Pathfinder, Rocky Balboa

PATHFINDER. A thousand years in the past, a Viking boy is left behind after his clan battles a Native American tribe. Despite his lineage, the boy is raised by the very same Native Americans that his kinsmen set out to destroy. He grows up to become Ghost -- and as the Vikings return to stage another massacre (they want to cleanse the island before they inhabit it), he wages a personal war against them to stop the trail of death and destruction. The title and trailer were just too corny for me (and yet, I still watched it), and when you see Pathfinder, that's exactly the adjective you'll be thinking of. The movie neither has an interesting story or good acting. Even (a lot of) the lines are so predictable that you can see someone saying it a mile away. If you're looking for an action flick, it's best to stay away from this one. Better yet, go see 300 instead.

ROCKY BALBOA. I remember a couple of friends of mine several weeks ago telling me that Rocky Balboa sucked. Which brings to mind how I thought that Stallone was absolutely nuts in making another Rocky movie when he told Conan O'Brien at a guesting over a year ago (promoting The Contender) that he was planning to make one more in the movie franchise. But I take back what I said about Sly making a huge mistake -- and I don't agree with my friends' assessment of the film -- because, as it turns out, writer, director and star Stallone has managed to create a superb film. I think what will turn off a lot of people about the movie after they've seen it is the fact that it's not an all-out fisticuffs Rocky movie that most have gotten used to seeing. Well, what do you expect? Stallone isn't exactly in his 30s anymore. And it's not like he can travel back in time and change his age. Plus, this latest Rocky flick is more drama than anything -- probably another turn off for most hard core Rocky fans (or fans of pugilistic-themed movies). It was touching to see Sly deal with his character's age, as it made Balboa even more human (as opposed to memorable action heroes never being allowed to grow old in Hollywood). If you love underdog stories, then this is perfect -- you won't be able to help yourself from cheering on The Italian Stallion, particularly when he trains (with the expected theme accompaniment of course) to get in shape for his big fight against World Champ Mason Dixon (real-life boxing champ Antonio Tarver). It's when Balboa steps into the ring with and against Dixon that the movie falters for me, as it becomes some sort of sports drink video. But, nonetheless, this is a terrific and touching movie. You'll be humming Rocky's rousing theme "Gonna Fly Now" again and again after watching this flick. I just hope that Stallone doesn't go through with his other crazy and rumored idea of making another Rambo movie.

Bridge To Terabithia, King of Scotland, 300, ...Happyness, Flushed Away, ...Iwo Jima, Hitcher, It's A Boy Girl... , ...Shepherd, Notes..., Dreamgirls

BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA. Since I wasn't familiar with the fact that this film was actually based on a book by Katharine Patterson, I thought that, after seeing the trailer, Bridge was a fantasy movie in the same vein as, say, The Chronicles of Narnia -- but, apparently, the premise was more reality than anything else -- about the very real childhood friendship between two kids, Jesse (Josh Hutcherson from one of my all-time fave flicks, Little Manhattan) and Leslie (Charlie and The Chocolate Factory's Anna Sophia Robb). Because I was expecting it be some fantasy romp, I gotta say that I was a bit disappointed by how the movie turned out. But nonetheless, it's a sweet story, and the bond between the two kids are probably (very) relatable to a lot of people, as we watch them trying to come into their own. It's best to have a lot of tissue on-hand, as this is quite the tear-jerker. Sniff.

THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND. Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime, as seen by his personal physician in the 1970s, this is a superb movie. Forest Whitaker delivers a tour de force performance as Amin, and he deserves winning the awards for it, including The Oscar. He's so charismatic (and scary-as-hell), that you can understand why James McAvoy's physician - the fictitious Nicholas Garrigan - is drawn to him, as well the people around Whitaker's Amin (well, for those who didn't know any better). It's an exciting flick, and downright brutalizing towards the end (it will make your heart race). Even though I won't be in any rush to go see it again, without a doubt, King is one of the best films I've seen for this year.

300. Holy crap. And I mean that in a good way. That was exactly the expression that came out of my mouth after I stepped out of the theatre (well, it was a lot worse actually, as I tend be pretty foul-mouthed -hehe) -- I was so impressed by this movie! Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300 is about the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. -- about King Leonidas (Phantom of The Opera's Gerard Butler), who takes 300 warriors on a fight-to-the-death to protect Sparta from the invading forces of Persia. Since is this based on a graphic novel, don't expect it to be an "historic movie" -- instead, enjoy it for what it is -- a very visually stylish action movie. It's very testosterony though, so methinks that this isn't probably something a lot of the ladies will enjoy. But notwithstanding, this is definitely an epic movie worth seeing over and over!

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS. Yes, with a Y. Based on a true story about something everyone can relate to : succeeding in life. Will Smith is Chris Gardner, a struggling medical salesman who decides to apply at a six-month long internship at Dean Witter, an internship that eventually rewards only one of twenty interns for an actual job. The twist is that the internship is unpaid. Which adds to the drama that is already Gardner's life -- his wife leaves him, he and his son are evicted from their home and have to sleep at a homeless shelter, etc. Because it's a rags-to-riches flick, you expect the protagonist to go through a lot, before the big pay-off -- and he does (go through a lot) -- but I didn't exactly get the satisfactory feeling one should get after watching a movie like this. Maybe it's because most of those moments where Gardner realizes that he can really make it (in life) happens like some sort of afterthought, instead of sweet, small victories to relish. It makes for some good drama, but Pursuit isn't really anything exceptional.

FLUSHED AWAY. This underperformed at the U.S. movie box-office from what I remember, and it's something that'll pretty much get unnoticed here as well, given that it's a cartoon -- which is a shame, because this is absolutely funny! Flushed Away has an actual story, with Hugh Jackman as Roddy, a sheltered-but-happy-with-his-life-or-so-he-thought aristocratic pet rat who gets flushed down the toilet and discovers that there's an entire world in the pipes below London. The animation studio behind Wallace & Gromit packs Flushed Away with a lot of laughs and really funny characters, especially the evil frog voiced by Sir Ian McKellan, and his cousin Le Frog (Jean Reno). The kids will enjoy this because of the animation and all the sight gags -- but the young once will (enjoy it) as well. Did I already mention that it's very funny?

LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA. First of all, I have to just mention that I like(d) Memoirs of A Geisha -- but my biggest disappointment with the Hollywood- produced movie was the fact that the actors who played, and were actual, Japanese in the movie were talking in english -- and, for me, it would have been more authentic if they spoke in Japanese. On that note, I have to give credit to director Clint Eastwood for not going Hollywood, in the sense that the Japanese actors and extras in the flick spoke in Japanese, rather than english just to make it "easier" for the viewing audience (although watching subtitled movies in cinemas can be a problem, as you can't really hit pause or rewind, which doesn't help if you're a slow reader or missed or didn't understand something). This time around, Eastwood's film companion to his World War II drama Flags of Our Fathers (an excellent movie by the way) focuses on the ones fighting on "the other side" - the Japanese soldiers who fought the pivotal battle of Iwo Jima. With Letters, we get to see the stronger sense of what it meant for the Japanese to fight this war, and the nature of sacrifice they were willing to make and made for national pride. Not as superb as Flags, as Letters does get a bit dragging in some parts, but the film still does hold its own in the drama department.

THE HITCHER. One of those movies that I forced myself to watch because I wanted to go see something that I haven't (seen), and there wasn't anything else showing. An unnecessary remake of a flick that really wasn't a classic, cult film or otherwise, to begin with (the original starring Rutger Hauer and C.Thomas Howell). Sean Bean is in the Rutger Hauer role as, obviously, The Hitcher, who terrorizes collegiates Sophia Bush and Zachary Knighton after they refuse to give him a lift. Considering the ease and frequency with which Bean's Hitcher kills, he might as well have superpowers, and it becomes quite laughable. This is a forgettable, not-even-close-to-being-scary "thriller".

IT'S A BOY GIRL THING. Another waste of my hundred thirty pesos. A predictable and irritating-more-than-funny, should-have-been(because it feels like it)-straight-to-video (teeny bopper) movie. Nell (The O.C.'s Samaire Armstrong) and Woody (Kevin Zegers - who looks so, uh, purtee that he's not really that believable as a jock) are neighbors who don't exactly like each other. They bicker a lot and, one day, at a class field trip to a museum, the two end up magically swapping bodies and are forced to deal with each other and their lives, and discover that they actually feel something else for each other (three guesses as to what). I like Samaire Armstrong, she's a cutey, even if she can't exactly act to save her life (and she's teetering on the edge of irritating in this movie), and she's pretty much why I gave this flick a try -- but that still doesn't change the fact that this is crap.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD. Robert DeNiro takes the director's chair (as well as have a cameo) and gives us a docudrama about the birth of the CIA - minus the car chase or doomsday device that one would normally or probably find in a movie of this genre. What Shepherd does have is a stellar cast, with an excellent Matt Damon as Edward Wilson, a morally upright young man who values honor and discretion, qualities that help him to be recruited for a career in the newly-founded Office of Strategic Services (OSS, the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency). Of course, as it is inevitable, while working there, his ideals gradually change into suspicion, and his distrust of everyone around him increases to no end. Damon presents Wilson as a complete mystery, almost a ghost even without ever leaving the frame. This is a superb movie, and it won't bore you - which is hard to believe, considering that it's almost a 3-hour film.

NOTES ON A SCANDAL. Dame Judi Dench does her Jennifer Jason Leigh, Single White Female impression on Notes, as a domineering and solitary teacher named Barbara Covett who rules over her class with an iron fist. She keeps a diary, lives alone with no friends and confidants, but is obssessed in finding the perfect friend. Cue the new and attractive art teacher Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett), who appears to be the kindred spirit and loyal friend that Barbara has always been searching for. But when she discovers that Sheba is having an illicit affair with one of her young students, their "budding relationship" takes an ominous turn. It's interesting to see Dench play a loon (I don't think I've ever seen a movie with her in this kind of a role) -- unfortunately, for me, that's about the only interesting thing about Notes. Somehow, it felt more strange than scary. And the score by Philip Glass is just so damn distracting.

And finally...
DREAMGIRLS. From the first seconds of the film, you can already tell that you're in for the time of your life. The Broadway musical finally comes to the big screen, and it does not disappoint. The movie follows the story of a 1960s trio, The Dreamettes. The premise is actually conventional -- not that it matters though, because this slick flick - with Bill Condon's energetic direction - is all about the spectacularly staged musical numbers. And the showstopper that everyone is looking forward to? Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson more than delivers as she cranks it up when she sings And I'm Telling You (I actually found myself welling up during the scene). Co-star Beyonce has her moment,too, when she sings Listen. Truth be told, I've never been impressed with Beyonce (obviously, I was never a huge fan) -- I mean, sure, she can sing and dance, and she's bootilicious, but it wasn't until this movie, and the song Listen that have made me changed my mind about her. Besides wanting to watch it over and over, Dreamgirls will also make you want to go and buy its soundtrack.

Whew.
'Nuff said.