American Mormons (And Their Filipino Help)

I just got an email invite to purchase American Mormon from Excel Entertainment. I was pleasantly surprised (and a little amused) that Darin Tufts was the main dude in this straight to DVD release. Darin Tufts served a mission in the Philippines and was assigned in San Fernando, Pampanga, where I lived, for a few months. He was the junior Elder in our ward (our church unit) and knew very little tagalog. As a good missionary assistant, I took upon myself the task of getting this missionary familiar with his stomping grounds. I tracted (church talk for walking around and getting doors slammed on our face) with them on occasion and talked music and movies with him on a more regular basis.
Since this guy ate, drank and breathed movies, I figured this would be his true calling and would pursue it after his mission. Sure enough, I saw him as the geeky but spiritual best friend to the lead in The Singles Ward, another Mormon comedy.
Well good luck Darin, I hope you don't mind me name droppin' but a little more exposure won't hurt, right? (just UPS my copy of American Mormon, I'll email you my address...just kidding)

click here for the American Mormon website.

(Click here if you want to see a young missionary Darin and an unexplicably gay looking me.)

"Memoirs Of A Geisha" Trailer Up.

Wow! I just got hold of the first run of the Memoirs of a Geisha Trailer. And all I can say is. I am so ready for this.

I have to admit. It is a little unusual to see all these fine Asian actors (Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh, Gong Li) speak English in a pretty much Asian setting (parts were actually shot in sound studios in LA). Although it does seem like a winner so I'm putting may trust (and my P120) on Frank Marshall on this one.

"A geisha must be able to stop a man in his tracks with a single look". And, oh yes, she did make me stop doing what I was doing.

Click here for the trailer.

If you can't view it, go to Twitch

Props to Arsonist in the Twitch Forums for the links, I don't know you, man, but I love you...

Movie Review "The Longest Yard" (2005)

I have been an Adam Sandler fan for the longest time, but somehow I never really anticipated "The Longest Yard". Maybe his childish jackassery really doesn't appeal to me anymore. No, that's not it.
Ok, now I remember. He's no longer the same childish jackass we knew and loved.

This has been very obvious since Mr Deeds. He has long left 'the Billy Madison way' in favor of more viewer friendly characters. Incidentally, this has been proven good for him since people still queue in the theaters to see him kiss Drew Barrymore instead of getting beaten the crap out of by Bob Barker.

The Longest Yard, In case you don't know, is a remake of Burt Reynolds' 1974 original. Burt Reynolds is also in the cast, along with Chris Rock and a cast of very talented (William Fichtner,James Cromwell ), reasonably talented (Tracy Morgan,Nicholas Turturro) and extremely untalented (Nelly, Stone Cold Steve Austin) actors.
Paul Crewe (Adam Sandler) is a washed out NFL player who gets arrested and convicted for driving under the influence in his girlfriend's (Courtney Cox) Bentley, (which was reported stolen by the girlfriend). He gets convicted and is slated to serve 3 years in the Texas State Pen. Little does Crewe know that a special arrangement was made by the jail Warden Hazen (Cromwell) with the state to have Crewe in his prison for him to start a football team among the inmates fit enough to fight his guards, led by the sadistic Captain Knauer (Fichtner), who, themselves, are pretty popular in the semi-pro circuit. The movie is about Crewe along with the selected prisoners for the team overcoming trials and oppression brought about by the guards themselves in preventing them from becoming the great team they were to become.
Like the original (which I haven't seen, by the way) it is very gritty and testosterone charged. A lot of shaky cam effects in the main game climax scenes make some shots look Any Given Sunday outtakes. Chris Rock's character Caretaker was almost unnecessary and Rock does not provide sufficient sympathy points for you to care that he gets killed in a pivotal point in the movie (yes, I'm spoiling it. Don't worry, you wouldn't care).
However, there were some good one liners in it that will be echoed by kids in the near future and that's what Sandler's movie's are about. Good jokes, screw the story.
The Sandler fan in me recommends this movie, that's about it.



Rocketboy's Rating: ** (2 out of 5)

"2001: A Space Oddysey" Explained

Let me just say that I think that despite all the comments about Stanley Kubrick having the tendnecy to remake movies using his own vision independent of the source material, him being obsessive compulsive and just difficult to work with, I still think he was one of the best directors of all time. 2001: A Space Oddysey is probably my favorite movie of all time, and It also doesn't mean I understand it completely. The mystery and speculation surrounding this enigmatic masterpiece is legendary. Plus, it has the best special effects you can ever see in any film (considering the fact that it was first shown in 1968).
I came across a Flash site that attempts to explain the underlying interpretations of this confusing but beautiful film. Stanley Kubrick does not have the habit of explaining his works, which I believe is a very healthy practice. He allows his audience to interpret the movie as they see fit. I found the site to be very informative and very beneficial to my overall appreciation to the film. I even sent them an email with my opinions. To check ou this flash site click here to go to kubrick20001.com.

I advise you to see the movie first, that is if you haven't seen it yet.

Props to themovieblog.com

What is EMO?

We live in a generation where music has been classified into 'genres'. Throughout history, music has grown so diverse that it is impossible to keep all the albums in one stackpile and arrange them alphabetically. During my parents' generation there were only a handful of musical genres which included folk, rock, jazz, classical, and disco. The 80's introduced New Wave, Punk, Rap and Heavy Metal. The 90's gave us Alternative, Grunge, House and Trance without asking our permission. The new millenium has had the decency of crapping on us more musical genres like Chillout and NuMetal. Then I heard about EMO.
Usually, it was I who gets to answer questions from my friends about which band or singer belongs to which genre. I could usually slot each artist into its genre like Miller on the three-point range. But now, Im stumped with this EMO thing.
I once asked a workmate what EMO really is. And what constitutes this musical genre. He said that it was a genre that dealt more with content rather than style. The lyrics and melodies and chords are more melancholy and sullen, in other words "emotional" therefore, EMO. I stared at him like a dog through a glass window in bioresearch. Though I laud his very thourough and articulate description and definition of this enigmatic musical genre, I was never more confused in my life.

I used to openly proclaim that I hated EMO. Because my initial understanding of what EMO was is found in UrbanDictionary.com:

Punk music on estrogen. Often acoustic guitar with soft, high male vocals that dwell exessively on the singer's feelings, especially melancholy remembrances of past relationships/mistakes in life. A form of music that diverged from punk in the '80s, the name "emo" is derived from the emotive style of the lyrics and music. This genre has lately been marketed heavily by the music industry to teenagers with bands such as Dashboard Confessional and Taking Back Sunday, and has seen much commercial and mainstream success. The music has also spawned a subculture which conforms to certain conventions in dress such as tight sweatshirts, tight band T-shirts and horn-rim glasses. Adherents profess to exessively melancholy temperments.

These are the kind of bands I was referring to in one of my earlier blog entries, Our Generation. This refers to people with no 'real' problems and just hate everything for no reason. My mom and dad refer to this as noise (but they're into The Beatles and a lot of early rock). I later learned it as EMO.

Then again, if my friend was right, EMO would also include bands like Incubus, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, heck, even Simon and Garfunkel would be classified as EMO.

Another great definition:

"Like a Goth, only much less dark and much more Harry Potter".

My favorite definiton of EMO is this:

EMO = (e-mo); Emu spelled incorrectly.

i.e. "That emo sure is fast!"

Mr. Fastfinger

I recently brought my electric guitar here to Manila and have been practicing some cool riffs. After a tough day at the office,its nice to be able to rock your socks off.

Some weeks ago, I found Mr. Fastfinger. A few days later, the link was posted on Steve Vai's website. If your'e into shredding and would like to practice fast licks and guitar tricks in front of your computer, go give it a visit.

Movie Review: "Mga Pusang Gala" (2005)

Local independent cinema is undergoing a rennaisance. Since the advent of the digital video camera, Every kid with a computer and a DV cam is starting to produce and shoot their own movies. Now all we need to do is sort out the bad ones and watch the inspired, well produced ones..

Recently, local movies have been earning dimes and quarters and sadly, there are no signs of improvement, while we quietly anticipate the new Harry Potter movie, they give us Enteng Kabisote 2. I can hardly contain my excitement.

Consquently, Filipino independent cinema remains the only faint glimmer of hope in a dying industry. I was willing to do my part. I was very, very hesitant at first. To be frank, gay-themed movies aren't exactly my cup of tea. I was extremely pleased that the gay element was kept to a minimal (the movie is PG-13) and was not a central part of the movie.

Boyet (Ricky Davao) is a pocketbook novelist with a thing for cats (the furry kind and the club-going, muscular-kind). Marta (Irma Adlawan) is and Ad exec with a boyfriend who's almost always never there. They're neighbors sharing a duplex. Boyet writes his noviels using Marta's loves and losses as an inspiration. Together they form a bizzarely symbiotic relationship as they seek that which is most important in life, this crazy thing called love.

Mga Pusang Gala is an excellent story based on the play Mga Estrangero at Ang Gabi by Jun Lana (I was later told by my very informed friends that the movie was based on an original play by Jun Lana entitled Libog at Kabilugan ng Buwan). Ellen Ongkeko Marfil, the film's director had the wise judgement of not deviating from the theater-like feel of the story. Most of the story takes place in the duplex compound (which is very practical, given the story). The camera work is pretty standard at the beginning and middle parts but takes a surreal David Lynch-esque turn upon the end of the movie and paves the way to a surprisingly effective ending.

Irma Adlawan definitely shines in this one. Her experience in the stage definitely reflected on her performance. Her delivery of her English dialogue brought a hint of sophistication to the budgeted production. I can say that it is one of the better deliveries of English dialogue I've seen in recent movies. It's amazzing that most of the time, even the Caucasian actors in Philippine movies dont deliver their English lines very well either. Well, they get crappy lines in the first place, anyway.

The production values are understandably below par. The ad agency looks more like a P3,500 a month condo unit furnished with an iMac and some chairs. Shoot permits in Ortigas and Makati are pretty expensive. However, as the movie went by, it just got better and better, soon you focus more on the story. Yes, you get distracted now and then by some of the cheap fantasy effects (like the one with the rosebushes representing the boyfriends Steve and Dom), but soon you get engrossed with how the story will end up, you forget about it.

Mga Pusang Gala is a rare gem in a box full of rocks, a rough gem at that, but rare. I have a double standard for Filipino Movies so here's my rating...

Rocketboy's rating **** (4 out of 5)

Movie Review: "A Bittersweet Life" (2005)

The Korean Wave has brought about a lot of really great movies from great Korean filmmakers. Since 2000 and the release of Shiri and My Sassy Girl, Korean filmmakers have proven to the rest of the world that they can cut it as good as, and in most cases, better than their Hollywood counterparts. Kim Jee-woon (The Foul King, The Quiet Family) has had another movie released here in the Philippines, A Tale of Two Sisters, to rave reviews. Cinemanila will also be releasing his follow up to the critically-acclaimed horror-drama, a gangster flick called A Bitttersweet Life.

Sun Woo (Lee Byung Heon) is a thug. A minion to one of the most powerful gang-lords in Seoul. In true acchilean fashion, he is invincible in a fistfight and can take any blow trown at him. He is ordered by his boss to watch over one of his young girlfriends (Shin Min Ah) to see if she is cheating on him, and 'get rid' of her if in case she does. The movie plays like a Greek tragedy, with Sun Woo as the Achilles type character. Stoic, emotionless and efficient. Soon his coolness and precision start to fade when he meets Min Ah. He catches the girl with a younger man in her house and, as ordered, was supposed to wipe them out, but can't.

The flow of the story is kind of 'pay attention or you'll miss it'. Like '...Two Sisters', you are not prepared for the next plot development because the director will not give you any hints or clues. He'll just hit you with it without warning. Darcy Paquet of Koreanfilm.org was quick to point out that this film will be compared to OldBoy 'countless times'. And it's true, you can't help it. The sweet nihilistic buzz of vengeance is always present in key parts and even in the quiet lulls of the film.

One notable element in the movie that I really enjoyed, although superficial, is the inclusion of Filipinos in the cast. There is a scene where Sun Woo buys water in a 7-11 type store where you see a group of three thugs eating noodles chatting in the foreground. "Ang hirap dito, no?", "Pinahihirapan tayo", "Saka yung pagkain...ang anghang!". In the final scene, an all out gunfight involving the said Filipino thugs would seem like an unintentional homage to campy Philippine action movies. Bear in mind that gunfights in Korean movies are a rarity because of the strict gun ban (yes, even for gangsters) and makes guns unavailable for civilian use.

A Bittersweet Life will be shown in Cinemanila on the first week of October.

Rocketboy's rating: *** (3 out of 5)

Essay: My Rant For The Week...

I just ran through the list of nominees for the upcoming Metro Manila Filmfest which just got released a few weeks ago in the Manila Bulletin website.

Ako Legal Wife a comedy by Joel Lamangan
Shake, Rattle and Roll by Maryo J. De los Reyes
Nasaan ka Man by Joel Lamangan
Exodus: The Tale of the Enchanted Kingdom by Eric Matti
Mulawin by Dominic Zapata and Mark Reyes
Enteng Kabisote 2 by Tony Y. Reyes
Kutob by Jose Javier Reyes

Its not that I care about these movies that much. Some of them are actually kind of promising. I just hope that they'd respect the Philippine viewing public just a little bit...

Take note, none of these movies have been shot yet. Some of them haven't even been cast yet. The film committee of the MMFF has already decided which is this year's best of the best just be reading the scripts.

"Atty. Laxa, one of the members of the executive committee of the MMFF explained that screenplays had to be chosen first before the finished product because this way it would be economical for the producers. They don’t want movie outfits making movies only to find out later that their entries won’t make it to the much-awaited December filmfest."

So, the committee kind of decides when a film gets greenlighted, right? Then this gives the studio the confidence to produce it in the assurance of exclusive distributorship on Christmas week....right?

(Excuse me while I move over to the other room and bust my gut with sarcastic laughter)

"This doesn’t mean though that producers couldn’t go on turning their scripts into full-length film features. In fact, MMDA and MMFF are encouraging producers to come out with films on a monthly or quarterly basis!"

O, yun naman pala! So why does the comittee have to decide with the scripts beforehand? Does Christmas week opening determine sure box office returns? No. You wanna know what determines sure box office returns? It's called 'Quality Movies'!!!

And, tell me, what exactly is the criteria behind the selection of nominees?

One of the scripts that they rejected was Joey Gosengfiao's Sanggalang, Badigard ng Presidente. Gosenfiao is probably one of the Philippine's brightest filmmakers (he directed Temptation Island) and it is beyond me how Enteng Kabisote 2 got picked out and not this. It just goes to show what the criteria really is.

It is pretty clear that independent digital cinema is going to be the saving grace of Philippine Cinema, because If Mother Lily keeps shelling out pieces of crap in a platter like another "Shake Rattle and Roll", These production companies are going to spend themselves dry.

"I am amenable to their request (choosing the screenplays first)," Mother Lily remarked. "I will follow them because this is the only way I can do to help keep our movie industry alive!"


The movies aren't losing money because of piracy, they're losing money because they keep making bad films. If we just keep greenlighting the good scripts that have been collecting dust in the shelves of Regal and Viva, do them on a shoestring budget (meaning digital) with no theatric attempts to equal all that Hollywood crap that's pretty tedious in the first place, and release it to a movie going public that has been hungry for great quality cinema since Ishmael Bernal and Lino Brocka died, then we might just get to turn this boat around like Korea did in 2000.


Props to Art, El Cineaste for the link!

Some Quick Updates...

Stone Stoned...

After the suckie Alexander, it looks like Oliver Stone just can't get a break...
The acclaimed Platoon and Natural Born Killers director pleaded no contest to possesion of marijuana while driving as he pulled over a police checkpoint last July 29th. He was fined $100.


Haley Joel Osment Takes over as Indiana Jones

After Harrison Ford finally retires the Hat and Whip, it is reported that Sixth Sense acting prodigy Haley Joel Osment will take over as the young Indy. He is 17 years old now and is at the right age to be the young swashbuckling archaeologist.
I don't know what's going on with George Lucas, but his prequel asphyxiation has got to stop!!!


Julia Roberts To Quit Movies?

Aside from some voice work for animated features like Charlotte's Web, we don't see much of Julia Roberts lately. Well yes, that's because she's a full fledged mom now, but reports say she's gonna be doing it full time and won't be looking back.
If this is true, we will be losing one of the best Hollywood actresses out there. Julia Roberts isn't just a pretty face, she's got real talent, which is rare among todays anorexic, botox-pumped bevy of so-called movie stars.

Ok I'm out...

Props to KFCCinema and the MovieBlog.

Movie Review: "Crash" (2005)

I was planning on watching Crash last week when it first opened here in Manila. The pirated DVD was in bangketas everywhere weeks before, but I opted to wait to see it in full cinema vision and sound. When I did get to finally see it last night I had just barely gotten well from a fever and the theater's aircon didn't help make me feel better. I had a splitting headache and, at one point was feeling so nauseous I thought I was gonna puke right on the theater seat. I was in no condition to be watching a movie and wouldnt be able to enjoy anything that I would be seeing.
The story of Crash revolves around the lives of different people of different social classes living in the Los Angeles area From the LA District Attorney's(Brendan Frasier) mansion in the Valley to the locksmith's duplex in the ghetto. They all live in this cramped city that they end up passing, bumping and at most times, running into each other (literally). Their lives are intertwined by a series of situations that lead them to make decisions that are either good or bad for the people around them. At times the consequences are devastating, but sometimes cause redemption. No character is completely bad and no character is completely good.

So what did I think of the movie?

Crash works a lot like Steven Soderbergh's Traffic. Only It's more closely knit.
Paul Haggis is an excellent storyteller. His technical and artistic skill in the craft of screenwriting is amazing nad thoroughly evident in this movie. The intertwining of the characters' stories must have taken him months and months to develop and rewrite, and I respect that. he pulls it off whith great skill and precision. There are barely, if any, loopholes in the plot and you'll see what I mean when you see it.



The performances are to be given proper credit as well. Don Cheadle, despite the distributed focus on the different characters in the movie, remains the obvious lead character and as always shines with his terrific performance as the good cop. Terrence Dashon Howard of the upcoming Hustle and Flow also shows some acting magic with his outstanding charisma and is being posed to be the next big African American movie star. Chris "Ludacris" Bridges gives a surprisingly fresh offbeat conflicted character as the black kid with white issues. He definitely stepped up a notch in my book after seeing him rationalize why buses have such big windows. Ryan Philippe surprised me as well with a downbeat but noteworthy performance. The most significant performance is in my book, by Matt Dillon as the racist police officer Sgt. Ryan. His character was central to the message the movie tries to convey about the necessity of taking a second look at people before passing judgement on them. You hate Dillon during some parts of the movie and love him on others. Truly a rare, difficult character perfectly cast and portrayed.

Some of the most significant parts of the movie that appealed to me were the use of analogies and parabolic symbolism. Lite the question the Daniel(Michael Pena), the locksmith's, daughter asked him about "how far bullets can go", in reference to their recent move from a dangerous gangbanger neighborhood to a 'safer' ghetto. Daniel replies "...not very far". It stops when it hits something." Another would be the the situation of the short-sighted Iranian storekeeper Farhad (Shaun Toub)who insists that his locks need to be changed. Daniel who is on call, changes the lock but doesn't help because the storekeeper needs a new door. Farhad argues that the lock is all that needs to be changed. Daniel ends up not charging him for the lock and walks away. This represents the lack of focus on the solutions for a problem. Sometimes we dont see the bigger picture and insist on quick fixes rather than permanent solutions.

An especially poignant scene in the middle end of the movie could have made it on My Favorite Tearjerking Scenes if I would have seen it earlier. I won't spoil it for you, but you'll know it when you see it.

Other reviews express how this movie sticks to you long after you leave the theaters. And it's true. The views on racism and bigotry are very well explored on both ends and are very well played out in the situations the characters get themselves in. It is also very well expressed that the only solution to the social problems borne of such diversity is acceptance and love.

Do yourself a favor. Watch Crash, and be nice to the bus conductor on the way home.



Rocketboy's Rating: ****(4 out of 5)

Video Games Don't Really Make Us Violent?

Do video games really make kids more violent? A lot of politicians and behavioral scientists say yes. However some researchers say say that there is no such relation. Some studies show that there are no real connections between violent video games and violent crime. In fact, the study shows a lowered crime trend since 1993 from offenders 12 years old and above. You can check the rest of the article here

I was very much into gaming when I was a preteen. You can say that I was one of those kids who skip dinner just to beat Super Macho Man in Mike Tyson's "Punch Out" (yes, I'm that pathetic. And yes, I'm that old). However I never had the urge to pummel someone in the face whenever I was slighted or offended. Neither did anyone else I knew. Truth be told, the people I knew who were violent and aggressive rarely, if ever, touched a videogame console.

Your thoughts?

Props to KFCCinema

The Little Joys of My Sad, Strange Life...

It has been a week since I've been on the top. Lemme' tell 'ya. It gets lonely up here...

Before you smash your keyboard onto the monitor, let me just express how overwhelmed I am about the hits listed on the yugatech Top Pinoy Blogs project site:

Unique Hits this Month 1,033
Hits this Month 1,463
Cummulative Hits 3,018
Total Unique Hits 2,151
Average Unique / Hits 71%
Total Average Unique / Hits 72%
Total Referrals 62
Votes this Month 1
Total Votes 4


This has led me to the following conclusions:

1. Any idiot can create a blog
2. I am an idiot destined for greatness

Ok, smash it now!

Preview: "Red Eye"

Before I saw Wedding Crashers, I saw the trailer to Red Eye. I remember the feeling I felt when I saw Rachel McAdams onscreen. Then there was Cillian Murphy. You would only know him if you saw 28 Days Later and, more recently, Batman Begins. The trailer was a perfect example of a teaser. It starts out looking like a romantic comedy and then changes about 10 seconds before it ends.
"This is definitely not a horror film; it's a psychological thriller," according to creator, director and horror legend Wes Craven.

The previews look nice, too. Cillian looks nice, and Rachel looks NIIIIIIIICE.

Props to rottentomatoes.

Cry Me A River: My Favorite Tearjerker Scenes

When someone dies in a movie (like Bambi's mom, or whoever Judy ann Santos' onscreen mom is) we are expected to feel the protagonists sullen emotions, in other words, we are supposed to cry. Sometimes it works and we bawl our eyes out. Sometimes it looks forced and pathetic and we end up laughing instead.

I asked a few people in the office and went to their workstations to give me examples of movies with the best tearjerking scenes. After staring at me like a registered sex offender, they gave me their suggestions. I put some of those which I thought were right on and didn't include the ones I didn't like. Here are some, IMO, that made it right (because I'm perfect and can do no wrong).

"The Green Mile" : John Coffy's Execution



The irreversible decision on John Coffy's execution raised the emotional level among the guards in The Green Mile. Knowing that Coffy was innocent of all charges and that he harbored no ill feelings towards his accusers, the guards were bound by their apalling duty to fry him to a crisp.


"Ghost" : The Unchained Melody

Sam visits Molly everyday but she doesn't know it. Since his death Molly has been miserable. Sam's unusual friendship with psychic Oda May Brown (Whoopi Goldberg)enables her to serve as as a bridge for them to meet again and communicate. Through Oda's body, Sam touches Molly (In an eerily homoerotic moment) and dances with her to the tune that was mercilessly overplayed in radios accross the world after the movie came out.



"Titanic" : "I'll Never Let Go, Jack"

Jack and Rose meet in a boat. Rose (Kate Winslet) finally learns to let go of his passionate love Jack (Leo DiCaprio) while they are floating on a wooden door (or was it a closet) by prying her hands out of his and letting his stiff corpse sink into the depths of the Atlantic. Well, yes it was heartbreaking back then...









"Forrest Gump" : "You're His Father, Forrest"

Forrest Gump relates his lifes story to every stranger who sits on the same bench as he is waiting for the next bus to Jenny's house. He then finds out Jenny lives a few blocks away. He then find Jenny and that she has a kid. "His name is Forrest. I named him after his Father". The facial expression on Forrest (courtesy of the masterful Tom Hanks) once he finds out he is actually looking at his offspring triggers heart flutters for new dads and women everywhere.




"My Sassy Girl" : "I'm Sorry"


My Sassy Girl is the kind of movie that a lot of people have seen
but you wouldn't know if somebody has seen it until you talk to them. It has kind of been an open secret in social circles everywhere. It is now going to be released dubbed in Tagalog this month, as if they were saying "Hey, lets take a really good movie that everyone loves and ruin it, and make money doing it".

The scene starts off with the girl (Jun Ji Hyun) and Gyun Woo (Cha Tae Hyun) sitting on top of a mountain as they are about to break up. She tells Gyun Woo to go climb a hill on the other side to see if he can hear her shout over to him. She's a pain, but he always obliges. Like all romantic fools he climbs over and waves to her. The girl then shouts "Im Sorry. Im just a hopeless girl". Guys turn into saps when they watch this part.



"The Lord of The Rings The Return of The King" : "Go Home, Sam"

In the previous movies we see Frodo and Sam fall into cliffs, run into orcs, wade into swamps and deal with the whiny but treacherous Gollum, but it is in this scene where we first see Frodo's confused mind reach breaking point and lose trust in the man who promised to protect him with his life. Setting all homoerotic innuendo's aside, this is a break up that can rival and even surpass any romance drama flick.



"Failan" : "...But You are the Kindest of All"


If there was a movie designed to turn hardened criminals and gangsters into girly-crying saps, it's Failan.

Kang -Jae is a gangster, and a bad one at that. Poor and disrespected by his younger peers, he looked into marrying a Chinese immigrant for money, even if they were not to meet. In exchange for his name on a marriage certificate, Failan lives the rest of her short life in Korea being grateful to the man who decided to sell his name for her convenience in getting a job.

Before Failan died. He writes Kang-jae a letter thanking him for everything. He reads it after he claims her body. He is afer all her husband. She expresses in the letter, "Everybody has been kind, but you are the kindest of all.", referring to the husband she had never met. This scene where Kang-Jae breaks down shows Choi Min Shik in his finest.



"I Am Sam" : "In your Heart of Hearts..."


Other than people dying, or children hurting, nothing else makes us cry in movies than...retarded people.

Sam's courtoom scenes are some of Sean Penn's best work. The introduction of acting prodigy Dakota Fanning also elevated this movie into the ranks of the top dramas of recent years. The best and most dramatic scene would be the very last where Lucy scores her first goal and Sam, who also happens to be the referee grabs Lucy and runs around the field embracing his little champ.



"Transformers, The Movie" : "...The Wounds Are Fatal"


If you weren't a 9 year old during the time of The Transformers, you wouldn't understand.
Optimus Prime as not only a leader. He WAS the Transformers. Kids like myself didn't know what to expect what was to happen now that Prime was dead less than halfway through the movie. Then, his spirit of leadership was passed on to Hot Rod through the Matrix, and became Rodimus Prime.







"The Lord of The Rings; The Return of The King" : "You Bow to No One".

Ok so I made two entries coming from the same movie. There is a reason. This the once scene where I felt my eyes well up and I had to wipe out the tears. The thought of the entire world bowing dow to the most insignificant creatures not because of what they are but for what they did, can inspire anyone at any level. In the back of your mind you go, "Hobbits Rock!"

Sean Connery Quits Movies

Yeah, I had my doubts when I first heard about it. First of all, Sean Connery is, to say the least, into what we would call a moderate hiatus and is far from what would be called a has-been. He can still command a hefty sum for a supporting role and would probably still be a first choice for many filmmakers. However, the former James Bond isn't exactly ecstatic about his recent announcement.

"I'm fed up with the idiots ... the ever-widening gap between people who know how to make movies and the people who green-light the movies," Connery says.

The idiots he is referring to are the current generation of Hollywood Executives who, (and I share the same opinion,by the way) are destroying the very essence of filmmaking be rampant commercialization and politicking.

"I don't say they're all idiots. I'm just saying there's a lot of them that are very good at it [being idiots]. It would almost need a Mafia-like offer I couldn't refuse to do another movie."

It's sad to think that someone as experienced and respected as Sir Sean confirming the plague that's festering the Hollywood system. I do not hesitate to state that a milder version of this strain is currently consuming the much weaker Philippine film industry. India, home to the world's largest film industry (otherwise known as Bollywood), is also experiencing the same fate. What's happening? Is it all about the money now?

As Sir Sean Connery would say himself; "Hollywood Ssshchucksh!"
Props to the Movieblog and AttuSeesAll

Sympathy For Lady Vengeance opens big in Korea!

Sympathy For Lady Vengeance was seen by around 1.45 million people with 250,000 tickets on opening day and 1,500,000 on opening weekend. That's Korean love for ya. I have never met a more 'love your own' people since I started teaching English to their expats back in 2001. Sympathy overshadowed all other opening movies like The Island that weekend that they never saw the light of day.


Cant wait to see it here. Legally or otherwise.


Props to Twitch and KFCCinema.