[TV Edition] How I Met Your Mother S09E02: Coming Back

The CONS

We think the “Monstrosity” part was too exaggerated. Didn’t even think it’s funny when they were showing the brief snippet. The scene about James’ divorce was also way over the top. We were thinking it would work as well if the approach was much simpler, and with more emotional context. Also, the guy at the front desk: NOT funny

The PROS

We think the “horny” curse thing is really funny. The part where they showed historical overview of it nailed the punch line. We like that Daphne came back with the car seat, and think it was something that’s unique about this series: having a heart and giving valuable lessons. Love the last scene where Ted was in a bar with future Ted and wife. This technique in story telling makes viewers wonder on what’s gonna happen next, and makes fans suffer in anticipation until the next episode is aired. As always, soundtrack blends well too

VERDICT: 7 out of 10 in Memorable Factor

[TV Edition] How I Met Your Mother S09E01: The Locket

The blog is supposedly a movie blog composed of daily film reviews. The name of the blog clearly states that too. But since this is my blog, I can do whatever I want. And while I’m at it, I would include TV series reviews, starting with this fave show of mine for the last eight years: How I Met Your Mother

HIMYM S09E01

The CONS

The non-linear story telling is something refreshing for HIMYM, but for the first episode, seems like it doesn’t work the way it should. While we’re seeing 3 different scenarios happening, we are not that excited to know how they would tie up, since we already know that they would all end in that highly anticipated Stinson-Scherbatsky wedding. We didn’t laugh that much, and the jokes, they seemed forced. We thought it would’ve been funnier if instead of Lilly banging her head, why not grab the wheels and the two fight over who’s driving.

The PROS

Getting Daphne on board adds fun to the episode. The incest thing between Robin and Barney got it good too. When Ted handed his gift to Robin and it was revealed, we were happy it was not something predictable or cliché-y if you know what I mean.

VERDICT: Not bad for a season premiere episode. My rating is not directed to people who is not fans of HIMYM. It is surely for those who had been watching and following the show. Thus, my Likely to be remembered rating is 6 out of 10

Insidious: Chapter 2

Watched: September 24, 2013
Rating: 4.0
Duration: 1:46:25
Genre: Horror / Suspense

“More than 1 and a half hour of nonstop scarefest”

They called me scaredypants and I would not bulge. When I watched the first Insidious, half the time I covered my eyes. It was that scary. When it ended, I honestly thought there would be no sequel. I thought it was complete, and the last scene was the shocking conclusion to the already frightening film. When I heard about chapter 2, I didn’t care that much, thought it would just use the hype to gain attention and attract paying viewers. I thought wrong

The CONS

Few Insidious fans would say that Chapter 2 went a little over the top when it comes to its scare tactics and explanation of backstory. I’ d say it’s fine, and some parts are indeed needed elements in the film to progress and bridge the story together. The only real con I could point, which was not that big of a deal, was that there were some scenes where in it felt like I was watching a different movie. It turned into violence, which was something I didn’t see happening when the movie started
One more con, I have to say that the first Insidious is prerequisite for you to understand and appreciate Chapter 2. If you haven’t seen the original Insidious yet, I suggest you watch that first before seeing this movie

The PROS

Get ready to be scared. That’s all I can say. It started from where the first movie left off, which was just appropriate, and I thought that was the movie’s greatest strength. I was not prepared for that kind of storytelling; I thought initially that this movie would consist of an entirely different story with a huge time gap from the first. The movie picked up from where the first movie left off, giving the entire movie the element of continuity, and one nonstop scarefest from start to finish. It used the same fright components from the first movie, the ghost images, the creepy “world of the dead,” while also adding some bits of mystery and puzzle to the viewers: is that the real Josh, or a possessed Josh pretending and acting like him? We get startled here and there, something we expected but still ironically caught us unaware. In one frightening scene involving Josh and some undead souls, we almost had to rush to the nearest exit, seek for refuge, think of happy thoughts, and watch a cheerful Spongebob episode to wash it all down

VERDICT: 4.0 rating. If you watched the first Insidious, highly recommended to catch this too. Gives the first movie some form of closure. If you haven’t seen both, why are you still reading this? Don’t waste time surfing idly the net, go get started on the first Insidious

How to meet girls from a distance

Watched: September 23, 2013

Rating: 4.7

Duration: 1:20:49

Genre: Comedy / Romance

“Clever writing. Cute story. Nice acting. Amazing twist.”

There are movies you tell friends about because it made an impact to you. There are movies that touch on economic and social dilemmas, and you are struck with the social significance so you start loving the movie for its originality and value. There are movies that you have to watch over and over again, and each time you feel exasperated, like you’ve been submerged in water and you had to swim your way up for air (read: Atonement). There are really good movies that you admire because of its clever writing. And you ended up writing a short story, or starting a movie blog. And there are movies that you simply adore, for its subtlety, bluntness, and sheer ability to make you laugh. A movie that gets you, and you ultimately get the movie too.  I’m talking about this refreshing comedy from the Land Down Under, the Wellywood movie How to meet girls from a distance

The CONS

I can’t think of any. I may be biased. My judgment may have been shrouded by the movie’s relate-ability to me. The movie isn’t perfect, nothing is. It is flawed by blunt jokes. By over-acting. By characters obviously trying to be weirdos to get a good chemistry of this marvel of a movie. Perhaps the only actual con I could say is that I wanted to see more and the movie ended too soon. Not that it should have been long, I completely agree that an hour and 20 minutes is enough time to show everything. But I wanted to see more, may be some behind the scenes, or heck, a sequel maybe.

The PROS

So far, this is the highest-rated movie on this blog. And although the rating is completely based on my prerogative, I still owe the readers an explanation why I gave this movie a 4.7, 0.3 shy of being perfect

1. Casting Richard Falkner as Toby. He’s just perfect for the role. He looks timid enough to be that timid, “torpe” guy. His receding hairline shows that he is not the best looking, but we know he is talented and got skills, and that should make girls fall for him. He looks weird enough to be type-cast as a psycho stalker. I could not imagine other actors playing as Toby
2. The movie gets me. I could relate to the movie in a level that I tend to look back at my old self and think: I should have done that! I really should! It gets me because it talks to the viewers in the ordinary, “regular-people” level. Although it is a Kiwi film, there were very minimal cultural references, and we are all hooked up until the end part, and when Toby said that last word I was about to do a chicken dance, but then, I was in a crowded MRT train and that would be too embarrasing
3. Clever writing, awesome twist. The detective work that Toby does is amazing. It gave me an idea on how to manipulate someone’s life. If I have to proceed with that plan this movie would be my practical guide. When Toby does his stalking, we tend to neglect how the girl would feel, given that the local equivalent of stalking in the Phils is adoring someone and most folks want that kind of attention

VERDICT. 4.7 rating. Highest-rated so far. Watched it for 3 times. You should too, at least once. You owe yourself that favor

POV [Asian Horror Weekend]

Watched: September 22, 2013

Rating: 3.1

Duration: 1:32:07

Genre: Horror / Suspense

“Better than any of the Paranormal Activity movies”

Japanese horror filmmakers had been obsessed with the media technology to use as their main vehicle for their horror genre. It started with the Ring, which used cursed VHS tapes. With POV, it used the same drivel, the only difference is that it used digital cameras and movie making in general, and it is anchored on that very same strategy, as the movie cleverly used documentary-style to create an ambience that is real-life, adds creepiness to the movie

Back to POV.

The CONS

As with many Asian horror films, and common from Japanese ones, the film emphasized on backstory. They foretold the story behind what’s going, which may be appropriate, but for me, I think not. First, they used documentary-style for the movie. Narration is difficult, so retelling back story must be optional. I guess it may have worked if they used the Grudge’s style when eliciting fear. In the Grudge, the audience was not told why ghosts kill innocent victims. They just kill them, that’s it. They don’t need to be cursed or involved in some sort of cosmic connection to the ghost. The con for POV is that the movie thought they had to explain the ghosts, prevail with the story until the end part, and fall short on a twist that should’ve been huge, only if they gave a little more mystery to what’s been going

The PROS

The twist. This is one of those rare movies where you cannot miss the last 5 minutes. When we saw what we saw on the last part, we had to rewind a bit just to get another glimpse. We didn’t need logic to know how it happened, it is simply creepy on its own, without having to explain how it turned out.

These Japanese horror filmmakers are simply awesome in turning ordinary looking rest rooms into one of the creepiest places on earth. I’ve got to admit but I had to postpone watching the entire movie until the sun is up because I was afraid I won’t be able to sleep if I went on finishing the film

VERDICT: 3.1 rating. I gave that additional 0.1 for those creepy “ghost videos.” Not as creepy as the Ring or Grudge, but is definitely scarier than any of the Paranormal Activity movies

I saw the devil [Asian horror weekend]

Watched: September 21, 2013

Rating: 3.0

Duration: 2:24:05

Genre: Horror / Suspense

“the guillotine of horror reduced to a man’s obsession to get even”

This is the first feature to the Asian Horror Weekend. Asian horror films are no different from local horror films. Both thrive on emotions, sentimentality, imagery and back story. The thing about Asian horror films that differentiate from local, and even Hollywood films is how Asian films create their scary monsters. The fear factor doesn’t come from the prosthetics and technology used, but it comes from shadowing a story behind it coupled by real life presentation. Say for example, ghosts in Asian films. Ghosts looked really pale, or sometimes they look something that came out fresh from the grave. I would have to commend the makeup department for making the ghosts “real-life” in appearance, and it gets really creepy when you start imagining it

Back to I saw the devil.

The CONS

The movie lasts for a little more than 2 hours, when everything could have been summed up in an hour or 30 minutes. The movie got stuck on back story. I’m happy they didn’t explain why the psycho killer is doing random killing; it’s futile to do so.  At times we felt bored and are compelled to skip forward the juicy parts. We also started to feel bad about the protagonist (brilliant actor and Sky Vega phone model Lee Byung-hun). He makes bad decisions, gets other folks hurt and killed in the process, all because he wants his revenge in installments

Really weird that this is being compared to Kill Bill and other revenge movies. It’s not even close. The theme is revenge, yes, but the movie doesn’t dwell on that. We cannot feel the protagonist’s agony, we felt the reason he is plotting revenge is to hurt the guy, not because he wants the guy to feel so bad, be in so much pain, that he regrets having lived. I would also love to see more detective work, more complications and twists. But all we see is the killer at large, going about raping women, killing randomly, and just being devilish. The movie doesn’t get scary, it get’s annoying

The PROS

Lee Byung-hun. I first saw him in the Sky Vega phone commercial for Vega No. 6. I own a Sky Vega phone, and I have some sort of weird fixation with everything Sky Vega haha. I thought Lee was brilliant in the GI Joe movie, and now seeing him on an actual Korean film doing vernacular work elevated my interest on the movie

We don’t like gore and exaggerated gruesomeness, but portrayal of nothing but cruelty and pure evil exempts us from disliking it. When the guy starts butchering, with the camera showing this scene from behind the guy, we cringe in terror although we see very minimal blood and gore. There’s a lot of “I don’t want to watch, I’d rather close my eyes moments.” In one scene, when the killer grabs his hammer, we rather close our eyes and assumed that he’s going to do what he’s supposed to do with that hammer, and it saves us from unpleasant cowering

As revenge movies go, we look forward to “that’s what you get” moments. These are moments that you want to see, and revenge movies are inclined to capitalize on this to make the movie likeable to the audience. In I saw the devil, a first time viewer must pay attention to that massive guillotine blade, makes the movie worth the watch

VERDICT: 3.0 rating. Not as good as Kill Bill, not as hopeful as Count of Monte Cristo, but watch it still, and be prepared to cringe

Middleton

watched: September 20, 2013

rating: 2.3

duration: 1:36:13

genre: Romance

“perfect movie for insomniacs”

College admissions tours are fun. I remember I attended one, it was also the first day of school. Parents were not included in the tour, but I still have some memory of the tour because the guy who was leading the tour was really friendly and was one of the very active students in the student org. Well, the reason I brought this up is because of my personal belief that college admissions tours are a good topic to choose when doing a movie, and it would’ve been relatable to some audience at some level

Back to Middleton.

The CONS

The movie’s boring. I hate to admit but I fell asleep while watching the movie. I caught up on missed scenes by going backwards. The movie was just halfway through when I dozed off. The movie wants us to believe that two middle-aged individuals, who are married and are supposed to be with their kids on a college tour, could fall in love as they do crazy stuff, act like teenagers, and neglect their kids completely, all for the name of love and fun times spent together. The two parents, both professionals and matured, steal bikes, sneak in a theatre class, smoked weed, and worse, lie to their kids to stay away from them. It isn’t the recklessness and the experimenting that alienate me, it’s how the filmmakers tried to cram everything in one day so that there is reason for the two to fall in love, even in that short amount of time

The PROS

The cinematography is gorgeous. I am partial to settings made in college campuses. It kinda gives me some sort of nostalgia and a bleak motivation to visit my previous college. When Conrad told his dad, Andy Garcia, that the college is small, on the back of my head I said, wait till you see how small the local campuses here in the Phils are. I like the way where the story is heading, even seeing this turning into a short story. The scene where the two were against the sunset was an absolute beauty. It was truly poignant and was a good use of camera for cinema technique

VERDICT: skip it. if you are trying to kill time, do something else. If you can’t sleep and want something to help you catch 40 winks, then go ahead and watch this movie

Elysium

watched: September 19, 2013

rating: 4.2

genre: Sci-fi, Action, Thriller

duration: 1:49:03

“Without a doubt, the best sci-fi movie of this year so far”

The CONS

Matt Damon was on a mission to save himself after being exposed to lethal radiation, giving him about 5 days to live. Part of his mission was to steal data from the guy he used to work for, but then it means the guy’s life is terminated because of some cerebral defense mechanism that was not fully explained in the movie. I am not the type of moviegoer who analyzes sci fi movies. It is futile to do so, since the main purpose of sci fi movies is to entertain moviegoers, and not to make core scientific explanation on every theoretical futuristic setting that the filmmakers are presenting. But this one dragged on till the last part and I kept puzzled: how does that cerebral defense thing work? Why is the host killed after the encrypted data is hacked, and not prior? Isn’t it supposed to prevent the hacking procedure itself, much like when one tries to diffuse a bomb and it explodes because he cuts the wrong wire?

Another con is the scene involving facial reconstruction. I’m sure we’ll come to a point where future medical technology can cure all type of illnesses, but doing complete facial reconstruction of a blown-up face in about 10 seconds is beyond me

The PROS

When sci fi films showcased social class struggle on their plot I just shrugged my shoulder and decide not to dwell on that premise. One example is the awesome movie “In Time” starring the very talented Justin Timberlake. I didn’t have to bother myself with the big gap between the rich and the poor in this movie, although it was worth noting since the main currency was the remaining amount of time a person’s got. With Elysium, the viewer has to take a second look on how social class struggle is presented, given how the movie relies heavily on that premise to retain its plot. Neill Blomkamp did a wonderful job in presenting this predicament in the movie with the power to elicit compassion for the protagonist, without having to give too many details on the complexity of how the Elysium social system actually works

Although I find the facial reconstruction scene too farfetched, I find the movie’s use of med-pods to be refreshing amongst the recent waves of sci fi flicks. Nothing beats personal motivation to survive better than having the ability to be “technically” immortal by having machines that can cure all types of illnesses. In one emotional scene, when the med-pod says “No Citizen detected,” I was reminded of one incident where my colleague got denied from clinic consultation because his healthcard didn’t have that coverage. On the context of the scene, the pod is physically there, it’s just not working because the wrong person is inside

Another pro – Jodie Foster. That’s it, that’s the pro, Jodie Foster is in this movie. Go watch it if you haven’t yet

VERDICT: 4.2 rating. Best sci-fi film I’ve watched this year so far

This Is the End

watched: September 18, 2013

rating: 3.5

duration: 1:46:41

genre: Comedy

“effortless laughter from comedy actors who made little effort”

It’s relatively new to me to see a film where most of the actors play as themselves on screen. So when I watched This is the End I thought it was a novel approach to a comedic drivel. I know many people find it trash, but there’s good trash, the one you can still find some use from. With cameos from Paul Rudd, Michael Cera, Rihanna, Jason Segel, and Channing Tatum, I am pretty convinced I couldn’t let this movie pass

Channing Tatum: “I love him”

The CONS

Admittedly, the jokes were lame. Not that jokes on this type of movie had to be deep, but they have to at least solicit some form of analyzing before you figure out how funny the punch line was. Hey, there wasn’t any punch line at all on most of the gags. It went straight to eliciting laughter purely on the merit of the statement being supposedly funny. Well, I wouldn’t expect much from a movie where actors looked like they’re just shooting off from their backyard using a handheld camera

Another con, they killed likeable characters like Michael Cera and Paul Rudd way too early. Seth Rogen, James Franco, et al seemed like they’re really likeable and are going along well in the flow of the story, but I would have wanted to see more of Rudd and Cera doing some comic relief

And one last con for the road… the Backstreet Boys “sing and dance off” on the end scene. I didn’t know Hollywood would take the route of employing the cheap trick of making movie characters dance in unison. I would have accepted it if it were a Joey De Leon movie and people would automatically sing and dance even if they are on the beach. But this is a Hollywood film, and I would even be more tolerant if there’s a hint of Bollywood to promote the merry-making, but there’s none

The PROS

The all star cast worked for me. I thought each cast is hilarious on their own, individually. Sex jokes are funny, but sex jokes of celebrities making fun of themselves are way funnier. When they were sharing secrets of bad things they did in the past, I laughed really hard when James Franco shared that he did Lindsay Lohan. Thought that was an awesome joke to be delivered from the perspective of James Franco playing as James Franco onscreen and from the perspective of James Franco being just James Franco, off cam

James Franco: “I f***ed Lindsay Lohan”

I know the bad reviews spewed from unmet expectations and disappointments. But really, what else can you expect from this kind of film? It is obviously targeted to an audience who just  wanted pure, unadulterated entertainment and fun; and the movie has effortlessly done just that, delivering pure entertainment value from big shot actors who are making complete wackos of themselves

VERDICT: rating is 3.5 out of 5. It is no Oscar contender, but you’re sure to get a good laugh out of it. Make sure you walk out as soon as you hear “Everybody” playing on the background

Riddick

watched: September 17, 2013

rating: 2.8

duration: 1:59:57

genre: Action / Thriller

image courtesy of collider.com

“you keep what you kill… but if time is killed for wasted movie, afraid you can’t keep that”

Vin Diesel is the perfect cast for Riddick. Hell, I think the Riddick franchise was created for the sole purpose of giving the man a role to portray, where he could be mean-looking, ruthless, and a real badass. On the last scene of Chronicles of Riddick, when he sat on the throne, I knew there would be a third installment, and I knew it would be something big. But I guess the production peeps were on regression, and got stuck to the Pitch Black ensemble.

Back to Riddick.

The CONS

There are great movies. There are good movies. Bad movies. Baaaad movies. Horrifyingly baaaad movies that are created to insult the intelligence of a small portion of moviegoers. And then, there are movies that have no reason to exist. Riddick is one of those movies. Riddick is highly entertaining, but unlike Chronicles and the Pitch Black, it didn’t retain the legacy and tradition of the true Riddick adventure. On the crucial moments of the movie, Riddick managed to escape by getting extra help from outside forces. This is not the Riddick I know, he shouldn’t be reliant for him to survive, as it makes him weak. The movie appeared to be just a prelude to the actual third movie, like a transition phase. Because “nothing” actually happened in Riddick. He got stuck on some planet and got out on a ship, that’s it. Maybe he’ll fly off to Furya, Helio, or better, bump into a Star Trek Enterprise ship, we’ll never know, until we see the equivalent movie to the third act of the Riddick saga

The PROS

I did say that Riddick is highly entertaining. It may have no reason to exist, but since it’s there, might as well enjoy it. Anyone would enjoy the impressive visuals. Since the setting is an unknown exosolar planet, filmmakers had to be creative and come up with alien life forms and weird looking animals. The fight scenes are mediocre, but I particularly liked the one with Santana on it, with enough gore for the audience to pick up from possible boredom

One more pro – Riddick’s awesome sunglasses. I know they’re rare and may be auctioned on eBay for gazillion dollars, but I would wish to have a pair, even if I have to shave my head to complement the look

VERDICT: 2.8 out of 5. Watch it when you’ve got free iMax tickets. If you have to pay, well, better just save those for badass Riddick sunglasses