A summary of all the good points from the original trilogy - ****

The Force Awakens is the first of a new set of trilogy following episode VI, Return of the Jedi.  Star Wars creator George Lucas knew right at the shoot of Empire Strikes Back that there will be a sequel trilogy but it did not materialize until he decided that he will not make another Star Wars film. But the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney brought forth renewed energy to produce the next set, the first installment of which is directed, co-produced and co-written by the man of the hour J.J. Abrams. 

The story takes off 30 years after Return of the Jedi, continuing the fight between the force and the dark side.  Two forces continue to battle it out; the First order which used to be the Galactic empire backed by the dark side and the Resistance backed by the Republic finding themselves on the good side of the galaxy.  The story is driven by the search for Luke Skywalker by both parties. The former to finally end the only living Jedi that will guarantee success for the dark side and the latter to be finally reunited with his twin sister Leia now known as General Organa of the Resistance and get his support for the fight against the dark side. 

Watching this from a non-fan point of view the film looks and feels old, but that only means that they've tried to be consistent with original designs and editing styles from all the way back as Episode IV.  And when you get over that as a viewer you are just intrigued by the new characters Ray and Finn and how they will fare into the story, poised to be the new heroes of this trilogy.  Two characters  exchanging energies and helping each other survive, what is intriguing  to me mostly are their characters' origins, where they came from , that was not very well supplied in this movie. Thus to me they come off as aloof making it a little difficult for me to relate to their characters. 

But mostly what I am really admiring in this film is the way the story is told.  This film succeeds  in telling a story that mostly picks up most of the good points from the past films and putting them all in this one.  It captures the audience imagination and succeeds at making the audience involved in every scene be it a space chase scene, a family drama or some personal discoveries. 

A typical sports drama film - ***

Creed is considered the 7th of the Rocky series, but it can also be considered as a spin-off.   There was Rocky I-V, and then 'Rocky Balboa' considered as part 6 , then here comes Creed as the 7th.  Co-produced by Sylvester Stallone and directed by Ryan Coogler the film seems to sit well with critics and has earned good box office receipts since its opening in November this year.

Out of a juvenile detention facility, the bastard son of the deceased Apollo Creed, Donnie is taken in by the legal wife of Apollo, Mary Anne played by Phylicia Rashad.  We next find Donnie as an adult leading two lives, one as an employee at a securities firm and another as a underground boxer in Tijuana, Mexico.  Since he has been fighting mostly his childhood days and has too much of his father's blood in him, he decided to leave his job and pursue boxing.  He moved to Philadelphia to eventually get training from Rocky Balboa and gets to fight on an international  ring. 

While there is nothing incredible or spectacular about its narrative, this movie raises up a couple of questions; Are we worthy of our father's name?  How much does it take to earn the respect of our peers and the community we revolve in? What is family? It really took a while for me to realize the real conflict of this story, at the onset I kept asking myself, 'so what's the issue here?' Is it about the struggles of the youth of today or is about how our identity can be lost due to our heritage? At one point the movie seemed to loose some focus but it all boils down to the final fight and its outcome.

This will be the second time that I'm seeing Michael B.Jordan in a film, the first one being as Torch in Fantastic Four and I can say that he was well casted for this role as Donnie.  He was okay in Fantastic Four but he showed more depth and range here in Creed, he just proves that there is something more beyond his superhero body.

Two stories masterfully told in one movie - ****1/2

It is amazing how this movie went through a lot of filters before it came to us as a film.  It started with true events, that became an inspiration for  a book, and that story in itself became a book from which this movie was based on.  The story traveled a long ways from history to become a film such that it really is not  surprising that the part of history where it came from is a totally different world altogether.

This story is about the ill-fated voyage of the .American whaling ship Essex and the struggles of its survivors.  The story is told through an interview by Moby Dick author Herman Melville and the only living survivor Thomas Nickerson.  While the adventure of the Essex is being told, Herman and Thomas each are coming into their own being, the former as a writer and the latter as a man coming into terms with his own demons.

Two stories running parallel to each other, alternately serving as both background and main story; the interview about the Essex and the adventure of the Essex.  The opening scene establishes the two main characters of the interview, Herman on the brink of discovering a source for his masterpiece and Thomas on the brink of breaking through a wall that he built for himself thus shunning away the people who love him.  Then the story rolls along the incredible adventure of the captain  and crew of Essex as they try to survive the harsh elements of being stranded in the middle o the sea.  Two stories very well told, tied together through the masterful work of director Ron Howard.  To me both stories come equally compelling and intense. Both stories are about courage and both glorifying the concept of truth and honesty.  Watching this film feels like a journey in itself and the end of this journey is represented by classic tale of Moby Dick. 

Love wins at the expense of a decent ending - ***

A Second Chance is a sequel to the 2007 Star Cinema romantic drama, One More Chance.  With a smaller production team, the movie gets the same writing tandem along with the same director to continue on the same rhythm and quality that made One More Chance a success.

The story picks up where the last film left of and this one starts with a wedding.  After getting married, the beloved couple Basha and Popoy embark on a life as husband and wife  with big dreams and purpose.  But life did not go the way they had planned it,  Popoy was not successful in his venture and Basha failed at being pregnant.  And this movie is about how all these occurrences affect their relationship that begs the question; ' Is love enough?'.

One thing that is good about the story is that the conflicts are real and not melodramatized.  It presents the intricacies and real challenges of a life of a husband and wife.  Another thing is that it does not resort to a 'third party affair' kind of conflict that would've made this film so much of a cliche, thus strengthening what Basha and Popoy feel for each other. 

So the couple went into business from which Basha had to take a leave from in order for her to have a baby, which leaves Popoy to manage the business alone.  Because of a particular negligence the business went down with a total debt of 60 Million pesos.  Because of this they had to close and declare bankruptcy.   This is a big problem, a problem that can not be solved by love alone..  I can not go into much detail, but what really is vague to me is how all the problems have been solved.  And this is why I could not even give this movie a 4 star rating. 

Too many plots make the story long - ***

Mockingjay Part 2 completes the four-part Hunger Games series.  It is the second part that is based on the third book of Suzanne Collins, part one of which was released exactly a year ago.

Katniss survives the attack of the brain-washed Peeta and decided  to assassinate President Snow because of what he had done to her good friend.   While the full fledged attack on the Capitol went under way, politics sidetracked her plan and was assigned to be with a propaganda team whom she had to trick to be able complete her personal mission.  There was a power grab right on the transition government and Katniss had to come back to district 12, a move that eventually reunited him with Peeta to become a couple and then a family.

Because nothing much happened in part 1, and its ending only served to set up the sequel, the whole series could have been just presented in three parts rather than four by cutting up the last installment.  There were too many plots that did not really present much use nor serve any purpose.  There was the political plot, the love triangle, the social commentary on propaganda and the message against war and everything just took up some time to add on some more scenes to make the movie interesting. 

As a whole, I like the design in this film.  The costumes of the people from the Capitol, and the way they make each district distinct from one another.   In this last installment the scenes look pretty grim and there wasn't  much of the capitol people to see.  But then as the districts unite so does their overall look and design.  It is also good to note how they had managed to finish the movie with some scenes left that Philip Seymour Hoffman failed to do because of his untimely death.  This was his last film. 

A weak version of what its trailer had set it out to be - **1/2

Spectre is an organization that had appeared in Diamonds Are Forever and is also the twenty-fourth James Bond film.  It is Sam Mendes' second James Bond movie following Skyfall and is also co-produced by Daniel Craig himself.  With a total budget of USD 250 million, and gross sales marked at USD 310 million as of November 11, 2015 the film is one of the most expensive James Bond movie ever made.

The story picks up from where Skyfall left off, acting on a mission upon the unofficial order of the former M, James Bond finds himself in Mexico killing an assassin whose death led him to discover an organization called Spectre that had been somehow responsible for James Bond's past challenges.  Behind this caper, the 00 organization where James Bond belongs as 007 is also being challenged.  It's existence is being threatened by a new head with a different kind of 'philosophy' and is coincidentally a member of the Spectre organization.

I was really intrigued when I saw the trailer of this movie. I thought there was a major bombshell to be revealed.   Though the revelation did not quite match the amount of excitement that I felt, what the trailer did not tell me is how spectacular the opening scene was in Mexico.  The music set the mood and the scenes played along with the rhythm, it seems like everything was choreographed up to the part where he lands on a sofa after falling from a collapsing building.  Then the helicopter scene looked really expensive and well shot. I was not breathing the whole time. But the excitement ends there.  I was struggling to stay awake the rest of the time.

The story is weak and uninteresting and the action scenes did not quite make up for its inadequacy.  It tries to tie up this film with the old James Bond films by way of highlighting the organization Spectre through whom James can affiliate most of his miseries.  And the reason behind this should be the films biggest mystery, but when that was revealed everything just became so shallow.  Most of all I find it funny when villains try to set up traps for the heroes.  In this case an old building was set up to explode to kill just two people.  This was supposed to be a climactic scene but it just feels too contrived that it felt anti climactic. 

Campy exacts revenge - ****

Shot  entirely in Australia in 2014, the movie comes highly acclaimed by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television with several nominations including best film, best director, best actress and best supporting actress.  With one of the great contemporary actresses playing as mother to Kate Winslet, Judy Davis provides much of the acting spine in this film with Kate getting along in repartee.

The story is set in a fictitious town in Australia called Dungatar.  When Tilly was ten years old, she was banished from the town at the wake of a suspected murder of a boy.  The movie starts in 1951 when Tilly comes back to learn the truth behind the incident and to take care of her ailing mom.  She uses her talent in designing and making dresses to learn the truth and to exact revenge on her town that did her wrong.

To me there are two parts to this film, the love story part and the revenge part.  It was pretty amusing the first half, with a mix of mystery and drama and some campy-ness to provide some giggles.  The story is really a mix of drama and comedy underneath a very serious theme of  deception and revenge.  The story is really based on a book of the same tittle, the film tries its best to be loyal to the story but the movie's limitation did not translate well in transcending from first half to second half.

The strength of this film lies in its honesty at presenting the ugly side of human nature.  It did not sway in the direction of common expectations and tried to honestly present the story as it really is based on the book.  The acting tandem of Kate Winslet and Judy Davis as mother and daughter is the anchor by which all the other intentions of the movie is tied to.