85. Series of Unfortunate Events (5/5)

For a child at heart, this is definitely, definitely a nice movie. I do not know, I am a child at heart and I really really really enjoyed this movie.

                I know this movie is quite old, I might be still in grade school or high school when this movie was showed on the big screens. It is kind of sad because I didn’t watch these types of movies when I was a child. All I did was playing video games.  Yes, I might have watched a few anime here and there, and hiraya manawari and all those children’s show, but I didn’t watch movies in the big screen. The only movie I remember watching on the big screen was Flubber, the borrowers and Home Alone 3. Nothing more.

                Well… this is turning in to a diary, a trip to memory lane. But I can’t help it. The main characters of this movie are children, so I can’t help but remember my childhood. It is amazing though that all the important lessons and values in life are found on simple stories like children’s books and movies.

                I love the character of the three kids: Violet, Klaus and Sunny. It is cool because they love learning, and simply enjoy what they want to do. I want the lesson that this movie leaves the audience—that there is always something. Always something to discover. That even though the times could appear so tough, there is something that could make you happy. Something that could solve your problem. There is always something for you to learn. I really really really love that inspiring words.

                I also love the late letter of their parents.  About the good and bad in the world. Although bad exists, there actually more good in the world. If you find it hard to believe… you just have to look harder!

                I love love love love this movie.

                I am cheesy.  A very child at heart. Movies like these reminds me why I want to create stories. I want to inspire! The hell. Who would care if I can’t make intelligent and mind blowing movies? I prefer simple, heart-warming and inspiring movies first.  

I'll be making a separate blog about this movie soon on my personal blog! I NEED TO MAKE A SPECIAL REVIEW ABOUT THIS! YEA! :)

I give this movie 5/5, if you want.. 6/5! Hehehe. 

84. Cars (4.75/5)

Recently, I had this realization that I might just write stories and scripts for animation. Once I become famous and once I have more money, I would produce PIXAR-like animated movies here in the Philippines.

                Having this said, I thought of watching CARS. I think this is the only PIXAR film that I haven’t watched yet by that time, and since CARS2 would be showing soon… I didn’t hesitate downloading it.

                I love this movie. It is light, and full of inspiration. That is what I love about PIXAR, it makes me feel fired up, makes me feel inspired all the time. But unlike some PIXAR and animated movies where the protagonist starts as a loser, the protagonist of this movie starts as cool, popular and full of dreams. The protagonist is a car that could run very fast, a rookie young car that plays with speed.

                Yes, this movie is about dreaming big, but this movie tells us also that it is not enough to dream big. Our motives in dreaming big are another thing that we need to consider. Some people dream big because they have selfish motives… something to feed their ego, or they simply want to be cool and popular. They want to go to the top and will do anything to go there—even though it means being egoistic, being boastful, and being full of themselves to the point they see everything else insignificant.

                Come to think of it, if you look at yourselves, you would feel that one point in your life you had become egoistic. Only a hypocrite would say they had never been egoistic ever in their life. Maybe there are some people who had pure hearts and intentions, but since we are all just humans, at one point, we had felt the need to put ourselves first, especially at times when you feel fed up already. But this is not the moral lesson the story of cars. It made us reflect of those times we put ourselves and dreams first. Therefore, it will make you realize that it is not enough to dream, it is better to dream with friends, it is better to find friends along the journey.  

                This is a movie about friendship, about dreaming without looking down to others. It is about dreaming without losing the enjoyment of the process. It is about reaching your dreams and realizing the essence, friendship and relationships you find while you are on your journey.

I give this movie 4.75/5

78. The Blind Side (4/5)

If you are looking for a tearjerker, you should watch this movie. At first, I don’t know how to take this movie because it could be sappy and too corny, but then, hey… I love it.

                This movie is comparable to I am Sam, Forrest Gump, you know, those types of movies about a person who is not accepted by many, but then finds happiness, acceptance and love in the end. The great thing is that this is a true to life story and it also valued the importance of family and dreams. If you want to get inspired, watch this movie. It may be corny for some, but in the process of watching, you’ll end up feeling warmth, touched and happy.

                To be exact, this story is about a big black American boy who doesn’t have a functional family to support him. He goes to a prestigious school because his father convinced the faculty to take his son. Because of his physical stature and his potential in football, the Football coach convinced the faculty to take him. On his days in school, he was aloof, always alone and is sometimes feared by children. But then, a wealthy woman saw him and adopted him even though he is almost 18.

                There and then, he was groomed; he was introduced to a new life. He never had a functional family that he could eat with, never had a support from a family member regarding studies. He might not be smart, but it was then found out that he had a great percentile in defending and protecting people he loves. Later on in the story, this characteristic was used by Big Mike as an advantage for his football career.

                I love the character here of the little guy who acts as the adopted brother of Big Mike. He pretends to be a trainer and loves attention. He is such a cool kid. And Sandra Bullock’s character is very touching too. I also love the essay that Big Mike wrote about Courage.

                If you want to watch a movie that values family and the value of acceptance… watch this film. It is a great film to watch with your loved ones, but if you want you can also watch it in your own so that just in case you feel like crying, no one could see it. 

I give this movie 4/5

76. Valiant (2/5)

This movie is one of the 3d animated movies I found on a DVD compilation lying at home. I have this feeling that this wouldn’t be a great one, and I was right. I am not as bias after all, because even though I love animation, this one failed me.

                As a general realization, animated movies normally talks about dreams. Valiant is indeed a movie about reaching for you dream-- it is about a pigeon who wants to be a courageous soldier, or in their world, a mail carrier during the World War II. The mythology was really amazing, the world created was really great… but then, Valiant doesn’t seem to outshine Dreamworks and Pixar animations. It is far too common and not even touching. I don’t know if I am affected with the accent of the birds, but I think not. There is something really missing. I wasn’t able to really relate to the movie, like I wasn’t touch, I didn’t feel empathic.

                This movie could pass for a great movie for children, but not for adults who had watched a couple of deep and touching movies from PIXAR and DREAMWORKS.

I give this movie 2/5

69. The Secret of Kells (3.95/5)

Great animation, great animation, great animation. Rich vivid colors, unique drawings, unique lines and shapes.

I love it visually. REALLY.

Story-wise, it is for kids. Honestly, since I am a kid at heart and I am trying to write a fantasy now for work...  this piece of masterpiece made my mind wonder...  I even thought of a fantasy character! I don't know why, but even though the movie is simple, it made my imagination working! Nice one!

About a boy who wanted to see the book that has magical powers. The boy who has the courage to oppose his ruling brother... in belief there is so much to learn, and their are other ways. Very free-spirited kid.

I give this a 3.95/5

33. The Fighter (3.5/5)

The Fighter is a movie about Micky Ward, an aspiring boxer and his struggle in achieving it.

As far as I wanted to give a detailed blog about this movie: I cannot. I wouldn't force myself. From now on, I'll divide my blogs in to categories for me to easily review

Acting/Directing: This movie is directed by David O. Russel, and I don't know why I cannot comment that much. I had watched the movie about 3 days ago, so I think that effected my emotions while writing this. I just want to comment on Christian's Bale performance. He had won the best supporting actor for Golden Globe Awards for playing the role of Dicky Eklund on this movie, and I can say he had portrayed it quite well. The truth of the matter, I hated his character and that also affected my liking of him. It feels like he is really pathetic and a drug addict in real life. But the mere fact I hated him and I believed on his character just proves how great he was on his performance. I cannot comment that much of Mark Wahlberg who acted as Micky, but I think this is a good break for him. Somehow, the characterization from the written story or script affects the acting, and since I find Micky's character simple, there is only little room for Mark to show off his acting skills.

But Oh! I almost forgot! I love Mark Wahlberg acting too! The time when Micky's love interest Charlene Flemming (played by Amy Adams) came in to Micky's life: which is also, coincidentally, the time he lost a match. The feeling of confidence stooping down was effectively portrayed by Mark, and I just wanted to hug him and comfort him that time. Hahahaha. I love Charlene's character on the story  and the mother Alice ward was portrayed by Melissa Leo perfectly! Just like how Christian Bale gave justice to Dicky's role, Melissa was so great on her characterization that I hated Alice so much! Haha!




Christian Bale as Dickt Eklund 


Cinematography: As I remember, I love the idea of filming a documentary as a part of the movie. It added to the realness somehow. I cannot remember a lot of things, but I think the cinematography was ok.


Story/Screenplay/Script: It somehow has a real feel on it. I want to comment on the story, it feels good to tell the story inside of a boxer's life. I mean, people just see boxers as fighters on TV, but having a glimpse of what is really happening and their struggles is quite a revelation to us, the audience. The interlinking of feelings somehow gives us the feel of how complicated feelings and relationships could be. As for example, the character of Micky at first was always dependent on his brother and his mother. But then here comes his love interest. That is the point where the relationships of the characters interlinked and got real-life complicated. If you are Micky, always dependent to your brother, (when in fact you know he is a drug addict) you still want him as a trainor as a respect for him. It is like balancing love over family, over your dreams.

I just love the honesty and realness of the character's lives.

Music: Honestly, I might not be paying attention, but I don't have comments on the music.


Scenes I like the most: Dicky jumping from his window every time someone needs him.
The scene when Dicky was watching his documentary with his inmates
the scene when Micky, almost lost but won!


Other comments: Well, wahh! Here in the Philippines, almost everyone watched Manny Pacquiao's progress in all of his matches.This is the reason why I think I was not really engrossed to the movie. We already felt the tension of each boxing match, wishing him to win. Somehow, the plot is familiar to us Filipinos-- but the family as a burden and not as a support, just added to the complexity of the story, making it a little bit different.

And, I had watched Hajime No Ippo (KO), the anime that deals with different possible stories for different boxers. So, somehow, the story's plot is really familiar to me.

So, in conclusion, I love the movie, but it doesn't give me a lasting feeling of creeps that I would carry forever. I give this movie 3.5/5