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Resident Evil: Afterlife

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil series)

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter

Genre: Action, Adventure, Horror

Release: September 2010

Sherlock Holmes (B)

Is it just me or is Robert Downey, Jr. somewhat channeling his own incarnation of Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow in his turn as the detective turned action hero Sherlock Holmes?

Downey may be giving Depp a run for his money but certainly not the luster – Guy Ritchie’s latest flick is a kinetic rebirth for the famous spy from the land of Great Britain, a harrowing adventure worthy of a classic Holmes tale but certainly not as jaw-dropping as the previews may suggest.

Following the exploits of the arrogant yet eccentric Arthur Conan Doyle character together with his compatriot Dr. John Watson, played quite marvelously by the underrated Jude Law, the film takes us on a wild goose chase with the two racing to solve the mystery of an occult murderer. Rachel McAdams joins in on the fun as the lovely Irene Adler who’s romantic past with Holmes may have big implications on their destinies.

The film chiefly succeeds because of the strength of the performances, and rightfully so – Holmes is as memorable as ever thanks to the resurgence of Downey and Law’s Watson is undoubtedly his perfect counterpart. Mark Strong on the other hand delivers another enigmatically solid performance as the evil Lord Blackwood.

Though the two leads’ chemistry is an absolute joy to watch onscreen, Sherlock Holmes falls victim to many of the typical plotlines that pervade most clue-gathering and case-solving adventures. With Guy Ritchie’s flawed if not commendable guidance after his muddled crime thriller RocknRolla, Downey and Law have their hearts in the right place – to present nothing but cinematic energy.

Inglourious Basterds (A)

Quentin Tarantino is a maestro – he orchestrates each of his films so skillfully and so effortlessly, weaving together stories that shock, invigorate and most of all entertain. Inglourious Basterds is probably the penultimate testament to that statement, a quirky exercise in straightforward and truly effective storytelling.

Two stories make up Tarantino’s epic. At the film’s heart despite what cleverly placed marketing materials may suggest, is Melanie Laurent’s vengeful Jewish character named Shosanna whose entire family was wiped out by the Nazis in a small farm in France. While her story plays out, we are treated to Brad Pitt’s Lt. Aldo Raine and his group of Basterds, an elite squad trained and ordered to kill Nazis. The two parallel narratives are independent of one another and are laid out side by side building up to the explosive finale.

The acting ensemble is one of the impressive aspects of this film, allowing each character to be given definitive moments in the movie – and they are truly definitive. Christoph Waltz is Inglourious Basterds‘ savior, if not ironically a menace as a leading Nazi officer, with his commanding presence and charming yet evil onscreen persona. Laurent’s Shosanna is mesmerizing and enigmatic and certainly deserves attention, as well as Eli Roth’s small but thrilling role as the Bear Jew.

Moon (A)

Moon is probably the antithesis of everything James Cameron set out to do with Avatar, but it is no less potent than the blockbuster visual effects extravaganza, and quite possibly maybe even more heartfelt.

Duncan Jones’s feature film debut is a sci-fi masterclass and ranks among the year’s best genre outings Star Trek and District 9. The film does have though the most chilling and the most psychological of roots among all of its counterparts, and will certainly make Stanley Kubrick proud.

Sam Rockwell is a beast in this film, delivering the finest hour of his career playing astronaut Sam Bell who gets caught in a whirlwind of confusion and hallucination after he gets involved in an accident during his routine mining. His tour de force is undoubtedly what drives the film’s one and a half hour running time, similar to that of Tom Hanks’s outstanding performance in Cast Away.

The sci-fi thriller is based on an original concept by Jones and holds up as one of the most engrossing pieces in the genre. Its subtle commentaries on human nature and its reliance on technology is taken to a whole new level, transcending the basic intricacies of cinema and bringing it close to home, making us feel what Sam feels and making us connect to the film’s characters.

Duncan Jones has proven that he is a skillful storyteller and a master visual linguist. With Moon, it can be safe to say that 2009 has truly been a landmark year for science fiction moviemaking.

Avatar (A)

We’ve seen this story before, but when all of James Cameron’s two and a half hour opus is over it appears that on the other hand we’ve never seen it at all – at least in this way.

More than a decade in the making plus the sweat, blood and tears of the man who brought us Terminator, Terminator 2 and Titanic, Avatar is a film for the ages, a historic milestone in filmmaking that’s sure to be a benchmark for the digital age of movie magic. Cameron has crossed unchartered territory and has brought to life a stunning array of imagination and reality, a crossover between timely issues and escapist entertainment that’s sure to enthrall moviegoers of all backgrounds.

After his warmup role in the summer’s lackluster sequel Terminator Salvation, Sam Worthington breaks through in his role as Jake Sully, an ex-marine who’s paralysis drives him to sign up for a mission on the distant moon of Pandora to replace his dead brother. He travails through the lush jungles and forests in his avatar body, a remotely controlled hybrid of human and alien Na’vi DNA, and discovers a world beyond his wildest dreams. On the alien moon that the human race has plans to conquer he must make the decision to finish the job or to protect the people of Pandora.

Avatar also features stand out performances from its supporting cast in Stephen Lang’s militaristic embodiment of wartime America, as well as Sigourney Weaver’s motherly portrayal of a benevolent botanist studying the indigenous people. Zoe Saldaña however stands out strongly as the motion captured character of Neytiri, Jake Sully’s eventual love interest from the Na’vi tribe.

Each sequence, scene and shot of Cameron’s sci-fi epic is so intricately composed and so skillfully drawn out that it’s difficult to find folly amongst the majesty of the Pandoran backdrop. His themes of environmentalism, anti-imperialism and the capitalism of humankind are so tightly wound in the array of bows and arrows and total destruction brought about by impending war that the emotion drawn out by this vicarious cinematic experience is so very real – it shows the world as it is today.

Many may find Avatar‘s brilliance simply in its impeccable display of visual effects, brought to life even more awesomely by its use of 3D. And yes it is awesome – if you haven’t experienced 3D before or in other cases haven’t been entirely impressed by 3D efforts in the past, now is your time to do so and give it a go. Its motion-capture technology is groundbreaking and its results are as realistic and as vibrant as ever.

Avatar was made for 3D – and more importantly 3D was made for Avatar.

But quite frankly the movie is far from simply a technical paramount and it presents to us the boundless possibilities that original filmmaking has to offer. Straight from the depths of the mind of James Cameron Avatar is truly and resoundingly one of the most visceral films in cinematic history, placing it among the ranks of true moviegoing events such as Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings; there are times when its flaws are just transcended so greatly by the sheer limitless scope of its content that it’s so hard to place any blame.

Avatar is undoubtedly the future of cinema. Just awesome.

Law Abiding Citizen (C+)

I think Gerard Butler was trying to channel Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal for his role here. Well, he mostly failed.

Law Abiding Citizen is F. Gary Gray’s (The Italian Job) attempt at striking social commentary, fusing elements of the vigilantism from V For Vendetta with the grotesque violence of the Saw franchise and bits of Michael Bay’s love for explosives. Put together, all of these fall short of anything spectacular and the Jamie Foxx-Gerard Butler pairing doesn’t seem to amount to anything much other than a few interesting confrontations.

For a film that starts off quite strongly with its first act, it never seems to take flight and Butler’s deranged Clyde Shelton emerges as a one-man war machine on a path to blow the hell out of anyone he deems corrupt, with an almost Crisostomo Ibarra-like enigma to him.

Keyword is almost – actually not even almost, it’s not even close.

Probably the only intelligent thing that discernable from the film is the fascinating scene between Shelton and the lady judge where the interaction is apparent between the pure chaos Butler’s character intends to ensue with the legalistic and ultimately closed-minded view of the law.

What could have been a film with lots of potential given the star power involved, Law Abiding Citizen slowly rolls downhill and dismembers itself. The film simply tries too hard with too little and takes itself too seriously in a genre where nerves, just like Clyde Shelton, just need to be let loose.

(500) Days of Summer (B+)

This is not a love story – nor is it a full-fledged love review either. Just like when expectations don’t exactly meet reality, (500) Days of Summer boasts near unanimous critical praise as well as strong audience reception but truthfully does not nearly capture my imagination and my open arms as it has to others.

Don’t get me wrong, Marc Webb’s feature film debut is as creative, witty and offbeat as romantic comedies can ever get. With the passionate narrative of the film’s screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, the Sundance audience favorite hits all the right notes in its treatment of a sensitive and intoxicated young man named Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his travails courting a charming yet uncommitted young woman in Summer (Zooey Deschanel).

Gordon-Levitt performance is titanic and his phenomenal chemistry with the whimsical and often powerful Deschanel is quite honestly the heart and soul of why this film, for the most part, succeeds. Channeling a Heath Ledger-esque enigmatic charisma to him, Gordon-Levitt goes on for most of the film in a dire state of confusion over his apparently hopeless pursuit of Summer. He is inquisitive, insightful and impressionistic as Tom and he certainly breaks through towards the mainstream because of his star-turning role in this film.

The film’s weakness despite its seemingly uncanny sensibility ironically lies in its convention. Much of its originality lies in Webb’s ability to translate Neustadter and Weber’s heartfelt yet muddled screenplay onto the big screen – and it is undoubtedly astounding throughout, yet all of it feels somehow distant and, for the lack of a better term, mainstream.

For an independent film that just means more good news and more welcome commercial success. I just feel that (500) Days of Summer, in spite of its honesty and sincerity, certainly can’t match the love I have for Juno or the perennially unforgettable Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

More along the lines of last year’s Oscar and audience darling Slumdog Millionaire, the film, at least in my opinion, walks too closely along the lines of the typical rather than the wholly uncompromising.

Jennifer’s Body (D)

You can’t expect Diablo Cody to hit all the right notes two consecutive times, especially coming off her deserving yet possibly premature Oscar-winning screenplay for the widely loved Juno. Yes, she stole hearts the last time – and now she tries to eat them, monstrously even, and devoid of any human emotion.

I guess you can’t expect much from her pairing up with Aeon Flux director Karyn Kusama, thus bringing us to the conclusion that maybe Jason Reitman was the genius behind Ellen Page and her star-turning character. But that’s besides the point, and whether or not you have a high-profile writer and a certified useless lead actress in Megan Fox, the fact remains that Jennifer’s Body is a dud – lifeless and meaningless.

This does not go to say that I didn’t enjoy the film because as I always say, entertainment is a wholly different story. Who doesn’t get a kick out of seeing an incredibly hot cheerleader turning into a flesh-eating demon after being sacrificed by a bunch of Satan-worshipping band members. The film is blessed with sparkles of potential here and there, of course with the always charming Amanda Seyfried, but in its entirety it’s simply trying too desperately to be cool.

Replicating the success of your first film is one thing, but simply rehashing worn out one-liners, plucking out limbs and having your two lead women make out just won’t cut it.

Tomorrow I’ll go catch 500 Days of Summer instead – which should be 500 times more engaging and original.

The Damned United (B+)

I’ve never been this fascinated by the English and their love and passion for football as I am now. Tom Hooper’s adaptation of David Peace’s fictional account of the trials and tribulations of the enigmatic Brian Clough, The Damned United, is enough for me to give the sport I’ve never bothered about a try.

Football always seemed like a distant and cold sport to me. With its stadiums so large and its fans so wild, I never really connected to the sport. It always seemed like another world to me, halfway around the globe in some far off European town. I guess Filipino fans of football will see me as some lunatic – the only thing I ever knew about football was David Beckham and Manchester United and that glorious chorus of a commercial I always come across when flipping through Star Sports.

Tom Hooper works wonders with Frost/Nixon and The Queen screenwriter Peter Morgan in unravelling a very personal story deep within the rowdiness of English football.

Michael Sheen, sadly best known for his roles in vampire flicks Underworld and the upcoming Twilight: New Moon (and should rather be held in esteem for his charismatic turn as David Frost in Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon), is absolutely near-flawless in his portrayal of the true-to-life successful and controversial football manager Brian Clough. After leading Derby County all the way to the top of the 1st division in the early 1970s, Clough is daunted by the task of taking over Leeds Utd., a bitter rival he’s criticized over the years.

Though not factually reliable, The Damned United has much to be proud of, most especially its simplicity and effectivity in recounting Clough’s life and in its ability to efficiently wrap its audience around its main character. The film owes much to its lead actor for this as well as his talented supporting cast lead by Timothy Spall (Harry Potter, The Last Samurai) and Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge!).

Sheen bears an uncanny resemblance to the late Brian Clough, who is seamlessly added into the film via archival footage – he appears to channel this natural charisma and slight arrogance in many of his roles. Clough on the other hand is idealistic yet stubborn, brilliant yet flawed, characteristics of a young and promising tragic hero. There’s just something here, about his complex character, that can simply strike at your heartstrings, whether a football fan or not.

The Damned United is undoubtedly a gem in the sports drama genre.