Horrible Bosses 2 movie review

The last movie was a successful laugh trip since The Hangover. The crazy trio of Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day reprises their roles form the 2011 movie. I can't believe it's been that long.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

The cast was also reunites them with their former horrible bosses with exception of Collin Farell. Joining them for them are Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine. I never thought I find this sequel funnier than the first. I laughed so hard that I almost ran out of breath.

There are also lots of twists that you won't see it coming since it is a comedy. For the new characters, Christoph Waltz is known for his antagonistic roles you love to hate and he did well with a mix of comedy. Playing the son of another horrible boss, Chris Pine proves well that you didn't expect him to be bratty in his role. We always know him as the new Captain Kirk.

If ever you are looking for a good laugh trip movie this month, this is the movie for you. But it will be on limited time since there's the upcoming Metro Manila Film Fest. Unless you live outside the Metro.

For more quality movie reviews, follow this blog or like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.

TINA FEY IN “THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU

Movie release

Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winner Tina Fey (“Date Night,” TV's “30 Rock”) stars as the fiercely supportive but undeniably bossy big sister, Wendy, in Warner Bros.' dramatic comedy “This is Where I Leave You” from director Shawn Levy.

When their father passes away, four grown siblings, bruised and banged up by their respective adult lives, are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, along with their over-sharing mother and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens. Confronting their history and the frayed states of their relationships among the people who know and love them best, they ultimately reconnect in hysterical and emotionally affecting ways amid the chaos, humor, heartache and redemption that only families can provide—driving us insane even as they remind us of our truest, and often best, selves.

“As the only girl in the family, Wendy has attempted to mother her two younger brothers, but she’s especially close to Judd,” says Tina Fey. “At first, she’s the only one who knows how Judd is living and that he’s left his wife and his job, and she’s a confidant to him even when he doesn’t want her as a confidant. She pulls the truth out of him like only an older sister can do, and they annoy each other in the way that only brothers and sisters can.”

Levy drew upon his relationship with his own sister in helping to develop the rapport between the two leads, saying, “I knew that the Wendy-and-Judd scenes would be the heart of the movie so we bolstered them and spent a lot of time focused on them in the writing and the performances. Tina Fey and Jason Bateman, who didn’t know each other prior to production, created a wonderfully intimate bond that is so authentic on screen.

“Tina brings all her sharpness and biting wit into play, but where Wendy’s story is also touched with pain she had to convey that sadness and vulnerability too,” Levy continues. “She took that leap and she absolutely soars.”

Tough as nails when she has to be—don’t cross her or anyone she loves—Wendy is the wise, warm, big sister with the awesome left hook. “She’s married to a workaholic,” offers Fey. “On paper, he’s everything she would be into: smart, successful, handsome…but he’s also a bit of a tool, like rolling calls at her father’s funeral. They have two young children so they’re also dealing with the stress and strain of that, but you get the feeling that maybe they weren’t the greatest couple even before that.”

All of this is thrown into perspective when Wendy comes home and catches sight of Horry Callen, the boy she left behind.

Timothy Olyphant stars as the strong yet touchingly fragile Horry, whose setbacks have not dampened his sense of humor so much as lent it a certain philosophic edge. “Horry and Wendy were in love,” Olyphant explains. “They were high school sweethearts and it was a lovely thing, but then a tragic accident happened and Horry became incapable of having the kind of life and relationship Wendy would have wanted—and that he wanted for her. So she got on with life and married someone else. But when she comes home and sees him, it’s an opportunity for a time out. It’s as if that relationship and that love still exists for both of them in some kind of timeless bubble.”

“This is Where I Leave You” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company.

JOEL EDGERTON IN STAGGERING EPIC “EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS”

Movie release material

From acclaimed director Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Prometheus) comes the epic adventure EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS, the story of one man’s daring courage to take on the might of an empire.  Using state of the art visual effects and 3D immersion, Scott brings new life to the story of the defiant leader Moses (Christian Bale) as he rises up against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses (Joel Edgerton), setting 400,000 slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues.

Photo credits: 20th Century Fox

Filmed in 3D, Scott’s film tells the story of Moses, abandoned by a desperate mother as a baby after the Egyptian rulers orders the murder of all boys born to slaves. He is found in the bulrushes by the Pharaoh’s daughter and raised in the royal household, where he grows up alongside Ramses, the future monarch.

As a man, Moses has a vision and turns his back on his privileged life and leads his people, the Israelites, from enslavement. Scott’s film will feature ground-breaking special effects, including the plagues - visited upon Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea.

According to the Book of Exodus in the Bible, God inflicted ten plagues on Egypt as punishment for not releasing the children of Israel from slavery – these included frogs, flies, boils, hail stones and locusts, all of which feature in Scott’s movie. It made for some very interesting days filming, says Edgerton.

The central relationship of “Exodus: Gods and Kings” is between Moses and Ramses, who grew up as brothers.  Ramses becomes Pharaoh and Moses his most trusted advisor and second in command.  But when Ramses learns that Moses is actually a Hebrew, he expels his “brother” into the desert and to an almost certain death.  “Ramses personifies how absolute power corrupts absolutely,” says Joel Edgerton who takes on the role. “Ramses starts to believe he actually is a god, which creates a wonderful dynamic between Moses and him.”

Ramses is the story’s principal antagonist, but Scott and Edgerton wanted to give the character nuances and complexities that transcend stock villainy.  “Ramses has a strong , brotherly connection to Moses, so he’s very conflicted when Moses is revealed to be a Hebrew.  He also loves his wife Nefertari, and his young son, so that gives him important emotional shadings,” says the director.

Scott first encountered Edgerton years earlier, while casting his Crusades epic, “Kingdom of Heaven.”  The actor was deemed too young for the role then, but Scott continued to follow Edgerton’s career, particularly his work in the acclaimed independent drama Animal Kingdom. “Joel has flair, and he’s athletic, brooding, intellectual and very warm as well. He transposed himself elegantly into the demeanor of an Ancient Egyptian, acknowledging the period, without it feeling like ‘period.’ Ramses is a bad guy, with good emotional parts to his character, so that you are not sure whether to hate him or not. Joel is also very physical, so he provides a real sense of action and fury when needed.”

               

Bale hails Edgerton’s “tremendous commitment to the role.  I felt he had one of the most difficult parts in the film.  Joel captures all the arrogance of someone with limitless power, and all the insecurities of someone desperately trying to hold onto his position.”

   

Edgerton relished the role, especially its complexities.  “The most fascinating villain is someone who, in their own movie, would be the hero,” he explains. “I always feel if you can understand the bad guy, you can cheer for the hero even more. So I wanted to find that balance between doing my job as the villain of the piece, but give him humanity.  Amidst all the epic scenes of warfare, the big conflict here is the battle of wills between Ramses and Moses.”

Edgerton admits that Ramses has a huge ego, as expected from someone brought up to believe he is a living god. “He is unreasonable and lacks empathy,” says the actor. “Ramses is a tyrant and a dictator, but that was part of the beliefs of the times.”

Joel Edgerton has been on some big – very big – films in the past but nothing has compared to Ridley Scott’s epic adventure Exodus: Gods & Kings.  “It’s definitely one of the biggest that I’ve ever been involved in. The scale of the sets, the amount of people around – the crew and the hundreds of extras we have on some days - and the epic scale of the story, is really staggering.”

“Exodus: Gods and Kings” in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D nationwide from 20^th Century Fox and distributed by Warner Bros..

CHARLIE DAY, JASON SUDEIKIS BRING COMIC CHAOS TO “HORRIBLE BOSSES 2”

Movie release material

As much as they function best as a team, or what Jason Bateman calls “this three-headed monster, a sort of collective idiot,” New Line Cinema's “Horrible Bosses 2” lets Nick, Dale and Kurt also shine as distinctly individual personalities.

Says producer Jay Stern, “That’s really the strength and the secret of this kind of ensemble. There are people watching around the world who might not identify with all of them but will see a bit of themselves in Dale, or maybe Nick, or Kurt, so audiences have multiple opportunities to get drawn into it.”

Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema and Warner Bros.

For example, the needle of Charlie Day’s character, Dale, only points in one direction or the other: total fear and denial, or total gung-ho commitment. Above all, Dale’s first impulse is to avoid anything that will get him in trouble with his wife, a tendency he displayed in the first round when she was just his fiancée and is now amplified because the stakes are so much higher on the home front.

“They have triplets,” offers Day. “Though it’s not in the script, I’m assuming they got pregnant on their first attempt and then, surprise, it’s triplets! Because that’s what would happen to Dale. In one way, his dreams have come true, he got married to the woman he loves. But he’s in a little over his head with that already, and then they took this huge risk to start their own company, so Dale’s stress level is off the charts.”

Also off the charts is the lengths to which he is prepared to go to make things right.

“Dale is all over the place, flipping out one moment and being ominously quiet the next,” says director Sean Anders. “He’s the most neurotic and easily frightened of the three, and so the least predictable, and Charlie gives him the most amazing, infectious energy; he’s pitch perfect. Dale will jump head-first into some crazy idea like it’s brilliant, and then, the next moment, be screaming about how stupid it is and how it’s going to ruin their lives.”

Jason Sudeikis' Kurt, meanwhile, not one to worry like Nick, or panic like Dale, continues to sail along with full confidence that everything will work out and it’s all good, despite all evidence to the contrary, because he’s just that cool. If something goes wrong, they’ll just figure out a way around it, right?

Sudeikis’ take on Kurt is “happy-go-lucky, almost like a puppy dog. He likes to have fun, and he’s willing to go for it. He’s a bit of an adrenalin junkie, too, so long as there are no heights involved; if he can stay in the same relative longitude and latitude, he’s willing to try just about anything. I think Kurt, like his cohorts, is a product of the ‘Yes we can’ generation, and feels that anything he sets his mind to, he can accomplish.”

That attitude, combined with their checkered past, is what Sudeikis believes leads Kurt and his friends into further trouble. “The criminal activity they engaged in the first time really didn’t change their world very much,” he notes. “They got away with it. And that made them think maybe they could do things they really shouldn’t be doing, like being their own bosses.”

“Horrible Bosses 2” is the follow-up to the 2011 hit comedy “Horrible Bosses” and reunites Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis as everyone’s favorite working stiffs: Nick, Dale and Kurt.

Fed up with answering to higher-ups, Nick (Bateman), Dale (Day) and Kurt (Sudeikis) decide to become their own bosses by launching their own business. But a slick investor soon pulls the rug out from under them. Outplayed and desperate, and with no legal recourse, the three would-be entrepreneurs hatch a misguided plan to kidnap the investor’s adult son and ransom him to regain control of their company.

Jennifer Aniston and Jamie Foxx also reprise their “Horrible Bosses” starring roles, while Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz star as new adversaries standing between the guys and their dreams of success.

Opening across the Philippines on Nov. 26, “Horrible Bosses 2” is a New Line Cinema Presentation distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Free Movie Day 2014

Event release

Christmas season is the time of the year to share moments with your family and friends. And what better way to start celebrating this special occasion than to go out for a movie day…for free!

SM Lifestyle and Entertainment Inc., continues to promote bonding activities among Filipino families and friends this December 6, 2014, as SM treats patrons of SM Cinema and WM Cinema to a first-rate movie experience with add-on services.

SM Cinema, the largest cinema exhibitor in the country, will have its 3^rd FREE MOVIE DAY this December. This year, WM Cinemas (with 6 branches) is joining the event and will be offering and rolling out the same program for its patrons.

Patrons may bring one companion and watch any movies showing on that day for free! All you have to do is register online to get your free movie vouchers. It’s definitely a day worth spending with family and loved ones.

Enjoy the free movies in all SM Cinema and WM Cinemas nationwide on December 6, 2014 at 1:00 PM, 4:00 PM, and 7:00 PM. The movies to be screened are Panday, Grace of Monaco, Thunder and the House of Magic, Tyanak, Love Rosie, Dumb & Dumber 2, Bacao, Tumbang Preso, Dark Touch, and Sigaw ng Hatinggabi.

 To register, please visit and like the Facebook page of your preferred SM Cinema or WM Cinema branch from November 10 to December 6, 2014. Click the “Free Movies” tab and select preferred branch, movie, and schedule. Once you submit your registration form, you will receive a unique code which will be sent to the registered email. This unique code will serve as your pass to your free movie! It’s that easy!

So what are you waiting for? Kick-off the holidays with the Free Movie Day!

LIAM HEMSWORTH IN “THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1”

Movie release material

 Blazing at cinemas nationwide this November 20 in the Philippines, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1,” Liam Hemsworth reprises his role as Gale Hawthorne who finds himself at the tipping point in the latest instalment following the events that transpired in “Catching Fire.” 

Photo courtesy of Pioneer Films

In “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1,” from the moment Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) wakes up in District 13, Gale is there – one of her only touchstones to the world she left behind. But he, too, is no longer the same. A hero who saved hundreds during the destruction of their home in District 12, he is now becoming a dedicated soldier in the rebellion and yet his heart is as unsettled by Katniss as ever.

Returning in the role is Liam Hemsworth, who says that in the wake of Catching Fire events, “He’s had enough as far as The Capitol’s abuse goes, so he’s not scared to stand up to it. He feels ready to go to war, in spite of the costs, to try to take down The Capitol. He sees the biggest part of his job as being the one to give Katniss the support and courage to become the Mockingjay. He’s now kind of her right-hand man.”

Gale becomes a driving force behind Katniss consenting to appear in the propos films for District 13. “He knows that they have to spread the word that the Mockingjay is alive and that only she can bring people together to stand up to The Capitol,” Hemsworth explains. At the same time, he notes that there is a distance between them. “Gale and Katniss have known each other their whole lives and have a lot of love for each other . . . but the difference between them is that Gale now sees anyone who has anything to do with the Capitol as guilty. Katniss doesn’t have those blinders.”

Hemsworth couldn’t wait to work with Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson again. “You couldn’t ask for better people to work with. Jen & Josh are both amazingly talented and working with them is a blessing and so much fun. We’ve now all known each other for a few years and together we’ve experienced a lot of pivotal points in our lives.”

He also found great enjoyment in working with Francis Lawrence on the nuances of Gale’s development over time and his increasingly complicated feelings for Katniss. “Francis is the consummate director. He is great at all the big action stuff as well as working intimately with actors. He is one of the most well-prepared directors I’ve had the good fortune of working with. He knows the ins and outs of the story and everyone’s character. When you ask him a question, he knows the answer. He’s always willing to listen and collaborate with you on your input and ideas.”

                Liam Hemsworth has a quiet intensity that transcends the big screen. Demonstrating versatility and skill in a range of performances, Hemsworth has proven to be one of the most sought after actors of his generation.  Born in Melbourne, Australia, Hemsworth grew up surfing on Phillip Island. Hemsworth quickly landed his first big acting job on Australia’s popular TV series Home and Away and from there went on to book a role on Australia’s most successful TV show “Neighbors.”

Landing his first film role in the feature film “Triangle,” Hemsworth discovered that his true passion was in making movies. “It’s something new and fresh and it’s just a different energy to what I’d worked on before, says Hemsworth. Hemsworth soon began to gain attention throughout Hollywood and, while living with his brother Chris in their manager Will Ward’s guest cottage, Liam beat out hundreds of actors for the part of ‘Will Blakelee’ in the film adaptation of Nicholas Spark’s “The Last Song,” co-starring Greg Kinnear and Miley Cyrus. Hemsworth then went onto star in two of 2012’s biggest box office hits—“The Hunger Games,” directed by Gary Ross, and “Expendables 2,” directed by Simon West. Last year, he starred opposite Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman in the high stakes thriller “Paranoia,” directed by Robert Luketic and Empire State, directed by Dito Montiel and co-starring Dwayne Johnson and Emma Roberts. He also reprised his role as Gale Hawthorne in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” directed by Francis Lawrence.

Hemsworth eagerly looks forward to more film work with quality actors and directors. He says, “I love acting and I love movies. At the moment, I’m just trying to find people who are doing something different and meet people who are as passionate as I am. I have learned the majority of what I know on set, working. You learn from watching people with experience.”

                “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 “ opens in theatres on November 20, Thursday from Pioneer Films.

THIS YEAR’S CINEMALAYA BEST ACTOR DANTE RIVERO IN “1ST KO SI 3RD” EXCLUSIVE AT AYALA MALLS CINEMAS

Ayala Cinema movie release

 After four decades, Cory (Nova Villa) and Third (Freddie Webb) cross paths again that will change the entire course of their twilight years.  Married to Alejandro (Dante Rivero), Cory initially avoids rekindling the past but the inevitable happens and finally finds herself loving each moment when their first date is finally realized.   Revolving around Cory, a recently retired government employee, the seductive idea of rekindling her first love has posed a challenging proposition for Cory. 

Dante Rivero, on the other hand, plays Alejandro, a very touching portrayal of a man in his 60’s seeking to come to terms with his wife’s attempts to rekindle a romance with an old flame out of marriage’s monotony.   “ 1^st Ko Si 3^rd” won Best Actor Award for Dante Rivero’s performance in the film and was one of the box office top grossers in this year’s Cinemalaya Film Festival.

Director Real Florido recalls, “The 11th month of the year has three reasons to be a big season for 1st Ko Si 3rd and its filmmakers as it competes in two international film festivals and opens for nationwide theatrical run. First, the film hits the cinemas on the 12th of November through an exclusive partnership with Ayala Malls Cinemas in 10 different locations: Trinoma, Glorietta 4, Market! Market!, Alabang Town Center, Fairview Terraces, Marquee Mall Angeles City Pampanga, Harbor Point Olongapo City, Ayala Center Cebu, Centrio Cagayan De Oro, and Abreeza Davao. Second reason is that the film’s international premiere will happen in the USA as it becomes an official selection to the Hawaii International Film Festival 2014. Third, the film is also part of the Circle Competition of the 2nd QCinema International Film Festival set to open on the first week of November in Quezon City.”

Exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide on November 12, log on to www.sureseats.com for online ticket purchase and schedule of “1st Ko si 3rd.”

JASON BATEMAN STARS IN “HORRIBLE BOSSES 2,” “THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU”

Release material

Golden Globe Award-winner Jason Bateman (TV's “Arrested Development,” “Hancock”) headlines two consecutive comedies from Warner Bros. Pictures: the laugh-out-loud “Horrible Bosses 2” and the inspiring “This is Where I Leave You.”

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

In “Horrible Bosses 2,” everyone's favorite working stiffs Nick (Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) rally with an original invention and another run at the American dream. But a slick investor (Christoph Waltz) soon pulls the rug out from under them. Outplayed and desperate, and with no legal recourse, the three would-be entrepreneurs hatch a misguided plan to kidnap the investor’s adult son (Chris Pine) and ransom him to regain control of their company.

Of the three leads, Bateman had arguably the toughest assignment just because, as Nick, he had to keep the smile off his face most of the time — a tall order in this company. “His timing is masterful,” sayss producer Chris Bender. “He knows exactly when to deliver a cutting line or a look that takes the other guys out at the knees for being such boneheads.”

But for all of Nick’s assumptions that he’s in charge and he’s the smart one and the voice of reason, and for all the valid points he does occasionally raise about the pitfalls of what they’re about to do, the fact remains that he always ends up going along with the plan.

Bateman notes, “My job as Nick is to be as close as possible to a representative for the audience, and to react to the absurdity in these scenarios in enough of a realistic way so they don’t think it’s too goofy. But honestly, most people are a lot brighter than these three; most people wouldn’t think that killing their bosses or kidnapping their business partner is the right thing to do, or has the slightest chance of working out well. But if they were smart, this would be a drama.”

Meanwhile, Bateman's other film “This is Where I Leave You” deals his character a series of gut punches in rapid succession. He plays Judd Altman, a presumably happily married and successfully employed radio producer with a comfortable and tastefully furnished New York City apartment. He comes home one day to find his perfect wife in bed with his perfectly loathsome boss, and is rendered loveless, jobless and homeless in one lightning bolt of misery. His resulting downward spiral is only interrupted, days later, by the news that his father has passed away. Still shell-shocked, Judd is summoned back to his childhood home to reconnect with his three contentious adult siblings and their unapologetically outspoken mother, who insists they all spend the next seven days together—and won’t take no for an answer. On its surface, perhaps, not the likeliest scenario for a laugh-out-loud experience and yet, wherever there are momentous, life-altering events, there is family. And where there is family, well…

“It’s a breeding ground for dysfunction,” offers Bateman. “You have people who are very passionate about their positions, be they practical or emotional or ethical, and there’s all that shared history with its resentments and unresolved issues. So it’s not difficult to find these characters in a situation where their dignity starts to unravel and their vulnerability is at such a place where they do and say things that are heartwarmingly hilarious to witness.”

Considering all that Judd has already endured, this sounds like the last thing in the world he needs but, in fact, may be exactly what he needs most. Because sometimes you have to go home to find out where you got lost.

There’s a lot going on in “This is Where I Leave You,” but the narrative thread begins and ends with Judd. “He’s a fairly happy guy,” Bateman says of his character just before the bottom drops out of everything. “He produces a popular radio show, and even though he’d really rather be doing something else, he puts up with it because it allows him this perfect life he’d mapped out for himself. Judd doesn’t have a huge tolerance for complications and spontaneity. And then things start to go sideways—his marriage falls apart, there’s a death in the family—and it knocks him off balance.”

Author Jonathan Tropper whose novel the film is adapted from, conceived of Judd as a man always on the straight and narrow. “He plays it safe so everything will work out the way he’s planned. But when he’s plunged into a state of crisis, Judd starts to feel that all the assumptions he had growing up, and on which he based his entire life, may have been faulty, and maybe he should have been less determined to control the outcome and more invested in discovering his true self.”

“Jason’s performance is a microcosm of the film’s tone as he pivots in the same second from funny to touching,” adds director Shawn Levy.

Concludes Bateman, “Judd’s journey is to figure out if he’s pointed in the right direction, and try to get a clue, or two or three, which he receives through some of the circumstances he goes through and some of the people he interacts with in the film—most of whom are going through much the same exercise.”

Inner photo from Horrible Bosses 2 and main photo from This Is Were I Leave You. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

First Ko Si Third movie review

Cinemalaya truly brought interest in quality movie productions to the audience and brought it to mainstream which is why Ayala Cinemas brought one of the recent entries exclusively.

First Ko Si Third is a romantic comedy about reminiscing first love. It focuses mainly on Corazon who just retired and spends more time with her husband Alejandro when her high school sweetheart got back from U.S. and planned a get-together.

With Ms. Nova Villa after the screening

The comedy of the movie is smart. It is not slapstick but it also shows a situation of retired couples. Just so happens that the director Real Florido is a friend of a fellow blogger. During the exclusive screening, I got to meet the cast and the director.

Thespian Audie Gemora said that Ms. Nova Villa showed how good she is in this movie as an actress. The cast ensemble is a variety of veterans and new talents. The movie also reunites Ms. Villa with Freddie Webb who worked with her in a sitcom and Dante Rivero.

What's good about this movie is that it didn't spend much to make a quality production. For more updates about Ayala Cinemas exclusive screenings and my personal reviews, follow this blog or like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.

Live the Experience at the New Bonifacio High Street Cinemas

Press release

At Bonifacio High Street Central, you will be able to do so much more than merely “watch” a movie. Four state-of-the-art movie theaters atop the new Central Square Building are about to revolutionize your cinematic experience. Unlock the endless sensory possibilities of today’s advanced technologies, all under one roof —you get to choose which industry-shaping technology to immerse yourself in.

Be in the Movie

            Bonifacio High Street will be the first in the country to feature the game-changing 4DX™ technology. This immersive, all-five-senses experience will be supplied by the pioneers of 4D cinema, South Korean company CJ 4DPlex, which maintains a close working relationship with Hollywood studios.

The precise choreography of motion system and environmental effects will thrill you. 4DX™ motion chairs heave up and down, roll side-to-side, and pitch forward and backward to allow you to physically participate in the action on-screen.

4DX™ will also enliven your other senses. Mist and rain, smoke and fog, a gentle breeze or gusts of wind, or a flash of lightning—once confined to the silver screen, these special effects will now be recreated around you. And you will even be able to smell various scents!

Hear the Whole Picture

            Two of the four cinemas will be equipped with Dolby Atmos™. Dolby Laboratories perfected its proprietary surround-sound system by augmenting it with front- and even ceiling-mounted speakers.

Hear a helicopter hover above; listen as the sound of the rainforest surround you—you can even enjoy these aural enhancements while seated in the plush comfort of a motorized leather recliner, which will be available in one of the Cinema’s digital movie theaters.

Watch at Your Convenience

            Known for its exceptional customer service, Ayala Malls Cinemas brings superior movie-watching experience to Bonifacio High Street with quick and convenient access to tickets. Via www.sureseats.com, check movie schedules and secure your movie tickets and seats for the biggest and most popular flicks anytime, anywhere with click-easy ticket reservation and purchases online. The handy website accepts all major credit cards or the Ayala Malls Cinemas MPass card in paying for your most coveted tickets.

The MPass, Ayala Malls Cinemas’ reloadable prepaid movie card, makes purchasing cinema tickets more convenient. This all-access card lets you pay for your movie tickets online and allows you to skip the line with just a flash of the card at the cinema entrance. The MPass can also be used as a debit card for over the counter ticket purchases, making transactions easier.

            Bonifacio High Street cinemas welcome you to the brave new world of movie-going, where technology meets your imagination. Be the first to try it on April 30, 2014 with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as its first feature.

            Follow Bonifacio High Street on Facebook (facebook.com/BoniHighStreet) for updates and promotions.

NOVEL "WHITE BIRD IN A BLIZZARD" TRANSLATED INTO SHAILENE WOODLEY STARRER

Movie release material

 Acclaimed young actress and passionate environmentalist Shailene Woodley who first came to worldwide attention for her  award winning performance opposite George Clooney in Academy Award® nominated film "The Descendants" and has further catapulted to fame in the book-based films "Divergent" and "The Fault In Our Stars" again essays the lead role in "White Bird In A Blizzard" based on the tome by Laura Kasischke.

Photo courtesy of Pioneer Films

               In "White Bird In A Blizzard," Woodley takes on the character of Kat Connors,  17 years old when her perfect homemaker mother, Eve (Eva Green), a beautiful, enigmatic, and haunted woman, disappears - just as Kat is discovering and relishing her newfound sexuality. Having lived for so long in a stifled, emotionally repressed household, she barely registers her mother's absence and certainly doesn't blame her doormat of a father, Brock (Christopher Meloni), for the loss. In fact, it's almost a relief. But as time passes, Kat begins to come to grips with how deeply Eve's disappearance has affected her. Returning home on a break from college, she finds herself confronted with the truth about her mother's departure, and her own denial about the events surrounding it.

               The movie unfolds almost entirely from Kat’s perspective,  told from a very feminine point of view and takes a different approach to one of the most debated topics of all time- adolescence.  "Adolescence is a time of change and transition, where nothing is stable or certain, and teenagers live a life that is a big question mark - so naturally they make compelling dramatic subjects," shares director Gregg Araki.

               Director Araki further shares that she discovered Shailene Woodley through her heartbreaking performance in "The Descendants," coincidentally, she was also a big fan of "Mysterious Skin" which the Araki helmed.   " She read the script for White Bird, loved it, and immediately signed on. Shai actually reminds me a lot of Joe Gordon Levitt, who I worked with on Mysterious Skin. They are both incredibly talented and creative individuals who take their art very seriously - they're not in it for fame or money or any of the bullshit. They both also have really great parents so they're more centered and secure in themselves than some young actors who don't have that kind of solid upbringing," Araki says of Woodley.

               Woodley began her career at the age of 5 when an agent recognized her potential and signed her in an instant and she has been working ever since. She cut her teeth in commercials and then earned her first TV role in the 1999 MOW "Replacing Dad," which starred two time Oscar® nominee Mary McDonnell.

               Among the many accolades she received for her work in "The Descendants" were a 2012 Independent Spirit Award® for Best Supporting Actress, the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress, a Golden Globe® nomination and a Critics Choice award nomination. Likewise, her box-office draw proved strong  when the critically acclaimed "The Fault In Our Stars" dominated the box-office that has earned over $250 million worldwide. 

               Fans worldwide are also anticipating the return of ‘Tris’ in the next installment of the Divergent series, entitled Insurgent, which will be in theaters all over the world in March 2015.  Woodley’s character ‘Tris’ will pick up where she left off as the newest member of the ‘Dauntless’ faction.

VERSATILE AND ENDEARING ACTORS NOVA VILLA, FREDDIE WEBB AND DANTE RIVERO STAR IN “1ST KO SI 3RD” TO OPEN EXCLUSIVELY AT AYALA MALLS CINEMAS STARTING NOVEMBER 12

Ayala Cinema Exclusive Release

 Before flying off at this year’s Official Selection to Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF), the Nova Villa-Freddie Webb onscreen reunion, “1^st Ko si 3^rd” will open exclusive at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide starting November 12. 

               

                Written and directed by Real Florido and included in the New Breed Category of this year’s Cinemalaya Indpendent Film Festival (Year 10), “1^st Ko si 3^rd” introduces the audience to a 65-year old woman, Cory (Villa) married to Alejandro (Dante Rivero) who gets reunited with her 1st love, Third (Webb) and finally the supposed 1st date happens five decades after they got separated.

                “1^st Ko si 3^rd” also bagged this year’s Cinemalaya Best Actor Award (Dante Rivero). Director Florido muses on the movie’s theme on love and life especially among Filipinos who face the twilight years of their lives, “When we hear about first love, the first things that we imagine are the fondest memories of a person's young love. We instantaneously recreate this image of how they look like back in the days. This time, I want to flip the lenses. I want to show the other side –the point of view of the one who is looking back at a distant memory and at the same time be able to narrate a story of love and life through the eyes of ageing people.  This film aims to do just that. Cory’s story is more than just about her 1st love. It is also about a person’s apprehensions and fears in the life that is waiting during retirement—a reflection of the life of most Filipino retirees.”

Nova Villa, Dante Rivero and Freddie Webb ,  compleat actors round up an amazing endearing cast in “1^st Ko si 3rd.”  The movie pans on the first day of her retirement, 65-year-old Cory busies herself by cleaning her house until it was immaculate and spotless. Still, something does not feel right. She is not used to the silence and to spending every waking hour with just her husband, Alejandro. She wonders if this is all she is to do and can expect for the rest of her life, after spending a good deal of it working so hard. 

Alejandro notices the changes in Cory. Their fights seem to be a side-effect of Cory’s retirement. Now that she is no longer working, she feels useless as a person and worthless as a woman.

Then unexpectedly, Cory bumps into Third, her first love. Third was the first man who made her fall in love deeply. He was her teenage dream. She cannot forget Third because their first date never happened.

Try as she might, Cory is almost bursting with happiness seeing Third again. Her life suddenly becomes more colorful and exciting as she realizes she can spend her days doing things she never had time for before –learning to chat in the Internet, do idle talks with newfound friends, pamper herself at the salon and do aerobics. Life is definitely looking brighter, especially when Third asks her out. Finally, their first date is about to happen.

Cory brings with her a handful of love letters she never gave to Third, kept all through the years they were apart. She is now ready to give them to her first love. On the day of their first date, Cory will realize what is lacking with her relationship with Alejandro as she discovers if “first love never (really) dies”.

                Real Florido grew up in Caloocan City, a densely populated area in Manila, which inspired him to do his 1st short film “Like A Broken Phonograph”—an official selection to the 4th Chicago Fil-Am Film Festival and film in competition in the 9th Cinemanila International Film Festival.

While finishing bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication as a full scholar in the University of the City of Manila, he managed to get a job or two in different production outfits as assistant and project manager. Shortly after college, he got an assistant director job for ICU BED #7, a film that competed in the 1st Cinemalaya Film Fest. He later worked full time as writer and content producer for GMA 7, a leading broadcasting channel in the country.  He was able to finish cinematography class at Mowelfund Film Institute and made another short film, “Mr. Perfect” that won 3rd place in the 180 Microcinema Film Festival and one of the Supreme Films in the Shoot4Life Filmmarathon Competition in Budapest, Hungary.

Exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide on November 12, log on to www.sureseats.com for advance ticket online purchase and schedule of “1st Ko si 3rd.”