ACT OF VALOR

Relativity Media

Rated R

Running Time 111 Minutes



Click below to watch the trailer of Act of Valor.



In Relativity Media's Act of Valor, a Navy Seal team goes on a personnel recovery mission to recover an abducted CIA agent Roselyn Sanchez. The SEALs then search around the world for the terrorists responsible for Sanchez's kidnapping before the terrorists bring their terrorism back home to our country America.

Using active duty U.S. Navy SEALs as the Seal team makes the tactics and action of the SEALs incredibly real. We get to see the weapons and equipment the SEALs currently use on combat deployment, as well as seeing the SEALSs support equipment and their support personnel. The use of the Special Operations Craft-Riverine warboats with active duty Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen, or SWCC, was my favorite part of the movie - especially the way the warboats came charging in for the hot extraction of the SEALs. The film took two years to make as the producers had to work around the SEALs deployments. Watching the SEALs in action made me appreciate the SEALs more for all of the sacrifices the SEALs go through for protecting our country - especially when you consider the SEALs motto is "The only easy day was yesterday."

With the movie having assistance from U.S. Navy personnel and the Naval Special Warfare Command, I can appreciate that this movie is an authentic action film as the SEALs, while in the process of making the film, would not do anything in the movie that was not real and authentic - like the infiltration scenes of their objective areas. I am glad they had water operations that the SEALs were able to do in the movie, since they are Navy SEALs. A lot of the SEALs action scenes were first person shooter scenes where you see through the eyes of the SEAL as they look for targets, especially during night vision scenes. It was great seeing the uploaded camera feed from the UAV for the SEALs to use for intelligence. In other movies, this kind of information appears to come from satellite reconnaissance imagery. This kind of information coming from UAV's is much more believable. The graphics of the locations around the world was a nice idea. Then the graphics would then zoom into the location of the scene - but would sometimes zoom in the opposite direction than what you would expect, which was disorientating.

Having the computer graphics of the team members records makes for a cool introductions, but outside of the team leaders, you do not get to know the team as people - and even then, it was hard for me to tell the leaders apart, since they both looked and sounded alike and had no characterization, except for the fact that one was going to be a father. His story and family life was the basis for the framing story in their civilian lives, as their spouses and children sacrifice so much to support them. The SEALs acting, when they were acting instead of being SEALS, was not that great - but then they are SEALs and not actors. Alex Veadov was more relatable to me as the bad guy than with the SEALs acting as characters. What does come across in the film with the SEALs are the SEALs brotherhood for each other - that they would die for each other. The fictional story is pretty much like it came out of today's breaking news headlines - especially since the story is basically an amalgamation of several SEAL operations.

As a Filipino, I was both proud and saddened that the Philippines and Filipinos were involved in some of the action in the movie. Unfortunately, such things can happen in places like the Philippines in the real world.

At the end of the movie, the audience applauded. The film also listed at the end of the movie the members of the SEALs who gave their lives since 9/11. Sadly, as of 2012, there were a lot of names listed of SEALs who gave their lives. There were much more names on the list than I would have thought would be listed. Considering how good the SEALs were when depicted in the intense action scenes in the movie on what they do, it makes you realize how many intense operations the elite Seal teams have been deployed on over the years to accrue that many causalities. No wonder the Seals have such an intense brotherhood amongst themselves. Over the end credits were pictures of Americana and the real-life heroes who protect our freedom.

"To them and those like them. Damn few."

Rated R for graphic war violence. Running Time: 111 Minutes.

Click below to watch the documentary of Act of Valor.



Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

Pancho's Movie Reviews

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

Columbia Pictures

Rated PG-13

Running time: 95 Minutes



Click below to watch the Ghost Rider: Sprit of Vengeance trailer.



In Columbia Pictures Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, former stunt motorcyclist - now Ghost Rider - Nicolas Cage must rescue a boy Fergus Riordan from Satan Ciarán Hinds who wants to turn Riordan into Hinds new human body.

After his sanctuary has been invaded by Johnny Whitworth, mysterious vigilante Idris Elba informs a reluctant Cage that Cage can be free of the Rider - but Cage must first protect young Riordan. It turns out Riordan's mother Violante Placido made the same deal with the Devil Hinds that Cage did, and now Hinds wants Placido's son Riordan as payment and now Hinds has Whitworth searching for them.

I think this movie is better than the original Ghost Rider. The movie is darker, has more action, and has more of a graphic novel look with it's graphic art, as well as having black and white film noir looking scenes. In this film, Cage wanted to get far away from home after the events of the first movie and to prevent his alter ego Ghost Rider - who becomes embodied in hellfire - from hurting anyone with his ultimate capital punishment. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is also set in Europe this time instead of America and deals more with religion, so it appears to have more of an historical context since Europe is much older than America. The graphic art is used for Cage's narrative back stories about what has happened before, while the black and white film noir scenes were used for the intimate action scenes. The computer graphics of a flaming skull was much more believable as a skull being on fire - and the Rider's motorcycle, and anything else he rides, looks like it was charred by fire. I like the fact that Cage became a father-figure for Riordan. Too bad Anthony Head had such a small role. Aside from being a good actor, for us fanboys to see, Head would have had a stronger role being cast as the monk at the secondary sanctuary - instead of being the monk in the first sanctuary.

Rated PG-13 for violence. Running time: 95 minutes.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

Pancho's Movie Reviews

This Means War

20th Century Fox

Rated PG-13

Running time: 98 Minutes



Click below to watch the This Means War trailer.



In 20th Century Fox's This Means War, top CIA agents Chris Pine and Tom Hardy are best friends - until they compete for the same woman, consumer products tester Reese Witherspoon.

This film has much more action than is typical for a romantic comedy. It helps with the action that best friends, American Pine and British Hardy, are both trained CIA agents - with the resources of the CIA to spy on each other, such as bugging devices and UAV's. Hardy and Pine are also after a bad guy Til Schweiger. The movie was directed by McG, who is known for his action films. The romantic comedy aspect of the film may expand McG's repertoire. I liked that Pine and Hardy actually used the resources of the CIA to spy on each other's dates with Witherspoon - on the pretense of doing a surveillance operation to find bad guy Schweiger. I think I liked Hardy the best between the two stars as Hardy used his CIA training in a paintball game. While there were no James Bond cars, there were car chases.

Naturally Witherspoon is confused as to which of her two dates she should really go for. As a result, Witherspoon gets advice about them from her raunchy best friend Chelsea Handler - who put lonely Witherspoon's profile up on a dating website. Witherspoon only even considers the entire idea of dating after she repeatedly runs across her former boyfriend - along with his fiancee. The romantic comedy aspect of the movie is typical for a romantic comedy, but the action brings the movie up to a new level and actually makes the relationships funnier as tough guys Pine and Hardy try to show their sensitive sides - as well as trying to integrate themselves into Reese's business of a consumer product specialist.

Angela Bassett makes a cameo appearance as Pine's and Hardy's superior in the CIA. Bassett is starting to be typecast as a character who is a superior in secret organizations. Now if only Bassett were given a role where she actually gets to kick butt as a result of being in such typecasting, I would be happy with that instead of just wasting Bassett's talents in such cameos.

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual situations, language. Running time: 98 Minutes.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

STAR WARS - EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE - 3D

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Rated PG

Running time: 136 Minutes


Click below to watch the Star Wars - Episode I - The Phantom Menace - 3D trailer.



Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation's Star Wars - Episode I - The Phantom Menace - 3D, is a re-release of the classic movie of the Star Wars saga in 3-D. This is the first of the Star Wars films that will be released in 3-D theatrically. This is significant considering that this year 2012 is the 35th Anniversary of the original Star Wars. Given a collectible keepsake of the Star Wars - Episode I -The Phantom Menace - 3D real D 3D glasses to use for the screening - when you purchase a tickit to the movie, while supplies last - is a wonderful marketing strategy for the movie, and adds to the experience when you see the movie with the fans. As the films were meant to be seen in the big theaters, instead of on a tiny TV screen, I definitely wanted to see the movie again in the theater and get the full experience. The people behind me were singing the Star Wars theme song when the opening music started. Most people have seen the movie when it first came out, but there were families who brought their kids to see the movie, and the kids seemed to enjoy the movie.

Originally George Lucas shot the movie in 2D and converted the film to 3D for this edition. While there was more 3D than is usual for a conversion, it was disappointing that there was nothing coming out at you. I only recall 1 or 2 incidences like that, and those incidences were during the pod racing scene. I don't know if that is due to the nature of the technology or if they did not want that happening for the movie. Most of the 3D effects deal with depth going back into the picture - even during interior scenes, which is rare. As a result of nothing coming out at you, the traditional opening ship fly-by was not as impressive as I wanted it to be. I wanted the ship flying over my head, instead of flying into the screen. The best 3D sequence was the pod racing sequence, a sequence which is similar to NASCAR auto racing. This is not surprising as the pod racing sequence was the most popular sequence during the film's initial release back in 1999, so naturally they would focus all of their 3D resources on this sequence.

Since I did not have a movie review blog when the movie first came out, I will review the movie now. The movie itself I have always liked as the best of the movie prequels, despite the fact that a lot of people hated it. Overall, the film has basically a good story and there were a lot of good things about it. The Trade Federation has blockaded the peaceful world of Naboo. Two Jedi Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor are sent to negotiate with the leaders - but the Federation leaders betray them. The two Jedi escape the Trade Federation and head to the planet Naboo to warn Queen Amidala, Natalie Portman, but the Trade Federatoin droids have already invaded Naboo and the Queen is not safe there. Neeson and McGregor escape Naboo with Portman. Eventually, they land on Tatooine for battle damage repairs, where they become friends with a young boy - Anakin Skywalker, Jake Lloyd. Jedi Master Qui-Gon is curious about young Anakin - and feels the Force strong in Anakin. So Qui-Gon wants to take Anakin with them to the Jedi Council. The group must now find a way of getting back to the galactic capital of Coruscant and to solve this trade dispute, but someone else sinisterly waits in the shadows.

Granted there was a lot of story detail in the film that many people, including myself, were very critical with. Jar-Jar Ahmed Best was not as annoying to me as he was when I first saw the movie in 1999, but he was still annoying. I could relate to a clueless character like Jar-Jar being suddenly thrown into this situation, but Jar-Jar does not have good table manners. The fact that Jar-Jar eventually becomes a competant ambassador in Star Wars: The Clone Wars shows the growth of the character. The various alien races representing different races like Blacks and Asians could be controversial, but it never bothered me both then and now. The scientific explanation of the Force takes away from the mystical hokey religion aspect of the Force that we grew up with, at least the aspect of the Force my generation grew up with, making the film more of a science fiction film than a science fantasy. This was kind of a disappointment for me, as I liked the mystical energy field aspect of the Force.

Jake Lloyd as the young slave Anakin has the innocent face that was needed for the role, especially when Lloyd leaves both his mother Pernilla August and his home, but Lloyd was not that great of a child actor. Actually, Lloyd's lack of acting works in conjunction to the later films with Hayden Christensen as Anakin - whose acting also was not that great in the films, so in a sense there was a sort of continuity of bad acting in the movies for the character. Actually, I think Lloyd was better as a pilot than as an actor. This allowed him to do things instead of act. Lloyd's relationship with high school aged Natalie Portman as Padme Amidala was cute as Padme is the quintesential unreachable girl. Ewan McGregor was very young in his portrayal as padawan apprentice learner Obi-Wan Kenobi, while Liam Neeson as Jedi Master Qui Gon reminds me of the older Obi-Wan portrayed by Alec Guinness. It was hard for me to imagine young Obi-Wan Ewan McGregor would turn into older Obi-Wan Alec Guinness. McGregor did not seem to fail enough to show the potential growth into Guinness. 

I liked the political aspect of the Galactic Senate, although the impeachment of Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum Terence Stamp was almost trivialized - as there is very little of Stamp in the movie, which is a waste of his talent. However, the political aspect of the Jedi Council has always bothered me - especially with Mace Windu Samuel L. Jackson and Yoda Frank Oz being part of the Jedi Council determining the fate of Lloyd, even though they were correct about the eventual future of Lloyd as Anakin, I felt uncomfortable about how they treated the child Lloyd. They were more critical of the child instead of being supportive for the child Lloyd as most teachers would be.

The iconic devilish character of Darth Maul Ray Park had more dialog than I remembered him having, although officially he only had three lines. The lack of dialog does detract from the menacing aspect of his character, although Park does kick Jedi butt - which the fans behind me appreciated. Too bad Park's voice was dubbed by Peter Serafinowicz, as I think Park could become more than just an incredible martial artist that plays such iconic martial artist movie roles. The foreshadowing of Senator Palpatine Ian McDiarmid for the rest of the series is truely foreboding. The introduction of R2-D2 and a naked C-3PO was wonderful to see.

The end credits added additional 3-D credits, with additional music to cover the length of the D credits once the music for Duel of the Fates is over. The credits at the end of the movie still end with the sound of Darth Vader's respirator.

There is also a short 3-D computer animated cartoon from Blue Sky Studios of the character Scrat, from the Ice Age films. Scrat's Continental Crack-Up: Part 2 at the beginning of the movie is a typical adventure for the character Scrat to undergo, which also includes the voices from the Ice Age movies.

Rated PG for violence. Running Time: 136 Minutes.

Click below to watch the Scrat's Continental Crack-Up: Part 2 short



Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

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