yernelg Reviews

Liberal Arts (2012)

Age and Growth

[9/10 · 27 December 2012]

exceptional landscaping both in scenes and sceneries, but what got me with this film is the story itself. not that it is good, which it indeed is, but because it somehow is a story that is needs to be told... to me personally and perhaps to several other souls wanting to cope with growth, youth, age, and all the issues, complications and residues that come with them.

the jessie character is simply refreshing and, as a centerpoint of the film, it shines through all the other elements in it with breathtaking hue and affection. although i have a completely different life story from what he has in the film, i found it so easy to identify and relate with the bits and pieces of emotions and ideas and wits that so beautifully decorated the film.

again, it is because of personal "feeling" why i am rating this film high but then i have a feeling i would not alone here.

Looper (2012)

Parenthood and Self-Sacrifice

[8/10 · 27 December 2012]

i always approach a film especially when it is classified as scifi with liberal suspension of disbelief. because it is only through that that i was able to appreciate such scifi gems as Stargate and Fifth Element and many other that were otherwise written off by these so-called critics.

Looper is one of those films that should be appreciated by its message more than its genre. it uses the science fiction medium, complete with action stunts and wonders, as an apt and well-sculpted vehicle to a very beautiful message of self-sacrifice and positive reinforcement parenthood. the film goes to extra length to make the story plausible and solid and the actors, including the 'rainmaker' child, did a marvelous job of pulling it off.

i've always believed that the soul of any film, even as i appreciate great plot twists and great special fx and great acting and direction (yeah, i said great too many times!), is the message and/or portrait it intends to get across. Looper made a kill for it.

The Bourne Legacy (2012)

Not A Good Title For A Spin off Franchise

[8/10 · 2 October 2012]

The title Legacy is understandable because it truly wants to emulate the original book trilogy storyline and everything it has achieved. at the same time it also hinges the story too much on the book's dynamics when it is actually playing different characters and thus different dynamics in the process. that is perhaps the tragedy of this initial salvo movie that is envisioned to continue the momentum of the Bourne movies and build it into a sustainable franchise like James bond or something.

however i beg to disagree that film is a complete failure. although it lacks the urgency and mystique that the Damon films have, it is mostly so because of the fact that it indeed it is a spin off. almost everybody that watched it is a Jason Bourne fan. Aaron cross is a completely different character whose nuances is definitely applied by the performance of Jeremy Renner and not Damon. whoever is expecting a duplication is utterly misplaced.

yes yes the suspect must be the story. the story struggles to connect this new take to the very successful trilogy. i think it did but far from perfecting it. the Edward Norton character as one critic rightfully pointed out should have been critical to making this story be far better that it was. instead, Norton played a character who tries to be consequential but comes short. if only they had something as edgy as Pamela Landy was in the Bourne trilogy.

so the film was imperfect. i don't know if Robert Loodlum had any hand in developing this story but whoever made this succeeds in laying down some ground work for future films to come out but fails to establish it enough to serve as a credible springboard. The good news is the next film would then have the maximum space it needs to work on a much better plot and more coherent use of characters within a storyline.

J. Edgar (2011)

Eastwood and DiCaprio at their A

[9/10 · 2 October 2012]

it is a very difficult film to make about a very difficult character to portray about a very difficult side of American history and psyche. and both director and actor delivers their stakes in the project to perfection. i don't see anyone else directing such a film. i've seen a few very good Eastwood films and i should say this story or i should say this complexity is tailor made to his style. on dicaprio, there are actors that can act this out and i've seen him do some of the tricks he did here but how he and the character meshed into an almost indistinct persona is truly beautiful to watch. and it is not just some persona. it is a true historical persona.

whatever awards they get out of this film surely would be well-deserved.

Prometheus (I) (2012)

Ambitious But Not Satisfying

[4/10 · 2 October 2012]

i love the whole concept of "understanding human origin"... i mean Contact was a personal classic and Mission to Mars was memorable. thus this film's beginning has got me all excited. But then as quickly as it ignites your curiosity, it dampens it quite fast with poorly conceived scenes and storytelling bits that serves nothing to keep the pace and excitement of the film. noomi rapace is nowhere as great as her character in Girl With Dragon Tattoo series and theron is just waiting to be great but held at just a so-so good. fastbender on the other hand got me interested enough to see how the end would look like.

for a ridley scott film, i certainly wished this did better to justify its publicity spending and budget size.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Something's not right

[7/10 · 23 August 2011]

i approached the film really wanting it to trash the 1990 garbage for good. and i left it almost not knowing what to say.

i like the story for the most part. but not the plot and, although i enjoy a few cheese sometimes, the script was just pelted with too much cliché'. i am someone who takes the dictum "suspension of disbelief" to heart but when an element subtracts to the integrity of a film instead of solidifying the piece, then something must be wrong.

i never liked the decision to put Chris Evans on the role, not because i doubt his ability to give justice to the role, but because he's already an icon to another marvel franchise as Human Torch in the Fantastic Four. If the Marvel Studio's vision of recreating the marvel universe in the big screen ever gets realized, then i think it would be a bit of a problem. but then that's just me.

and evans did the role justice, if only he had better direction and script to work on.

i enjoyed parts of the cheesiness of the script actually, but then when put in the context of making the film credible enough to open its own franchise and make it part of the prelaunching series for the Avengers film, it just is ridiculously unhelpful. by opting for a script that gratifies guts more than imagination, marvel risks the viewability of its next set of films, even the whole marvel film universe idea itself.

let's just hope that the better half of The First Avenger will redeem itself in the box office in the long run. otherwise, joe johnstone and his team should be banned from marvel forever.

X: First Class (2011)

Definitely Not Bad... But Seriously Questionable!

[7/10 · 11 June 2011]

There are some accusations here of mafia reviews to pump up the films viewability. I won't exactly agree with that conspiracy theory but after watching the film I have to say it's worth something to look into it.

I'd leave the acting, plot, character development and other technical aspects of the film for other reviewers to debate. The most alarming, and for that matter, disappointing, aspect of the film for me is its story. Where in Marvel Universe have they pulled this one out?!

I have a copy of Marvel's compilation of synopsis of the first X-men series (i already forgot the exact title of the comics) once, and this certainly was nowhere in those pages. i researched other materials online for traces of where they got this version of the X-men origin and i couldn't find any. if they are trying to stage a prequel to the first X-men series, at least they should have kept that story in mind and create a storyline that will make the two add-up.

The real First Class was Marvel Girl a.k.a. Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast and Angel. they are the characters that shaped the early days of X-men. if they brave to create a story of X-men without Wolverine, they should have stick to the original material or at least give respect to it.

contrary to what the other reviews are saying, this take does not save the X-men franchise. it only succeeds in further entrenching the confusion and complications created by the first trilogy. it is far from being batman begins to batman.

Marvel Entertainment should reclaim rights to the X-men franchise and get Chris Nolan on board. Until then, i'm afraid I will continue to be disappointed by all these X-men outings that bastardizes instead of giving glory to one of the greatest comic book franchise of all time.