Hey, y’all!
It has been quite a slump at the theaters for a good few weeks and for that I’ve had to revisit a few oldies but goodies in the comfort of my own bedroom. However, the last two weeks have ushered in a few movies worthy of our hard-earned bucks. And on a long weekend? Yay! The only thing that could have made this all the more better is if payday had been a little bit earlier, just so you can get some flavored popcorn and cold lemonade to take with you to the cinemas. But that’s okay. Popcorn or no popcorn it is a great way to spend the long weekend. So read on to find out what’s out in the theaters!
Don’t Breathe
You know one of the benefits of watching Daredevil is being able to discern that it is the worst idea ever to cross a blind person. Clearly these guys don’t know their Netflixes. So what is it about? It is a story about three delinquents, Rocky, Alex and Money, who make a living out of breaking in homes secured by Alex’s father’s security company. Looking for a way out, they went on their way to the very last job – the house of a blind man who potentially has $300,000 in his keep. While they think that they’ve done enough research to prepare for a heist, they don’t know what’s coming to them. In fact, if I was one of these three guys, I would have stopped at the realization that this guy is an Army veteran, even though he was blind. So as lame as the premise goes, it is actually where the fun starts, at least for the moviegoers, but not for these thieves.
The movie could have easily been renamed to “Don’t Make A Sound,” but of course it doesn’t sound as cool. The scares however are really good and I think I almost jumped out of my seat a few couple of times. Mind you, I am very good at keeping myself composed in these kind of movies. And as with these kind of movies, the audience knows better, and they know enough not to cross Colonel Miles Quaritch, who didn’t actually die, but only got blinded while fighting off Avatar’s Jake Sully. Either way, this movie is just loads of fun, even though its screenplay is probably just about 20 pages long with only 5 pages of dialogue.
Train To Busan
Out since last week, this has easily been a hit to Filipino viewers, and for a good reason too. Not just because we love zombies and outbreaks and meaningless chases, but you know, how often do you find suspense movies with a lot of heart? How many zombie movies can you say that about? We all are just suckers for suckers with a heart. While watching this movie, I did find myself drifting from the subtitles and watching the characters instead at least twice or a thrice, because that’s how good the actors were, so much that even if I hadn’t understood what they were saying, I did understand what they were trying to say. And you know, amidst the gore and the blood and the violence, the moviemakes have chucked in a good amount of heartbreaking moments worthy of a tear or two.
Even the zombies were great! There wasn’t much prosthetic or makeup. Just pure acting, a little bit of contortion and freakish gnarls that would definitely send anyone flying off the other direction. There’s a few special effect blunders but it’s not hard to forgive them given that the movie was brilliantly cast and the story is perfectly written. Hollywood, take note! This is how it’s done!
Pete’s Dragon
From gory, let’s go to cuddly. I don’t care if it is a box office dud in the US, it brought me memories of Homeward Bound, Dragonheart, and all those bittersweet movies I’ve gotten used to seeing while growing up. There’s not a lot of movies like that being made nowadays. If there are, most of them don’t go mainstream. This movie however, even in its simplicity, is very touching and even sweet in its being slow. And who wouldn’t want a green fluffy dragon?
This dragon movie is one for all ages. It is full of heart and wonder, and even though it is subtle in magic, it does so beautifully. If you’re up to take the little kids to the cinemas this weekend, this is definitely the movie to see. Bring some Kleenex.
Sully
I had a dream one night that Tom Hanks had died. It was a jolt to my head and it felt really bizarre, as if it is something that would affect me very much. Not that it shouldn’t but it felt like the death of the movies to me as well. Hanks has been a household name in the movies. If you happen to watch a bad Tom Hanks movie, well at least you are guaranteed great acting anyway. The movie “Sully” is a story about a heroic airline pilot who has successfully landed an airplane full of passengers in the Hudson River, and Hanks play, well, Sully.
I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I read it will be shown in IMAX as it was filmed entirely using IMAX cameras. So what does that mean? It is a fully immersive IMAX experience being displayed on a 1.9:1 aspect ratio. If I’m still not making any sense, it means that it is in a format where the screen is square-ish rather than rectangular as commonly seen in theaters, with higher definition for a more immersive viewing experience. If you saw Nolan’s The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and Interstellar in MoA’s IMAX, you’ll know what I mean, except this one wouldn’t switch as much between aspect ratios. Unfortunately, in the Philippines, that can only be experienced in Mall of Asia’s IMAX screen.
Which ones are you going to see this weekend? Let me know in the comments section below.
3rd World Geeks 