strange_antithesis Reviews

Desperadas (2007)

Comedy with wit and four desperate half-sisters

[8/10 · 5 January 2008]

When you talk of comedic movies in our country, you think of slapstick comedy, bumbling cops, Vic Sotto, Andrew E., comic hero spoofs, and of course, Dolphy. This formula has worked for years and the masses can't seem to get enough of this. This in mind, when the Metro Manila Film Festival comes, you will undoubtedly, find one or any of the mentioned to be an entry.

Desperadas is a great departure from that set-up. The story of four half-sisters struggling with their relationships may not sound inviting as it somewhat resembles Desperate Housewives, but this worked really well under the direction of Joel Lamangan.

I watched this movie with my cousin (when it finally came out) and neither of us were surprised when we saw that the seats weren't packed. I guess a lot of people didn't think this was any good. But, I mean, the writer was Roy C. Iglesias. Do they not know who that person was?

Anyway, as the story went, it was about four rich half-sisters and their problems between themselves and their romantic relationships. All with great careers save one; Patricia, the eldest, was the writer, Stephanie was a lawyer, Isabella was um... I'm not sure if she had any career as she's most seen partying most of the time, and the youngest, Courtney, was a swimsuit designer. Each actress portrayed their roles almost effortlessly; a special mention to Ruffa Gutierrez on this part. Even though Marian Rivera was a newcomer, she held her own, giving an astounding performance as Courtney.

Each sister had their own love woes: Patricia's husband felt inferior to his wife, Stephanie's marriage had no 'spark' in it anymore, Isabella was a single mom who doesn't want to get married, and Courtney's soon-to-be hubby suddenly converted into a Born Again Christian, which didn't suit well with her lifestyle.

All the actors performed really well here. Jay-R was a good actor (to my surprise) and so was Will Devaughn (so I guess he won't just be a model now, won't he?).

Despite the great acting, it's the script that i enjoyed most in the film. This was witty. This was fresh. This had a maid who knew the lines of Emily Dickinson, Gone with the Wind, and Parokya ni Edgar! I'm glad they didn't turn her into an Inday clone (search Inday's blog so you could have an idea).

I gave this movie an 8 for its (sort of) originality, approach in humor, cast, great direction, and decent acting. Please watch this film!

Moon Child (2003)

unexpected...

[9/10 · 5 March 2007]

...would probably be the best word to describe this film (in my opinion). besides one great heck of a fan service for fan girls (well, that was redundant~), it was the story that blew me away. hurray for Takahisa Zeze and Gackt! and i know some people will disagree with me on this one, but it wasn't any of the big three actors (the guys that played Sho, son, and Kei) that gave the best performance (for me, anyway). it was Taro Yamamoto, boy #5 from battle Royale!

don't get me wrong, i like Hyde, i worship his voice, but the problem was that some of his scenes came a little bit 'off', but i loved that scene where he danced with the dead guy's body killing the other guys. and Gackt wasn't at all that bad too, i preferred how his character was kind of aloof from the start. nothing much i can say about my background on lee-Hom Wang, i won't pretend to know him, but he carried his own weight with the star-studded cast.

this movie paved the way for one of the best collaborations I've ever heard, Orenji No Taiyou (forgive my spelling if it's wrong). while the complete song lasts about nine minutes, you wouldn't notice the length because you'd be enjoying hearing Gackt and Hyde together.

anyway, this movie is a must-see not only for the fans (huge fan base~) but for those who enjoy sci-fi, futuristic movies, Asian-style.

Speed Racer (1967–1968)

here he comes! here comes speed racer!!

[8/10 · 5 March 2007]

it would be a shame if one has yet to watch speed racer, be it dubbed or subbed (i prefer the dubbed version (which is rare) because it was funny...in a good way). what's great about speed racer is that you're never too old to watch it. go red and yellow!! i first saw this when i was around seven and enjoyed hearing the catchy opening. it disappeared for some time then i saw it again a couple of months ago (i'm 19). imagine the feeling of nostalgia surging in, singing "here he comes, here comes speed racer! he's a demon on wheels~~~" over and over again. anyway, the concept of the mach 5 spawned so many 'ultra-multi-function-special-cars' but none were able to surpass its genius in construction. the other cars just seemed too much. and it wasn't just the races or battling different bosses that made it interesting for me. it was racer-x's mystery persona and how the world of speed racer pretty much 'happened' to revolve around it. they did some tweaking to some story lines from the manga, but it all turned out pretty well. though i can't remember if the show actually revealed how racer-x looked like, in the manga, they did.

DOA: Dead or Alive (2006)

Fan Service

[6/10 · 3 February 2007]

I've been playing Dead or Alive since the Playstation release back in 1998 (I still do~~) and was shocked when I heard someone's gonna turn it into a movie. As a fan, the first thing, the major concern I had happens to be the actors playing the fighters. Not that it was a complete let down (especially since most of the attitudes of the characters in the game and movie were quite different), I had to anticipate it being (forgive the term) somewhat 'Americanized'. But ah, well. That's how it was. Don't know if Tomonobu Itagaki liked seeing Hayate not so often in the film, though (Hayate WAS modeled after him, the DOA creator). So when it was released, I avoided watching it, until now.

Corey Yuen did an amazing job directing this one. The choreography of the fight scenes were really good, but the script and the plot... those needed work. It was fun seeing Robin Shou and Collin Chou in this film. But props to Jaime Pressly for the amazing portrayal of Tina! She, in my opinion, stole the show from Devon Aoki.

But really, this is more of a fan service (in glorified kick-ass fights!) than a supposed movie in its own right. But it was better than most game adaptations and it was fun to watch.

One thing's certain- I didn't like the portrayal of Ayane.

Sukob (2006)

gawd awful...

[4/10 · 13 December 2006]

i would have given this movie a 1 out of 10 if it weren't for ms. Claudine Barretto's performance. and i will take this time to overlook that Kris Aquino's here. and... end.

i really AVOID watching Pinoy horror movies because stories lack originality and i really think that (some) writers don't give enough attention to the characters (and their progression) in their stories (redundant??). it was as if they 'pushed' the movie onwards when their storytelling stank. and my goodness, creative exhaustion led them to rip-off other movies. why?? why did this movie get a good review?? i wouldn't give it that much merit. the movie was KIND OF scary, but the movie seemed more freaky as it deals with Filipino folklore... it goes into my list of 'most likely to happen' category. i just wished they spent more time improving the story lines and fix those flash back sequences, never mind if the lighting sucked, it wouldn't matter much if the content would blow you away.. SAYANG.

Txt (2006)

screwy ending

[6/10 · 10 December 2006]

why does this movie remind me of one missed call?? oh yeah, the moving mms part. and pretty much everything else.

BUT! for a Filipino horror movie, it was above average. finally, something different. most Filipino horror movies include abandoned houses, lost travelers, vases... you get the picture. and the movie seems timely, what with the Philippines being the so-called 'texting capital of the world' rage, but it won't be enough to scare the pants off of people. still, i liked it, it was definitely better than what? sukob... then again, maybe it's because i don't see Kris Aquino as an actress. but, *hooray!* for Angel Locsin on this one.

although... TXT isn't really the kind of movie you'd pay to watch again. there wasn't really any 'scare factor', more of a 'surprise factor' that creeps up to you when you least expect it.

BUT! again, why did they botch the ending?? it made me laugh so friggin' hard, i forgot i was watching a horror movie!

...then again, there would always be part in horror movies that make me laugh. O_o