End of February 2017: Some mini movie reviews for the month

This year's Oscars are done and February 2017 is coming to an end, and there have been a couple of movies I've seen through the course of this month that I've wanted to review in this page yet haven't gotten a chance to. With the month ending today, now's a good time to give some small short reactions to these films... And most of them are Academy Award nominated ones that did the trick! You can still catch these in cinemas, so here's a little feedback on these films on the big screen.

Movie: Hidden Figures
Release Date: December 25, 2016 (US), February 22, 2017 (Philippines)
Released by: 20th Century Fox Philippines

A biographical drama film that puts some of the best talents in Hollywood to portray an important time during the "Space Race" era of the 60's, "Hidden Figures" stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae as three historical African American female mathematicians who worked at NASA, along with supporting roles by Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, and Jim Parsons - all who worked to see through one of the most important space missions known in history. Between depicting the sensitive times of racial discrimination, the unstable nature of those working behind the scenes to calculate trajectories for the space missions, and the lives of these women with their families and careers - this is one film by director Theodore Melfi that hit the right notes in bringing emotion and triumph to an important time in man's quest to reach the stars and find some reconciliation and agreement between their own personal differences and biases.

Hidden Figures Official Trailer #2
Rating: 4/5

Movie: A Cure For Wellness
Release Date: February 17, 2017 (US), February 15, 2017 (Philippines)
Released by: 20th Century Fox Philippines

A film by Pirates of the Caribbean films director Gore Verbinski that literally dips into the well of Psychological Horror, "A Cure For Wellness" stars former "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" star and Harry Osborn actor Dane DeHaan in the lead as an ambitious young executive named Lockheart - who is sent to a "wellness center" in the Swiss Alps to find the CEO of the company he works for to finalize a merger. What was supposed to be a simple retrieval trip turns into a mystery and nightmare, as Lockhart finds out that not all is what it seems in the facility and hidden secrets and strange things unearth themselves that make him question his sanity. It's a film that doesn't break new ground and takes familiar routes in the same manner as classic horror films like The Invisible Man and Shutter Island, but it does give Dehaan new footing in playing the main role of a film. Definitely for those who like to see the strange in cinema.

A Cure for Wellness Official Trailer
Rating - 3/5

Movie: Hacksaw Ridge
Release Date: November 4, 2016 (US), February 22, 2017 (Philippines)
Released by: Columbia Pictures Philippines

A historical biographical film with a powerful cast and shows the true story of a pacifist who saved men in the battlefield while holding on to faith and courage, Hacksaw Ridge stars previous Amazing Spider-Man actor Andrew Garfield as real life World War II hero Desmond Doss - A Seventh-Day Adventist Christian who enlists in the Army and becomes a combat medic who refuses to carry a gun. What follows in this film directed by Academy Award winner Mel Gibson is a story about a courageous man who was able to save 75 soldiers in the battle at Hacksaw Ridge, earning him the Medal of Honor for his bravery and efforts. The film also stars Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington, Hugo Weaving, and Teresa Palmer, and is arguably one of the best historical drama movies I have ever witnessed in cinema that is based on a true story.

Hacksaw Ridge Official Trailer Rating - 4/5

Movie: Fist Fight
Release Date: February 17, 2017 (US), February 22, 2017 (Philippines)
Released by: Warner Bros. Philippines

#TeacherFight had whole new meaning in the Ice Cube and Charlie Day comedy "Fist Fight" - where two very different teachers come to blows in a very chaotic public school setting where teachers are disrespected and the students keep on pulling pranks. When both men are brought together and a misunderstanding ensues where Ice Cube's Ron Strickland gets fired from his teaching position, he challenges Day's Andy Campbell to a fight after school... And the whole film spirals into hilarious moments and shenanigans that pretty much lets you laugh and watch a movie without taking anything seriously. This is one of the good ones, and certainly makes use of Ice Cube's mean looks as an uncompromising tough guy perfectly.

Fist Fight Official Trailer #2 Rating - 3/5

Movie Review: The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

What's more awesome than a Batman movie? Why having a VERY AWESOME "THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE" - The kind that pays tribute to just about EVERYTHING that made the Caped Crusader so beloved and endeared by fans worldwide, and that includes yours truly too! After the success of 2014's "The Lego Movie" and introducing the kind of Dark Knight who's self-absorbed and overconfident about his heroic abilities, animation director Chris McKay was given the reigns to helm and oversee the design of a spin-off film so AWESOME that it could only star one guy - BATMAN... And his world of Gotham City in Lego form of course! Three years in the making and with so much justice inside it, how does this spin-off film centering on the Brick Knight fare?

To answer that question a REVIEW is in order... And thankfully after seeing this AWESOME movie courtesy of the folks from Warner Bros. Pictures Philippines alongside friends and fellow Batfans alike, there's a lot of positivity to say about this superhero adventure that not only caters to superheroics, but also to the lesson that you need to trust others and build a family that is stronger when united together.

SPOILERS may follow as of this review, so go see the film first before reading! You have been warned!

Movie Review: Arrival (2016)

Science Fiction and Drama are themes that have had a long charted history in film, and movies such as Interstellar, Contact, and The Abyss are prime examples of what happens when humanity and emotion come into contact with the unknown and things beyond our understanding. In that regard, director Denis Villeneuve tries his hand on the genre and adapts Ted Chiang's 1998 short story " Story of Your Life" into film, creating the star studded and Oscar nominated movie called "Arrival" - which puts humanity in the middle of a worldwide extraterrestrial encounter when 12 ships appear in different parts of the globe and humanity scrambles to decipher whether they are here as friend or foe.

ARRIVAL – International Trailer Starring Amy Adams (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), Jeremy Renner (The Avengers), and Forest Whitaker (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Arrival follows the perspective of linguist Louise Banks - who is summoned by the U.S. Army to help communicate with the alien lifeforms visiting our planet. Together with physicist Ian Donnely, Louise is sent into one of the ships located in Montana, where contact is established and the team soon discovers that the UFOs write in symbols that need to be broken down and deciphered for proper communication between the two species. What follows is a sequence of events where a combination of humanity's own faith and paranoia are tested, and as the world hinges on breakdown over whether the aliens are friend or foe, Louise will discover that their presence will change her and how she perceives everything in life forever.

Deep and emotionally tangled in a storyline that is both non-linear and requires a lot of focus and thinking, Arrival is the kind of movie that doesn't go for the alien action movie route that past films such as "War of the Worlds" and "The Day The Earth Stood Still" have presented where extraterrestrial life invades or needs to be met with hostility. There are themes of paranoia and fear present when pockets of humanity take the UFO visit negatively, but the film puts more emphasis of Adams and Renner's roles as people who want to ensure a peaceful encounter with the aliens and find out exactly what they are here for. Granted this is one movie that will require you to pay attention and not skip a beat in terms of the sequence of events, because much like Christopher Nolan's way of depicting films like "Interstellar" and "Memento", Arrival is non-linear and has a lingering mystery that doesn't fully flesh out until everything is said and done. It's a bit out of this world and requires some suspension of belief, but given it's a science fiction film and it has some of the best stars in film to date, it may please those who like something deep.

Arrival, presented by Columbia Pictures Philippines, will be released in theaters on February 15.

Rating - 3/5

Movie Review: Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017)

Fifteen years after it began in the underground complex known as The HIVE and through trials and extreme horrors faced through the course of five movies - IT FINALLY ENDS and the journey of the woman known as "Alice" comes to a close, as Director Paul W.S. Anderson and his wife/ star Milla Jovovich finally bring everything full circle with "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter" - the sixth and last film in the Resident Evil Movie franchise that sees our heroine making a final stand against the Umbrella Corporation when an opportunity to undo all the damage they have done with the T-Virus outbreak makes itself present and brings all parties back to where it started - Raccoon City.


RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER - International Trailer #2
Set a few weeks after the events of the 2012 film "Resident Evil: Retribution", The Final Chapter sets up Alice in the desolate wasteland of what was once Washington D.C, now infested with hordes of T-Virus infected zombies and bio-weapon monsters. An encounter with her old Artificial Intelligence computer enemy called "The Red Queen" gives a glimmer of hope in the form of an antidote to the Virus - which is the key to stopping all the devastation and destruction Umbrella has left in their wake. Unfortunately for Alice, she must travel back to Raccoon City and The HIVE - where everything began for her and the Umbrella Corporation. Travelling back to the city and encountering allies and enemies new and old alike, Alice makes her last desperate attempt to stop all the evil Umbrella has done and put an end to things once and for all.

Movie Review: Why Him?

Imagine if you had a daughter - the gem of your eyes and the kind of girl that is so perfect that you couldn't be prouder to know that she excels in everything and is a student at Stanford. Then during your own birthday celebration, you find out the worst possible news - your kid is dating a guy who looks the OPPOSITE of what you can imagine as a suitable suitor for her - rebellious, cusses a lot, and is a successful video game programmer to boot!

That's pretty much the premise of "Why Him?" - a Christmas time comedy which features a prime cast lead by James Franco and Bryan Cranston - who play the unlikely match of the daughter's boyfriend and the father who is not too thrilled to find out that he is the guy who wants to marry his kid. Directed by Zoolander and Meet The Parents director John Hamburg, this comedy is all about what it takes for girl to get the two men of her life to see eye to eye... But it's easier said than done as Franco's character Laird Mayhew does too much to impress Cranston's Ned Fleming, and hilarity and insanity of all kind as a result! After seeing the movie last Monday c/o 20th Century Fox Philippines, here's my review of the wild ride comedy film!