A Moment Like This - Boyhood (2014) Review

Hello! I'm a regular writer now for Elements Magazine, the official publication for the Ateneo Celadon organization. There's great stuff there; do check it out. This is a sample of one of my pieces there.

Image from The Hollywood Reporter.

Why would I want to pay, let alone watch, a movie that just narrates random events of a child? That was the question that popped into my mind when I first heard of the premise of the film Boyhood. Little did I know that that small movie would be one of the most unique landmarks of modern cinema.

Boyhood introduces Mason Evans, Jr. (Ellar Coltrane) as a naïve six year-old and follows him as he navigates life with his sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) and divorced parents Olivia (Patricia Arquette) and Mason, Sr. (Ethan Hawke). As time passes by, we witness several instances in his life. He plays bowling without the safety bars. He camps with his father and they bond over Star Wars. He meets his to-be girlfriend in a party. The film chronicles his life from that little boy contemplating in the grass to the rebellious, emo teenager to the mature college-bound student. There’s no coherent story in the film, which might turn some people off. And yet, every moment somehow seems precious.

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Welcome to the New Age - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) Review

Mo-cap king Andy Serkis returns as Caesar for Dawn. Image from IndieWire.

            Today’s CGI-filled blockbusters seem to be devoid of smarts and human emotion, so how does Dawn of the Planet of the Apes fare?

            Taking place a decade after 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn continues the story of Caesar, who now leads a legion of evolved apes which encounter a group of humans that put both sides into the brink of war.

            Motion-capture king Andy Serkis, one of the reasons why Rise revitalized a near-dead franchise, gives a masterful performance as Caesar. Now the film’s lead, he makes us look into Caesar’s courage, confusion and insecurities through his every move, growl and smirk. Toby Kebbell as Koba, a former test subject in Rise who becomes the film’s villain, however, rivals Serkis. Even when their characters clash, their displays of human emotion grab the screen.

A Look Back at 2013: Thank You Too, Ms. Patty Laurel-Filart

One of the most memorable moments of 2013 was when famous blogger Patty Laurel-Filart visited our Bloggers' Hub back in November. She was one of the rare speakers that our school invited that I actually recognized, and definitely one of the most fun to be with. Not only is she known across the blogging universe, but she is also famous for her modeling career (I see her Watson's ad everywhere), her former job as an MTV VJ, and her famous lineage (her ancestor is former president Jose P. Laurel), so I was definitely looking forward to this club meeting.

In her talk, "Blog Loving 101", she helped all of us club members in creating our blog persona, formulating what our blogs should be about, and the pros & cons of a blog, while she shares many hilarious stories of her life. She gave us many tips, but these are the ones I took to heart:

1. You can't please everybody. 

Just like making a movie or a book, there are people who love our stories and there are some who are not interested. The lack of pageviews or negative comments should not faze a blogger's interests.

2. Think about what you post.

We shouldn't give away personal data that can be used against us. Also, we must not post something that we would take back later. Posting smart and positive things, being ourselves and having fun are good, but we should always keep caution.

3. There are many opportunities in being a blogger.

Making posts can help us discover something new about ourselves. Our blog can serve as a voice in society, since it could reach hundreds of people. Maybe, we can be future agents of change.

4. Be your own EIC.

We can post anything we want, as long as it's appropriate. We can use our own words and language. Humor can easily be expressed. Run-on sentences, however, are a big no-no.

5. Be inspired by the Bible.

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." - Ephesians 4:29

"Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." - Proverbs 16:24

"Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips." - Proverbs 27:2

Later that month, she made a blog post thanking us for a great time in meeting us. Thank you too, Mrs. Filart, for being an inspiration to me, and for your encouraging words to be a better writer!

(Pictures courtesy of Mrs. Filart's blog)

Top Five Most Anticipated Films for the Rest of 2013

Nope, this is not yet a review, since I haven't made the time to write reviews (due to the overload of studies), but here are five films I am eagerly anticipating - and might possibly review - for the rest of the year. But first, here are five honorable mentions, with the top five after the jump:

Honorable Mentions
Inside Llewyn Davis - The Coen Brothers' latest film celebrates the folk music of the 1960s, and stars Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, F. Murray Abraham and Justin Timberlake. Plus, the music was produced by legendary producer T-Bone Burnett, with help from Mulligan's husband Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons.

Ender's Game - Hugo's Asa Butterfield plays Ender, a child military cadet who could be humanity's greatest hope against aliens. Ben Kingsley, Harrison Ford, Abigail Breslin and Hailee Steinfeld also star. Hopefully it's a better version of After Earth. 

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom - The actor playing Nelson Mandela in this biographical movie is Idris Elba, who proved his worth as an actor in his standout roles in Prometheus, Thor and Pacific Rim. Expect nothing but greatness from him.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 - The first film was everybody's biggest guilty pleasure, with a plot so ridiculous and childish, characters so crazy they're obviously unbelievable, and jokes so numerous that it could set the world record for most puns in a movie. Why resist the sequel, with creatures such as "flamangoes", "shrimpanzees" and "water melo-phants"?
  
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Every critic, casual audience member, and fan was surprised when the first film turned out to be good - really good. The Hunger Games was well-acted, well-explained and well-told. Expect this new Hunger Games to up the ante, as Lionsgate recruited I Am Legend director Francis Lawrence to increase the intensity of the next deadly competition. Also, Coldplay contributed a pretty good song for the film.

About Yoda's Picks

My DVD collection of the film series. Wait till you see my action figures and lightsaber collection, not to mention my Darth Vader outfit.

“Always pass on what you have learned."

When I was a young 2 year-old, my father introduced me to Star Wars, a space opera film franchise that was essentially the epitome of pop culture. It not only transformed me into a massive geek, but also made me interested in film itself. Consequently, I also became a film buff, watching movies almost every week to memorizing the official film credits.

As I grew older, my view on film drastically changed: I began enjoying various kinds of genres, instead of my usual preference to action and adventure. Different aspects of film started to matter to me, from the acting, to the techniques used and to the overall plot. I began constantly reading articles in the internet and in the newspapers about films I was interested in, as well as reading a lot of reviews. In fact, they were my primary influences in my writings, other than the books I read.

When I entered high school, I immediately joined the school newspaper, as I grew in my love for writing. I eventually found my place when I started writing feature articles and reviews, which started with my positive review of Inception. As my interest continued to grow, I also started reading other review articles, which also expanded my interests to other forms of media, such as music and books. I started writing random impromptu reviews in my head, with few actually resulting in actual written works.

Hence, I am starting this blog to share my reviews on movies, music, books and others, whilst probably also sharing random moments of my life. I named it "Yoda's Picks" because Yoda is the wisest Jedi Master of the entire Star Wars franchise, and his quotes of advice resonate up to this day. In my blog, I would want to share what I think about media, and, as the Yoda quote above says, pass on what I have learned.

And now, begin, shall we?