Movie Review: The Stylish Thriller "Chloe"

I don't know why I missed this movie during its theatrical release.  I love it!  I watched it last night on HBO and I was hooked from the very first scene.  It's shot in a very lush, luxurious manner with beautiful lighting, and beautiful people.  I learned later it was Toronto and I admit I fell in love with the city!

Amanda Seyfried is just glowing here and ethereally beautiful.  And so is Julianne Moore!  I mean, I don't think her husband would be looking around if his husband were as beautiful as she!  As for Liam Neeson, whew, sexy as ever, to think he did this after the death of his wife, Natasha Richardson.  Their son in the movie, Max Thieriot is also very cute, and he gets to be shirtless many times too!  Sayang, I missed the theatrical run of this one, it would've been eligible for some of the awards last year, tsk tsk

Julianne Moore: Should Be Your Time to Shine Girl!

My most favorite Julianne Moore scene was when she was, playing a porn star, being f***ed by Mark Wahlberg in Boogie Nights. She had that dazed, "oooohhh I'm enjoying it" look! Just that scene alone should've gotten her an Oscar but the stars had other plans.

Four nominations later, the industry says it's about time she gets her first statue.
Realistically, Julianne Moore could be the only other actress (maybe Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence as well) who can get as many Oscar nominations for acting as the living legend, Meryl Streep. She already has five and Meryl has 19 (and counting).

Movie Review: A Competent Remake of Carrie

When I learned that the movie remake of Carrie was showing today, I decided to watch it immediately.  I loved the original movie which starred Sissy Spacek.  In this remake, Chloe Grace Moretz is the lead star and I think she acquitted the role pretty well.  I also loved the fact that Julianne Moore was there.  This was certainly an updated version with the special effects updated as well.  However, since I saw the original movie, I already knew what was going to happen, including that climactic prom scene, which for me, was scarier in the original.  I love the eye candy in the movie though, yum yum!

Five Masterful Things About The Boogie Nights

Prior to this, I was already a big fan of Paul Thomas Anderson's three big releases - Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood - which surprisingly, were all released theatrically here in the Philippines.  Except for Boogie Nights of course!  The prudes in our MTCRB will cringe when they read the synopsis of this film!

Well, there are many things to like about this movie, but I have trimmed them down to just five.

# 1  The fantastic ensemble cast!  I know that when this film was released, most of these guys and gals were not yet A-listers or Oscar nominees - but after this film was released, most of them went on to score Oscar nominations in the other films that they did and they became big stars themselves!  They worked cohesively as a unit in this movie!

#2  This is a real "family" movie!  Seriously!!  I see it that way though!  With Burts Reynolds as some sort of patriarch - he steers and controls his "porno" family to the best of time and through the worst of times.  There's even a scene here which predates the "reality TV' which is so predominant now.

#3  The authentic 70s and 80s vibe permeates everything!  The music, the costumes, the set design - everything just takes you back to that era!  Thoroughly enjoyable to watch.

#4  Interestingly, there are no jarring porn scenes.  Yes, there's nudity and 'fucking' scenes but they do not distract from telling the story.  The director just shows it as it is - devoid of any passion - it looks quite mechanical even - which is real porn.  It's the size that matters!

#5  Every character in this movie experiences an emotional arch - a price they have to pay for well, being bad - if we want to be moralistic about it.  I guess for these people, 'fucking' is just work.

Julianne Moore: #GoldenGlobes 2013 Best Actress Miniseries or TV Movie

I was surprised to learn that this was Julianne Moore's very first Golden Globe award after all those Best Actress nominations she had for such memorable films like Boogie Nights and Far From Heaven!  I'm not sure if our local HBO has screened Game Change already here in Manila but it's not quite the movie I'd like to see since it's a political one and it's about a person (Sarah Palin) who Filipinos are not really familiar with.  However, maybe the only reason I'll watch it is to see Julianne Moore's Emmy-winning, and now, Golden Globe winning performance there!