BLOGGED PHILIPPINES

The first official trailer of the epic space opera film Star Wars: The Last Jedi (a.k.a. Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi), has been released yesterday in the United States. Here's the clip from YouTube. But maybe you're asking when the movie will finally come out to the big screen? In the United States, it's scheduled to be released on December 15, 2017. In the Philippines though, there's no final date yet but it is likely that we will be able to see the soon blockbuster movie on the same date, December 15, 2018. Promotional poster of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Image by Source, Fair use , Link The Premise From the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) : "Having taken her first steps into a larger world in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Rey continues her epic journey with Finn, Poe, and Luke Skywalker in the next chapter of the saga." From Google's Knowledge Graph : "Luke Skywalker's peaceful and solitary existence gets upen...

Finally, the popular TV and movie streaming service Netflix   arrives in the Philippines along with 129 other countries. This news was first announced at the annual Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Subscription starts at 370 Pesos per month with basic streaming services.

Last Saturday, I watched the latest X-Men movie Days of Future Past . It was good and I was okay with it but it is below my expectation. I'm not a movie critic so my views are based on my own set of biases. Most of my friends though said the same thing: It's okay.. but it's just okay. Capitalizing on Jennifer Lawrence I just felt that the movie capitalized so much on Jennifer Lawrence's popularity. In the previous X-Men series (2000 onward), Mystique is not a central figure of the story. She was portrayed as just one of the trusted assistant of magneto. Although her character was given much attention in the new series which began in X-Men: First Class, she has never been a critical character until this movie. The movie is the sequel X-Men: First Class  (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) It's not that I don't like her story but I feel that instead of entitling the movie as Days of Future Past, I find the movie more of an X-Men Origins: Mystique. Again...

Nope, I'm not gonna tell the story or even the synopsis of the movie. But yes, the movie is a great watch. For those who love action, this movie is for you. For those who love twists, this movie is definitely for you. For those who wants increased level of adrenaline, this movie is made for you. I tried to watch the first movie of this series Captain America: The First Avenger shown in 2011. But after a few minutes, I got bored. So I had apprehensions in watching the sequel. Last week though, my friend told me that the action was so cool and that there are twists and turns in the plot. I love action, and of course twists but still didn't erase my fear that I might get bored and sleep in the cinema. But I decided to watch with friends anyway. And that's it. Though at the beginning, there's a portion that I thought was boring, but for the rest of the movie, it was full blast of action and twists. Definitely worth the money. Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Li...

Excited about the next movie of Hunger Games Trilogy? Lionsgate heats up the promotion of the next film when they released Sunday night (PH time) a new trailer of Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The new trailer reveals some of the scenes that fans are surely excited about. One of them is the parade of the tributes where the main characters Katniss and Peeta were described in the book as wearing fiery coal outfit. Another one is the scene where Katniss transforms from wearing a white wedding gown to a black Mockingjay bird costume.

Below is the list of the winners of the recently concluded 85th Academy Awards (Oscar 2013) Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz Best Animated Short Film: "Paper Man" Best Animated Feature Film: "Brave" Best in Cinematography: Claudio Miranda for "Life of Pi" Best in Visual Effects: "Life of Pi" Best in Costume Design: "Anna Karenina" Best in Makeup and Hairstyling: "Les Miserables" Best Live Action Short Film: "Curfew" Best Documentary Short Subject: "Innocente" Best Documentary Feature: "Searching for Sugar Man" Best Foreign Language Film: "Amour" Best in Sound Mixing: "Les Miserables" Best in Sound Editing: "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Skyfall" (A tie) Best Supporting Actress : Anne Hathaway Best Film Editing: Argo Best. Production Design: Lincoln Best Original Score: Life of Pi Best in Original Song: "Skyfa...

The internet is abuzz today with news claiming  that Disney-Pixar has announced Toy Story 4 for  2015 release. Reports indicate that the news originate from Colombian sites. But Disney-Pixar was quick to deny making such an announcement. But they neither confirm nor deny any plan to make another sequel to the highly successful film franchise. But here's what's confirmed: Finding Nemo 2 due on 2016 . After years of rumors, an exclusive report from Dealine last February 12 confirms the project. [Read: Albert Brooks Hooks Deal To Reprise In ‘Finding Nemo 2′ ] About Toy Story Toy Story is a series of computer animated comedy film produced by Pixar and distributed by Walt Disney. It tells the story of a toys that secretly come to life when their owners are not around. The film become both a critical and financial success. Toy Story 1 released in 1995 raked $361 Million. Toy Story 2 released in 1999 earned even more with $485 Million. Then last 2010, Toy Story...

I'm not a fan of Superman! Well, that statement is already outdated as soon as I heard the news that Christopher Nolan's next project is the reboot of the DC Comics superhero franchise. Why the change of opinion, you may ask. Well, it's purely Nolan. Let me explain a bit about it by recalling some of Nolan's works. Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy Well, I'm not a fan of Batman too until I saw the movie The Dark Knight. It's all because of the buzz and the favorable write-ups about the spectacular performance of the late Heath Ledger playing the role of the Joker. After watching the movie though, I was convinced then that Batman is a great superhero. Then, four years later comes The Dark Knight Rises. How can I describe it? Ummm...I guess the word "very good" is an understatement. It was one of the best superhero movies I have ever watched in my life. Well, if you may ask about the first movie, Batman Begins, well, yes, it was a great movie as we...

Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross in Bourne Legacy (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) A couple of days ago, I watched one of the most awaited movie in the country, the Bourne Legacy , the fourth installment of the Bourne movie series, all of which are based on Robert Ludlum;'s novel series bearing the same title. The film stars Jeremy Renner (Hurt Locker) playing the role of Aaron Cross, a state assassin, Rachel Weisz (Constant Gardener) as Dr. Martha Shearing, a medical scientist and Edward Norton as Eric Byer, the primary antagonist. Here's some of the things I want to say to those who haven't watched it yet and especially to those who are planning to watch it. Warning: Before Watching Bourne Legacy, Watch Bourne 1, 2 & 3 Well, as mentioned, this is the fourth movie in the series. And although it tells the story of a new character Aaron Cross (Jason Bourne is the lead character in the previous three Bourne movies), the story is strongly c...

Lois Lane and Superman in Superman Returns (2006). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Have you had fun watching The Dark Knight Rises ? Well, next summer, Dark Knight  Director Christopher Nolan will bring to you another movie version of a popular DC Comics character: Superman in the movie entitled Man of Steel. Darker Story of Superman Given Nolan's style in his highly successful Dark Knight series, it is no surprise that this new movie will present Superman's story in a darker, more serious theme. Superman is one of the most celebrated comic character of all time and children from all generation have heard of him from one time or another. Several movies have been made about him, starting as early as 1951 with the movie Superman and the Mole Men . Actor Christopher Reeve has been the most popular Superman figure in history as he starred the role in four consecutive Superman movies from 1978 (Superman) to 1987 (Superman IV).  The last...

The Dark Knight Rises (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Have you watched the latest Batman movie? The last installment of Christopher Nolan's trilogy? Well, I'm not gonna spoil your excitement by telling the movie plot but I just want to say that if you're planning to watch the movie, well, do it fast and if you'll have the chance to watch it in an IMAX theater, it's not a waste of money. The movie lived up to what it promised: an epic conclusion to the Batman series starring Christian Bale as Batman himself. Prepare to Watch The Dark Knight Rises Before I watched the movie yesterday, I made sure that I prepared myself. Since this is the conclusion of the Batman trilogy, I decided to review the plot of the first two movies: Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Thanks to Wikipedia for the free information. Well, for those who haven't watched the first two installments, you really need to watch them to fully understand the story because the movie closes the ...

The Dark Knight Rises (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The epic third and final installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman movie series entitled "The Dark Knight Rises" is now showing in theaters here in the Philippines. The movie will showcase the performances of stars from the previous two films of the series namely Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne (Batman), Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's trusted assistant, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Batman's armorer, and  Gary Oldman as Commissioner James Gordon, the honest police officer of Gotham City. There are also new faces in this sequel. They are Tom Hardy playing the role of Bane, the movie's prime antagonist and Anne Hathaway as Selena Kyle (a.k.a. Catwoman). The film will continue from where the story left in the 2008 The Dark Knight  movie where Batman convinced Commissioner Gordon to charge him of all the bad things that happened because of the hero-turned-villain Two-Face. We can remember th...

Bourne Legacy star Jeremy Renner (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Mark your calendars on August 8, 2012 because SM  Cinema will start showing the film Bourne Legacy starring Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton. The movie is expected to showcase action pack plot and amazing stunts. And the most exciting thing about this movie is the fact that many scenes in this movie were shot in Metro Manila and other parts of the country. On August, we will see Manila as represented by a Hollywood movie. The Fourth Installment Bourne Movie Series If you have watched the first three Bourne movies, you can easily relate to Bourne Legacy's plot. The first three was Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum. All three starred Matt Damon. Based on the novel series by Robert Ludlum, it tells the story of a man named Jason Bourne who, after being saved by fisherman as he float unconsciously in the Mediterranean sea, found himself ...

A new trailer of the upcoming movie Bourne Legacy , the fourth installment of Bourne series of movies based on Robert Ludlum's novels, has been released. Unlike the first teaser trailer though, the latest one already features scenes shot in Manila including the car/motor chase. Please see the video below: It's fun to see the wires lines, narrow alleys, and heavy traffic that is common in Manila towns. Bourne Legacy will be released on August 3, 2012.

Tom Cruise (Image via RottenTomatoes.com) Tom Cruise is back in yet another action-pack movie, Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol , the latest among the series of Mission Impossible movies. Cruise plays Ethan Hunt, an agent of IMF and with his team, they tried to stop a nuclear extremist from igniting the war between the United States and Russia. I watched the film in IMAX here in SM Cebu and my verdict: so so story but impressive stunts and panoramic scenes. I particularly enjoyed the scene when Ethan Hunt climbed the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world located in Dubai. Using just a pair of gecko-like gloves, the suspense is at its climax when at many instances, Hunt almost fell out. I also appreciate the sound effect that kept my adrenaline level at high. Several explosions caught me off-guard and I actually shook in my seat. The IMAX surround sound was outstanding and impressively complemented the movie action pack plot. Tom Cruise al...

You may see it weird to compare two movies six years apart. But comparing two great films may seem more reasonable, isn’t it? In this article, we will look at the similarities between two of the greatest movies of our time: Avatar and Lord of the Rings 1. Both movies are out of this world. Avatar is in a distant star’s moon Pandora while Lord of the Rings is set in the world of Tolkien, the Middle Earth. 2. The main protagonists are both UNLIKELY to be a hero. Jake Sully (Worthington) is a lame ex-marine while Frodo Baggins (Wood) is a Hobbit or a Halfling, a Middle earth creature no taller than 4 ft. 3. Both movies introduced invented languages. Avatar features the Navi language while Lord of the Rings presents the Elvish language. The Navi language was created by Paul Frommer, a professor at the Marshall School of Business while the Elvish was J.R. R. Tolkien’s creation. 4. Both films ended with the coronation of a new king. Jake Sully became the new tribe lead...

As expected, the blockbuster 3D movie by James Cameron has knocked off Titanic on its last frontier record of 600.8 Million in the US box office. The last update (February 3) from the website Box Office Mojo shows Avatar's domestic earnings to be $603,789,348 making it the highest grossing film of all time in the United States . This is $3 Million away from the 1997 record made by the gigantic ship movie Titanic (also directed by James Cameron). Considering that Avatar is only on its seventh week of opening, the 3 million-gap is expected to further increase. Oscar Domination The release of the Oscar nominees earlier this week can be an additional fuel that would boost the movie’s earnings. It received a dominant, 9 nominations from the film Academy including best picture and best director. Way back in 1997 Titanic received a record of 14 nominations 11 of which were won. Titanic also stayed on the big screen for 10 months. Image via Wikipedia According to movie analysts,...

As expected, Avatar indeed sunk the once seemingly unsinkable record of the 1997 blockbuster movie Titanic. James Cameron is really “the King of the world” by beating his own record. He has proven himself to be a real genius in Hollywood. Fox estimates the latest earning of Avatar to be $1.844 Billion sinking Titanic’s $1.843 Billion 13 years ago. The gap will further increase considering that Avatar is only on its 7th week of showing while Titanic made the record over 10 months. This revolutionary sci-fi movie features the story of an initially reluctant ex-marine (Jake Sully played by Sam Worthington) that turns out to be the hero of the blue-skin tribe called Na’vi in the alien world of Pandora. The movie is revolutionary in the sense that it features a new way of combining computer generated environment while capturing the motion and emotion of the real actors. Image by PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE via Flickr Not a Big Start The movie started out with a decent but not groundbreakin...

James Cameron’s latest blockbuster creation, Avatar is still the number one movie in the US box office on its sixth week after its worldwide opening last December 18, 1009. The movie earned $36 million, a small drop from its previous week’s earning,  $41 million . It already grossed an accumulated earning of $553 Million in the United States beating Dark Knight’s record of 533 Million placing the film on the second spot of all-time highest grossing film in the country (Titanic is in a close distance at $601 Million). On the Way to Sinking the Titanic Record It seems that Titanic, the world’s highest grossing film of all time, and also the last film made by Cameron is bound to sink again! Avatar’s record is looming to overtake the 1997 blockbuster. News Corp division and producer of Avatar, 20th Century Fox estimates that the epic 3D blockbuster has already grossed a stunning $1.841 billion worldwide, very close to Titanic’s record of 1.85 Million.

If you think Avatar i s just a simple animated movie, well, think again! A totally different way of making movie was introduced by James Cameron in this blockbuster film. Avatar is far more than a simple animated movie where the actors just stand up in front of the microphone, dub all the voices and all else is computer generated. Avatar is a revolutionary movie in such a way that it combines the digital world to the real actors. All the motions and emotions are genuine. When the characters jump, the actors really jump. The fight scenes are really made by the actors, not by computers. How did James Cameron do it? Watch this video below.