The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Cast: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, Luis Guzman, Victor Gojcaj; Director: Tony Scott; Producers: Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Tony Scott, Steve Tisch; Screenwriters: Brian Helgeland, John Godey; Music: Harry Gregson-Williams; Editor: Chris Lebenzon; Genre: Crime/ Drama/ Thriller; Cinematography: Tobias A. Schliessler; Distributor: Columbia Pictures; Location: New York, USA; Running Time: 106 min.;

Technical Assessment: 3
Moral Assessment: 2.5
CINEMA Rating: For mature viewers 18 and above

A psychopath with an axe to grind against New York City’s bureaucracy, Ryder (John Travolta) hijacks the subway train Pelham 123, aided by his band of thugs (Luis Guzman, Victor Gojcaj, Robert Vataj). With the 17 passengers and the train conductor held hostage, Ryder makes known his demands to the train dispatcher on duty, Walter Garber (Denzel Washington), a high ranking transit official facing suspension for suspicion of taking a bribe. Ryder wants $10 million within one hour, or he’ll kill the passengers one by one. When police hostage negotiator Lt. Jack Cambria (John Turturo) takes over as Garber goes off duty, Ryder reacts violently and shoots the conductor dead. He wants only to negotiate with Garber whose unruffled manner of dealing with him seems to rub the psychopath the right way.

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) is a second remake of the 1974 film, novelist John Godey’s best seller (with the same title) which was also made into a TV movie in 1998. For a psychological thriller with a lot of action thrown in, this version rather lacks the tension needed to evoke terror in the audience. Is it due to the lighting? The music? The photography? Perhaps Travolta as the hooligan boss doesn’t look menacing enough in spite of his handlebar moustache and the four-letter words he relentlessly spews out. When he flashes that smile at Washington, who’d believe he’s sick? Why, he looks “as normal as Kansas in August”—as amiable, in fact, as a headwaiter at an Italian pizza joint. The thugs racing to escape with bags of cash are captured to fast too soon. Washington is credible enough as the low-key Garber, sporting a pot belly for his family-man role, and speaking his lines as though he meant them.

This hijack movie is more about developing an odd friendship than collecting ransom. It seems providential that the calm train dispatcher happens to be on duty when the psychopath hijacker only needs to be listened to. Perhaps if his folks paid attention to him as a kid he wouldn’t be the criminal he is now, frittering away precious minutes making small talk with the negotiator. Well, not really that small, because it leads to a revelation—without which the story would just annoy you with cusswords that outnumber the bullets fired. Although the ending appears to be redemptive for both Ryder and Garber, the movie’s moral ambiguity should be pointed out. Ryder the psychopath is raised a Catholic, prays, then makes the right decision—fine. Garber risks his life and more than makes up for his past indiscretion—good. The ransom money is recovered—who could ask for more? But what about the body count? Cops dying in line of duty, hapless train passengers shot in cold blood as though in a video game. Due to the troubling content, CINEMA can only approve The Taking of Pelham 123 for mature audiences.

Kamoteng Kahoy

Cast: Nash Aguas, Robert Villar, Gloria Romero, Ana Capri, Sharlene San Pedro, Yul Servo; Director: Maryo J. delos Reyes;Screenwriter: Ricardo Lee; Genre: Drama; Distributor: APT Entertainment; Location: Bohol; Running Time: 100 min.;

Technical Assessment: 2.5
Moral Assessment: 3.5
CINEMA Rating: For viewers of all ages

Payak at tahimik ang pamumuhay ng mga tao sa San Isidro sa gitna ng ilang komplikasyon ng kanilang mga relasyon. Malapit na magkaibigan ang mga batang sina Ariel (Nash Aguas) at Rosemarie (Sharlene San Pedro). Dahil sa kahirapan ng buhay, si Ariel ay nais ipaubaya ng kanyang ina (Ana Capri) sa kanyang ama (Gerard Madrid) na may iba nang pamilya, ngunit labag ito sa kalooban ni Ariel na hindi pa rin mapatawad ang ama sa ginawa nitong pag-iwan sa kanila. Maayos naman ang pamilya ni Rosemarie at malapit sa mga ito si Ariel. Sa kanilang eskuwelahan, nagtitinda ng mga kakanin si Lola Idang (Gloria Romero) na may matinding hinanakit sa kanyang mga anak na umiwan sa kanya liban sa isa (Yul Servo). Malalason ang isang daang mga mag-aaral kasama na sina Ariel at Rosemarie pagkatapos kumain ng bibingkang kamoteng kahoy ni Lola Idang. Mamamatay si Rosemarie habang makakaligtas naman si Ariel. Labis na maapektuhan si Ariel sa pagkamatay ni Rosemarie, ngunit mapapalapit naman ito kay Atong (Robert Villar) ang kanilang kaklaseng walang kaibigan dahil sa kanyang itsura, amoy at pag-uugali; lingid sa lahat, si Atong ay minamaltrato ng kanyang malupit na tiyahin (Irma Adlawan). Kamumuhian si Lola Idang ni Ariel at ng mga magulang na namatayan, at halos kukulungin naman ito ng kanyang anak upang hindi tugisin ng mga mga galit na taong bayan.

Isang mapangahas na kuwento ang Kamoteng Kahoy, na hinalaw mula sa isang tunay na pangyayari sa lalawigan ng Bohol ilang taon pa lamang ang nakakalipas. Naipakita nang maayos ang payak na pamumuhay sa probinsya. Maganda ang mga tanawin at nakakaaliw sa pagkapayak ng produksiyon. Magagaling ang mga nagsipagganap lalo na sina Irma Adlawan, Robert Villar, Nash Aguas, at Gloria Romero bagama’t hindi gasinong lumalim ang kanilang mga karakter gawa ng pagkaka-”sabog” ng istorya. Pinilit maging maayos ang daloy ng kuwento ngunit sadyang nakakalito sa dami ang mga kuwentong pinagtagni-tagni at isiniksik sa isang malaking trahedya. Hindi mo tuloy malaman kung kanino o sa ano ba talaga umiinog ang kuwento? Ang dapat sanang bigat ng kuwento na kay Lola Idang at ang kanyang panindang kamoteng kahoy (kaya nga ito ang pamagat ng pelikula, dip o ba?) ay hindi gasinong naramdaman pagkat malabo ang pagkakalahad ng kanyang pagkatao. Nangibabaw naman ang punto de bista ni Ariel dahil laman siya ng pelikula mula simula hanggang wakas ngunit pawang karaniwan lamang ang kanyang pinagdaanan, di tulad ni Atong na may pinakamakulay na buhay ngunit ginamit lamang na “tungkod” sa kuwento ni Ariel. Ito ang matinding problema ng pelikulang maraming tauhan: hindi nabibigyan ng kaukulang pansin ang halaga ng bawat isa. Malaki sana ang potensiyal ng pelikula, subalit lumabas itong parang bibingkang napakaraming budbod, bukayo, latik, asukal at niyog sa ibabaw ngunit hilaw naman ang kamoteng kahoy na binubudburan.

Mapapatawad na natin ang minsa’y eksaheradong pag-arte ng mga naghihinanakit na tauhan sa Kamoteng Kahoy sapagkat malinaw at kahanga-hanga ang mensahe ng pelikula ukol sa pagpapatawad. Ipinasisilip nito sa atin kung gaanong kahirap matutuhan ang pagpapatawad—mahapdi at sadyang mapait na proseso ito na hindi kailanman maaring ipilit o apurahin. Habang matinding hinagpis ang pinagdadaanan ng buong bayan sa nangyaring trahedya sa mga bata ay may kani-kaniya naman silang suliranin na kinakailangan nilang lutasin sa loob ng kani-kanilang mga tahanan. Dalisay ang debosyon ni Lola Idang sa 20-taong pagtitinda ng kamoteng kahoy sa paaralan, ngunit nababalutan pa rin ang kanyang katauhan ng poot sa kanyang mga anak—bagay na naging sanhi ng walang saysay na pagkamatay ng isang-daang mga bata at halos nagtulak sa kanya sa tiyak na kapahamakan. Ipinakita sa Kamoteng Kahoy kung paanong ang galit ay nagiging isang matinding lasong kumikitil sa kaluluwa—higit pa sa lasong pumapatay lamang sa katawan. Hangga’t may galit at walang pagpapatawad sa puso ay hindi kailanman magiging maayos ang buhay ng isang tao, ng isang pamilya, at maging ng isang bayan.

Shinjuku Incident

Cast: Jackie Chan, Naoto Takenaka, Daniel Wu, Xu Jingle, Bingbing Fan, Lam Suet, Masaya Kato; Director: Derek Yee; Producers: Willie Chan, Solon Su, Jackie Chan; Screenwriters: Derek Yee, Tin Nam Chun; Music: Peter Kam; Editor: Ka-Fai Cheung, Chi-Leung Kwong, Man To Tang; Genre: Action/ Drama; Cinematography: Nobuyasa Kita; Distributor: Emperor Motion Pictures; Location: China, Tokyo (Japan); Running Time: 114 min.;

Technical Assessment: 3
Moral Assessment: 2.5
CINEMA Rating: For mature viewers 18 and above

Steelhead (Jackie Chan) lands in Japan’s Wakasa Bay with hundreds of illegal Chinese immigrants in search for a better life in the 90’s when China’s economy was far from being robust. But Steelhead, a simple farm worker from a remote Northeastern Chinese village, heads for Tokyo for the primary purpose of searching for his long lost girlfriend Xiu Xiu (Jinglei Xu). In the Shinjuku redlight district, he joins other illegal refugees including Jie (Daniel Wu) and Old Ghost (Suet Lam) who show him the ropes to survive in the harsh environment. They manage to do so by indulging in petty crime and taking on grueling work that no Japanese is willing to do. They learn to steer away from immigration officers as well as notorious gangs. Naturally kind, Steelhead saves a cop Inspector Kitamo (Naoto Tasenaka) from death and develops an unlikely friendship with him. He finds out that his girl friend Xiu Xiu has taken a Japanese name and is married to a rising Japanese Yakuza gangster Eguchi (Masaya Kato). In the turf wars between the different Japanese crime lords, the illegal immigrants are enmeshed. By a twist of fate, Steelhead saves the life of Eguchi, Xiu Xiu’s husband. Later, Eguchi takes Steelhead under his wing. In acquiescing to live a life of crime, Steelhead intends to improve the lives of his fellow refugees. How will each one fare in the new set-up?
Being a Jackie Chan film and directed by well-known Derek Yee, Skinjuku Incident (also titled San Suk Si Gin or Xin Su Shi Jian in Chinese) was the most awaited picture in the Hongkong International Film Festival held in the summer of 2009. It did not disappoint his fans but it presents an entirely different Jackie Chan from the usual superhuman persona that his admirers had always expected of him. There is no clowning around as Jackie demolishes the bad guys. Yes, there is the quick thinking with the equally quick deadly strokes but the display of his usual martial arts prowess is not as sensational as in his previous films. The movie has a lot of action, excessively violent and gory in some parts, especially involving the well choreographed gang wars. But this is primarily a somber, realistic drama with a serious protagonist. In his first more dramatic role, Jackie may have had limited success with his morally ambiguous character but it is still his movie and he does adequately well. Initially cowardly, Daniel Wu’s Jie almost upstages Jackie with his adept character transformation. As in most Chan movies, the women do not have much to do except look beautiful. The movie tries to put in several sub-plots perhaps to project multiple messages but the introduction of such is haphazardly done and proves unwieldy.

In Shinjuku Incident, Jackie Chan deviates from his usual lighthearted entertainment fare. It presents the harsh conditions in the lives of the Chinese illegal immigrants in Japan and in a way celebrates their undying spirit of trying to adapt to these grim realities in order to better their lives. It projects how the refugees try to unite to improve each one’s lot and to forge a strong community by helping one another. Portraying strength in solidarity, determination and compassion, the film, however, also projects betrayal and self interest. It shows how quick success and power ca change and corrupt even basically simple, good hearted people and bring out selfishness and disunity that weaken the community and make each one vulnerable again to discrimination and exploitation. Jackie Chan’s Steelhead remains unselfish and never wavers from his goal of improving the lives of his countrymen but one cannot agree with some of the ways he uses to achieve his goal. For instance, he did not hesitate to kill for a deal to secure legality of status and wrest power from a rival Taiwanese gang. The cruel and gruesome torture methods of the gangs graphically shown as well as other excessive and shocking in your-face type of violence are not images that the viewers should be exposed very early in life. Repeatedly imbibed subliminally, such exposure may desensitize the viewers to violence. Immature minds may be ill-prepared to handle and properly understand the adult themes.

Drag Me To Hell

Cast: Alison Lohman, Justin long, Lorna Raver, Dileel Rao,David Paymer, Jessica Lucas, Adriana Barraza; Director: Sam Raimi; Producers: Rob Tapert, Grant Curtis; Screenwriters: Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi; Music: Christopher Young; Editor: Bob Murawski; Genre: Horror/ Suspense; Cinematography: Peter Deming; Distributor: Universal Pictures; Location: USA; Running Time: 110 min;

Technical Assessment: 3
Moral Assessment: 2
CINEMA Rating: For mature viewers 18 and above

Young Loan Officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is starting to make a name in her banking career when her ability is tested. An old woman Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) comes to bank and begs for extension of her home loan. Christine is initially sympathetic but when her boss gives her the call to decide on the case, she sees it as an opportunity to impress the boss and advance in her pending promotion. She then applies what is technically appropriate and declines the request shaming the old woman. This irrates Mrs. Ganush and in retaliation, she puts Christine on a powerful curse to haunt and drag her soul into hell. In this difficult situation, Christine finds comfort with her boyfriend Clay Dalton (Justin Long), who despite being cynical on supernatural, provided moral support to Christine when she seeks help from fortune teller Rhan Jas (Dileep Rao). Will Christine be able to get out of the curse and continue a good life with successful banking career and a loving partner?

"Drag Me To Hell" is an average horror/suspense film that offers the usual stressful suspense and effective seat jolting scenes. It has a simple plot, although there is a point in the story that is not clear how Mrs. Ganush got possession of the lamia curse. Some scenes like those highlighting the old woman's dentures were more of a comedy and fighting scenes that leave no bruises to Christine are a bit off. Nonetheless, the actors gave good portrayals of their roles and delivery of dialogues with complementation of make-up and production design. Sounds and musical scoring add up to the technical essence of the film.

Ambition can be sometimes dehumanizing and those who are on the way to the ladder of success should be aware of its circumstances before it’s too late. When Christine was given a freehand to act on the loan extension request of Mrs. Ganush, she only thinks of herself and worst she looks down on physical looks and food attitudes of Mrs. Ganush. Revenge is not an acceptable approach to a life's situation much more to blame and curse anyone for your shortcomings like what Mrs. Ganush did. In fairness, Christine acknowledged her fault, made effort to apologize, correct herself and allowed to subject herself to rituals and beliefs to counter the evil, only to realize that she was not successful in doing so. After almost two hours of emotional stress watching the film, the film was concluded with disturbing evil triumphs.

From Within

"ASSESSMENT ONLY"
Cast: Elizabeth Rice, Thomas Dekker, Kelly Blatz, Laura Allen; Director: Phedon Papamichael; Producers: Adrian Butchart, Chris Gibbin; Screenwriter: Brad Keene; Music: Jason Cooper, Oliver Kraus; Editor: Michael Matzdorff; Genre: Horror/ Suspense; Cinematography: Rafael E. Sanchez; Distributor: Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment; Location: Maryland, USA; Running Time: 110 min.;

Technical Assessment: 2.5
Moral Assessment: 1.5
CINEMA Rating: For mature viewers 18 and above


BRIEF FILM SYNOPSIS

FROM WITHIN is set in a small town where suicides begin to reign. As she watches those around her kill themselves in brutal ways, teenage Lindsay (Elizabeth Rice) worries she may be the next to succumb.

ADDITIONAL REMARKS: This movie should not be shown to the public.