Reel Advice Movie Reviews

What would you do for a million dollars? Would you face your fears? We are pretty sure a lot of people would do a lot of freaky stuff they never imagined they could do, if they were offered a million bucks. Just look at "Fear Factor" - a show that gives not even a pinch of that amount and people are already so desperate. "The Box" tries to tackle the same question but with a sordid twist. This is not your typical eat-a-roach thing. With "The Box", you push a button and someone you do not know dies. But hey, that's a million dollars right? Can the film be an effective psychological and at the same time philosophical thriller? Read on to find out.

The film is set in Richmond, Virginia and the year is 1976. The Lewis' are sleeping when someone rings their doorbell. Norma (Cameron Diaz) goes to the door and sees a black car leaving. At their doorstep is a sealed box and when they open it, they see a locked black device with a red button inside. A letter states that a certain Mr. Steward (Frank Langella) will contact them at 5PM that day. Weird Right? So they didn't think much of it. Later that day, Norma discovers that the faculty tuition discount is being removed. This means that her son's tuition will be paid in full the next semester. It does not help that Arthur (James Marsden) was not accepted into NASA's astronaut program. Norma fears that their money is not enough to support their lifestyle. When Norma goes home, Mr. Steward arrives and tells her that when she or Arthur presses the button, they will instantly get a million dollars. The caveat is someone they do not know will die instantly. Will Arthur and Norma press the button to save themselves from financial ruin? They have 24 hours to decide and the clock is ticking.

"The Box" was a hodge podge of ideas that never really gelled together. All we can say is that it will make you pull your hair off your head in frustration. Ninety-percent of the time, we just could not comprehend what was going on and when there were times we thought we get what was happening, the movie would do a complete turnaround. It felt like we were being slapped in the face with another out-of-this-world twist. It just never made any sense. Now, we believe they tried to be philosophical and all but can someone tell the creators of "The Box" that they should at least try to make it understandable for the common person? The only good thing we see in this film is the way it captures your curiosity the whole time. Sadly, the wait in the end is not worth it. Come credits time, there are still gaping plot holes and a "what-the-hell" story that will make you wish you just chose another film. This movie will waste your time, your money and even some of your brain cells.

Rating: 1 reel





Why you should watch it:
- if you're the type who likes to keep on guessing when watching a movie


Why you shouldn't watch it:
- a literally out-of-this-world story that never really concludes anything and never really makes any sense
- a mish mash of ideas that will confuse you and frustrate you

An explosive action tale of betrayal and revenge, “The Losers” centers around the members of an elite Special Forces unit sent to the Bolivian jungle on a search and destroy mission. But the team soon find that they have become the target of a deadly double cross instigated from inside by a powerful enemy known only as Max. Now presumed dead, the group makes plans to avenge themselves and clear their names. Working together, they must remain deeply undercover while tracking the shadowy and heavily guarded Max. Get a change to see the trailer after the jump.

“The Losers” stars Jeffery Dean Morgan as Clay, Zoe Saldana as Aisha, Chris Evans as Jensen, Idris Elba as Roque, Columbus Short as Pooch, Oscar Jaeneda as Cougar and Jason Patric as Max. Sylvain White directs the film from a screenplay by Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt which were based upon characters appearing in the graphic novel published by DC and Vertigo Comics.





“The Losers” will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and is slated to be shown on April 23, 2010.

"Alice in Wonderland" has big shoes to fill. Not only is it on the heels of a world famous Disney classic animation but it also tries to adapt the well-loved novel. It also stars Johnny Depp and directed by Tim Burton - both of which who have made countless films together. Both are also known for their quirky and unusual nature - surely a perfect match for a story like "Alice in Wonderland". Can the new adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland" be considered a classic as its film and novel counterparts? Read on to find out our verdict.

19 year old Alice Kingsley (Mia Wasikowska) has been suffering from a recurring nightmare all her life. Her nightmares every night are about talking animals and smiling cats. Today, Alice is attending party - a party in which her suitor is going to ask her hand in marriage. While talking with her mother, Alice spots a white rabbit roaming around the garden. When her suitor finally proposes to her, Alice sees the rabbit again and tries to follow it. She falls into a rabbit hole and finds herself in a peculiar room. What adventures await Alice and most importantly, is there a way for her to come back home?

"Alice in Wonderland" had a very slow start - too bad the film never really picked up until late second half. Overall, the film just felt really uninspired and boring - we lost count on how many times we yawned. Tim Burton's style did not help the lackluster performance of the film. If this was Wonderland then what the heck is so wonderful about it? It was too dark for our tastes and it can surely leave some of the young ones feeling a bit out of place. The only saving grace for this film is the very effective humor. There were a lot of moments, especially with the Red Queen that got us laughing out loud. Oh and Johnny Depp was his usual, meaning he was really good. You can throw him anything and he'll do an excellent job. But in reality, stupendous acting from the cast can only do so much. "Alice in Wonderland" was one of the most anticipated films this year - we thought it would be brilliant but it bombed.

Rating: 2 and a half reels




Why you should watch it:
- it had a lot of very, very funny moments
- Johnny Depp and his cohorts did a swell job in the acting department

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- the movie was uninspired with nothing special to really show
- we believe Tim Burton's dark style was not the right fit for this film

We are quite familiar with almost all, if not all movies vying for Best Picture in the different award giving bodies this year. One movie we have not heard before it got nominated is “Up in the Air”. The movie, starring George Clooney is labeled by some as his best film yet. Some even consider this as the overall best picture for the upcoming Oscars (speaking off the Oscars, we cannot wait for the results to come out in the next few days). Six Academy Award nominations pretty much says that this movie is going to be great, too bad that it was released in local theaters just this week. Let’s see if this film, based on Walter Kim’s novel can live up to its expectations.

Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) has an odd job. His job takes him across America to talk to employees and tell them that they have been laid off. On the side, Ryan conducts motivational speeches that tells people that they do not need a life with relationships for them to be happy. His primary goal in life is to reach ten million frequent flyer miles. In short, Ryan's job compliments his life's purpose and with that, he truly loves it. Ryan's job is threatened though when a new co-worker, Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), proposes that they should do virtual job firings to save on travel costs. When Ryan confronts Natalie and shows her that she does not know anything about the firing business, his boss decides that Ryan should mentor Natalie on his next few trips. Will Natalie learn something from Ryan or will Ryan learn from Natalie instead?

So can we say that "Up in the Air" has a chance to win the Best Picture category in the Oscars? We can fairly predict that it won't but it was not a bad film at all mind you. In fact, the unique story, characters and even the moral lesson fit the bill together which makes it a must watch for everyone. The film was also deep and will make you think a lot about your life. It was so effective in conveying its message, no thanks to the outstanding performances of the main characters especially George Clooney. We definitely have to agree that this is probably one of his best performances yet. So what made "Up in the Air" miss the trophy? We think it was the way the film's overall story was developed. It felt half-baked and with this, there seems to be a lot of disconnection between the mini dilemmas of each character. With a longer running time the film could definitely have been perfect.

Rating: 4 and a half reels




Why you should watch it:
- great performances for the three main actors especially George Clooney
- the movie's multiple plot points are unique and full of ironic surprises
- makes you ponder on what your daily life's true purpose is

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- for us, it was a little bit on the short side
- it lacked development and somewhat incomplete

We have been contacted by VoucherCodes.co.uk to join their Oscars 2010 contest. Basically we just have to guess the winners in any of the categories. One correct prediction equals a point while an incorrect answer takes a point away. The entrant with most points win.

But first, if you are from the U.K. and you want to have a better deal when you go shopping, try to visit VoucherCodes.co.uk. They have free vouchers and discounts exclusive to their site. Some of the participating vendors includes Amazon, Marks and Spencer, Debenhams and The Body Shop. just visit their site to find out more about this great service.

Now, at last, here is our predictions for some of the major categories:
Best Picture – The Hurt Locker
Best Director – Kathryn Bigelow
Best Actor – Jeremy Renner
Best Actress – Sandra Bullock
Best Supporting Actor – Christopher Waltz
Best Supporting Actress – Vera Farmiga
Best Original Screenplay – Up
Best Adapted Screenplay – District 9
Best Animated Feature – Up
Best Original Song – Down in New Orleans
Best Original Score – Avatar
Best Cinematography - Avatar

Wish us luck!

Cathy Garcia-Molina is at it again with John Lloyd-Cruz and as luck may have it, the pair has yet to make a disappointing film together. So what were those John Lloyd-Cruz movies you may ask? Ow, they were just "One More Chance", "A Very Special Love" and "You Changed My Life" - now do you get what we mean? The biggest bombshell for this film is probably Bea Alonzo - finally the John and Bea tandem is back together after a three year hiatus. No doubt, "Miss You Like Crazy" will be one of the most anticipated films this year. But most importantly, can it deliver knowing that it has a pedigree of films that it has to at least be at par with? Read on to find out.

Allan Alvarez(John Lloyd-Cruz) occasionally takes the Pasig River ferry to go to his newly purchased home. On several of these trips, Allan always sees a girl who writes messages on stones and leaves them behind. He picks these stones up and realizes that messages being written are getting worse and worse as time goes by. One day, when the girl writes "Goodbye World", Allan panics and stops the girl from supposedly committing suicide - he soon discovers that this is not the case. He finds out that the girl, Mia Samonte (Bea Alonzo) works as a hotel receptionist in Malaysia. They have exceptional chemistry together, even finding themselves in love after just a week. Unfortunately though, Allan has a girlfriend he is seriously committed to. Whom does he really love more? The girlfriend he has been with for years or the girl he just met a week ago?

The moment you all have been waiting for is finally here - so was it worth the three year wait? Well, the answer is a disappointing no. This is the case of the film being too rushed and too raw for public consumption. No, we have no qualms about the acting or the chemistry of John Lloyd and Bea. Actually, the pair still has it and no doubt they can still do lots of effective films together (and we actually want and expect more!). The story was not bad at all, although we realized that it is impossible to happen in real life. So what made this film bad? It was the post-production elements that killed it. Numerous transitions were really bad that it was confusing us already. We also felt that the confusion could have been lessened if actual dates/time references were shown. We as an audience were left second guessing what year was it and how much time has really passed and the time element plays a key role in the film. The film also presented inconsistent film quality in different scenes - one shot may be clear as day and the next shot would be grainy and dark. The selected songs for certain scenes seemed out of place which destroys the overall mood for them. Our question in the end is, "What the heck happened here?"

So what can we get from this film? Is it about love? We say yes, it can bring the casual tear in your eyes. But we believe the clincher here is outside the bounds of the movie's plot. We hope that Star Cinema and to all the local outfits out there will also focus on post-production. With a bit more time spent on making sure that cuts make sense, that the transitions are smoother, that the picture quality of the scenes are consistent and that the background music actually fits well to what's happening on screen, then the film would have been better.

Rating: 2 reels









Why you should watch it:
- the acting was spectacular for the two main actors in the film
- no one can doubt the amazing chemistry of John Lloyd and Bea

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- makes you wonder how much time they put into post production as the film seriously needs a lot of polish
- the film's story being too ingrained in fate's hand just did not sell




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