First Movie of The Month for 2017

Starting this year, I will post which movie is the best this each month has to offer and make a ranking for the month of the movies I watched. At the end of the year, I will again evaluate these movies which are the best movie for me. It will always be my opinion as a movie reviewer. This is blog is not influenced or affected by any movie label or distributor.

For the month of January, it was the first movie I saw that opened this year collaterally. Collateral Beauty is not what I expected when it was shown in trailers. The trailers gave a deceiving idea that diverted the audience on what was it really about. But it gave something to think about like life and the human struggles that we need to face like death and loss of a loved one plus the true friendships we sometimes didn’t notice.

 

Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Collateral Beauty was given a great performance in acting from a great ensemble not just the big names like Will Smith, Keira Knightley, and Kate Winslett but also Michael Pena, Edward Norton, Hellen Mirren and a breakthrough performance by Jacob Latimore from The Maze Runner movie.

David Frankel did a great job of directing this movie and Allan Loeb for his imagination in writing this original screenplay. The only flaw of this movie was that it was shown while some of the Metro Manila Film Festival entries are still being shown in cinemas and it lasted a week because it didn’t do well in box office but if the general public knew how good the movie was, it is just as good as any movie whether experimental/independent or mainstream.

Here is my ranking of the month:

1. Collateral Beauty
2. Passengers
3. Split
4. Live By Night
5. xXx: The Return of Xander Cage

Agree with my opinion and ranking? Is there a movie that should be on this post? What movie are you recommending and why? For more movie updates and critical movie reviews, follow this blog and like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.

Collateral Beauty movie review

Collateral Beauty is the story of about a father who is grieving the loss of his daughter and got visited by Death, Time and Love. The movie tackles the issues of death that not only affect the person but also the loved ones who are more devastated.

Photo credit: Warner Bros.

This movie shows how to deal with the pain of losing a loved one especially if the deceased is only a child. What would you do if you were in the shoes of the grieving father Howard (played by Will Smith)? It can also be therapeutic to express emotions even anger. Sometimes, you need to let your frustrations out. If you even have to question God why without undermining God’s divinity if you are religious. But the important thing is to let it all out.

This is what happened to Howard. He wrote a letter to Death, Time and Love and they responded… in person?!? It is like a wakeup call. Even though it happened on Christmas season, Howard was no Scrooge. You can’t blame Howard for his actions. How did Death, Time and Love deal with Howard? You have to watch the movie to find out.

The characters show how each one are connected. Just like dominoes, we are all affected and fall down and crumble. The movie script has quotable lines and words of wisdom. This is the most beautiful movie for the start of 201 7. I highly recommend it.  Don’t forget to bring your handkerchiefs or tissues. Collateral Beauty is distributed and released by Warner Bros. For more good and quality movie reviews, follow this blog and like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook. Opens January 4 in cinemas.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY PERSONIFIES LOVE IN “COLLATERAL BEAUTY”

Press release

Two-time Oscar-nominee Keira Knightley (Pride and Prejudice, The Imitation Game) is the epitome of Love, in New Line Cinema's heartwarming drama, Collateral Beauty.

Photo credit: Warner Bros.

In the film, Howard (Will Smith), a successful New York advertising executive retreats from life after suffering a great tragedy. While his concerned friends try desperately to reconnect with him, he seeks answers from the universe by writing letters to Love, Time and Death. But it’s not until his notes bring unexpected personal responses that he begins to understand how these constants interlock in a life fully lived, and how even the deepest loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.

Howard’s most recent letter to Love said simply, “Goodbye,” and it’s now incumbent upon Keira Knightley’s character, Amy, to make him realize that giving up on love is not an option. Quite the contrary; this is when love matters most. Says Knightley of the role, “She’s highly empathetic to Howard’s grief, empathy being a part of love, and talks to him in emotional terms that he can feel. But she wants him to understand that love isn’t just the part where everything is great; it’s also the unbelievable pain you feel when something is taken away, and that in no way diminishes it or ends it.”

“It’s such an intriguing idea, and how can you say no to being the personification of love?” she asks.

The actress was enjoying a rare bit of down time and not actively seeking a film role when Collateral Beauty came her way. “I have a very young child and had come to the end of a grueling job and didn’t really want to work at the time,” she remembers. “I gave the script to my mom, mostly so she would say ‘No, don’t do that, stay at home with the baby and chill out.’ But she read it and phoned me in tears. She said nothing had made her feel like that for a long time. I think it speaks to something that we’re all frightened of and yet there’s an incredible feeling of relief and optimism within that. What people will experience individually I don’t know, but I was very moved by it. Plus, I didn’t know where it was going, and that was exciting.”

Opening across the Philippines on January 4, 2017, Collateral Beauty is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company.

NEW “COLLATERAL BEAUTY” POSTER SAYS `WE ARE ALL CONNECTED'

Press release

New Line Cinema has just rolled out the new international poster for its inspiring and emotional drama “Collateral Beauty” featuring the faces of the star-studded cast and with a reassuring tagline, “We are all connected.”

From Oscar-winning director David Frankel, “Collateral Beauty” is a thought-provoking drama that explores how even the deepest loss can reveal moments of beauty, and how the constants of love, time and death interlock in a life fully lived.

When a successful New York ad executive suffers a personal tragedy and retreats from life, his friends devise a drastic plan to reach him before he loses everything. Pushing him to the very edge, they force him to confront the truth in surprising and profoundly human ways.

“Collateral Beauty” features an all-star cast, including Will Smith, Edward Norton, Keira Knightley, Michael Peña, Naomie Harris, Jacob Latimore with Oscar winners Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren.

David Frankel (“Dear Diary,” “Marley & Me,” “The Devil Wears Prada”) directs from a screenplay written by Allan Loeb (“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” “21”).

Opening across the Philippines on January 8, 2017, “Collateral Beauty” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company.