Maleficent (2014)

There seems to be a paradigm shift going on at Walt Disney. It wasn’t that long ago that whenever people

thought of Disney movies, they would immediately think of fairy tales come to the  big screen, complete with happily ever after. For a while, this formula worked well for Disney, and allowed them to be the dominant animated studio during their renaissance. And then Pixar came and changed the game. Since then, Disney has played second fiddle to Pixar’s animated films. The “Disney Magic” seemed to be gone. Something needed to change. The old formula of damsels in distress, to be saved by a knight in shining armor while they sing and dance wasn’t working anymore in this day and age. And then Enchanted came out in 2007.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Except for one or two misses, Martin Scorsese’s films have always been fantastic in my opinion. From his earlier works with Robert de Niro to his more recent films with Leonardo DiCaprio, Marty has that unique touch that seems to resonate well with me. So it came as no surprise that The Wolf of Wall Street was a must see film for me. Given its R-rating and the way cinemas here in the Philippines choose films, I feared that if I were to watch it in the theater, I would get a very censored and edited version. Luckily though, some local malls decided to show the un-cut version, choosing film value over profit. Early reviews of this film have been mostly positive, focusing mostly on DiCaprio’s acting. After finally watching it on the big screen, all I can say is that Scorsese has done it again.

American Hustle (2013)

After the masterpiece that was Silver Linings Playbook, I eagerly anticipated director David O. Russell’s follow-up and entry for the 2013 awards season. The buzz surrounding American Hustle has been constantly strong, add to that it’s recent Golden Globe win and an Academy Award nomination, and moviegoers are definitely anxious to catch what exactly the hype is all about. I’m also sure that Filipino cinephiles are currently very thirsty for a film that deserves their attention and money after the annual atrocity that is the Metro Manila Film Festival. Fortunately, technology has allowed me to watch the film before it hits local cinemas. So is it worth your time and money? In a word, yes.

12 Years a Slave (2013)

Many of us, especially Non-Americans, will never truly understand the horrors and atrocities associated with slavery. While hundreds of books have been written over the past century, slavery is still not a subject that Americans are entirely comfortable talking about or bringing up. It is a black-eye in their history that they would rather not discuss it and just move on. So you can just imagine the difficulty and controversy that comes with trying to make a film about slavery. Most recently, Quentin Tarantino tried his hands at it with Django Unchained. Although it was greatly entertaining, the added spaghetti western element, and the over-all style of the film really didn't give enough attention to the slavery part of the film. In fact, I dare say no Hollywood film has truly tackled the issue of slavery in the United States that would really allow the audience to connect with the characters, and perhaps really know how it feels to live in that time. Ironically, it took a British director, and a British leading actor to truly get the message across. It took a film like 12 Years a Slave to really show slavery in all its inhumanity and degradation.

Gravity (2013)

Life is not possible in space

By using this fact as an introduction to his latest film, director Alfonso Cuaron prepares us for a breathtaking and eye-popping journey about life, change and coping. There has been much anticipation for Gravity, focusing primarily on the film's visuals and cinematography. While I do not want to belittle these aspects and will get to them later on, I can tell you now that the film is much more than just eye-candy. And even with some very obvious weaknesses and shortcomings, Gravity is still a film worthy of the hype and attention.

In a jist and at first, Gravity seems nothing more than a really pretty movie about a disaster in space; while on a mission to repair the Hubble Telescope, the space team led by Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), which includes Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) suddenly find themselves in huge trouble when debris from nearby satellite destruction come crashing towards them killing everyone else and destroying their spaceship. Now they must work together to get safely back to Earth.

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Five down, four to go. With my recent viewing of Silver Linings Playbook, I’ve crossed the halfway mark in my goal to watch all of the Best Picture nominees in the 85^th Academy Awards next month. Before watching Silver Linings, I had Lincoln winning best picture based on the films that I have already viewed. Now after watching, did my prediction change? Honestly, no it did not. That does not mean though that Silver Linings Playbook is not a good movie. Truth be told, it may possible be one of the best and most certainly the most enjoyable and endearing films I have watched in quite some time.

Bradley Cooper stars as bipolar Pat Solitano, who after serving the court ordered eight months in a mental institution because he beat up the man he caught making love with his wife, is released into the custody of his parents. When he gets out though, he finds out that his father, who is played by Robert De Niro, has lost his job and is making ends meet as a bookmaker (did I mention Pat Sr. has OCD). Pat Jr. immediately gets in touch with common friends in order for him to get in touch with his wife and get their marriage on track. Seems like a pretty basic premise for any love story right? Lovelorn guy does something wrong and wants to make up for it with girl. It’s a Hollywood cliché. This movie though, offers so much more, especially when Pat finally meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who has some issues of her own.

Lincoln (2012)

With exactly a month to go before the Academy Awards, I'm trying my best to see as many (if not all) of the best picture nominees as possible. Coming from the Philippines, this poses a challenge since some of the films may be released here after the Oscars. Some may not even be released at all if it didn't win anything, or if the distributors think that it wouldn't appeal to the local audience. I hope I'm wrong on this, but I think an example of the latter would be Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. I just finished watching it yesterday and I still can't properly put into words just how beautiful and incredible a film it was.

A brief background on the film first, since I don't think I'd be spoiling it for anyone since everything shown on the film is part of American history. The film is set during the tail-end of the American Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln has just been elected to a second term and he has made it his ultimate mission to finally abolish slavery by having the thirteenth amendment to the American Constitution passed in congress within the next month. It seems like a pretty easy law to pass since his party has the majority in congress but so many factors and vested interests from various parties are making it harder and harder to guarantee the bill's ratification.

Les Miserables (2012)

Almost a month after showing everywhere else in the world and having to deal with Agimat and Enteng Kabisote, Les Miserables is finally showing here in The Philippines. More than the also currently showing Life of Pi or maybe even The Hobbit, Les Mis was THE holiday film that most Filipinos really couldn’t wait to see. Having to hear and read all the reviews online about the film while having to endure through the annual farce that is the Metro Manila Film Festival just made the wait that much harder. So when it finally did open yesterday, anticipation was at a fever pitch.  Opening night tickets were going fast and some groups even bought out an entire cinema for a block screening. Giulz and I were fortunate enough to get tickets yesterday and finally see what the buzz was all about.

Do I even need to provide a background on the film? I think most people have already read the novel, or took it up in High School; or have some sort of idea of what to expect based on the musical from which the film is based. While I am familiar with the central plot of the story, I have not seen the musical in any of its forms. This actually worked for me because as I watched the movie, I did not feel the need to compare the actors to their Broadway or West End counterparts. I will not be able to make any comments about the film in comparison to the musical and if I either enjoyed it or hated it, it would be based on the film’s own merits. Unfortunately though, I left the theater somewhat disappointed with the film.