Movie Buff Strikes Back

It’s been a while since I last came up with a movie review, probably because there have been weeks when I couldn’t find time to watch the movies that were showing in the box-office for the mere fact that, well, I was super busy. No exaggerations. Good thing I was able to score some time off to spend at the big screen these past weeks, lazing away at the movies – something I’m very much fond of doing, next to photography, that is.

Valentine’s Day

A star-studded ensemble

I originally planned to watch another movie while in Melbourne, but since the girls wanted to watch Valentine’s Day, I decided to give it a go, plus it was my first movie experience in Oz. From the title itself, I was expecting an ultimate chick flick and loads of mushiness, and given the star-studded ensemble of the movie, I wasn’t expecting much as far as the story was concerned. That’s why it was kind of a surprise when I didn’t find the movie too girly at all, nor was it too mushy for my taste. (Trust me, I’ve had my share of the cheesiest and heavy mushiness in some movies I’ve seen so far, big screen or otherwise.) In fact, the movie has got this lively humour and an ensemble of characters which I’m sure most people – men and women – can readily relate to. (I know I did, I just won’t say which character was it. Haha!) It’s still a romantic movie, though; and most of the plot are way too old-school. (Think: guy-realizes-that-his-true-love-was-his-best-friend-all-along kind of thing.) The Taylor-Taylor team-up was a bonus for the female viewers and fans (like me), and the movie did have its memorable scenes. My favourite part? It’s gotta be Taylor Swift’s interview for a local tv news where her character in the movie the lashes out a not-so-Taylor-Swift act. ^_^

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

The next Harry Potter??? Hmmm...

This was one of the double-movie treat I’ve had with my parents two weeks ago. I was initially thinking that it would bore my dad to death, given the fact that the movie offers you a bunch of demi-god teenagers on a quest that takes them all the way to Zeus’, err, gods-only meeting in Olympus. Seriously, that is not my dad’s idea of an action flick. Turned out, he liked it and he was glued to the movie the whole time. Personally, I was surprised that I’d still catch the movie in Manila on its fourth week at the box office, and people are still lining up to watch it. Probably because the makers of the movie did a good job in giving the Greek mythology a modern twist, not to mention a few noteworthy veterans alongside newcomers in tinsel town. (Think: Uma Thurman playing snake-y Medusa and Pierce Brosnan as wise centaur Chiron)Now I’ve learned that it was actually based on a series of so-called Percy Jackson and the Olympians books, but I haven’t read any of them. But if they’re planning to come up with a movie series based on the books, the outcome of their first attempt looks promising enough for another round of sequels. And since the Harry Potter saga is coming to a close with the much-anticipated two-part finale, it’s a good idea to have a fresh set of movie series to look forward to.And yes, I might even take interest in picking up the Percy Jackson books pretty soon!

Alice In Wonderland

"Why is a raven like a writer's desk?" - Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter

Believe me when I say that throughout the course of my childhood, I’ve never really took much interest to read, much less to finish, the tales of Alice In Wonderland. I don’t know, but I guess the whole thing seemed bizarre to me as a kid, and even years since. The only reasons I had in watching this movie were: 1) I’m a huge Johnny Depp fan, and 2) the thought of watching in 3D again following Avatar seemed like a nice idea. I had to drag my parents into watching it, plus it’s their first 3D movie experience.

So how did I find the movie? Oh let me see… well, I can only assume that there were more than a hundred times when the Red Queen shouted “Off with her head!!!” throughout the movie; Anne Hathaway’s interpretation of the White Queen was too exaggerated for my taste; Alice was in dire need of a blush because her on-screen make-up made her looked like a ghost; and Johnny Depp, as usual, was divine where his acting was concerned. In short, there was very little for me to like in the movie, save for Johnny Depp and the whole 3D effects thingy. Other than that, I wouldn’t even bother watching it on video.