The Book Thief: A Movie Review

There are no real winners in war; all are losers.

But behind the pandemonium, as in many disasters, is a champion—not the villain strategists, the soldiers nor the bombers, but the greatness and goodness of the human spirit. Wars may represent all the evils in the world,but the tiny and unnoticed details prove otherwise.

The Book Thief, based on the novel of the same title authored by Markus Zusak, succinctly provides the grim realities of war and the price every soul has to pay. Casualties and bombed buildings in rubble may quantify its damages, but its unspeakable horror goes beyond every poor soul: a child longing for love and affection, families that have to part because of segregation and forced duties.

Set during the aristocratic rule of Adolf Hitler in Germany, the movie follows the story of Liesel, a girl who has all the right to be mad at the world but chose not to. Hers is an admirable story of a soul-searching little girl looking for answers to the questions that haunt her. Life has been grossly unfair to her,and every episode in her life is mimicking that of a bomb's explosion loud enough to tear your heart apart.

The movie starts and ends with a narration by death, who in the finale told that it has constantly overestimated or underestimated the human race. Faced by many misfortunes, death wondered how the same thing could be so ugly and glorious,and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.

What I like about the movie is its love for words, most especially how death narrated his amazement at humans. The discourse between Liesel and Max and his adoptive parents are equally thought-provoking. I just wonder how words both written and spoken can mean so much in time of chaos; how it comforts in time of despair and fear; how it offers hope amidst a helpless situation.

In times of war, these words are much louder than exploding bombs. I have never been so interested in the evil rule of the Nazis under their self-righteous Führer until last night after watching the film, especially after learning for the first time a book-burning ceremony to get rid of"intellectual dirt." This adds up to the kristallnacht during Hitler's time, which calls for a violence and death against the Jews.

Poetically delivered in the movie,the dialogues trigger certain emotions enough for you to connect in each character, most especially to Liesel and her parents. These dialogues and lines blend well with excellent cinematography, which makes it one of my early favorite movies this year. The visual scope of The Book Thief is indeed remarkable. And did I mention that the Academy Award-winning John Williams provided the musical score for the film?

The words written in this movie review doesn't compensate the thrill of watching it in the big screen. It tells of the goodness and the greatness of the human spirit that even death wondered how it is to live:

"In my job, I'm always finding humans at their best and their worst, and you always wonder how the same thing can be both. I've seen many great things, attended the world's worst disasters, worked for a great many villains."

Referring to Liesel, death narrated:I took great pleasure that she had lived her ninety years so wisely. She was one of the few souls that made me wonder what it was like to live.

Despite the grim realities of war, Liesel indeed taught us what it was like to live and embrace every episode with a brave heart and a soul never seeking for revenge.

Louie.

Back to Square One

How do you unlove a person?

The latest blockbuster hit from Star Cinema "Starting Over Again" employs a simple-structured plot that have surely been presented in the silver screen before. Themes of closure, happy endings and moving heavens and earth to win back the love of your life had already been accepted as vital elements of a blockbuster hit, and anything that revolves around these themes will be considered a passé and obsolete.

But Starting Over Again managed to turn things around in presenting the so-called merits of the case. It did so by trying to find an answer to the penultimate question of unloving a person and erasing the memories of the past. Along the process, it showed the difficulties that come with it, especially so that time and destiny seem to be in tandem in rekindling the old flame. Both the lead actors Piolo Pascual and Toni Gonzaga gave justice to their characters. Some films failed on banking on professional pretenders plainly acting as themselves but in the two-hour romantic flick, we don't perceive them as Pascual and Gonzaga, but as Marco and Ginny, respectively.

I first weighed on the film's effectiveness loosely on the characters but reflecting the entire Film on my way back home, I think such great film as Starting Over Again credits its success to a good story material that was presented in such a meticulously-planned pacing. It didn't bother its audience with the problem of finding the causes of why things ended up that way. You just sat there and be blown by the turn of events and lo and behold, you just found yourselves the answers to the questions that's been running in your minds since the beginning of the film. It was never a spoon-feeding film nor a formulaic step-by-step build-up, but rather it was able to move on with the flow of the story by offering a trip down memory lane which further nailed the story.

What I find amusing is how they were able to create a fictional love letter-sending website where one letter sent by Marco to Ginny became the latter's springboard to win back the love of her life. Such a tricky move, considering that she's the one that got away in the first place. Such letter pokes her to reality and embarked her on almost false hope. Ah, what love can do!

The film's true-to-the-core narrative was effective maybe because we can connect or relate to each of the characters. We can maybe connect to the fact that we are passionate about pursuing our dreams that we forgot the ones dear to us, or the other way around. We can maybe connect through the fact that along the process of loving somebody too much, we lose ourselves and forget the world won't stop revolving without them. We can also relate because when you miss someone or love someone too much, every little thing reminds you of your love.

But as what the movie tried to answer, how do you really unlove a person?

You can't. You don't. There's always this one person that no matter how hard you try to forget, you fail. It's because this person has become an integral part of your being. You may end up with someone in the future, but there's always this person you wished you could be together in the end. Or that someone you wish could join you in everything you do whether in traveling, dining out, spend weekends with, or better yet, spend forever with.

While there are dreams that really do come true, there also those that remain as such. You can work hard for it to turn into reality, but when things don't go well the way you planned, don't fret. Acceptance holds the key to moving, closures and happy endings as what Starting Over Again tried to impart.

So when Ginny finally decided to hit the delete button and move on, it was truly the greatest gift she had given herself. More than that, it's actually the peace of mind, knowing that she won't sleep with regrets because she had given her all. It's like playing Flappy Bird: you get annoyed, you get depressed, but you have no choice but to dust yourself off and move on. It's definitely tiring to go back to square one, but it's the only practical thing to do.

L.

The Curious Case of Frank Underwood

Kevin Spacey plays the wicked Congressman Frank Underwood in the political drama series "House of Cards" shown in Netflix. 

Congressman Frank Underwood knows how to win you over. With his fierce eyes aimed at the camera, his soliloquy lets you unravel the pitfalls of ambition and thirst for power.

Frank Underwood is the anti-hero in what I believe is the best political drama series to date—House of Cards—that offers a backstage pass to the halls of the United States Congress, its working environs and the portrayal of Washington D.C. as a melting pot of people good and bad.

House of Cards’ fluid storytelling can be credited to both concept and good direction—it’s as if the production team plans to drop a bombshell in every episode, a thing they managed to achieve. Each episode—from the beginning until the very end of its first season—offers a gripping tale of influence, interests, ambition, revenge and one’s thirst for power. The themes tackled by House of Cards can be very vague ideas to an ordinary person, but as the story unfolds, the audience can understand how these fuel the ineffable desire to wield power and influence and stay on the top.

Congressman Underwood, a Democrat, is the complete representation of that. He just doesn’t want to be seen; he wanted to be significant. After being backstabbed by the President who failed his promise to make him Secretary of State, Frank plots revenge to the administration he helped elect. In doing so, he gets the nod and help of his equally ambitious wife Claire, who heads the non-profit organization called Clean Water Initiative.

As the show suggests, politicians like Frank (played by the great Kevin Spacey) can be covered by good imaging and well-thought public relations strategy. Through this, politicians are fashioned as god-like individuals to make them appear clean, fresh and appealing to the public that elects them to public office. How they managed to get on top or how they struggle to stay there remains unblemished and kept away from the public’s keen scrutiny.

This is how Frank Underwood fashions himself, laying his cards one step at a time without tarnishing his unstained reputation. He sits as House Majority Whip—enough reason to explain his insurmountable amount of influence. As he lays down his cards, he utilizes this influence to advance his own interests and personal ambitions.

More often than not, politics can be like that. As writer James Poniewozik puts it, you are either eating flesh, or you are on the menu.

Watching the first season of House of Cards is truly entertaining. Watching it makes you a part of a wicked world, and as Frank Underwood talks to you straight to the camera, you can’t help but be a part of his wicked ways to not just be part of the circle of the powerful but be the most significant of them all. You knew, but hates to admit, that he definitely won you over.

Louie.

The Second Season of House of Cards will be released February 14, 2014.

Iron Man 3: Worth the Pay

The moment you happen to read this, you probably have been bombarded already with praises on Marvel’s latest film. If you have not watched the film yet, this would be a cliff-hanger: Why is this making such noise online or even in the real world? Truth be told, Iron Man 3—directed by Shane Black and top-bills the equally impressive as the man-in-metal suit himself, Robert Downey, Jr.—surely deserves all the recognition it gets. This recognition can also be easily translated to a nerve-wracking box office returns, amassing a whooping 60 million pesos on its opening day in the Philippines last week.

Never in the past months after the release of The Avengers that movie-goers have been treated to such an immersive movie experience until Iron Man hit the silver screen. While it can’t be denied that we’ve been enchanted with the highs and lows of The Hobbit or gripped with the gory scenes in Olympus Has Fallen or Zero Dark Thirty, Iron Man 3 undeniably deserves a sweet spot in the pantheon of interesting films this year.

It's not the suit. It's the man.

Part of the reason perhaps is its element of twists and surprises, notwithstanding its vivid, superbly-rendered and stunning visuals. The 130-minute film follows a very American formula, packed with elements of action thriller enough to send the audience wondering what would happen next. The intertwining elements of adrenaline rush-filled action sequences, twists, action and humor encapsulated in effective punch lines contributed to the film’s over-all impact.

But one of the film’s greatest ingredients is perhaps the villain itself, which is interestingly good as the protagonist itself. Pinoy film fanatics certainly know this: you can only bring out the luster of your superhero if you employ such a dark, if not diabolic, scalawag to make the protagonist-antagonist clash more appealing and grand. In this case, the twist of the fake Mandarin and the emergence of Killian—whose collaboration with Dr. Maya Hansen led to the the rise of Extremis virus—left us either amused or amazed. In its entire “heavy metal” splendor, Iron Man 3 also gives interesting sides of—and fragility—of the human spirit, which makes it more humane.

The destruction of the remaining Iron Man’s suits towards the end of the film, resembling that of a lackluster fireworks display, can be translated as such: it’s not the suit, it’s the man. While it may be true that he threw his obsolete chest arc reactor into the sea, he will always be Iron Man, even without his armor.

I’ve never been such satisfied when I stepped outside the IMAX Theater where I first watched it last Saturday and on Sunday, in a 3D Cinema here in Tagum. Yes, I’ve seen it twice as what I did with Les Miserables and Wreck it Ralph, and this I have to tell: It’s definitely worth the pay.

We Just Have to Believe

This I have to admit: I find it hard to provide more than 10 Pinoy films which I assumed to have gone beyond cinematic excellence and thought-provoking storyline. In this age where movie outfits care for box office returns more than the challenge of producing quality films, the list of Philippine-made films that we can proudly call as our “jewel” is not that very long.

Movie outfits that make millions of money out from a single movie release should not be entirely blamed for the current state of Philippine Cinema. The lion’s share of this blame should go to us—the movie goers—who fell short in making our country’s top production outfits realize their full potential to produce an excellent film. When we continue to patronize spur-of-the-moment movies whose primary aim is just to raise money for the sake of raising money per se, these outfits continue to provide the silver screen with outputs with such cinematic mediocrity.

As of late, though, one film seems to be an exemption which broke my perception on how I view Philippine movies nowadays. Though not that very great, It Takes a Man and a Woman—which top-billed Sarah Geronimo and John Lloyd Cruz—is a surprising treat. Upon the insistence of a friend, my barkada happened to watch it last Saturday night, and I never had any regrets in spending (because wasting seems not to be the appropriate word) nearly two hours inside the cinema. Filipinos has this penchant for anything that revolves around the topic of love. Across generation, scores of songs, poems and movies has been devoted to love. All of those are sure hits.

Not so great, Not so Powerful

IT ALL STARTED in Kansas. The year was 1905.

Framed in an awkward black-and-white square format, the opening scenes of the Oz the Great and Powerful show the life in a day of Kansas-based amateur magician named Oscar Diggs, who later found himself in an ultimate adventure in the mystifying Land of Oz.

The decision to exploit the BW square format in the fist ten minutes of the film is weird but it was overshadowed by the film’s visual dazzle: from its cascading waterfalls, to breath-taking vistas of different hues, stunning silhouettes and unique fauna. The set and costume should also be recognized, as well as the perfect 3D rendering. The film, directed by Sam Raimi, is oozing with vibrant colors and intelligent use of computer-generated images (CGI) that looked amazing on the big silver screen.

Computer-generated, cute-looking creatures like this are among the film's visual treat. 

Major Disappointment

Director Bryan Singer crafts the Jack the Giant Slayer as an attempt to ignite the imagination of its audience. But instead of achieving its purpose, the movie is close to becoming a major disappointment due to its poor reinvention and reimagination of the highly-revered fairytale.

Inspired by the English folk tale about a boy named Jack who discovers a magic beanstalk that leads to the dominion of evil giants, the film includes scenes of a duel that resemble outtakes from one of the “Lord of the Rings” films, but not as exciting as the latter. There’s the usual fairytale element of love, of betrayal, of revenge and triumph—formulas that if not properly put in place leads to disenchantment.

I walked out in the cinema thinking that the movie could have been better.  In general, the film lacks the thrill and excitement expected of an adventure film. There are few scenes that kept the barometer of excitement on a free swing, but were only short-lived. Jack and the Giant Slayer is another formulaic movie that failed to awaken among its audience the illusory pleasures of fictional lives unraveling like a memory. The nature of its narrative is truly a disjointed projection of a man’s dreamscape in all its nutty and confounding glory.

Movie Review: Les Miserables

Anne Hathaway's "I Dreamed a Dream" is one of the poignant highlights of the film.

When the cinema lights were turned off, the usual pre-show noise instantly transformed into silence. This magnified, perhaps, the irresistible desire of the audience to witness the critically-acclaimed musical, Les Miserables, on the silver screen. In my time where geography and time hindered us to marvel the wonders of a musical or a stage play, watching Les Miserables on the big canvas is not just a mere time killer but also a grand experience.

Les Miserables is a whooping delight, made extravagant with hair-raising music with such powerful lyrics, excellent cinematography and a greatly intertwined stories revolving in an era of revolution. This, in my opinion, were the driving force in the sustained silence inside the cinema—something that you really need to appreciate a movie with such an epic scale.

One needs to prepare for the tear-jerking moments hyped up in this “all-singing, all-suffering” film based on the novel by Victor Hugo. Set in 18th-century France and on the verge of a revolution, Les Miserables is a timeless story of broken dreams, unrequited love, selflessness and the unyielding desire for change and freedom. Religion and faith and the goodness of the human spirit dominate the film, but it was melancholy that rings the loudest.

Life of Pi

Ang Lee's latest masterpiece—Life of Pi—is a visual stunner and credits its success to both excellent cinematography and clever storytelling. Though I'm still looking forward to the day when I will be able read the book in one sitting (I hope so), online reviews are all praise for this breakthrough film stressing that it had remained faithful to the book—a stark contrast to other movie adaptations that went beyond the pages. Other than that, Life of Pi is definitely the perfect movie to kick-off a year full of exciting movie releases.

Life of Pi follows the story of a shipwrecked boy in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where sharks dwell and where storms are the fiercest. But Pi is not alone. He is with a growling Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, one of the animals they transported from India in search of a greener pasture in Canada.

The film gives a dazzling visual narrative of the extraordinary survival of Pi and Richard Parker in vivid flashbacks. It was a poignant account of how both managed to survive the rough ocean, the strongest storms and the protesting stomach. It touches a certain point of humanity and unique friendship between the two, as manifested by one of my favorite scenes: when Pi gives way to pity as Richard Parker paws pitifully at a raft to get back into the boat. That triggered the friendship nurtured by both hunger and the open sea. Towards the end of this visual narrative, the viewing public has to prepare lots of tissue papers during tear-jerker moments when it will be very difficult to feel more sorry for the man or for the tiger.

More than anything else, this film excelled greatly in tackling faith and of holding on to the single strand of hope amidst seemingly insurmountable adversities. One striking line Pi uttered while braving big waves stroke a chord in me: “Richard Parker, come out you have to see this! It's beautiful!” Such a simple and powerful line!

Also listed in my favorites list in the movie is when the two finally reached the shore, both too skinny and nearly dying. It is a defining moment—a conclusion of their ordeal—but also a sad one because both have not been given a chance to bid farewell. I was disappointed their parting ended that way because I was expecting, at the very least, for Richard Parker to look back to Pi before heading to the wild. My feeling in this scene was succinctly described by the adult Pi talking to a Canadian writer to whom he is giving his unusual journey: I suppose in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go, but what always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye.

Like everybody else, Zyzle, Kelvin (my movie companions last Sunday afternoon) and I went out smiling and inspired as ever. More than the movie’s crisp, well-thought angles and superb 3D rendering, Life of Pi’s advantage is its exceptional treatment of a wonderful story of faith, of friendship and of letting go.

Louie.

Life of Pi is still showing. For those in Tagum, Ang Lee's masterpiece is shown at the 3D Cinema of the Gaisano Mall of Tagum. 

Rise of the Guardians: Simply Magical

IN SEARCH OF an unknown past and questions surrounding Jack Frost’s special ability offers an impressive background to this yet another spell-binding animated film. Playful yet troubled about the existence of his special powers, Jack Frost is blessed with the ability to freeze anything he wishes to turn into ice through his staff. But he is also an interpretation of disconnect.

In the opening scene complete with graphical magic, viewers would, first, be amazed with how Jack Frost marveled at his newly-found powers, albeit his problem of being invisible. Your heart would surely go out for him each time passes through his spectral frame, signifying children didn't notice his existence.

As action progresses, the back story of how Jack Frost gained his special abilities take shape. Adding spice to the greatly-woven story is that he is about to join the elite league of the Guardians, an honest-to-goodness group with members delicately chosen by a certain Man in the Moon. This alliance is best described through the words of North when he explained their mission to Jack Frost: “We go by many names and take many forms. We bring wonder and hope. We bring joy and dreams. We are the Sandman and the Tooth Fairy. We are the Easter Bunny and Santa. And our powers are greater than you ever imagine. It is our job to protect the children of the world. For as long as they believe in us, we will guard them with our lives.”

Image Courtesy of Dreamworks