THE EXPENDABLES movie review

this movie will be the greatest film ever with legends and modern action stars lined up for the first and only time. THE EXPENDABLES - a movie which Sylvester Stallone has poured his movie making power gathering up Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, and Stonecold Steve Austin. with cameo appearances of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis, you will also expect a lot of huge blasts and blood. this is better to watch in THX and Dolby Digital theaters because of the good sound.

here is the complete sypnosis from IMDb.com

THE EXPENDABLES is a hard-hitting action/thriller about a group of mercenaries hired to infiltrate a South American country and overthrow its ruthless dictator. Once the mission begins, the men realize things aren't quite as they appear, finding themselves caught in a dangerous web of deceit and betrayal. With their mission thwarted and an innocent life in danger the men struggle with an even tougher challenge, one that threatens to destroy this band of brothers.

Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) is a man with nothing to lose. Fearless and void of emotion, he is the Leader, the Sage and the Strategist of this tight-knit band of men who live on the fringe. His only attachment is to his pickup truck, his seaplane and his team of loyal modern-day warriors. His is a true cynic who describes what he does as "removing those hard to get at stains". The team behind him is made up of Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), former SAS and a savant with anything that has a blade; Yin Yang (Jet Li), a master at close-quarter combat; Hale Caesar (Terry Crews), who has known Barney for ten years and is a long-barrel weapons specialist; Toll Road (Randy Couture), a skilled demolitions expert and considered the intellect of the group; and Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), a combat veteran and an expert in precision sniping who struggles with his own demons.

When the mysterious Church offers Barney a job no one else would take, Barney and his team embark on what appears to be a routine mission: overthrow General Gaza (David Zayas), the murderous dictator of the small island country of Vilena and end the years of death and destruction inflicted on its people. On a reconnaissance mission to Vilena, Barney and Christmas meet their contact Sandra (Giselle Itie), a local freedom-fighter with a dark secret. They also come to learn who their true enemy is: rogue ex-CIA operative James Monroe (Eric Roberts) and his henchman Paine (Steve Austin). When things go terribly wrong, Barney and Christmas are forced to leave Sandra behind, essentially giving her a death sentence. Haunted by this failure, Barney convinces the team to return to Vilena to rescue the hostage and finish the job he started. And to perhaps save a soul: his own.

this is what i like about action movies like THE EXPENDABLES, though it is short, the whole length of the film will not put you to sleep. warning, kids are not allowed due to inconvenient graphics of blood and exploding heads. this is too violent but very amazing.

though there is still an element of a damsel in distress, they have a good choice of a woman to rescue, (Giselle Itié, Sandra) maybe not as hot and sexy like those of Fast and the Furious and James Bond movies. i think it is really unnecessary if they had a very sexy and good looking lady. James Bond actors would not fit in the movie. the actors here are good for dirty work: Rambo, Die Hard, Terminator, Transporter, The One -- all very different from very vain James Bond.

lastly, with the blasts and all, the script is also entertaining. sometimes these guys just got to have humor to balance all the violence. i will give 5 stars for this amazing movie and i hope this is not the last one.
THE EXPENDABLES is now showing at different theaters worldwide made by Lionsgate and Millennium Films.

Want to receive more stuff from me? Enter your email address and click the button:

Read More

CATS: Now and Forever in Manila

i thought i won't be able to catch CATS on CCP, the longest-running and greatest musical of all time. good thing there are kind-hearted people who are willing to share their blessings. with that, i really thank those people who made this dream come true.



and so it begins, the Jellicle Cats assemble for the Jellicle Ball which happens every year. the moon is bright on the dumpsite and it's the Jellicle Cats biggest event. it is also that night that their leader Old Deuteronomy announces which cat goes to Heavenside Layer. with all the fun of dance and music by the Jellicle Cats, Grizabella appears and would like to get back to the tribe. fellow Jellicle cats don't accept her immediately but then declares her pain and sufferings from the outside world, the cats understood and brought her back and she goes to Heavenside Layer, the happy place.


the musical is based on TS Eliot's book, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. and since i am a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber, i really enjoyed getting inside CCP and amazed with the stage and performances. cats is the most colorful production i have seen and you will not get bored on the dances and music. Lea Salonga who played Grizabella is exceptional! she sang Memory which captured the hearts of everybody.

the stage is really amazing. the lighting and effects give the real picture of the dumpsite. and the dancers, they really act like real cats! the movements are as graceful as cat movements. and you might be turning yourself into a cat too if you understand how they are.

CATS: Now and Forever with the Broadway cast and featuring Lea Salonga as Grizabella started last July 22 at the CCP and will definitely run until August 22 2010. so catch it in these remaining play dates:
• August 17, Tuesday 8:00 PM
• August 18, Wednesday 8:00 PM
• August 19, Thursday 8:00 PM
• August 20, Friday 8:00 PM
• August 21, Saturday 3:00 PM and 8:00 PM
• August 22, Sunday 2:30 PM and 7:30 PM

see ticket prizes here

Want to receive more stuff from me? Enter your email address and click the button:

Read More

GEORGE CLOONEY stars in revenge-thriller, THE AMERICAN

From acclaimed director Anton Corbijn (the Cannes-winningControl) comes the suspense thriller The American starring Academy Award winner George Clooney in the title role. Adapted from Martin Booth’s 1990 novel A Very Private Gentleman, the film will be shown soon exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Trinoma, Glorietta 4 & Greenbelt 3).

In the film, Jack (Clooney) is an assassin constantly on the move and always alone. After a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, Jack retreats to the Italian countryside. He relishes being away from death for a spell as he holes up in a small medieval town. While there, Jack takes an assignment to construct a weapon for a mysterious contact, Mathilde (Thekla Reuten).

Savoring the peaceful quietude he finds in the mountains of Abruzzo, Jack accepts the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli) and pursues a torrid liaison with a beautiful woman, Clara (Violante Placido). Jack and Clara’s time together evolves into a romance, one seemingly free of danger. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate.

Following the success of his award-winning first feature, the drama Control -- the biopic of Joy Division front man Ian Curtis -- director Anton Corbijn was deliberately looking to work on a new film centering on as different material as possible. He reveals, “I started reading thriller scripts. The theme of The American, of a loner trying to find redemption from the deeds he’s done, interested me – as did the tension and the romance in the story. Here was something I saw could be not only suspenseful but also thoughtful.

“My career for over 35 years has been as a portrait photographer; filmmaking is a new adventure for me. I’m still finding my voice. I feel that where The American does parallel Control is in the idea of trying to change one’s life; how can you maybe make good after doing wrong? Can you overcome things that might be in you which define you?”

The Western genre was a key inspiration to Corbijn in his formative years. He remembers, “I haven’t seen all that many movies in my life, but Westerns have long made an impression on me, starting with – in childhood – Rawhide [the 1960s TV series starring Clint Eastwood]. The look, the stories, the morality of movie Westerns always attracted me. Although The American is not actually a Western, it is structured in that genre; a stranger comes to a small town and connects with a couple of the people in it, but his past catches up with him – and there is a shootout.”

Producer Anne Carey concurs, noting that in The American, as in Westerns, “there is a man who has lived by the gun, and the violence that he’s lived by threatens to infect the peace that he’s tried to find in a place that he thinks he could live in.”

Screenwriter Rowan Joffe came to the material from several angles. He comments, “When they asked me to write The American, I was thrilled at the chance to adapt such a morally rich, visually arresting, and unusual novel.”

With Corbijn’s instruction to adapt it as a contemporary Western, Joffe simplified the overall structure into a character-motivated thriller with a streamlined plot, a powerful redemptive theme, very spare dialogue, and a wild Italian landscape that acts like a character in its own right, exerting its transformative, melancholy beauty on our hero and assisting him in his journey to redemption.


Joffe shares, “George Clooney’s interest in my first draft allowed me to continue refining subsequent drafts with him in mind; that was a considerable dramatic boon for the script as well as a rare opportunity to craft a character for one of the greatest movie actors alive.”

Want to receive more stuff from me? Enter your email address and click the button:

Read More

don't miss MASTER CLASS!

please don't miss the amazing and immortal portrayal of Ms. Cherie Gil of Maria Callas! it will be staging for THIS LAST WEEKEND! you really will not get bored from the operatic singing and historical backgrounder of La Divina. discover how great artists hide from their despair and project themselves as people with power, with great talent and amazing personality.

the play really focused on the life of Maria Callas and how she appreciated the art. life lessons are integrated on how she taught her students which is very true in all of us. though it requires perfection, the essence of appreciating the art is feeling and listening to it. it is also one of my favorite stage plays to date! getting a renowned local actress as Cherie Gil to play as Maria Callas is already the total package.


MASTER CLASS is produced by the Philippine Opera Company and is directed by Michael Williams. Also featured are Juan Alberto Gaerlan as Anthony Candolino and Al Gatmaitan (alternate), Florence Aguilar as Sophie de Palma, Ana Feleo as Sharon Graham and Kay Balajadia-Liggayu (alternate), Chino Veguillas as stage hand and Francis Amora as the pianist Manny.

For tickets, call Philippine Opera Company at 892-8786 or 881-7168 or TicketWorld at 891-9999. For more information visit www.philippineoperacompany.com

Want to receive more stuff from me? Enter your email address and click the button:

Read More

SALT soars with Php 100M in 12 days!

MANILA, Aug. 9 – There’s no stopping the tenacious Evelyn Salt in her box-office domination! Angelina Jolie’s power-packed action-thriller Salt breached the landmark P100-million gross Sunday, Aug. 8 or 12 days after its release. This according to Victor R. Cabrera, managing director of distributor Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.

The film’s cumulative nationwide gross now stands at a spectacular P100.11-million, easily beating the final grosses of previous spy megahits such as Wanted (P94.65-M), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (P83.26-M) and all three Jason Bourne movies -- The Bourne Ultimatum (P58.07-M), The Bourne Supremacy (P35.90-M) and The Bourne Identity (P 36.80-M).

Salt also became the 2nd P100-M hit for Columbia this year, after last June’s blockbuster The Karate Kid.

The Philip Noyce-directed actioner continued to impress discriminating local critics. “Among the fine cinematic lessons Salt teaches is a veritable crash course in relentless editing for maximum suspense and visceral impact,” wrote Nestor Torre in his column. “From the film’s shocking start to its `twist within a twist’ conclusion, the movie’s pacing and ever-intensifying conclusion doesn’t let up until the viewer ends up feeling like a very wet and limp dishrag—no kidding.”

Widely-read columnist Scott Garceau wrote that after the expositional back-story, “Salt kicks into high gear and doesn’t look back. There are enough stunts here to fill a Die Hard trilogy or a handful of Jason Bourne flicks.”

The cinemas that posted the biggest grosses for “Salt” are Trinoma (P6.13-M), SM Mall of Asia (P5.04-M), Glorietta 4 (P3.90-M), SM Megamall (P3.65-M), SM North EDSA (P3.20-M), SM Cebu (P3.12-M), Greenbelt 3 (P3.11-M), Power Plant (P3.03-M), Alabang Town Center (P2.83-M) and Ayala Cebu (P2.66-M).

Also doing great business are Gateway (P2.65-M), Shang Cineplex (P2.29-M), Eastwood (P2.23-M), Robinsons Ermita (P2.19-M), Greenhills (P2.01-M), Gaisano Davao (P1.92-M), Robinsons Galleria (P1.87-M), Market! Market! (P1.71-M), Festival (1.67-M) and SM San Lazaro (P1.33-M)

In the film, CIA officer Evelyn Salt (Jolie) swore an oath to duty, honor and country. Her loyalty will be tested when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture. Salt's efforts to prove her innocence only serve to cast doubt on her motives, as the hunt to uncover the truth behind her identity continues and the question remains: "Who Is Salt?"

Still playing across the Philippines, “Salt” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.sonypictures.com.ph to get the latest movie news, video clips, games and free downloads. Find us on Facebook www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.

Want to receive more stuff from me? Enter your email address and click the button:

Read More

SUCKER PUNCH character posters released!

girls will kick some ass!

Warner Bros. has released the official character posters of its upcoming action-adventure Sucker Punch from director Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300).

The one-sheets feature individual cast members Emily Browning as Babydoll, Vanessa Hudgens as Blondie, Abbie Cornish as Sweet Pea, Jamie Chung as Amber, Jena Malone as Rocket and Carla Gugino as Madam Gorski.

Sucker Punch is an action fantasy that takes us into the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her, but her incredible adventures blur the lines between what's real and what is imaginary... with potentially tragic consequences.


Opening across the Philippines in March 2011, Sucker Punch will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Want to receive more stuff from me? Enter your email address and click the button:

Read More

3D short before CATS AND DOGS

whoa! now Warner Bros. are doing 3D shorts too!

Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, two of the most popular Looney Tunes characters of all time, are returning to the big screen in three all-new animated 3D shorts. Warner Bros. Pictures will attach the cartoon shorts to three of its upcoming 3D family features, starting with Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore opening in the Philippines on August 18th.

This will be followed by Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, on September 24th; and the third with Yogi Bear, on January 2011. The announcement was made recently by Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution.

In the new cartoon shorts, each three minutes in length, Wile E. Coyote is as determined as ever to catch the elusive Road Runner, who continues to leave his hapless nemesis in the dust with a taunting "beep-beep." However, bringing the classic characters into the 21st century, the resourceful Wile E. will now be employing an arsenal of state-of-the-art ACME gadgets to snag his quarry—with all of the action in stereographic 3D.

In making the announcement, Fellman said, "Audiences have always delighted in Wile E. Coyote's dogged pursuit of the Road Runner, with hilarious, albeit predictable, results. We are thrilled to be presenting these characters for the first time in 3D, which will heighten the excitement and humor of the chase, not to mention the impact—at least for Wile E. We're sure these three new adventures will entertain a new generation of fans while reminding us all why these two characters have been beloved for so long."

To be released both in Digital 3D and regular format, Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Want to receive more stuff from me? Enter your email address and click the button:

Read More