The Tree Of Life Film Review

Director: Terrence Malick

Starring: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain.

The Tree Of Life which won this years’ Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival aptly closes the 16^th French Film Festival in Manila yesterday, and from the looks of it the film may garner varied reactions from its Manila audience come opening day.

The film is about the meaning of life from the main perspective of one family with Brad Pitt playing the dominating but loving father, his passive wife played by Jessica Chastain and their three little boys.

Technically, the film boasts of an enormous greatness from its cinematography, musical score and its wonderful shots but I was almost at a loss of words seeing all the imagery used by Malick to convey the beginning of everything. It was eye-catching but then I find all the symbolisms way too many that it almost drowned the film.

Its direct dialogues to the audience were almost religious and felt quite empty at times since most of the images were distracting, though, in a pleasant way.

Sean Penn, whom I truly admire, got lost in this film. Why is he there in the first place? I thought that Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain worked it big time together with their effective and relatable portrayals along with the boys. I love how realistic their scenes were.

I’m afraid though, that the film’s too abstract narrative was too high of an art that it may jeopardize its connection to the audience. I asked myself, did I enjoy watching it? The answer was not a certain yes or no but I have polarizing feelings towards it. I love that all the “family” scenes were all inspired and very heartwarming but the surrealist approach that the director is inserting every now and then was a bit too much for my taste. I feel that this film would be considered by some as a snooze fest flick like the Hurt Locker but it will actually force you to watch its entirety with the film’s almost magical presentation.

Rating: 6/10

*On a more personal note, I was able to relate with the kids here. It kinda reminds me of my Dad and how I hated him when I was very young when he cheated on my Mom. Although, there's a totally different circumstances --I totally felt that nostalgic painful feeling of my own experiences especially during the dinner scene when Brad Pitt suddenly got mad with his middle child. Don't get me wrong though, all is forgiven. My Mom passed away last year and my dad was left all alone now (not literally though) -ofcourse he's with us. It's just that, that almost vague feeling of loneliness will overtake your soul with all the images and the grandiose of the musical score of the film.

This review was posted at the Pinoy Exchange Official Movie Reviews where I regularly contribute. Please visit the site to read more film reviews!

-paddylast

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 Film Review

Cinema: Gateway Cineplex 3 – P190

Director: David Yates

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Julie Walters

I was never truly a big fan of this franchise but I am always fascinated to watch each movie. I have never even read the books so I rely solely on IMDB, Wikipedia and the movies itself of course.

I have seen the part one of the Deathly Hollows last year but I fell asleep halfway thru the movie. For some reason, I just slept and woke up during the credits. A big epic fail for me, I know.

This time though, Harry Potter’s final film left a big impression on me that I am now considering on finally reading the books! This finale was perfectly created to leave something for its fans that would truly stay with them forever.

Harry, Ron and Hermionie were all so grown up here that you feel so attached to them watching them grow over the years that you feel like crying when the end credits started rolling.

The visuals are exemplary, the score – we all know how uniquely good it was and of course, the actors are simply superb.

This film though gave a very special homage to Severus Snape who had been one of the villains of this movie series from the start but his character was the perfect example of true redemption! His scenes really made me cry.

The magic, spells, the side characters all made this film a worthwhile film to really enjoy! And ofcourse the ending of Harry’s story will always live on as this franchise come to its end, it just gained a new fan in me.

My Rating: 9/10

-paddylast

Insidious Film Review

Director: James Wan

Starring: Rose Byrne, Patrick Wilson, Barbara Hershey

Insidious is about a boy who succumbs into an unexplainable comatose which leads to supernatural events involving the devil himself.

You can easily tell the similarity of its style to Paranormal Activity, though less canted in shots. That being said, it was mostly the shots that made the film scary. It was a bit slow-paced but I love how subtle each scene was presented in the first half of the film.

Rose Byrne was amazing as usual but the rest of the cast were such a waste. The evil “lurkers” acted much better than the rest of them. Patrick Wilson always reminds me of a one dimensional theater actor.

It actually felt like I was watching two different films forcibly joined together with all the dream sequences of Rose Byrne and Barbara Hershey and the idea of having spirit questors to fight off the evil spirits.

The latter part of the film started to become unbearable but I opted to finish it hoping that the film could redeem itself and fortunately, it did. The last few scenes were scary and give you that creepy feeling as if someone’s about to get you while you sleep.

If you are into the supernatural horror genre, you should go and watch it but do not expect it to be that good for it may disappoint you big time.

My rating is 6/10

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