Wednesday In Town.

Met up with Yron, Sab, Mino, Abie and Michiko yesterday in Alabang Town Center to watch Segunda Mano and catch up with stories as if we don't flood Twitter every night. Ha ha. The movie was good! Go see it! You have about more than a week to catch all the films under the Metro Manila Film Festival, so go ahead and watch a couple or all of 'em. Ha ha!

The ever-generous Sab treated us lunch in Shakey's while waiting for Michiko and for the screening time. It's always nice to get tickets in advanced (online or just go there early) so as to avoid the hassle of long lines come screening time. We went to Timezone right after watching the movie and spent a good hour (or more) hoarding two videoke booths and we also played in the arcade. Parang mga batang nakawala na naman kami. Ha ha! 

Photodump coming right up!

Check out Abie's Tumblr

Check out Mino's blog

GAME FACE. LOL

It's always nice to let loose and just have fun once in a while! Thanks, guys! See you all again soon!

Movie Review: Mission Impossible 4 Ghost Protocol

Waiting six long years for this fourth installment of Mission Impossible made me expect a lot. Good thing the movie exceeded all my expectations.

I grew up watching James Bond films and when the first Mission Impossible came out in 1996, I somehow edged our copies of James Bond films (VHS) and put Mission Impossible on top of our VHS rack. I anticipated each and every installment and I've always liked them. I guess I've developed an inkling to death-defying scenes coupled with spanking gadgets.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, for me, is better than the third installment (2006). I liked the plot and storyline better and obviously, the technology they showcased was far more better than those they featured six years ago. However, I still think that the second installment (2000) is still the best.

It's funny how after watching this film, I felt like an agent of IMF just because of my iPhone. Ha ha!

FINAL RATING: 4 out of 5

Movie Review: Real Steel

A father and son story plus a dancing robot who can totally kick ass? I just couldn't help but ask for more.

If you follow me on Twitter, then I guess you might have seen my tweets regarding Real Steel. I raved about it online for a couple of days and I can't get over it still, although I've decided not to fill up my Twitter's timeline and my Facebook's wall with Real Steel-related posts. I guess this entry is my last way of convincing you all to get tickets and watch it.

Real Steel is a movie set in the not so far-off future. By then, people have developed a penchant for extreme contact sports which became too suicidal dangerous for real people, hence the birth of robot boxing. Think boxing/MMA but between C-3PO on steroids and the Tin Man, yet again on steroids. The story revolves around Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), a used-to-be boxer turned promoter of robot boxing, and his son Max Kenton (Dakota Goyo) whom he left years ago. The two had a rough start on rebuilding their father and son relationship since Charlie wasn't too keen on keeping his son. An incident led them to the discovery of a sparring robot which they rebuilt and reprogrammed. This robot, named Atom, became a strong contender and was easily liked by the people, all this to the outrage and defiance of Tak Mashido (Karl Yune), a well-known promoter of robot boxing and the owner of Zeus, the robot which held the title of World Robot Boxing Champion. The movie culminates into a match between Atom and Zeus and I'll stop blabbering here. Ha ha!

Real Steel's still being shown in a lot of cinemas and I know a lot of people will watch it, especially since most still have about a week off from school. The movie is very inspirational and focuses on the importance of family. Fine, I'll admit it. I cried teared up because of the father and son scenes, especially that one scene while the match between Atom and Zeus was happening. Good thing I wasn't seated next to anyone. Ha ha! Overall, the movie is just plain awesome. Great story, great actors, great cinematography! Just. Plain. Great.

As I've said in my tweet, Real Steel has got to be the best movie I've seen this year. I'm excited to get it on original DVD and I'm really looking forward to a sequel. Oh please, let there be one. Or two.

FINAL RATING: 5 out of 5

Movie Review: Dolphin Tale

My sincere apology for this overly-late movie review. Dolphin Tale was shown in cinemas about three weeks ago already and here I am, just about to write a review for it. At least y'all wouldn't be spoiled, right? Ha ha!

Dolphin Tale is actually based on the true story of a dolphin named Winter. Winter's tail got injured when it got caught in a crab trap and the tail had to be amputated in order for her to survive. The movie basically "documents" Winter's journey as she tries to be a normal dolphin. She somehow learned how to swim but those who were taking care of her found out that her swimming movement is actually wrong and is beginning to sever her vertebrae which could ultimately lead to her death. Winter's best friend, a boy named Sawyer Nelson (Nathan Gamble) finds ways to prolong Winter's life with the help of his friend Hazel Hasette (Cozi Zuehlsdorff) and her father Dr. Clay Hasette (Harry Connick Jr.). A prosthetic tail was made for Winter but several prototypes were rejected by Winter because it irritates her skin. After several tails, they found a way to make it more comfortable for Winter and her swimming movement was brought back to normal, thus eliminating the possibility of her breaking her vertebrae.

I highly recommend this movie for families and for people looking for inspiration. Winter served (and still serves) as an inspiration to people, whether or not they have disabilities. Today, Winter is still alive and kicking swimming! You can click here to visit her official website.

Here's a video of Winter to cap off this entry.

FINAL RATING: 4 out of 5

Movie Review: Glee: The 3D Concert Movie

I'm a Gleek. I've been a fan ever since and this movie sure made me appreciate Glee and its cast more. I've been watching videos taken during their concert tour (USA and Europe) in YouTube and I was secretly hoping that there'd be an Asian tour in which the Philippines would be included in the tour itinerary. Long shot, I know, but this movie suffices for the Gleeks' craving. For now. Ha ha.

The movie's basically a documentary/compilation of performances from the said tour. I think they made this by taking all the best performances from the tour and rendered it into this 80-minute musical extravaganza. The addition of the fans' stories is actually a good touch, and it made Glee even more relatable to the audience. 

I do want to talk about the numbers done on the show but that might be considered as spoilers for those who haven't seen it yet. 

You really wanna know how good is it? I watched it twice. And thinking of watching it again this week, given free time. It's that good. 

God, I really wanna be on stage and perform like these people. That'd be great! Ha ha!

Movie Review: Friends With Benefits | No Strings Attached (Over The Top Friendly Movies)

I don't know how I managed to squeeze in two movies despite my seemingly hectic schedule. I've been staying up late these past couple of weeks to get things done and I might've developed a not-so-healthy sleeping habit; that is, sleeping at around 3:00am and waking up by 7:00am. My body clock sure is a wreck right now. So, anyway, I went to bed early last night, only to be reminded that my body's not used to sleeping that early (I'm talkin' about 11:00pm early). Since I wasn't feeling a tad bit sleepy yet, I decided to fish out a couple of movies from my external hard drive to put me to sleep.

I've heard and read several reviews about Friends With Benefits and No Strings Attached and admittedly, I was intrigued by how "similar" they seem to be.

I popped in Friends With Benefits first since Mila Kunis deserves to be first. Always. Ha ha. Justin Timberlake's speaking voice is kinda irritating but Mila Kunis' eyes are just wow. The movie's quite good, actually. I was laughing most of the time since the comic parts were delivered well. Plus points for decent one-liners. Overall, I think it's worth watching. I'm not so sure though if it's worth watching in the big screen.

No Strings Attached surprised me. Really. I made a hasty conclusion that this won't top Friends With Benefits but after seeing the whole of it, it actually did. No Strings Attached has more "story" in it, I guess. The characters and the plot were well-developed and the pacing is really good. Not one dragging part. It's as if every scene is essential and there were no fillers at all. I also think that this is more relatable for the audience, in the sense that this has a simpler plot, but ultimately portraying a very "this could happen in real life" scenario in people's lives. Overall, I liked this one better and would've spent some money to see it in the cinema.

After seeing the two films, I can say that both are worth your time. Although they have similarities, their distinctive differences make each of them unique. I say don't just rely on hearsays and reviews as to which is better or which is a copycat of which. Find time to see both!

Movie Review: Fast 5

Best among the 5 installments. More substantial than ever. 

I have nothing bad to say about this movie. It's that good. No review here. Watch it. Go. Now.

FINAL RATING: 5 out of 5

Movie Review: Thor (2011)

It's safe to say that most of my future allowance will be spent on watching movies, what with Marvel movies lined up and all other promising offerings, especially the ones in 3D.

Last Tuesday, May 3, 2011, I got the chance to see Thor in 3D. The cousin and I got tickets for the 1:00PM screening since he's got basketball stuff at 5:00PM while I needed to write something. Ha ha. I was surprised that there were only about 50 people in the cinema, but then I remembered that it was noon time and it was a weekday, after all. 

Well, I can't really tell much here, can I? Ha ha. I can assure y'all though, that Thor is a good one. Of course, too much compression was done with the story, but I reckon they put all the significantly significant happenings on the movie. The cinematography is good, especially the scenes wherein the Kingdom of Asgard is panned. The fight scenes were very well executed as well. But what really amazed me in this movie is how well the casting went. The actors for this film really look like the characters from the comic book. It's as if they were literally cut out from the comic book and used in the film! Props to that!

Overall, I think the movie did good. It more so heightened the excitement for the upcoming Marvel movies. One qualm I have though is that I wish we hadn't seen it in 3D. Some of my friends advised us not to see it in 3D since it ain't worth it because only a very, very small fraction of the film can be very well appreciated in 3D, and I guess they were right. Oh, well. What's done is done, and me and the cousin enjoyed the movie still.

FINAL RATING: 4 out of 5

P.S: Natalie Portman and Jamie Alexander both looked grrreat!

Movie Review: The Roommate

After quite some time, I finally had the chance to see a movie on the big screen again. Saw The Roomate earlier in SM City Calamba with some friends. 

I'm gonna try my best to voice out my opinions regarding the movie without spilling any spoilers for those who haven't seen it yet.

I seriously thought Leighton Meester would be the protagonist on this film. I was really surprised when the story began to unfold and she was revealed to be the antagonist of the story. Leighton did very well! She delivered her role effectively. She was an effective enthusiastic, obsessed, and borderline-creepy roommate. All that while still looking hot. Bias. Ha ha! Minka Kelly, who played as Leighton's "lucky" roommate, was believable as well. The supporting cast did okay, too. 

The plot of the story is a good one, I tell you. It's simple, and can really happen in real life. That's the scary part, I guess. Ha ha. The cinematography was commendable as well. Creepy scenes were made extremely creepy, and the lighter scenes were not neglected at all, in the cinema art department. One pet peeve I have is that Leighton's character, Rebecca, was underdeveloped, I think. Even after the entire film, her character didn't have enough "description". No story of her past whatsoever, and how come she acted the way she did. I was expecting that they'd reveal her past by the end of the movie, but they didn't. Up until the end, her character was still enveloped in mystery. Anyway, that's the only thing I didn't quite like about the movie.

Overall, The Roommate is a good film. The story and the actors really did great. Leighton and Minka's sexiness is just a bonus! Ha ha!

FINAL RATING: 4 out of 5