Independesyang Walang Katulad!

"Ikaw ay magiging hari sa kahariang hindi sayo."

Russovoir has been waiting for original films like El Presidente. We have such a rich culture that every Filipino, rich or poor, in good health or sickly, near and far, native and immigrant alike should know with a proper and timeless medium. We should not advance in methods that are still foreign that which rudimentary in result because it's as good as garbage, plain and frank. But Russovoir is getting out of topic, let's go back. El Presidente gave an adrenaline unique of and through Filipino processes. The last time I felt genuine excitement wherein there is knowledge to be gained, experience to encounter, pure charisma of a Filipino classic was Dekada '70 (2002). Any entry introduced after that year, if not apathy, has slowly lost its appeal because sequel after sequel, they don't realize - and the dreadful titles they give them - is like a domino effect: if the sequel fails for a flimsy storyline, the classic likely loses its nostalgic value.

Russovoir has to be honest, the film was too much, too long. Two hours and a half. Quite ambitious for a straightforward movie title: El Presidente: General Emilio Aguinaldo Story and the First Philippine Republic. There aren't too many characters to introduce, aren't too many issues to be broached; it doesn't have to be so detailed on the first hour and a half, initially impressed by its historical accuracy, then wanes, drags, noticeably wrapping up pretty fast in the last thirty minutes because of scenes unnecessary to the film's main focus.

The film could have been shortened. That is all.

Let us go to the characters, Russovoir is in love with them. Casting was, off the bat, near perfect. E.R. Ejercito as Emilio Aguinaldo was a shoe in, Cesar Montano as Andres Bonifacio was a spot on; every character, main, supporting, or just a walk-on gave the film a face of authenticity. Had Mark Miely, the director, been rash, in light of who are trendy in the industry, we could have watched, excruciatingly, Derek Ramsey as Bonifacio. Why not, right? He fits the bill: good-looking and brawny. But Miely values the integrity of the film that which Ramsey has lost from his roles of carnal value than classic. There were actors also that had been stuck in recent (almost years ago) roles where we look at them as they were before. Reputation is quite everything. Previously soaked in cinematic purpose that mere their names are old water when wring, Bayani Agbayani, Epi Quizon, and Hari ng Sablay (2005) Bearwin Miely just cannot be taken seriously. Flowing, receptive rapport short-circuited; shocked but not charred.

Then there is Baron Fredrick von Geisler (above), creating a character comparably detestable, and suspiciously encroaching to Lavinia in Sarah, Ang Munting Prinsesa (1995),  Selina (Princess Punzalan) in Mula Sa Puso (1997), to name a few. Geisler was no more than the disheveled, timid, fondly romantic teenager in classic films Nagbibinata (1998) and personal favorite Anak (2000). At least that's how Russovoir remembers of him. He reinvented himself for the role of a ruthless Spaniard, unforgettable and notable in personage. Ian Veneracion, Wendell Ramos, Will Devaughn, and especially Felix Roco (below), became distinctly promising from their performances.

"Bahala na ang Diyos sa amin."

We just need improvement in our CGI (computer-generated imagery) department - still not convincing - by which international intervention would not kill anyone, certainly not even hurt Filipino pride. We have resources (actors), a handful creative writers and directors (plot), all we have to do is aged (filming) them in a way that what comes out the public faucet (cinema) is a piquant, familiar to call one's own, respected, preferred, the convener to those whose veins run the persevering Filipino blood, San Miguel beer (film).

METRO MANILA FILM FAST 2012

Welcome. You are here because you made a choice. I do not wish to put words in your mouth by saying you prefer quality films, original and brilliant plots. Instead, whatever reason, or maybe even you agree with what I said - whatever works - you are well aware of the unsightly condition that has become a nuisance of the MMFF (Metro Manila Film Festival). I do not wish to discuss further as it will only bring acidity in my words where in many instances, tirades I'm not particularly proud of and accustomed to. I piqued myself that happiness, and happiness alone is what keeps me optimistic about life, its victories and failures, dreams, both crushed and still hopeful.

Quality films channel, primarily but not solely, happiness in me. Temporary, yes, but at least it's recognized and does exist. Leave it to the experts, people who went to school for performing arts (debatable but cognitive) and film making, leave it to Hollywood.

On December 25 until next year, 8th of January, the cinemas will be flooded, unappealing poster after poster of the seven (7) official - more like off-ful - entries of the annual festival. I do not wish to enumerate them, so before I lose you altogether, here are the Top 15 films that were either set aside to give way for the ghastly event, or are independent films whereby its distribution is confined within US territory (it's almost always budget; I do not blame the country). In perfect order, get your Torrent ready to upload or stream, we begin.

15. Cosmopolis (2012)

Status: Promising, Golden Palm nominee

Star: Robert Pattinson, Jay Baruchel

Synopsis:

Billionaire Eric Packer (Pattinson) just wanted to have a haircut at his favorite hair salon when suddenly he doesn't think his life is worth shaving for. Shot entirely in a stretch limousine, a bad hair day is putting it lightly.

14. Playing for Keeps (2012)

Status: Promising

Star: Gerard Butler, Catherine Zeta-Jones

Synopsis:

He is truly a big fish in a small pond when he decided to teach his son's soccer team for a change of perspective. He was doing just fine until the soccer moms eventually find out who he was before.

13. Bachelorette (2012)

Status: Promising

Star: Isla Fisher, Rebel Wilson

Synopsis:

A female equivalent of The Hangover (2009), the "fat friend" Becky Archer (Wilson) got engaged. Her three best friends try their best to throw the best bachelorette party for her even it kills them that they're the ones slim yet they're still single.

RELATED REVIEW: Pitch Perfect (2012)    

Status: Watched, Russovoir Recommended

Star: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson

Synopsis:

Premiered last October 10, The Bellas, a club for the vocally gifted, is a broken record to the collegiate competition of A Capella every year. Club president Aubrey Posen (Anna Camp) spites new club member and aspiring DJ Beca Mitchell (Kendrick) for changing accustomed song routines; she on the other hand, is made of titanium.

12. The Tall Man (2012)

Status: Watched

Star: Jessica Biel

Synopsis:

Abduction of children has been the final plague of the impoverished town of Cold Rock. Julia Denning (Biel) is the beloved nurse of an absentee husband that which his duties are now entrusted to her. A socioeconomic thriller, is a good deed still a good deed if you're the only one can see it?

11. Chasing Mavericks (2012)

Status: Promising

Star: Gerard Butler, Johnny Weston

Synopsis:

The true story of American surfer Jay Moriarity, internationally revered by fellow surfers for riding the Mavericks, the sink-or-swim destination point for aspiring big wave surfers of the world. Moriarity wanted to ride it like a fish needs water; all he needs now is a trainer as thirsty.

10. Deadfall (2012)

Status: Watched, Russovoir Recommended

Star: Eric Bana, Olivia Wilde

Synopsis: 

Premiered last December 5, this edge-of-your-seat suspense will have your brain juice spilling in different directions. Two fugitives are on the run in the middle of the freezing forest, seeking refuge for the impending blizzard. When baby sister found her future, can she let go of her past?

 

9. The Words (2012)

Status: Promising

Star: Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana

Synopsis:

Writer Rory Jansen (Cooper) finally gets his name on the cover on every window display at every frequented bookstore in town. A walking question mark, his book: a bestseller or a freeloader?

8. Premium Rush (2012)

Status: Promising, 75% on Rotten Tomatoes

Star: Joseph-Gordon Levitt, Jamie Chung

Synopsis:

No, this isn't the newspaper boy behind schedule. This is about the persistent chase of bike messenger Wilee (Gordon-Levitt) for he holds an envelope with contents signed, sealed, and delivered to a conspirator. Whether to save a life or save lives, it's how fast he pedals his mountain bike decides.


RELATED REVIEW: Looper (2012)

Status: Watched, Russovoir Recommended
Stars: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Synopsis:    

Premiered last October 17, a looper is a futuristic term for a hitman, paid instead to kill someone from the future. Joe is as good as anybody else when it comes to killing strangers, but when he meets himself thirty years older, fire has never meant all at once of its possible context.

7. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

Status: Promising, Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award

Star: Jake Johnson, Aubrey Plaza

Synopsis:
There is an ad on the newspaper one morning that thought to be just for laughs, an effective stimulant. But not for one magazine company. They took it so seriously, they answered the ad with their pens and notepads tucked in, now uncomfortably as the seat belt secures no safety to one's man claim of a time machine experiment.

6. Anna Karenina (2012)

Status: Promising, Top 10 Greatest Novels

Star: Keira Knightley Aaron Johnson

Synopsis:

Written by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy for which implies shot in the picturesque Moscow, Anna Karenina (Knightley) is the epitome of a love game where betrayal, infidelity, innocence, disappointment, insecurity, and seduction are the six bullets shot almost rashly, it's pathetic.

5. Ruby Sparks (2012)

Status: Promising, 79% on Rotten Tomatoes

Star: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan

Synopsis:

She was the product of her imagination. Determined to publish another best seller, penciled words look more permanent than the indecisive thoughts in Calvin Weir-Fields' (Dano) head. Ink has never looked boring when he finally wrote a promising book about a girl, and it somehow came to life.

4. The Sessions (2012)

Status: Promising, 2012 Sundance Breakout Film

Star: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt

Synopsis:

Getting laid becomes his priority for 38-year old Mark O'Brien (Hawkes) is incurably bed-ridden. Just bed-ridden. Thirty-eight years of virginity will soon be "cured" when boldly he goes calling a sex surrogate, paid to give pleasure to the disabled.

3. End of Watch (2012)

Status: Watched, 85% on Rotten Tomatoes

Star: Michael Peña, Jake Gyllenhaal

Synopsis:

Brian Taylor (Gyllenhaal), a police officer in South Central Los Angeles, notorious for drug cartels and savagery, fancies bringing a camcorder to amuse himself, and partner Mike Zavala (Peña); an unassuming method to arrest the public of the heroic missions they readily cock their guns for.

2. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Status: Multi-awarded, 90% on Rotten Tomatoes

Star: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence

Synopsis:
Based on the book by American writer Matthew Quick, in relationships, there's always going to be rain on your parade, calm waters turn agitated, and Pat Solitano (Cooper) is the eye of his own gathering storm. As if another storm is heading his way but in counter orbit, Tiffany (Lawrence) might have luckily parted a sunshine he eventually saw on her.


RELATED REVIEW: House At the End of the Street (2012)

Status: Watched
Star: Max Theriot, Jennifer Lawrence

Synopsis:
Premiered last December 5, the prying neighbors paid their two cents too many of a particular house where a massacre had happened, as if a dark attic filled with fear took away the good chi. Detour she went to the notorious house where she finds love with Ryan (Theriot); he survived. Darker the attic becomes.



Finally, the top 1 film you should go see because I personally think it's quality more than civic duty. I am proud of what I become, where I come from, how my morals and values from experience and preference are shaped, and it's through them that I know what I'm truly proud of, not because I have to but because I want to. The country has been flooded with pathetic low-quality films over the last couple of years that it's refreshing to see one that interests the wiser minds.

1. El Presidente: 
General Emilio Aguinaldo and the First Republic (2012)
Status: Promising
Star: Cesar Montano, E.R. Ejercito

Synopsis:
Said to be a biographical epic of the life and perpetual influence of Philippines' first President, Emilio Aguinaldo. The knitting of the first Philippine Flag, the composition of the National Anthem, and the seething for freedom; there's a war brewing, and they're coming in hot.

There you go. Now the Top 14 quality films you will miss out because of the MMFF onslaught. There are also films that were moved next year, 2013, for the same reason: Les Miserables, Life of Pi, and Hitchcock.

  

A meager mention, really.

Let us welcome 2013 with patient excitement and a continued passion for quality films of which define the true exercise of art in film making. There are so much in store for us next year; to name them all will only strain the anticipation - I'm biting my lips! To me, wherever life takes me, quality films are what I'm looking forward to.
 

  

A Crisp Sound of a Blockbuster Hit.

Justin Timberlake has a voice modulation that was established in and for the music industry. His recent involvement in the movie industry is a hay stalk in a diamond stack; he neither shines or adds weight to the lot. Friends with Benefits (2011), In Time (2011), these films could've been played by anyone. It has come to Russovoir's knowledge talent comes second best - Hollywood, too, is dirty politics.

Maybe Russovoir lost his keen eye of how acting should be, or maybe the industry is his playground to make films of rather unconvincing performances. Having said that, and looking at upcoming films Justin has signed up for next year, he's not removing the pacifier anytime soon. It's no use ranting - the bridge to the greener side has not been built - all we can do as audience of the manipulative puppet show is to choose between a standing ovation or a tumbleweed silence.

Trouble With the Curve was a re-curve-ry by its compelling plot and Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams. Adams is that actress, possibly resulted from upbringing (raised in Colorado), who is not afraid to get her hands dirty. "Hands dirty" meaning a spectrum of roles vastly different from each other; the "cleaner" the role, not as challenging.

"For a lawyer, you know so much about baseball."

While Clint Eastwood is an icon by default, this is Russovoir's first film of his. It goes with age and maturity, perhaps, to appeal with Eastwood's films. With a reputation to uphold, it is no surprise the film is a million dollar baby, among others of Eastwood's filmography.

There are no words, at least the technicalities of baseball, that Russovoir can, or must say to contribute a positive and credible review on the film. A home run and a strike were jargons that came to Russovoir's knowledge, not from experience, but from earlier films, TV series even (Hey Arnold!) that broached on it. You can probably tell how Russovoir has a working knowledge on every sport. So the trouble with the curve in baseball was yet another information learned.

A strike in baseball technicalities, where then does Russovoir stand a home run for an effective review? What he does best, of course: psychology of the film. The relationship of a father and a daughter is powerfully expressed that for a minute, Russovoir didn't see it as Trouble With the Curve but Trouble With Fatherly Love. A daughter, a child, heck everyone, crucially during adolescent years, wants to feel wanted, to be accepted. Now the trouble begins when it's not given, a child will grow up with a gap to fill, a longing where he/she will spend the rest of his/her - half, if he/she is lucky - life proving to everyone his/her worth. Although in one's perspective that's thoughtful, to the ones doing it, it's a constant battle of purpose.

"I said, I'll think about it."

Understand what Russovoir is talking about in Trouble With the Curve. One doesn't need to be a baseball fan - Moneyball (2011) was taken differently and still loved it - to enjoy the film. It's for everyone who has a father, estranged fathers for intensity. The rest will follow, what particularly is the curve and why is it such a menace.  

I do believe in the Guardians! I do! I do!

The child in Russovoir felt like crying, and sure enough he didn't have enough innocence to do so. It didn't have that untainted, childlike idealism. Russovoir, however, always has an open mind when it comes to the curiosity of a plot, always carrying a shaker to put inside every film with a pinch of salt. The number of films Russovoir has watched, to equate, has come so far to still just a sachet.

"Let us keep [them] believing." is DreamWorks', and every seasonal film there is, particularly Christmas, especially the animated, constant reminder, a harmless imposition of the unreal, surreal, and the once truly felt gullible thrill. Now, Russovoir must be talking outside himself here because, he admits Rise of the Guardians did able the child in him frolic around the darkened room. Right, that must be it; it explains why Russovoir was so absorbed that even though there was absence of innocence, there was something - yes, he believes there was really something - that disabled boredom and derision.

"We'll always be here, in your heart."

The story, was in fact, and Russovoir owes a high five to himself, surprisingly well-written. There were back stories that seem unavailable growing up; a reasonable perspective that seemed information unrealized for which Russovoir took by a handful because he's got nothing to lose on a film primarily for children.

The brilliance of this film can only been felt by whose mind, frankly one's personality that precedes them, kept and has been nurturing the child inside, preserves imagination and maybe, just for an hour or two, tidy oneself of depravity, experience, and mundanity in a small corner of the brain to make room for what is the refreshing story of the legendary guardians of hope, happiness, and Christmas spirit.

Movie Recommendation Time: A Bag Of Hammers.

A bag of hammers (metaphor) - a burden; a cross to carry.

"... but the thing is, it's what you do with these hammers - when you get 'em, because that's what shows you what kind of a man you are. Even if you're not ready to be one yet." - Ben.

From losing a child in Seven Days (2010) to acquiring one in A Bag Of Hammers, destiny has an uncanny way of choosing the films Russovoir timely has the mood for. The poster was eye-catching and the cast were young adults; Russovoir prefers young adults as they likely to be in roles that are relatable and almost always distinct in character, a validation to be different. And there, in addition, in tiny print, Amanda Seyfried was cast. Seyfried was in a handful of films iconic of her. Including but not limited to Mean Girls (2004), Dear John (2010), and the lesbian kiss with Megan Fox in Jennifer's Body (2009). She's a bombshell, from her Jolie lips and well-endowed bosoms, the 26-year old actress has an ass and an asset to the film industry.

Immediately, familiar faces caught Russovoir by a visual blow. Sky High (2005) elastic bully, Lash, Jake Sandvig was a delight, now plays a major role, which he did coolly surprisingly. After Seyfried had her take - brief yet masterful performance - the plot strikes itself at a precise recklessness of a person hurting himself with a hammer. Chandler Canterbury (picture below) moved Russovoir to tears, provoked by the weight of the plot in which Russovoir has never seen before.

"I got Penthouses. I got seven of 'em."

Canterbury is a child prodigy. At 12, he cries on cue. Impressive. It's almost a shame Russovoir just knew of him with this film, basking on the consolation A Bag Of Hammers is the film that he's finally gotten a major role, noticeably suitable and deserving of such role.

Two charming delinquents live their lives with nothing ahead of them, just living for themselves. Bros before chores. They are on the faster lane of life when suddenly, 12-year old Kelsey came uninvited to their porch one afternoon with a rusty heart and life's been a flat tire.

Movie Recommendation Time: Seven Days.

There is absolutely no greater pain than to bury your own child before they do. It's like you already failed as a parent yet you have so much in store for them, so much love to give in due time. But irreversibly, you have to swallow the pain, the guilt, the planned years, like a series of bad medicine with varying intensity. Uniquely torturous.

Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart dug a hole in Russovoir's heart, left it gaping, hallow, and unobtrusively numb in Rabbit Hole (2010). Below zero - not with a cold heart, instead heart was as if submerged in icy water, pulse froze - sympathy for Ethan (Thomas Dekker), who explicitly didn't know any better, was arrested for child negligence in Angels Crest (2011). Parenting, let alone babysitting, is serious business. There will be unforeseeable circumstances that threaten the lives of the ones you most love, you once vowed to protect because life is unfair like that. You imagine a million ways to prevent it from happening, to have been there when it was happening, to turn back time, to wish it was you instead of someone who has so much to live for. Where was God? Where was He when 8-year old Jasmine Hamel was savagely raped and murdered? Seven Days is unsettling, traumatic, because there is no resolve to deprive a father of being one.

"Your daughter was not the only one."

A doctor husband and a gallery owner wife were having breakfast with their daughter, whose birthday invitations had to be delivered door-to-door around the seemingly peaceful neighborhood. Not a single invitation was received when seven days turning 9 Jasmine was found lying on an empty field, pallor body unresponsive, legs awkwardly open; it wasn't exactly birthday sex than child molestation.

With a degree in medicine and surgery, Bruno, the father to a dead daughter, blew the life out of the pedophile as if it were evenly distributed into seven candles, for seven days, lasting on her baby girl's birthday. If only every scream of pain recovers his.

Movie Recommendation Time: The Jacket.

First it was The Pianist (2002). Then Detachment (2011). Russovoir has been captivated with Adrien Brody for his choice of films like a pianist in detached concentration. It was only, and only fate, that a film of his came to his fancy, inspired by the general perception of what Brody signs up for from realized roles. The Jacket (2005), in between film masterpieces mentioned, is an underrated masterpiece. 

Almost poetic in celluloid, it took Russovoir a good hour to understand the subtlety of its plot. He was not satisfied, he played it again, coming close to an emotional jar. Partly maybe the film had a note of bittersweet - eventually it'll be sweet; you'll see - romance. And the other part, an emotional infliction against oneself for being heedless on such a pivotal hour. Going back to the scenes of which were in oblivion was the only solace. Russovoir cannot allow a film, any film to pass him without fully grasping its story. However ambitious, ambiguous, or just plainly dull the plot is, his brain after all has the final decision of its recall reflex.

Strap yourself in, and strap them well, because anyway, they won't matter. The Jacket however strangles the mind, a mindfuck of genius. Interest that rapidly brims towards the end, as if overcompensating the void of confusion it left; that good thing to those who waited.

"I was 27 years old the first time I died."

"I was 27 years old the first time I died." The line Russovoir didn't know what to expect at all. The title itself gave nothing away to the gist of the plot; a brilliant ruse. What went on were assumption after assumption that stifles Russovoir in agitation; the excited agitation.

Russovoir won't say anything more that would reveal the well-thought-of story it unfolds. Best believed Russovoir is already excited had you put this on your list. It has given him adrien-aline.

IMMORTALITY for the CULLENS.

Russovoir thinks life could have been bitter and empty if he had read the four (4) books of the The Twilight Saga, spoiling the heart-stopping - at the same time, blood-draining - finale of the franchise.

Quick tip: Hollywood has this habit of turning books to movies. And having read them, knowing the ending, is a bit of a thrill killer. One way to circumvent this is to leave out the final chapters of the book that you personally think will ruin the mood of its anticipated film. I have done this to the The Hunger Games Trilogy. On the other hand, not reading them at all is another thing once to often blissful.

Russovoir knows a good plot if he sees one. Absolutely regardless of what the minority - a good plenty - thinks otherwise. The onset of the The Twilight Saga interests Russovoir not because of who played what nor what is remotely applicable to society, to relationships. It has always been about the innovative approach of the saga. It was risky for Stephanie Meyer, the author, to frankly distort the universally recognized and accepted image of a vampire: their lifestyle, their strengths, weaknesses, their physical and mental dispositions. But that's the intention of creative writers. To distort. To invent. To think outside the box. For that, Meyer is immortalized by her craft.

Now the aesthetics of the blood-curdling finale, no spoilers.

Kristen Stewart. Absolutely - fucking - amazing; Edward Cullen's very words himself. The public eye knows of her as expressionless and vapid. Up until she turned, Stewart only stayed true to the character of Bella, an overthinker by which there are grave consequences on the horizon. Peculiar behavior of Swan writhe Russovoir as if a pair of fangs stung deep when it was revealed. Stewart, and Russovoir has always thought so, is one valuable actress by attributable roles.

"So beautiful. We're in the same temperature now."

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 answers all questions of the critics. It ties all loose ends, coming to a full circle as lingering in which insatiable as the Harry Potter series. It must be a bane to society - the intolerant society, slowly forgotten as succeeding authors create their own versions of vampires, werewolves, and how vampires should not sparkle, and what a "better love story" should be, but Russovoir, God as his witness, The Twilight Saga is one of the greatest novels ever written. Ambitiously risky - how books should be.  

Movie Recommendation Time: Moonrise Kingdom.

Adorable, enviable, and slightly bothersome, young love is a tricky plot in which we must not give the impression that love really conquers all, lovebirds forget how to build their birdhouse. Intuitively, Russovoir believes the trend of young love flew us a hundred plus more miles south from the setting of Moonrise Kingdom to star-crossed lovers Romeo + Juliet by William Shakespeare. Two warring families, covert meetings, an illicit affair for which made it more insatiable as forbidden must be, as it is risky, worthwhile.

Classic puppy love films that still avert one's mood with similar dogma of one's dog impatiently waiting for you after a long day, My Girl (1991) and Little Manhattan (2005) were a paws up. Maybe throw in Little Rascals (1994) for those familiar scenarios where a group alleviates mutual tension. Conversely, half way across America to New England, tension is a barren forest. Moonrise Kingdom is rebellious, willful, but eventually one realizes kids, who have yet to go through life, had they already understood the true and simplest nature of one of the most complex entities - love, must be wiser than we think.

"Look into my eyes. Do you love each other?"

The most destructive hurricane recorded in history was no less than a week in insurgence in the fictitious island of New Penzance. But there is a collection of the state of minds more conniving than the condensation of rain clouds. Two anachronistic wildflowers found their own sanctuary conspiratorially, to grow freely. Be that as it may, but there is a storm coming, and these impatient wildflowers have yet to realize that their thin stems and developing petals need nurturing.

HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: The Thompsons.

There are only a handful of films of vampiric plots that Russovoir is proud of. He has never seen genius story-making than them, deviating from cliche and circuitous love plots that is more predictable than the heart's daily, perennial pulse-cedure. Worst, a derivative of the million-dollar movie franchise The Twilight Saga. They have managed to think outside the box. The coming-of-age of a clueless bloodsucker in Midnight Son (2011), a civilized way of sucking in Daybreakers (2009), an aggressive cult of bloodsuckers in 30 Days of Night (2007), and a deal made with a demon to live forever in The Forsaken (2001).

Then as oddly as often, films shown in Britain (London FrightFest Film Festival, e.g.) always seem to find Russovoir, a sweet surrender to his taste. The Thompsons (2012) was bloody brilliant! Bee's Knees.

"I am nothing like you!"

A sequel to The Hamiltons (2006) of the same production company, The Butcher Brothers, The Thompsons stands alone with its plot regardless. The film was generous enough to recount the accounts of the Hamiltons turned Thompsons for ulterior purposes. Or-fanged children of the original, first generation vampires are wanderers, both finding their places in the world, and lost, longing for their parents' guidance. Each Thompson now is responsible for one another so that when their baby brother was shot - vampires are uniquely, closely human here; they bask in the sun - they cross oceans and oceans to seek help from existing, unfortunately in hiding vampires for a cure. What little knowledge they know about themselves seems harmless and just lapsed than the unreliable knowledge they know about other vampires.

It's a WHISKY business.

Cheers to Shia LaBeouf, a performance as hard as a straight up vodka.

Shia LaBeouf has proven himself even before Lawless. In fact, Russovoir was bent to watch Lawless because of his well-received, and well-maintained reputation in shia-ning light of his films that surely were of his discretion to play. To his shia-ck, LaBeouf has grown so much since Even Stevens (2003). On which until to this day, Russovoir can't help comparing him with in an almost possessing nostalgia.

He knows the art of pain, re-beouf of all unnatural front, as sincere to be vicarious as Kristen Stewart with her own art of brooding and ponder, Speak (2004). Alongside his independent films, Disturbia (2007) Eagle Eye (2008) and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), Lawless is yet another film that proves his audacity and expertise as an actor of value, maturing in the industry as if strategically.

"Invincible. I don't know what that means but it sure sounds good."

Brutal and merciless, at an antiquated time where a gun shot is deafening, Lawless is the declassification of Virginia's foaming secret. The Bondurant brothers have each a role to play to keep the liquor flowing for eventually it will be strained. Like a mad frat party, they came for the alcohol and will stop at nothing to get it. But here's the kick that burns one's throat. The Bondurants are the hosts and won't entertain if not for the agreed, familiar wrist lock.

An Unf-ARGO-ttable MOVIE-ment!

The trailer was a trail leading obscurely, the poster was a post sufficiently inadequate, Argo was initially, and Russovoir couldn't honestly be more ashamed in admitting, an indifference. Not limited to Ben Affleck where his affleck-tion is "okay" since The Town (2010), the title, the "colorood" (color + mood) of the picture - probably even the moustaches - all contributed to the adamant withdrawal.

Russovoir even made the mistake - such unfounded audacity - it's a waste of film. Eureka, Russovoir  has a friend telling, persuading him otherwise, as if the universe shall not grow older without watching an edge-of-your-seat historical feat film. It revealed a snapshot of US history, what was once was top secret, that this generation should be aware and commend the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Canada alike for. That even if deprived of the advancement and technology before, espionage has already made the engine before the wheel.

"Hi, I'm Kevin Harkin, and I'm sending you home."

It was the best bad idea they've got, and it will work if everyone conspires. That is the very essence, the moral lesson if need be, of Argo. The number of films that shows and proves US has one of the most organized and reliable security services cannot be counted. Let alone the CIA, a government-funded organization responsible for parting a sea of information leaking onto the people who tread dry land. What descending of Air Force One (1997) is ascending of Argo, the distress is palpable as it is oddly exhilarating. Trust Russovoir he stiffened.

    

Before it was CLIMAX, now it's a LOOPER.

Russovoir wishes he could tell you right now, right here the loop of Looper that felt like - how fitting this is - a roller coaster ride.

As if life was kind enough for a precaution, unsolicited and completely at random, a seemingly frank woman who clearly has watched the film said it's an hour too long. There are only a few films that are acceptably two (2) hours long; in fact I can only think of one movie franchise: Harry Potter. Everything else who tries to break the standard length of a film must have a story so well-written, so compelling that time has to seem it didn't matter, brain disabled the need to pee. To Russovoir's disappointment, he did remember looking at the time with brewing impatience, wondering how will this movie end, an hour and a half of "loop tying" gone by. It must have a compromised ending; a loop poorly done, it's not gripping. Then like a noose, the film's loop constricts! Russovoir felt death all around the room.

Russovoir didn't breathe; ten seconds of unblinking, surreal climax.

"I saw how a mother would die for her child..."

It was a mood changer, the last twenty minutes. It was honestly, and frankly genius story making. In result, Russovoir didn't mind that Joseph Gordon-Levitt had so much cake and facial corrections (to look like Bruce Willis as closely as possible) that looked like he just came from a botox procedure. All the same, he is knot a bad actor, to say the least. There is action, there is suspense, and why Russovoir didn't see it coming he applauds Hollywood, there is motherly reform.

Pitch Perfect: Sound of WUB! WUB! Music.

Russovoir remembers, has it been four (4) days now, Russovoir remembers applauding with snorting laughter. Not that it's unusual that he applauds at something remarkable in the movie house, he remembers it because the applauds were done alone and brazenly.

Pssh, killjoys.

Pitch Perfect is nothing short of a long overdue musical film. You see, in a cordoned nutshell (it means no spoiling), it is a story of creating newfangled, upbeat music apart from the shing-a-ling-a-lings and wo-o-wo-os (The Carpenters (1970), Yesterday Once More) - truly classic - that bore the Dubstep generation. The WUB! WUB! age.

"I call this the Mermaid dance."

Rebel Wilson (above) made the film loudly hilarious. Besides the energy from the aca-mazing acapella voices of performances placed strategically throughout to prevent an overdose of euphoria, the tastelessness of a routinary medicine. Think Rock of Ages (2012). Like Skrillex's last insatiable bass drop, Russovoir admits Pitch Perfect gave him a songbook of happy notes and good feeling rhythms inside that the outside rudely soundproofed due to demanding deadlines.

PUBLIC NOTICE: Pitch Perfect is exclusive to Robinsos Malls.

Top 10 Most Fashionable Gentlemen in Enderun Colleges.

Before I begin, I would like to apologize, on the expense of Russovoir, that this article is not about a movie. This is in celebration for the 1,300th visitor of his blog, CESTLAMOVIE, first seen up and running 10th of June 2012, exactly four (4) months old now. This cornucopia of the best movies Russovoir has seen is nothing but a portal of happiness, putting into words what has been pulsing madly in his head every after a great movie experience. While Russovoir is all about the aesthetics and magic of cinema, I, Russo, is about and inspiration-dependent of people, which doesn't really string far from cinema. I am pulsing with theories, ideals, and thoughts that shape who I am and hopefully what I want to become.  

Looking good is sort of a hobby of mine. It's, say, "passion", but far from making a career out of it. I find joy in dressing up like personality finally can be seen. With that, there is a contained, almost elusive smile for men who, somehow, from penny loafers to a dress shirt one wears, I see myself. It's pulsing in my head, so for good riddance, allow me to recognize the men that are consistent with their individual style and why they have been getting away with it.

10. Allen Dela Pena - The Weight Advantage

    Runner-Up: Miguel Del Rosario 

Jennifer Lopez once said, "I want the clothes to fit me, not the other way around." in Monster-in-Law (2005). One's worth is a crucial factor that provides an answer whether your clothes has to fit you or you fit them. Lopez just has the plumpest ass. It's an asset, so we understand what she's trying to say. Weight, on the other hand, is personal and conditional. Simply put, no one forces you to lose weight. What pleasing you put on yourself is the best proof that you love yourself.

9. Gyeong Hee Min (Kevin) - The Imported

Runner-Up: Jericho Tanangco

In this mass-produced, avant-garde-deprived, easily bemused locale we call nowadays, the bold is beautiful. From the pair of oxfords bought online, to the limited stock, and the one of a kind pieces that seem to always get lost in time and space (e.g. Supras, leather jackets), the foreign and the classic strike us by surprise. But trust me, for what the work and worth expended, it serves about right. Much less of attention-seeking than of attention-grabbing. There's a difference.

8. Luigi Santos - Bask in Build

Runner-Up: Matthew Regalado

The clean look for gentlemen never fails. Quite fortunate for one's genetics as there is ease and kind of, implied tendency to look good because you feel good. The universal truth is this. A man will only know how to dress himself if he is aware of what it will do in his favor. Interlacing somewhere in a man's DNA is a genetic instruction that states, "I am good-looking, I'd be fine with a plain Fred Perry."

7. Miguel Sermonia - The Breadth Winner

Runner-Up: Enrique Yabut

The distinctive quality is their framework: taller, broader shoulders, lithe to a lean physique. They're like mannequins: pieces fitting snugly, however simple and ordinary, it falls into the right places. Their height is such an asset that standing out is pretty much mandatory. And if that wasn't unfair enough, the Lord God gave them a critical eye for color coordination and impressive style. Criminal.  

6. Daniel Roleda - The Weight Disadvantage

Runner-Up: Sherwin Gope

Remember, the more you expand, the choices for clothes shrinks. No one likes to wear something that doesn't flatter them. It beats the purpose of being seen in them in public. If weight is the problem that prevents you to have what you think you deserve and long to wear from the best selection of clothes, you are your solution.
  
5. James McDermott - LV: Loud and Valiant

 Runner-Up: Dan Samson

I start to nod in pleasuring approval for men who are secure enough for spring colors, of the fedoras, blazers, and oxfords. A statement is louder on gentlemen. Make no mistake, it's noise for the eyes if not mindful. A stylish gentleman always go for the discreet but daring. The likes of McDermott are the unsung handful that are able to define it, and sport it (results may vary).

4. Dan Kaw - The Snob

Runner-Up: Jul Morado

Do you ever stop and really read the terms and conditions of anything? We don't, really. Well, certain gentlemen can snob the terms and conditions of style, and still look good. They seem not to invest money on the "good shit" for clothes, but they always seem to dress just fine. They seem not to care for themselves at all, yet they seem content. One would think they must be wearing much more than commercial fabric, much thicker than wool; they are wearing cool.

3. Ron Hortaleza -  The FAUX-fessional

Runner-Up: Carlos Medalla, Alumni

Clothes can deceive people. I'm sure any man of Enderun had been asked where they work, when in fact they are still a college student. We get respect from our fauxfessional look. A gentleman can pull this off because he walks the talk, poised and measured in manner. He has Jaeger LeCoultre to withstand the test of time, and with his uncompromising values intact and determined dreams written on brittle stone, he reflects his choices of style: of and for the blue-blooded.

2. JM Pabiton - The Pro-CASH-ional

Cash is king; Cash can dress you like a king. Affluent men and style often go find themselves in the same page as debit and credit on a balance sheet. There is nothing more admirable and frankly more masculine than a man paying for his things. Blood, sweat, tears, and sleep were risked just to sustain a family, support a child, a sibling, a lover/wife, or simply strengthening one's arm and leg because a Prada briefcase echoes hard work. Simply put, a cashmere sweater is for the gentleman who is his own bread and butter.

1. Jack Tuason - The POWER-fessional

"Sir Jack, are you wearing Fred Perry?", to which he replies, "No I don't think so. Converse." The next day I bought a Converse shirt. POWER is INFLUENCE, and influence creates a ripple in society as pervasive as a loose thread on a shirt pulled rashly. Round-framed glasses are attributed to John Lennon as evidently as Steve Jobs for black turtlenecks. Locally Enderun, he was a second g-lance for his flamboyant bow ties. Guess who? Character is embedded, embossed, emanating from the clothes - accessories, of a reputable gentleman.

The true august gentlemen dress with the careful and selective stitching of honor and glory into almost everything they put on. This is why some notable men dress effortlessly that attests one of life's greatest paradoxes: it takes so much effort to be effortless.

Egos will be stroked; suspicions will arise, but despite that, let this be a challenge to every gentleman listed here to continue putting color into your wardrobe, the symphony of trendy and the classic, the wedlock of metrosexual and heterosexual, and still able to go home and provide and make love to your woman. Had women were an accessory, they've gotten a limited edition. It is truly comforting to know that there are men who still know, and are not ashamed, what a corsage is.

  "Be daring. Be different. Be impractical.
 Be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary." - Cecil Beaton.

 

s-HAWKE-ing but Insidious retains SCARIEST!

Russovoir applauds the finding what's already outside of the box and putting it back in. Sinister personally is a mesh of Children of the Corn (1984), Paranormal Activity (2007), and Insidious (2010). Without going so much into detail to avoid, to quote Dr. Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory), your mind of being preblown, the film is not exactly predictable despite elements resembling the mentioned films. It's a whole new experience - not as realistic as Insidious - but it's an experience - say, a new figure of scary - relatively one's while.

It's been a while Ethan Hawke has come out and play, so I commend him for that. Or Russovoir  has just been - surely unconsciously - apathetic of his prior films (Do comment films of Hawke's you personally think grabs one by the talons). And there's the reappearance of child actor Michael Hall D'Addario from People Like Us (2011); he was a familiar face. Longer hair, vaguer in gender (for the record, he's a boy). First it was Isabelle Fhurman whose very face is indelible as the sex-starved, latent dwarf in The Orphan (2009). Tenuously, The Possession's (2012) Natasha Calis as the possessed, troubled 10-year old. Sinister didn't have as intimidating a character but the film has set a standard - ingenious standard, I must add - to all aspiring horror films. Let's just agree it's a relief Hollywood succeeds in creativity than Shake, Rattle, & Roll 14. Fourfuckingteen.

"Did you say eater of children's souls?"

Furthermore, Baghuul was a hauntingly refreshing sight (on the screen, center). Trust Hollywood creating a character from scratch, provided of course eclectic inspiration. Entities coming from harmless objects (in this case, a Super 8 mm camera) dates us back to that film that unwind an unrealized fear of global magnitude with just a videotape, The Ring (2002), an adaptation of Japan's Ringu (1998). With an element proudly one of ours, Feng Shui (2004), this is a horror film as convenient as products that have a 3-in-1 spin. Quite sinister.

Brokeback Mountain: LAPD Edition.

The poster, after all, was deceiving. Russovoir expected End of Watch to be a cutthroat action thriller with a noisy gun orchestra as the only audible music in between deafened screams and cries. Russovoir thought it's a grim story of cat and mouse that will have to make the picture shaky and shady which almost often motivates staggered naps.

So when Russovoir found himself crying, he felt punch-drunk harassed.

It just could be either the well-written, well-paced plot, or just solely Jake Gyllenhaal. He was just this completely new character no one expects but everyone concedes once done. Then again, Russovoir has yet to watch Jarhead (2005), that he thinks is still uninteresting until today. He can be vulnerable and sensitive in one scene and assertive and aggressive in another. It's almost hard not to admire this 31-year old man. The amount of tenderness in End of Watch is pleasantly reminiscent of one of his notable and career-turning films, Brokeback Mountain (2005). It's like the inimitable personality of James Dean has finally shown itself - took a lot of practice, perhaps - to an actor of distinctly inimitable personality on itself. He is simply a bright sticky note on a corkboard. Among other sticky notes.

"You got a big heart for hooking up with a policeman."

The film is a glimpse of the everyday life of policemen; one being roughly nine (9) months ahead the other - partners, i-got-your-back kind of friendship for Taylor (Gyllenhaal) and Zavala (Pena). For a policeman in downtown Los Angeles where crime and violence seem staple, they need each other's back like a gun needs a safety lock. The progression of events confuses you at first because you don't know what the film's focus is: the nature of their jobs or their personal lives. Then you gradually realize the once thought unrelated scenes both were significant actualities to agitate two (2) particular emotions, as if they were the two wires that trigger an inner explosion. Russovoir came to recognize this as anger, so angry that he felt helplessly weakened and just burst into sorrowful tears.

End of Watch is beautiful despite savagery. A film of brothers from different mothers that captures how they work. Truly much respect is given to the Los Angeles policemen for their courage and dedication to their posts, where peace and order are assured only until they die.