From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)

The latest animated full-length film from Studio Ghibli doesn't disappoint. Armed with a charming landscape and an innocent story of first love, From Up on Poppy Hill delivers an entertaining story that takes place in the '60s about two people who grow closer as they try to stop the demolition of their school's club house, Quarter Latin.

Directed by Goro Miyazaki with the screenplay written by Hayao Miyazaki, I certainly had high expectations. Execution-wise, I enjoyed the progress of the story. Umi's character is established first. She stands as the head of household since her father already passed away and her mother's not home. She takes her responsibilities seriously. She raises her flags everyday, as a way of paying tribute to the memory of her sailor father. Shun is an active participant in the rally against the club house's demolition. He's the hero of the school as he courageously attracted everyone's attention by jumping from the roof of a school building. He makes passive passes to the girl he likes by writing poems and asking her to do some stencils. It's kind of cute. Heh.

I like how the story of the two develops. Shun has noticed Umi (and her flag-raising activity) for quite a while now but Umi hasn't noticed. But the impending demolition brought the two together as they devise ways for them to save it. They aren't very forward with how they feel for each other but somehow, they make it so obvious! But when they are suddenly faced with a problem that can jeopardize their little romance, they are suddenly open to how they feel.

Just like many Ghibli movies, there's no apparent antagonist and the main problem is easily resolved. But for some reason, I'm not a fan of the way the problem was fixed. It seems rushed and the problem seems forced. It's like they just created the difficulty for the sake of having one, just so Umi and Shun would have something to go through. But I think the plans for the demolition of club house is enough trial for the two. I think it's enough difficulty for them to triumph together and to establish their feelings for each other. Or maybe I'm just rooting for the two so much. As individuals, I adore them both. Together, they're flawless! That's why I am turned off by the way the short-lived dilemma is hurled at them.

Petty dilemma aside, I enjoyed this still. My favorite parts are the little moments between our hero and heroine and the times when everyone is re-building and cleaning up the club house.

A bit of me feels as if there's nothing quite exceptional about the movie. But it's pretty nostalgic and I'm a sucker for any story about first love.

I Give My First Love to You (2009)

I Give My First Love To You is a story of a boy named Takuma (Okasa Masaki) who meets his one true love when he's just a kid, the same time that he learns he has a heart condition. Takuma's first love, Mayu (Inoue Mao), is determined to marry him and sticks to him at all times. But just like what Takuma says, their love has a time limit.

I enjoyed the movie from start to finish. I know where the story is heading but I watch it all the same. For some reason, this movie gives me the same feel as the other Japanese movies of the same genre that I've watched. It starts cute, but somehow leads to its tragic ending. I'm saying it from here on because I'm pretty sure that based on the synopsis alone, it's not much of a spoiler.

Takuma knows early on that he doesn't have much longer to live but with every year that passes, he just keeps on wanting to live more. Mayu has been on his side since they're kids and he understands how much pain she suffers because of him. Wanting to stop her from living her life around him, he decides to break up with her. He decides to go to a high school for highly intelligent students, and Mayu knows that it's almost impossible for her to get in that school. But it's not the end of the line for the two because Mayu makes sure that she gets in that school, even hiring ten tutors!

I usually don't like love stories where it's evident that the lives of the leads revolve around each other. But I'm willing to make an exception for this two. They know that their time is short, so what are they supposed to do? Sure, they can live their lives without the other, but they'd rather not. And I see why they do it and I'd probably do the same. Mayu is such a strong-willed character that she just wouldn't accept Takuma's noble idiocy. They are smart people and they may be emotional at times but I like how they both move the story forward. I believe their character arcs have been developed quite well, too.

What I love the best about this movie is Takuma and Mayu's obvious chemistry! Argh. They're just incredibly cute together! Their bickering and every other interaction seem to flow naturally. Inoue Mao is amazing as Mayu. She's clingy but she makes that clinginess adorable. I may be biased in saying this. I'm not sure how I'd react if it's some other actress.

I'm only bothered with how the story ends. I know that they didn't really show much after Takuma dies but Mayu seems to handle it quite well. Too well? Everything she does, she does it with Takuma in mind. It's just quite amazing that she doesn't fall apart when he died. I don't know. Maybe the denial and anger and pretty much everything else that comes with handling someone's death happened off-screen. I hope she manages well. It's not like she wasn't prepared. But they have this few minutes of hope, that Takuma might actually survive! And to have that taken away is probably much harder to accept than not having the littlest of hope.

It's worth a try, especially when you love movies like Koizora. This one, at least, isn't annoying and has an incredibly strong heroine.

Oguri Shun and Okada Masaki Star on Space Brothers

Plot: 
When Mutta was 12-years-old and Hibito was 9-years-old the two brothers saw what they thought was an UFO flying towards the moon. They made a pact then to become astronauts and one day fly into space together.  

Fast forward to the year 2025. Older brother Mutta (Oguri Shun) works as for an automotive company and his younger brother Hibito (Okada Masaki) works as an astronaut. Although Mutta failed to follow through on his childhood promise, after losing his job, he receives a phone call from Hibito which reignites his childhood dream of flying into outer space. (Asianwiki)

I laughed so much when I saw the poster. How can that guy be Oguri Shun?! Haha. You know an actor is serious about his craft when he's willing to go through drastic changes just to play out a character. I've loved Oguri Shun since Gokusen, and I think I'll love him even more in this movie.

I have only seen two works of Okada Masaki (I Give My First Love to You and Confession) and loved him in both. So yes, I am pretty psyched to see this movie. I won't say no to some bromance and brotherly love.

The premise of the movie seems promising, too. It's based on a manga, Ucho Kyodai, and I happen to like movies based on mangas. I wonder how this one plays out. It was already released on Japan May of this year and was screened on the 2012 Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival.

See some stills and the trailer below:

Sources: Asianwiki + FTG

The Reunion (2012)

If you've seen the trailer of The Reunion on ABS-CBN, you're probably as confused as I am. There seems to be no storyline, just a lot of random antics and possible love lines. So here's one that actually has a plot:

Someone definitely heard my wishes when I said I wanted a barkada movie. But I didn't expect that it would be this. I should have included specific details on what I want and who they should cast.

Directed by Frasco Mortiz, The Reunion is about a group of friends who reunites a few years after high school, thus, the title.  It stars the most in-demand actors from the network: Enchong Dee, Xian Lim, Enrique Gil, and Kean Cipriano. And their leading ladies in the movie are Jesse Mendiola, Bangs Garcia, Julia Montes, and Megan Young. What they failed to mention is that Cristine Reyes is in this movie, too. They should have given her more emphasis if Star Cinema was trying to make this a blockbuster. Haha!

Seriously though, with these four guys and four leading ladies, I'm pretty sure fans will flock to the theaters. But I'm not sure if if I'd be one of them. In fact, I have a strong dislike for Xian Lim, Enrique and Jesse Mendiola that it's enough to convince me not to watch it. But it's something that Star Cinema hasn't tried in years. I'll try to conquer my annoyance at the lead actors and try to see them beyond their showbiz personalities and view them as their movie characters.

The major reason why I'm willing to give this a shot is because I believe Star Cinema has the potential to make a good barkada movie. Over the past few years, they made the barkada of the lead roles powerful supporting characters on the life of lead roles. Take One More Chance and My Amnesia Girl as examples. More so on One More Chance, the barkada gives insight and perspective on the plot. Some of them even has their own sub-stories and provide more than just comic relief.

I have one last thing to say, why did they make Janus Del Prado as an extra? Come on, he's one of the best actors of his generation and it's past-time that he should be given a leading role in a movie. I'm fine seeing him on good Maalaala Mo Kaya roles but I want to see a movie with him as the lead. Who's with me?

The Reunion opens nationwide on August 15, 2012.

Intoy Syokoy (2012)

The main reason why I watched Intoy Syokoy was because of JM De Guzman, and after watching it, I realized that I had a pretty good reason. Despite all the snot and grime, JM consistently proves to be cute in every scene, despite his seemingly haggard appearance. Yes, I've been told a couple of times that I'm pretty shallow.

I have nothing much to say about Intoy Syokoy, because there wasn't anything new. Somehow, it felt as if it's a movie we've seen countless of times already.

Based on Eros Atalia's character, Intoy Syokoy ng Kalye Marino is a story of a teenage boy who tries to get by life one mussel at a time. After Intoy's father died due to an accident (or a broken heart, whichever), his mother abandons him. He has no one left besides his friends. He manages to survive each day with the hope of getting out of Kalye Marino, hopefully with Doray, the love of his life.

Besides this plotline, pretty much everything else is reminiscent of 50% of Filipino indie films. It's about poverty, that's pretty much a given. It's about the vicious cycle of going back to zero just when you start to think that you could finally get out of the hellhole. I was waiting for something else, something new. A ray of sunshine to bring some good to the lives of these teens from Kalye Marino.

Tedious is something that comes to mind when I try to think of an adjective to describe this movie. It's long. But I somehow felt as if it didn't go anywhere. We see a resolution to Intoy's love for Doray, who ends up becoming a prostitute when she couldn't find a job anywhere else. But other than that, it's a sad tale for the people who lives in Kalye Marino.

There are some things that I don't understand such as how Doray has AIDS. I'm not that familiar with the disease but I don't think it takes effect that fast. One of Intoy's friend's father is a seaman who died, beheaded by pirates. I don't understand how his head kept in a too simple container reached his home. I wonder if the government sent that container but I somehow think it should be presented in a better manner.

(photo source)

Maybe I expected too much. How dare I expect rainbows and butterflies when white tide phenomena and sexually transmitted disease are normal occurrence in Kalye Marino. But it was a tiring movie experience.

But with all these said, I still think it was worth my time and money. I don't regret watching the movie, and not just JM, too. I think Intoy's character arc is developed well enough. We see him grow as a person. We see him move on from every misfortune that enters his life. But for a viewer, it's all too much to handle.

I only have praises for the cast. I even think LJ Reyes is quite good in this moive. But it was Joross Gamboa who definitely steals the spotlight. He won Best Supporting Actor in the New Breed category for a reason. He seems to have a knack for playing supporting roles that will leave an impression on the viewers' minds. His character is not just a comic relief in this movie, too. It's nice to see him grow from the Joross Gamboa of Star Circle Quest to a respected actor who knows his craft.

I say, give this movie a try. It's not as bad as I make it out to be. But make sure to have your heart prepared from all the possible breaking it has to go through just by seeing JM crushed. I dare you not to want to leap forward and give the poor boy a hug. Intoy definitely needs one (or a hundred).