The Fault in Our Stars

Director: Josh Boone
With: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, Willem Dafoe

I am one of the lucky ones who didn't read the book so I was spared from the ~feelings~ the readers-turned-fans or whatever have experienced from it.

But even without reading it, it's a given that someone's going to die and it's going to be a major tearjerker so I consider myself prepared for that and I also sort of want to test myself if it's going to break me.

Well, it didn't.

But sweet mother of dramas, it's undeniably and highly emotional. It's a simple movie but it's the simplicity that got me caught up in it. Simple, intimate and poignant. The movie experience is very comparable to the same metaphor Hazel gave to herself, a grenade. That I tried my hardest to detach myself from the characters in hopes of evading the sadness I knew it would provide but it's sort of impossible because the evil duo John Green and Josh Boone ensured that it would make you vulnerable to the point where it's difficult for anyone not to detonate.

The characters Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus 'Gus' Waters are so well-written they would suck you up to feel what they feel for each other. But they're never going to work tremendously if not for Shailene Woodley's aesthetic and Ansel Elgort's (jacket) charisma whose screen presence reminds me of a young Ryan Phillippe. Their eye-to-eye contacts, exchanges of smiles, okays and okays and other sweet nothings, add up the gratifying number of awesome soundtracks, are like traps that make you invest your feelings into them gripping your hearts until they melt. And you lose yet you feel like a winner because you got the essence of their relationship and more importantly the movie. Point is, I really like the characters and how they were portrayed that I refuse to talk about the technicalities of the film thoroughly.

It's also hard not to mention the story of my audience but everyone ate it up from beginning to end. It's kind of hilarious and quite a refreshing movie experience. The squeals when the movie started were so eye roll worthy until I found myself slowly syncing with them eating every cheese and romance of the movie. Halfway through the film, things went differently when I could hear giggles turning into sniffs. I assume these are the readers who already knew what's gonna happen reliving the pages that made them love the story.

But even without those wimps :3, my friend beside me was already bawling her eyes out that it felt like she already shed all the tears my eyes could possibly shed for the film. There's no more left for me because she brought the tears into a whole different level. Poor thing because I told her to buy a pack of tissues but decided not to because she might get disappointed in case the film failed. But it didn't, so she settled for the tissue she got from T.G.I.Fridays. It's priceless and sort of ironic because this is the same person who I went with to watch The Conjuring and didn't show any ounce of fearful emotions while I was busy being scared shitless.

It's pretty obvious that this film pleased most of its fans because of the reaction it got. I must say that the nonreaders were also quite pleased because for one, it didn't reach the point of annoyingness even if the characters are teenagers and it talks about romance. I was moved even if I was quite skeptic about it.

Although it's certainly not for everyone. It's unremarkable especially if you don't open yourself with its romance and grievance. I personally like the first half than the second because it got too dark and sad and awww :(. It's  also not as unpredictable as others claim it to be. But at the end of it all, we can all agree that it's a pretty nice film reminiscent of the classic A Walk to Remember. That a few years from now, I foresee that this would be considered as one of the classic tearjerkers of this generation.

The Amazing Spiderman 2

Director: Marc Webb
With: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane Dehaan, Jamie Foxx, Sally Field, Chris Cooper, Paul Giamatti, Colm Feore, Campbell Scott, B.J. Novak, Embeth Davidtz, Felicity Jones

A massive improvement from its predecessor, The Amazing Spiderman 2 has better stories to tell from Peter Parker's family history, to his love story with Gwen Stacy and to the villains, one of which is Harry Osborn, his long time friend turned biggest enemy.

The underwhelming and forgettable first Amazing Spiderman is well redeemed by its sequel. Although there are times when there's too much stitching of scenes all at once that one would understand why they had to cut Mary Jane's (Shailene Woodley) scenes from the film. There's so many things going on, bombarded by storyarcs and villains that even the villains themselves have their own one.

No complains here because it's more enjoyable this way, just like how I enjoyed the multiple villains of Tobey Maguire's third Spiderman movie with Sandman and Venom. Plus, this makes up for the lame Lizard villain of the first one.

Never a fan of Andrew Garfield. I don't think he can transcend Tobey Maguire as the titular superhero but he's satisfactory here. Although the reason why he's so effective as Peter Parker is because of Emma Stone's appeal. It's probably not right to give all the credit to Emma but to be quite frank, Andrew Garfield's face sometimes look problematic. But they're magical as a duo. They're a real life couple, that's why one can't help but feel the authenticity of Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy's sweet moments especially that they're associated with awesome soundtrack. Last time they had me at Coldplay's Til Kingdom Come, this time they got me with Phosphorescent's Song for Zula (a song also featured in The Spectacular Now :3 Shailene ;_;). You can always trust Marc Webb in terms of soundtrack. Remember (500) Days of Summer?

Emma Stone is just so beautiful and lovable in the film, it's deadly. It's as if every time she appears on the screen, you just love her more & more and this applies both to Gwen Stacy and Emma Stone herself. She's a gem. I love her.

It's unfair to make the monster ensemble a footnote in this writeup because this star-studded film is tremendously acted. Dane Dehaan gave an edgy touch to Harry Osborn, once portrayed by James Franco who I also commend. I've always believed in this actor who actually made my list of best supporting actors of 2013 for The Place Beyond the Pines. Really glad that he took this role because it's way bolder and more reachable for the mainstream audience. With Sally Field's small role, her revelation scene with Andrew Garfield provided one of the poignant scenes of the film. Paul Giamatti was enjoyable. Jamie Foxx, I'm just not a fan. lol

I still prefer Sam Raimi's Spiderman trilogy but what I like about Marc Webb's variant is his playfulness in utilizing Spiderman's powers. Aside from Emma Stone and the soundtrack, Spiderman's webs and acrobatic stunts even in Webb's first Spiderman movie have always been my favorite part. It's one of the better aspects I've noticed in this film compared to Raimi's.

The Amazing Spiderman 2 is heavily plotted, action-packed and sentimental at the same time. I can't imagine and I can't wait to see how they'll follow this up especially with its rather heartbreaking ending. All I can say is good luck Shailene or whoever will play Mary Jane!

Oh and if you haven't watched it yet, there's a badass Mystique scene some time in the middle of its end credits. So timely for Jennifer Lawrence to appear because I can't help but compare her to Emma Stone for reasons I don't really know yet. But yes, that's a tip if you tend to leave the movies while the end credits roll. :3

DECEMBER 2013: The Act of Killing, Blue is the Warmest Color, The Spectacular Now

 

The Act of Killing

Director: Joshua Oppenheimer

With: Anwar Congo

Full writeup

The Act of Killing

Blue is the Warmest Color

Director: Abdellatif Kechiche

With: Adèle Exarchopoulos, Léa Seydoux

Full writeup

Blue is the Warmest Color

The Spectacular Now

Director: James Ponsoldt
With: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kyle Chandler

For those who don't have any idea about The Spectacular Now and want to see it solely because of the trailer, I'm warning you, it's not as fun and romantic as it looks. Sorry to break it to you but this film is not a feel good movie. For sure. People were comparing this to The Perks of Being a Wallflower but the only similarity it has for the latter is its high school setting. The film stars Miles Teller as Sutter, a high school senior and happy-go-lucky party-goer who unexpectedly meets Aimee (Shailene Woodley) in a stranger's lawn after a wild drunken night. Aimee, a not-so-popular 'good girl' of their batch quickly falls in love with Sutter. What starts as a cute romance develops into a serious and quite dark reality of life. For a film with high school puppy love as its theme, this is definitely a heavy one.

Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley does not have the compatibility one look in a romantic film but their realistic connection and portrayal of an unlikely couple transcends to the outcome of their characters' relationship. It's like watching a real life romantic relationship unfold before your eyes when you know that one of them is not good for the other. As the film progresses, your love for Aimee increases but it is the other way around for Sutter, despite being the popular man that he is in his batch. It is in the third act when you'll finally understand Sutter's actions when he finds out deeper and more complex details about his life. It destroyed him leading to a very nostalgic Emma Morley-esque fate for one of the characters. (I also just want to include how it's kind of funny that Miles Teller in this film has an exactly similar slow-motion car scene in his other film Rabbit Hole. It's too comparable it's funny. :3) But anyway, at the end of the film, it gives one of the characters a dilemma whether to accept and give someone a second chance or move on from the people that hurt that character. For the other, it is about correcting one's mistakes and knowing that there's always time for another new and good beginning.

The Spectacular Now emphasizes that high school is indeed a phase in our lives where it's okay to commit mistakes, to make wrong decisions and to experience 'puppy problems' but only because it hones us to be the better version of our future selves. The ironic thing is that when we're in high school, we're not aware of these circumstances. We're carefree and we knew that we had our whole lives ahead of us. Aimee and Sutter are no different and I wouldn't be surprised if most people see themselves with them. But I wish the film was lighter because in the end, most of us consider high school as one of the best stages of our lives.