Snowpiercer

Director: Bong Joon-ho

With: Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Go Ah-sung, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Ed Harris

Been eyeing on this film ever since I saw the cast way back late 2012. I got intrigued because it's directed by a non-Hollywood director yet the ensemble consists of Hollywood actors and actresses like Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer, John Hurt, Ed Harris and Chris Evans. A year had passed and it wasn't shown anywhere. Luckily, it was shown early this year in Manila and I made sure too see it as early as possible and I did, and I LOVED it!

I tend to use superlatives when I do writeups like this so I'll just go ahead and say that this is the best dystopian movie I've ever seen (be mindful that I have yet to see Children of Men but it's already in my to-see list). Can't help but compare it to The Hunger Games and I must say that it made The Hunger Games look weak and this is from someone who's also a fan of the latter.

I had no idea about its concept except for its summary description on Wikipedia. Other than that, none. So everything about it felt very original. I just can imagine that it captured the world of Snowpiercer sufficiently. From the inhabitants, to the different rooms that mirror their classes, to the details of the twists, everything was visually cosmic.

It's also fun to see a variety of nationalities in one film or should I say, packed in a dystopian train. Add the fact that Tilda Swinton is one of the cast who was a hoot in all of her scenes. Octavia Spencer also stood out. John Hurt, Ed Harris, Jamie Bell, all of them were praiseworthy. Chris Evans was also unexpectedly effective as the lead rebel of this film. They all served their roles adequately.

I'm impressed that an Asian director like Bong Joon-ho has the bravado to adapt a French graphic novel into a film that has the quality of a Hollywood blockbuster. Makes me sort of envious that Filipino filmmakers don't have his audacity. Make no mistake, this film still has issues with its visual effects but it can easily be forgiven by the tenacity of Joon-ho's direction, extravagant costumes and production designs.

Don't fret, I still see the potential in Filipino filmmakers but let's face it, we only excel in films with limited use of visual effects. There's nothing wrong with that but it'd also be great if someday we'll be able to see a visual effect heavy film Pinoy made. Someday we will!

Overall, Snowpiercer is a joy to watch and if you're into dystopian films, you might find yourself hugely enthused by this. It's smart, it's fun, it's everything you look for in an entertaining film.

Top 10 SUPPORTING ACTRESSES of 2013

  

10. Octavia Spencer as Wanda Johnson - Fruitvale Station

In Fruitvale Station, Octavia Spencer showed that there's no need to burst out crying to depict a sorrowful mother mourning for her son's loss. Her restraint and calmness in the midst of a family crisis is admirable. Octavia Spencer after winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress two years ago seems like she now knows how to stand out as an actor and there's no looking back, Spencer got my respect.

9. Margot Robbie as Naomi Lapaglia - The Wolf of Wall Street

I love how Margot Robbie introduced herself in the movie world in such a huge way last year. Appearing in two of the best films of 2013 -- About Time and The Wolf of Wall Street, she morphed into the who-girl into the it-girl. Of course she still has more to prove but her performance as Jordan Belfort's wife Naomi showed her promise as an actress. Her Brooklyn accent is brilliant and to be quite honest, I didn't see that she's capable of a worthy performance when I watched her in About Time.

8. Sarah Paulson as Mary Epps - 12 Years a Slave

Like Michael Fassbender in 12 Years a Slave, Sarah Paulson gave something appealing in a role we're supposed to be detesting. As a wife seething with jealousy towards one of their slaves, Paulson channeled this role with absurdity behind a great amount of elegance. Paulson proved in 2013 that she can succeed even outside television. Her work in Mud and 12 Years a Slave are good enough for her to hopefully land a future lead role.

7. Melissa Leo as Holly Jones - Prisoners

Damn, I LOVE Melissa Leo in Prisoners! The fact that she's not getting a lot of recognition for her work here as an old mysterious suburban lady with a dark motive I would never understand. Solely through Melissa Leo's acting, she can make us scared, laugh, sympathize, provoked, name it. And even if she's kinda awkward in real life, there's no doubt that Leo is one heck of an actor.

6. June Squibb as Kate Grant - Nebraska

I'm not crazy about June Squibb's performance in Nebraska but I find it impossible not to be smitten by her. With the help of Bob Nelson's screenplay and Payne's direction, they made the most out of June Squibb's potential. I think Squibb's personality in real life made Kate Grant a little more charming and hilarious rather than annoying and shrew, making her the most memorable in Nebraska.

5. Jennifer Lawrence as Rosalyn Rosenfeld - American Hustle

I may be unimpressed with Jennifer Lawrence's Jersey accent but only fools can deny the incredible talent of this woman. She's unstoppable. She has swag in real life but also translates it in films. Rosalyn turned out to be the most awesome character in a film with many OTT characters and that's because of JLaw's ability to steal every scene she's in. For me, she still hasn't surpassed her performance in Winter's Bone but I know that she's still capable of topping it. I'm looking forward for her return in doing serious roles instead of comedies.

4. Scarlett Johansson as Barbara Sugarman - Don Jon

It's sad that ScarJo is getting more recognition for her voice over role when she's better in the greatest role of her lifetime in Don Jon. :( She's impressive as a voice actor in Her but her everything in Don Jon is miles better. It's unbelievable how she can change her accent so natural and believable like how Meryl Streep does her millions of accent. Only few actors can achieve that and ScarJo is now one of them. Funny thing is, I don't think that she tried hard and she just enjoyed her role or she's just really good at it that she made me think that way.

3. Annika Wedderkopp as Klara - The Hunt

 I've campaigned my ass off to put this young but INSANELY ASTONISHING actress to spotlight but I failed miserably. Wedderkopp, in my book, brings a lot of mature actress to shame because she can portray maturity better than most actors. The fact that she seems like she knows what she's doing in a film involving molestation, penis and other mature stuff, that's just WOW.

2. Léa Seydoux as Emma - Blue is the Warmest Color

Léa Seydoux is frickin fantastic in Blue is the Warmest Color! Knowing that she's actually a very feminine person makes her even more fantastic because in Blue, she's believable as a lesbian, the manly lesbian. She carried some of my favorite scenes in Blue, one of which is when she first met Adele in a gay bar. She's striking and as I am typing this, makes me want to watch Blue is the Warmest Color all over again. Oh yes I will!

1. Lupita Nyong'o as Patsey - 12 Years a Slave

Lupita gave us one of the most unforgettable scenes ever! Patsey's whipping scene still astounds me to this day for how brutal it was. The emotions and the pain she brought to Patsey during that scene was so raw and out of this world. And with that, I think she easily blows everyone away. I also love the tiniest details in her acting. Her dance, her way of holding the macaron, her way of eating it, her whistles, her passionate delivery of her lines. Her acting screams passion and while that doesn't always translate to a great performance, it's something that she possesses that helps her portray a character that deserves to have one. I hope Lupita wins come Oscar night.

Other Rankings:

Top 5 Original Scores of 2013

Top 10 Cinematography of 2013

Top 5 Original & Adapted Screenplays of 2013 

Top 10 Supporting Actors of 2013 
Top 10 Lead Actors of 2013
Top 10 Lead Actresses of 2013

DECEMBER 2013: Fruitvale Station, We're The Millers and Saving Mr. Banks

Fruitvale Station

Director: Ryan Coogler
With: Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer

Fruitvale Station tells the true story of Oscar Grant's experiences on the last day of his life before he was shot in cold blood by a police officer in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009.

I never heard about Oscar Grant's story before the film became prominent but I learned that several videos of the police officer fatally killing Oscar Grant went viral in America, and perhaps, worldwide. It's always hard yet interesting to watch films that break your heart especially if it's a true story. What more to create and direct a film with a sensitive story like this where an innocent man was killed without knowing the full story behind the scenes. Ryan Coogler did that and he gave justice to the film by not only narrating Grant's death, but also making us viewers know Grant's life with his family, particularly with the three women in his life: his wife, mother and daughter. Michael B. Jordan also supports Coogler's brilliance by his portrayal of an imperfect, yet willing to be a better person Oscar Grant. Michael B. Jordan acts with so much charm and boldness that makes us feel close to his character. Melonie Diaz as Oscar Grant's wife is also a good supporting actress for B. Jordan's performance as she showed her distinctiveness by depicting a strong, independent yet loving wife and also made sure that she's worth a mention. But the winner for me is Octavia Spencer who played as Oscar Grant's mother, whom eclipsed her performance as Minnie in The Help. I consider her as the main instrument why this true story drama is touching. There's nothing more sad than seeing a mother mourn for the loss of, what she referred in the film, as her baby. Spencer showed such good control and class with her acting by displaying braveness, calmness and sorrow as a mother hoping to see his young son smile again.

Overall, I thought it's a heartbreaking film. Oscar Grant, who was hoping to change, who was hoping to prove to his loved ones how much he loves them cannot prove it to them anymore. Whether they made a fabricated story, Fruitvale Station shows that this tragic incident may happen to any family like Oscar Grant's nd it would be devastating as hell. Sad film. D:

We're The Millers

Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber
With: Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter, Kathryn Hahn, Nick Offerman

The rave this film got from my friends piqued my interest into seeing this film. I'm not the biggest fan of comedies so I wasn't really curious about it. It's kind of funny because I actually watch lots of TV sitcoms but there's something about comedy films that don't excite me, something that says they're not worth the money to see them in theaters. Having said that, I LOVE We're The Millers. Huge fan of FRIENDS here! so it certainly benefited from the Jennifer Aniston casting albeit there are many times when I thought that she's bored to tears like she's wasting her time doing the film. But other than Jennifer, her co-stars Jason Sudeikis, Emma Roberts and the newcomer Will Poulter brought something fresh to the table. They're all unique so it was a riot of different kinds of personalities, characters and humor. It's a teamwork of great comedy and perhaps, I could go ahead and say that it's the family version of The Hangover and Bridesmaids. It has a lot of vulgar and adult humor but for some reason, they're never offensive (at least for me). With its numerous punch lines and funny scenes, it's also not devoid of unpredictability for I can name some scenes that I didn't see coming and had me burst out laughing. One is the 'Waterfalls' rap scene which I thought was genius, the killing of the baby marijuana is another - thanks to Kathryn Hahn's prim antics and Jennifer Aniston's Rachel Green-like performance in that scene, Black Cock Down is one too, alol. The biggest surprise of all is the swollen penis scene. I never imagined they would show a gross thing like it that I was expecting that the camera would pan on the other characters' reaction upon seeing it, but they went THERE, the swollen penis. LOL

I do think that We're the Millers is a success and with its ending, I definitely sense a sequel. Betting that it would be a fail, I would still support it. They have chemistry and they have a lot of room in improving the Millers family storyline.

Saving Mr. Banks

Director: John Lee Hancock
With: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, Bradley Whitford, Colin Farrell

Saving Mr. Banks is inspired by the untold backstory of Walt Disney's negotiation to get the rights for 'Mary Poppins' from the author of the book series herself, P.L. Travers.

There are so many good things about Saving Mr. Banks. For one, it stars both 90s multiple Oscar winners, Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks. The film reminds us how great these actors are. Yes, they've always been great but they're extremely likable in this. It is such a delight whenever both of them are on screen together. Emma Thompson's facial expressions never cease to fail and her constant pffts, ughs and tss are masterfully executed. Tom Hanks, on the other hand, is as charismatic as ever especially that he's playing another charismatic character. It's amusing to watch them play their own versions of the extreme opposite personalities of P.L. Travers and Walt Disney. Both are polarizing in their own ways.

The fact that I only have few knowledge about the characters in the film, John Lee Hancock guaranteed that one wouldn't feel out of place with the film even without seeing the real 'Mary Poppins'. Although, I bet it would have been finer if I've seen it for familiarity. Because you see them trying to adapt the book into a film, from how 'Mary Poppins' developed into a musical live action fantasy. Actually, it made me realize that I've watched some of the clips in 'Mary Poppins' when I was a kid, specifically the 'Let's Go Fly A Kite' scene through VHS of 'Disney Sing-Along Songs' and I have COMPLETELY forgotten about it until I saw this film. It's so cool and refreshing to see it and isn't it always nice to connect some of your forgotten childhood film awakenings to the present ones? I feel like I've adapted one of the themes of the movie which is about bringing something from the past into the present that both Walt Disney and P.L. Travers had in the film except theirs were serious and kind of dark and mine's just petty. :3

Another thing that I commend about the film is that it doesn't rest on its great performers and on the main subject of Walt Disney courting Travers for the rights to 'Mary Poppins'. Instead, screenwriters Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith tell the other tale of where the book series was based. I shan't spoil it for you but it's the source of the sentimentality of the film. Despite this, it never takes away the cheerfulness nature of the film. It's more like a good balance of fun and tenderness. Also, I wouldn't end this writeup without mentioning Thomas Newman's score. I may not like it collectively, but some are magnificent enough for me to like it overall. Film score is important to me because it's one of the main reasons of my intense love for films that's why I'm glad 'Saving Mr. Banks' has wonderful tracks it deserves. It adds up to the many reasons why I'm passionate about it.