The Amazing Spider-man

Not-So-Amazing
by Reymundo Salao

The Amazing Spider-man is designed to be a reboot of the Spider-man franchise, to erase off and disregard the previous one. This should have been probably be expected to be a better take on the Spider-man franchise. Unfortunately, it's barely good, just a tiny bit above satisfactory. No; it's not a bad movie... It was just not good enough.

The movie has a vast playing field for nitpickers picking on little negative details of the movie; such as the lack of real motivation on the villain's part, or something as insignificant as Peter's distracting hair looking like a birdnest helmet. But aside from nitpicks, the film has several serious flaws.

The CABIN in the WOODS

The Horror Movie to End all Horror Movies
by Reymundo Salao

Last Wednesday, we watched THE CABIN IN THE WOODS. The very next day; Thursday, we immediately went back to Robinson's cinema and watched it again, dragging friends along who were eager with curiosity. They went out as pleased as we were. Yes, this movie is THAT good; it's something that is almost THE perfect fun horror movie experience. So far this year, there was only one other movie that gave me a knee-jerk reaction of "hey let's watch this movie again" and that movie was THE AVENGERS...whic is actually interesting, because that movie was directed by Joss Whedon. And Joss Whedon is also the writer and the main producer of THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, produced under Whedon's production outfit: Mutant Enemy. This certainly is Joss Whedon's year. Its director is Drew Goddard who directed Cloverfield. With Goddard's groundbreaking treatment of suspense plus Joss Whedon's creativity, you can expect something that will indeed be a movie that will get you talking about it.
[read the full review after the jump]

PROMETHEUS

PROMETHEUS IS BOTH CURIOUSLY THOUGHT-PROVOKING AND IMMENSELY THRILLING
by Reymundo Salao

First let me tell you right off from this point that this review will contain few minor spoilers at the end part of this article, so it would make sense to tell you now my verdict for PROMETHEUS, which really was a great movie; two thumbs up, I recommend it for those who love smart intellectual sci-fi movies AND lovers of sci-fi horror at the same time. There have only been a very few horror/suspense movies out there that have that capacity to really make their audiences scream in thrill. This movie had made me scream and shout at the movie's intense horror moments; it's something that not many movies can do anymore. I recommend this movie as a great watch with a crowd of friends that can scream with you inside the theaters in the horror moments, but can also shut up during the intellectual dialogues.

Men in Black 3

Back in Awesome Black
by Reymundo Salao

You might think that the Men in Black franchise is overdue for a sequel. Actually, it was rather nice that they made people forget for a while that this franchise ever existed. The last one (the part 2) was bombarded by negative critics as a mere remake of the first movie. This new movie felt fresh because you have not seen these heroes for, actually, a decade.

Although there are so many similarities to the previous movies, and yes, in a pessimistic way of seeing it, one can say that this has so many things that have been repeated from the previous MIB films (such as the progression of the action sequences, gadget gimmicks), the very core of its main plot is refreshingly a different one from part 1 and 2; it's a time travel movie, and we get to see Agent K in his younger version, played by Josh Brolin.

The AVENGERS (2012)

THE AVENGERS IS BETTER THAN SEX
by Reymundo Salao

When we talk about superhero movies, the finest ones that come to mind are the ones that have been taking the superhero concept seriously; the ones that have been open-minded enough to takes such concepts and use serious cinematic styles upon them. Movies like Spider-man 2, and the first two X-men movies have taken superheroes as real people, that is why they have been really great superhero adaptations. But I think cinema in general has already gone past the maturity and open-mindedness to take superheroes seriously. It is time to do way much better than just merely making superheroes realistic. Chris Nolan’s The Dark Knight has always been the best superhero movie. It succeeds not only in the sense of being a superhero movie, but succeeds in being one of the finest movies ever made in Hollywood cinema. The degree of Dark Knight is very much off the scales, that I cannot imagine if any movie can even stand equal to it. Not until The Avengers.

Battleship

BATTLESHIP: Hilariously Stupid & Excruciatingly Corny
by Reymundo Salao

I have two descriptions for this movie; it feels like either or both; (A) a really bad tagalog movie; or (B) a cartoon for children with undeveloped minds. The stupidity amused me for a while, but when I realize that I actually wasted money on this awful movie, it just got purely depressing.

BATTLESHIP is actually a movie based on the naval war strategy board game. Many were surprised that the movie version of this game suddenly looks like an alien invasion action movie. It can be easily assumed that the producers of this piece of crap wanted to market a movie utilizing the same appeal the Transformers movies have; make it flashy and stupid. Sadly, it has become a winning formula these days. While this movie is also designed to entice viewers to be interested in the Battleship game once again; what it actually did was it just made me lose interest in it.

I thought Transformers 2 and 3 were the two dumbest big movies I’ve ever seen. I was not too surprised that BATTLESHIP was dumber. Peter Berg has a decent filmography; he did Friday Night Lights, Hancock, The Rundown, and The Kingdom. What the f%ck happened to him on this movie?! Did he just turn idiotic overnight? In this new movie, Berg seemed like he was channeling Michael Bay’s style. In fact, the entire movie felt like a Michael Bay movie; the really poor character development, the lousy dialogues, the awfully corny dramatic elements, the flashy but unoriginal visuals; and the inappropriate and insulting jokes. Idiots would really love it.[MORE AFTER THE JUMP]

Wrath of the Titans

Wrath of the Titans is Spectacularly Epic!
by Reymundo Salao

WRATH OF THE TITANS is the sequel to the 2010 movie Clash of the Titans. In this movie, the gods and goddesses of Olympus are dying and losing their power, while Titans that have long been imprisoned are about to rise and have their revenge against the gods and goddesses, and unleash their chaos against mankind. Perseus must travel deep into Tartarus to save his father, and stop the wrath of the titans.

The 2010 movie Clash of the Titans was battered by critics so much that there was really a conscious effort to make the sequel far more impressive than just better. And this movie did indeed meet those expectations. Great story, impressive action, and jaw-dropping visuals; WRATH OF THE TITANS is enjoyably epic.

The Hunger Games

THE HUNGER GAMES was Okay
by Reymundo Salao

In the dystopian future, the civilization known as Panem has lived long after war, disaster and the ravaged ruins of what was known as America. In the aftermath of the Civil War which sought to rebel against the tyrannical government, the defeated rebels were divided into several districts. And as punishment for their rebellion, every year, one boy and one girl both between the ages of 12 to 18 shall be chosen from each district and to compete in a contest where they must kill each other and only one must be victorious, a ruthless reminder that no one can oppose the authority of the Capitol. This contest is known as The Hunger Games.

The strong anticipation for the movie paid off, certainly with a strong entrance at the US box office, and critical response which was equally high also. The movie was indeed a fine movie, but after a while in reviewing it, I felt that it could have been a far more stronger movie. It was a good movie, but it did not really leave an impression upon me; and it was a bit forgettable.