Reel Advice Movie Reviews

Even though you still haven’t read any review about "Hannah Montana: The Movie", you will have a pretty accurate perception or take about the movie. One is that it is targeted towards the kids and tween girls who are crazy about the show so you will expect the movie to be all about Hannah/Miley and her songs. Another is that you probably have an idea what the basic plot is and what will happen. Even though we are pretty sure that this will rake quite a lot in the box office, we still need to weigh its weight.

Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) is enjoying the best of both worlds that most teenagers dream of - being an ordinary student by day and an international pop star, Hannah Montana while being adored by millions, at night. Miley’s Dad (Billy Ray Cyrus) however, starts to notice lately that stardom seems to rise into his daughter’s head more than being just an ordinary, down-to-earth girl. He then decides to throw her back to their hometown in Tennessee as a lesson and as a surprise. Miley seemed to go crazy when she finds out the truth. Miley has to spend two weeks at their family ranch but to her surprise, this is where she discovers the happiness of becoming just ordinary.

Just as everyone expects, a lot of kids will definitely be happy to see their idol on the big screen. We can say that not everyone will be able to stand the movie, most especially the true hearted dudes. However, it is fun and light, a good movie for the whole family (especially Father-Daughter pairs), and Disney fans will give it an A for sure. Unfortunately, also as predicted, the movie was cheesy and contains too much teeny-bopper romance yet still a bit bearable for adults like us. We can’t wait for the day wherein Miley Cyrus decides to follow suit with Zac Efron and finally decides to step out from the Hannah Montana moniker and become a more serious actress because we think she can be really good.

Rating: 3 reels

Why you should watch it:
- if you are a huge fan of the Hannah Montana franchise
- very Disney, with song numbers here and there (very entertaining to kids!)

Why you shouldn’t watch it:
- basically if you are a true blooded man in heart and in soul
- when you are on a date as it is more of a family movie

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The plot for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is really simple. Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) was born with a condition; a condition that makes him age backwards. Instead of growing old, Benjamin started very, very old and ages younger and younger through the years. The movie revolves around the point-of-view of Benjamin through important snippets of his life via his diary. From when he was abandoned by his father, the time he met Daisy Fuller (Cate Blanchett) and when they met halfway and had the same age and until his eventual "teen" years.

Looking at history of movie franchises that come out with a third film, we can safely say that most often than not, we wished that they just stopped with the second film (or even the first!). It is seemingly more difficult to still come up with a brilliant story the third time around. What usually happens is that writers add new characters to make things more interesting. What happens now with the third installment of "Ice Age"? Read on to find out.

We see our beloved Ice Age characters again on a third installment. Manny (Ray Romano) is now excited about becoming a father, Diego (Denis Leary) is thinking about leaving the pack to go on an adventure, and Sid (John Leguizamo)is scared of being alone and wants to have a family of his own. Trouble begins when Sid finds some dinosaur eggs and wants to be their mother. The real mother (which is a Tyrannosaurus Rex), while getting her kids back drags Sid as well, and brings him to a whole new land below all the ice. It is now time for the whole gang to rescue their friend from the mother dinosaur.

"Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" is still a fun adventure movie, full of adventures of the well-loved Scrat and his acorn. However, comparing it with the first two films, we can say that this is the weakest. We’re also not sure that it can go up against some of the really good animated films these days. The reason probably is the story. Animated movies these days do not only show lovable characters and awesome animation but they also have a unique and great story to showcase. This is what is lacking in the movie. Although they added a new lovable character Buck, this is just not enough to make the movie more than average at the least. The kids will love this but it will probably bore most adults.

Rating: 3 reels

Why you should watch it:
- the great Ice Age characters are back in a new adventure
- very fun and absolutely entertaining

Why you shouldn’t watch it:
- not as good as the first two films
- story is quite simple, nothing to really be excited about

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Filipinos have always loved watching horror films - that is why producers make it a point to make at least one horror flick during the Metro Manila Film Festival. The last good local horror movies in recent memory are probably the ones made by Star Cinema like "Feng Shui" and "Sukob". However, we cannot say the same for their last horror entry "T2" which starred Maricel Soriano. Star Cinema is once again presenting a horror film, "Villa Estrella" that showcases the hottest young stars today. How will this fair in the horror-loving Filipino audience? Click to find out.

Anna (Shaina Magdayao) and her ex-boyfriend Alex (Jake Cuenca) are headed to Villa Estrella, an old family resort owned by Anna and her family. Alex is tasked to restore the resort and while they spend the next few nights at Villa Estrella, scary things start to happen. They are confronted by roaming spirits who take people away and Anna finally finds out the reason behind her recurring nightmare.

So let’s start off with the good things about the movie. First, we were surprised with the decent story line. Let’s face it, horror films focus more on special effects and sounds, neglecting the story behind all the scary scenes. "Villa Estrella" came up with a very good story so props to the writers. Second is that the actors were pretty good. Shaina Magdayao who played Anna is definitely ready for bigger movie roles and Maja Salvador showed decent acting as well. Now comes the bad part. The movie isn’t really that scary so those who love screaming inside the movie house might get disappointed. Another is the “monster” actually came out very ridiculous – probably due to the low budget for special effects. We would have opted if they just sticked with the white lady effect than pushing it further. Lastly, there were weak characters, namely Alex (Jake Cuenca) and Geoff Eigenmann who played Anna’s secret boyfriend. Overall, the movie isn’t really at par with the success of previous Star Cinema horror flicks, but it is better than the last movie "T2".

Rating: 2 reels

Why you should watch it:
- very good acting from Shaina and Maja
- no nonsense story for a Filipino horror flick

Why you shouldn’t watch it:
- some scenes turned out to be funny, instead of scary
- if you are expecting it to be as good as "Feng Shui" or "Sukob"

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SM a few years back brought the IMAX experience here in the Philippines when Asia's Biggest Mall, SM Mall of Asia, was opened. Now, SM is bringing the IMAX experience to people much more nearer at the Northern area of the Metro by bringing IMAX to SM North Edsa. Read more to find out about the official details.

The sequel is set two years after the events of the first film. With the Allspark gone, Optimus Prime has opted to call out all Autobots remaining outside our planet to come here for refuge. Optimus Prime now leads NEST, a secret military organization out to wipe out any remaining Decepticons in hiding. Sam Witwicky (Shia Lebouf) on the other hand is trying to live a normal life after being inadvertently caught in the war of the Autobots and the Decepticons. He decides to leave his car Bumblebee and Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox) behind. Before leaving though, Sam touches a fragment of the Allspark and a weird reaction occurs. Some while after this, Sam experiences bouts of uncontrollable body movements in which he writes symbols that may or may not mean something. Can Sam really live a normal life or would he be needed once more to save humanity?

Now for the verdict, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" did exceed our expectations but ultimately, it did not exceed the first film. Do not get us wrong though, this film is still one hell of a ride - from start to finish, the action was just pumping and pumping even to the point that we felt really tired and somewhat stressed out with the lack of inaction (who would have known right?). Even with a running time of two and a half hours, viewers won't feel bogged down and this is in the simple truth that this film clearly spells out F-U-N. The downer for us though is the lackluster plot compared to the first film. Another caveat is the poorly edited finished product. We saw a lot of inconsistencies in a lot of scenes and one major character for example just suddenly disappears from the remainder of the film for no apparent reason. Even with the negative things we pointed, we still believe "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is still a must-watch for everyone.

Rating: 4 reels

Why you should watch it:
- Michael Bay just keeps the action coming
- you won't feel the running time of 2 and a half hours - it just passes by quickly
- you will have fun watching this film

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- the first film was definitely better especially with the plot
- a lot of inconsistencies in editing and character development

Cinemalaya is a film festival held yearly to celebrate, promote and help grow the independent film industry in the Philippines. It has been successfully growing in popularity since its inception five years ago and is now considered to be one of the biggest film festivals in the country. The setup: grant $10,000 to ten independent film makers. Directors, writers and what-not submit their scripts and only ten scripts will be chosen. So you can say, that the films selected are the best of the bunch for a given year and the quality and caliber of scripts and plots are top notch. It has always been a dream for us to attend Cinemalaya - unlucky for us, we never had the time nor opportunity to do so. As fate may have it, we got invited to a screening of one of the entries - "The Rapture of Fe"("Ang Panggagahasa kay Fe"). Click read more to find out more about our experience with "The Rapture of Fe".

"The Rapture of Fe" centers around Fe (Irma Adlawan). Every morning, Fe mysteriously receives a basket of black fruits. Thinking these are from her abusive husband Dante (Nonie Buencamino), she tells this to him. Unfortunately, this was not from Dante and this only quells his suspicions of Fe having a secret lover. Day by day, the basket comes closer to their doorstep and Fe decides to keep this to herself to avoid Dante getting mad. One day, Fe turns to her former suitor Arturo (TJ Trinidad). When Fe tries to persuade Arturo to elope with her, she discovers that Arturo has other plans for their family business and denies her request. Caught between an abusive husband and a suitor who has different plans, Fe has to decide - will she turn to the mysterious suitor who might just be a figment of her imagination or will she stay with the real men in her life who cannot give her the love or happiness she craves?

"The Rapture of Fe" is a relief for us. Knowing how constricted Philippine cinema can be, it is a refreshing feeling to see how independent films can go beyond the usual homosexual theme. The film was good despite knowing that they had a very tight budget in doing it. Although some scenes made us feel out of place, most of it was gripping. The acting was superb especially with the character of Fe so props to Irma Adlawan. For us, a first showing is not enough to grasp the significance of major scenes and that is one quality that great films have - knowing that it could stand a second, a third and any subsequent showings while people can still learn something new. It is a film that gives something back - a movie that actually tries to make you think and ponder about women, about society, about our intrepid country and maybe just about how you perceive life and happiness. "The Rapture of Fe" might not be for everyone especially those who are mainly interested in mainstream films. We could clearly see why this is one of the scripts that were picked up – the movie allows you to give it your own interpretation and explore possible meanings of the scenes presented. So why not jump in and escape to the world of Fe?



We highly encourage everyone to attend the Cinemalaya film festival coming this July at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. "The Rapture of Fe" is only one of ten entries selected for the full-length category.

For tickets/reservations for "The Rapture of Fe", please contact Alemberg Ang at 09178110217 or 09228992536. Tickets will cost a hundred a pop and proceeds will be donated to the Women's Crisis Center. Visit their official site here.