(Movie Round-up summarizes the indie/foreign movies I have seen over the past days.)

I saw Give Up Tomorrow (Michael Collins, 2011) on October 9 at its last full showing in SM Megamall, and there were more than 20 people  in the theater. That's a good thing, because the Filipino public should see this film about a young boy who was unjustly jailed for a crime he didn't commit, due to the public's lynch mob mentality and a corrupt justice system. The film is solid, except that I wish it could be braver. Why did the producers downplay the big fish allegedly behind Paco's arrest and incarceration? [4.5/5]

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Madeo (Bong Joon-Ho, 2009) is beautiful and heartbreaking. It started as an inspiring movie about a mother and her love for her son, but then it developed into the horrors any parent could do to save their offspring. I liked how it started and ended with parallel scenes: the mother dances to forget what she had done. [5/5]

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I Saw The Devil  (Kim Jee-woon, 2010) is an interesting take on the revenge drama, but the cat-and-mouse theme gets repetitive fast. Story is a bit hard to believe, too. [3.5/5]

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OTHER FILMS

Yokai Daisenso (Takashi Miike, 2005) is fun but a little predictable. [4/5]

Cars (John Lasseter and Joe Ranft, 2006) is fun, relatable, and exciting. [4/5]

Jisatsu Sakuru (Shion Sono, 2001) doesn't make a lot of sense, but it gets you thinking. [4/5]

Captain America: The First Avenger (Joe Johnston) was predictable to me. Granted that I only saw it last Sunday, but this means it became stale after The Avengers movie. (2/5)


















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Tightly-plotted and action-heavy, with occasional quips of wit, The Avengers (Joss Whedon, 2012) revives the fun superhero movie format that had been nearly obliterated by The Dark Knight's darker style. (5/5)

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Movie weekend is about the movies I saw last weekend.

I found the plot of The Bourne Legacy (Tony Gilroy, 2012) straining from its own complexity. That ending is also a cop-out. (3/5)



















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Into The Mirror (Kim Sung-Ho, 2012) had an interesting premise, but the other themes, particularly the police drama, hindered its development. Twist is hokey. (2/5)


















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The director of District 9 (Neill Blomkamp, 2009) adequately handled this film's good execution. I would have preferred more explanation on the aliens' brains and biology. This is sci-fi after all. (4/5)

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Movie weekend is about the movies I saw last weekend.

I found the animated film Megamind (Tom McGrath, 2010) funny and groundbreaking. But why do most of the reviewers in Rotten Tomatoes think otherwise? Perhaps because it was released just after Despicable Me? (4/5)

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The Thai romantic-comedy movie ATM (Mes Tharatorn, 2012) is funny, but the slapstick-inspired humor is so dated. Some plotholes exist too, but perhaps the patchy story calls for that. (3/5)

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Movie weekend is about the movies I saw last weekend.