The horror, the horror Noel Vera Saw "The Shining" on DVD--remastered and restored, it says, but as far as I can see not letterboxed (apparently what Kubrick...
One more Noel Vera Frank Sinatra did "Ocean's Eleven" in 1960 as an excuse to have a lark, roping in Lewis Milestone (a filmmaker who started in the silent...
Twelve great Filipino films Noel Vera Back in January 2000 I wrote a piece for Menzone Magazine listing down what I thought were the thirteen most important...
Fock this movie Noel Vera Best parts of "Meet the Fockers:" The beginning. Being handed a taxicab, facing a row of green traffic lights during rush hour,...
A very long endurance test Noel Vera I was never a fan of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "Amelie." I was, however, a fan of Jeunet's early features, back when he was ...
The muzak of the night By Noel Vera To Lord Lloyd Weber and Monsieur Schumacher; I need no introduction. You may have trouble believing it is me truly writing;...
Side dish Noel Vera Perhaps the best description of Alexander Payne's "Sideways" comes from the film itself, in the scene where Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti)...
It's a compilation of my articles, from 1994 to 2004, and it's coming out in April, to be printed by the Singapore-based Big O Magazine. The book launching...
The exhilarator By Noel Vera The general line about Martin Scorsese nowadays is that he's sold out--gone mainstream, gone soft on us, used his edgy visual ...
Million-dollar heavy By Noel Vera It's the best-picture Oscar winner of 2004, and it's easy to see why: plodding, self-important, sentimental, it's just the...
Curdled By Noel Vera Criticizing Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson's latest is like shooting fish in a barrel: when you hear rumors of recasting and reshoots, or...
Belated news--broke early March, but got around to posting it only now: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/plaridel_papers/message/10178 EMBARGO DATE: 16 February...
If it only had a heart Noel Vera Easily the best portions of "Robots" is the detailed world the filmmakers make, of a completely mechanized city gone partly to...
A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma Noel Vera "Elephant," Gus Van Sant's--recreation? Dramatization? Fictionalized meditation on?--the shootings at...
Fight the power Noel Vera Charles Burnett's "Selma, Lord Selma" isn't on the level of his masterpieces, "Killer of Sheep" or "To Sleep With Anger." He's out to...
Rearing Julia Roberts Noel Vera Mike Nichol's adaptation of "Closer" seems well-made, well acted and, considering the critical reception and brisk business...
It's available now, with a beautiful still from Lino Brocka's "Orapronobis" (Fight for Us, 1989) on the cover. Here's a link to order it in Singapore: ...
Hickboxing Noel Vera Prachya Pinkaew's "Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior" is a sleek little movie that's making a few waves in the international arthouse cinema ...
Guess not By Noel Vera Kevin Rodney Sullivan's "Guess Who" enjoys possibly the biggest, easiest head start for a remake in the history of cinema: it's a ...
Unfortunately, the Manila edition won't be pushing through. But--I'm hoping to interest the publishers in another project. And the book is still available for...
Wonder boy Noel Vera Billy Ray's "Shattered Glass" tells the true story of Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen), the hot New Republic writer who did provocative,...
The Amityville ho-hum Noel Vera Perhaps the main reason why Jay Anson's book "The Amityville Horror"- -plus the movie version it spawned, not long after--were...
Once upon a time Noel Vera Once upon a time, back when the world was simpler and animation almost something you do in a garage or with a few friends or even ...
"Wax" works, somewhat By Noel Vera Jaume Collet-Serra's "House of Wax," a remake of Andre de Toth's stylish horror classic starring Vincent Price, starts off...
The greatest Disney film ever On the DVD (released through a distribution agreement between Studio Ghibli and Disney): It's a beautiful DVD, not just a bright,...
Thin "City" By Noel Vera Robert Rodriguez doing Frank Miller sounds like a match made in heaven, at least on paper: Rodriguez comic-book style can provide a ...
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