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

As I write this, it would have been more than a couple of weeks since a true Hollywood star has once again ascended the Great Celestial Staircase.

Paul Newman, 1925-2008

One can say that by his passing, Paul Newman has managed to draw a tear to many an eye of those who have worked with him as well as those who have been influenced not only by his low-key manner of life but the way he has lived it.  His long-lasting marriage to Joanne Woodward (whom he also directed in some of her movies) has defied industry convention; at least he needn’t have to worry about any of his offspring raising hell and besmirching his legacy.  Nevertheless, he managed to live a full life, diversifying his interests into such fields as health-food manufacturing and auto racing – he was still burning laps down the speedway several months before his sudden passing from a heart attack.  Even when his screen appearances have become more infrequent, he has managed to make each and every one of them count.

Take for instance,

That was his voice propelling “Doc” the Hudson Hornet in Disney/Pixar’s Cars (for the record, I actually cried upon seeing that on the big screen)

Nothing can compare, though, to Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, his team-up with Robert Redford which practically rewrote the rules of the Western, in more ways than one…

The Burt Bacharach score is to die for….

Gotta admit…I’ve not been a follower of Newman’s work (though I did catch both The Color of Money and Road to Perdition - and fell asleep while watching the latter!)  He’s going to be definitely a tough act to follow…however, the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal and Ben Affleck stand to inherit his mantle.  Only time will tell if they do play their cards right and follow his career trajectory.

Going back to the business at hand, I was off by a couple of days in predicting the playdate for Mirrors, but I really feel like an ass in thinking that Beverly Hills Chihuahua would be released around the last week of September.  Just the same, local releases will remain in orange while must-sees are in italics.

Oct 1
Mag-Ingat Ka sa Kulam
Mirrors
Three Kingdoms: Return of the Dragon
Mutant Chronicles

Let’s keep these short….

Mirrors – check the September installment of this column.

Three Kingdoms – so-so Chinese historical drama; they could’ve released John Woo’s Red Cliff instead (but it was considerate for the local distribs to release it in the original Chinese w/ English subtitles)

Mutant Chronicles – great casting of genre faves Thomas (Punisher) Jane, Ron (HellBoy) Perlman and Devon (Miho) Aoki in in yet another game-to-cinema adaptation which sadly turns into yet one more wasted opportunity.

Oct 8
Igor
Buried Alive
Body of Lies
Tropic Thunder
Appaloosa

More wasted opportunities…in spite of a stellar cast led by John Cusack as the titular apprentice-turned-monster-makin’ wannabe, many are calling down Igor as being too derivative of Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride & The Nightmare Before Christmas.

You be the judge:

Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride trailer

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas trailer

Igor trailer

Brave – yet ballsy – job for upstart company Exodus Film Group, though.

Looks like a close toss-up between Tropic Thunder and Body of Lies….

…once you go “black”, there’s no way that you can go back!!!

Might be catching one or both of them over the weekend…just keep posted for the inevitable review!!!

Oct 15
Max Payne
The Strangers
The Pineapple Express

Director John Moore and “Max Payne” himself Mark Wahlberg talk about the upcoming PC/video game adaptation

Official theatrical trailer for Max Payne

I just hope that the R-rated grittiness of the source material (yet another adaptation from a PC/console game?? See Mutant Chronicles above) would be retained…it’d be a pity if it may wind up as yet another stinker.  Nevertheless, the presence of Mark Wahlberg should make this worthwhile – not to mention a solid supporting performance from Chris “Ludacris” Bridges (heeeyyy Luda, lay off the Marky Mark jokes, huh)

Then again, wasn’t bullet-time a cinematic fancy whose novelty has long since passed?

I liked Shoot ‘Em Up last year, so if Max Payne would be going down that stylistic direction, maybe I’d give it a whack.

As with Tropic Thunder above, I’ve already mentioned about The Pineapple Express and why people should go see this…

Oct 22
Nights in Rodanthe

Not really my type, though…never read any of Nicholas Sparks’ books and never have any plans to do.  Likewise, it’d be equally pointless for me to catch any movies based on his books, like The Horse Whisperer, The Notebook and Nights in Rodanthe,

Oct 24
High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Full Trailer

Assley Titsd…oops, I mean Ashley Tisdale with “A Night To Remember” from the High School Musical 3 soundtrack

AAAAARRRGGGHHH…sugar intake approaching diabetic level!!!

Believe me, HSM 1 was okay…but I just couldn’t get myself to complete HSM2 even when it gets rerun on the Disney Channel.  Now they’re going to take it all the way to widescreen!!!

Oct 29
The House Bunny

I beg please don’t ever, EVER move the release date again….

The countdown is ongoing…

Official movie trailer for Quantum of Solace, the 22nd James Bond film – and the second for Daniel Craig as 007.  Directed by Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball, The Kite Runner), the word out is that they will be reintroducing naked (?) dancing girls for the opening credits, but no gadgets or catchphrases yet for Bond – not at this moment yet.

Alicia Keys & Jack White do “Another Way to Die”, the official theme song to Quantum of Solace.

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