Heneral Luna

Heneral Luna is a story of a Filipino General who in fighting Americans encounters unusual enemies right in his own backyard.

I truly commend the producers of this film.  For the first time since Lino Brocka, I feel that this film truly makes sense in terms of story line, cinematography, special effects, and the superb cast of characters like John Arcilla and the rest. Heneral Luna just made its mark in history of quality Philippine movies that other producers should follow.

Whether history has been fictionalized or tailor-made to fit movie expectations, the film seems to elicit issues beyond what history can offer - we Filipinos can't seem to be united beyond families and power.  In spite of a colorful history, the nationalism we hold on to may be a myth.  Unless we Filipinos change our ways, we still have a long, long, long way to go in attaining true sovereignty.

 Rating: 5/5

Agora

Agora is a film about a female philosopher who has to prove that the earth is not the center of the universe.

The film sought to create the historical Hypatia, an atheist professor who was held in high esteem by the polis and the students of ancient Alexandria world but was brutally killed by a Christian mob. The backdrop of old empire is amazing and every effort to recreate history was commendable.

The filmmakers were careful not to make more violent Hypatia's murder. But the message itself was compelling enough. Whether Christian or not, any violent act should not be justified, even in the name of religion, except for self-defense. Just a word of warning: the film may also have depicted Christianity in an overly negative way, with the words of Christ totally running counter to what the Christians were actually doing during those times.

Rating: 3/5

Apocalypto

Apocalypto is a film of a man who after being captured to be offered to the gods, wants to escape to go back to his family no matter what the costs are.

Mel Gibson, the producer of "Apocalypto", succeeded to produce another film with the quality of "The Passion of the Christ". The film has excellent cinematography, fast acting; there's no boring moment. The screenplay is profound. To re-create the Maya civilization is a big challenge for the producers; they did quite well.

However, the film may have used too much Hollywood conventions and imposed it on the Mayan Civilization; the nemesis were portrayed as truly evil; there's too much feasting on blood and gore.

The message of Apocalypto does not lie on violence, but on the capacity to live with respect to human life. The reality of "family" is the strength of the film. Gibson also gave emphasis to the children. They were not held captives.

Rating: 3.5/5

World Trade Center

WORLD TRADE CENTER
Directed by Oliver Stone
Produced by Paramount Pictures

August 11, 2006 - The film may rekindle traumatic moments for some, but I believe that the WORLD TRADE CENTER has a powerful message that can heal painful memories and and bring about a deeper, livelier spirituality.

It is a story of 2 Port Authority policemen who try to save people but they fall prey when the Twin Towers collapsed and they have to be rescued.

The recreation of the burning WTC was superbly done, the animation blending seamlessly with the actual place. Michael Pena and Nicholas Cage performed realistically the roles of Will Jimeno and Sgt. John McLoughlin. The screenplay uses everyday language. The feeling was right for every scene and the whole film is not about how it was made but rather about the what happened and how everyone felt as they recounted everything that transpired during that fateful day. Recreating the tragic event is the main challenge for this film and much more; it is actual experience of going through the ordeal until the two policemen would be saved.

WORLD TRADE CENTER is an actual event that caused sorrow for the Americans and the entire world. But we only knew it from the news, from the footage of the collapse of the building and the thousands of people who have died in the tragedy. But we haven't known what it means to actually go through the entire experience trying to save people and becoming a victim oneself. This film enables us to go through the actual experience of one trapped in the pile, of someone who hopes against hope that his/her loved one is still alive, and the process of going through the whole ordeal until one is saved by others.

Moreover, I feel that a spirituality just came out of the film. It is not just a story a tragedy. Nor is it a story hating the offenders and asking for justice. It becomes a story of hope that sooner or later, a person in danger of death would have to be saved. It is a story of heroism, a triumph of the goodness of men and women who risked their lives to save others. Most significantly, the highlight of the film is openness attributed to the Almighty, the Lord who is sustaining them and saving people from dying. This is not a film about whether he believes in God or not. WORLD TRADE CENTER showed us an obvious, decisive reality - in the midst of a tragedy, God is still there to be with His people.

I therefore feel that the WORLD TRADE CENTER transformed from an event to a breathing life form. From two tall buildings, it tansformed into real people with concrete experiences to tell. Whether dead or alive, each has a particular, unique place in this with a message of hope to give to others simply becuase of nothing else except faith.

Rating: 5/5