nabuhayan akong mag-blog dahil inspired akong manyugi hehehe. chos. hindi naman. slight.
as usual, mabilisang paspasan muna, bite-size reviews of films i've recently seen. dami na kasi kaya magandang itala na bago malimutan na naman.
here goes.
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (2007) d. julie taymor
featuring songs by the beatles
pitch: some kinda love story cum anti-war protest statements on the side peppered with beatles songs
catch: elements are not cooperating cohesively
i first came across this film in my favorite lezbitranswomen entertainment site afterellen.com as they alert you of upcoming movies with lbtqi characters/images/depictions/whatnots. at aliw dahil part-pinoy ang heritage ng nag-portray kay prudence, ang lbtqi character dito, na si t.v. carpio. cute, if not for her kinda drugged-out-like performance or character attack. other than that, wala masyado maaasahan sa kanya.
and that's the problem with this film. wala ka masyado maaasahan sa naratibo niya. sayang. i so love the visualization of some scenes (especially the strawberry fields segment) but sometimes they stick out like sore thumbs in the overall scheme of things. the julie taymor quirky surrealist approach i first fell in love with sa FRIDA is an ultimate fail here. sayang. parang minsan gusto nitong maging MOULING ROUGE na hindi nagaganap, o kaya maging angsty na RENT level pero hindi na-a-achieve. minsan para kasing feeling pilit ang songs, na hindi organically lumabas sa istorya. take pointers from MAMMA MIA to see what i mean. doon, hindi contrived ang dating ng songs, kahit ang chakaness kumanta ni pierce brosnan, but i digress.
and no, it doesn't help na ang characters mo ay named after the songs mismo na anytime hinihintay mo na lang ang fruition ng name-song niya, like si jude na yes kinanta ang "hey jude" at si lucy na no, walang "lucy in the sky with diamonds" (or did i miss it sa kabagutan? hm.). sayang dahil maganda pa naman ang arrangement ng ilang songs at ang pagkakakanta ng mga singers like si bono na nag-cameo. luz.
sayang sayang sayang ang budget. good example siya of how not to do a musical. students please take note.
THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE (2009) c. rachel mcadams, eric bana
s. from the novel by audrey niffeneger
pitch: modern-day man has genetic disorder that enables him to travel over time, but with undue consequences in his own life, especially affecting his loved ones
catch: methinks it should have stayed as a book
as a book, you have lots of leeway and time to explain a lot of things in a story like genetic anomalies, how one criss-crosses through time, how a love story evolves in different time planes, stuff like that. the film has that effect, na parang patche-patche na naman ang labas dahil sa kulang sa oras kaya salient points na lang ng nobela ang kinuha at bingyang-buhay. sayang dahil ang ganda sana ng premise, na parang hindi rin masyadong nabigyan ng extra kurot sa puso and all that para mas may oomph ang dating, o baka lang din hindi effective sa akin ang akting ni eric bana at ang pagpapakyut ni rachel mcadams. hm. sayang, loves ko pa naman ang mga time-traveling tales and all that. now i want to read the novel tuloy. siya, i will, 'pag nag-sale sa powerbooks.
UP (2009)p. pixar
pitch: an old man with an adventurous spirit finally embarks on his lifelong adventure to search for a lost paradise land with a scout-like boy as his accidental sidekick
catch: not very happy with the story
maybe it's because i am used to expecting something heartwarming na funny sa pixar animation kaya i was taken aback by all this sentimentality presented in this film. biro mo, mega-montage ang life ng lolo dito mula bata siya at nakilala ang love of his life hanggang sa tumanda na sila and all that, hanggang sa namatay na yung love niya na di man lang nila na-fulfill ang childhood dreams nila to embark on an adventure trail eklavu. hambigaaaaaat.
mas naiiyak ako kesa natutuwa most of the time, dahil sooooobrang lungkot na bigat nito. not that these emotional things should be shunned from seemingly "for children" stuff like these, no. in fact, that's the fact i applaud the most here. even the unwanted child syndrome nung wilderness scout boy (na parang tinatakwil ng parents) ay nahagip dito kahit papaano pero hindi masyadong belabored ang pagkukuwento. maganda siya. light-handed approach kahit heavy-hearted ang effect most times. so okay, ambivalent ako dito. not totally sad. sige na nga.hey, it's pixar. i am programmed to love their works. somewhat.
and i love the rainbow-colored androgynous bird hehe. la lang.
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