There will be reviews…soon!!! June movie guide (Philippines)

It is official…the

Summer Blockbuster™

season is indeed on – and in full swing!!!

The past month, I have managed to catch both Iron Man and Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull…missed (missed it by that much, as Steve Carell’s Agent 86 is wont to say) Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (oh well, just wait for the official DVD release with all of the so-called deleted bits restored).

I even shed a tear over Sharon Cuneta’s Caregiver trouncing the Sex & the City movie locally…but then again, the Filipino masa (particularly those either without cable or who stick to either PBO or CinemaOne) isn’t expected to shed a tear over Carrie Bradshaw’s Cosmo-soaked surrender to marital bliss. In one PinoyExchange post, I commented on the apparent similarities between these two movies inspite of their contrasting millieus…I did arrive at the conclusion, though, that suffice we say that we bash local films for their excessive use of product placements, Hollywood is also guilty of engaging in that sneaky practice – in an increasing level, sort to say.

June 4
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Ho-hum….yet another go-round in the chopsuey fantasyland of Narnia. Yet more bloodless (this is a Disney production – remember!!!) monster battles and Aslan roaring to saaaaaave the daaaaay!!!

At least the predecessor had Tilda Swinton’s peerless White Queen.

June 6
Kung Fu Panda

Get ready to be awed as Po the Panda makes you wanna FEEL the THUNDER!!!!

I can say that Dreamworks is going to have a Shrek-class CGI-animated winner in its hands. Imagine corraling a whole lineup of comic talent – not to mention Jackie Chan to add to the authenicity of this enterprise – to lend their voice talents to this animal-driven send-up of Chinese wuxia and chopsocky. (Sorry, no Drunken Master here – this is family entertainment!!!!)

Though I am dismayed that local talent Sam Concepcion will be lending his voice to the film’s theme song – a slightly reworded version of Carl Douglas’ 70’s camp classic Kung Fu Fighting – maybe in an attempt to lure more Pinoys in moviehouses for this (were the DW beancounters taking notes on Bee Movie’s stunning failure in local cinemas), I can say that I would much prefer Cee-Lo Green’s take on this:

Cee-Lo takes a break from Gnarls Barkley to join forces with Jack Black

Meanwhile, here is Sam Concepcion’s take on the said song…

This has been in heaaavy rotation all over the Solar-owned cable channels – ETC/ETC 2nd Avenue/C/S

Here is a version by Korean megastar Rain (obviously, for the Korean release of Kung Fu Panda):

So tell me….which version is better???

June 11
The Incredible Hulk
The Happening
Grace is Gone

Am I feeling amped that this latest Hulk movie would give Edward Norton the boost to be able to carry a movie on his shoulders? Given that Transporter helmer Louis Leterrier has resolved to pump up the action on this “from the ground up” reworking of Stan Lee’s not-so-Jolly Green Giant tale, I can say that Marvel Studios has another winner on its hands after the money machine that is Iron Man.

Bruce Banner gets into Hulk mode….

this Reservoir Dog puts up a mean fight agains’t ol’ Mean Green himself – great Capoeira moves on the part of Blonsky!

Street showdown between Blonsky/Abomination and the Hulkster – see how a NYPD car becomes a pair of boxing gloves augmenting Hulk’s awesome punches!!!

On the other hand…my curiosity may get the better of me so I could go take a gander over at The Happening…even if I felt somewhat betrayed by M. Night Shyamalan’s last cinematic outings (Lady in the Water was an awesome waste of Paul Giamatti’s talent). Then again, I’ve always been a loyal viewer of Mark Wahlberg’s films – maybe because it is for the egoless, effortless performances he imparts on each of them. No Oscar-baiting Method exercises for this onetime rapper whose initial claim to fame lay on the well- toned abs he’d flash in his music videos.

June 18
Prom Night
Urduja
the ruins
Get Smart

Oh no…oh yes, yet another beloved TV show from way-back-when gets reintroduced for Generation YouTube. Steve Carell gamely fills in the shoe(phone)s of Don Adams as his desk-bound analyst finally gets the field assignment of his dreams as Agent 86 opposite Anne Hathaway’s Agent 99.

Ms. Hathaway is sharply dressed yet looks as scrumptuous as ever!!!

Look also for Masi “Hiro Nakamura” Oka and Ken “Azamat” Davitian in this lovable doozy.

Meanwhile, there is Urduja, which is being touted as the very first locally-made animated film employing the services of a team of world-class Filipino animators (a lot of who appears to have cut their teeth for Disney and DreamWorks productions). The Disney influences are heavy on this one, from the Mulan-esque design of the title character (taken from a Pangansinense folk tale) to the obligatory Scene-Stealing Animal Sidekicks™ (SSAS).

This project is propped up with an A-caliber list of voice talent culled from local cinema including:

Regine Velasquez as the titular Princes Urduja
Cesar Montano as the Chinese pirate Lim Hang
Eddie Garcia (no mistaking that baritone) as Lakanpati
Epi Quizon as Daisuke
Allan K. as Tarsir (SSAS alert!!!)
Michael V. as Kukut (SSAS alert!!!)

June 25
accidental husband
Be Kind Rewind
Wanted
boy A

You just can’t get enough of Jack Black’s awesomeness (not to mention fellow Kung Fu Panda voice talent Angelina Jolie, in general), so here they are headlining two separate film releases.

First off is Be Kind Rewind, where Jack along with Mos Def goes through nearly a century of cinematic history on a fantastically shoestring budget as they attempt to recreate an entire video store’s collection of titles (you should check out what they have done to the likes of Robocop and Ghostbusters!!!)

now that’s the “sweded” trailer for you!!!

On the other hand, this is guaranteed to really up the game as far as comic-book-to-film adaptations go. Working out of a visceral graphic novel by Judge Dredd/The Authority/Sin City veteran Mark Millar, Russian Timur Bekmanbetov imparts the sheer visual style he has so sumptuously displayed in his Night Watch/Day Watch films into this classy action-fantasy guaranteed to – pardon the tired cliche – out-Matrix™ The Matrix Trilogy™. Plus points for a cast that includes Academy Award®-winner Morgan Freeman, rapper Common and Atonement’s James McAvoy as the non-hero who finds himself in these extraordinary circumstances.

Ange’s tatted back FTW

Wasn’t that the Dodge Viper featured in Day Watch?

Ooops, my bad….it was a Mazda RX8!!! Gotta admit, that was the high point in this film, which I managed to catch in a local theatre dubbed in English (not bad for dubbing work – Eastern European accents add to authencity)

movie releases