MONIQUE LHUILLIER DESIGNS ONE OF ANASTASIA STEELE'S SIGNATURE LOOKS IN “FIFTY SHADES DARKER”

Press release

February 08, 2017 - Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele dons a custom gown and capelet by Monique Lhuillier, renowned bridal, ready-to-wear and accessories designer, in the new film Fifty Shades Darker, the second chapter based on the worldwide bestselling “Fifty Shades” phenomenon, it was announced today. The film arrives in Philippine cinemas today.

Photo credit: UIP

Known for her glamour and modern elegance, Monique Lhuillier brilliantly captures Ana’s alluring beauty and vulnerability with this modern design. The liquid satin sheath gown with draped neckline and cross back in a silver hue exudes femininity and sophistication, while the handmade ostrich feather capelet adds exquisite glamour for Ana’s grand entrance in the film’s exclusive masquerade ball.

In keeping with the essence of her brand, Monique’s design evokes an enchanting, yet sophisticated, vision by weaving together sensuous and modern elements for the character of Ana. The fluid silhouette of the dress, which is topped with the elegantly embellished capelet, is distinctly Monique Lhuillier.

“I am so delighted to partner with Universal Pictures’ Fifty Shades Darker to design for the character of Anastasia Steele,” said Lhuillier. “Like the Monique Lhuillier woman, Ana radiates confidence and femininity, and so the gown I imagined for this iconic scene encapsulates that modern sophistication.”

“I often thought of Dakota in Monique’s stunning gown as a ‘beautiful siren of simplicity,’” lauded Cunliffe.  “We sent Monique ideas and images that evoke old Hollywood, and she and her team took the inspiration from there—crafting this stunning confection. Ana’s cape itself was a challenge—each feather was sewn by hand—but I felt it would magnify Ana’s showstopping entrance at the ball, hearkening back to the 1930s screen sirens. Monique also beautifully resolved our need to create a gown which can effortlessly slip to the ground…another feat of engineering."

ABOUT FIFTY SHADES DARKER

Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson return as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades Darker, the second chapter based on the worldwide bestselling “Fifty Shades” phenomenon. Expanding upon events set in motion in 2015’s blockbuster film that grossed more than $560 million globally, the new installment arrives for Valentine’s Day and invites you to slip into something a shade darker.

When a wounded Christian Grey tries to entice a cautious Ana Steele back into his life, she demands a new arrangement before she will give him another chance. As the two begin to build trust and find stability, shadowy figures from Christian’s past start to circle the couple, determined to destroy their hopes for a future together.

Also returning from Fifty Shades of Grey are Academy Award® winner Marcia Gay Harden, Rita Ora, Luke Grimes, Victor Rasuk, Eloise Mumford and Max Martini, who are joined for the first time by Oscar® winner Kim Basinger, Bella Heathcote and Eric Johnson.

Fifty Shades Darker is directed by James Foley (Fear, House of Cards) and once again produced by Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti and Marcus Viscidi, alongside E L James, the creator of the culture-spanning blockbuster series. The screenplay is by Niall Leonard, based on the novel by James. www.fiftyshadesmovie.com

ABOUT MONIQUE LHUILLIER

Monique Lhuillier is internationally recognized as one of America’s foremost designers. Established in 1996 by Monique Lhuillier and her husband, Tom Bugbee, the company is considered one of the leading fashion houses in design, quality and creativity. With a passion for creating collections that are both feminine and modern, Monique Lhuillier continues to design ready-to-wear, accessories and bridal collections that are luxurious, chic and true to her aesthetic. Fans include Emma Stone, Blake Lively, Taylor Swift, Reese Witherspoon, Kristen Bell, Anna Kendrick and the First Lady Michelle Obama among others. Monique’s signature design sensibility has led to the launch of licensed products including fur, fine jewelry and tabletop, transforming the company into a luxury lifestyle brand. Monique Lhuillier products are distributed through Monique Lhuillier stores, premium department stores and specialty stores throughout the world.  

LUKE BRACEY IN “HACKSAW RIDGE”

Press release

LUKE BRACEY, FROM “POINT BREAK” TO “HACKSAW RIDGE”

Rapidly ascending Australian actor Luke Bracey, recently seen in the hit action-thriller Point Break, now stars opposite Andrew Garfield in the critically acclaimed war film, Hacksaw Ridge.

Photo credit: Walt Disney Pictures

Vying for eight Oscar Awards including Best Picture, Hacksaw Ridge centers on the story of Desmond T. Doss (Andrew Garfield), a Seventh-day Adventist who became an army medic while adhering to his religious convictions of not carrying a weapon. He saved 75 men during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II.

Bracey plays Smitty Ryker, the natural leader of Doss’s company and his greatest rival. Ryker is a fictional character created to be emblematic of the many men who challenged Doss with their skepticism.

Bracey was strongly drawn to playing Smitty. “I’m a history buff and World War II has always fascinated me,” Ryker explains. “That’s what drew me in initially, and then it was the unique story of Desmond Doss, and on top of that having Mel Gibson direct it.”

The most intriguing part for Bracey was exploring how Smitty’s deep suspicion of Desmond turns, over time, into the deepest kind of respect. “Smitty’s mistrust of Desmond evolves,” says Bracey. “Smitty initially doesn’t understand Desmond. He’s a guy who prides himself on being able to read people immediately, but Desmond keeps making these strange decisions that contradict who Smitty perceives this man to be. But when he sees who Desmond is in battle, all these bricks Smitty has built between the two of them get knocked away. He sees so much strength of character in Desmond and he realizes they’re actually similar kinds of guys. They have a strong brotherly connection by the end of the film.”

Bracey viewed dozens of World War II films and documentaries, especially those based in the Pacific, to get a real sense of what it was like for the soldiers. He also engaged in intense physical preparation. “I wanted to really get my blood pumping and make sure I was fit to the point I almost felt like a kind of predator,” he says of his training.

Director Mel Gibson was impressed with what Bracey brought to the character, inside and out. “Luke is a really great up and comer with all the action hero attributes – but here he takes on a role where he does things perhaps you don’t expect him to do,” Gibson summarizes.

Hacksaw Ridge will open in Philippine cinemas on February 22, 2017.

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.

“RESIDENT EVIL” FINALE BRINGS BACK ALI LARTER, WELCOMES WILLIAM LEVY

Press release

A returning ally and a new comrade. Joining Milla Jovovich in Columbia Pictures' action-thriller Resident Evil: The Final Chapter are Ali Larter and William Levy who play survivors of the zombie apocalypse. They reinforce Alice (Jovovich) where the nightmare began – The Hive in Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike.

L-R: Levy, Jovovich, Larter, Macken.

Larter is back as Claire Redfield who “had a crash and now she’s become part of this last group of survivors. That’s when Alice comes in and she cannot believe that’s she been reunited with her”, says Larter, adding that her character has been fighting for her life since the third film in the franchise, Resident Evil: Extinction.

“My character has undergone a lot of personal development over the course of the series, and that was really interesting for me. She really wants to believe, she wants to connect, she wants to be able to feel something but there's never time because she is always being hunted.”

As she approaches the end of the franchise, how does Larter look back at the whole experience of having been a part of it? “I am very proud to have been in three films of the Resident Evil series,” she assures. “And it’s exciting that the fans connect with the character of Claire Redfield and reach out to me. I feel really lucky to have been a part of it.”

Cuban-American actor, William Levy, joins the Resident Evil family as Christian, one of the militant survivors working with Claire’s group. Levy describes his character. “He has a very strong personality, he doesn't trust anybody. He shoots first and asks questions later. He's willing to do whatever it takes to save the survivors, to save them all, including giving his life.”

Levy discusses his attraction to the project. “The story is always going to reach different audiences, and I didn’t have to think twice about being part of something as amazing as Resident Evil. I viewed all the previous movies and saw how good they were and when I read the Final Chapter script I knew it was going to be a better movie, in every way. I needed to be part of this.”

Speaking of the new faces in the franchise, Larter says, “William brought some spice, flare and passion to the movie. He is a huge star in Latin America, and it was great to have him on board. And he works hard, is a really cool guy and a dad.”

Asked what should the audience be looking forward to the film, Levy says, “A very exciting movie with a new look, new weapons, new vehicles, new zombies and a lot of cool stuff in it. And the locations are just spectacular! We shot in South Africa in the most amazing places, like this abandoned highway that I’m sure will look great on screen. I think people are going to really enjoy the film!”

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, marks the sixth and final installment in the astoundingly successful film franchise adaptation of Capcom’s hugely popular video game series, having grossed over $1billion worldwide to date and being the most successful video game film franchise ever.

Opening across the Philippines on February 1, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is distributed by Columbia Pictures, the local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

HISTORY’S GREATEST “HIDDEN FIGURES” BEHIND THE APOLLO MISSIONS

Press release

Everyone knows about the Apollo missions.  We can all immediately list the bold male astronauts who took those first giant steps for humankind in space:  John Glenn, Alan Shepard and Neil Armstrong.  Yet, remarkably, Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson’s are names not taught in school or even known to most people -- even though their daring, smarts and powerful roles as NASA’s ingenious “human computers” were indispensable to advances that allowed for human space flight.  These women are the unsung and unlikely heroes of the space race –female mathematicians who blazed multiple trails, trails towards greater diversity in science, equality in America, for human mathematical achievement and to launch John Glenn into mesmerizing orbit at more than 17, 000 miles per hour as he circled three times around the globe in space.  

               

Photo credit: 20th Century Fox

                “Hidden Figures” uncovers the incredible, untold yet true story of a brilliant group of women who changed the foundations of the country for the better -- by aiming for the stars.  The film recounts the vital history of an elite team of black female mathematicians at NASA who helped win the all-out space race against America’s rivals in the Soviet Union and, at the same time, sent the quest for equal rights and opportunity rocketing forwards. 

                At last, the story of a visionary trio of women who crossed gender, race and professional lines on their way to pioneering cosmic travel comes to the screen starring Oscar®-nominee Taraji P. Henson (Empire, Benjamin Button, Hustle And Flow), Academy Award® winner Octavia Spencer (Allegiant, Fruitvale Station, The Help), singer Janelle Monáe making her motion picture debut and two time Oscar® winner Kevin Costner (Black Or White, Field Of Dreams, Dancing With Wolves). 

                For Katherine G. Johnson (Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Monae), the chance to use their knowledge, passion and skills opened up just as the demands of World War II were shifting the nation’s social fabric.  Faced with a daunting shortage of male scientists and mathematicians and with new laws prohibiting racial discrimination, defense contractors and Federal Agencies began seeking out women and African-Americans with the skills to keep pushing essential research onwards. 

                “This story takes place at the collision of the Cold War, the space race, the Jim Crow south, and the birth of the Civil Rights movement.  It is incredible territory for a rich and powerful story few people know about at all,” says director Ted Melfi.

                “Now we know there were amazing women behind how John Glenn came to orbit the earth in space -- we finally get to hear their story.  I think the story is beautiful and important. It is amazing that these women, not only black women, but white women too, have been erased out of history. We've seen women play politicians, lawyers and doctors in films. I don't think I've ever seen a black female scientist or mathematician, so I thought, ‘Wow, what an opportunity to give young girls something else to aspire to. These women were thinkers with brilliant minds. Right now with social media, the options for young people are becoming quite shallow and limited; so I think certain things happen naturally, when it's time; when they are needed. I think right now this film is relevant not just for girls of color, for girls, period. For everyone.” adds Taraji P. Henson.  

                “Hidden Figures” opens February 22 in cinemas from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros. 

Split movie review

Movie reviewer's note: I am reviewing this movie on my own accord. There was no screening invite. This review is unsolicited and not biased.

After many movies, M.Night Shyamalan is back in doing suspense movies starting with Split. It’s a story about a man with 23 split personalities and the 24^th one is about to manifest. But what if one of the personalities has a tendency to be violent.

Photo credit: UIP/Columbia Pictures

Kevin is played by James McAvoy, better known for his role as the younger Professor X in X-Men movies. Split is not really a great story but this is a lot better than Shyamalan’s previous work, The Last Airbender, which flopped really badly in cinemas.

The only thing that made this movie worthwhile watching is McAvoy’s performance. He was able to shift personalities in an instant and you can also see another angle of the movie as if you are looking at the perspective in the eyes of Kevin or his other personalities.

Although critics said that Split put Shyamalan back to fine form but he does not deserve all the credit but to McAvoy. When McAvoy was asked to be part of this movie, he asks; what role he will play. The director answered,” Read the script. It is hard to say.” He immediately accepted and asks the director to challenge him more. Now, that is an actor.

Thanks to James McAvoy, I ranked this movie four split personalities out of five. For more critical movie reviews, follow this blog and like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.

“SPLIT” BRINGS SHYAMALAN BACK TO FINE FORM-ACCORDING TO SOME CRITICS

PRESS RELEASE

With a 78 percent Fresh rating at reviews-aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, Universal Pictures' new suspense thriller Split (see my review here) starring James McAvoy has undeniably marked the official comeback story of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan.

As critic John DeFore writes in The Hollywood Reporter, “genre fans should embrace what is arguably the director's most satisfying picture since The Sixth Sense. In some quarters, it will generate talk of a comeback for a filmmaker who has suffered both critical drubbing and box-office humiliation over the past decade.”

Peter Debruge agrees in his review in Variety. He shares, Spit is “A welcome return to form from Shyamalan whose unhinged new mind-bender is a worthy extension of his early work.

“Rest assured, there are plenty of proper twists to follow, none more unexpected than the fact that Shyamalan himself has managed to get his groove back after a slew of increasingly atrocious misfires,” Debruge continues. “To be fair, it’s hard to imagine any writer/director sustaining a career based almost entirely on surprising audiences. And though he lost us for a while there, by trading on ingenuity rather than big-budget special effects, Shyamalan has created a tense, frequently outrageous companion piece to one of his earliest and best movies.

“Ultimately, Split belongs to McAvoy, who has ample scenery to chew, but doesn’t stop there — he practically swallows the camera with his tiger-like teeth. With his head shaved, the actor conveys his transformations through body language, facial expression, and accent...While Shyamalan is basically making up rules for dissociative identity disorder as he goes along, the condition has afforded McAvoy the role of his career.”

Film reviewer Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian, assures, “It’s important to say that Split doesn’t hinge on a twist ending. It is a full and satisfying film that, if you stopped watching 18 seconds before the conclusion, would still suit as a juicy bit of smart horror.”

Finally, Haley Foutch of Collider, declares, “Ladies and gentlemen, M. Night Shyamalan has officially caught his second wind. Last year’s The Visit surprised audiences with a delightfully twisted spin and with Split, Shyamalan has reaffirmed his status as B-Movie extraordinaire.”

In Spit, though Kevin (James McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him—as well as everyone around him—as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.

Split reunites Shyamalan with producer Jason Blum, who produced the filmmaker’s latest commercial and critical success, The Visit.