Wedding Crashers

cast: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams

The good: deliriously funny script
The bad: gets dull
John and Jeremy are expert wedding crashers (Wilson and Vaughn, respectively). They go to dozens of weddings every year, impersonating as relatives so that they can mingle with the crowd, get a taste of the free food and drinks, and ultimately, get the big prize. The prize is, naturally, a single night with a gorgeous woman. But when their biggest wedding crash yet turns out not as well as planned, things start to get a bit out of control.

Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn is probably our generation's most consistently funny and charming comedians. Their presence in a film almost always guarantees a good time, even when the films themselves aren't that good (Dodgeball for Vaughn, or Starsky and Hutch for Wilson). Wedding Crashers is a fantastically good film and the addition of the two comedic geniuses makes the film all the more enjoyable. I'm not sure though if the acting is better than the script. On one point, the two leads ooze charm and dishes out laughs throughout the whole film, but then again, without the script, they wouldn't be half as funny. On another point, while the script is indeed tight and funny, it does lose quite a big amount of steam as the film reaches its final moments. Maybe the film should have ended sooner rather than being forcibly lenghtened with unnecessary scenes.

What is sure, however, is that the film guarantees to be a wonderful time in the theatre. And I'm assuming, more so when you see it with friends. (4/5)

Call of Duty: Finest Hour

The good: well…it is a FPS
The bad: sluggish frame-rate

I love first-person shooters. I love it probably the most next to RPGs. So, it’s of no surprise that I immediately snap up most FPSes. Fortunately and unfortunately, Call of Duty is a decent, sufficient title which should probably hold you over till the next batch of high-profile shooters arrive.

I say fortunate because at its best, the game is a very playable, albeit standard, title comparable to the Medal of Honor series. The unfortunate side is that the PC version accumulated great praise but the console version was trimmed down both technically and features-wise. Unlike the PC version, you only get to issue rudimentary commands to your squad mates. In fact, you only seem to be able to give them a medi pack and order them to run around like a drunken Nazi dancing to the bad tune of Adolf Hitler. I’d surmise that if technical limitations prohibit you from fully implementing crucial game mechanics, then it’s probably best to craft the game in a somewhat different fashion from the original so that the player won’t get annoyed by non-working gameplay elements.

Another unfortunate thing is the game’s overall presentation. FPSes, by nature, should look good, sound good, and play smooth. So when I turn to shoot my M1 Garand at any hapless Nazi, I’d see beautiful sights at 60 frames per second with a woozing clunk of the bullet as I hit the fire button. Yet, the game ignores this basic tenet with sub-par graphics (which can only seem to paint gray shades), a sluggish frame rate, imprecise and annoying aiming function (you have to continually hold L1 to aim at the baddies), and sound effects which disappoint.

But like I said, Call of Duty is still very playable. If only there was more of it; the game ends sooner than you’d think. (3/5)

Stealth

cast: Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx

The good: strangely alluring
The bad: too long
Three Navy pilots are in for a big surprise when they're top-secret unit suddenly gets a new addition to the team. The catch? Well, it's an A.I. (artificial intelligence). Its name? E.D.I. (extreme deep infiltrator - yuck!).

This is pretty much the sum of the whole movie and this sort of tale shouldn't take long to tell. Clocking in at 121 minutes of running time, Stealth feels like 30 minutes overly long. Which is really the film's only major flaw considering the vastly beautiful outcome of what I'd guess is a whole lot of green in the budget aspect of the film. With dizzying special effects and numerous occasions of things going boom, the film moves away from its titular implication -- not a bad thing, though. Speaking of dizzying, the flight sequences in this movie are staggering beyond belief. Fictional high-tech jet planes soar through the open skies, leaving behind a trail of heat waves marvelously created through special effects.

The action parts of this film vastly overpowers its story elements. After E.D.I. goes haywire and does what any good A.I. would do --take control of itself-- the film pretty much wraps up its storytelling stint. This paves the way, of course. for the aforementioned delight coming from the sky-high thrills of mega production values. But with all the craziness perforating the big screen, the actors themselves carry the limited plot and takes it with them in their splendid air sorties. To put it more simple: the actors do a great job.

Which brings me to my final word in this review: great fun! (3/5)

The Island

cast: Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson

The good: probably had more budget than our entire country
The bad: although it's wasted on a terribly boring script
Director Michael Bay is known as the Hollywood version of just about any rock star in history -- cool, no-nonsense, and over-the-top. For this, he's either famous or infamous in the film industry. Famous because he churns out films which defy (or put into shock) normal film budgets (The Rock, Armageddon), delivering mega explosions and thrills no one seems to be able to match up to; infamous for the lack of "soul" of many, if not all of his movies. The Island, his latest blockbuster extravaganza, I'm afraid, falls into the latter category.

Lincoln Six Echo (McGregor) is a clone. He is just one of the many thousands of 'insurance policies' produced by this semi-legal and all-together creepy company run by a certain Merrick (Sean Bean). These clones are raised, kept in a secure facility, and made to believe that one so-called "Island" is the only remaining naturally-habitable bastion on earth, after a contamination apparently ravaged the planet. This keeps them in a satisfactory behavior so that they can properly develop in time for use by their respective sponsors who will use their body parts for various causes. Lincoln, bored of having to be able to do nothing aside from waiting for a lottery which picks clones who'll be transferred to the Island (actually, the lottery winners are those whose time has come to be, for lack of a better term, consumed), escapes from the facility totting Jordan Two Delta (Johansson).

As they try to unravel this conspiracy to the public (Merrick, it seems, is breaking a couple laws on cloning such as allowing the products to develop consciousness -- a key factor in the reliability of their body parts.), Bay furnishes us with enough explosions, debris, and gunfire to last 100 Filipino action flicks. They're all exciting and fun to watch, as is the beautiful scenery and locales features, the marvelous production sets, and the utterly convincing near-future motiff. This film is a treasure for eye-candy lovers. Yet, even with two fantastic actors at the helm, plus a bevy of equally fantastic supporting cast, the film fails to capture the imagination after the initial hoopla.

Part of this problem is the lackluster script. Bay films tend to have scripts which are on the -- how can I say this --weird side. Take The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and the two Bad Boys, and you'll see that there seems to be a preoccupation with bountiful production values as opposed to a tight, engrossing script (I'm not saying Bay films are bad, I loved Armageddon, but the trend cannot be ignored). So whenever there are no pyrotechnics in the big screen, you're better off catching a few winks. You won't miss any plot points, because there aren't any.

When production values triumph over quality storytelling, we get crap like Matrix: Revolutions, but when production values complement quality storytelling, then we get bits of heaven like in the LOTR series. What do you think was the premise behind The Island? (2/5)

New Police Story

cast: Jackie Chan

The good: Jackie Chan
The bad: Hong Kong films just needs a bit more polishing

Arriving at a time when standard action flicks seems to have reached its demise, New Police Story offers a somewhat refreshing, if a bit pointless, take on the dying genre.

Jackie Chan plays the most prolific senior detective in Hong Kong. However, a new breed of disenchanted, rich young adults starts to wreak havoc upon the city -- robbing banks and engaging in shootouts against the police force. In what seems to be a routine stakeout, Jackie and his team gets ambushed and in the process, he’s the only one who gets out alive.

The movie then proceeds to tell Jackie’s story as he walks around like a drunken fool and later, as he returns hesitantly to the force to take care of some unfinished business with the renegade new group. Of course, all this is told through the usual wacky Jackie Chan action style, combining blazingly-fast action choreography with funny antics. Jackie’s trademark walk is, of course, ever present. Surprisingly, the funny antics in this film have been greatly toned down vis-à-vis his other movies. This move comes in favor of a decent yet underwhelming dramatic gloss featuring a mix of unintentional humor and a bit of sadness in Jackie’s crying scenes. Maybe he’s just not cut out for drama, so he should, for me, stick to what he does best -- kicking butt, making fun of enemies, and walking funny.

Yet, for all his lack of dramatic skills, Jackie remains the top action-humor hero in Asia. There’s something, dare I say, magical (I just attracted a few thousand gay mail) in him and the whole movie benefits from it. The movie, in itself, is good and highly enjoyable. The plot is understandably pointless but the riveting action scenes and sky-high production values (wait till the bus scene) carry the film to exciting heights. (3/5)

*Fun fact: What’s my favorite Jackie Chan? That would be the film Who Am I?

Full Spectrum Warrior

The good: innovative concept
The bad: extremely limiting gameplay
If it's true that this game was used by the U.S. Army to train its combatants, then it's of no wonder that they're still in Iraq. Seriously though, Full Spectrum Warrior should have been titled Half-Assed Attempt with its icky graphics, slow-as-a-turtle game pace, and almost non-existent military-ness.

Don't be fooled into thinking that this game is another action-romp through yet another non-descript Middle Eastern locale. Well, actually you do venture into a fictional Middle Eastern locale but there's no hands-on action here. Think of this game as a cross between chess and a really slow-paced game of hide and seek. You'll have control of up to three teams at once and you'll guide them around a bleak, pixilated cityscape. The name of the game is moving from cover to cover and looking for those badly-detailed tangos. Supposedly, you use actual military tactics to flush out terrorists from their hiding grounds including suppression fire, covering fire, and an assortment of grenades, but in practice all these feel limiting and there's no variety throughout the whole game.

I'd have liked it if more military tactics, weapons, concepts made it into the game; then I'd have forgiven its annoying trial and error nature and piss-poor presentation. But, as it is, Warrior just barely breaks the mark of 'experiment' and comes out not nearly good enough to warrant some interest. (2/5)

Lego Star Wars

The good: very little Jar Jar
The bad: one-dimensional gameplay

It must be hard for developers to create movie tie-ins; so many of them, to put it quite frankly, suck. Case in point Lego Star Wars, a weak, uninterested, and under-developed title whose only chance of market success is its bearing of the Star Wars license.

You get to play as your favorite (Qui Gon Jinn, Yoda) and not-so favorite (Jar Jar Binks) Star Wars characters (over 30 in all) in the three arcs of the rise of the empire series – Episode’s 1 to 3. Unfortunately, you’ll only need as much buttons to use as there are quality Star Wars flicks (the old flicks). You jump, swing your lightsaber or shoot your blaster, or use the force or grappling hook for non-Jedi characters, and that’s it. There’s very little in terms of variety and unique gameplay mechanics and even the Lego aesthetic fails to give any semblance of charm.

With crummy graphics, almost non-existent voice acting and inaudible music, a short and all-too repetitive main game, and little replay value, it’s hard to recommend the game to even the most die-hard Star Wars fans. Strictly a kid’s affair. (1/5)

Fantastic 4

cast: Chris Evans, Jessica Alba

The good: Jessica Alba
The bad: the movie
After the greatness that is the Batman Begins movie, you'd think that there'll be some kind of a comic book-to-movie adaptation renaissance. But lo and behold the latest offering from the vast staple of Marvel superheroes: the Fantastic 4.

Of course, as you'd probably guessed from the intro, this film ain't too pleasing. I'd say that the only good parts seem to come from Chris Evan's character, the Human Torch, whose rebellious and immature sensation provides all sorts of comic relief. Jessica Alba, playing Invisible Girl, is a treat all by herself. The rest of the film is an undecipherable mess which seems to go on and on with nary a plot. You'd be wondering when the movie will start, and you'll discover after the credit's roll that it never actually does. So there's no film here, just some cardboard cut-out characters, fancy visual effects, and a cameo, once again, by Stan Lee (creator of most things Marvel).

Fantastic 4 doesn't try to be a good film, it just sets out and tries to make a little buck during this season of summer blockbusters. Unfortunately, that in itself is the movie's main weakness - its no more, no less than what you'd expect from a typical summer blockbuster; and after Batman Begins, typical just doesn't cut it anymore. (2/5)

*Fun Fact: Chris Evans starred opposite Jason Statham in last year's excellent Cellular, a film where he gets in all sorts of trouble after merely answering a call.

War of the Worlds

cast: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning

The good: nerve-wracking moments
The bad: stupid, really, beyong recognition
Steven Spielberg apparently wanted to work on this project around the mid-90's, but the release of the alien-invasion flick Independence Day in 1996 forced him to shelve the idea for a while. Sadly, nine years of wait didn't seem to inspire great ideas for the generally excellent director as his latest film looks stupider than the 1996 blockbuster classic.

The film starts off superbly, with a nerve-wracking and tension-building pace. We're introduced to Ray Ferrier (Cruise), a seemingly ordinary crane-operator who seems up to a great challenge taking care of his two kids, Robbie and Rachel (Fanning), for the 4th of July holiday. Inexplicably, major cities around the world are struck with blackouts and it isn't long before the initial wave of alien invaders arrives.

Appropriately enough, the first 45 minutes or so are crammed to the brim with intensity and visual spectacle the likes of which I haven't seen before. Cars fly around, humans get evaporated, buildings are blown up --- it's all twistedly surreal. The next 45 minutes, sadly, runs out of surprises and one begins to get impatient of the movie's direction. Rachel and Robbie gets to our nerves and Ray as the trying-hard father feels flat and one-dimensional, even with a rather good performance by Tom Cruise.

It is in the last 30 minutes, however, that things really starts to get sour...as in really sour (spoiled milk sour). An out of place, demented character named Ogilvy (Tim Robbins) gets in the picture and I don't really know what happens next. To the film's credit, I would award it with the very 'prestigious' Stupidest Ending Ever trophy for its stunning and tear-jerking close. Trust me, I don't even wanna write about it.

War of the Worlds isn't terrible, far from it in fact. A great source material, with possibly the best visual effects production of any movie ever, plus a solid acting ensemble, all make the film very watchable. But when all is said and done and after all the hoopla over dancing skyways and whatnot, the film just isn't complete - and that's no figurative speak. (3/5)