on the bigscreen : The Forbidden Kingdom

It’s been a while since I’ve watched a movie on the Big Screen at Powerplant. Since Dad was such a Jacky Chan fan plus Jet Li was also in the movie, I guess it was a brief-dropping moment for him. (or something to that equivalent.

Basically it’s a story of a young American Kung Fu fanb01 who can’t get enough of martial arts. He got transported far back in time (and in another reality) where he was the supposed keeper of the staff and he has to return it to the Monkey King (insert here story of the Monkey King which you will know in the movie).

So Mr. Kung Fu Boy Jason (Michael Angarano, who looks oddly like that guy from Disturbia) together with some misfits , Drunken Master Jacky Chan, Golden Sparrow, Liu Yifei, and The Silent Monk Jet Li are off to battle the Jade Warriors and the heavily eye-shadowed Jade Master along with his forgettable lackeys and the very, VERY unforgettable bounty hunter.

It is the first time I have seen Jet Li and Jacky Chan going at it. And dude, it was orgasmic.  It is probably one of the must-see scenes if you’re already nodding off (if old school Kung Fu isn’t really your thing).  But if it was my Martial Arts preference, I would go for Jacky Chan’s humorous and realistic style and ingenious little tricks than the almost unearthly moves of Jet Li (thanks to his skill and Hollywood magic).

Their duel was a beautiful dance of blocked punches, flying, flapping sleeves, and fancy footwork.

A movie won’t be complete if there were no pretty women. And here there were two from both sides of the force. In the side of good was Golden Sparrow. Orphaned when she was little by the hands of the Jade Master himself, she seeks revenge waiting for the day she can implant her jade tipped needles of death.

Onto the dark side is the Sexy and treacherous  Bounty Hunter Li Bing Bing, whom I  was entranced with her long white hair, deadly aim and her long vicious whip.

This movie was worth watching, if not for all the Kung Fu, then it’s for the women.

No. I’m NOT a lesbian. But yeah one of the main reasons I wrote this review was to basically say hooray for the female martial artists.

Pictures were grabbed at silentmonkey’s flickr page copyrighted by it’s rightful owners and etc and all the jazz.

recently seen in VLC: となりのトトロ, Tonari no Totoro

Tonari no Totoro or My Neighbor Totoro is an anime about two girls meeting a forest troll. It is a funny, amusing, heartfelt movie that almost has no sense, but with a storyline perfect for little kids. and as well as the grown-ups with hearts like children.

Nothing can light up a face more than seeing the big forest troll, as well as its two companions. who can fulfill the dreams and little desire of kids. Kids who are just so lively, playful with very magical imaginations. It’s one of those feel good movies that just makes you want to smile and remember a nice childhood experience.

do not forget to sing along on the first opening song… :)

and just to spite MMFF, this movie is so much better than that Karma thing :|

last seen: matakot ka sa karma (be afraid of karma) [mega spoilers]

Today, a bunch of officmates, he and i watched an MMFF film. Jose Javier Reyes’ Matakot Ka Sa Karma. All i can say until the end of the movie was a WTF?

I’m almost desperately trying to connect the title to the movie…nothing. Not one single connection related to Karma. I don’t particularly get it. I don’t know if the movie is that deep or i’m just too shallow not to understand the whole plot….

here comes my analysis.

Kama – Here is Aleli (Gretchen Baretto (check my spelling pl0x)) who is not a big fan of antiques buys a canopy bed from the Antique Seller (i’m bad with names…) because it was cheap. now a ghost suddenly haunts their house. Aleli now is having dreams of a woman holding hands with her child walking on the road, a miscarraige. Now a lonely ghost looking for her child, and takes hers away. And the dream sequence was made into reality. Is that the supposed karma? Probably.

Aparador – Husband and Wife receives an antique cabinet from the Interior Designer from the same seller. Now it rattles and shakes and gives whispers that shook everybody in the house. Their weird neighbor Mrs. Santiago comes over and feels the presence of a child inside the cabinet hiding. Who was locked there because of deformity, and from the shame of a father who felt utmost hatred for him.
Brother of Wife was taken by the child inside. was missing for 24 hours and his car keys was found inside the cabinet. Once again. The closed cabinet rattled and shaked. Husband opens the cabinet door to let the spirit out…they felt relieved , but it too, also took the wife.
where is the karma again?

Tokador – Newly moved girl receives a vanity table from supposed suitor (also from the same seller). It contained an antique jewelry box with a necklace with a picture of a woman (who looks like the woman in Kama) Now she has a mysterious man trailing her. She gets creeped out, gives the necklace to friend, who disappeared, and necklace was returned to the vanity. Guy gets the necklace disappears and the phantom man gives the necklace back to the supposed actual owner (the girl) and turns into the devil and traps her in the vanity.

ending was a girl who found the vanity in the antique store, finds the necklace and now it contains the girl who was last caught by the man.

I don’t get it at all… I swear…

recently seen in VLC : My Sassy Girl [spoilers]

scratch out that part where windstruck is the actual prequel to my sassy girl. the transition may have been correct, but parts of the story is already on it’s own form and shape. mr. big was probably right about windstruck being a spirit predecessor instead.

anyways, i love this movie better than windstruck. it’s not as sappy, but it got me more. it’s probably on the more lighter part. what i loved was the pure and sweet understanding of gyun-woo on her part. the 10 rules was f*cking amazing. come on, no guy can actually come up with that. although he was a bit rude and a bit weird looking, his devotion was impeccable. and the freaky resemblance to an officemate kind of thawed out the romantic sorts of the movie. as pointed out by mr. big. bah.

next movie… its gonna be a long christmas day.

now showing on VLC : windstruck [ with spoilers]

windstruck (2004) was the usual sappy movie. although I warned on the title that this post will have spoilers, i am particularly sure that i’m one of the last people on earth to have actually watched this movie.

it was as lighthearted as My Sassy Girl as first, more humor, then suddenly it was becoming more tragic than the tsunamis in thailand. It was almost predictable the way he died. and how everything was arranged. *yawn* it was damn tragic, but it was just as i thought.

don’t get me wrong. i’m not a damn granite. sure i was teary eyed for some parts. but i think i bawled pretty more in My Sassy Girl. which i think i will be watching later since it was such a nice prequel to it. :)

Despite the horrific events, i’m glad that it had some lightheartedness in the end. Although I was seriously contemplating that she also just die along with him. Just so it gets the total Romeo and Juliet scene …

hehe