ONAT LOPERA

Special third issue: a mix of movies watched on the cinema, DVDs and on VCDs.

Kubrador (Bet Collector). A day in a life of a bet collector of Jueteng. Starring the Best Actress hailed by numerous international awards Gina Pareño and directed by Jeffrey Jeturian. This is definitely one of the best local Indie film on 2006. Ever since I heard the news about this movie on the news, I had been waiting for it to come out on the video rental store. This is a brilliant film. The lead was perfect for the role. Story is engaging, well phased and as close as the real thing. With such detail that went through this movie, I just can’t stop being so proud that this movie was Filipino-made. This is a must see!

Ratatouille. A rat with a culinary dream. Another blockbuster hit from Pixar; stunning visuals and great vocal performances from the entire cast. Really entertaining. Special mention goes to the food critic, Anton Ego (Peter O’Toole). My favorite scene was near the end: the flashback. Reminds me of an anime series that I religiously watched before, Chuuka Ichiban (Cooking Master Boy). Really funny. Now rats have a different rep on the kitchen. Tres bien. Je voudrais mange quelque Ratatouille!

28 Weeks Later. The rage virus has not been eradicated. Contamination was controlled. But then on the 28th week since the chaos, hell broke loose again. Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and Danny Boyle as the executive producer, the same man that made the first movie of this installment, 28 Days Later (my best zombie movie of all time), this movie is as good as the first one. Awesome cinematography, brilliant visual effects and gorrier than ever. Perfectly scored with tracks from Muse and John Murphy, they all matched perfectly on the scenes. Though I like the story on the first one more, this one also has its kicks. There is nothing better than the American Military ‘fracking’ up everyone on their path. Sounds familiar? I wish it was screened here on our local cinema. This movie is really good especially when watched at night and on headphones with the volume cranked way high like what I did. Bloody awesome.

1. Akeelah and the Bee. A little girl with her words dominated the Scripps spelling bee along with her family, friends and 50,000 coaches. Really nice family movie.
2. Bean’s Holiday. He’s on France, beware. LOL Hilarious at times, with its British style of comedy, subtle but really good. And from what I read, the last Bean movie Mr. Rowan Atkinson will be doing.
3. Disturbia. Thriller of some sort as a teenager on house arrest tries to uncover the secrets of his suspicious and creepy neighbor. Starring Shia LaBeouf. So-so. Hint: Sarah Roemer. *ahem*
4. Evan Almighty. God wants to Evan Baxter to build and ark. Evan may be successful, powerful, handsome and happy but he had no choice but to follow. This is really hilarious. Steve Carell is perfect for the role. Hail Steve Carell! LOL And the best thing about thing movie, it has a lesson to tell.
5. The Last Kiss. A man’s last tryst before settling up with her pregnant girlfriend. I thought it was a laugh-out-load comedy with Zach Braff on it, but it wasn’t. Pretty good though.
6. Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor). I finally got the chance to see the entire movie, it seemed not that too Americanized as what the critics said. It’s actually a pretty good Russian movie. Day Watch, the sequel, should be interesting.
7. The Pursuit of Happyness. A man’s struggle to be on top. I love this movie. One of Will Smith’s best performances on film. Like what I heard from the television before, there is only one way to go when you are in your lowest lows.

That was a lot of links there.