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.

Life of Pi (2012)

This will be a rough draft review of Life of Pi. I won't be writing that much about the film due to lack of time, but I do intend to polish it up as soon as I can. I am sure that almost everyone out there has seen Life of Pi so there is no need for me to elaborate on the plot. Also with all the good reviews about it, people who have not seen it need little more convincing. While I admit that Life of Pi is an above average movie, far better than the majority out there, I was not totally wowed by it and personally don't think it is worthy of all its accolades.

I think it is universally accepted that the movie was an absolute visual masterpiece, and I would have to agree with this. Visually, Life of Pi was unbelievably beautiful; so many stunning scenes and images that were really breathtaking. My personal favorite was the aerial shot of the ocean with all the jellyfish.

Good Libations: Global Beer Exchange's Bottle Shop

The original theme of my blog was supposed to be about beer. My good buddy Phil was the one who first told me that I should write a blog about beer since I have always been and always will be a lover of finely brewed beer. But then I decided to not just focus on beer and make the blog about film as well. Unfortunately I haven't been able to write any sort of beer review yet, but I plan to change that with this latest post. I will be starting a new "category" in my blog called Good Libations, and these posts will not only be about the latest beers I have tried and what I have to say about it, but it will be about any finely made inebriating beverage under the sun. It is also fitting that the first entry under Good Libations be about the latest beer haven in the city: The Bottle Shop of Global Beer Exchange 

Let me start with a short anecdote. Coming from The Philippines, our selection of beers is very limited. 90% of the beer market here is controlled by one company. It was right around my late high school/early college years when my interest in beer really began to flourish. During my younger years, whenever we had an inuman (filipino for a drinking session), I would find myself noticing that the usual beer we drank wasn't really that delicious. So I tried the various beers of said monopolizing company and found that there was one beer that was superior to the rest. I found out that it was a Czech style pilsner and until now it is still my Filipino brand beer of choice.

Skyfall (2012)

So it's been five months since I last wrote down a review here, and I'm not sure if anyone outside of my closest friends actually read this blog, but I'll apologize for the lack of activity anyways. Again, I will try to be more active with this movie review blog, especially with some awesome movies coming out for the Fall season. I guess, it's kinda apt that after such a long drought, I'll be coming back with a review of the latest James Bond film - Skyfall, because much like this blog making a comeback, the film was an absolutely awesome way to bounce back from a lackluster and disappointing previous film.

MGM kept the details of Skyfall very hush hush and all I knew coming into the film was that, the past of both Bond and M will be tackled which will cause some discord between the two and even test the loyalty of 007. Given that it was a James Bond film, it was definitely one of those films that I knew I would not miss, regardless of how bad the last film was or how little I knew about the plot. The addition of Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men, Eat Pray Love) and Sam Mendes (American Beauty) just brought my interest and expectations in the film to a whole new level. I am glad to say, without a shadow of a doubt, that after watching the film, my expectations were EXPONENTIALLY exceeded.