Review: Gone Girl

It's been a while since my last review but I hope that I'd make for that absence up with my review for the much anticipated thriller, Gone Girl directed by David Fincher. Fincher is without a doubt one of the best working directors right now, whether you disagree with his methods or not, you must admit that this guy can definitely direct one hell of a film. The book was adapted by Gillian Flynn who was also the author of the book and the film stars Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. So is Fincher's 3 year absence from the silver screen worth the wait or will it just be a dragging unoriginal thriller (is this question really needed?). Find out my thoughts below!

Review: Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno

Anime is probably one of the hardest (if not the hardest) source materials to adapt in a live action film, however the first installment of the Rurouni Kenshin franchise released last 2012 proves that it is not impossible to make a great movie from a great source material. This year however, the franchise is going to release back-to-back films which consists of the second and third installment in the saga. With the second installment released recently, will it be as good as the first one or will it be disastrous sequel? Click on the jump and find out my thoughts.

Review: Guardians of the Galaxy

Marvel studios has been on a great ride with their past films from 2008 upto 2014, but their films were mostly earth based and a bit restricted to cosmic space travel. This time however, Marvel took the opportunity to widen their universe in a much more ambitious way with Guardians of the Galaxy, a team from the comics that is probably not well-known and also expanding the universe of the Marvel films. So, will Guardians of the Galaxy a successful or will it be the start of Marvel's downfall? Click on the jump check out my thoughts on it!

Review: Hercules

Ahhh Brett Ratner, one of the most hated directors in Hollywood right now even though in my opinion not every film that he's directed is bad, you have Red Dragon which was very good and the Rush Hour trilogy which is a whole lot of fun. But what happens when you mix him with one of the most charismatic actors/entertainers today? That actor is none other than Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. So does this pairing deliver one of the best greek mythology films today or will it be another stink-bomb like the god-awful Hercules film that Renny Harlin directed? Click on the jump and find out my thoughts!

Sweet Endings with My Cadbury Barkada

Whoa, what a busy weekend! Why? It's because we threw a surprise early birthday party for my sister, so yay for her but boo for me and my mom since it really took a toll on us haha! That being said though, it was one of the most hectic yet fun experience that I got to share with my sister because I got to spend some parts of the day with her and she was also able to enjoy that day with her friends.

Today though, I decided to give my sister a little treat and I bought her (and also myself) a Cadbury Dairy Milk (almond and fruit and nut) chocolate bar as a way to somehow bond and along side that of course is we took some selfies because in this day and age, who doesn't take a selfie?

How does a Cadbury Dairy Milk gives a sweet ending though? Well for sure there's a lot of reasons but let me give you my three personal reasons. Here they are:

1. It's sweet- It may be a shallow reason but to me it isn't because whenever I eat a sweet delicacy (or in this case, a Cadbury Dairy Milk) it seems like all worries simply goes away and it feels like you are in resonance with everything. Also, here's a little science for ya' "[chocolate] triggers dopamine release in the brain's reinforcement systems" which causes our brains to release some sort of "happy feelings/emotions". So from the mouth of Jesse Pinkman (Breaking Bad) himself, "Yeah science!".

2. It has varieties- Cadbury Dairy Milk isn't your typical chocolate bar because it comes with different flavors or should I say, different fillings. It has the plain ol' bar for the simple people and it has the ones with different types of peanuts for those who wants to try something different. Personally though, I'd choose whichever because it still manages to satisfy me and give me that sweet sensation.

3. It's freaking chocolate, do you need any more reason than that?! 

So here's to my true blue barkada, my sister! Also, as always, thanks Cadbury for the sweet ending! 

Be energized and be on time! #KITKATBreakMovement

We are approaching the month of August, and just few more days away until July ends. This might be one of the most stressful months I've ever been in. Now you must be wondering, what is probably one of the most stressing things to me? Well it's not just me though, it is important to a lot of people too because this coming month is the forthcoming LET examination. Quick trivia, for your information I do have a bachelor's degree in secondary education (so goodluck to me on that one).

That being said, it's very hard to balance all the activities that I'm doing this time, like reviewing for my LET examination, looking for a stable job, losing weight as much as I can and most of all household chores that seems to be never ending because no matter how long you sweep, dirt will appear in a minute (that kinda rhymes!).

The silver lining to this though is the sweet treat that I reward myself every now and then and that is the ever so delicious Kit Kat, I know that it's a bit contradicting to my diet, but we all deserve a break right? Kit Kat surely is one of the best stress relievers around and it damn well is one of my guilty pleasures. Whenever I bite into that soft wafer and the chocolate coating starts to melt inside my mouth, everything feels good and a bit carefree, and after I finish devouring that sweet chocolate bar, I feel so energized. Here's a question though, what if, after eating a Kit Kat bar, you could unlock a skill?

If I could unlock a skill after eating a Kit Kat, it would be time-management, why? Because of this, I mostly procrastinate of almost every little thing I do but that is a bad thing because you will cram and in result your work will be rushed with almost little creativity or little content. If I would have this skill in an instant, I would take advantage of it in a heartbeat and I will start doing everything I can in the proper time so that I would have a proper rest earlier than I normally would. If I could unlock this skill, everything would be in order now.

Well that's it for me, but I want to hear from you, what skill would you want to unlock after taking a Kit Kat break? Comment below and let me know guys! 

Review Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

When I first saw the original Planet of the Apes (1968), I completely loved it, from the story down to the sets. It felt original and really enthralling from start to finish. Upon this film, a franchise was formed and numerous sequels and a remake has been released last 2001 and the reviews have been mostly bad. Come 2011 though, a reboot of sorts was released, it was called "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and it surprised everyone because it was a great reintroduction to the franchise and like the original one, it felt fresh. This year, we have what is probably my most anticipated blockbuster this year which is "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes", will it be better or as good as the original or will it be another addition to underwhelming movie sequels? Click the jump and find out my thoughts!

Review: Free To Play

Documentary is probably my least favorite genre, however, I'm going to admit that most documentaries captures the spirit of film more so than any other genres of film (well, in my opinion anyways). In this review, we are going to dive into the lives of professional gamers in what is probably one of the most memorable tournaments in gaming history. Is this just a way to get people to gaming or is it a way to show how these gamers truly love their life? Click on the jump and check out my thoughts!

Review: Transformers: Age of Extinction

I was never a big fan of the Transformers franchise, I liked the first one, I hated the second one but I didn't mind the third one (but I still think it was bad). I thought that the third film would be the last thing we would hear from this franchise, but I was wrong. This year, Michael Bay has cooked up another installment in the franchise but this time with Dinobots! So is the latest installment finally be something really good or is it another mess of explosions and gratuitous shots? Click on the jump and find out my thoughts.

Review: Ang Bagong Dugo

Even as a Filipino, I'm not particularly fond of films that my country is pouring out in the past years, but whenever it is an action film though, I still give it a chance because it used to be one of the most entertaining genres in Pinoy films. Upon seeing the trailer for this film, the cast got me intrigued and so did the story, and in effect I was cautiously optimistic. Is the film a return to form on action films or is it a failed attempt at an action flick? Click the jump and check out my thoughts.

What will you unlock?

So we're on our second day of the third week of June, time flies huh. Well, we all now how pressured we can be whenever we are stressed or whenever we have so much things to do on our plate, but at the end of the day we can still finish what we are doing if we focused on it. Having said that though, we all deserve our breaks every now and then, and what better way to spend your breaks than to enjoy it with a full bar of Kit Kat.

Up until this day, I have loved Kit Kat ever since I had my first bite when I was a kid, the chocolate coating was so mouthwatering and the crispy wafer was just perfection, and that's coming from a guy who is not a big fan of chocolate.

Did you know that taking a KIT KAT Break can unlock hidden skills in you that make it seem like you can break the impossible?

\So, if you were given a chance to unlock the following skills:

a. Type faster and flawlessly.

b. Never forget any detail.

c. Create awesome presentation decks.

d. Multitask at any given time.

As seen from the picture (and description) above, you are left with four choices and you must pick a skill for you to have, if you ask me, my choice would be the second one (b.) which is "Never forget any detail", now you must be wondering why right? It's because of this, whenever I write my movie reviews, I always forget the one very important thing you should do after writing an article, and that one little thing is proofreading. Proofreading is an important aspect in writing because this is the part where you can read your grammatical errors, the errors in your sentence structure and most of all this is the part where you will know if you missed anything to add or to remove in your article.

If I have unlocked this skill then my worries would be resolved because I will not forget any important details for my article nor will I ever commit any grammar errors on my sentences. Having this skill is very important because every word in an article that you write or in any essay in an exam or reports to finish on your work is very important. Why? Because if your forget even the little details, some people can get critical of that or it can leave a lasting impression of yours or worse, it may end up sabotaging your work and may result to a big misunderstanding of your work.

So there is my simple answer, I choose "Never forget any detail", how about you though, what would you choose among those choices and why? In the meantime, just remember.......

Review: The Fault In Our Stars

Upon seeing the first trailer of the film, I didn't know what all the fuss was about because to me it felt like your typical run-of-the-mil love story. Another thing that was a bit of a problem to me when I saw the trailer was that it looked like a TV movie which at times to me can get me out of the cinema experience. That being said, is The Fault In Our Stars another forgettable dramedy or is it something to be remembered? Check out my thoughts after the jump.

Keep Calm and Watch Movies

Ahhh movies, this is probably my favorite medium of connecting oneself through the form of entertainment for the sole reason that I can relate to some characters and also just to rant and say bad things on movies that I dislike. However, just imagine a world where movies didn't exist...........

In all seriousness though, without films, I would probably say that life would feel empty especially now that I adore films and not only think of it as a great way to pass the time but it is also now a way of my life. Films is probably one of the most divisive topics today because people can agree with your thoughts on it while others will think different, but that is where the beauty comes from, the diversity of each others' tastes in films can be a way to socialize with others or make someone your mortal enemy (just kidding).

Check out my sweet wall

My growing love for films started with the two films that I have watched in two different stages of my life, so if you would ask me the question, “What movie made you fall in love with watching movies?” these couple of films would probably be my answer, "Small Soldiers" dir. by Joe Dante and "The Silence of the Lambs" dir. by Jonathan Demme, two very different films that meant a lot to me.

      

"Small Soldiers" definitely left a mark for me as a child because I was able to relate with the characters while also being invested with the toy characters. At the time, it just felt fresh and very inventive and to see these toys come to "life" was just a dream come true because as a kid the one thing that I always did was play with my action figures all day long and it was a dream of mine for them to become alive (weird right?) and to witness that, even in a different medium felt like a dream come true. Up until this day, I still find time to watch this gem for all the memories it gave me.

This next film that truly made a stop at my love for films and made my taste more complex, and that film was "The Silence of the Lambs", this is one of the first DVDs I ever bought before starting my home video collection. Before watching this, I was more of an action/sci-fi type of viewer but when I saw this film it completely blew me away and changed the way how I see movies and started watching films through the aspects of it like the acting, the original score, the cinematography etc. I have never felt so tense when I first watched this film because it just did everything right, from the execution of the plot to the characterization of the character, and to top it with great writing and sharp dialogue, this film suddenly became one of the best films I've seen in my whole life. This film just opened my eyes on watching films in a whole different level.

Despite my DVD collection though, nothing beats watching films in a theater and the best way to watch it is to have the best seats in the house, but what if you don't have the time to go to your nearest theater at the proper time and most of the great seats are now gone or what if the worst thing happened, you can't watch the film you want to because you don't have the extra time and that you only have this extra 3 hours to kick back and relax? Well, let me introduce to a little friend of mine called GMovies. 

Now you might ask what is GMovies? Here's what they have to say with GMovies:

A first and only one of its kind in the country, GMovies allows you to begin your movie going experience anytime, anywhere! Stay updated with the current and upcoming movie releases on cinemas nationwide, get the best seats and buy your movie tickets straight on your smartphones! Powered by Globe Telecom, this film-tastic mobile app is FREE for download for both Android and iOS users.

Sounds pretty neat right? But personally, here's my reasons on How GMovies is the ultimate pocket app for your movie fix:

• User-Friendly- Before getting into specifics with the app, let's talk about the look of it and how you will use it first. Firstly, the look of it is pretty simple, it's eye-catching but it never felt too crowded in the eyes, secondly, the app itself only consumes a small part of your memory, and it doesn't use too much of it so that you can still have more space on your memory. Thirdly, the app is not complicated to use, some apps are a bit confusing but this one isn't, you can get the grasp of the app quickly. Lastly, the app is FREE!

• Time-saving- Now let's talk about the uses of the app. If you don't have the time to go the cinema at the proper time and to also get the proper seat, this app is just one click away. You can easily choose the time that you want to see a certain film and you can easily reserve your desired seats for your desired time! No hassle about, it's just click and click and you can go about your day. You can also use the app to see what time the film you want to watch is about to show, even though you can't reserve seats, you can still go to the theater early and go seat wherever you want to because being an early bird doesn't always mean a bad thing

• No more lines- This one doesn't really need an explanation but I will still give one for you. If there is one thing I hate about going to watch in a theater, and that is falling in line to buy the tickets. It's just time-consuming and just downright tiring. If you use this app though, you will experience none of that because you can use the app to see the schedule and go early to avoid lines or you can pick the time you want to watch the film and reserve the seats that you want to use. Saves you from all the headache of being pushed in the line or simply just waiting in line.

With those three simple reasons I provided above, I can pretty much say that GMovies is indeed the best pest pocket app for movie and non-movie fans, and with that I give it a seal of approval.

If you want to know more about GMovies, just simply follow their social pages:

- GMovies on Facebook

- @GMoviesApp on Twitter

- @GMovies on Instagram

- GMovies on Youtube

I'm curious about you though, we all have our fair share of stories on how we loved a certain thing, but what made you fall in love with watching movies?

Reviews: X-Men: Days of Future Past

I have always been a fan of the X-Men movies, from the first installment upto the last stand-alone film last year called The Wolverine. I hold the first two X-Men films close to my heart because it reinvented the franchise, but the next installments didn't exactly live up to expectations except for X-Men: First Class and The Wolverine. Anyway, after 11 years (damn) Bryan Singer is back to helm an X-Men film again, so is this good news to the franchise or not? Click the jump and find out my thoughts!

Review: Godzilla (2014)

It's been 60 years since the first Godzilla film (or Gojira) and 16 years have past since Roland Emmerich's abysmal Godzilla reboot. In this new american reboot though, the one responsible behind the camera is Gareth Edwards, the director of a relatively small film called "Monsters" back in 2010. While I wasn't much of a fan of the movie, I'm still confident with the choice of director because he knows how to handle human drama and knows how to keep the audience at the edge of their seat. So will Edwards' take on the King of Kaiju's be as good as the trailer shows or will it be another failure? Click on the jump and find out my thoughts.

"Qweekly" Reviews #9

Hey there readers (if I do have some) so it's been a long long time since I last posted a qweekly review and I hope that this time round I'll be able to post more often than usual. In this installment I will talk about foreign and the usual Hollywood schtick. So click on the jump and find out more!

Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Following off the hot wheels of its successful reboot/predecessor, Webb and co. has cooked up a new sequel for our resident favorite webslinger. This time though, there are 3 villains for this film  (technically) and new sub plots for Spidey to fight. So will this sequel match up with it's predecessor or will it be one of the worst comic book movies ever? Click the jump and find out my thoughts.

Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

With Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World kicking off the Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I have to say that I enjoyed the former but felt "meh" with the latter. As some of you may know, I included Thor: TDW in my honorable mentions of best of 2014 but after rewatching it, it felt flat and the characters are just weak. The third film in Phase II is the sequel to The First Avenger, so is it as good as people say? Find out my thoughts below.

"Qweekly" Reviews #8

It's been a long time since I last posted my Qweekly reviews, so I'm gonna make up for it this time. Today I will share my feelings on the Indiana Jones Quadrilogy (a first time watch) a couple of Oscar nominated films and more. So click on the jump and find out my thoughts on it!

Review: 300: Rise of an Empire

Last 2006, Frank Miller's well renowned graphic novel entitled 300 made it's way onto the big screen. In the said film, Zack Snyder directed the visual retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae, in short, that film has one of the best action choreography in recent years and what is probably one of the most visually striking movie made in the modern era. In 2012, a sequel was announced for '300' but this time with Snyder taking on the back seat and letting Noam Murro helm the film. So, is the sequel better or worse than it's predecessor? Find out my thoughts on the jump.

Review: The Wolf of Wall Street

This could be one of my most anticipated movies ever, why? It's because of two names, Martin Scorsese (my favorite director) and Leonardo DiCaprio (one of my favorite actors). Their last collaboration was in 2010 in a film called "Shutter Island", while it wasn't one of Scorsese's best, it still is one of the best films of that year. Having said that, will "The Wolf of Wall Street" live up to the hype? Click on the jump to find out my thoughts.