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Reviews
Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles (2012)
Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles (A Filipino Horror Movie) – From a Commoner's View
It is true what they say that Tiktik is not just your typical action-horror film. Yes, that is very true. It is action-packed, that I agree. But I don't think I can categorize it as a horror movie in my book. The scary factors in horror stories are not present in this film. My rating for Shock and Scare is half a heart. So there, no need to be wary of watching this movie because you have a weak heart. Tiktik is more of an action-comedy with just a tiny bit element of horror because of the human-eating monsters). But for Laughter and Tears, I give it 4 hearts! It was a really fun movie to watch.
Joey Marquez was his usual funny stupid but with a big heart character. I must admit
seeing him again after a very long time of absence in movies, I realized that I kinda missed his antics. Janice was also funny as the typical nagging wife and mother. Ramon Bautista, on the other hand, was a nice and fresh addition. Contrary to what I expected, he was not overacting or corny. He delivered a natural and right amount of comic expressions. Lovi Poe also gave what was required from her and did not overdo it. Like what Eugene Domingo calls a "No Acting Acting" :) The lines and their delivery were simply perfect! Even Dingdong Dantes, whom I never really liked, was great at being an ass****. A natural! Oh, I meant that in a good way, okay? Writer-Director of this film, Erik Matti, made the right choices in his personally hand-picked actors to play these roles.
So, for Character Performance I give Tiktik 4.5 gems . Considering that the actors had to act frightened out of their wits by monsters that they don't even see. They were all believable. And oh, let's not forget the villains and their remarkable performances and saliva-dripping appearances. They acted in all seriousness of their monster characters, especially the two patriarchal figures: Mike Gayoso as the avenging father of the mischievous teenage monsters; and Roi Vinzons as the powerful head of the monsters' tribe.
It would be hard to separate ratings for Cinematography and Special FX, since Tiktik was shot entirely in green screen and everything depended on computer graphics animation. I was really impressed with the opening credits. It's the first Filipino movie I've seen where the creators really put in too much time and effort in the artistry of the opening credits. It was like watching the opening credits of Batman or Spider-man. Well
not really but almost! And that's saying something, right? READ FULL REVIEW here --> http://heblogs-sheblogs.com/topics/arts-lit/
Sinister (2012)
Sinister (A Horror Movie): From a Commoner's View
NO SPOILERS – SheBlogger hates spoilers :) Okay
so here's another horror movie review from the girl who is yet to be scared with scenes shot in the dark, gory murders and startling sound effects.
HeBlogger and I went to the mall last Sunday to watch a different movie. We thought Tiktik, which is a Filipino horror movie, was already showing. Apparently, it is not scheduled until next week. Then we saw Sinister's poster, which said, "from the producer of Paranormal and Insidious". We have seen both movies and we both didn't like Paranormal but both enjoyed Insidious. So we said, okay
let's watch this instead.
Didn't know anything about this movie Sinister so as we walked inside the empty movie house, I wondered which one is it going to be like. Is it going to be a homemade movie about paranormal activities with three different endings? Oh please
I fervently hope not! I crossed my fingers because I noticed there were rolls of super 8 films on the poster. Or is it going to be about demons capturing souls and possessing the physical body with a non-happy ending? Or is it going to be a totally different story? I hoped it would be.
We were the first two of the five people who came to watch this movie. The others were a group of three teenage girls, who surprisingly didn't scream or shout at all, throughout the screening. What a joy to be watching in silence and absolute peace! Okay, on to the movie review
The movie opens with a scene shot like a home video, so I go like, uh-oh
But don't be disheartened. It's nothing like Paranormal and deeper into the story, you'd see that it is more like Insidious. That much I would tell you.
The story is about a real crime stories writer, played by Ethan Hawke (the only actor I know in the movie), who moved his entire family to a house where a family was hung to death in the backyard tree and their little girl still missing. In the course of his research and with the help of rolls of seemingly innocent and happy family home videos that mysteriously appeared in the attic, he discovers more brutal murders of different families in different houses. So there's the question
Are these murders in any way related, considering there's always a little child missing? I must say that I find the premise of the story original. Well, at least for me. So I give it 4.5 gems for Story and Originality...
Continue reading on: http://heblogs-sheblogs.com/2012/10/sinister-movie-review/
Amorosa: The Revenge (2012)
Amorosa, The Revenge (Horror Movie): From a Commoner's View
As I have mentioned in my post "SheBlogger as a Reviewer of the Macabre" (would be good to read that first before reading this review), I'm always in the lookout for horror movies. I especially watch out for Filipino horror movies because I'm hoping for some improvements (and I have seen a few already) in this genre. So when I first saw this movie on Facebook, I thought to myself, "Wow! Another promising horror movie, not long after The Healing". Its Facebook page did not say much about the movie so I did not what exactly it is all about. I guess it's a marketing strategy to surround it with mystery. Even the poster didn't reveal much, but did suggest a lot of things to the imagination.
I will not go into details of the story because I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet. And the power of the movie is in the intricacy of the story. I don't do to others what I don't want others do unto me. I hate it when people purposely tell me the story of a movie I'm planning to see. I would just tell you what I liked and did not like about the movie.
First, I like the air of mystery given by the poster and the teaser trailer. It had me guessing if this is another psycho thriller wherein there is really no ghost killer other than the proverbial ghost in the past of the main character and that she is actually the killer. As it says in the trailer, "is she a loving mother?", or a "crazy mom?", or something to that effect. I don't remember the exact words. Hehe Anyway, it's an effective marketing strategy, if that's what it is. It caught my interest. However, I think the opening of the movie ruined that mystery. I will not tell you why or how. For me it just did. It removed all my doubts about the existence, or non-existence for that matter, of the ghost. It could have been better if that scene was placed somewhere in the middle or even just a bit later. Just not in the beginning of the story.
But still, the story was not completely revealed in that scene and my guessing continued every step of the way. And boy was I wrong in many guesses! I was wrong about who is who and who was dead or not. Although I was also correct in some instances. This is why I said the power of the movie lies in the story. I like thriller movies that keep me guessing and I like it when I'm wrong, because it means the presentation of the narrative was very good. In this case, the twist was expected but it was not the twist I expected, if you get what I mean I knew there would be a twist but I didn't guess it right.
Continue reading on: http://heblogs-sheblogs.com/topics/arts-lit/
Ang katiwala (2012)
Ang Katiwala (An Indie Film): From a Commoner's View
The film opens in a province setting, where our protagonist, Ruben (played by Dennis Trillo), and his family live. He was a carpenter of the local government, but was laid off and replaced in his post because he didn't support the current mayor in the past election. He has a wife and a kid. They are living with his father-in-law, who was a tenant farmer on a piece of land. The land was promised to be given to them but the owner died and his daughter did not honor the agreement. Add to their poverty-stricken situation the incessant pillaging of their "kamalig" (granary or barn) by rebels. Anyway, that's the scenario in Quezon province that Ruben left, when he went with his Uncle Manuel to work at the President's mansion in Quezon City. Need I say that the president who owned the mansion was the late President Manuel Luis Quezon? He arrived in Manila and saw a worse situation than the one he left back home when he visited his cousin at a squatter's area. When he finally came to the mansion, he was awed by the enormity of the house. A striking contrast to the shack of his cousin, where he had just been and slept taking turns because there was not enough space. In the President's mansion, Ruben tries to learn more about the president and the Philippine history. In the course of his readings, he began to idolize the president and tried to copy him. President Manuel Quezon became his inspiration. He believed that they had a lot of things in common, both coming from a poor family, being sickly as a child, having to walk long distances just to go to school and not speaking or understanding English until they were already adults. Ruben believed that like President Quezon he could also succeed in life and rise up from poverty.
Okay
I think I should stop telling the story here, before I bore you. So, did I like it or not? Read full review here: http://heblogs-sheblogs.com
Bwakaw (2012)
Bwakaw (An Independent Film): From a Commoner's View
Bwakaw embarks upon the life's journey of Mang Rene, a cranky old homosexual man. I've seen other gay movies but this is so far the most natural, every-day-scene, or could-be-my-neighbor kind of setting. The delivery of lines are so natural that it didn't feel scripted at all. But of course! This was a powerhouse cast! Led by none other than one of the greatest actors that has ever graced the Philippine Cinema – Mr. Eddie Garcia himself! Add to that another classical icon in the industry – Ms. Armida Siguion-Reyna. Now, who could possibly top these two actors who are, to quote a line from the movie, "older than the Philippine Constitution??? And I mean that in the most positive way, that their length and quality of service to the Philippine movie industry is already immeasurable. So, it is only right for us to give honor.
Other good actors who graced this film are: Gardo Versoza, Soxie Topacio, Alan Paule, Luz Valdez, Rez Cortez, Beverly Salviejo, Jonathan Neri, May-I Fabros, Soliman Cruz, Roni Bertubin, and Joey Paras. I will not detail who played who, so as not to preempt other would-be watchers of this movie. Go figure that out yourself! ;) Or just go to their Facebook Fanpage. Actually, I'm just too lazy to write it down because it would just be a waste of time and space when you can find it in their Fanpage already. Am I right? Now, moving on to what I liked about this movie
click here for full review, go to: http://heblogs-sheblogs.com