ROCKING THE GALAXY AT AYALA MALLS CINEMAS’ GREENBELT 3

Press release

Ayala Malls Cinemas, together with Disney Philippines, brought the latest out-of-this-world cinema experience during its recently concluded special invitational screening of Marvel Studios’ blockbuster sequel “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (read my non-spoiler review here) attended by celebrities, influencers and fans who also geared up as their favorite Guardians character.       

Jinri Park

                Spotted during the screening were Martin Nievera with son Ram Nievera; Inigo Pascual; The Voice Kids’  Kyle Echarri and Darren Espanto; Paolo Paraiso; Joross Gamboa; Lougee Basabas-Alejandro and Ali Alejandro; Yael Yuson and the rest of SpongeCola; YouTube stars Niana and Ranz Kyle Guerrero; Marie Lozano, Director Mark Reyes with Encantadia cast Pancho Magno, Max Collins, Ara San Agustin, Mikee Quintos, Phytos Ramirez and Carlo Gonzalez; RX 93.1’s Chico Garcia, Rica Garcia and Gino Quillamor; Niño Alejandro; Jillian Gatcheco-Cantada; Tracy Abad; Myx VJ Ai dela Cruz; Dawn Chang; Jinri Park; Isa Litton.

                Picking up where “Guardians of the Galaxy”—2014’s highest grossing film of the summer—left off, Marvel Studios’ “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” continues the action-packed, irreverent, epic space adventures of Peter Quill a.k.a Star-Lord and his gang of eccentric characters as they patrol and protect the universe, doing mercenary work in the wake of the popularity and fame they garnered from saving Xandar.

                Set at the backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, the story follows the team as they fight to keep their newfound family together while traversing the outer reaches of the cosmos to unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand.                                                                                                                   

                As a treat to valued movie patrons, Ayala Malls Cinemas hosted a Movie Fan Night at Glorietta 4, TriNoma, Solenad and MarQuee Mall. Fans got a limited-edition Groot figurine, popcorn & drinks as a special bundle to their movie tickets. Guardians of the Galaxy novelty items were also given away to some lucky fans who joined the movie trivia.

                Check out Ayala Malls Cinemas’ social pages - Ayala Malls Cinemas (Facebook), @iloveSureSeats (Twitter) and @iloveAyalaMallsCinemas (Instagram) for the latest promotions, schedule and updates of the latest movies in town.

                Experience it best at Ayala Malls Cinemas!

ASIA ON SCREEN FILM FESTIVAL AYALA MALLS CINEMAS’ GREENBELT3

Press release

Ayala Malls Cinemas brings the prestigious Asia On Screen Film Festival at Greenbelt 3 from September 15 – 18. Asia On Screen is Manila’s premier Asian film festival featuring award-wining and critically-acclaimed films. Now on its 3rd year, Asia On Screen 2016 will showcase 13 films representing 11 Asian countries. With the burgeoning of the film industries across Asia, the world of arts and cinema and entertainment in Asia has never been more exciting.

                Participating countries include: Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

                The festival brings the best of a broad selection of Asia Pacific cinema in order to draw greater recognition to the region's wealth of talented actors and filmmakers. Moviegoers will be transported around the region through stories of forbidden love, to coming of age teenage dramas, to incredible stories of survival and epic historical tales.

                It will showcase a vibrant line-up which includes Tanna (Australia), A Tale of Three Cities (China), Airlift (India), In the Absence of the Sun (Indonesia), Miss Hokusai (Japan), Frontline (Korea), The Journey (Malaysia), Above the Clouds (Philippines), Taklub (Philippines), 7 Letters (Singapore), Teacher’s Diary (Thailand), Heart Attack (Thailand), and On the Peaceful Peak (Vietnam).

                This year, the film fest opened with Above the Clouds. Capturing the breath-taking highlands of the Ifugao region, the film is an emotional journey towards transformation and deliverance.

                According to Asia Society Philippines Executive Director, Suyin Liu Lee, “Asia Society Philippines presents Asia on Screen as a creative and visceral form of fulfilling its mission of fostering relationships among peoples and countries. To quote famed Asian Director, Ang Lee. “I see a movie as a way of learning about the world, about myself, and learning about my relationship with people and art.”

                Tickets will be available on-site at the Greenbelt 3 Cinemas at PHP 100 per screening.  For more information on the schedule of Asia On Screen featured films, go to Ayala Malls Cinemas’ www.sureseats.com .

Stars Join Ayala Malls Cinemas’ New Level of Movie Experience at Greenbelt 3

This was posted upon request even though I was not invited to the event.

Press release

 Take the pressure off and indulge in your favorite movies in Ayala Malls Cinemas’ latest state-of-the-art theaters at Greenbelt 3 for the urban cineastes looking for an entertaining respite from the day’s grind.

Arci Munoz(2nd from the left) with Ayala Cinema's James Bartolome and Rhia Arda

                 Ayala Malls Cinemas’ recent unveiling at Greenbelt 3 cinemas introduces two exciting cinema concepts that will surely make Makati cineastes fall in love again and again with the experience of watching movies at the big screen. 

                Pioneering the 4DX invasion in Makati, the game-changing cinema technology 4DX theatre immerses the audience all throughout the movie, engaging all the senses while the action unfolds on screen.  Greenbelt 3’s 4DX cinema is the first in Makati and the 3^rd location of Ayala Malls Cinemas (the other two are in Bonifacio High Street and U.P. Town Center). 

                Greenbelt 3 cinema 5 is now equipped with 144 magical motion seats and an auditorium filled with environmental effects that will fully immerse you in each scene and let you experience being in the movie.  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.  These motions will be harmonized well with featured effects such as bottom and back shaker, water, fog, scents, wind, lightning, face air, bubbles, leg tickler.  The 4DXTM is in partnership with CJ 4DPlex, the world’s first 4D cinema company for feature films. 

                Most love watching movies on screen as they are windows to a different world. And this experience is placed on whole new level with Greenbelt 3 cinema 4 as moviegoers will be treated to movie entertainment in luxury and full comfort.  It currently houses 92 fully-motorized leather recliner seats.  For that unparalleled convenience, recliner seats are also equipped with USB port for gadget-charging needs and foldable tables for snacks. 

                Squad goals achieved indeed at Greenbelt 3 cinemas’ recent launch that featured the worldwide blockbuster hit “Suicide Squad” from Warner Bros., graced by local celebrities and prominent personalities including Nadine Lustre, Arci Munoz who came in as Harley Quinn, Paul Salas, Ella Cruz, Francis Libiran and Makati City Vice-Mayor Monique Lagdameo.  Also present in the event are Ayala Malls Cinemas General Manager Amir Precilla, Greenbelt General Manager Mina Domingo, Ayala Malls Group Head Rowena Tomeldan, Ayala Malls Cinemas Deputy General Manager Rolando Duenas, Ayala Malls Cinemas Marketing Manager Rhia Arda, Ayala Malls Cinems Marketing Supervisor Gail Santos, Ayala Malls Cinemas Booking and Promotions Manager James Bartolome and Warner Bros. General Manager Francis Soliven.  

                The urban vibe is very much alive at Ayala Malls Cinemas Greenbelt 3 where an elevated level of movie experience awaits on the big screen.   Now, with these cinema advancement, there’s more reason to head out to Ayala Malls Cinemas Greenbelt 3 and book that next blockbuster movie.  See it in the big screen, see it in Ayala Malls Cinemas.

AWARDS SEASON FRONTRUNNER “BROOKLYN” OPENS EXCLUSIVE IN AYALA MALLS CINEMAS ON JANUARY 27

Press release

The profoundly moving story of “Brooklyn” about a young Irish immigrant played by Saoirse Ronan who has already won her Best Actress awards for her deeply moving performance in the movie in recently concluded British Independent Film Awards, Boston Online Film Critics Association, Detroit Film Critics Society, Hollywood Film Awards, New York Film Critics Circle, Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association will soon open exclusively in Ayala Malls Cinemas starting January 27.

                “Brooklyn,” a frontrunner at the upcoming major film awards such as the Golden Globes and Oscars follows the love and coming-of-age story of story of Eilis Lacey (Ronan), An Irish immigrant must choose between two men, two countries and two destinies in a story of departures, longing and slow-simmering romance, tracing the unexpected journey of a young girl becoming a woman in America.  Through the film’s contemporary lens, the story reels back to the refined rhythms of the 1950s as a post-WWII wave of newcomers was arriving on U.S. shores in search of prosperity.

                Eilis has lived her whole life in tiny Enniscorthy, Ireland – where everyone knows everyone else’s business and then some -- when she is swept away to America, thanks to her sister, who wants to see her flourish. She arrives into the diverse tumult of Brooklyn already homesick, feeling like an exile. But as Eilis dexterously learns to adapt to life as a New Yorker, she meets a funny, sweet, charismatic suitor determined to win her devotion. Just as she seems on the verge of beginning a new life, a family tragedy brings her back to Ireland where she is pulled back into the life she left behind … and a decision that could affect her future forever. 

                Caught between two different calls to her heart, Eilis confronts one of the most breathtakingly difficult dilemmas of our fluid modern world: figuring out how to merge where you have come from with where you dream of going.  

                “Brooklyn” director John Crowley, best known for the BAFTA-winning drama “Boy A,” seems to have immediate insight into the material –since he, too, is an Irishman living outside Ireland, in his case having left his birthplace for England.  To Crowley, “Brooklyn” also evinces a modern conception of love.  “It’s a story that says love is complicated,” he muses, “and that the heart isn’t necessarily loyal to just one person; it can perhaps, unlike a head, conceive of loving two people simultaneously. Eilis’ choice between two men is also a choice for what kind of life she wants to lead. It costs her a lot emotionally, yet the only way for her in life is to keep moving forward. Love in this story is a very real force that can potentially be destructive or liberating depending on which way it bounces.” 

                Ronan says she felt an immediate, almost uncanny, affinity for Eilis as soon as she read the script. “Nick Hornby (screenwriter) isn’t from Ireland, yet he managed to completely capture the spirit of the country. The writing was so beautiful, and so beautifully subtle,” she comments.   “It felt close to my heart because it was about my people. It was the journey that my parents went on back in the ‘80s; they moved to New York and went through all these same things, even though it was a different era.  The biggest hurdle anyone goes through in life is leaving the security of your family and your friends behind for something new.”

                “Brooklyn” opens exclusively in Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide on January 27.  Log on to www.sureseats.com for advanced ticket purchase and schedule.

RIDLEY SCOTT PRODUCED FILM “CHILD 44” OPENS TODAY (APRIL 29) AT AYALA MALLS CINEMAS

Press release

 From blockbuster and acclaimed filmmaker Ridley Scott comes a chilling action drama “Child 44” based on Tom Rob Smith’s best-selling novel of the same titled starred in by Hollywood’s most admired actors headed by Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace, Vincent Cassel, Joel Kinnaman and Jason Clarke about an unlikely hero amidst desperate times.

                Orphan-turned-war-hero Leo Demidov (Hardy) has risen through the ranks of the MGB, the state’s domestic security apparatus, to become a star investigator of dissident activity. When he and sadistic colleague Vasil (Kinnaman) capture suspected spy Anatoly Tarasovich Brodsky (Clarke), the “traitor” names Leo’s own wife, beautiful schoolteacher Raisa (Rapace), as a co-conspirator.

                Forced to investigate Raisa on suspicion of treason, Leo also takes on the case of a boy found carved up alongside railroad tracks. Despite evidence to the contrary, Leo describes the death as an accident to the boy’s father, MGB Agent Alexei Andreyev (Fares Fares) because Stalinist decree dictates, “There is no crime in Paradise.”  

                When Leo refuses to denounce his wife, MGB Commander Major Kuzmin (Vincent Cassel) exiles the couple to the grim industrial city of Volsk. Confined to a one-room hovel and stripped of rank, Leo and Raisa learn that dozens of other dead boys have suffered gruesome “accidents” near railroad tracks under almost identical circumstances as Alexei’s son. Teaming with local Police Chief General Nesterov (Oldman), they sneak back to Moscow and pursue clues before zeroing in on mild-mannered factory worker Vladimir Malevich (Paddy Considine).

                Desperate to rein in his former colleague, the increasingly psychotic Vasili tries to stop Leo and Raisa before they catch the child murderer, who has no place in Stalin’s supposedly crime-free Communist society. In the end, only one man survives the spectacular forest showdown between hero, pedophile and bureaucrat. But despite the victims and the damage done, the Soviet State remains immune to Leo’s inconvenient truths.

                The author’s fans include Oscar®-winning filmmaker Ridley Scott. Galvanized by Child 44’s rich characterizations and epic scope, Scott arranged nine years ago to meet the novelist at his London production headquarters. “It was slightly surreal,” recalls Smith. “I’d gone from having this project I thought might not even get published to talking to Ridley Scott in his office sitting next to a Gladiator sword and a prop from Alien. Ridley was full of incredible ideas for the project.”

                Scott initially intended to direct Child 44 himself. Then he saw Swedish director Daniel Espinosa’s 2010 crime thriller Snabba Cash (aka Easy Money). The highest-grossing movie in Swedish history, Snabba Cash showcased Espinosa’s inventively staged action sequences and stylish editing.  In Child 44, Espinosa saw an opportunity to blend visceral action sequences with psychologically nuanced character arcs against a rich historic tapestry, thus a thrilling and engaging masterpiece was produced.

                “Child 44” opens April 29 exclusive at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide.  Log on to www.sureseats.com for schedule. 

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.”