Merry Christmas!

A Merry Christmas to all! May the Good Lord continue to shower His blessings upon us.

Film Review: 17 Again and X-Men Origins: Wolverine

17 Again (2009), Offspring Entertainment
D: Burr Steers
S: Zac Efron, Matthew Perry, Thomas Lennon, Leslie Mann

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), 20th Century Fox
D: Gavin Hood
S: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston

Zac Efron’s latest film, 17 Again, apart from triggering recalls of images of the actor as a high school basketball star in a recent trilogy of teen musicals, has a very familiar plot. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is also familiar as it follows the fairly recent X-Men trilogy that also featured Hugh Jackman as the mutant Wolverine.

The question posed, therefore, is whether or not either of the films provides anything new. Mike, the protagonist of 17 Again, is played by Zac Efron as a teenager. As a grown-up, he is played by Matthew Perry. The casting of the film was actually a concern of mine (and of a friend too I think) given that I initially did not see much resemblance between Efron and Perry. Much surprisingly, however, I was later able to notice similarities in diction and mannerisms between the two. This can possibly be a credit to Efron’s acting ability.

The premise of 17 Again, for one, closely resembles that of the 1988 film Big, although in reverse. Big showed how youth can triumph over the materialism, competitiveness and selfishness of the grown-up corporate world. 17 Again reverses this as it demonstrates how the experience and hard-earned wisdom of age can solve serious teenage issues. In 17 Again, because of some strange occurrence, Mike somehow grows younger practically in an instant. Perry thus becomes Efron, and, as with Big, Mike’s best friend doesn’t recognize him at first. Mike then goes back to high school as Mark. In one favorable scene in the film, Efron as Mark bravely expresses his stand for abstinence—a position I very rarely see in media today. His character fights for this with such emotional intensity, primarily for the sake of his daughter (Michelle Trachtenberg), that the entire classroom is moved and inspired to follow Mark’s example. Unfortunately, other points in the film sort of negate this. As John Mulderig wrote in his review, the film has important messages but has elements in it that limit who can watch the film.

17 Again, by extension, can also fall under the category of such films as Freaky Friday (1976 and 2003) and Vice Versa (also 1988), although this related set of films involves a switching between a parent and a child. Interestingly, according to IMDb trivia on Vice Versa, 1987-1989 saw the emergence of five films with similar premises, one of them actually titled 18 Again!.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine, meanwhile, also comes from a long, if not longer, line of comic book hero movies. Two recent and very successful films, in particular, make the situation challenging for X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

“This film [‘The Dark Knight’], and to a lesser degree 'Iron Man,' redefine the possibilities of the 'comic-book movie',” writes Roger Ebert in a review.

I personally liked Iron Man (2008) very much, and although I haven’t seen The Dark Knight (2008), a lot of the feedback on it that I received were positive. One could then say that X-Men Origins: Wolverine had a lot to live up to. Now, the character of Wolverine, as my father says, is in itself interesting because of the tension between his animal instincts and his human morality. It would be unfair to say that, after The Dark Knight and Iron Man, every comic book film must then entirely shun and abandon the classic format of the genre, but considering Ebert’s statement, which I must say I agree to, I found X-Men Origins: Wolverine lacking in that its plot didn’t seem to be as solid and as structured. Furthermore, like 17 Again, there are parts of X-Men Origins: Wolverine that I wouldn’t want younger kids to watch.

Mulderig uses the words “unremarkable” and “formulaic” to describe 17 Again, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine was not as interesting as Iron Man was for me. So what therefore is the answer to the question posed? Do they indeed provide anything new? Maybe a little, but more would have been much better.

Mirrors

Patty Lazatin's nagging days are finally over. Patty, aka woodycakes, is a proud LJ user, and her blog (ahem)...I mean, LJ has been a source of comfort, entertainment and companionship for many like me. Her love for LiveJournal, however, is directly proportional to her hatred for Blogger, which is unfortunate because I've a been a happy, proud and content Blogger user since 2004.

She's attempted many times in the past to convert me, in vain of course. That is why it may come as a surprise to her that I have finally decided to get an LJ. She's not the only friend I have who has wooed me to move to LJ unsuccessfully, but her cries have been the most fervent.

So what was it that finally convinced me?

A little bit of compromise.

I hope that she is willing to meet me in the middle here as I have decided to mirror this blog in LiveJournal. Thus, I shall be maintaining both sites as identical blogs to appease both LJ fanatics and Bloggers who might feel betrayed.

Transfering my Blogspot posts over to LiveJournal was made possible through Paul Cooley's Blog2Blog application. I would like to acknowledge him here because it made the transfer very easy.

So here's to blogging!

CASTING CALL!!!

AUDITIONS for Student Thesis Short Film

We are casting actors for the following roles:

MAIN CHARACTERS:

Tom- troubled, aimless youth in late teens or early 20’s

Harriet- hardworking nurse and family breadwinner in her 30’s

Dr. Ricardo- small-town orthopedist in his 40’s with a moral dilemma

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS:

Tom’s mother- upper-class type in her 50’s

Harriet’s Husband- househusband in his 30’s

Remy- powerful local businessman in his 50’s

MINOR CHARACTERS:

Aling Lena- landlady

Atty. Attico- prosecutor

Jun- Harriet’s 7 year-old son

Nurse 1

EXTRAS:

Nurse 2

Waiter

Taxi Driver

VOICE TALENTS:

3 Boxing Commentators

Radio Announcer

WHEN:

January 31, 2009, Saturday;

10am to 3pm

WHERE:

Room A107-A (beside Film department),

College of Mass Communication,

UP Diliman

THIS IS FOR A short student thesis film TO BE SHOT mid-February 2009.

If interested, please contact ANNA (0917 4782598) or PATTY (0917 6095141).

Walk-ins are very much welcome.

This is open to pros and non-pros.

Nizzle n Pizzle Episode 105

Lucky Number 8
by Ana and Patty


Nizzle and Pizzle are wondering why they aren't wearing red on such an auspicious day as 08.08.08. They talk about the many superstitious beliefs that their elders or they themselves subscribe to and just how inane some of the old sayings really are. Also listen up for the latest installment of "Ask Anna" wherein guest sage, Double Nizzle enlightens Nizzle and Pizzle about a thing or two -- sans a Magic 8 Ball. Listen to them go not so super serious about superstition.

Nizzle n Pizzle Episode 104

Wannabe Vegetarians Eat Some Meat
by Ana and Patty



Nizzle and Pizzle hang out in the kitchen while waiting to eat chicken and fries. They discuss just how undiscriminating they are when it comes to food. Though Ana can cook, Patty can't light a match to save her life. And watch out for the special guest who drops by! Listen to them rave over the mouthwatering food they see on Asian Food Channel and Discovery Channel Travel and Living -- cause if you can't do, you watch it on TV.

Nizzle n Pizzle Episode 103

Boy Local
by Ana and Patty



Nizzle and Pizzle gab about the different boys they've crushed on. No, they're not that shameless to discuss real boys. Instead they divulge how obsessed they were over boys from the Bagets to Smokey Manaloto. And for ther record, JC De Vera (also known as John Carlo De Vera is OLDER than both Nizzle and Pizzle by a year as he is born in 1986). Listen to them ramble about all the men they've not so shamelessy crushed on over the years on Nizzle and Pizzle at Posterous!.