"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" entertains with its fiery wave of action and adventure. However, it remains hamstrung by its own middle chapter narrative problems. Clearly forced into a trilogy stretch for the cash-cow potential of a single book, this second "Hobbit" film proves that one can have too much of a good thing when it comes to delivering a quota of thrills, but still end up as yet another ponderous placeholder for the grand finale. At the very least,
Adaptation
‘300: The Art of the Film’ Book: The best movie-related gift I’ve ever received to date
Being a film buff and a film professional, it's not surprising to get movie-related gifts every once in a while. By now, many of my friends already know that I have a collection of movie-branded items and memorabilia, all of which I got as gifts from friends, relatives, and companies. Of course, I treasure all items in my collection. Yet, there's that one gift I received that tops them all. My Favorite Movies It was in 2006 when I saw one
Tuldok Animation Studios’ RISE Project Soft Launch and Tuldok’s 16th Anniversary Celebration
https://youtu.be/VG2vXrOcC88 Soft launch of Tuldok Animation Studios' RISE Project, a grant from the Cultural Center of the Philippines' Innovation Grants 2021. This project features the two short films Si Bulusan nan si Agingay at Sulayman and the comics with augmented reality component Bernardo Carpio.
‘RKO 281’ Film Review: A film about a film about a man
"RKO 281" offers a vividly compelling presentation of the troubled history behind Orson Welles and his magnum opus "Citizen Kane." This historical drama about the so-called “boy wonder” helming a film inspired by the life of a powerful man highlights the ego clashes and politics surrounding Hollywood. As a cinematic offering, it frames itself as a dramatically sound genesis of what is often described as “The Greatest American Film of All Time” through its amalgam of fictional recreations and historical accounts partly based
Blu-ray Review: ‘Schindler’s List’ 20th Anniversary Edition
The 1993 cinematic masterpiece "Schindler's List" arrives on a three-disc combo pack dubbed as its 20th Anniversary Edition. This DigiPack release contains one Blu-ray disc and two DVDs housing the film's Blu-Ray, DVD, UV digital, and iTunes digital copies, as well as a handful of extras. This Steven Spielberg opus stars Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Embeth Davidtz, Caroline Goodall, and Jonathan Sagall. It won the Academy Award for Best Picture, along with 6 other wins out of 12
‘Star Trek’ (2009) Film Review: Warpspeed wow!
Something old reboots as a glorious new. Reinventing a classic sci-fi series is prone to becoming victimized by the blackhole of franchise re-openings, but what this new "Star Trek" presents is a flaring shine of a supernova from start to end. The plot may be preposterous, but the way the film is constructed provides a genuinely rollicking adventure - a fine escapist entertainment that has just validated the tagline, "Live long and prosper." From the first stunning visuals of a pre-Enterprise time
‘Beowulf’ (2007) Film Review: Motion-capture statement
"Beowulf" ambitiously blends CGI, motion-capture, and 3D technologies to bring a new level of hyperreality for the viewers to enjoy. Everybody knows, or at least, has already heard about the epic poem "Beowulf" in school, or perhaps, with the prior 2005 live-action offering "Beowulf and Grendel" starring Gerard Butler as Beowulf. This time, the Robert Zemeckis-helmed "Beowulf" utilizes the latest motion-control technology available to tell a tale approximately 1,400 years old in an astonishingly new way -- a sensory animation experience
‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ Film Review: A chocolific, expressionistic confectionery
Director Tim Burton breathes new life to Roald Dahl's 1964 sweet tale and turns it into a new celluloid confectionery. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is a gothic yet colorful fantasy filled with the eccentricity only Burton gets to achieve in the Hollywood mainstream. Burton is undeniably a patron of German Expressionism with the film's pale make-up, weird props, sets and costumes, exaggerated moves, and out-of-this world characterizations. He creates a dream world inspired by some dark and cartoony elements. The
‘Angels and Demons’ Film Review: From suspense novel to audio-visual flair
This "Angels and Demons" film adaptation is a less contemplative and a more motion-driven version of Dan Brown's novel. "Angels and Demons" mounts the visuals the way I imagined them while reading the Dan Brown novel. That part is impressive. However, the suspense part that hooked me to the book gets lost in the film adaptation. For a movie based entirely around a beat-the-clock goal, the momentum gets significantly lost and the far-fetched plot surfaces more without the packed intensity and
‘In Her Shoes’ Film Review: More than just a chick flick
This movie is an interestingly profound and complex story about different relationships: familial, friendly, romantic. "In Her Shoes" features a decently textured narrative about the reconnection of two estranged sisters who have nothing in common but their shoe sizes. Offering enough depth, the story is not just about a simple issue on sibling rivalry made into a rushed script. It becomes more than a show-off of Hollywood stars ramping fashion clothes and blobbing about some insensible girl talks. This chick flick, based on