Saturday, February 17, 2024

Four Trips to the Movie Theater

Lisa Frankenstein

I watched List Frankenstein primarily because Filipino actress Liza Soberano was in it (it was her Hollywood debut). As it turned out, the movie proved to be wildly entertaining, fun, and crazy (in a good way). It starts out light and silly then takes a bit of a dark turn while still keeping a lot of its inane and insane humor. I also loved the fact that Liza played a very critical and pivotal role in Taffy and she was present throughout the film. She put in a great performance that got rave reviews from Hollywood critics. Actually, everyone in the cast put in incredible performances, from Kathryn Newton to Carla Gugino to Cole Sprouse. I gotta give props to Cole who had almost no speaking lines throughout the entire movie and who had to put in a very physical performance but he had such a presence on screen that you couldn't help but feel for and even understand him. I really enjoyed this movie and I hope it gets shown in one of the movie streaming services I'm subscribed to because I would love to watch it again.

Anyone But You

I watched this at the theater because I was so stressed at work and I felt I needed a light, check-your-brain-at-the-door kind of movie to kind of forget my worries, even for a brief moment. When I saw that Anyone But You was showing, I remembered seeing the trailer which I found to be quite amusing - "Titanic me" - so I decided to watch it. Thankfully I did because it greatly exceeded my expectations. It's funny and raunchy and delightful but I was surprised that the poignant moments, such as the harbor scene, actually had quite a bit of soul. I also loved the idea of Ben having a serenity song and I have been singing Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" a lot since watching the film. (I have also since added it to my Spotify playlist haha.)

The Boy and the Heron

I read great things abut this movie and when I searched it on Rotten Tomatoes, I saw that it had a very high rating. Plus, it's Studio Ghibli and there is something magical and uniquely interesting about tbe Ghibli films I had seen in the past. I decided to see The Boy and the Heron before its theatrical run in Manila ended. In true Ghibli fashion, it was fantastical, with elements of reality magnificently interwoven into elements of fantasy. While watching it, I could see how much depth the story had, how beautifully it was crafted, and why it was getting very positive reviews. However, I also realized that as a moviegoer, I now seek lighter entertainment rather than more complex and profound stories that require greater thought. Still, this movie is truly a piece of art.

I Am Not Big Bird

I had just watched Enrique Gil's real-life partner Liza Soberano in Lisa Frankentsein and I was still interested in fun, easy-to-digest films so I thought, why not give this local film a go? The premise: lead character Luis travels with his friends to Thailand where he gets mistaken as a popular porn star who gained fame because of his gigantic private part, giving him the monicker Big Bird. I found this film to be absolutely hilarious and completely unhinged. It had me and the audience in stitches. This was definitely the endorphin kick I needed after a stressful day at work.

I hadn't really watched a lot of films at the movie theater since the pandemic, mainly because movie tickets are really expensive now. That said, I realized that being able to put my phone away for a couple of hours, focusing on the big screen in the dark, and getting away from it all even for a short time relaxes me a lot. I really should do this more often (or maybe not too often that it hurts my wallet too much haha).

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