Wow, my score in the Speed Racer flash game bagged us tickets for the advanced screening tomorrow night! I didn't think I'd make it to the top ten but I somehow did... anyways hubby and son will surely be thrilled. Ken also played and his score made the cut as well, so our whole family can watch! :D

   We watched the press screening of the Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus 3D Concert at D-Cinema of The Block last night. Nikki Gil hosted the event and there were a lot of media people and little girls among the audience. Since it was by invitation, we were spared from the long line of people trying to get tickets for the next show(s) and were able to get decent seats without much trouble. There were ABS-CBN event marshalls all around to ensure safety and order. We won our tickets from a recent promo SM Cinema had.

   We were handed 3D glasses and some sponsor freebies (keychain, memo pads, playing cards, etc) as we went in the cinema. It was our first time to watch a 3D movie in the Philippines. They also gave away some Hannah/Miley CDs before the show but unfortunately we didn't win any. I was impressed because the show started at exactly 7:30pm, just like the ticket said.

   The 3D movie was very clear, it was as if Hannah/Miley was actually performing live in front of you. Keirra even reached out to try and grab the confetti that was being scattered throughout her concert, since they were practically popping out of the screen. This is the first time Kei has ever been transfixed on a movie, the last time I brought her to the advanced screening of Surf's Up she kept standing up, walking around, and talking. This time she was glued to her seat and silent, singing and dancing a little in her chair as the concert went on. I guess this is even better than watching the concert live since you get an extremely clear view of the performer.

   Tickets are being sold for P350 each, which is a good deal considering they sold it for US$15 each in the US last February. It's a one week long engagement starting April 30. If your kid is a Hannah/Miley fan like Keirra is, he/she will really enjoy this.

   Johnny Depp may not have won an Oscar for Sweeney Todd but these movie premiums are winners, hands down. I've um... acquired many movie t-shirts (and other merchandise hehe) in the last two and a half years and this Sweeney Todd shirt is really the coolest one ever. It looks wrinkled and sort of a bit acid-washed but that is the desired distressed effect. The fabric is so lightweight and cool. Hubby is ever so lucky he's the one who's going to get to wear this. The baseball cap is okay, it's just like every other movie baseball cap I've ever gotten...  

   Next up is this Sweeney Todd pewter barber's razor. Even hubby was pretty amazed by this one. Utter coolness!!! It's about as cool as the Vendetta mask I won from a movie review contest back in 2006.

   And then there are these Sweeney Todd plastic card holders. I don't know what they're for but they're cool anyway, haha.

   So cool I just had to blog about it...

   Watched the advanced screening of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford with some friends last night. This is not in any way a movie review. I just want to complain about the excruciatingly slow pacing and the length (2.5 hrs!) of the film. While Jesse James' life and death is potentially interesting, this movie just drags. Everyone just seems to want to move and talk in slow motion for some reason. The old west lingo takes some getting used to as well.

   Yes, it has received critical acclaim yadda yadda. And no, I don't recommend it.

   At least the cinematography was lovely...

Start:	Feb 7, '08
End:	Feb 11, '08
Location:	Power Plant Mall, Rockwell

First 100 Skycable subscribers to call 6310000 will get a pair of advanced screening tickets to Jumper. The screening will be at 7:30pm, Power Plant Mall on Feb. 12, 2008.

Start:	Nov 14, '07
End:	Nov 19, '07
Location:	Rockwell Power Plant Cinema

First 100 Skycable subscribers to call 6310000 can reserve two (2) free advanced screening tickets to "Hitman", to be held on Nov. 20 at the Rockwell Power Plant Cinema. Movie starts at 7:30pm.

*Not valid for CAMANAVA and Rizal subscribers.

Start:	Oct 24, '07
End:	Oct 31, '07

Skycable subscribers in good standing can call 6310000 to reserve a pair of advanced screening tickets to the movie "The Game Plan", showing on the evening of Nov. 5, 2007 at Glorietta (hehe).

***My mistake, I got our tickets and the movie will be shown at Greenbelt 3 Cinema 2.

   You're probably wondering why this isn't in the Reviews portion of my blog. Well, this isn't really a review, more like a collection of random thoughts on High School Musical 2.

   Last night HSM2 premiered on the Disney Channel, much to my two children's delight. As expected they were glued to the screen from start to finish, and I watched with them. Having seen the first HSM more than a hundred times on TV and DVD, we've pretty much memorized every song and scene. Comparison is inevitable.

   Just a few of HSM2's plus and minus points:

   1. Zac Efron's dark hair color. Definitely a minus, he looked a lot better blonde.
   2. Zac Efron singing all his songs. Plus... I guess. Drew Seeley's (HSM's "Troy" singing voice) voice sounds and blends better with Vanessa Hudgens' voice but we've got to give Zac credit for a good performance which should lay doubts on his singing ability to rest.
   3. The songs are a minus. HSM's songs are catchier, in fact the only two songs I remember from HSM2 are "What Time Is It" and "You Are The Music in Me", whereas HSM had us singing most of the songs after one viewing. The production numbers are a lot more colorful though.
   4. The plot can either be a plus or a minus. If you're a lovestruck teeny bopper you'll love the romance-oriented story, if not you probably won't care much for it. It's basically all about Sharpay trying to take Troy away from Gabriella, period. Personally I don't feel rewatching this installment multiple times, I don't know about the kids.
   5. Lucas Grabeel's character Ryan finally gets his own... character! Definitely a plus, he has evolved into something more than Sharpay's (Ashley Tisdale) sidekick, and most deservedly so!

   Excuse me while I see if the R1 DVD has already been released... XD

Start:	Aug 2, '07
End:	Aug 10, '07

Are you a Skycable subscriber? First 100 people to call 631-0000 and reserve will get two free tickets to the advanced screening of Surf's Up at SM Megamall.

Offer is not valid for Rizal / CAMANAVA (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela) subscribers.

Initially set in 1969, Zodiac is the story of a feared serial killer who took the lives of numerous victims. Jake Gyllenhal plays Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle. When a mysterious letter containing a cipher is sent to the chronicle, Graysmith is immediately intrigued and wastes no time solving the puzzle. Robert Downey Jr. plays the Chronicle's crime reporter Paul Avery, who is assigned to cover the killer known only as "Zodiac", while Mark Ruffalo plays Inspector David Toschi, the SFPD detective in charge of the Zodiac investigation. Bent on identifying and catching Zodiac, these three men spend the next several years following various leads, tips, and clues that seem to point to the Zodiac killer. Graysmith eventually becomes obssessed with Zodiac and continues the investigation on his own well after the police have given up.

While the acting was pretty good and the story premise had potential, Zodiac's main problem is the pacing. The film starts in 1969 and ends in 1991, but the whole story progresses in way too many installments of days, weeks, and months. It's like 3 days later, then 4 weeks later, then 2 months later... it was dragging, and it's like that from 1969 to 1991. It gets even more frustrating because you know from the start that Zodiac is never caught nor convicted. I'm sorry but I don't know why anyone would like to go through all this trouble to expound on every single detail of a case that was never solved. It's like kicking a dead horse.

Zodiac is not a bad movie. It didn't put me to sleep or anything, but it did tire me out. I felt drained after going through two and a half hours of an all-out effort to find and identify Zodiac only to bump into one dead end after another. I'm like, why even bother?

   Last night my hubby and I watched the advanced screening of Lucky You at Glorietta 4 presented by ETC (thanks to my sis-in-law who gave us the tickets she won). Surprise surprise, it was hosted by Sam Oh (see pic on the left)! Anyways Sam asked for volunteers for a surprise game sponsored by Energizer batteries. I wanted to volunteer but Sam said she needed pairs! I tried to get my hubby to join but he wasn't willing to. Anyways partner or no I stood up and Sam said "Where's your partner?" and I pointed to my hubby. Sam called out my hubby and he had no choice but to stand up and accompany me to the stage.

   The game was "one-legged embrace" and three pairs were going to compete. It's much harder than it seemed and so hubby and I didn't win. We each got ETC gift packs containing a custom ETC mini-tee by Mossimo (very cute, with butterflies and flowers!) and a vial of custom ETC cologne spritz as consolation prizes. I think my little girl will end up wearing the mini-tees when she's a little bigger.

I was pretty much stumped after watching Lucky You. While it is along the lines of the typical light and romantic Drew Barrymore movie we've grown accustomed to, the usual humor is absent.

Drew plays a budding lounge singer named Billie opposite Eric Bana's highly skilled poker player Huck. Billie is your old-fashioned goody-two-shoes country girl while Huck is a hustling poker addict with commitment issues. They meet and fall in love.

Eric Bana is cute in that refreshing and very unsaturated sort of way (for saturated think Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, etc.) but there's really not much chemistry between him and Drew Barrymore. I didn't feel any thrill nor anticipation for their love story. Then there's this weird one-time appearance by Robert Downey Jr. as Eric Bana's friend. It was like... d-uh? I'm sorry but I just could not for the life of me make heads or tails of that. The most exciting thing about the whole movie was the poker tournament. I actually felt some sort of anxiety as cards were dealt and bets were made.

Lucky You is not made to be funny, so it's not a comedy... but since it's on the light side it can't be categorized as a drama either. In short, the plot is stuck in limbo with no impact whatsoever, and all the movie succeeded in doing was making me want to troop to the nearest casino to play some poker.

Even if I can't quite find enough words to describe how flat Lucky You is, it really wasn't so bad for me. If you're totally clueless about poker however, you might end up bored.

It's a no-brainer that the stars of the show in Spiderman 3 are the action and the special effects. The opening sequences immediately pit Peter Parker with his ex-bestfriend Harry a.k.a. New Goblin. It's an enthralling fight as the New Goblin is much more agile, aggressive, and angry compared to his father the old Goblin. Peter Parker nearly gets beaten to a pulp up until New Goblin hits his head on a pipe. He awakens in a hospital with no memory of his Goblin-hood and reverts back to good ol' bestfriend Harry, much to Peter's relief.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Spiderman 3 is all about Peter Parker/Spiderman -- how he's handling being both Peter and Spiderman, his relationships, and his very morality. It doesn't help that this black gooey alien substance implants itself on Spidey's suit and amplifies the darker side of his personality. His desire to avenge Uncle Ben comes into play and for a time two Peter's and Spidey's are in operation -- the nice guy versions and the bad boy versions.

There are three villains in this installation -- New Goblin, Sandman, and Venom. Sandman came to be when escaped convict Flint Marko (I wonder how he's related to X-Men's Juggernaut, Cain Marko) got in the middle of a particle experiment with lots of sand, and Venom is the result of the black goo merging with Peter Parker's rival photographer Eddie Brock.

Anyways, the movie seemed overly long and my son actually complained about the length. Spiderman 3 tries to squeeze in as many story elements as it possibly can in 2 hours and 20 minutes, so the result is a rather defocused plot with underdeveloped characters. The much anticipated Gwen Stacy, who's supposed to be Mary Jane's rival, is really nothing more than set decoration. She doesn't even have any worthwhile dialogue.

What Spiderman 3 lacks in plot and characterization, it makes up for in action and special effects. The fighting has never been more intense and it makes Spiderman 1 and 2 seem very tame in comparison. I particularly liked how they fleshed out Venom, he looked exactly the way he did in the comics with that big smiley mouth and sharp teeth! The Sandman effects were pretty cool too. My favorite character in this film has to be New Goblin though. I won't say why as not to spoil it.

Spiderman 3 is an entertaining visual feast that's somewhat loosely woven, but provides some semblance of closure so you won't exactly be gritting your teeth in frustration after it ends. I should really be giving this only three stars but hey, the positives still overpower the negatives and so I'm giving it a four-star rating all the same.

Start:	Apr 22, '07
Location:	SM Cinemas everywhere

SM Cinemas everywhere are going to show "An Inconvenient Truth" for free. Visit the SM Cinema website for details -- http://www.smcinema.com/reelbuzz.aspx?num=0&level=4&cat=10

    In the Philippine Star's entertainment section is a column entitled "My Favorite Movie". It started some time last year and entertainment editor Ricky Lo was soliciting movie reviews from readers back then. There were submission mechanics and all, plus the promise of payment for published articles.

   Anyways for the last quarter of 2006, Ricky Lo said he was accepting only Filipino filmfest movie reviews from any given year since it was Manila Filmfest season. I'm not really big on Filipino movies and so I decided to wait until January before I submitted my review for "The Devil Wears Prada".

   Surprise surprise, my review got published today -- April 19, 2007!!! Wheee! I'll scan it tonight and post it sometime later.

   I just have this obsession of proving to myself again and again that I can write...

   Update: My article can also be found at Philippine Star's website - http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200704191704.htm

I'm probably not a good gauge to see how scary a horror movie is. I don't scare -- I actually watched the Japanese version of The Ring (Ringu) alone in the dark.

The Reaping interested me as soon as I saw the trailer. Hilary Swank + biblical plagues should be equal to a worthwhile movie experience. I happen to have a lot of respect for Hilary Swank, after The Next Karate Kid she has moved on to be one of the best actresses in Hollywood with two Oscars under her belt. She's not beautiful (in fact I think she looks rather mannish) but she has a lot of character and she carries herself extremely well.

Hilary Swank plays a Christian missionary who lost her faith after her husband and daughter are murdered by one of the very people they were ministering to. She takes on the job of dispelling various miraculous events all over the world, always providing a scientific explanation for these supposed phenomenon. She is approached by a man from a little town called Haven, claiming that the ten biblical plagues are starting to occur in their town. She goes there to investigate, and that is where the story begins.

Despite the negative early reviews of The Reaping, I enjoyed the movie. The plot did not unfold as smoothly as I would have liked, the characters in general lacked depth, and I didn't like the cliched "there may be a sequel" ending, but overall it did the job of entertaining me over the next 100 minutes very well -- albeit it did not scare me.

The good:

- Hilary Swank. This woman can carry any film.
- The interesting plot, even if not very polished, had a lot of potential and I liked the twist.
- The special effects.
- The creepy blonde little girl.

The not-so-good:

- Startling the audience a little too often with whatever comes to mind. I mean there's nothing wrong with a little jolt here and there but they do get a little over the top.
- Shallow characters.
- The tired and overused ending.

   I like movie premieres because...

   ...they're free.
   ...they're relatively uncrowded.
   ...they give away product samples.
   ...they have games and raffles.
   ...they let me review movies before everyone else (in Manila at least, heh).

   The only thing I don't like about them is you can't choose the time, date, and venue (they usually occur on Mondays and Tuesdays, sometimes weekends if it's a family flick) but that's a small price to pay for everything I do like about them...

   Just some thoughts since we just watched the Rocky Balboa premiere last night, which is officially free movie #3 for 2007. Let's see if I can beat my 2006 record of 21 free movies...

 

I barely remember Rocky I to V. In fact, the Mr. T is my only vivid memory of this franchise, and I can't even pinpoint which installment he appeared in.

Rocky Balboa starts off by showing us Rocky's retired life. He lives in a small apartment, does exercises, and manages the Italian eatery Adrian's, named after his deceased wife. It is never explained when or how she died, she's just well... dead. Rocky's life is depressing. He's somewhat estranged from his only son Robert Jr., he misses his wife terribly every single day, and he's entering mid-life crisis.

A computer-generated fight televised nationwide pits Rocky Balboa from the past against the current heavyweight champ Mason "The Line" Dixon. The computer predicts that if the Rocky back then could fight Mason now, Rocky would win. At about the same time Rocky applies for a boxing license because he feels he still has some fight left in him he has to unleash. This spurs some interest in the boxing circuit and pretty soon a licensed Rocky is on his way to fight an exhibition match with Mason Dixon.

The first half of the movie is dragging and sort of depressing. It generally gives us a portrait of what Rocky's retired life is like, but the film takes its sweet time in doing so that a number of folks in the theater actually walked out without watching the climactic fight. The moment Rocky starts training however, the adrenaline starts pumping and you can't help but stick around to see what's in store in the ring.

I must say Rocky and Mason Dixon's bout is worth every dragging minute of the first half. I don't even like boxing but believe you me I was glued to my seat and mesmerized, and I couldn't help but be awed by Rocky Balboa's character. It was a fight that I was not expecting Rocky to win (because that would just be plain unrealistic) but wow, did he ever go out in style -- and I can say that it's a very fitting end to the legacy that is Rocky.

WOW!!!