10 Cloverfield Lane

DIRECTOR: Dan Trachtenberg  LEAD CAST:  John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher, Jr.  SCREENWRITER:  Josh Campbell, Matt Stuecken, Damien Chazelle  PRODUCER:  J.J. Abrams, Lindsey Weber   EDITOR:  Stefan Grube  MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  Bear McCreary  GENRE:  Science Fiction Psychological Thriller  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jeff Cutter   DISTRIBUTOR:  Paramount Pictures  LOCATION:  United States  GENRE: Suspense, action  RUNNING TIME: 103 minutes

Technical assessment: 3.5

Moral assessment: 2.5

CINEMA Rating: V14

Shortly after a love quarrel with her fiancé, Michelle (Elizabeth Winstead)  figures in a car accident and loses consciousness. On waking up she finds herself chained onto a wall without any idea where she is. In that strange place she meets Howard (John Goodman)) who explains to her that she has been rescued from the danger of chemical hazards and is brought to the underground place for safety and protection to keep her alive. In the same place, Michelle meets Emmet (John Gallagher, Jr.), another rescued survivor. The two of them think that Howard is an equally dangerous man when he denies entry to Leslie (Suzanne Cryer), who is already contaminated by the chemical. Emmet and Michelle plan to escape. But Howard discovers their attempt to flee. 10 Cloverfield Lane has a commendable plot. It is well developed, unpredictable and impressively sustains suspense. The director did well in carrying the story with effective attention to detail. The actors equally gave their share of excellent, thrilling performance.  The cinematography is likewise good; it complements the amazing production design while being enhanced further by careful editing.  The rest of the technical aspects satisfactorily contribute to the overall aesthetic value of the film.

There is value in possessing foresight, resourcefulness, and strong determination to protect life.  There is further value when interest for safety is not contained to one’s self but is extended to include others. The film depicts charity that is marked by hospitality and generosity in sharing home and food to the needy.  However, distrust gets in the way and the motivation in helping others is questioned.  While trust may bring peace of mind and a carefree feeling in the heart, in times of trouble and confusion, it is very hard to trust and to forgive. The film 10 Cloverfield Lane disregards the trust, forgiveness and sacredness of life.

My big fat Greek wedding 2

DIRECTOR: Jon Favreau LEAD CAST: Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson, Giarncarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken, Neel Sethi  PRODUCERS: Jon Favreau, Brigham Taylor  SCREENWRITER: Justin Marks  EDITOR: Mark Livolsi  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Bill Pope  MUSIC: John Debney  GENRE: Fantasy Adventure  BASED ON: Disney’s The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling  PRODUCTION COMPANY: Walt Disney Pictures, Fairview Entertainment  DISTRIBUTOR: Walt Disney Studios, Motion Pictures  LOCATION: United States RUNNING TIME: 105 minutes

Technical assessment:  4

Moral assessment:  3.5

CINEMA rating:  VA (Viewers of All Ages)

Toula Portokalos-Miller (Nia Vardalos) and husband Ian (John Corbett) are now often at odds with their 18-year-old daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris) who disagrees with Greek traditions and can’t accept her clan’s behavior.  Toula has also to contend with the expectations of close relatives and the aging parents—something that pulls her away much of the time from her husband.  Crisis arises when the family discovers that Toula’s parents Kostas (Michael Constantine) and Maria (Lainie Kazan), husband and wife for 50 years, are not yet officially married in Church.  Now Maria wants Kostas to seriously propose marriage to her.  Kostas adamantly refuses but at a crucial point gives in and pops the question.  The wedding planner hired for the occasion quits from the pressure imposed by the loud and huge family.  How will the big fat Greek wedding then come to pass?

A sequel to My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) this can stand on its own, although some parts may not make sense to those who have not seen MBFGW #1. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 may have its technical loopholes—some jokes fall flat, sometimes characters project like amateur actors, editing is sometimes lumpy, etc.—but with a story that everyone one with a family can relate to, technical imperfection is forgiveable.  If the plot is the spine, the development of the characters is the flesh and blood around it, animating the movie and putting on the big screen people that viewers can care about.  Credit goes to Vardalos’ script, delivered from the heart by the ensemble.  It will be remembered that Vardalos, its star and screenwriter, earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay with My Big Fat Greek Wedding in 2002.   

Critics have been harsh on My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.   The consensus on Rotten Tomatoes says it is “as sweet and harmless as the original, but its collection of sitcom gags and stereotypes never coalesces into anything resembling a story with a purpose.”  We have yet to see how MBFGW #2 eventually compares at the box office with MBFGW #1, but it’s clear that critics and audiences do not see eye to eye here.  The original had a budget of $5 million and ultimately grossed $368.7 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing rom-com in history despite its never becoming number one in box office charts.  It seems film critics who bash the movie miss the “purpose” in Vardalos’ story.  Dipped in cream and rolled in sugar and spice is its dough—solidly but subtly promoting the values of love, marriage, family.  The movie throbs with love and acceptance—perhaps that’s what viewers really want to see in a world that’s bent on destroying itself with selfish isms and ideologies.  Read the viewers’ comments and reactions to reviews and understand why audiences even clap their hands at the end of the movie.

The Jungle Book

DIRECTOR: Jon Favreau LEAD CAST: Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson, Giarncarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken, Neel Sethi  PRODUCERS: Jon Favreau, Brigham Taylor  SCREENWRITER: Justin Marks  EDITOR: Mark Livolsi  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Bill Pope  MUSIC: John Debney  GENRE: Fantasy Adventure  BASED ON: Disney’s The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling  PRODUCTION COMPANY: Walt Disney Pictures, Fairview Entertainment  DISTRIBUTOR: Walt Disney Studios, Motion Pictures  LOCATION: United States RUNNING TIME: 105 minutes

Technical assessment:  4

Moral assessment:  3.5

CINEMA rating:  VA (Viewers of All Ages)

As a baby, Mowgli (voiced by Neel Sethi) is rescued by Bagheera (Ben Kingsley), a black panther.  He is brought to the wolves Raksha (Lupita Nyong’o) and Akela (Giancarlo Esposito), and is raised by them.  When Mowgli grows to become a young boy, the tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba) threatens to kill him as humans are not allowed in the jungle.  Mowgli flees his jungle home and sets on an action-packed adventure and self-discovery into the deep forest where he is hypnotized by the python Kaa (Scarlett Johansson).  He is rescued by and becomes friends with Baloo (Bill Murray), a bear, and kidnapped by King Louie (Christopher Walken), an orangutan.  A note of caution to parents: some scenes may be too violent for very young children. (Full review to follow).

Superman vs. Batman: Dawn of Justice

Direction: Jack Snyder; Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter; Story:  based on characters published by DC Comics; Screenplay: Chris Terrio, David Guyer; Cinematography: Larry Fong; Editing: David Brenner; Music: Hans Zimmer, Junkie XL; Producers: Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder; Genre: Action; Location: Gotham City and Metropolis; Distributor: Warner Bros Running Time: 151 minutes 

Technical assessment: 2.5

Moral assessment: 3  

Rating: V14 

Eighteen months prior to the present times, Bruce Wayne (Affleck) loses his father as he witnesses the destruction caused by Superman’s (Cavill) battle with Zod in the Metropolis. For Bruce, Superman’s presence attracts alien hostiles and his over protectiveness for Lois Lane (Adams) puts the entire society in danger. Fast forward to the present, Clark Kent, now a senior reporter in the Daily Planet, frowns upon Batman’s vigilante style in combating crime. Meanwhile, Lex Luther has been plotting a scheme to frame Superman for countless loss of lives in an encounter with an African dictator and eventually have him and Batman battle to death. Amidst this complication, another superhuman, alien—Wonder Woman—is trying to make her own investigation before Lex discovers the rest of her kind living on earth. 

Superman vs. Batman: Dawn of Justice is one of those movies whose outcome does not meet expectations set by all the hype of its publicity and anticipation of the fans. It is disappointingly awkward, slow paced and illogically convoluted. Affleck and Henry have no chemistry as “frenemies” or charm as the unknowing victims of Lex’s insanity. Wonder Woman is like a stick figure surfacing merely to parade her evening gowns and flash that synthetic smile. The real let down is the direction—or the lack of it. There are just too many subplots that need to be explained and back stories that had to be exposed at the expense of moving forward. By the time the action picks up, viewers are already too exhausted trying to put pieces together. Holly Hunter’s Senator Finch and Affleck’s worn-out Bruce Wayne are the performances that saved the film, as well as Zimmer’s dramatic scoring. Sadly, not enough to make viewers believe all the wait and anticipation was worth it. At the end of the movie, you simply don’t feel any sympathy for any of the characters. 

What does it take to be a hero? Bravery? Courage? Superhuman powers? Gadgets? Intelligence? Cunning? Maybe all of the above because these qualities make one SUPER. But at the same time, we can’t produce a real superhero/heroine even with all of them combined. Why? Because our superhero has to have a heart and soul. A heart that empathizes with the oppressed, the victim, the one in need and a soul which pushes one to sacrifice him/herself to save someone else and to dedicate his/her existence for the betterment of the world. The heroes in this film are as super as they can be but every inch human as well. While Batman and Superman had their boyish moments of territorial aggression and dislike for each other, they were able to overcome their grudges to save Superman’s Martha - and figuratively Batman’s Martha as well. At the end of the film, Superman chooses to sacrifice himself to save the world and Batman chooses to honor his sacrifice by gathering and protecting other super humans so they can in turn continue saving the world.   

Spotlight

DIRECTOR: Tom McCarthy  LEAD CAST:  Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci   SCREENWRITER: Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer  PRODUCER:  Blye Pagon Faust, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin & Michael Sugar  EDITOR: Tom McArdle  MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  Howard Shore  GENRE: Biographical Drama  CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Masanobu Takayanagi  DISTRIBUTOR: Open Road Films  LOCATION:  United States RUNNING TIME:  2 hrs. 15 minutes

Technical assessment:  4

Moral assessment:  3

CINEMA rating:  V18

Spotlight is about the efforts of a team of crack journalists of The Boston Globe working on a story of sex abuse committed largely by clergymen of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.  The story was kept hidden for so long by The Boston Globe itself despite the incriminating information provided by the lawyers and victims in the earlier years. To make up for such omission, the “spotlight” team—editor Walter “Robby” Robinson (Michael Keaton) and reporters Mike Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams), and Matt Carroll (Brian d’Arcy James)—is commissioned by the paper’s new chief, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) to reinvestigate the issue.   After diligently gathering evidences and testimonies from people concerned including the victims themselves—and the team’s searing concern over the possible consequences of unearthing the truth—the Boston Globe publishes the story to a shocked public.

If only the Oscars had an award for Best Ensemble, Spotlight’s actors would romp away with it hands down.  There are no villains, heroes, lead characters, or stars in Spotlight because the film’s spotlight is on the powerful material, which a power-packed cast has given justice to by their on-target performances.  The Oscars’ Best Film for 2015 focuses the limelight on a newsroom crisis involving professional journalists—whose forte is in-depth investigation of local stories—played with such incredibly credible finesse by: Keaton as the even-keeled news editor, Ruffalo, McAdams and Carroll as bulldog reporters contributing their distinctive traits as meticulous fact-diggers in an American city that would rather look the other way in the face of a crackling and definitely damaging controversy.

Spotlight’s dramatic tug of war is caused not by the perennial conflict between right and wrong, or good and evil, but from ethical and moral struggles experienced by the journalists who must decide what to do with the time bomb ticking away in their hands.  Some viewers think Spotlight is a film no Catholic should see; some say it’s a film no Catholic should miss.  CINEMA would hesitate to make such sweeping generalizations because whatever damage the expose can do to the image of the Catholic Church has been done by the actual media coverage of the real-life controversy in early 2002, to be exact.  Spotlight is not an expose in itself but a close look into what went on inside the Boston Globe newsroom and at its editorial board meetings before the public disclosure that rocked the staunchly Catholic community of Boston.  It is not about flaws in the priesthood; it is about a landmark moment in journalism.  In fairness, CINEMA must say director Tom McCarthy handled the material with equal parts skill and respect.  In the hands of an opportunistic filmmaker, the story could have been milked, molded, and marketed like any sensational tabloid material, but Spotlight instead treated the true story not only clinically and level-headedly but with empathy as well.

Miracles from Heaven

DIRECTOR: Patricia Riggen  LEAD CAST: Jennifer Garner, Kylie Rogers, Martin Henderson, John Carroll Lynch, Eugenio Derbez, Queen Latifah  SCREENWRITER: Randy Brown  PRODUCER:  DeVon Franklin, T.D. Jakes, Joe Roth  EDITOR: Emma Hickox  GENRE: Drama  CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Checco Varese  DISTRIBUTOR: Columbia Pictures  LOCATION:  United States RUNNING TIME:  109 minutes

Technical assessment:  3.5

Moral assessment:  4

CINEMA rating:  PG13

Ten-year-old Annabel Beams (Kylie Rogers) is diagnosed with an unusual disease in her digestive system.   Undeterred by the distressing prognosis of several doctors, Anna's mom, Christy (Jennifer Garner) is not about to give up. From Texas, she flies Anna to Boston to see Dr. Nurko (Eugenio Derbez), a renowned gastroenterologist at Boston Children's Hospital. However, the lab tests draw out the same results—Anna’s life is threatened by a disease that prevents her body from digesting food.  Palliative care is all they are advised to give to Anna who is then sent home.  One day, while playing with her sister up an old tree, Anna falls headlong into its hollowed core.  Not only does Anna survive the fatal accident—she is also miraculously healed of her fatal illness.

Miracles from Heaven is the latest release from AFFIRM Films, a division of Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA).  AFFIRM’s Mission Statement says it is “dedicated to producing, acquiring, and marketing films which inspire, uplift, and entertain audiences.”  This boutique division of Sony’s is experimenting with penetrating the mainstream market with Christian films such as War room, Moms’ night out, Heaven is for real, Courageous, and Soul surfer.  Judging from its features played during the just concluded Lenten season—Risen and Miracles from Heaven—AFFIRM seems to be on the right track.  While it is clear that fact-based Miracles from Heaven is designed for believers, director Patricia Riggen’s silver screen take of Christy Beams’ 2015 memoir benefits much from the screen presence of Garner, a versatile mainstream star playing the lead.  Garner’s portrayal of the agonizing mom is so convincing the viewer would think she actually owns the pain; close-ups of her emoting are some of the best shots in the movie.  Rogers as the tormented child is also good for her age—rendering pale by comparison the two-dimensional performances of some of the adult supporting actors.

The film is a rich mine of Christian precepts at work in ordinary lives.  It tries to open the viewer’s eyes to the miracles we take for granted—like acts of kindness we do for others, sharing one’s faith, etc.  As a crossover film Miracles from Heaven may come across as melodramatic, gooey, or even preachy to the cynical, but to its target audience it is a welcome departure from the popular menu of egocentric stories.  There’s an otherworldly sequence towards the end that many believers in NDE (near death experience) will find familiar—when Anna is describing to her parents what took place as she lay unconscious inside the tree trunk.  It is brief but striking, capable of moving believers to tears and arousing the curiosity of even dedicated skeptics.  Here Anna admits (spoiler coming!) she has known all along she would be healed.  How?  In a manner we often read about in the lives of Saints, but in Miracles from Heaven the truth issues “from the mouth of babes”, so to speak.  Why doubt?  The witness of innocence is irrefutable.

Risen

DIRECTOR: Kevin Reynolds  LEAD CAST: Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Peter Firth, Cliff Curtis  SCREENWRITER: Kevin Reynolds, Paul Aiello  PRODUCER:  Patrick Aiello & company  EDITOR: Steven Mirkovich  MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  Roque Baños  GENRE: Religious film  CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Lorenzo Senatore  DISTRIBUTOR: Columbia Pictures  LOCATION:  United States  RUNNING TIME:  1 hour 49 minutes

Technical assessment:  4

Moral assessment:  3.5

CINEMA rating:  V 14

Clavius (Joseph Fiennes), the right-hand of Pontius Pilate, is tasked to dig into the mystery of Christ’s resurrection. Assisted by Lucius, both men go around the Jewish community to investigate and search for the truth about the reported “resurrection” of the man who was crucified and who died beyond doubt.  Pontius Pilate insists on putting an end to the rumors and prevent the uprising in Jerusalem, so, Clavius and Lucius look further for the people they know were close to Yahshua (Jesus) and to question them about what really happened, urging them to divulge the truth about the missing body of the Messiah in exchange for their freedom.  The jaded Clavius takes the assignment as just one of the tasks in the endless work of maintaining Roman sovereignty over a people crazy over religion.

Holy Week offers a great way to rest from work and mundane preoccupations while on the other hand focusing on what awaits us after this life.  Easter, the season that reiterates for us the reality of a glorious life after death, inspires us to take into consideration eternal life in whatever we do while here on earth.  That’s not easy to do even during these holy days, and we all know that after Easter Sunday it’s back to work for most of us.  There are, however, ways of “prolonging Easter”, so to speak, that we can use in order to keep alive our innate longing for the eternal in spite of this world’s busyness: the movies!

One of the two movies that viewers and film critics alike have found to be specifically uplifting for believers is Risen.  (The other is Miracles from Heaven).   With clever use of technology, this resurrection themed movie from Columbia emerges with splendid effect.  Part of the movie’s effectiveness in portraying a gospel truth is opening the story with a cynical protagonist. Then, to end the story, instead of proving that the resurrection is a hoax, Clavius after intensive investigation comes to believe in its authenticity.

Believer or not, one would not be wasting one’s time seeing—or experiencing—Risen.  Yes, there’s much violence, corruption, and disrespect for human life in the movies (which compound the evil influence through television, DVD, YouTube and other media outlets), but there is also healing available for our wounded world, if only we would bother to look.

Kung Fu Panda 3

DIRECTOR:  Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Alessandro Carloni STARRING: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, J. K. Simmons, James Hong, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Bryan Cranston, Kate Hudson  PRODUCER: Melissa Cobb  WRITERS: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger  BASED ON: Characters created by Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris  FILM EDITOR: Clare Knight  MUSIC: Hans Zimmer  ART DIRECTION: Max Boas  GENRE: Computer-animated Action Comedy  PRODUCTION DESIGN: Raymond Zibath  PRODUCTION COMPANIES: DreamWorks Animation, Oriental DreamWorks, China Media Capital, Shanghai Media Group  DISTRIBUTORS: 20^th Century Fox  LOCATION: United States, China  LANGUAGE: English, Mandarin  RUNNING TIME: 95 minutes

Technical assessment:  4

Moral assessment:  4

CINEMA rating:  VA (Viewers of All Ages)
In the spirit realm, Kai (JK Simmons) has been stealing the chi of past Masters to be able to return to the mortal world. His final combat is with his fomer brother-in-arms Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim).  Oogway willingly gives his chi with a warning to Kai that the Dragon Warrior will ultimately defeat him. Kai returns to the mortal world and uses the stolen chi of Masters to control his jade warriors. He is able to take more chi of living Masters including Master Shifu and four of the Furious Five. In the meantime, Po (Jack Black) has returned with biological father, Li (Cranston) to the secret Panda village to learn and master chi so he can defeat Kai. Unfortunately, the pandas have forgotten their true selves and how they held the secret of mastering chi. Po assumes the role of a mentor to the pandas after Li and his adoptive father Ping (Hong) convinces him to be his true self. At the end, Po defeats Kai, frees the stolen spirits and understands that being a master teacher is learning to master your true self.

Kung Fu Panda 3 is a lot of fun both for children and adults. Needless to say the animation and technical design are superb. Since most of its audience has followed Po and friends’ story from the two previous films and ongoing TV series, the personalities of each of the characters are well established, making it easy to build subplots and new storylines. The beauty of the film is that it ia able to create fresh conflicts that do not feel over stretched. And even with an all-star casting, the narrative remains focused and fluid. The film is one of the few animation sequels that can stand on its own and be remembered long after it has ended its theatrical run.

Several messages have been touched in he film but the most resounding one is that of learning, trusting and mastering one’s true self. To become a great teacher, Po did not need to learn fancy and sophisticated techniques. To relearn chi, the pandas just needed to do what they did best in their everyday lives. To defeat a strong adversary, the warriors just had to look into their hearts. For every single ordinary person, the same lessons apply. We need not have fancy degrees or learn something someone else is doing… we just have to look into ourselves and discover who we are… who we are meant to be.  And as God’s children, we are meant to be good.  Kung Fu Panda 3 is indeed a film for all ages, with its formative material for the young, and for the old—a stress buster.  A must-see.