Sunday, September 4, 2011

Weekly Round Up (8/28/11 - 9/3/11)

Cars 2 (John Lasseter) **1/2 - The streak of PIXAR's animated masterpieces and near-masterpieces ends with this film. That's not to say this is a bad film. Far from it. It's a colorful, visually eye-popping and very entertaining and solid film but no more than that. I probably would've given this a slightly higher rating had this film been made by lesser animation studio but this is PIXAR. It's like your straight-A student showed up with his first "B" grade. It's still pretty good but a disappointment considering the high expectations. Young kids who are fans of the first film will find little to complain.

Dream (Kim Ki-Duk) *** - I'm actually a fan of Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring so I was eager to check out more of Kim Ki-Duk's work. This is not as good as that film, IMO but still a very good one. A man discovers his dreaming is connected with a sleepwalking woman and unexpected consequences happen when they meet. I personally think if Takashi Miike directed an In the Mood For Love-type film, it would be similar to this. Despite the supernatural/thriller/horror elements, these take a backseat to the romance that develops between these two people. It doesn't always work but the film has great acting and is well-made.

Zombadings 1: Patayin Sa Shokot Si Remington (Jade Castro) **** - To put it quite simply: It's one of the best films of the year. This a Filipino film. The title roughly translates to Zombie Gays 1: Scare Remington to Death. It's about a guy who as a little boy liked to mock gays, finds himself mocking the wrong gay and finds himself cursed to turn homo when he grows up. This coincides with a serial killer targeting gays in his hometown. This film is a refreshingly original, infectious comedy-horror flick which is, and I'm not exaggerating here, destined to turn into a Filipino cult comedy classic. It's wonderfully demented, wickedly funny and campy in the best sense of the word with twists and turns that defy explanation. This is really a must-see. Though I hesitate to recommend this to non Filipinos (or those unfamiliar with Filipino society) because in order to fully get and appreciate the film's humor, one must have at least a little knowledge of the gay Filipino subculture.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kim Ki-Duk's movie Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring; is the best movie I've seen.

Alababi said...

dude, a review for movies need some serious images.

Btw, thanks a lot for you comment on my blog.

mjunta said...

interesting post!

Samual said...

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Jaccstev said...

They should have never considered making the Cars sequel. I already have a bad feeling that it will end Pixar's streak of great works.

Mark said...

I was hoping the Cars sequel would be better. One of my nephews loved the original. He'd probably still like the sequel though. I think the movies that Pixar are going to make based in the Cars world, like the new one on Planes, are going to do more than enough to kill Pixar.

Bart said...

kinda wanna see cars 2

my day in a sentence said...

I'll try and see Zombadings. Sounds cool enough! :)

Bersercules said...

That last film sounds interesting. Thats for informing me about it!

Bob said...

That Zombadings sounds really awesome. I like horror comedies, so I'll definitely check that out.

The Angry Lurker said...

Zombadings 1 sounds really interesting.

MRanthrope said...

I've never seen the first Cars so I really have no desire to see this one. I usually like most Pixar films but for some reason, these two never peeked my interest.

tracirz said...

Wow, I know whose blog to come to when I want to watch a movie. I like your taste :D

A said...

Definitely agree with you on the cars sequel. Dream looks good, I'll need to check it out.

D22 Zone said...

Looks good! I've always been a fan of the series!

Geojour said...

I just cannot stop saying "Zombadings" over and over. Thus, I must watch it.

DS said...

on the fence with them, wasnt really into cars too