Bridesmaids

Story: Kristen Wiig leads the cast as Annie, a maid of honor whose life unravels as she leads her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), and a group of colorful bridesmaids (Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper) on a wild ride down the road to matrimony.

 

A new comedy from the producer that brought you Knock Up and The 40-year-old Virgin, Judd Apatow. I never got to see a trailer of this movie so when I first saw the poster, I thought it was a chick flick because the women were dominant characters in the poster. I was proved wrong when I watched it. Just like the two earlier works, there were similarities. One: the main character is missing something relevant in his/her social status, Two: A problem in relationships, Three: An odd circle of friends. 

The humor in the movie is adult-oriented and slapstick. Despite the comedy will make you die laughing, there are also serious moments because there are also lessons about reconciling  old friendships while making new ones and dealing with people you don't want to have anything to do with. 

For the casting, Kristen Wiig, who plays Annie, is a revelation of comedy. She is partially like a female version of Jim Carrey. She can somehow manipulate her expressions that looks so comical and alter her body movements. Maya Rudolph is also no stranger to comedy. I remember Melissa McCarthy playing Sookie in Gilmore Girls she was a great comedian. I never thought she could do character acting like what she did in the movie.Rose Byrne diverted from her character in Marvel's X-men: First Class to a more partially antagonistic comic role. Wendi McLeddon-Covey and Ellie Kemper also had contributed comic situations in the movie but not as influential as the other four actress.

In my opinion, if there's one movie I want to see that opens this week, this is that kind of movie. The movie was also co-written by Kristen Wiig which which is why she can relate to her character and is directed by Paul Feig. Bridesmaids opens July 20 exclusively in SM Cinemas and is distributed by Solar Entertainment, Corp. The movie is rated R-13.

FINAL “HARRY POTTER” FILM GROSSES P155-M IN 4DAYS, ENDS SERIES WITH A BANG!

MANILA, July 18, 2011 – Till the end, Filipino fans of “Harry Potter” showered the boy wizard with affection, sending him off in a grand, sensational way.

With an astounding nationwide box office total of P155 million in 4 days, Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” shattered multiple box office records in a history-making opening weekend (July 14 to 17).  The announcement was made today by Warner Bros. (F.E.), Inc. General Manager, Francis Soliven.

            Grossing P117.06-M alone in Metro Manila, the penultimate “Harry Potter” film obliterated the following records: biggest opening weekend all-time for a Warner Bros. title (breaking past “Superman Returns”), best opening weekend ever in the “Harry Potter” franchise (surpassing “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”) and highest opening weekend of the year for a Warner title (clobbering “Green Lantern”). 

Its IMAX receipts of P14.287-M also broke the all-time biggest IMAX opening weekend record (beating “Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon” at P12.15-M).

            The film’s outstanding performance in the Philippines mirrored its phenomenal US bow.  “Deathly Hallows – Part 2” earned a stunning $168.5 million at the American box office, which not only is the biggest Harry Potter opening weekend but also broke the industry’s opening weekend record, including holiday weekends.  Among the other records broken were single-day box office (Friday at $92.1 million), Friday box office, and opening day box office.

            With the film opening day-and-date in 59 territories, the international box office take was a staggering $307 million, making it the biggest international weekend of all time.  Led by record-breaking grosses in the UK ($36.6 million) and Australia ($26.7 million), all markets have performed exceedingly well, including Germany ($25.7 million), France ($23.9 million) and Japan ($21.5 million).

            Globally, it also broke the IMAX opening weekend record with a worldwide gross of $23.5 million, which includes setting a new record in North America with $15.5 million.

            Back in the Philippines, the following cinemas  posted the best box office receipts: SM Mall of Asia (P13.14-M including IMAX), SM North EDSA (P10.35-M including IMAX), Trinoma (P8.30-M), SM Megamall (P6.22-M), SM Cebu (P5.38-M including IMAX), Glorietta 4 (P5.36-M), Gateway Cineplex (P4.48-M), Power Plant (P4.16-M), Greenbelt 3 (P3.83-M) and SM Southmall (P3.70-M including IMAX).

            Not to be outdone are Eastwood (P3.37-M), Newport (P3.31-M), Alabang Town Center (P3.26-M), Shang Cineplex (P3.03-M), Robinsons Ermita (P2.94-M), Robinsons Galleria (P2.67-M), SM Fairview (P2.48-M), Market Market (P2.47-M), SM San Lazaro (P2.45-M) and Ayala Cebu (P2.26-M).

            “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” is the final adventure in the Harry Potter film series.  In the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war.  The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe.  But it is Harry Potter who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort.  It all ends here.

            Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson reprise their roles as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.  The film’s ensemble cast also includes Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Tom Felton, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Ciarán Hinds, John Hurt, Jason Isaacs, Matthew Lewis, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, David Thewlis, Julie Walters and Bonnie Wright.

            “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” is the first Harry Potter film to be released in both 3D and 2D.  Concurrently with its nationwide theatrical distribution, the film is being released in select IMAX® theatres in 3D.  The film has been digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® through proprietary IMAX DMR® technology. 

            Still playing across the Philippines, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

The continuation or second half of the last book adaptation of the whole Harry Potter movie franchise. It was ten years ago when Harry Potter came to life in a movie screen. Back then, Book Four was only just release. Since the first movie, it became a box-office phenomenon and continued in the succeeding sequels. The books are also bestsellers as well since it was considered the most bestselling book second to the Bible.

I am reviewing the movie in a perspective of a movie goer. Like all book adaptations, there's a tendency for not enjoying the movie because the fan reader have already read the book. That is why I watch the movie adaptation before reading the book. The advance screening I attended was held at SM Mall Of Asia IMAX Cinema last night.

I cannot reveal to you the story because you may not have read the book yet but I can only tell that watching this movie was worth the wait. I can describe the movie like putting the last piece of the puzzle because you can see that all seven years of Harry Potter is interconnected. You feel like giving a heavy sigh of relief like a friend of mine did when she finished a Harry Potter book. Like what it said it the posters or in the release of the Book Seven, "It Ends Here". I am glad that it ends because like all good things, it must come to an end while it is still in its prime in the pop culture. Be the first to witness how it all ends on July 14 in 2D or 3D cinemas but I recommend watching in 3D. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is distributed by Warner Bros. Philippines.

TOM FELTON’S POST-HARRY POTTER ROLE IN “RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES”

Tom Felton In Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Harry Potter’s Tom Felton,known for his role as  Draco Malfoy, will next be seen in his post-Harry role in the upcoming event-movie “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.”  His work in the “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” marks another inventive villainous turn following his role as the bullying Malfoy for which he was recently awarded an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.

            Will Rodman (James Franco) is a scientist working within a large pharmaceutical corporation conducting genetic research to develop a benign virus that restores damaged human brain tissue.  He is committed to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s, a disease that afflicts his father, Charles (John Lithgow).  Will’s relentless focus has precluded personal relationships, but the connection between his research and Charles’ illness brings the two together, albeit under difficult heart-rending circumstances.  Just prior to the drug company’s commencement of human trials of a promising and potentially lucrative new drug, Will’s simian test subjects suddenly display bizarrely aggressive behavior.  Management deems the research a failure and Will must shut down his program.

Amidst the confusion of the study’s sudden termination, Will finds himself charged with an overlooked newborn infant chimpanzee – a male, the newly orphaned offspring of his most promising test subject.  That young chimp, destined for greatness, is named Caesar, played by capture-performance actor Andy Serkis, marks his greatest art-rending performance ever in CGI.

            Will secretly raises young Caesar as his own, at home, while caring for his ailing father.  “Will must now be a caretaker, not only to Charles, but to this baby chimp,” says Franco.  “As the story progresses Will becomes more of a person and less of a scientist, and starts to care about Caesar more than the success of the drug.”

Over time, with the help of the drug, the chimp exhibits incredible cognitive skills and intellect.  At the same time, Charles’ symptoms of Alzheimer’s miraculously go into remission.  Will’s bending the rules of laboratory trials seems to have worked beyond his hopes. 

However, as Caesar matures, his highly-developed intelligence is countered by the aggressive and dangerous protective instincts typical of adult male apes.  Caesar soon becomes too much for Will. Though reluctant to part with Caesar, who has become like a son, Will takes Caesar to live among other apes within the confines of the San Bruno Primate Sanctuary. But unknown to Will, the “sanctuary” is more like a shoddily run prison – a dumping ground for unwanted or abandoned apes.  It is run by Landon (Brian Cox, who starred in director Rupert Wyatt’s debut feature, the acclaimed The Escapist), and Landon’s son, Dodge, portrayed by Tom Felton. 

In addition to presenting emotionally-engaging photo-realistic apes, the film’s setting is instantly recognizable and relatable.  The movie is an origin story in the truest sense of the term.  Set in present day San Francisco, the film is a reality-based cautionary tale, a science fiction/science fact blend, where man’s experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.

The powerful and emotional battle that streamed out of the sanctuary’s abuses became a platform for the film’s most climactic scenes. Rupert Wyatt shares:   “We wanted it be a ‘world-stops-spinning’ moment that plays into the whole idea of evolution and where that can take a species.” That defining instant leads to a daring escape, an epic confrontation at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, a wrenching and fateful reunion between Will and Caesar – and a revolution that will forever change the planet.”

In a recent chat with Total Film, Felton revealed he’s keen to further expand his range, to join Serkis in CGI circles.  “I bored Andy for hours about how he got into it and how he came to be the godfather of it all,” said Felton “He talked me through a lot of it, and it’s something I’d like to look into.There’s so many scripts that you could have read 20 years ago and you’d have said ‘You can’t physically make that’ but now it’s an option - you can do things that weren’t really achievable.

“In this film you’re going to see such advances in the CGI that you’re going to look back at the old apes costumes and really think ‘that’s history’,”  Felton shares.

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” opens August 4 in theaters from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

ANDY SERKIS AKA GOLLUM IN NEW ROLE AS CAESAR IN “RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES”

20^th Century Fox’s “RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES” once again makes it happen first in moviemaking history using photorealistic CGI apes instead of costumed actors created by visual effects house Weta Digital.

”Rise of the Planet of the Apes” combines fantastic storytelling with the next leap in Visual Effects for an emotional and action-packed picture experience unlike any other. Man’s arrogance sets off a chain of events that leads to intelligence in apes and a challenge to our place as the dominant species on the planet.  Caesar, the first intelligent ape, is betrayed by humans and rises up to lead his species’ spectacular freedom and the ultimate showdown with man.  In Caesar, the Oscar-winning visual effects team behind Avatar – have created a CGI ape that delivers a dramatic performance of unprecedented emotion and intelligence. 

            Set in present day San Francisco, the film is a reality-based cautionary tale where man’s experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.  Amidst the confusion of his study’s sudden termination, scientist Will Rodman (Franco)  secretly raises a young chimpanzee named Caesar (Serkis) as his own, at home, while caring for his ailing father.  Due to exposure in Will’s miracle drug, young Caesar displays intelligence and behaviors unusual for an ape of any age.  Inspired by his observation of Caesar’s unexpected gifts, Will, against his better judgment privately continues his research at home, using his father and Caesar as test subjects.  But he soon discovers, it has taken him – and ultimately the entire human race – on a ruinous path.  

As Caesar matures, his highly-developed intelligence is countered by the aggressive and dangerous protective instincts typical of adult male apes.  Caesar soon becomes too much for Will to handle. Parting reluctantly with Caesar, Will takes the chimp to a simian sanctuary where he could be among his kind.  Though not the physically strongest ape in the facility, Caesar quickly realizes that in order to survive he must assert his intellectual dominance over his new environment.  Caesar soon prevails over the other apes, and at a pivotal and electric moment, Caesar stands up to retaliate against their cruel human handlers.

As Weta Digital utilized its state-of-the-art tools to render photo-realistic apes, the world’s foremost performance capture artist, actor Andy Serkis, came aboard the project to infuse Caesar with nuance, emotion, soul, wisdom and heart.  Serkis’ contributions to the movie cannot be overestimated, says Wyatt: “Andy Serkis is our generation’s Charlie Chaplin.  By that I mean he’s one of the very few actors around who has fully embraced the available visual effects technology because he completely understands the full potential of what it can achieve. I think some actors are intimidated by performance capture because they think it’s separating their performance from the actual reality of the film, when quite the opposite is true.  Andy understands that every little nuance – every breath, every little muscle movement that he gives on camera is visual exposition.  Film is primarily a visual medium and if you are able to have your character tell a story with a minimal amount of words, then that’s ideal.” 

Caesar’s character arc takes the chimp from a newborn to an adult and the leader of a revolution.  Serkis, who gave acclaimed performances as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and as Kong in King Kong, notes that “Caesar is one of the most formidable roles I’ve undertaken, both physically and emotionally. It’s one thing to play a chimpanzee, but to play one from infancy to adulthood – and a revolutionary leader – well, that’s quite another. But it was irresistible to me as an actor.

By the film’s second act, “Caesar becomes a prisoner,” says Serkis. “He gets taken away from a loving environment and feels rejected.  He’s questioning his identity.  Then he finds the strength to lead and unite the other apes and I think it’s then that he moves into kind of the third stage… which is the revolution.  He uses his intelligence to galvanize these apes and then his strength and power to lead them.  It’s an extraordinary journey for me, as an actor.”

Weta Digital devised a new portable performance capture rig, which could be set up in different kinds of locations. For the first time ever, notes visual effects supervisor Dan Lemmon, “we were able to get those performances in direct sunlight.”

Weta Digital’s – and the entire production’s – biggest challenges came during the filming of the film’s climax, which unfolds on, above, along and beneath the Golden Gate Bridge.  The scene, depicting an epic battle between man and primate, features elaborate stunts, fire, explosions, helicopters, hundreds of cars and extras, and an atmospheric San Francisco fog – as well as the culmination of all the drama, emotion and character interactions.

This scene and the film’s other big set pieces are always in the service of its emotional core and resonant themes.  Sums up Andy Serkis:  “It doesn’t feel like a visual effects-driven film.  It feels like a powerful emotional story with a big backdrop.  The action and spectacle work seamlessly with the drama.  And that’s why I think it’s really powerful – because the ‘wows’ aren’t in your face.  It’s all about finding realism and truth.”

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” opens August 4 in more than 100 cinemas from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

PLANET OF THE APES RISING

A new social order is about to take place, threatening humans in the event-movie “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” starring James Franco (127 Hours), Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) and Tom Felton (Harry Potter).

            Orchestrated by director Rupert Wyatt and Peter Jackson’s filmmaking empire Weta Digital, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” breaks anew new grounds in moviemaking history using photorealistic apes instead of actors in costumes exposed to natural setting.  Pushing the boundaries beyond movie making techniques used in James Cameron’s “Avatar,” the movie is a completely new take on 20^th Century Fox’s most beloved and successful franchises.  Owing much of its genesis to Avatar, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” for the first time uses technology that allows audiences to emotionally engage with a lead character, a chimpanzee named Caesar (portrayed by Andy Serkis, ’Lord of the Rings’ trilogy’s Gollum), who does not actually exist. 

            James Franco plays Will Rodman caught in the middle of an epic battle where the upended destinies of man and primate meet.  As a scientist working within a large pharmaceutical corporation, Gen-Sys, conducting generic research to develop a benign virus that restores damaged human brain tissue, Will is committed to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease that afflicts his father, Charles (John Lithgow). When Will’s research test subjects suddenly display bizarrely aggressive behavior, the company shuts down his program. 

            Will finds himself charged with an overlooked newborn male chimpanzee most promising of his test subjects destined for greatness named Caesar.  Will secretly raises young Caesar as his own, at home, while caring for his ailing father.  As the story progresses, he becomes more of a person and less of a scientist.  This in turn leads Will to Caroline (Pinto), a primatologist who serves as Caesar’s vet, and who becomes a key player in both their lives.

            “Rise of the Planet of the Apes is about our civilization reaching a point of no return,” says director Rupert Wyatt.  “Events unfold through the eyes of Caesar, a super-intelligent chimpanzee who at a young age sees humans as being capable of wonderful things, like art and reason. And then he begins to see humanity’s dark side – oppression, bigotry, and the ostracizing of what and who we don’t understand. Another key theme is humanity’s hubris – our arrogance in thinking that we can twist, push, cheat, or circumvent the laws of nature, without consequences. The movie pits humans against nature – and against themselves – leading to a resolution that sees humans and apes on the path that will take them to a new and shocking world order.”

“The film taps into our most primal fear of the Alpha of our planet being usurped – literally letting another species take over the world – and asks how would that play out,” concludes Rupert Wyatt.

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” shows in more than 100 screens across the Philippines from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Monte Carlo

Based on the book, Headhunters by Jules Bass. Monte Carlo tells the story of a girl and her best friend who travels to Paris, accompanied by her uptight stepsister when she was mistaken for a British heiress.

The story was so simple. It's like a rags-to-riches kinda tale. The movie was so simple that it will make you feel more relaxed watching now that there are more intense movies. What I enjoyed about the movie is the travel to Europe. A travel to Europe is one of my bucket list. France is also one of the countries in Europe I want to see. I was not surprise to hear the song "La Vie En Rose" by Louis Armstrong.but I enjoy listening.

When I watched this on an advance screening, I thought this will be watched by women but I found out that the men were dominant so it is something guys want to watch as well. What I wish to find out if Cory Monteith and Selena Gomez was casts in this movie because of their popular statuses respectively since Monteith is currently on Glee and Selena is currently Justin Bieber's girlfriend. As expected, this is a wholesome movie since Selena Gomez still has that Disney image in her. Andie McDowell comes back after a long absence in movies. Stars Selena Gomez,  Leighton Meester, Kate Cassidy, Cory Monteith, and Andie McDowell.  “Monte Carlo” opens July 1 in theaters from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.