A Film Review of Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles

Makoy, the lead role in the movie "Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles" is played by actor Ding Dong Dantes.

Computer generated Tiktiks.  A "tiktik" is a variety of aswang that loves to eat babies.  Tiktiks use their elongated tongues to eat unborn babies form the mother's womb.  They look like mutant dogs here.  Aswangs are demon-like beasts believed to have the power to transform from human form into animals usually into big dogs or wolf-like animals.

Tickets for the opening day of Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles.
7:40 showing at Cinema 1 in Glorietta 4, Makati City.

"The high-tech visuals transported an abysmal story."  That's one sentence which could probably sum up the movie Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles.

I was curious more than excited to see the movie Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles.  With their ads all over the boob tube and their promotions in social networking sites, swanking their landmark use of the "green screen" for the entire movie, made me think that this must be the spark which we Filipinos have been waiting for so long… the spark that will ignite the resurgence of another golden era in Philippine Cinema.  With such high hopes, after watching the movie, I was despondent!

A Film Review of The Dark Knight Rises

Clap.  Clap.  Clap.  I rarely experience people clapping in the movie house after the  showing of a film.  They must have really enjoyed watching the newest Batman flick - The Dark Knight Rises (TDKR).

It was scary!  I am not talking about the movie.  Not just yet.  To think that death threats and website torching (?) can happen just because of a negative review for a film is something really scary.  I read about the first negative review of TDKR by a film critic of rottentomatoes.  I went to the film critic's website, read his review, and the hundreds of comments to that single post.  I got the tickets to TDKR a week in advance.  After learning about the review, I was excited to watch the movie even more and see for myself if the critic's point of view about the film is reasonable.

A Film Review of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

"Until all men are free, we are all slaves."  These are very powerful words that rang throughout the film, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  Judging from the narrative when the film started with Lincoln writing in his diary, you would get a feeling that the movie will be great.  Exciting, even.  The transition of the picturesque modern time iconic structures of American politics and history to their construction stage in the eighteen hundreds is fantastic - a few minutes of magic in panoramic mode.  The rest of the film however, wasn't impressive.  The earlier feeling that the film would turn out great was extinguished by the humdrum scenes that made me scratch my head on several occasions.  "Hey, that looks oddly familiar…"

A Film Review of the Amazing Spider-Man

Director Marc Webb puts the "ZING" in "Ahhhhhh-ma-ZING".  Indeed, the newly released Spider-Man movie is the best by far.  I really didn't pay much attention to the "spider poses" of our friendly neighborhood "bug-buddy" until this movie.  The agile and bendy acrobatic poses when Spider-man swings from building to building are magnificent!  You'd think that "cross-species genetics" even in its callow state would be so damn good!

A Film Review of Snow White and the Huntsman

Who knew that the various shades of black and white could be a cause for catharsis?  It provided a strong yet elegant backdrop for Ravenna's usurpation of the throne of King Magnus,  the princess's incarceration in the North Tower, the magic in the Dark Forrest, and the death and resurrection of hope.  I am referring to the movie Snow White and the Huntsman.  It's a thrilling stimulus to the sense of  vision and audition masquerading as a two-hour retelling of a classic tale.