James McAvoy is terrifying in "Speak No Evil"

James McAvoy

A British family welcomes an American family to their idyllic farmhouse for the weekend, but the dream vacation soon turns into a nightmare in Speak No Evil. Playing the role of the charismatic, alpha-male host and head of the family Paddy is BAFTA award-winner James McAvoy (known for his role as the young Charles Xavier in the X-Men universe), who was immediately intrigued when director James Watkins pitched him the role. “Blumhouse has done so many kinds of movies, but they’re mostly known for the horror genre, and they’re exceptionally good at it,” says McAvoy. “But reading the script, what kept me going after page three was the fact that these characters felt like real people and that it was based on things that we can recognize in the real world.” Watch the trailer below:

Director James Watkins thought only of James McAvoy when looking for who to play the complex role of Paddy. “Paddy must charm us even while being on the edge of horrifying us, and James knows how to walk that line,” Watkins says. “I watched him in the film Filth and was mesmerized: his character is horrible, but James somehow takes us with him. A lesser actor would have lost us. As well as a movie star, James is a brilliant stage actor. Exploring Paddy, he not only mines his own experience but taps into a deep well of classical resources: Iago, Richard III, Mephistopheles. I don’t think anyone else in the world could have played Paddy as well as James. His understanding of psychological and emotional space—of mapping tiny shifts on an emotional gradient—is second to none. He was the first and only actor I approached.”

The character’s layers and deep-rooted darkness cloaked over by masculinity and charisma was a fascination for McAvoy. “Paddy holds to an older, traditionalist expression of manhood,” says McAvoy. “James Watkins and I really leaned into that aspect of him as we fleshed out who Paddy is and what he means to the story and to the culture, giving him some mythic heft with timely resonance. Here’s this man’s man, beholden to some ancient idea of masculinity, living in the countryside, living off the land, or so you think. It all seems so wholesome and earthy. And yet this is ancient England that we’re talking about, and there’s darkness in the land; there’s a history of violence and bloodshed and horrible things in that dirt, and so there’s evil in that earthy masculinity that he’s romanticizing and selling.”

Paddy’s strong personality made him a fun character for McAvoy to embody, but he was also aware of the importance of nuance in playing a man with a powerful personality. “Paddy is incredibly entertaining and he’s always performing,” McAvoy says. “But you have to be careful playing a character like that, because then it can become a showy turn, and while that could be very effective for an audience, it doesn’t necessarily have a lot of truth to it. We were always working to ground the character in real history, motivation and desire, and to earn the revelations of his true nature. As much as Paddy is this likably mercurial, counter-cultural figure, there’s real darkness in him, and it’s always there for the audience to see.”

A tense, hair-raising thriller awaits as Speak No Evil arrives in Philippine cinemas on September 11, from Universal Pictures International.

Follow Universal Pictures PH (FB), UniversalPicturesPH (IG) and UniversalPicsPH (TikTok) for the latest updates on “Speak No Evil.”

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IT CHAPTER 2 movie review

The Losers Club is back in Derry in Stephen King's It: Chapter Two are about to bring us the creeps from childhood and bring them back in a more terrifying way.

In 27 years, every one has separated and moved on with their lives to forget the horrific clown. However, Mike has summoned them back as more persons go missing and Pennywise (Bill Skarsgaard) might return soon. This has started when a man was disbodied after he was tortured by a bunch of homophobic boys at the beginning of the movie.

Now back to the Losers. It's amazing to see that they had huge resemblances to their adult selves. And to know that every child has specifically pointed who will portray them in It: Chapter Two is uncanny. Bev grew up to be Jessica Chastain, Bill to James McAvoy, Richie to Bill Hader, Mike to Isaiah Mustafa, Ben to Jay Ryan (some coin him as Ben Handsome), Eddie to James Ransone, and Stanley to Andy Bean. You can find the perfect casting in the adult versions of the Losers Club.

Isaiah Mustafa, Bill Hader, James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Jay Ryan for It: Chapter 2

If you've seen the first trailer of It: Chapter Two where Bev returns to her old home and met an old lady named Mrs Kersh, there are more horrors in store for each member of the Losers as they all went back to remember their childhood days in Derry. There are also a lot of Easter Eggs that you might discover especially when you've read the book which has more details of scary stuff. I was actually covering under the sheet, thanks to my seatmate who offered to share his blanket so I can cover, aside from that the Powerplant Cinema is cold.

Easter eggs and a good cameo would not be enough for It fans especially if they read the book. But if you're in for Pennywise's evil laugh and sharp teeth and some mystery findings, you'll enjoy this flick that's playing in theaters now. It's a 3-hour horror ride so you better pee before anything else.

It: Chapter Two is based on Stephen King's novel and directed by Andy Muschietti under Warner Bros. Pictures.

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MOVIE REVIEW - Dark Phoenix

20th Century Fox finishes the X-men saga with Dark Phoenix, starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hault, Tye Sheridan and Sophie Turner who plays the title role (Jean Grey/ Phoenix).

Since this was last of the X-Men series, and we are all looking forward for their appearance in the next chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, unfortunately, Fox did not usher some introduction whether they will be somehow be encountered by the Avengers. Sorry but I kind of lost interest in the series, blame it on mutant fatigue.

The X-men still stands on its own and inflicted a conflict with their own kind. The 90s animated series could give a great reference on how she got her power but you can read it on Wiki as well. Dark Phoenix was not at all bad, but most of those who followed the story will disagree. For me, Dark Phoenix has the best effects since the X-men movies conception in the early 2000s and this is a great way to finish the saga.

Jessica Chastain (Vuk) and Sophie Turner (Jean Grey/Dark Phoenix)

Director’s Club by SM Cinema takes watching movies up a notch with its La-Z-Boy chairs, in-your-seat butler service and state-of-the-art projection system. Snack Time also offers a wide array of food including Bacon-wrapped German Frank Sandwich, Aloha Hotdog Sandwich, Cheeseburger, Beef Nachos and Flavored Fries makes watching movies extra fun.

I love this remote!

Catch X-Men: Dark Phoenix is now showing at SM Cinema’s 64 branches, or at IMAX and Director’s Club Cinemas nationwide. Book your tickets through the website, www.smcinema.com or download the SM Cinema mobile app. You can also follow /SMCinema on Facebook and @SM_Cinema on Instagram for updates. Satisfy your cravings at Snack Time, the official food concessionaire of SM Cinema, which offers a wide array of snacks like popcorn, hotdogs and burgers to complement your movie watching experience. Follow SnackTimeOfficial on Facebook for more information.

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TRANCE movie review

an Ayala Mall Cinemas exclusive, 20th Century Fox brings a Danny Boyle film that had twisted my brain in many intelligence levels. James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel and Rosario Dawson stars in TRANCE, opening May 1.

it was an amazing ride to keep your mind working in the process on different perspectives. it is about an art auctioneer gets mixed up with a group of criminals partnering with a hypnotherapist to recover a lost painting.   moments were both exciting and unpredictable and you'll never really know who leads the cast until you reach the end of the story. a psychologically challenging that literally hooked me from start to finish.

a film inspired by art, Danny Boyle also executed his direction with every frame as good as art. from architecture, realism and more, from happy to tragic that you have to discover yourself. your senses will give full attention to the whole movie and that why i love it most these days.

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XMEN FIRST CLASS movie review

20th Century Fox and Marvel unfolds the story behind the mutant group that is either our friends or enemies. X-Men First Class shows the beginnings of the league started by Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) which opens today, June 2 in Philippine theaters and June 3 internationally.

in time of war, the mutants are already upon us and Charles Xavier devoted his time researching for the cause and how it can be utilized in every day life. unfortunately, military tactical groups have seen this opportunity to utilize mutants for warfare. and on the other side of the story, bad mutants like Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), Emma Frost (January Jones) and Riptide (Alex Gonzales) had been scheming with the other military team for business purposes and domination of the world.

as Xavier discovers the wonders of mutation, Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender), a depressed Polish is in search for the Nazis who killed his parents. he developed his power in anger and rage. they got a chance to meet with Xavier and learned to control his rage along with the other young mutants.

other than all the mutant-powers extravaganza of the story, you may also want to check out the story of Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) on how she discovers and uses her powers to capture the hearts of men. on the note that she is in full-blue, the costume is great with scales. her love story with Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult) gave as the human characters of mutants in order to understand that they want to live normally as humans do.

set in around 1940-1960's, when the Americans and Russians are racing each other for advancements, the technical sets are noticeable with materials and equipments. even the fashion of the cast blended in.

generally, the movie is good and a must-watch even for non-geeks. the movie generally focused on the storyline other than giving us blasts and violence. this is rather emotional than visual, i think.

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