Vamps

LEAD CAST:  Alicia Silverstone, Krysten Ritter, Sigourney Weaver, Dan Stevens, Wallace   SCREENWRITER:  Amy Heckerling  PRODUCER:  Lauren Versel, Molly Hassell, Stuart Cornfeld, Maria Teresa Arida, Adam Brightman  EDITOR:  Debra Chiate  MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  David Kitay  GENRE:  Comedy, Romance, Horror RUNNING TIME:  92 minutes  CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Tim Suhrstedt  DISTRIBUTOR:   Anchor Bay Films  LOCATION:  US

Technical assessment:  3

Moral assessment:  2.5

CINEMA rating:  V14

MTRCB rating:  R 13

The success of Twilight and other vampire films reveals our fascination with the undead and there is no sign of it stopping. The latest is simply called Vamps starring Alicia Silverstone (Goody) and Krysten Ritter (Stacy) as modern-day vampires in New York City. Goody and Stacy prefer to call themselves ELFs (Eternal Life Form) instead of vampires and have sworn off human blood with their ELF help group “Sanguines Anonymous” who survive on the blood of animals, particularly rodents.  The BFFs “are addicted to the night life, clubbing, and always looking for the next thrill, all the while keeping their big secret. But even with lifetimes of dating experience behind them, the duo realizes they still have a lot to learn about love.” Stacy falls in love with Joey (Dan Stevens), the son of a vampire hunter, Dr. Van Helsing (Wallace Shawn), and Goody runs into the man of her dreams, Danny (Richard Lewis), from the 60s. “With their destinies at stake, the girls are faced with a difficult choice; give up their eternal youth for a chance at love, or continue to live their uncomplicated fabulously single lives forever.”

Vamps reunites Alicia Silverstone with director Amy Heckerling both of Clueless fame and boasts of a finely assembled cast. You realize from the outset that this is not your usual vampire story of horror and drama. Neither is it just a chick flick or rom com movie. While most vampire movies main focus is on humans, Heckerling succeeds in presenting vampires as creatures who have supernatural powers and yet need to face the challenges of the 21^st century. There are funny and charming moments, and the film explores current issues like aging, keeping up with the times and trends, loneliness and dependence on technology. Through Goody, she chides us for using Facebook, Twitter, SMS and texting instead of talking to each other, but says it in a tone that shows the film is out of touch as the 19^th century vampire.

Though vampires remain eternally young, Vamps succumbs to the cult of youth and beauty. Goody hides her real age to Stacy to keep their friendship, and she also wants to appear young and attractive forever, revealing woman’s fear of old age. Heckerling tries to make it Vamps in the City (cute and charming) but doesn’t quite succeed, despite the lead actors and supporting cast. It sometimes appears as a TV sitcom with cheap sets and uninspired lines. In trying to appeal both to teenagers and Cher’s contemporaries in Clueless, Heckerling’s recent opus ends up an adequate but forgettable movie.

The violence here is mostly comical and there are some sexual references and strong language, plus some intimate scenes. Hence CINEMA gives this movie an V14 rating.

Spiders

Lead cast: William Hope, Christa Campbell, Patrick Muldoon, Sydney Sweeney; Direction: Tibor Takas; Screenplay: Joseph Farragia, Tibor Takas, Boaz Davidson; Running Time: 89 minutes; Location: New York; Genre: Sci-fi/thriller

Technical Assessment:  2.5

Moral Assessment:   3

CINEMA Rating:  V14

MTRCB Rating:  PG13

In a usual busy day in New York, a piece of Russian spacecraft crashes into the subway tunnel putting into halt the rush hour operations.  Transit supervisor Jason Cole (Patrick Muldoon) and his team work to put the train back on track until one of the transit employees mysteriously dies supposedly of electrocution. As Cole investigates further, the government teams up with a Russian scientist to recover the queen spider egg that came with the spacecraft. Apparently, the Russians developed a military weapon by cultivating mutant indestructible spiders that grow up to 60 feet long. Overnight, the spiders mutate and become giant creatures destroying the city while the US military unleash a deadly virus story to cover up their intentions of gaining control of the queen spider. While all of these are happening Jason and his estranged wife Rachel (Christa Campbell) fight their way to rescue their 12 year old daughter and rekindle their love for each other.                                                                                         

There are many things wrong with this movie. First, it starts off interestingly until the real plot unfolds and everything falls apart because audiences discover the very thin plot jammed between very poor performances. The storyline is too cliché and predictable. The protagonists are irritating with Muldoon's cardboard acting and Campbell's constant wailing. While the improved and modern effects give the movie a sense of realism and the surprisingly well-crafted scoring make viewers believe the film is engrossing, it still falls short of being entertaining after the first 10 minutes. Sadly, it tries to add drama and empathy to the father-daughter and husband-wife relationships but these are delivered too poorly to be appreciated.

The biggest saving grace of Spiders is its efforts to show how the worst of situations bring out the best in people. Jason and Rachel's love for their daughter and of each other taught them to set aside their professional and personal conflicts and work together to survive. There is a very subtle hint of keeping the marriage intact and valuing the family above everything. If only the movie was better presented then these messages could have had the desired impact. However, several scenes that are too violent, gory and unsuitable for very young children will be better remembered than the underlying message. Hence, CINEMA thinks Spiders is for older bored young adults.

Oblivion

Cast: Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Morgan Freeman, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Melissa Leo  Director: Joseph Kosinski  Screenplay: Joseph Kosinski and Karl Gajdusek and Michael Arndt  Cinematography: Claudio Miranda  Music:  Anthony Gonzalez, M.8.3  U. S. Distributor:  Universal Pictures  Genre: Science fiction/action  Running Length:  126 minutes

Technical assessment:  3.5

Moral assessment:  2.5

CINEMA rating:   V  18

MTRCB rating:  PG 13

It is Year 2077.   Sixty years ago, evil invaders called “Scavengers” destroyed the moon and attempted to capture Earth.   Mankind fought off the aggressors but Earth was left uninhabitable due to the moon’s fragmentation and worldwide combat.  Now humans are still being evacuated to Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, and they await their turn to depart while on board a spacecraft that hovers just above Earth’s atmosphere.   Trained technician Jack (Tom Cruise) and a navigator, Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) have been dispatched to supervise the operations of the machines that continue to harvest what is left of Earth’s natural resources, particularly the water from its oceans, for use of the people living on Titan.  Jack and Victoria are professionally and romantically linked, but Jack is disturbed by the image of a beautiful woman recurring in his dreams.  The couple’s idyllic partnership is given an unexpected twist when the beautiful woman in Jack’s dreams turns up to be a real person, Julia (Olga Kurylenko), whom Jack finds in a hypersleep chamber crash-landing from an unknown spaceship.

Sweeping vistas of outer space, fabulous machines and dwellings that could only exist in one’s fantasies seem to be the strongest attractions of Oblivion.  Through this impeccably created eye candy the viewer’s mind is teased into suspending disbelief to get carried away by the plot.  But, alas, the plot lacks the viscosity to sustain the viewer’s interest, much less to mesmerize him into embracing Oblivion as a probability in the not-so-distant future.   Oblivion’s ambitious story telling, evocative of Cloud Atlas though not as grand, is supported by the strong presence of Morgan Freeman as Beech, the chief of the guerilla freedom fighters.  Freeman, as usual, delivers, and Cruise seems to sincerely believe in his character; that’s just about the nicest thing to be said about the acting.  Other technical aspects are as “okay” as “okay” goes.

Oblivion attempts to delve into the question of identity (the relationship between physical and spiritual identities in particular) but abandons the question to pose some more—much like a toddler who, growing impatient with a toy, distracts himself with other toys.  Pursuing this analogy, Oblivion strikes the viewer as something like building a spaceship with Lego blocks.  Good sci-fi is coherent and logical despite a bold hypothesis; it connects its elements until they all click into place, revealing the creation, albeit a Lego spaceship, as a masterpiece.  Oblivion does not “click.”

The film offers enough to appeal to teenagers but because CINEMA believes movies are not just supposed to be eye candy or dubious entertainment, Oblivion is given a V 18 rating.  Due to the nature of the movie’s theme, mature viewers may still winnow something worth a thought from the loosely glued elements.

It takes a man and a woman

LEAD CAST:  John Lloyd Cruz, Sarah Geronimo, Isabelle Daza, Matet de Leon, Joross Gamboa, Guji Lorenzana, Rowell Santiago, Gio Alvarez  DIRECTOR:  Cathy Garcia-Molina  SCREENWRITER:  Carmi Raymundo  PRODUCER:  Charo Santos  GENRE:  Drama, Romance, Comedy RUNNING TIME:  120 minutes  DISTRIBUTOR:   Star Cinema & Viva Films  LOCATION:  Philippines

Technical Assessment: 3.5

Moral Assessment: 3.5

CINEMA rating: V 14

MTRCB rating: G

  

Malaki ang problema ni Miggy Montenegro (John Lloyd Cruz), isang publisher ng kilalang magazine na nanganganib na masakop ng ibang kumpanya kung hindi siya gagawa ng paraan.  Ang tanging solusyon ay hingin ang tulong ni Laida Magtalas (Sarah Geronimo), dati niyang kasintahan na ngayo’y isa nang sophisticated at mahusay na magazine editor sa New York. Maaari ba silang magtrabaho nang magkasama ngayong ang bagong katipan si Miggy na si Belle (Isabelle Diaz) ay makakasama din nila? Magtatagumpay ba silang pagtulungan ang pagsalba sa magazine ng mga Montenegro?

Ibinabalik ng It Takes a Man and a Woman ang tambalang Miggy Montenegro at Laida Magtalas na nagpakilig sa maraming manonood noong 2008 sa pelikulang A Very Special Love at ang kasunod nitong You Changed My Life noong 2009. Parehong box office hits ang naturang dalawang naunang pelikula at mukhang hindi pahuhuli ang final installment.  Pagpapatunay na maganda ang ikot ng kuwento, kapani-paniwala ang pagganap ng mga artista—lalu na ang mga kaibigan at kasama ni Laida sa trabaho na tinaguriang Zoila and friends, Hindi maitatatwa ang chemistry ng dalawang nasa lead roles at dahil mga characters na nakilala na ng mga manonood sa naunang dalawang pelikula, madaling makapasok sa daloy ng kuwento. Kuhang-kuha nila hindi lang ang kiliti ng manonood sa mga nakatutuwang eksena kundi pati na rin ang simpatiya ng mga ito sa mga eksenang magpapatulo ng luha. Mayroon ding mga one-liners na siguradong uulit-ulitin ng mga nakapanood. Maayos din at angkop ang musika, simple ang sinematograpiya, mahusay ang editing at comedic timing. Sayang nga lang at asiwa ang wig ni Laida at may ilang dialogo na hindi maayos ang daloy—parang pilit at masyadong masalita. Maari ding masabing may mga eksena na “corny” subalit ikinasiya naman ito ng ilan.

Ngunit higit sa mga teknikal na aspeto ng pelikula, ipinapakita ng It Takes a Man and a Woman na ang pagpapatawad ay susi sa mabuting samahan hindi lang ng magkasintahan kundi sa pamilya at sa trabaho din. Ito ang tunay na sukatan ng pagmamahalan. Ang dalawang magkasintahan na nagkalayo ay natutong maging mabuti at ganap dahil sa pag-ako sa pagkakamali, paghingi ng kapatawaran, at pagsisikap na magbago.

Kapuri-puri din ang pelikula dahil nagtagumpay itong ipakita ang pagmamahalan ni Miggy at Laida nang hindi ginagamit ang pre-marital sex. Naipakita rin nito ang tunay na sukatan ng tagumpay sa buhay.  Dahil sa tema ng pelikula (na sa titulo pa lang ay halata na) iminumungkahi ng CINEMA ang pelikula para sa mga manonood na may edad 14-taon pataas.

The host

Cast:  Saoirse Ronan, Jake Abel, Max Irons, Chandler Canterbury, Frances Fisher, Diane Kruger, William Hurt; Direction: Andrew Noccol; Story: based from Stephanie Meyer’s novel The Host; Screenplay: Andrew Niccol; Cinematography: Robert Schaefer;  Editing: Thomas J. Nordberg; Music: Antonio Pinto; Producers: Stephanie Meyer, Nick Wechsler, Steve Schwartz, Paula Mae Schwartz; Genre: Sci-Fi Drama; Location: Future time; Distributor: Open Road Films Entertainment Films Distributors / Viva Films; Running Time:125 minutes.

Technical Assessment:  2

Moral Assessment: 3

CINEMA Rating: V14

MTRCB rating: PG 13

In the future, humanity is taken over by extra-terrestials called the Souls. Although they are peaceful and caring, the Souls need to enter into a human body and take over its mind and life. Melanie Stryder (Ronan), one of the remaining uninhabited humans, is captured by the Seeker (Kruger) and infused with the soul named Wanderer in the effort to discover the whereabouts of the last groups of insurgent humans. However, Melanie fights back and struggles to control her mind and body. Wanderer, in the meantime, discovers Melanie’s past, grows sympathetic towards her plight and slowly forms an alliance with her. Together, they escape the attepmt of the Seeker to transfer Wanderer into another body and enter Melanie herself so she can get the information she needs. Melanie and Wanderer flee into the desert and is soon found by her Uncle Jeb (Hurt). They are taken into the insurgent’s hideaway where Melanie is reunited with her boyfriend Jared (Irons) and little brother Jamie (Canterbury). However, the group, save for Uncle Jed,  do not realize Melanie is still alive and almost has her killed believing she is an evil parasite.  Slowly, the humans and Wanderer begin to understand and appreciate each other  and stand side by side for the survival of their own race.

The host’s storyline shows potential with its unique take on alien invasion and Meyer’s subtle spirituality. As an author, she is consistent in her respect for life and dignity of humanity. But the film translation suffers irrevocably either from poor script or from the source material itself. The film falls flat with an unimaginative screenplay, painfully dragging direction and overall monotonous performances from the cast. The love triangle is just dreary. The romantic build, just like the plot development, takes up so much time and patience. But the worse part is how the writer/director chose to show Melanie and Wanderer living together in the same body.  The production design is laughable in its simplistic assumption that aliens and advance technology should only be pristine white or mirror-plated. These scenes hurt the eyes as much as they hurt one’s sanity. The host is easily one of the worst movies adapated into screen.

The film makes one notable premise—peaceful co-existence. Be it outer space creatures and human beings, the normal and the supernatural, or primitive and advance technology, co-existence, according to the film, is possible provided there is respect and love. Meyer presents alien invaders as the SOUL—peaceful, kind, trusting, and overall good natured except that they need a body to live in, while humans are violent, aggressive and selfish. Her premise may lack theological or literary depth but it leads us to ask what it means to be human. Does possessing free will and a body suffice or is humanity something at the core of life where love, respect and sacrifice exist. There is a sense of spirituality in the film as it echoes how we understand lour body and soul. It parallels the struggle most people encounter as they resolve the conflict between human and divine will.  More than trying to save humanity from invaders, the film is a story about the nature of love—for family, friends and life.

-

The Croods

CAST: Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Cloris Leachman, Clark Duke, Randy Thom DIRECTION, STORY  AND SCREENPLAY: Kirk de Micco, Chris Sanders  PRODUCERS: Kristine Belson and Jane Hartwell MUSIC: Alan Silvestri CINEMATOGRAPHY: Yong Duk Jhun EDITING: Eric Dapkewicz, Darren T. Holmes PRODUCTION DESIGN: Christophe Lautrette  ART DIRECTION: Paul Duncan, Dominique Louis PRODUCTION: Dreamworks Animation  GENRES: Adventure, Comedy, Family  RUNNING TIME: 98 minutes DISTRIBUTOR: 20^th Century Fox
 

Technical assessment:   4

Moral Assessment:  3.5

CINEMA rating:  GP

MTRCB rating:   GP

The Croods are a prehistoric cave-dwelling family composed of parents Grug (voice by Nicholas Cage) and Ugga (voice by Catherine Keener), teen daughter Eep (voice by Emma Stone), Eep’s little brother Thunk (voice by Clarke Duke), baby sister Sandy (voice by Randy Thom) grandmother Gran (voice by Cloris Leachman).  Their only rule to live by is: Don’t try anything new.  Anything new is bad—to be feared, and so dad Grug’s perennial word of caution is “Never not be afraid” because “fear keeps us alive.”  When an earthquake occurs and their world of rock begins to crumble, the Croods are forced to desert their cave.  They wander into a strange new world, and meet Guy (voice of Ryan Reynolds), a resourceful orphan of Eep’s age. 

In vivid 3D, The Croods has been the most natural, wholesome, and memorable family film that has happened since Up, offering entertainment with a heart and an uplifting break from revenge themes, gory horror and terror in our cinemas as well as the news.  It strikes a happy medium between outright fantasy (out-of-this-world creatures) and next-door reality (Neanderthal family management so like ours?).  But of course, nothing is impossible with animation, and in The Croods it is put to very effective use in highlighting emotional responses supposedly of humans clad in animal skins but which might as well be our own in the 21^st century.

Obviously caught up in the Croods’ adventure, viewers of all ages on the day CINEMA watched The Croods couldn’t stop reacting to it—cheering, laughing, shrieking, clucking with glee—which only goes to prove its tremendous appeal to a general audience.  And why not?  The Croods are like anyone’s family that has its share of fights (and even jabs at mothers-in-law) but is united in moments that challenge their survival.  And there are no villains to speak of here; the only baddies to confront are those within oneself—inflexibility and resistance to change, unwillingness to accept new ideas, the habit of wanting to be always in control, etc.  The Croods shows that even in animation, catharsis is possible, as each character evolves in the family’s journey into a new way of living.

Silver Linings Playbook

CAST: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Rober de Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher  DIRECTOR: David O Russell  SCREENWRITER:  David O. Russell  PRODUCER: Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti  EDITOR: Jay Cassidy, Crispin Stuthers   MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  Danny Elfman  GENRE:  Romantic Comedy-Drama  CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Masanobu Takayanagi  RUNNING TIME:  122 minutes  DISTRIBUTOR:  Weinstein Company  LOCATION:  United States

Technical assessment:   4

Moral Assessment:   3

CINEMA rating:   V 14

MTRCB rating:  R 13

Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) is released from a Baltimore psychiatric hospital on the insistence of his mother Dolores (Jacki Weaver) who does not like him getting used to the hospital’s routine life.  He was committed by court order to the mental hospital after he beat up a man he had caught in the shower with his wife Nikki (Brea Bee), a teacher at a local high school.  Pat moves in with his parents, to the delight of his father Pat Sr. (Robert de Niro) who takes it as an opportunity to bond with his son.  Stubbornly refusing medication, Pat resolves to rebuild himself by getting in tip top physical shape and enriching his mind by reading all the books Nikki assigns to her students.  He is determined to win her back despite a retraining order barring him from coming within 500 feet of Nikki.  Pat soon meets another psychiatric case, young widow Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), who volunteers to deliver Pat’s letters to Nikki if Pat would be her partner in a local dance contest.

Two things make a major push for Silver Linings Playbook: the story and the actors.  All else are there in support of these two.  The story is part factual, part fantasy, but is told in a way that makes the film bitingly real.  The story needs no eye candy, no CGI, just the flesh and blood realism of a middleclass neighborhood in Philadelphia, acted out like the actors were born and raised in that milieu and were in fact telling their true story.  Brad Cooper is a revelation here, playing a character so remote from his usual roles and giving it incredible depth.  Jennifer Lawrence—well, the Oscar speaks of the promise the 22-year old holds as a major talent.  (Somehow her face is perfect for the intense characters she’s given, remember Hunger Games).  Here her character is so fierce she can steal the thunder from de Niro, who, by the way, delivers classic de Niro as Pat Sr. 

Silver Linings Playbook gives hope, as the proverbial silver lining behind the dark clouds.  It’s an optimistic movie that treats mental illness with  respect, and demonstrates how persons with neuroses may rise above their situation.  The keyword is “Excelsior” (Latin for “ever upward”) which subtly permeates the day to day life of ordinary people in an ordinary neighborhood.  Not overtly religious, the characters nonetheless hope and believe—Pat himself, a bi-polar patient, says “There is a reason for everything that  happens.”   The Solitano home offers clues to the inhabitants’ Christian faith but the father engages in rituals—something like a home-brewed feng shui—that’s supposed to bring him luck at betting on the Philadelphia Eagles.  In the end, one may indeed wonder how relevant medicine is when people who sincerely work for what they want, do not get what they want, but get something better instead.  Then you realize, the silver lining is but a proof of the presence behind the clouds of a light-giving, life-giving Sun.

Oz the Great and Powerful

LEAD CAST: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff, Bill Cobs, Joey King DIRECTOR: Sam Raimi SCREENWRITER: David Lindsay-Abaire, Mitchelle Kapner PRODUCER: Joe Roth EDITOR: Bob Murawski MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Danny Elfman GENRE: Fantasy/Adventure RUNNING TIME: 130 minutes CINEMATOGRAPHER: Peter Deming DISTRIBUTOR: Walt Disney Pictures LOCATION: United States 

Technical assessment: 3
Moral assessment: 3 
CINEMA rating: PG 13
MTRCB rating: General Patronage 

It is 1902. Small-time illusionist at a small town circus in Kansas, Oscar “Oz” Diggs (James Franco) is a magician of dubious ethics. He is actually more serious about perfecting his skills at oneupmanship than improving his repertoire. Escaping the ire of the circus strongman he had apparently shortchanged, he scampered into a hot air balloon; unfortunately—or fortunately—the balloon gets sucked by a twister that spits him out into the fantastic Land of Oz. He is met by a beautiful witch, Theodora (Mila Kunis), who believes Oz is the fulfillment of a prophecy—the arrival of a great wizard who would save the Land of Oz from the wicked witch. Theodora takes him to the Emerald City where he meets her sister, another beauteous witch, Evanora (Rachel Weisz), who takes him to a cavernous room filled with gold. It would be all his, says Evanora, provided Oz would destroy the wicked witch Glinda the Good (Michelle Williams). Oz sets forth to search for the wicked witch to break her wand—which should spell the end of all her powers.

Directed by Sam Raimi, Disney’s family movie, Oz the Great and Powerful, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum's beloved wizard character. Baum wrote 14 Land of Oz novels but not one of them spoke about the wizard’s origins. Thus, this brave attempt at establishing once and for all the beginnings of this legendary character. Reportedly the third choice for the lead role—after it was turned down by Robert Downey Jr. and Johnny Depp—Franco nonetheless delivers a credible character that combines conman and charmer. Williams’ Glinda is bland, sugary at most, but every inch a Disney witch; by the way, she plays a dual role, first as Oscar’s sweetheart in Kansas, then as Glinda in Oz. Kunis’ Theodora turns from seductress into a harmless Halloween party witch, possessing a nose, chin and hat as pointy as her black talons, cackling her way to vengeance and riding a broom that pollutes the air of the Land of Oz. (Doesn’t it remind you of the exhaust pipes of the smoke-belching buses on EDSA?) And Weisz? She’s perfect as the deceiver-in-disguise, lovely to look at even when she is being at her rotten-best. (But oh, maybe we just have a soft spot for the actress because she was very nice to fans when she was shooting Bourne Legacy in the Philippines). The effects are as good as demanded by a fantasy movie, emphasized by the contrast in color: black and white for the scenes in Kansas, and blooming in full technicolor grandeur for the Land of Oz. Special mention must be made of two non-human characters that have very human characteristics, Finley the flying monkey, and the frail China Doll. They are so well-developed that you can almost take them in as members of your family.

Oz the Great and Powerful is about good and evil, for sure, and the transformation of one man from charlatan to one of character. Oscar is shown as a con artist in his “earthly life” in Kansas. When his sweetheart tells him she is now engaged to another man, he lets her go, admitting the other man is good and will make a good husband. He himself says he is not a good man, but he dreams of becoming a great man, someone the likes of Thomas Alva Edison, his idol. Enveloped by the Kansas twister Oscar bargains with God to give him another chance—he doesn’t want to die without having done something meaningful in his life. Placed by fate in the Land of Oz, he cannot help but confess to his companion that he is not a wizard but simply a carnival magician. The Land of Oz has no army and people are forbidden to kill even in self-defense, Oscar is the reluctant savior who is compelled to employ his magical arts and scientific knowledge—ably assisted by Oz’s tradesmen to carry on a plan to defend their land from the evil witches. At the end, someone smilingly tells Oscar that a great man can also be a good man. That’s a happy enough ending for the whole family. But although CINEMA gives this a PG 13 rating, we warn that some of the images are scary enough to rob very young children of sleep.

Lincoln

Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones, John Hawkes. Director: Steven Spielberg.  Screenplay: Tony Kushner, based on the book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  Cinematography:  Janusz Kaminski. Music: John Williams. Genre: Drama. Running Length: 2:30 U.S. Distributor:  Touchstone Pictures.

Technical assessment:  4

Moral assessment:  4

CINEMA rating:  PG 13

MTRCB rating:  PG 13

Film is indeed a powerful medium for teaching history.  Had we not watched Lincoln and been awed by the riveting performance of Daniel Day-Lewis, the United States’ 16^th president would have remained in our mind as nothing more than a shiny marble statue.

Lincoln chronicles the last month, January 1865, in the life of Abraham Lincoln, the 16^th president of the United States, as he zeroes in on the last and greatest win of his political career—the abolition of slavery in America.  

Director Spielberg does right in depicting a Lincoln that is at once iconic and human.  Far from being a traditional bio-pic that tends to paint a glossier-than-reality picture of a revered character, Lincoln shows how a principled man may still be admired despite his political savvy that enabled him to resort to the maneuverings prevalent in his time. 

President # 16 has been played by so many estimable actors since 1930, but in Lincoln, the role is not played, it is lived—to the point that it becomes difficult to tell whether it is the actor Day-Lewis inhabiting the Lincoln character, or the spirit of Lincoln inhabiting the actor’s body.  A well-chosen cast combined with matchless supporting performances—notably by Tommy Lee Jones (as Thaddeus Stevens) and Sally field (as Mary Todd Lincoln) add to an authentic reliving of Lincoln’s struggle towards his goal.  To the last detail, the rich production sets are adjudged faithful to Abe’s life and times, bringing the past vividly back to life to afford the viewer a peek into history.

The sessions in Congress where the battle over the 13^th Amendment is raging is particularly eye-opening to contemporary political observers.  They reveal that some things in the field of public service have not changed—and perhaps never will—such as under the table deals, patronage positions as bribes, presidential strategizing and pressure on the House of Representatives to ensure the passage of an amendment, etc.  The latter may evoke a feeling of déjà vu in people quite familiar with the debates that not too long ago raged over an RH bill in the Philippine Congress, and the nonchalance with which some lawmakers dismissed the Executive railroading of the contentious bill.  In his rush to pass the 13^th amendment, Lincoln utilized all the tricks in his arsenal.  Sounds familiar?  But of course, presidential maneuvering of the Legislative branch takes on a different coloration depending on the issue at hand: a law abolishing slavery is not the same as a law establishing a contraceptive mentality. 

It might also come as some form of warped consolation to Filipinos that their present-day solons’ (mis)behavior is civil compared to that of the insult-hurling American counterparts in 1865.  If in 1865 their congressional session room resembled a saloon filled with trigger happy cowboys, ours in 2012 was simply reminiscent of classroom of overgrown kindergarteners who couldn’t differentiate between study and play.  One noticeable thing, though: the 1865 lawmakers hurled verbal darts at one another, but God was acknowledged in the process of lawmaking.  In the 2012 RH arena… well, make your own conclusions.

Kudos to the Spielberg-Kushner tandem that brought out the Oscar-winning performance of Day-Lewis, the Abraham Lincoln that came alive onscreen proves worthy of the reverence accorded him by his countrymen—a doting father, a sympathetic husband, a statesman made of fire and ice, wisdom and wile, a soul blessed with courage and grace, a human being who passionately went after his dream and paid the price for it.  Certainly a very very far cry from being a mere marble monument.

A moment in time

Cast:  Coco Martin, Julia Montes, Cheri Gil, Gabby Concepcion, Zsa Zsa Padilla ; Director:  Emmanuel Quindo-Palo;  Producer: Star Cinema; Running Time: 112  minutes; Genre: Romance/ Drama; Location: Philippines and Amsterdam

Technical Assessment: 2

Moral Assessment: 3

CINEMA Rating: for viewers 18 and above

Mabibighani ang baguhang pintor na si Patrick (Coco Martin) sa unang pagkakita pa lamang nito kay Jillian (Julia Montes). Sa mga susunod na araw ay ipipinta ni Patrick ang mukha ni Jillian sa mga pader na siya namang mapapansin ng huli. Sa paraang ito muling magtatagpo ang kanilang landas at sa marami pang pagkakataon ay tila sadya ngang pinagtatagpo sila. Sa pagtitiyaga ni Patrick ay sasagutin din siya ni Jillian ngunit magbabago ang lahat pagka’t malalaman ni Patrick na si Jillian ang nakasagasa sa kanyang ina (Zsa Zsa Padilla). Dahil dito, magbabago ng pakikitungo si Patrick kay Jillian na siyang ikapagtataka ng huli. Tuluyan silang magkakalayo at nang matauhan si Patrick sa kanyang pagkakamali kay Jillian ay mahihirapan siyang lalo sapagkat ito ay nagpakalayo-layo na sa Amsterdam. Magkita pa kaya silang muli at magkabalikan?

Ang A Moment in Time ay isang pelikulang ginawa upang samantalahin ang init ng  kasikatan ng dalawang bidang sila Coco Martin at Julia Montes. Hindi man matatawaran ang husay ng dalawa sa pagganap, pawang nasayang pa rin ang kanilang talino sa isang proyektong tila minadali at hindi na gaanong napag-isipan. Nagkulang sa hagod ang pelikula pagdating sa paghahain ng kapani-paniwalang sentro ng problema na siyang dapat paghuhugutan ng emosyon ng dalawang bida. Resulta’y pawang pilit ang lahat ng pangyayari sa pelikula at tila sa gitna ng pagkakagulo ng lahat, ang pinagtuunan na lang ng pansin ay masiguro ang kanilang pagbabalikan. Hindi angkop sa mga karakter ang kanilang mga naging reaksiyon sa mga pangyayari. Halimbawa ay ang kakulangan ng pamilya ni Jillian ng sinseridad sa pagsisisi sa nangyaring trahedya sa pamilya ni Patrick. Nang malaman nila ang katotohanan, tila baga, sila pa ang galit at mayabang sa halip na punan ng kanilang pagkukulang. Ito at marami pang mga pangyayari sa kuwento ang pawang di angkop sa tauhan at walang epekto sa emosyon ng manonood dahil mali ang hagod ng mga eksena. Nasayang din ang magagandang kuha ng pelikula sa mga interesanteng lugar tulad ng Amsterdam. Sa kabuuan, ang A Moment in Time ay isang pelikulang madaling mawawala sa alaala ng manonood dahil sa mababaw nitong pagtrato sa dapat sana’y tunay na problemang hinarap ng dalawang bida.

Sa kabila ng marami nitong kakulangan, lumutang naman ang kahalagahan ng pagpapatawad sa pelikula. Mas matimbang pa rin ang pagmamahal sa galit sa bandang huli at tanging pagpapatawad ang magpapalaya sa anumang tanikala ng galit na kinikimkim ng isang taong labis na nasaktan. Ipinakita rin sa pelikula na hindi hadlang ang kaibahan ng estado sa buhay at ang pagmamahal ay walang kinikilalang mayaman o mahirap. Nakakabahala nga lang kung paanong tinakasan ng pamilya ni Jillian ang tunay nilang responsibilad sa nangyaring aksidente sa ina ni Patrick. Pawang ipinakita na kayang takasan at pagtakpan ng pera ang ganitong uri ng problema. Hindi ibinigay ang karampatang hustisya sa isang taong napakahalaga sa buhay ng isang karakter. Ang hindi pagharap ng pelikula sa tunay na problemang ito ay talaga namang nakababahala. Sa kabila nito’y lumutang naman ang pagiging wagas ng damdamin ng mga pangunahing tauhan. Gaano nga ba kalayo ang maaring marating ng tunay na pag-ibig at hanggang saan ba ang kayang ibigay ng isang taong nagmamahal? Ipinakita sa A Moment in Time na walang imposible sa taong nagmamahal—maging ang pagpapatawad sa matinding sakit na idinulot ng taong minamahal. Ito nga marahil ang sukatan ng tunay na pag-ibig—laging handang magpatawad at magparaya kung kinakailangan.

Safe haven

LEAD CAST:  Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel, Noah Lumax, Mimi Kirkland,  David Lyons.  DIRECTOR Lassie Halstrom.  SCREENPLAY:  Leslie Boheme and Dana Stevens, based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks. CINEMATOGRAPHY:   Terry Stacey.  MUSIC: Deborah Lurie.  GENRE:  Drama/romance. RUNNING TIME:  1:55

Technical assessment: 3

Moral assessment: 2.5

CINEMA rating:  A 14

MTRCB rating:  PG 13

In a middle class home in Boston, a man is stabbed by a woman.  There is no witness.  Confused and with bloodied hands she runs away.  We learn later that to help bury her past behind, she had cut her long dark hair and dyed it blonde, and then she boarded a southbound bus.  She finds a low key North Carolina community where she can feel safe; there she introduces herself as Katie (Julianne Hough), landing  a job as waitress at a seaside resort.  She rents a cabin in the woods, certain that as a complete stranger she would then start a new life.  She is soon befriended by a neighbor Jo (Cobie Smulders) and the owner of the town’s general store Alex (John Duhamel), a recent widower with a pre-teen son Josh (Noah Lumax), who has yet to get over his mother’s loss, and a perky eight-year old daughter (Mimi Kirkland).  After the first alternately polite and awkward encounters, Alex and Katie start to warm up to each other.  Things get sweeter—until Alex spots a bulletin at the local police station tagging Katie as a suspect in a first-degree murder case.

Message in a Bottle, The Notebook, Dear John, and Safe Haven—they have something in common.   They’re all Nicholas Sparks novels, of course, and as romance stories they all give hope to people (especially women) who believe that for every woman there is a man destined to be hers alone, who will be faithful to her, love her forever and ever.  It doesn’t hurt if the man is also good looking and well-mannered and tender hearted and … well, a good catch.  Chick-flicks, that’s what they’re called.  People in general do not see such movies to criticize, measure its merits in the technical department and see if they’re Oscar material.  They draw crowds who want to nurture their romantic hopes or to get carried away by their drama.  But, of course, CINEMA cannot but say a few things about how well made Safe Haven is—until the unexpected twist towards the end.

With the credible though predictable plot, the likeable characters, the bad guy we would want to protect these beautiful characters from, we are willing to close an eye to a few editing slips so we can hope without interruption that everybody would end up happily ever after—after all how can anything untoward happen in such a pretty place as that safe haven?  But Safe Haven pricks its own high flying balloon, and we land on the ground with a thud, feeling we’ve been had.  This uncalled for denouement to the story douses cold water on our viewing pleasure, and we’re left to wonder if the movie’s genre should now be changed from romance to horror, or maybe even  psychological thriller.  Worse, we come to ask: shouldn’t the heroine who has so elicited our sympathy be locked up in an asylum?

Safe Haven’s release must have been timed to fill the Valentine’s day craving for a romantic pop corn date but, really, there are far more worth-your-money ways to celebrate love with.