My take on About Time ~ Film Review

by Love Esios

photo grabbed from Wikimedia.org

2015 is closing in a few hours. That means, you are able to complete 365 days of your life and in a few, you are going to complete another set of 365 days as we welcome another year full of hopes and aspirations.

But what if your dad told you a secret that you can travel back in time? Will you immediately jump into the opportunity of going back into one of the days in our previous set of 365 and make it better?

In the movie About Time, Tim Lake (portrayed by Domnhall Gleeson) was told by his father (portrayed by Bill Nighy) a family secret --- men in their family can travel back in time. Tim was skeptical at first, but when he tried to go back to the time when he didn't kiss a girl on New Year's day, he was shocked that he could actually do it. And during that time, he kissed that girl with so much confidence and passion.

After thoroughly going through the process of time-travelling with his dad, Tim resolved himself that he's going to use his new-found skill to get a girlfriend. He tried to use it with his first love Charlotte but he wasn't able to capitalize on it. Not until he met Mary (portrayed by Rachel McAdams) on a blind date that he realized that he is actually in-love. And that is the beginning of the real struggle of a complicated life for a time traveller.

Now here comes the question: What sets this movie apart from other films with time travel plots? This British romance-comedy masterpiece of Richard Curtis was peppered with British punch lines that you will truly leave you with a hearty laugh. It has also made me look back on the unfortunate events in my life brought by wrong decisions and impulsive decision-making. It affirmed my belief that love is so much stronger than any fear, doubt or sadness combined.

We may not have the ability to go back in the past and make it better, but I guess this movie wants us to see the beauty of living your life to the fullest every day. And that every day is also an opportunity to make things right and make it the best day ever.

The year will soon come to an end. Another year is about to unfold. May the year 2016 be "about time" spent with the people you love. Spend your time wisely, seize every moment and allow yourself to be filled with love so that you can share more love in return. Let's always remember that unlike Tim, there's not going back for us again. So enjoy the moment while it lasts. :-)

Before I forget, let me give this movie an 8.

Cheers for 2016! :-)

Starting Over Again ~ Review

by: Uel Ceballos

This movie will not bring out the hopeless romantic in you but it will change your perspective about things in life, especially in love. The kind of perspective that most of us have been experiencing but keep on denying: the perspective of reality. If you’re one of those who are still not getting over with their past ex, those who haven’t had a closure with their past relationship, those who still hope for second chance, then this movie perfectly fits for you.

Starting Over Again has a strong ensemble who cracks the wit out of us (Toni Gonzaga), squeezes our heart with dazzling charm (Piolo Pascual), and sends chill to our spine with subdue yet very effective acting performance (Iza Calzado). This film is a comedy drama flick with heavy context on human relationship, not only romantic love relationship but family relationship as well. I admired the way that the screenplay is written because it enabled a very serious matter be brought up into film in a light mannered approach. Surely you would think of this film as some feel good movie that will send you out the cinema smiling and very much thrilled by the love story you’ve justwatched. Uhmm…well, yes it will make you feel like that, but the other way around, not for reason that you are thinking now.

What can I say about this film? Starting Over Again will make you hope in love, fear in love, doubt in love – but most importantly it will make you look in love on a realistic side. Starting Over Again has the unidealized love story that is emotionally ruthless; yet offering generous spectacles of the happy kind of love affair that didn't work but is now subjecting for possible second chance. It will certainly open up your past wounds (if there’s any) that no one can really determine on how you would feel after;at some point this movie is quite unpredictable and maybe that's what makes the great difference from the other typical chick flicks. As they say love is lovelier for the second time around ... the film says that yes it is, but it's more painstaking as well. 

Indeed, Toni Gonzaga gave herself out here, sharing to us her great knacks for comedy. Piolo Pascual who has proven his acting skills in his past projects gave what is being expected from him in this dramedy film. His charm never fails; his screen appearance is a great sight to behold as always. And Iza Calzado, what else can I say for this lady, she only got few moments here in this movie but she’s as remarkable as ever. That particular scene, wherein for couple of seconds she never speaks a word but her eyes alone notably do all the talking – you don't hear a word but you hear the powerful sub-context of her silence, very-Iza-Calzado and I really loved it. And of course the other artists in their supporting roles have done a great job here that added to the beauty of the movie.

The film narration with its series of flashbacks is done with balance; as it able to build up the emotions at perfect pacing, and deliver the climax at right timing. As with the psyche development of the characters, Iza’s character wasn’t strongly established which is may be the reason why at some point of the movie she appeared off and unrealistic. However, Iza’s acting prowess is able to make up for that flaw in the character development. All the rest I think are intentionally delivered in their respective manners for the purpose of strengthening the twist and justifying it after, of which I believed, was given enough justice at the end of the movie.

I love the way they ended this film. Not a perfect one, but deeply and strongly felt. So for this movie I’ll give a rating of 8 Espresso Shots and I look forward seeing more realistic films like this one!

ANNIE HALL, a truly nourishing masterpiece by: Uel Ceballos

Watching any of Woody Allen’s films will really get you glued on your seat, all eyes and ears to everything that’s happening on the screen. Surely, you wouldn’t want to miss any of his brilliant lines which are often delivered in various brainy humorous ways.

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Annie Hall is a 1977 American romantic comedy film that starred Woody Allen himself. He was also the director and co-writer of the film, wherein you can see the Woody Allen’s style of flashback treatment and more of the significant dialogues approach than the action-show-off kind of film story-telling. The entire film is more of conversations, about 70% telling and 30% showing. But with a highly credited director like Woody Allen, the approaches never lack the necessary imagery to form the pictures in the audiences’ view even without literally showing it. You definitely hear it and feel it. You listen to every words, laugh at every humor, sympathize with the characters demises and you will just realize that you’re already hooked on it. Mainly for the reason that Woody Allen never just write the lines, but he write it with full substances. So much substances actually that you will be amazed on how did Woody Allen came to include somewhere in his script about Marshall McLuhan, Rolling Stone, David and Bathsheeba, The Sorrow and the Pity, the Wicked Queen in Snow White and even stereotyping line that compared L.A to Munchkinland!

Annie Hall is a full romantic comedy type with significant quotes that will leave you pondering at the end. Woody Allen who played Alvy Singer here has been trying to figure out why his relationship with Annie Hall has failed to work out. The film gets back to the earlier parts of Alvy’s life where he had the first two relationships before Annie, the first time he and Annie met in a badminton, their lives together as partner, the fights they’d been through and the differences they’d discovered during the period of being together.

Of course, another thing that makes Annie Hall exceptional is the classy musical scoring that set the film in a very romantic mood. The psyches of the film’s characters are marvelously developed and the comical lines being thrown are partly satirical but in a pleasantly amusing manner. There are also lots of remarkable techniques being used such as Alvy Singer breaking the fourth wall, addressing the audiences directly by facing and talking straightly to the camera. Woody Allen has obviously reflected here lots of the remarkable artists’ influences on him, definitely we already know it as the Woody Allen’s style when the flow of script draws so much inspiration from literary works, philosophical ideas, Judaism, and psychological issues.

Annie Hall is such a beautiful movie that will give you good laughs and will set you internalizing right after. Truly a nourishing film, this one is more than just your ordinary romantic comedy movie. This is a real masterpiece that hits something deeply onto your heart and mind. So I suggest you also watch this one and tell me then if I'm telling the truth.

For this one, I will give it a rate of nine shots of espresso. Cheers to quality movie!