That Volkswagen Van! I never thought that my dream car would cause a lot of trouble for the Hoover family.
It all started when a family of six went to California, after Olive, the little girl of the family, knew that she had a place in a beauty pageant. Together with them is her mom, her outspoken dad, noisy grandfather, a brother who does not talk, and her mother's gay brother who attempted a suicide after being left out by his ex-boyfriend.
Due to financial difficulties, they used the Volkswagen to get into California with the whole family, but things have turned against them, started with the mechanical problem of the car, the apparent death of Olive's grandfather due to some drug overdose, and this one made me laugh, when her uncle met his ex-boyfriend. What a series of events.
Then they reached California, however, they arrived late to the pageant, but Olive just made it to the contest through some pity moments from one of the in-charge in registration, when Olive made her performance, it was a disaster.
But what hit me most is that when her whole family danced with her in the stage, they never left her.
It is truly the essence of having a family, though at first, they all have differences, well actually most of us in our own families, we do have our differences, but the message of this movie is to never abandon your family, no matter in what situation you may be, your family will always be there for you.
That's quite a trip, i admit. The movie was really amazing, it mirrored the reality of having a real family, it touched the hearts of every person who watched the movie, and I am one of those who were moved by this movie.
The screenplay was superb, the lines were bold, the words that they use is probably too much for an ideal family, but it is the reality, we often speak like them within our families.
In totality the message was very clear, the story was very touching, indeed there is no greater thing than having a family. This movie made me think more about my family, on how should i support them on what they do, and on not leaving them when they needed me the most.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Ang Pagdadalaga Ni Maximo Oliveros: Movie Review
It was all set with the establishing shot of Sampaloc, one of the slum areas in Manila. It conditioned the mindset of the viewers that the story is about a family living in one of the slummed areas of Manila. Another thing was that set at the first scenes of the movie, is the close family ties that peopl have, the hugs, the kisses, the laughter, it is a clear manifestation of a happy and close family.
The story revolves with a 12 year old boy who loves to wear girls clothes, and publicly acts like gay. He was very passionate to his family, he loves his father and his two brothers. Though his personality is extraordinary, he is well accepted by his father and older brothers.
Maximo's family is involve with some illegal activities in their area, and it is truly the real situation here in the Philippines especially in such areas. It was a mere reflection of what is truly happening in our society nowadays, we cannot deny that such activities are present anywhere in our country.
I kinda like how the character of Maximo was portrayed, these are the type of gays that amuses me, the one who puts family first in their heart, and doing everything they can for the love of their family. I also like the bubbly personality that Maximo has in this movie, it sets the tone for the viewers of what to expect out of the character, a loving and caring boy.
A new recruit policeman saved Maximo from two guys who tried to molest him, and somehow Maximo fell for the police officer, but what intrigues me is that as they get along, the real gender of the police officer was never revealed, though the actions of the police officer towards Maximo seems to say something about his gender but it was never revealed in the movie, I think the creators of the movie would like the viewers to decide for themselves.
However, the good relationship between Oliver and the police officer went south, after the father of Maximo was killed. Another factor was that the borthers of Maximo is prohibiting him to see the police officer in the fear that he will know more about their illegal activities.
Family is the strong point of this movie, after Maximo's father died, his brothers did more for him, preparing his things and breakfast before he goes to school.
This is a representation of a true Filipino Family, sticking together through thick and thin, always being their for each other, and that Family First mentality. I believe that viewers of this movie was truly moved by how the creators of if tried to mirror the reality of our society.
The cinematography is great, it all appeared natural, it made me feel that I'm in the same place as well, I was able to picture out the reality through the cinematography, and the acting was superb as well.
I think that Film Industry here in the Philippines should make more meaningful movies like this, rather than creating meaningless comedy films, just saying though.
The story revolves with a 12 year old boy who loves to wear girls clothes, and publicly acts like gay. He was very passionate to his family, he loves his father and his two brothers. Though his personality is extraordinary, he is well accepted by his father and older brothers.
Maximo's family is involve with some illegal activities in their area, and it is truly the real situation here in the Philippines especially in such areas. It was a mere reflection of what is truly happening in our society nowadays, we cannot deny that such activities are present anywhere in our country.
I kinda like how the character of Maximo was portrayed, these are the type of gays that amuses me, the one who puts family first in their heart, and doing everything they can for the love of their family. I also like the bubbly personality that Maximo has in this movie, it sets the tone for the viewers of what to expect out of the character, a loving and caring boy.
A new recruit policeman saved Maximo from two guys who tried to molest him, and somehow Maximo fell for the police officer, but what intrigues me is that as they get along, the real gender of the police officer was never revealed, though the actions of the police officer towards Maximo seems to say something about his gender but it was never revealed in the movie, I think the creators of the movie would like the viewers to decide for themselves.
However, the good relationship between Oliver and the police officer went south, after the father of Maximo was killed. Another factor was that the borthers of Maximo is prohibiting him to see the police officer in the fear that he will know more about their illegal activities.
Family is the strong point of this movie, after Maximo's father died, his brothers did more for him, preparing his things and breakfast before he goes to school.
This is a representation of a true Filipino Family, sticking together through thick and thin, always being their for each other, and that Family First mentality. I believe that viewers of this movie was truly moved by how the creators of if tried to mirror the reality of our society.
The cinematography is great, it all appeared natural, it made me feel that I'm in the same place as well, I was able to picture out the reality through the cinematography, and the acting was superb as well.
I think that Film Industry here in the Philippines should make more meaningful movies like this, rather than creating meaningless comedy films, just saying though.
Pride and Prejudice: Movie Review
I can much say that this movie is a reflection of some families here in the Philippines, though for this movie, it was during some old era of English people, but here in the Philippines those practices are still being practiced nowadays, but in a modern way, like the typical online dating to get some rich foreigner to financially support them, but I would like to clear that not all of them does that 'coz some of them are true love as they say.
Well too much for that, I liked the movie, the scenes really looked like it was way back some decades ago, the culture before was truly observed, like how they use dancing as a way of socialization,
I don't if I am being too biased about the movie because of Keira Knigthley 'coz I like her as an actress, she's one of my favorite actresses alongside with Jeniffer Aniston, Sandra Bullock, and Angelina Jolie.
But in terms of technicality, I believe that is done superbly, the garments they used was extravagant, it was pleasing to the eyes, the whole setting of the movie was rightfully put in place, it set the mood of the viewers. What pumps into my mind as I watch the movie, is the way they set everything in the movie just like the Pirates of the Caribbean where they successfully portrayed the true setting of the movie where people would think that they are part of it.
In terms of the story, it's kinda funny how the Bennet family reacts when they hear about some rich man coming to their place, they really dress well, they treat men with utmost welcome, but what hit me most is when Keira did not accept the proposal of the rich guy, which I say is a good mannered-man, accepting the proposal would have saved her family from losing their house.
I think that was the turning point of the movie, when someone of the five sisters refused to do what they always dreamed of. It shattered the tradition of the family, it divided their parents, the mother was very mad at Keira while her father tries to understand her decision.
But what I liked the most when some richer man, who apparently is a friend of the guy that Keira rejected, but Mr. Darcy is ill-mannered, does not have a social life (i shall say), and prejudges everybody so easily.
I like the way the movie took that pride away by using love, I believe that Mr. Darcy never thought in his whole life to be in love with a girl who is a class lower than his. Though I'm not a fan of fancy love scenes but I'm fascinated by the way love conquered their differences, in an era with such traditions, it is truly rare to find such stories.
These are the type of movies that Filipinos love so much, some poor girl falling in love for a rich guy, and vice versa.
These are the type of movies that strengthens women fantasies about love. And sometimes fantasies turn into reality.
Well too much for that, I liked the movie, the scenes really looked like it was way back some decades ago, the culture before was truly observed, like how they use dancing as a way of socialization,
I don't if I am being too biased about the movie because of Keira Knigthley 'coz I like her as an actress, she's one of my favorite actresses alongside with Jeniffer Aniston, Sandra Bullock, and Angelina Jolie.
But in terms of technicality, I believe that is done superbly, the garments they used was extravagant, it was pleasing to the eyes, the whole setting of the movie was rightfully put in place, it set the mood of the viewers. What pumps into my mind as I watch the movie, is the way they set everything in the movie just like the Pirates of the Caribbean where they successfully portrayed the true setting of the movie where people would think that they are part of it.
In terms of the story, it's kinda funny how the Bennet family reacts when they hear about some rich man coming to their place, they really dress well, they treat men with utmost welcome, but what hit me most is when Keira did not accept the proposal of the rich guy, which I say is a good mannered-man, accepting the proposal would have saved her family from losing their house.
I think that was the turning point of the movie, when someone of the five sisters refused to do what they always dreamed of. It shattered the tradition of the family, it divided their parents, the mother was very mad at Keira while her father tries to understand her decision.
But what I liked the most when some richer man, who apparently is a friend of the guy that Keira rejected, but Mr. Darcy is ill-mannered, does not have a social life (i shall say), and prejudges everybody so easily.
I like the way the movie took that pride away by using love, I believe that Mr. Darcy never thought in his whole life to be in love with a girl who is a class lower than his. Though I'm not a fan of fancy love scenes but I'm fascinated by the way love conquered their differences, in an era with such traditions, it is truly rare to find such stories.
These are the type of movies that Filipinos love so much, some poor girl falling in love for a rich guy, and vice versa.
These are the type of movies that strengthens women fantasies about love. And sometimes fantasies turn into reality.
Babel: Movie Review
I truly don't know where to start about this movie. Have you ever felt confused and dazed after watching a movie? but you truly know that you understood it.
That's what I felt after watching Babel, as I try to understand about the title of the movie, it reminded me of the story in the Bible about the Tower of Babel where people wanted to reach the heaven by building a high structure, then God punished them by ending up in different places with a lot of differences, like language and culture, then I realized that, that was the movie was trying to portray, showing the differences of humanity through language barrier and the culture of the people.
The movie was shot in four different places, one is Tokyo, where there is a mute girl whose father is being followed by the police about her mother's death, another one was in Morroco where a couple was having their vacation then turned out to be their worst nightmare, the other two were in United States and Mexico, where a nanny attended a wedding ceremony of her son and had a problem on the way back to the United States.
What dazed me is the shifting of scenes, as I tried to understand the movie, I felt confused, I was really having a hard time connecting the dots, somehow at the back of my mind I was catching my breath, I was carried away by the scenes, especially the cinematography of the movie, I'm amazed on how they naturally showed the struggles of the couple in Morroco, it made me feel their hardships looking for a doctor, calling the embassy, and such struggling scenes. I can't help but admire the people behind it's cinematography.
It made me realized that the language barrier made it harder for the couple to ask for help, same thing with the mute Japanese girl, language has always been her problem, people laughs at her, and she's so frustrated that nobody of the opposite gender likes her because of her incapability to speak, the same as the children that the Mexican nanny is taking care of, they're also having a hard time playing with other children because they simply don't understand each other.
Though it was shown in the movie that we are separated by our differences, one thing that I noticed is that, we are still the same, maybe not in language and culture, but in general we are the same, we all have challenges and struggles in life, it happens to all of us, it happens to each one of us.
And most the important thing that I noticed in this film is that, whatever differences we may have, we still all have the same thing, the most important unit of the community, our family, it was strongly portrayed in the movie the value of family, the importance of family, by doing everything for your wife, reaching out to your daughter, and doing whatever it takes just to be in your son's wedding.
Family will always be the common denominator of humanity, whatever differences we may have, family speaks no alien language, speaks no different culture, love will always be love wherever you will go.
That's what I felt after watching Babel, as I try to understand about the title of the movie, it reminded me of the story in the Bible about the Tower of Babel where people wanted to reach the heaven by building a high structure, then God punished them by ending up in different places with a lot of differences, like language and culture, then I realized that, that was the movie was trying to portray, showing the differences of humanity through language barrier and the culture of the people.
The movie was shot in four different places, one is Tokyo, where there is a mute girl whose father is being followed by the police about her mother's death, another one was in Morroco where a couple was having their vacation then turned out to be their worst nightmare, the other two were in United States and Mexico, where a nanny attended a wedding ceremony of her son and had a problem on the way back to the United States.
What dazed me is the shifting of scenes, as I tried to understand the movie, I felt confused, I was really having a hard time connecting the dots, somehow at the back of my mind I was catching my breath, I was carried away by the scenes, especially the cinematography of the movie, I'm amazed on how they naturally showed the struggles of the couple in Morroco, it made me feel their hardships looking for a doctor, calling the embassy, and such struggling scenes. I can't help but admire the people behind it's cinematography.
It made me realized that the language barrier made it harder for the couple to ask for help, same thing with the mute Japanese girl, language has always been her problem, people laughs at her, and she's so frustrated that nobody of the opposite gender likes her because of her incapability to speak, the same as the children that the Mexican nanny is taking care of, they're also having a hard time playing with other children because they simply don't understand each other.
Though it was shown in the movie that we are separated by our differences, one thing that I noticed is that, we are still the same, maybe not in language and culture, but in general we are the same, we all have challenges and struggles in life, it happens to all of us, it happens to each one of us.
And most the important thing that I noticed in this film is that, whatever differences we may have, we still all have the same thing, the most important unit of the community, our family, it was strongly portrayed in the movie the value of family, the importance of family, by doing everything for your wife, reaching out to your daughter, and doing whatever it takes just to be in your son's wedding.
Family will always be the common denominator of humanity, whatever differences we may have, family speaks no alien language, speaks no different culture, love will always be love wherever you will go.
West Side Story: Movie Review
Fan of traditional musical play? One thing is for sure, I'm not one of them.
Musical play/movies for me is boring, I always feel sleepy watching it, I don't pay attention to it, and it does not fascinate me. In general, musical type of movies won't be in my top 10 all time favorite movie list.
Our film criticism professor played this 1960's movie entitled West Side Story in our class. Well, unfortunately, its musical, the first few scenes bothered me, no, I mean it annoyed me. But I got no choice but to watch it. So I tried to go over it, tried to understand the story, tried to connect the plot of the film, I ended up watching the whole movie.
But guess what? As I watch the movie, it started to get in to my thoughts, I was thinking that this movie is kinda attractive, it slowly got my attention, and I told myself, 'Im loving this movie', its kinda funny 'coz i really hate musical movies, but I have to face the fact that I'm loving it.
Well this movie revolves between two group of gangsters, The Jets, the American group, and The Sharks, which are the Puerto Ricans that recently moved in to the jets' place.
I like the way both nationalities were represented, you can really determine who were the Americans and the Puerto Ricans, you can tell which group are new, and those who truly owned the place. The old place of the father of Tony, the co-founder of the jets, is a clear manifestation that the whole place was The Jets' territory and The Sharks are just new comers.
I like how they mixed up musical, action, and love in this story, it is a perfect recipe for a great movie. perhaps that what made me to like the movie, because it is not like those typical kind of musical movies where you can only find songs and love stories, I hate those type of movies, but West Side Story is a truly winner.
About the musical scoring, I can't say that it is bad, because maybe it is the best musical scoring that they can have that time, but still, it made thrilling moments, more thrilling, it made sweet moments sweeter. I can't critic much on their capabilities that time, but given with the resources and technicalities that time, I can say that it is the best that they can have.
But what strikes me the most, is that this movie is not all about boastful, prideful, and arrogant men, West Side Story made women more dominant than men, I'm not saying literally, but somehow they showed that women has that power over men. Just like how they portrayed Maria towards Tony, it was clearly shown that He is willing to turn his back away from The Jets just to be with Maria, and that's the power that I'm saying that women has that might overpower men.
I like to commend the movie for not focusing the story for all men.
In general, I can say that this movie is a 4/5, I liked the story, I liked the way they mixed it all up, this is a first musical movie that fascinated me. Kudos to the brains of it!
Musical play/movies for me is boring, I always feel sleepy watching it, I don't pay attention to it, and it does not fascinate me. In general, musical type of movies won't be in my top 10 all time favorite movie list.
Our film criticism professor played this 1960's movie entitled West Side Story in our class. Well, unfortunately, its musical, the first few scenes bothered me, no, I mean it annoyed me. But I got no choice but to watch it. So I tried to go over it, tried to understand the story, tried to connect the plot of the film, I ended up watching the whole movie.
But guess what? As I watch the movie, it started to get in to my thoughts, I was thinking that this movie is kinda attractive, it slowly got my attention, and I told myself, 'Im loving this movie', its kinda funny 'coz i really hate musical movies, but I have to face the fact that I'm loving it.
Well this movie revolves between two group of gangsters, The Jets, the American group, and The Sharks, which are the Puerto Ricans that recently moved in to the jets' place.
I like the way both nationalities were represented, you can really determine who were the Americans and the Puerto Ricans, you can tell which group are new, and those who truly owned the place. The old place of the father of Tony, the co-founder of the jets, is a clear manifestation that the whole place was The Jets' territory and The Sharks are just new comers.
I like how they mixed up musical, action, and love in this story, it is a perfect recipe for a great movie. perhaps that what made me to like the movie, because it is not like those typical kind of musical movies where you can only find songs and love stories, I hate those type of movies, but West Side Story is a truly winner.
About the musical scoring, I can't say that it is bad, because maybe it is the best musical scoring that they can have that time, but still, it made thrilling moments, more thrilling, it made sweet moments sweeter. I can't critic much on their capabilities that time, but given with the resources and technicalities that time, I can say that it is the best that they can have.
But what strikes me the most, is that this movie is not all about boastful, prideful, and arrogant men, West Side Story made women more dominant than men, I'm not saying literally, but somehow they showed that women has that power over men. Just like how they portrayed Maria towards Tony, it was clearly shown that He is willing to turn his back away from The Jets just to be with Maria, and that's the power that I'm saying that women has that might overpower men.
I like to commend the movie for not focusing the story for all men.
In general, I can say that this movie is a 4/5, I liked the story, I liked the way they mixed it all up, this is a first musical movie that fascinated me. Kudos to the brains of it!
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