“Tony Stark makes me feel he’s a cool exec with a heart of steel…”

Boy, that song brings back a sea of nostalgia. No, I was not born in the 1960s, but I did enjoy reruns of the Iron Man cartoon in the 90s. You actually hear the orchestra version of this theme in the movie, much to my glee.

I wasn’t really an Iron Man fan. Back when I collected Marvel comic books, I was more of an Uncanny X-Men addict. I wasn’t too excited by the prospect of an Iron Man movie, which was worsened by the fact that Spider-Man 3 (a.k.a. Emo-Man!) didn’t exactly endear Marvel to me.

Shock upon shock! I actually enjoyed the entire 2 hour 20 minute ride! Not only did Robert Downey Jr. fit the genius/playboy/millionaire role like a glove, he was pretty darned funny about it, too. It was a far cry from how stuffy I remembered Tony Stark was in the 60s. Here he’s like the happier version of DC’s Batman. It helps that Downey is surrounded by a brilliant cast of supporting characters, from Terrence Howard’s Jim Rhodes to Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts to Jeff Bridges’ Obadiah Stane. Add Stark’s mechanical assistant Jarvis and you have one heck of a team. I could tell you, there wasn’t a scene where I wasn’t affected, whether it was Tony Stark delivering a half-meant punchline or when terrorists were picking on hapless little village people. My head was screaming for more when I realized that we were nearing the ending.

As for the effects, I have no words. My colleague Haya has them: “Iron Man wasn’t interesting. But with the CG, gosh! He’s so cool!” ‘Nuff said.

It’s also interesting to note that Iron Man’s theme is a song by the same title, performed by Black Sabbath. I’ve been listening to this band’s music before, courtesy of my boyfriend Nicco, and I was amazed at how it upped the film’s kick-ass level.

Fun!

Iron Man: Entertainment at its finest. Just don’t forget to stay until after the credits roll. You know how it is with Marvel movies. They usually leave the good stuff at the end.

Moving.

That’s how I would summarize the entire film in one word. I was already curious about Ploning when I heard that Judy Ann Santos was coming up with an indie. The curiosity was fueled even more by the fuss that went over how it was going head to head with her mother studio’s (ABS-CBN) other project^*.

Ploning’s story revolves around a 30-year-old unmarried woman in the town of Cuyo, Palawan. Silent but thoroughly compassionate, she touches the lives of the people surrounding her, most especially the innocent young Digo. At first, one would be led to believe that this is a love story, where the hopeful Ploning waits in vain for the return of her lost love Tomas. But as the story progresses, one realizes that the film is less about romanticism and more about love that encompasses different people from different walks of life.

Notable actors are Mylene Dizon as the liberal nurse who takes care of Ploning’s aging father and Cedric Amit as the impressionable five-year-old Digo. We have mixed reactions to Digo: I found him adorable, my friend Cham was irritated. Of course, Ms. Judy Ann Santos as Ploning makes me believe that there is indeed hope beyond the countless screaming and slapping hysteria that define Philippine cinema. Not much tears can be seen on the screen here; the actors made use of subtlety and wordplay to deliver. And deliver they did. I didn’t even notice that my former student, Ira, was wearing mascara until I saw it leave a streak below her eyes. I was swallowing a lump in my throat as well.

Ploning’s storytelling is non-linear and the movie did start out slowly at first, perhaps to emphasize on the kind of slow-paced provincial life the Cuyonans lived. There were a few scenes that I felt could’ve been taken out and some actors, in particular the adult Digo (portrayed by Boodie Fernandez), could’ve fleshed their parts out better. There were also times when I’d feel that there were too many actors than what was needed. Overall, though, I’m happy with the cinematography, the lighting, and the plot itself. The experience was magical. As my friend Elena put it succinctly, Ploning seems like something she’d read out of a hardcover.

*ABS-CBN’s other project, When Love Begins, is a romantic story that stars a middle aged, albeit hot, guy and a very young girl that used to call him Uncle Aga. Needless to say, I’m actually very disgusted with this pairing. If Aga Muhlach wants to be taken seriously as a dramatic actor, he really should take roles that fit his age and stop fishing leading ladies out of baby carriages…unless the role actually calls for a May-December love affair.

Seeing Jet Li and Jackie Chan in one poster almost made me go into a seizure. The fact that Jet Li was in period clothing — something I had not seen since his Once Upon A Time In China days — made the seizure go up a notch.

I decided right there and then that I was going to see this film, even though I had set myself up for disappointment. The movie was about a Kung Fu obsessed American teenager, after all. I was very sure that if they were going to make this into something like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon meets The Last Samurai, it was bound to fail. Then again, I’ve always been a sucker for great action scenes, bad story lines notwithstanding. Why else was I highly entertained by Street Fighter II Movie and Naked Weapon (starring Maggie Q)?

I was pleasantly surprised to find that despite the seriousness of the premise — it is loosely based on the Chinese classic Journey to the West (西遊記) — Chan and Li provided much hilarity. Putting them in one motion picture was a stroke of genius! Who would’ve guessed that they’d have excellent chemistry? The treatment was light-hearted, fast-paced and action-packed. I wished the choreography could’ve been smoother, but hey, I may never get to see Chan and Li together again.

Sure, there were a few scenes that made me cringe, like that feeble attempt at a romantic angle between the accidental hero Jason (played by Michael Angarano) and the token female martial artist Golden Sparrow (beautiful Liu Yifei). I was mentally screaming, “She’s so out of your league!” The stunning presence of the whip wielding, platinum-haired Witch (gorgeous Li Bing Bing) more than made up for these, though.

Don’t expect anything heavy from this one. I’d call this a vacation movie. It’s fun. Let’s leave it at that.

I’m sorry, Natalie Portman. I love you but…

I think I would’ve enjoyed this movie more had I not grown up addicted to the lives of Henry VIII’s wives. The Other Boleyn Girl is 10% fact, 70% fiction, and 20% opinion. Try as I might, I couldn’t bring myself NOT to turn to Elena or Cham (my companions) for my whispered vocal footnotes.

I can’t even begin to enumerate how wonky the story was if compared with real history. It totally belonged to an alternate dimension.

I suppose it could be considered a good fanfic, with Mary Boleyn as its heroine. But if you want a well-depicted period piece, you’ll find that Henry VIII (starring Ray Winstone, Emily Blunt and Helena Bonham Carter) is a lot more (but not exactly) accurate despite its exaggerated romanticism.

At the end of the movie, Elena and Cham mentioned Troy. Don’t even get me started on that…

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a comedy/horror/gore-filled musical that was directed by Tim Burton.

That sentence already tells so much about what to expect from this movie. For those who aren’t familiar with Tim Burton’s works, the following adjectives should suffice: dark, disturbing, highly entertaining. It’s so dark that when you go out of the theater, you’d be surprised to find that the sun is still up. It’s so disturbing that I had to cover my eyes a couple of times. It’s highly entertaining because despite the gore — lots of slashed throats in there — you just can’t wait for what happens next. I swear, I will never look at meat pies the same way ever again.

Kudos to Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter for such stellar performances! The only thing I could have wished for is for another person to sing for Ms. Bonham Carter because whenever she hits the high notes, I could not make a word out of what she’s singing. Other than that, I love her!

When Nicco and I finished the movie, he asked me what I thought of it. The guy’s a Johnny Depp fan, so even though I was exhausted from a draining week, I managed to reply with: “I find it absolutely romantic.”

He stared at me for a long time before saying, “That’s it. You really were meant for me. No other woman could have said that.”