IRON MAN 2 Arrives in Iloilo City ahead of the U.S.

AS FOR WHAT'S SHOWING IN ILOILO THIS WEEK, well, IRON MAN 2 is on track, and is now showing, which is good. IRON MAN 2 is released here in the Philippines ahead of schedule than the U.S. release which is slated on May 7, 2010, a full one-week advance. And as you are reading this, I would have already watched it & made a review on it which I will update on my site. BUT I was extremely disappointed that The Losers and Kick-Ass are terribly delayed as far as Iloilo is concerned. Last week was such a bore. Well at least we got Iron Man 2 opening now & for those who want an alternative to that, there's the 2010 version of Working Girls which I will not totally be pessimistic about because it is released by the Unitel/Unico productions which generally produces the better tagalog movies. But then again, they also screw up sometimes (An example of that screw-up was the movie Pinoy Blonde).

Boy Abunda to produce O'Hara's "Ang Paglilitis ni Bonifacio" & the Project is a Go

Almost a month ago, there was news that the indie project of Mario O'Hara entitled "Ang Paglilitis ni Bonifacio" (The Trial of Bonifacio) was in danger of not getting produced. [go to the previous article about this]

Now there is good news because the project will probably get made after all. Thanks to its new producers. According to the Philippine Entertainment Portal, Boy Abunda will be co-producing the film, along with his friend Mike Sicat. In addition, Abunda in an interview with PEP adds "...at baka tawagan ko si Boy So" which means that there will be another co-producer for the film. It is noted that Abunda along with Boy So together produced the indie film by Jon Red and stars Robin Padilla entitled "Astig" which won Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Editing, & Best Sound.

"Ang Paglilitis ni Bonifacio" is going to be O'Hara's entry to the (Open Category) 2010 Cinemalaya Film Festival which will be held on July 9 to 18, 2010 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

SOURCE: Philippine Entertainment Portal

After Five Weeks, the successful HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON flies back to NUMBER ONE on the U.S. Box Office!

With regards to movies, one of my already biggest mistakes for this year was that I missed watching HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON on 3-D theaters. Not only was it shown in Iloilo City almost a week in advance of international release, but it is looking to be one of the best reviewed movies of this year so far. This movie has scored a whopping 98% on the rotten tomatoes website (which is a site that gathers a movie critic consensus that determines what is the majority, in terms of respected critics around the globe, rating for a certain movie). It has been said that the movie really utilized the 3-D part of the movie, reviewers often site the experience which literally feels like a roller coaster because of sequences where the characters are flying and that this experience is really shared with its audience; you feel like you're also flying too. [Actually, I sure do hope SM City would show HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON on 3-D again, but I think that's a difficult request I guess]

Another proof of how good HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON is, is that this movie which was released March 26 has gone back up to the number ONE spot in the U.S. Box Office. An unbelievable feat for a movie that has already had its five week run. Here is the report from the Rotten Tomatoes Website:

This weekend, with Hollywood dumping its weakest films into theaters, moviegoers understandably stayed away from the multiplexes as the North American box office slumped to its lowest level of the year. New releases The Back-up Plan and The Losers  generated unimpressive results allowing the five-week old 3D cartoon How to Train Your Dragon to reclaim the number one spot thanks to its continued durability. For the first time all year the top ten films failed to gross at least $90M.

After coming within a hair of nabbing the box office crown last weekend, How To Train Your Dragon won a decisive victory this time grossing an estimated $15M in its fifth weekend for another slim decline of only 24%. The DreamWorks blockbuster has now amassed a fantastic $178M and should bust through the $200M mark the same weekend as when Paramount stablemate Iron Man 2 arrives to kick off the summer movie season. The Viking toon is still on course to finish its run in the neighborhood of $225M which would be more than five times its opening weekend take thanks to amazing legs.

Next James Bond movie Delayed Indefinitely

Bond 23 Delayed Indefinitely
Source: EON Productions
[April 19, 2010]

007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of EON Productions, today announced they have suspended development on the next James Bond film previously scheduled for release 2011/2012.

"Due to the continuing uncertainty surrounding the future of MGM and the failure to close a sale of the studio, we have suspended development on 'Bond 23' indefinitely. We do not know when development will resume and do not have a date for the release of 'Bond 23,'" stated Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli jointly.

EON Productions have produced twenty two James Bond films since 1962. In 1995, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli took over the 007 franchise from Albert R 'Cubby' Broccoli and are responsible for producing some of the most successful James Bond films ever, including Casino Royale and more recently Quantum of Solace. The James Bond franchise is one of the longest running in film history. EON Productions and Danjaq LLC are affiliate companies and control all worldwide merchandising for James Bond.

Joss Whedon will direct & rewrite Marvel's THE AVENGERS; also do rewrites on the CAPTAIN AMERICA script [updated]

Marvel Studios is in final negotiations for Buffy the Vampire Slayer series architect Joss Whedon to direct Marvel Studios' The Avengers. That's the fast-tracked film that would amount to an all-star team of Marvel superheros, including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), as well as SHIELD leader Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), among other characters.

Iron Man 2 gets released in May, Captain America will begin shooting this summer in Europe, Thor is in production, and Marvel Studios just set Pete Sollett to direct Runaways, based on the comic book series created by Lost writer Brian K. Vaughan. Marvel has considered all of the individual superhero movies to be an intro to The Avengers.

Whedon is a genius when it comes to character development in the action-adventure-sci-fi-fantasy genre. He has created the universe of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly, a universe of unforgettably cool characters. Those three series have garnered are really solid following. On the other hand, his one full length film SERENITY which is intended as a finale to the Firefly series was not very successful at the box office, but went on to become a cult classic, and was able to generate a sort of "second success" (a very big one) in DVD and Blue Ray home video.

When the third X-men movie (X-Men 3: the Last Stand) was still in pre-production, Whedon was one of the strong contenders to be chosen as director, especially because he has also been heavily involved in the world of comicbooks as a writer. In my opinion, if Whedon was the one chosen, the X-men franchise could possibly have been saved from the humiliating deterioration director Brett Ratner has caused it.

Whedon's expertise in dealing with character development and balancing it with sci-fi fantasy type action, added with his knowledge in the Marvel comics universe, makes him the perfect choice to be director of The Avengers. The AVENGERS is set to be released in the first weekend of May, 2012.

UPDATE: Whedon will rewrite AVENGERS & CAPTAIN AMERICA script as well
source: filmschoolrejects.com

Per Pajiba, Whedon’s deal with Marvel looks to encompass a bit more than just directing The Avengers. It was already assumed that he’d be rewriting the script originally penned by Zak Penn, but Pajiba’s source (henceforth known as Deepajiba) reports that Whedon will also be doing some work on the script for Captain America: The First Avenger. The current incarnation is credited to Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely whose previous work includes The Chronicles of Narnia series as well as the low-key black comedy You Kill Me. Those credentials promised a fairly middle of the road Captain America film, and director Joe Johnston at the helm doesn’t exactly raise expectations any higher. (How he continues to get work after The Wolfman I have no idea.)

So for those of us who see Whedon as a fairly brilliant writer this is terrific news. His directorial experience is far more limited and spotty so a wait-and-see approach seems best regarding the news of him actually directing The Avengers, but we should definitely be excited at the thought of him working on the screenplays for both films. His strengths have always been in the character and dialogue departments, and his contributions to both movies will probably serve to add humor, depth, and personality to characters big and small. And he’s already familiar with superhero-related stories thanks to a simultaneous career working in the comic field. He’s worked on several comic series, but the most notable and acclaimed would be his very popular run with Astonishing X-Men. Add in his many years with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Dollhouse, Angel… and the future is starting to look a lot better for Captain America and The Avengers.

Clash of the Titans (2010)

A Big Wild Clash... Just Not Immortal Enough
by Reymundo Salao

First off, I apologize for being late in my reviews; I have been on vacation last week. And I also have been too busy with other things as well. This week, there are two post-apocalyptic movies being shown which are definitely worth watching. One is THE ROAD, which I have not watched yet, but I definitely trust is a good movie. And the other is BOOK OF ELI, which I have seen and I loved it. I hope ELI would be extended this week because I have yet to release my review for it. But for now, let me present you with my review of the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans.

The film is a straight-up action movie; basically its the typical hero going through an identity crisis, trying to find out his purpose in life, that sort of storyline. After a while, you realize that the storyline is not really something the movie makes you conscious for; it seems obvious that it is only concerned with getting to the next evil monster to kill, almost in a purely video game style. The storyline presents you with a story of Perseus, trying to deny and renounce his place among the gods, yet aside from the few seconds of grief over the death of some important characters, we are not given enough time to comprehend how he really feels about why he continues to renounce his own privileges as a demigod (hopefully a longer cut with all the dramatic aspects present would be released on some kind of director's cut DVD someday). Obviously, the film's length is just enough to fill in all the action and eye candy required to make this a spectacular action-adventure movie that will satisfy its fantasy-craving audience. I am just glad that in its compactness and preference to focus on eye candy factors, it was still able to become a film that does NOT come off as totally idiotic.

It does not try to force itself to mix genres so as to widen its demographic; this means no annoying comic relief characters, and no needless romance. The bits of romance you get are mere seconds that pass oftentimes unnoticeably. And the slightest bit of comic relief never overdoes their little jokey moments. In fact, there really were no jokey moments that I can recall, just the natural amusing little moments with amusing side characters.

If you have watched the original 1981 Clash of the Titans movie, there are drastic changes in how it went by with its storyline and its characters. In the movie, the main opposing villain is Hades instead of Thetis, the identity of Calibos is altered, and the Io character was change also. But then again, both the new movie and the old movie are not very faithful to how Greek Mythology had written these characters. Everybody knows that Greek Mythology is far more dramatic than the simmered-down, audience friendly stories that Hollywood produces.

I really could not identify with all the hate towards this movie. Probably because I was aware that this was nothing more than just an eye candy movie. Leterrier is a visual director, action is his genre, and he excels well at it. He's not as impressive as Luc Besson or as avante garde as John Woo. But he gets the job done and oftentimes, his movies are good enough to impress and abundantly entertain me. He has now reached that Michael Bay popularity status, but the difference between him and Michael Bay is that Leterrier is not as dumb and lame as Bay (Bay tends to inject the dumbest humor and immaturely idiotic characters in his movies; Leterrier does not). I walked into Clash of the Titans, fully aware that I should not expect this to have some sort of dramatic or intellectual depth. What do you expect from a director who was chosen for the Hulk remake so that it could counter/replace Ang Lee's more dramatic version?

The only reason why I could not give it a great big praise is that it was not good enough to give justice to the original movie it is based on. The 1981 Clash of the Titans became a big fantasy movie of the 80's. It was iconic and is considered by many as a beloved classic. This new one, this remake, may have had been flashy and visually fantastic, but mere visuals would not make for a movie good enough to consider itself a remake of what already is a cinematic classic. To sum up, how would you enjoy this movie? Just enjoy the visuals and leave your brains at home.

In addition, I discourage you to watch this movie in 3-D, because this is the kind of movie that will make people hate 3-D cinema. Movies like Avatar or How to Train your Dragon are the kind of movies that will make you want to watch MORE of 3-D movies because these are movies that really shot in 3-D. "Clash.." was not shot in 3-D and just merely underwent 3-D conversion when AVATAR became a humongous hit, and made Clash's producers jump on the bandwagon. The 3-D conversion of Clash is lousy, dizzying, and makes its visual effects look lousy. You will be wasting your money on the 3-D version of this. Plus, many of you will be discouraged and will hate 3-D technology if you watch this. Watch it on 2-D instead.

Farewell Palito!

Veteran comedian Palito passed away Monday morning 9April 12, 2010). He was 76.

Palito, Reynaldo Hipolito in real life, died at 7:05 a.m. at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila after suffering complications from lung problems.

His son, Jhune, said his father was scheduled to undergo a CT scan in a nearby clinic along Taft Avenue in Manila.

A few minutes before they were to leave PGH, however, Jhune said Palito complained of severe pain. A few hours later, Palito was declared dead, the son said.

Palito was rushed to the Imus Family Hospital in Cavite last Tuesday after complaining of severe stomach pain.

Jhune sought the help of his father's celebrity friends, saying the family was in dire need of assistance to finance Palito’s hospitalization.

Palito’s friends immediately heeded Jhune’s appeal. The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office also pledged to help the veteran comedian.

“Marami nga pong nagpapaabot ng tulong kahit marami ring nagpapanggap,” informed Jhune.

In a text message, Palito’s youngest son, Kent, thanked all the people who helped and offered their prayers.

Palito’s remains will lie in state at Funeraria Floresco in Pedro Gil in Manila.

He is survived by his wife and 5 children.

Life after fame

Born on Sept. 4, 1934, Palito was best known for his comedy films “Ram-Buto” and “Jones Bone,” which were spoofs of Hollywood characters Rambo and James Bond.

He started his acting career in the 1960s. One of his early movies was “Pitong Zapata” in 1965.

In the beginning, he was cast in straight action films. But because of his thinness, he was groomed as a comedian. His corpse-like mien and zombie look, more often than not, landed him comedy-horror characters.

Life has never been the same for the Hipolitos when Palito became sickly.

After the Hipolitos sold their house in Pacita Complex in San Pedro, Laguna some 6 years ago, they moved to Imus, Cavite for a smaller place.

“Naghahanap pa rin po kaming mga magkakapatid ng trabaho. Pa-sideline-sideline lang po kami,” volunteered Jhune.

Except for his older brother Arvin, who still resides in Laguna, Jhune said his mother and siblings are staying in a low-cost housing subdivision in Cavite. -With a report from ANC.

SOURCE: Yahoo News