo-Yo Ma and Igor Kipnis.

Track Listings
1. Je T'aime Tant - Julie Delpy
2. Living Life - Kathy McCarty
3. A Walz For A Night - Julie Delpy
4. 'Andante' From Sonata For Viola Da Gamba In G Major, BWV 1027 - Ketil Haugsand
5. Dido And Encas Overture - The Scholars Baroque Ensemble
6. An Ocean Apart - Julie Delpy
7. Come Here - Kath Bloom
8. Varianto 25 From The Goldberg Variations In G Major, BWV 988 - Igor Kipnis
9. The Human Pump - Harald Waiglein
10. Dancing With Da Rat - Loud
11. Trapeze - Lou Christie

Download Here

Before Sunrise/ Before Sunset

2008-03-28T03:26:00.000-07:00

Directed by	Richard Linklater
Produced by	Anne Walker-McBay
Written by	Richard Linklater, Kim Krizan
Starring	Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy

Directed by	Richard Linklater
Produced by	Richard Linklater
Written by	Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
Starring	Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
Music by	Julie Delpy

Simplicity is beauty as we hear often. And there are two movies that would fit perfectly with that adage: Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. Both of the movies is about the special relationship of a man and a woman who are complete strangers but got along very well and somehow fell in love with each other. It is not love at first sight, because that is not always true, but the development of attraction by looking at each other’s insights and thoughts about everything.

Before Sunrise is a 1995 movie starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, except for minor characters they are the only ones you would see on screen. The movie revolves around how their characters: Jessie and Celine spent the night together in Vienna. It all started with a train ride, the two main characters are aboard a train heading for Vienna, and they struck up a conversation after overhearing a German couple arguing. The two strangers then decided to go to Vienna for the night and roam the city. The movie is mostly composed of conversations between the two about almost everything under the sun, and about their take on life in general, and their personal experiences. While roaming the city and picking on each other’s minds Jessie and Celine developed an attraction and eventually made love before they part, before sunrise. They promised to see each other after six months and headed their own ways.

After nine years, the follow up movie Before Sunset came. The movie also happens nine years after the parting of the two main protagonists. What’s remarkable about this movie is that the story unfolds in real time. Jessie is now a successful writer who visits Paris to launch his book which is about his encounter with Celine. Celine who now lives in Paris is working for an environmental agency. Like the first movie, Before Sunset also revolves around Jessie and Celine, their views in life, what happened since the last time they’ve seen each other, and their quasi-relationship. They didn’t get to meet on their agreed rendezvous which is six months after they parted in the first movie. They both took their own directions and lived each life separately. The good thing is that after nine years you can still sense that there’s still going on between the two of them.

The real beauty in the two films, or both halves of one film in my opinion, is that they didn’t bank on massive special effects or mind boggling twists, it is simplicity in its finest working to create a genius work of art.

Deathproof

2008-03-25T19:52:00.000-07:00

Directed by	Quentin Tarantino
Produced by	Elizabeth Avellan Erica Steinberg Robert Rodriguez Quentin Tarantino
Written by	Quentin Tarantino
Starring	Kurt Russell Rosario Dawson Vanessa Ferlito Jordan Ladd Sydney Poitier Tracie Thoms Mary Elizabeth Winstead Zoë Bell Rose McGowan Marley Shelton
Cinematography	Robert Rodriguez Quentin Tarantino
Editing by	Sally Menke

Many have deemed Quentin Tarantino as a visionary, a maverick filmmaker. His style is often copied by many who admire his filmmaking prowess. In every movie that he makes there're several trademarks that make his movies truly his own. Fictitious products like Red Apple cigarettes, Big Red Soda and Big Kahuna burgers are a staple in every movie that Quentin Tarantino makes, this is done to avoid placement of real products in his movies. It is true that he also copies some techniques and shots done by the most notable directors in film history, but he gives them a new approach and makes them unique.

His new movie Deathproof, which is a part of the double feature Grindhouse, is another breakthrough in film history. The idea is to make a movie that would look like a grindhouse feature film. The two movies in Grindhouse: Planet Terror which is directed by Tarantino’s good friend Robert Rodriguez, and Tarantino’s Deathproof contains elements of grindhouse features and has a B-Movie feel in it. It is a really fun experience watching those two movies. It really leaves an impression that you are watching old movies, these two films also has a grainy visual, making it seem like the reels are either really old or really bad. There are also “missing reels” segments which are not uncommon with old grindhouse features. The double feature also comes with fake movie trailers of fake movies in between the two features.

What sets the Tarantino feature Deathproof apart from the B-Movies is that it was able to present graphic scenes using new technology. The “crash” scene in Deathproof is beautifully detailed and the shots would be impossible to make if this was really a B-Movie. Like what Kurt Russell’s character Stuntman Mike said, during the days to crash a car in a movie you have to crash real cars and stupid people drive them. But with cutting edge technology, everything is possible, and with Tarantino taking the helm you are gonna have a big time, gruesome assault visually. The violence in his movie is so graphic it makes you whince, or faint if you have a weak heart.

There are some movies that try to be genius but turn out to be really stupid; with Quentin Tarantino’s Deathproof (and also with Rober Rodriguez’s Planet Terror) they try to be so stupid it came out a genius work of art.

Ambulancia

2008-02-22T19:40:00.000-08:00

Ambulancia

Directed by	Richard Soriano Legaspi
Produced by	Richard S. Legaspi
	Ann Isabelle Matutina
	Eloisa Espino-Sanchez
Written by	Richard Soriano Legaspi
Starring	Allan Paule
	Nor Domingo
Cinematography	Albert Banzon
Editing	Anna Isabelle Matutina
Music	Pam Miras
Production Design	Sunny Completo
	Grace Orbon
	Benay Reyes

Ambulancia... a short film about an ambulance driver's twist of fate.
wow! twist of fate, hehehehehe!
the film was exhibited in last year's cinemanila young cinema night, and won the quisumbing -escandor film festival for short narrative.

ano ba ang masasabi ko sa short film na 'to? ewan ko kung magiging biased ang review ko dahil barkada ko ang writer/director ng ambulancia.

most indie films would leave you and render you numbminded kasi either they are too profound that only the filmmaker knows what's going on o kaya the film and the filmmaker tries to be profound na empty naman ang pelikula. this movie is not at all that, it doesn't try to be a very "deep" film na intellectuals lang ang makaka-get ng nangyayari. simple lang yung istorya, tapos kung mahilig ka sa mga twists and turns syempre di ka mabibigo sa short film na 'to. i am not sure pero ang alam ko ito yung first movie ni richard legaspi as writer/director at di naman nakaka-dismaya itong una nyang pelikula.
there's a mexican feel sa pelikula (o ako lang yun) yung mga gamit ng symbolisms at idols kasi dahil nga sa piyesta ng sto. niño. yung scenes sa pag-aayos ng karo ng sto. niño reminded me of the wedding preparation scenes sa Babel. siguro kaya feeling ko lang na may touch of mexican movie kasi may mga icons, tsaka yung kulay....

there was a time that i watched the movie pretending that i don't know the story at di ko kilala ang gumawa; yung medyo obscure lang sa kin ay yung conflict sa paggamit ng wang-wang... yung explanation nga kasi: may tetano yung sakay nilang pasyente at di dapat makarag... malinis naman yung pagkakagawa, wala lang gaanong eksplanasyon dun sa connection ng wang-wang at tetano. isa ko pang napansin ay yung bilis ng mga pangyayari, parang kung medyo slow ka sa paglunok mabubulunan ka na.
acting wise ok si allan paule at si nor domingo, kapani-paniwala talaga... siguro kung yung unang bet ni legaspi ang gumanap naiba ang atake, buti na lang si allan paule ang gumanap. pero yung paborito ko siyempre yung acting ni john rey legaspi (kindat!kindat!) syang-sya talaga yun, pati yung pag-inom ng mineral water na hindi naman sa kanya, hehehehe!

the movie would really blow you, yung emosyon dun sa komprontasyon ng mga characters nina allan paule at nor domingo mararamdaman mo talaga, lalo na dun sa binitiwan ni allan paule na ayaw nyang mamatay ang anak nya... kung sonic boom lang yung linyang yun basag na ang pc monitor ko. magaling!

ipinakikita sa pelikulang ito ang paghahalo ng pananampalataya at pagkamapamahiin ng mga pinoy, tsaka yung pagpapahalaga sa pamilya.

yung structure at pagkakasubod-sunod ng pelikula tamang-tama lang, di tulad ng ibang pelikula na nararamdaman mo na yung climax pero bibitinin ka kaya pagdating sa totoong climax napagod ka na, o kaya akala mo bitin ulit. tamang-tama lang yung pagtaas ng energy ng pelikula tsaka yung pagbaba ng energy sa dulo. the editing was good, hindi gaanong pinag-ekspirementuhan o ginamitan ng bagong style of editing para lang magmukhang trendy ang pelikula.

siguro malayo pa ang mararating ng pelikulang 'to at malayo pa ang mararating ni richard legaspi, hehehee... isama mo naman kami sa mga pangarap mo!

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (4 luni, 3 săptămâni şi 2 zile)

2008-02-01T01:19:00.000-08:00

Directed by	Cristian Mungiu
Produced by	Cristian Mungiu Oleg Mutu
Written by	Cristian Mungiu
Starring	Adi Carauleanu Luminiţa Gheorghiu Vlad Ivanov Anamaria Marinca Alexandru Potocean Laura Vasiliu
Cinematography	Oleg Mutu
Editing by	Dana Bunescu

ito yung first time na nakapanood ako ng isang pelikula na palm d'or awardee ng cannes film festival. iniisip ko na baka di maabot ng simpleng utak ko yung istorya, pero naintindihan ng bawat himaymay ng utak at katawan ko kung ano ang gustong sabihin ng pelikulang ito. brilliant!!!!

this movie is about abortion, or maybe the necessity and desperation of having an abortion.

yung storya ay di naging isang morality seminar kung ano ang evils of killing an innocent foetus, mas nag-delve ang istorya sa pagkakaibigan ng dalawang karakter, yung debosyon nila sa isa't isa na kahit ibigay ng isa ang puri nya para lang matuloy ang aborsyon ay gagawin nya. sobrang puro ng mga emosyon na pinakita ng mga artistang nagsiganap, i watched it the second time without subtitles and it made me kinda believe that i am a spectator of a real story (oa 'no?)

basta i recommend that you watch it, yung mga shots eh sobrang natural, parang tunay na buhay lang, pati yung mga long pauses sa pagitan ng mga mangyayari sa eksena--excellent! this movie captured the feel of real life in the sense that there are some silent moments in between things that happened and willl happen. medyo akward yung mga pauses na yun pero ganun nga sa totoong buhay.

and even though the movie is in a foreign language and you're compelled to read closed caption the dialogue still has this natural feel to it, it would make you believe na nagi-eavesdrop ka lang sa mga katabing dormmates mo.

sa tingin ko yung title refers to the age of the aborted foetus.

atonement

2008-01-27T20:28:00.000-08:00

atonement

Directed by	Joe Wright
Produced by	Tim Bevan Eric Fellner Paul Webster
Written by	Novel: Ian McEwan Screenplay: Christopher Hampton
Starring	James McAvoy Keira Knightley
Music by	Dario Marianelli
Cinematography	Seamus McGarvey
Editing by	Paul Tothill

another academy award nominee is atonement, based on the novel of the same title written by ian mcewan. the film is composed of four parts which corresponds the four parts of the novel. briony tallis a girl of thirteen and an aspiring writer misinterprets things that she sees as something else. the sexual tensions between her sister cecilia and robbie, the housekeeper's son is misinterpreted by briony as sexual aggressions of robby. with things briony witnessed between her sister and robby led briony to conclude that robbie is a sex maniac.

and when during a search for their lost cousins briony witnessed her cousin lola being raped, briony accused robbie as the assailant. robbie is imprisoned because of briony's testimony.

four years later, war came and the movie forwarded, robbie was released from prison on the condition that he would enlist in the army. he was reunited with cecilia and made a promise that he would return to her. briony, meanwhile, joined the nursing corps as a penance for what she's done. she has been trying to reach her sister but her sister wouldn't reply to her letters. she's also continued writing her stories.

in france, robbiue finally reached dunkirk beach, and waits to be evacuated to england. the scene in dunkirk beach is the one long scene i really liked in the movie. it is a one really long "tuhog" which showcased soldiers waiting to be evacuated. there are parts of the scene where they are killing horses for food, and soldiers doing this and that to spend time while waiting for their rescue.

the "atonement" part comes in the last part of the movie, where vanessa redgrave plays an aged briony, she's became a very successful writer and is about to release her novel which is entitled "atonement". it is the story of what happened between her, her sister and robbie. she announced that this would be her last novel as she's retiring, but this was the very first story she has ever written.

the movie is one of the movies that are vying for the oscars, and like most of its co-nominees is based on a novel. i think that this movie has a strong chance in winning the best picture award owing to the "period feel" of the movie, and extravagant war scenes reminiscent of some wwII epics.

2008-01-26T03:22:00.001-08:00

JUNO

Directed by	Jason Reitman
Produced by	John Malkovich
Written by	Diablo Cody
Starring	Ellen Page Michael Cera Jennifer Garner Jason Bateman Olivia Thirlby Allison Janney J.K. Simmons
Music by	Mateo Messina
Cinematography	Eric Steelberg
Editing by	Dana E. Glauberman

"...it started with a chair...."
JUNO, the academy award nominee movie from the direction of Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody (Brooke Busey-Hunt) is a simple story of a teener going through an unplanned pregnancy. Ellen Page stars as the title role, and she's pretty convincing. i know for sure that this movie wouldn't win the Oscar for best picture, as the academy favors glamorous films, but this movie would be a refreshing experience for any movie goer.
the charm of the movie is that it's a simple story, of which any teener might relate to. not only teeners but every woman, or any person for that matter. the movie speaks of being responsible, the value of having a family, of loving and being loved by a person for what they really are, no matter what.

the sharptongued JUNO found out that she's pregnant by her geeky friend Bleeker, she's planning on having an abortion but she backed off and decided to continue the pregnancy and give her child for adoption. the scene where JUNO is about to enter the abortion clinic and was encountered by her asian classmate Su Chin protesting solely against abortion is kinda funny... "babies want to get borned.."

the characters in the movie are stereotypes and not stereotypes at the same time. i mean that the characters are stereotypes in a sense that they are presented as characters that would normally appear in a teen flick but they behave differently, or is it maybe my cultural upbringing is different from the cultural aspects of the movie. nonetheless, i applaud the movie for having parents that treat their children as human beings capable of making their own decisions.

if this movie were only made in the philippines then the story would have a different feel, i'm sure that a teener announcing an unplanned pregnancy would earn shrieks from the parents and a heart attack apiece. the step mother role gives a new light to step mothers, yeah i know that "madrasta" shed new light to step mother's but i think that allisson janney did great. i particularly like the scene in the ultrasound clinic where allison janney tongue lashed the ultrasound technician, "you's the dick,bren..",said juno.

the soundtrack is also good, mostly songs by kimya dawson and her band moldy peaches. the anti folk rock melodies gave the movie a rather anti-teen flick track of songs.

the dialogue is rather natural, although i have a hard time figuring out what they say because i am not that aware of american teen slang, so it helped that i watched it with subtitles.

the movie might hit the phillipines late february or early march, and if my predictions are correct they might not last long in theaters if they ever hit our shore, but i recommend that you watch it. and bring a lot of orange tictacs.