Movie Review: Dead Poets Society

Dead Poets Society is a movie that followed 7 boys and the teacher who made a difference in their lives.

credits to Rotten Tomatoes

Robin Williams starred as Mr. John Keating, the new English teacher who believes that his students must understand poetry from their own point of view and not because the books tell them that this piece is interpreted like this.

We also have Charlie Dalton who is too rich to care. Stephen Meeks and Gerrard Pitts who in their own way rebelling by creating a radio which is a banned experimentation. Richard Cameron who takes everything seriously. Knox Overstreet who in every sense of the way, fought the courage to go out with a girl engaged to someone else. Todd Anderson who is overshadowed by his more popular and more brilliant older brother. Neil Perry who dreams to become a theater actor but is prohibited by his father who wants to make him a doctor.

The rest of the classes in Welton's School for Boys are rigid academics which emphasizes the Four Pillars of education: Tradition, Honour, Discipline and Excellence.

The famous line from this movie: Carpe diem, Seize the day boys. Make your lives extraordinary was uttered by Keating on his very first lesson. After that, he practiced unconventional ways to teach poetry so that his students will get into the emotion and live the poem not just read it.

These 7 boys were so intrigued by him they look him up in the old alumni photos. Out of all the descriptions, they were curious about the Dead Poets Society and asked him about it. Upon learning what it was, they decided to recreate it. Breaking a lot of school rules in the process.

But everything wasn't made for perfection. So even though, the boys find their courage and pursue what they always wanted to do. It did not make the school happy nor their parents.

In the end, even though Neil got the part he always wanted and practiced for it. His father did not approve. It didn't matter that he got straight A's in all his subjects and could really perform well. His father wanted a doctor, not an actor. Neil felt suffocated and committed suicide.

The blame was placed on Mr. Keating and all 5 boys were forced to sign the petition to remove him from office. Charlie refused and was expelled.

When Mr. Keating said goodbye, half of his class said goodbye by calling him their captain.


Watching this movie made me miss Robin Williams. It was really one of those moments where you can really say that he was a very sad man. His eyes were in sorrow all throughout this movie. Even in the frames where he is laughing, they never really reach the eyes. It must be because he knows that the admin disapproves of his methods and that he is just waiting to be sacked. Or it is because we know that he is suffering from depression and making others laugh is his outlet for it.

Being able to think for ones' self is a great treasure, so please become a person who knows what you want to be and slowly aim for that goal of yours so that one day you can look back to life with no regrets.



Daghang salamat sa pagbasa!!!

I post an article every two days... :D just because!

Movie Review: To Sir, With Love

To Sir, With Love is a movie as old as my mother and I did not really expect to like it. But there I was laughing as each prank is played and the odd dialogue and behavior accompanied it on-screen.

credits to Wikipedia

The story is all about an engineer named Mark Thackeray (Sidney Poitier) who was seeking employment in London's engineering firm. To make ends met, he started a job as a teacher in East London. He was warned that his students are good kids with problems. It turned out to be more than that as his tactics are met with resistance after resistance, not counting all those pranks played on him.

When he lost his temper, he decided that the academic approach would not really cut it, so he decided to use the adult approach where he showed the class how to be responsible adults and become useful members of the society.

It actually worked for him, and he had reformed students to show for it. Even had one student hanging on to every word and falling in love with him which he of course dutifully ignored.

At the end of the movie, he was accepted as an engineer but was swayed to stay as teaching staff because his students liked him too much and acknowledge that if not for him, they would all end up in juvie.


The drama was minimal. It was quite entertaining.

The songs in this movie were all beautiful renditions from Lulu, which also played as a student in this movie.

The school staff were either people who have gone cynic, still hopeful, given up or just there for the paycheck.

The principal is a hopeful individual who wishes for the best of his students.

The community is actually quite helpful, like they do not let the teachers fall in line in supermarkets because they know that the break time is short, or they show support when Mr. Mark started going to the museums to educate his kids.

The students were kids with an attitude, and are rejects of other schools. They do not expect to be anyone greater because they would more or less work in blue-collar jobs positions or in the red-light district anyway.

But one man who has also in his past went through the horrors these kids are going through tried to make a difference. He showed that he cared and that he feels responsible for the future that his students will have. And that made all the difference in the world.


Every action we make affects other people, so we must mindful of what we say and do because we can never really know if what we did just make or break someone.


Daghang salamat sa pagbasa!!!
I post an article every two days... :D just because!

Movie Review: Logan

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!!!

Running into the cinema at exactly 1:40 PM last Sunday just in time for the last commercial before the movie begins, I was out of breath and grinning like an idiot. The movie house was not as jam-packed as I expected it to be but there were only a few empty seats, so it's not that bad.

When the opening scene played, all I can think of is that Logan is old, very old. He looks sick and tired and working a blue-collared job. A few screens after, we are introduced to Caliban and Professor X. Great! The remaining mutants living together and waiting to die all in the same place, in an abandoned warehouse in Mexico. Add to that the dementia that Professor X is suffering from, it could never be more difficult of a life. No wonder Logan looked old.

The antagonist, Pierce, in this movie is an asshole with a robot arm. And that's not the only thing remarkable about him. He is persistent in his quest to hunt down all the mutant kids, so that's a plus for him. But he does not really face them head-on in confrontational battles and lets his henchmen do the job. A wise decision because he has more time to babble until the end.

Then there's the girl Laura, whose face shows an anger to the world. She does not speak and only stares balefully at Logan when introduced. When Logan failed to show up on time, the lady Gabriela died. She was escorting little Laura to the Canadian border and hires Logan to drive them there. Thinking that Laura was taken, Logan returned to Charles, only to find that Laura hitched a ride and meet Professor X.

Now that all the key characters are in one place, we can move the plot along. A fight ensued in the warehouse with Caliban taken as hostage and Laura was revealed to be X23. A mutant child with Wolverine powers. Then a chase from Mexico to North Dakota with Charles dying in the hands of X24, a Wolverine prototype with speed, agility, and power surpassing our dear old Logan. The suicide of Caliban right after that sealed the deal that this is indeed Wolverine, I mean Hugh Jackman's last Wolverine movie. He will die, I can feel it.

I was not disappointed. This is how it happened.

The mutant kids have gathered at North Dakota to cross to Canada. They were followed by Dr. Rice, Pierce, and all the henchmen and were being corraled like cows. Logan waking up from his sick-induced rest, checked on the direction the kids were taking and saw the ongoing hunt.

Sensing that the kids are in danger, he ran at full speed to go after the kids, you know that what's running on his mind is, "I am too old for this. I am too old for this". But you still cheer him on. His daughter is in danger and he needs to rescue her if it's the last thing he'll do. He said goodbye, after all, to keep her safe.

A mutant battle followed with Dr. Rice decapitated, henchmen blowing up or freezing or electrocuted, and Pierce dying at the hands of the mutant children. Their powers showcased one by one as Pierce lay dying taking all the pain. An excessive death at the hands of the children he haunted and hunted all through their young lives.

Then the finale, a fight between Logan and X24. X24 showing his prowess while Logan is barely keeping up. He impaled Logan to a tree and was shot in the head with an Adamantium bullet by Laura. the same bullet that Logan kept all these years, in case he could not take it anymore.

He was buried, and the kids hurried on to Canada.


Now for the review.

The plot was simple, the mutant kids that can't be trained to kill are being exterminated and replaced with new mutants that are fully controlled. The kids are to be smuggled across the Canadian border to escape to Eden, a safe haven depicted in the X-Men comics. Logan was caught up in this because X23, a kid with his powers is brought to him for protection. And that's that. No other fanfare needed.

If you want to watch an action-packed Wolverine movie, this does not make the cut though there were impressive fight scenes. The fights were brutal with lots of blood and violence, justifying its R rating, but they are not as many as I want it to be. They had to make time for the melodrama, after all.

If you want closure with Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, then this is a must-see movie. It will give an explanation why there are no more mutants and why the school no longer exists. And it is a chance to say goodbye, finally, to Professor X and Wolverine. This is Patrick Stewart last appearance as Charles Xavier, as well. So it's really an ending to a chapter, we have been hung up on since we were children.

The ending also created a lot of avenues to explore, especially with the new mutant kids. They may or may not create movies of this in the future. But for now, saying goodbye to well-loved actors that played iconic characters in movies is more than enough.


Daghang salamat sa pagbasa!!!

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Watching Catching Fire on the weekend made me wonder why I was hesitant to watch the the First Hunger Games movie. The answer of course is simple, I hate waiting and I haven’t read the Hunger Games series then.

The first Hunger Games was forced on me by classmate when she found out I haven’t watched it yet. And my reaction was ‘Kailinit mana sa kay Katniss man’ (I hate the character Katniss Everdeen). And she said I was spot on. I was supposed to not like Katniss in the first place.

I was intrigued and so I read the series. If you hate Katniss Everdeen, reading the series would make you hate her more. But I did like the series, though not so the third book which is Mockingjay. But that is my opinion and you can have another if you have read the book, as I did, or you can wait for the movie, I hear it’s a Part 1 and 2. That is justifiable as its a bit thicker than the other 2 and they last for 2 hours and a half just to convey what happened in the book in a Lord of the Rings way (sorry, BIG fan).

So let’s get on with the review.

I think let us start with I adored Finnick Odair and Johanna Mason. They delivered the character as I imagined them to be. Sexy and sassy.

I feel sorry for Wiress and Mags and Effie. Theirs is a tragic part. Wiress and Mags dying and Effie heartbroken. But hey, Elizabeth Banks delivered. You should have been jealous of those gorgeous clothes with matching hair.

As for Cinna, I didn’t really care. He had implanted into the Capitol and the Districts a symbol and him dying as price for that symbol, I think, is fair. Since everybody who goes against Snow dies anyway, at least when he goes he had sowed more hatred for the Capitol in Katniss’ heart.

But I started at the middle.

Now for the start. The beginning of the movie is pretty subdued. Just highlighting life after the Hunger Games in District 12’s Victor Village and the RIOT at the Victory Tour. What moved most people would be the speech of Katniss for Rue, and the old man dying for defying the Capitol after that.
Then it was just a pure narrative of Capitol’s monkey business.

Remember: Panem Today, Panem Tomorrow, Panem Forever.

Everybody hated that (the District people) that is.

Then we have the sham engagement. Poor Peeta.

And the announcement of the 3rd Quarter Quell with the goal of eliminating Katniss Everdeen. Tributes were chosen from the victors who are already darlings of the Capitol. Shame that others would suffer because of a single Kat, err, lady?

The Parade, The Tributes Training, Interview, the implication of Katniss as the Mockingjay and the announcement of Katniss’ pregnancy and secret wedding.

Then we have the Hunger Games.

What happened then is too much fun to spoil, but spoil it I will.

The new Arena is a dome and there the Tributes, former Victors, must eliminate each to have one Victor in the end. But before that, the tributes suffered from Anxiety, Pain, Death, Friendship, and Love as Enemies became Allies and Allies Enemies.

But will Katniss have her wish and save Peeta from Death?

We do not know that yet, as the movie ends with Katniss waking up with Gale at her side and the story of District 12 burning in her mind.

So in Mockingjay Part 1 and 2, I hope the answers we seek will be found. And as those movies will bring the Trilogy to an end, will the ODDS be in Their Favor?

Because for now, the ODDS are never in their favor but at least they have
Katniss Everdeen: The Girl On Fire.

Daghang salamat sa pagbasa!!!

The Hobbit

I am a great fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the movies, and the books. And I will always be. Back in college, I finally obtained a copy of the extended version of the 3 movies, (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King). These movies were my accompaniment when I was completing my special project for the graduation requirements.

I lost count how many times I’ve played it not to watch but simply to listen to it. The books, I’ve read all 3 a million times (exaggeration mode) and has extended it to The Hobbit and Silmarillion. I’ve enjoyed the journey of reading and watching.

So, imagine my excitement when a friend told me that The Hobbit will be adapted for the silver screen too. With the same cast; except Bilbo Baggins because they need a younger actor, and producers and director Peter Jackson reunited for the project. It was like OH EM GEE. Bring it on!

And the excitement rose when talk has died and it was all set, the shooting now going on and NEWS NEWS NEWS on the production, it’s not one movie but a TRILOGY. Hehe…

The world would have ended on December 21, 2012, but it didn’t matter I have watched the movie in 3D on December 16. It’s January 2013 now and I also have a copy of the HOBBIT movie and I could watch and watch and watch it whenever I want along with the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Can’t wait for December 2013 and 2014 for the next 2 Hobbit Movies. Hope you’ll like it.

• Movie Review for the Unexpected Journey Here
• Movie Review for the Desolation of Smaug Here
• There and Back Again: coming soon

Daghang salamat sa pagbasa!!!