Category: Critique

There was a moment during the romantic comedy (?), Ticket to Paradise, where I wondered where have I seen this Julia Roberts, George Clooney pairing before? It hits me that they were the central couple in Ocean’s Eleven. That classic heist flick upon which Clooney was trying to win back his ex-wife Roberts. So they’re the same in this movie except Clooney doesn’t want to reunite with his wife. If anything, he wants never to see her again. Yet, their daughter is getting married to a Tahitian seaweed farmer after a real quick romance.

Clooney and Roberts are there to stop this marriage. In paradise. So they have to get a ticket there. To stop it. But doesn’t the beauty of the place make them decide to get back together? Yup. Or maybe because it was an ambiguous ending? I don’t think I liked the ending.

Anyhow, it’s another movie seen in theaters. Maybe I am getting back to watching films? Maybe not. It’s an ambiguous ending.

2 of 5 stars.

Sometimes you just want to watch a movie. That’s how it came to be that I ended up watching Black Adam.

Black Adam stars the Rock. It’s just one of the many this year he appears in. He’s seemingly in everything. One of the things Hollywood seems to be doing is not making any movies without the Rock and I can’t stand it. There are no more movies. There is just the Rock on screen.

Anyhow, I have no idea who Black Adam is in the DC Universe. I do know he’s sort of Shazam’s enemy. That previous sentence barely makes any sense to me. I go with the flow anyway.

Yadda yadda yadda. Black Adam must save the world. He does. Justice League. Justice Society. Etc.

2 of 5 stars.

Easter Sunday is the Pinoy Friday. It supposed to happen on one Easter Sunday amongst the Filipino community in the SF Bay area. It stars comedian Jo Koy and a bunch of other Filipino actors. Did you know Lou Diamon Philips is partially Filipino? Also Tia Carrera?

Back to the Friday’s analogy. The movie had it all. It was meant as a Filipino family film — look at the funniness that is Filipino family life. Then there was a subplot involving gangsters. What?

I guess they didn’t think a film about Filipino family life would’ve been enough. What a missed opportunity. I wonder what happened in the writers room? Did the studio step in? Jo Koy made his name as an observer of Filipino life. He should’ve stuck with what he knew. It is such a disappointment.

2 of 5 stars.

Taikiki Waititi returns to direct the fourth movie starring the Norse god of thunder, Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder. In his previous Norse god movie the really, really good, Thor Ragnarok, he revived the character and the Thor films. In the fourth installment, he went a bridge too far. It sort of reminds me of the third Spiderman film — ambitious.

Doesn’t it feel like the MCU is spinning its wheels? Like where is the Big Bad who will make these films and movie shows worth it? What is the point of it all?

Anyhow, Thor the character is still great. The return of Natalie Portman and her character is welcome addition. Valkyrie is still very cool. But even then it fell short of being a fine superhero film. It is what is is.

3 of 5 stars.

If you need to watch one multiverse movie this year make it Everything Everywhere All at Once. But if you need one from the Marvel Cinematic Universe then I guess Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness fits the bill. The former is the better movie. The latter is just okay.

To be honest, I should’ve written this review a while ago, so I don’t really know what to say as my memory of it is hazy. I guess I should’ve also watched the Scarlet Witch series to get how much her grief has done to her. It’s really so long ago that Everything Everywhere All at Once is just about to be released on video and streaming services.

Anyhow. Be a completionist and watch this film to piece together the next phase of the MCU. And go watch Everything Everywhere All at once because it is that damn good.

3 of 5 stars.