Sunday, October 23, 2011

Weekly Round-Up (10/16/11 - 10/22/11)

Chico y Rita (Fernando Trueba/Tono Errando/Javier Mariscal) ***1/2 - This is a Spanish-language animated film about an elderly Cuban jazz pianist reminicse about his love affair with a singer during that period after World War II and before the Cuban revolution. The plot is pretty much been-there-done-that but the heart and the intent behind it, a beautiful love letter to jazz and Latino music as well as the nostalgia behind it lifts it up to new heights. The handdrawn animation is also similarly gorgeous. A really great, near-perfect film.

Kisapmata (Mike de Leon) **** -When a young man and a young woman get married, the woman's super-overprotective father meddles in their relationship. But family secrets underneath are much more sinister than what it seems. Now, I know why it's considered a landmark in Filipino cinema. Vic Silayan is absolutely terrifying as the "overprotective" father. I love that he never plays him as a one-dimensional monster but a full human being which makes him even MORE frightening. The film is extremely well-shot and features some stunning direction which produces an aura of uncomfortable tension althroughout. It's definitely in the running in my Top 5 best Filipino films of all time.

Paranormal Activity 3 (Henry Joost/Ariel Schulman) **1/2 - I can't believe I actually went and saw this. But I kind of liked the first two since admittedly I'm a sucker for "true ghost stories"/documentaries and this series gives the feeling of one. Well, they managed to squeeze yet another pretty solid film out of the basic premise although it's showing signs of getting tired. Still, it does manage to have some decent scares. If you liked the first two films, there's no reason for you to not like this one.

Winnie The Pooh (Stephen J. Anderson/Don Hall) *** - I grew up watching the original Winnie the Pooh films repeatedly. The TV series and the subsequent films are nowhere up to par with the originals so this back-to-the-basics reboot, so to speak is something I was looking forward. The results are pretty darn close. The childlike whimsy and quirkiness that one comes to associate with these loveable characters are mostly there. The 2D animation is likewise also superb. It's a pity this didn't do well theatrically.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I also grew up watching Winnie The Pooh. (:

Anonymous said...

I've watched Chito y Rita.

Outcast said...

I'm definitely going to have to watch Paranormal Activity soon, everybody loves it over here and never seems to shut up about it to be honest. Nice round-up as usual buddy.

msmariah said...

Ha, I'm glad I'm not the only one to dislike Paranormal Activity 3.

Adam said...

I never saw the first winnie pooh films

Sub Radar (Mike) said...

I don't think winnie the pooh has the same effect on me as an adult... the magic is gone :/

Bersercules said...

I think I should give the winnie the pooh movie a look!

Biff Tanner said...

Paranormal Activity 3 ugh*

Pat Hatt said...

Yeah Winnie the pooh seems to have gone by the wayside with kids now, sad it wasn't a bigger success.

Pat Hatt said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bob said...

Can't find much about the Kisapmata. These movies are pretty hard to find outside of Philippines, huh?

Film Geek Bastard said...

"Kisapmata" is even hard to find here in the Philippines (no DVD release yet). It is available for viewing on Youtube but it has no English subtitles. A friend of mine says he found a copy online with English subtitles but you're gonna have to Google that yourself.

Bob said...

Film Geek Bastard: Hmm, ok. Thanks for the further info. :)