All Movie Zone

Mark Wahlberg indeed has delivered another fine performance in Shooter. From being an 80’s white rapper, he has metamorphosed into an action star in the late 90s and the trend continues even up to this date. His success is credited largely enough due to the fact that he’s been paired with the best action stars Hollywood can offer – from Chow Yun Fat in The Corruptor to George Clooney in Three Kings and The Perfect Storm. He has also been the starrer in enviable projects like Planet of the Apes, Rock Star, The Italian Job, Four Brothers and The Departed. No wonder Shooter has raked in $44.5 million during its spring break release earlier this year.

I’ve seen trailers of Spiderman 3 and Rise of the Silver Surfer a couple of months back and I can say the latter is the better despite the hype the former has gathered. I can say that the Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer has got more thrilling action scenes than Spiderman 3. However crafted the scenes of Spiderman 3 are, it’s just that the scenes in Rise of the Silver Surfer are more properly executed. Its director, Tim Story, comes from the comedy genre (i.e. Barbershop, Standoff ) but he can pull it off vis-à-vis Sam Raimi (SpiderMan director). Rise of the Silver Surfer is slated for a June 15 release.

Give director Gore Verbinski the budget he wants and he can surely deliver what the moviegoers want. This is exactly what Gore Verbinski has done in directing Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End with equally talented assistance of the visual effects team who can transform anything from replicas to CGI into one of the most amazing movie rides of the year inspired from a mere Disneyland feature. That and the stellar cast of Kiera Knightley, Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and a slimmer Chow Yun Fat (Captain Sao Feng) will surely make producers of other movies showing on May 25, a run for their money.

With a summer release and considering its cult following, “Shrek the Third” or the third sequel of this otherwise bloatedly commercialized children’s movie is a surefire hit, thanks to Mike Myers’s very credible portrayal of an ogre. Of course, this is Mike’s other movie series hit, the first one being the starrer of the live action comedy Austin Powers. Unlike in Austin Powers where he speaks in racy/horny language, Mike Myer’s voice here is very loved by children, definitely already synonymous to Shrek the Ogre.

Will Fiona be pregnant with triplets in this movie? hmmm…interesting. Also anticipated are the quality performances of Rupert Everett as the cunning Prince Charming and Justin Timberlake as (the new character) Artie.

I had the privilege to watch the much anticipated Spider-Man 3, not on the opening day though. I figured, why be one of those first-day watchers, when I can still have the same movie on the 2^nd or 3^rd day, minus the agitation of people. Besides, premiers cost twice (sometimes even thrice) the regular cinema tickets. Okay enough of the grumbling. Let’s get to Spidey!

As expected, Spider Man 3 delivers the goods. From costumes, to music, to special effects, to acting, okay the plot too, the movie was overall GREAT. Something that’s really worthy of our well-earned bucks.

I’m not gonna tell any spoilers here, but I can surely say that Peter Parker/ Spider Man will show some tansformation (and back). And from the trailers, you probably know by now that Spider Man has a new nemesis, or two, or three, or two (whatever). Like I’ve said, no spoilers.

Acting wise, I’d say they were awesome. Tobey Maguire’s good subdued acting is a given. Topher Grace was a revelation. He has showcased a lot of attitude, perfect for his obnoxious role, a departure from his righteous role on “That 70’s Show”. This is definitely his time to shine. But my fascination at this time goes to James Franco, who is so talented to quickly (and successfully) transform from being the good Harry Osborn to a treacherous Goblin…amazing! Now that’s an actor!

Much of the kudos go out to the people behind the scenes. Yes, it took a lot of talented behind-the-scenes people to come up with a movie like this. And it was all spearheaded by no less than Mr. Sam Raimi, who directed the movie and also had the hand in the plot and screenplay (who also employed his family members in this movie, even as extras… and why not?).

The movie had over a thousand talents, on-screen and off-screen combined. And adding the compensation for all of them, plus the production cost, the movie was reported to have spent $256 million to make it perfect. No worries, Spider Man 3 broke box-office records when it earned over $148 million on the USA opening week alone, plus the estimated total of $220 million that it earned from other parts of the world. Simply put, this makes the “Spider Men” and Marvel men very rich by now.

For a real good entertainment, loosen up a bit, pardon the singing and acting of Kirsten Dunst, focus on the web ride and the story, go for Spider Man 3.

Watching movies (whether on the IMAX, regular big screen, or just on the boob tube) have always been therapeutic for me. That short span of time when I escape from reality is enough to veer away stress, inspire me, to annoy me, make me furious, make me fall in love, elevate me to greatness. Then again, it’s all in the mind.

It has been a century since mankind first spent money and raked in money from the movie business, and it’s just getting better than ever. Movies are definitely here to stay… for another century and beyond.