Kung Fu Panda 2

CAST: Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Gary Oldman, David Cross, Jackie Chan, Jack Black, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, Michelle Yeoh; DIRECTOR: Jennifer Yuh; WRITERS: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger; GENRE: Animation, Action/Adventure; RUNNING TIME: 91 minutes.

Technical Assessment: 4
Moral Assessment: 4
CINEMA Rating: For viewers of all ages.

An excellent movie highlighting the courage, team work and familial love.  Po's new life of awesomeness with the Furious Five is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, the peacock Shen, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China. Po also learns he is adopted by Mr. Ping the duck, causing him some degree of depression.  He then feels a grating desire to look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origin.  Only then will Po be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed in straightening out the rebellious peacock.  The animation is elegant, the humor is wholesome, the message worth remembering by young and old alike.  If your children wish to see one last movie before school days come around again, make it Kung Fu Panda 2!

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

CAST: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, Kevin R. McNally, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Sam Claflin, Geoffrey Rush; DIRECTOR: Rob Marshall; WRITERS: Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio; GENRE: Action/Adventure, Comedy; RUNNING TIME: 137 min.

Technical Assessment: 3.5
Moral Assessment: 2.5
CINEMA Rating: For viewers age 14 and above.

Crossing paths with the enigmatic Angelica, Captain Jack Sparrow is not sure if it's love or if she's a ruthless con artist who's using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth.  When she forces him aboard the "Queen Anne's Revenge," the ship of the legendary pirate Blackbeard, Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn't know whom to fear more: Blackbeard or Angelica, with whom he shares a mysterious past.  Pirates... Stranger Tides is superb entertainment but more than entertainment it stimulates the imagination by the introduction of mythical mermaids to the story.  The beautiful creatures actually steal the thunder from Penelope Cruz and Johnny Depp.  The attack by the nubile, innocent looking but menacing mermaids is a masterpiece at CGI, with the human fish bobbing in and out of the gigantic waves, capturing the muscular pirates and dragging them down into the ocean's depths are really something new to watch.  Scary--if mermaids were real you wouldn't want to ever touch the sea again.

Dylan Dog

CAST: Brandon Routh, Sam Huntington, Anita Briem, Peter Stormare, Taye Diggs, Brian Steele, Kurt Angle, Marco St. John,Courtney Shay Young, Gabrielle Chapin; DIRECTOR: Kevin Munroe; WRITERS: Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer; GENRE: Horror, Suspense/Thriller; RUNNING TIME: 107 min.

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

The paranormal investigation job of Dylan Dog (Brandon Routh) takes a back seat after the death of his girlfriend at the hands of a vampire clan. He does not accept related cases like the mysterious death of a rich importer which appears to be murdered by a warewolf. However, when his friend Marcus Adams (Sam Huntington) becomes the next victim, Dylan does not have second thought of going back to the business of penetrating the world of vampires, warewolf, and zombies. The mysterious people behind these creatures turn out to be Dylan's friends with whom he maintains relationships for old time sake. In the course of his investigation for the case of the rich importer whose daughter becomes his close allies together with his dead friend Marcus who is now a zombie, he discovers that the key to stopping the deadly creatures is an artifact burried with one of the vampire in the crypt. Dylan got this artifact sooner, but of course, his "friends" would not like it and they want to make sure they have the artifact in their possesions.

The film Dylan Dog: Dead of Night is a combined comedy and suspense thriller. Whilst there is a central character, it does not help to put subplots together to establish a strongly-focused story. The role of Elizabeth which is like a wall flower has no impact at all despite the surprising revelation of her connection to the villains at the end of the film. The antagonists are not as remarkable so viewers could hardly hate them. Nevertheless, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night as an italian comic adaption is entertaining, primarily as an effect of the tandem of Dylan and Marcus. The humor brought by the character of Marcus is effectively carried by Huntington. Routh, on the other hand, hardly acts on this film like an eternal good looking zombie. He survived all the fights and hard beats of the beasts yet preserves the good looks as if nothing touches his face. The gory scenes of dead corpses and worms are not necessarily in bad taste but the director has the tendency to prolong and overdo. The make-up and overall production design are fine but there are more to desire with regards to lighting and compositions. The special effects are a bit of a hard sell too. Overall, the film falls average in the technical aspect.

The film shows how friendship is valued and that a friend is willing to sacrifice in order to seek justice for a lost friend and be motivated to take on bigger responsibility of ensuring victory of good over evil. However, if Filipino myths has manananggals, kapre, tyanaks, the European culture has vampires, zombies and human warewolves. This European supernatural forms is the context of the film Dylan Dog: Dead of Night and it shows that they do exist and live among the living like normal people. The film naturalizes zombies culture. It shows dead corpses and body parts as commodities which is contrary to the respect that Filipinos give to bodies of departed love ones.

The King's Speech

CAST: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Timothy Spall, Michael Gambon, Jennifer Ehle, Derek Jacobi, Max Callum, James Currie; DIRECTOR: Tom Hooper; WRITER: David Seidler; GENRE: Drama; RUNNING TIME: 111 minutes.

Technical Assessment: 4
Moral Assessment: 4
CINEMA Rating: For viewers age 13 with parental guidance.

In 1925, Prince Albert (Colin Firth) and wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) are quite content with living their lives away from the public eye. Bertie (Albert), who smokes heavily and stammers, has a speech therapist whose method of making him speak with marbles in his mouth so frustrates the former that he gives up sessions with him. Under cover of anonymity, Elizabeth then arranges for another therapist, a rather unorthodox one by the name of Lionel Logue, a failed Australian actor (Geoffrey Rush) who insists on dealing with his patients as friends as part of his therapy. This friendship, at first uneasy, is to deepen in time, especially when his elder brother and King of England, Edward, abdicates the throne to marry an American divorcee—making Albert step up as King George VI. Being a monarch then means speaking through a microphone as the entire British Empire is listening, a nightmare to a seemingly incurable stammerer. How would Bertie face public humiliation on account of his glaring speech deficiency?

We understand how The King’s Speech won so many awards including Oscars for the film, the director Tom Hooper, actors Firth, Rush and Carter, etc. It is a historical drama that satisfies the audience’s craving for drama while respecting accuracy in the retelling of history. There couldn’t have been a more perfect cast for such a period piece. The actors virtually crawl into the skins of their characters and revive the excellent synergy among their real life counterparts that actually worked to help gain for a stuttering prince the courage to overcome himself and to eventually give hope to a nation at war. Particularly impactful is the scene where Bertie approaches the microphone, glumly as though being led to the guillotine, to deliver a speech to unite the nation. Firth’s and Rush’s acting, the content of the speech itself, footage of the anxious population, and the majesty of the background music all combined to make these perhaps the most memorable 3 minutes in the whole film. Prepare for goosebumps.

The King’s Speech is a story without a villain—rare, it seems, for cinema these days when villains actually outnumber heroes. It throws the spotlight on royalty but says nothing about royalty’s flamboyance or extravagance. It even sidesteps the over-romanticized newsmaker of the day then, King Edward’s renouncement of the throne “to marry the woman I love”, twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson. Director Tom Hooper must have thought there were better things and better people to make a movie about than the infatuation of a wimp for a woman who felt she was all worth the attention and the scandal. Hooper is right. The King’s Speech is a rich and deeply human story that highlights the characters’ sympathy and support for one another, positive attitudes in the face of limiting circumstances. The friendship that deepens between the stammering king-to-be and his persevering therapist, together with the unstinting support of the loving of queen-to-be, effect a transformation in the monarch that will surely inspire audiences of all ages.

In The Name of Love

CAST: Aga Mulach, Angel Locsin, Jake Cuenca; DIRECTOR: Olivia Lamasan; SCREENWRITERS: Enrico Santos, Olivia Lamasan; PRODUCERS: Charo Santos-Concio, Maricel Samson-Maritinez; GENRE: Drama; DISTRIBUTOR: Star Cinema; LOCATION: Philippines; RUNNING TIME: 120 minutes

Technical Assessment: 3.5
Moral Assessment: 2.5
CINEMA Rating: For viewers age 18 and above.

Pitong buwan na si Emman (Aga Mulach) na nakakabalik sa Pilipinas matapos ang 7 taong pagkakakulong sa Japan dahil sa pagtatangkang magtakas ng pera para sa mga Yakuza. Mula sa pagiging mananayaw ay kuntento na sana siyang tumulong na lamang sa pagtitinda sa palengke hanggang malaman niyang naghahanap ng mga Dance Instructor (DI) para sa mga asawa ng pamilya ng gobernador. Dahil minsang nailigtas niya si Dylan (Jake Cuenca), ang anak ng gobernador na ngayo’y tatakbo bilang pangalawang alkalde, siya ang kukuning tagapagturo para sa kanya at ang kanyang kasintahang si Cedes (Angel Locsin). Mapapalapit ang loob ni Dylan kay Emman at mapipilitang si Cedes na tanggapin na ang binate bilang DI nila para sa darating na Governor’s Ball. Lingid sa kaalaman ni Dylan, dating magkasintahan sina Cedes at Emman sa Japan na nagkahiwalay lamang dahil sa pagkakahuli ng binate nuong itatakas niya ang pera para sa mga Yakuza. Sa una ang may galit si Emman kay Cedes dahil bigla na lamang itong nawala nang mabilanggo siya. Subalit nang malaman niya ang pagsusumikap at mga sakripisyo ni Cedes, kabilang ang pagpayag na makarelasyon si Dylan, para lamang makalaya siya ay muling mabubuo ang kanilang relasyon. Magtatangka silang takasan ang katiwalian ng pamilya ni Dylan subalit kailangan muna nilang lagpasan ang pagsubok na ibabato sa kanila ng tiwaling pamilyang ito.

May potensyal sana ang simula ng pelikula, lalo ang di-linyadong pagsasalaysay at pagpapakilala sa kwento ng bawat tauhan. Ang nakakatuwa ang “love story” nina Emman at Cedes sa Japan ay siya naman sanang nakalulungkot na pagtatagpo nilang muli sa Pilipinas. Isa pang kahanga-hanga ay ang paggamit ng mga makabagong “post production techniques” na kitang-kita sa mga pagbabalik-tanaw na eksena sa Japan at sa “opening credits’ ng pelikula. Hindi na tulad ng dati na biglang magiging mala-sepia ang kulay para lamang ipakita ang nakaraan. Mahusay din ang disenyong pamproduksyon dahil nabigyan tuon ang mga maliliit na detalye mula ayos ng bahay at pananamit ng tauhan para lalong maging buo at malinaw ang kwento. Dahil hindi naman masyadong mabigat ang hiningi sa mga actor ay pasado naman ang kanilang mga pagganap na ginawa. Pasado pero hindi pang-Famas. Dalawa ang pinakamalaking pintas sa pelikula. Una, hindi makatotohanang na mananayaw si Aga. Hindi naman dahil hindi siya marunong sumayaw kundi dahil nakikita sa kanyang postura at linya na hindi siya isang “ballroom dancer” at may kabigatan na ang kanyang kilos bilang “hiphop” dancer. Kahit si Angel Locsin ay kulang din ang istilo at disiplina sa pagdadala ng sayaw. Kaya’t halos puro malapitang kuha at pagpitik lamang ng lee gang kanilang ginagawa. Mas maganda sana kung kumuha ng mga “double” upang ang mga eksena ng sayaw ay mas maganda at makatotohanan. Ikalawa, masyadong madrama ang pelikula. Sakit na ata ng Pinoy ang pahabain ang iayakan at ibabad ang luha. Nakuha mo na sa unang 3 segundo, pagtatagalin pa ito ng ilang minuto. Baka mas nababagay ang ganitong istilo sa telebisyon kung saan kailangan pahabain ang eksena.

Pinupunto ng pelikula na ang tunay na pag-ibig ay hindi sumusuko, handing mag-alay at mapagpatawad at handing magparayaw. Naipakita naman ito ni Cedes at Emman sa bawat pagsubok na kanilang nilagpasan alang-alang sa minamahal. May ilang mensahe nga lamang na dapat bigyan tuon ng mga magulang lalo sa mga kabataan anak na manunuod. Una, ang pakikipagtalik sa labas ng kasal ay para bang pangkariniwang gawain lamang. Mahalagang ipaalala na sa kultura natin ay pinahahalagahan pa rin ang sakramento ng kasal at ang pakikipagtalik bilang pribilehiyo lamang ng mag-asawa. Pangalawa, kahit sakripisyo at ginawa alang-alang sa kaligtasan ng iniibig, ang paggamit ng katawan para makakuha ng pabor ay hindi pa rin tama. Maraming karahasan dulot ng katiwalian at pagkagahaman ang ipinakita sa pelikula. Mainam na naipakitang may mga marangal na alagad ng batas na tapat sa tungkulin subalit nakalulungkot na lagi na lamang sa huling bahagi sila nakararating. Maayos naman ang pelikula para sa pamilya pero mas nababagy ito sa mga matatandang kaya nang timbangin ang mga sensitibong eksena.