ParaNorman

CAST: KodiSmit-McPhee,Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, John Goodman, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, JodelleFerland, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Elaine Stritch  DIRECTOR:Sam Fell, Cris Butler  SCREENWRITER:Cris Butler  PRODUCER: Travis Knight, Arianne Sutner  EDITOR: Christopher Murrie MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  Jon Brion  GENRE: Action & Adventure, Animation, Kids & Family,Comedy  RUNNING TIME: 92minutes  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tristan Oliver  DISTRIBUTOR: Focus Features  LOCATION: USA

Technical:  3

Moral:  3

CINEMA rating:  V 14

Eleven-year-old Norman Babcock (voice of Kodi Smith-McPhee) can communicate with the dead.  For him, his dead grandmother (voiced by Elaine Stritch) is still alive, as she still hangs around the family house and talks to Norman as though she never left home.  His parents are worried that his behavior indicates that he can’t as yet cope with the loss of his grandma, but Norman is convinced otherwise.  In fact, Norman is so at home with ghosts, that on the way to school each day, he greets dead people he never even met in life—and sometimes dead birds and animals, too, like a raccoon run over by a motorist.  This makes him a weird kid, shunned, teased and bullied by schoolmates, except by one, another reject named Neil (voiced by Tucker Albrizzi) who will be part of the adventure awaiting Norman when the latter finds out from his oddball great uncle Mr. Prenderghast (voiced by John Goodman) that he has been chosen to save their zombie-infested hometown, Blithe Hollow, from the curse of an 18^th century witch.

Why is it that any movie town that has witches and ghosts and ogres in it must have “Hollow” as a second name?  Is it because Hollow smacks of Halloween?   That gives you a clue to the nature of ghoulish entertainment ParaNorman offers its audience.  So many ghost movies have been made that it’s hard to think anyone can still come up with something new to startle audiences.  In this sense, ParaNorman’s supposed shockers fail to shock—though it’s more likely we’ve been desensitized by seeing too many horror movies.  Be that as it may, there will always be youngsters who’ll shriek at a ghostly surprise—as those we encountered in the mall theater we watched at.  Perhaps movie critics grow old and blasé but there will always be new moviegoers to terrorize.  One thing about the animation: the ugly zombies become uglier and duller due to the 3D; that might as well stand for Dark, Dim and Dreary, not worth the price of admission.  They should have made the zombies out of glow-in-the-dark stuff—at least they’ll look exciting.

There are definitely positive elements in ParaNorman, like Norman’s grace under bully pressure, a sign that the boy is really brave, accepting, and self-confident inside.  His calmness in the presence of ghosts or his family’s incredulity is also another admirable trait; after all, how many 11-year olds do you know can deal with the living dead without flinching?  ParaNorman is a statement about intolerance, claiming that evil deeds (unjustly condemning and burning a suspected witch at the stake) result from fear and inspire vengeance.  It is also a plea made on behalf of children to be heard by parents and elders alike, no matter how “different” the child is, because being different can also give a person the power to do good for others.   

One dangerous side of ParaNorman, particularly since it is directed at children, is its casual treatment of homosexuality.  A brief and apparently humorous scene shows a muscular man, all that time presented as a he-man, later on matter-of-factly saying he has a boyfriend.  Is that supposed to signal to the audience that same sex relationships ought to be accepted as natural and normal?  Beware that youngsters do not get subtly brainwashed by seemingly harmless incidents in movies into accepting errant behaviors that could lead to self-destruction or defilement in the light of the gospel.

Bwakaw

Cast: Eddie Garcia, Rez Cortez, Armida Siguion-Reyna, Gardo Verzosa, Luz Valdez, Soxy Topacio; Director: Jun Robles Lana Screenplay:  Jun Robles Lana; Producer: Antonio Tuviera; Running Time: 110 minutes; Genre: Drama; Location: Philippines

Technical Assessment: 3.5

Moral Assessment: 2.5

CINEMA Rating: for viewers 14 and above

Si Rene (Eddie Garcia) ay 70-taong-gulang na nang matanggap sa sarili ang pagiging bakla.  Ngayon, siya’y nabubuhay nang mag-isa matapos pumanaw ang kanyang ina.  Sa kanyang palagay ay wala na siyang dahilan upang  maging masaya sa buhay sapagkat buong buhay niya, siya ay nagbalat-kayo at huli na ang lahat para sa kanya.  Dahil dito’y pinaghahandaan na lang niya ang kanyang kamatayan.  Naka-kahon na ang lahat ng gamit sa kanyang bahay at may listahan na rin siya ng kanyang mga huling habilin.  Maging ang kanyang kabaong na nabili niya noong ito’y naka-sale ay ipinauwi na rin sa kanyang bahay sapagkat magsasara na ang binilhan niyang punenarya.  Ang tanging kasama na lamang ni Rene sa buhay ay ang napulot na asong pinangalanan niyang Bwakaw.  Bagama’t sa simula’y di alam ni Rene kung paano ito mamahalin, kalauna’y ito na ang kanyang magiging matalik na kaibigan.  Magsisimulang  magbago ang pagtingin ni Rene sa buhay nang magkasakit si Bwakaw ng cancer.  Kasabay nito’y makakatagpo siya ng bagong pag-ibig sa katauhan ng tricycle driver na si Sol (Rez Cortez).  Sa unang pagkakataon, haharapin ni Rene ang buhay sa halip na kamatayan.  Ngunit ito kaya’y magtatagal?

Isang nakakaaliw na panoorin ang pelikulang Bwakaw.  Swabe ang hagod ng mga eksena at malinaw ang daloy nito na sumasalamin sa uri ng pamumuhay sa mga karatig-nayon sa Pilipinas.  Naipakita ng pelikula ang bibihirang tapat na pagsasalarawan ng pamumuhay ng isang komunidad sa bandang lalawigan.  Payak at ang tanging yaman lamang ng mga tao ay ang makabuluhang relasyon at pagkakaibigan.  Ngunit ang tunay na hiyas ng pelikula ay ang mga nagsigananap dito na pinangungunahan ng batikang si Eddie Garcia na nagwagi bilang pinakamahusay na aktor para sa pelikulang ito sa ginanap na Cinemalaya.  Bagama’t wala nang kailangan pang patunayan ang isang Eddie Garcia, nagawa niyang buhayin ang katauhan ni Rene nang hindi kinakailangang maging stereotyped.  Kakaibang lalim at natural na atake ang pinairal ni Garcia dito at nararapat lamang ang tinanggap niyang pagkilala.

Ang Bwakaw ay tumatalakay sa isang buhay na puno ng maraming pagsisisi.  Pagsisisi sa inaakalang pagbabalatkayo at pagkakakulong sa isang pagkataong taliwas sa tunay na kagustuhan.  Resulta’y isang buhay na nababalot ng matinding kalungkutan.  Sinasalamin ng pelikula ang karamihan sa kinatatakutan ng mga tao—ang tumanda at tumandang nag-iisa.  Kapag pinagsama ang dalawang ito, tiyak na magiging miserable ang buhay ng isang tao hanggang kamatayan.   Hindi rin naman ito nangangahulugang tama at totoo.  Nang makatagpo si Rene ng pagmamahal ay nagbago naman ang kanyang pananaw, ‘yun nga lang, ipinakita pa ring nakasalalay sa ibang tao ang kanyang kaligayahan.  Ang pagiging miserable ni Rene ay nag-uugat sa kanyang maling pagtingin sa sarili, sa mundo, sa buhay at sa simbahan.  Kung tutuusin ay walang dahilan si Rene na magalit sapagkat naging mabuti naman ang buhay para sa kanya.

Nakababahalang pawang ang simbahan at ang mga turo nito ukol sa homosekswalidad ang itiniturong ugat ng pagiging miserable ni Rene.  Hindi nagbago ang kanyang pagtingin ukol dito hanggang sa huli bagama’t bukas ang simbahan na siya ay tanggapin.  Marahil ay pinatigas at minanhid na siya ng panahon at talagang nagsara na ang kanyang puso’t isip sa paniniwalang hindi siya pinaboran ng Diyos kahit kailan.  Kita naman sa pelikula na patuloy pa rin si Rene sa paghahanap ng tunay na kaligayahan at paunti-unti naman ay natutunan na niyang muling manalangin.  Maaring matagal pa, malayo at di-tiyak ang landas na tatahakin ni Rene, ngunit ang mahalaga’y nanatiling may pag-asa.  Kasama na diyan marahil ang pag-asang matagpuan niya ang tunay na kapayapaan at kasiyahan sa pagtanggap niya sa pagmamahal ng Diyos na nakahandang tumanggap sa kanya maging ano at sino pa man siya.  Sa bandang huli’y maaari ding isipin na hindi kaya naging “bwakaw” lamang si Rene sa pagmamahal sa kanyang sarili kung kaya’t di na niya nakita ang lahat ng pagmamahal na nakapaligid sa kanya?

Hope Springs

LEAD CAST:  Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Carell, Elizabeth Shue DIRECTOR:  David Frankel  SCREENWRITER:  Vanessa Taylor   PRODUCER:  Todd Black, Guymon Casady  EDITOR:  Steven Weisberg  MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Theodoro Shapiro  GENRE: Drama RUNNING TIME: 100 minutes  CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Florian Ballhaus  LOCATION:  USA  DISTRIBUTOR:  Columbia Pictures

Technical Assessment:  4

Moral Assessment:  4

CINEMA rating:  V18 

Every morning, Kay (Meryl Streep) makes breakfast for her husband Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones)—a strip of bacon, an egg, coffee.  Every morning, Arnold eats his breakfast with his face buried in  a newspaper.  Then he goes off to work.  Every night after a quiet dinner, Kay washes the dishes while Arnold falls asleep watching TV golf.  She wakes him up, they go to bed—in separate bedrooms.  Once she primps up and visits him in his bedroom in a clumsy attempt at marital closeness, but he deflects her touches, saying he doesn’t feel well.  Kay knows that something is missing, sorely missing, in their 31-year-old marriage.  Not just the children, laughter, or fights, but something that used to hold their marriage together: intimacy.

Tired of getting impersonal anniversary gifts from Arnold—like a heater, a cable TV subscription, and other unromantic items for the house—Kay signs up for an Intensive Couples Counseling week with celebrity marriage counselor Dr. Bernie Feld (Steve Carell) in Great Hope Springs, Maine.  She pays $4,000 out of her own savings and buys round trip plane tickets for two.  Scoffing at the idea as a waste of money, the penny-pinching Arnold quips “Cancel it!” but Kay, resolute and hoping against hope—is going, with or without Arnold.

Hope Springs is NOT a comedy.  It is basically a two-actor drama, and a compelling one though with a hint of the comic—no mean thanks to the directorial skills of David Frankel, the same guy who helmed The Devil Wears Prada.  The perfect pairing of Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones provides the spine of the movie.   Streep is, of course, an actress nonpareil, and here, again, she virtually becomes the character she reprises.  Lee Jones on the other hand outperforms himself as he gives life to a character so untypical of his other roles.

The theme of Hope Springs, which Vanessa Taylor’s script masterfully developed without reducing the film into soft porn, is marital intimacy, or the near death of it, and how it is revived through therapy evoking long gone memories of satisfying union.  The heart of the story is the counseling done behind closed doors with the therapist delving into the sexual history of the dying marriage.  Carell rightfully projects a no-nonsense, no holds barred therapist here, stimulating and facilitating interaction between the estranged couple.  What is spoken and spoken about in the therapist’s clinic, and what is done by the couple inside the bedroom upon his instructions, are serious stuff that serves more to instruct than to entertain.  While Hope Springs attempts to include light moments (sometimes bordering on the naughty) in order to appeal to a wider audience, and MTRCB rates it R-13, CINEMA staunchly puts its foot down and gives it a Strictly for Adults rating, for its theme and graphic sexual content.

Couples married “too long” may relate to Kay and Arnold’s situation, and vicariously learn from the counseling they go through, thus CINEMA suggests you catch the movie, which is a statement upholding marriage.  Its message is loud and unequivocal as delivered in Dr. Feld’s website where he tells people who want to save their marriage, “It's not too late for anyone who truly wants it and is willing to try.”  The very title Hope Springs is more than the name of a town in Maine, USA; it is also an echo of the saying “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.”

Guni-guni

Cast: Lovi Poe, Jaime Fabregas, Gina Alajar, Julia Clarete, Neil Ryan Sese, Empress, Benjamin Alves; Director: Tara Illenberger.  Screenplay: Tara Illenberger;  Running Time:110 minutes; Location: Manila; Genre: Horror.

Technical Assessment:  2.5

Moral Assessment:  3

CINEMA Rating:  For Viewers 14 years old and above

Si Mylene (Lovi Poe) ay nag-aaral ng medisina at nakatira sa isang boarding house na pagmamay-ari ni Tatay Nanding (Jaime Fabregas) na mayroong sakit na kalimot. Sa boarding house ay sinasabing maraming multong nagpaparamdam at nagpapakita. Ito ay pinapatotohanan ng kaibigan niyang si Joana (Empress) at nobyong si Paolo (Benjamin Alves) na may nakikitang multo sa anyo ng isang bata. Lingid sa kanilang kaalaman, sa boarding house ay maraming nakabaong  lihim na magsisimulang mahukay nang ang nagmumulto ay magalit at maghiganti dahil sa kasalanang nagawa ni Mylene.  Kasabay nito ay ang unti-unting pagka-bunyag ng pinakatatagong lihim ni Mylene patungkol sa kanyang di-nakilalang kakambal.

Hindi malinaw ang daloy ng kwento ng Guni-Guni.  Marami itong butas at katanungan na hanggang sa huli ay hindi nasagot.  Kalat at sabog-sabog ang kuwento na kung saan-saan lumilihis at hindi makapagdulot ng paliwanag.  Animo’y binuo ito sa mga  pinagtagpi-tagping elemento mula sa iba’t-ibang nakalipas na pelikula—isa na sa mga elementong ito ay ang paulit-ulit na pagpapakita ng mga manyikang watak-watak.  Oo nga’t tumatayong  mga simbulo ito ng isang mahalagang bahagi ng istorya, ngunit lumabis naman ang paggamit dito ng pelikula kaya’t nababawasan ang “kilabot effect” nito sa kabuuan ng palabas.  Nasayang ang kahusayan ng mga artistang nagsiganap. May mga ilang eksenang katakutan na nakaka-aliw ngunit ang karamihan ay pawang kakatwa. Ang ilang special effects ay masagwa ang pagkakagawa. May mangilan-ngilan ding gulat ang pelikula na nararapat sa pelikulang horror pero ang lahat ng ito ay sayang sa kabuuang kaguluhan ng kwento.

Bagama’t talamak sa “gimmick” ang Guni-guni, hindi nito natabunan ang pahatid sa isip ng kuwento.  Sa kabila ng kakulangang teknikal ng pelikula ay may malinaw naman itong mensahe ukol sa pagpapahalaga sa buhay ng isang tao magmula pa sa sinapupunan. Sinasabi ng pelikula na hindi dapat ang tao ang nagdedesisyon patungkol sa buhay at kamatayan. Kapag ito ay nangyari, may mga kaluluwang hindi matatahimik at magdudulot ito ng kapahamakan.  Sa kasasagsagan ng mga debate ngayon ukol sa RH Bill at sa gitna ng maraming batikos ng Simbahang Katoliko ukol sa paninidigan nito laban dito ay narito ang isang pelikulang gigising sa ating guni-guni na nagsasabing hindi kailanman magiging tama ang pagpatay sa ano pa mang dahilan at maging sa ano pa mang pamamaraan.  Ang buhay ay buhay at dapat itong ipagsanggalang at pangalagaan—dapat ipagpasa-Diyos kung sino ang dapat na mabuhay o mamatay. May ilang maseselang eksena nga lang sa pelikula kaya minarapat ng CINEMA na ito ay maaari lamang mapanood na mga may gulang 14 pataas.