Review: Undertow (2004)

2.0

Directed by: David Gordon Green

Jamie Bell .... Chris Munn
Dermot Mulroney .... John Munn
Josh Lucas .... Deel Munn
Devon Alan .... Tim Munn

Genre: Drama, Thriller
Language: English
US Premiere: October 22, 2004
US Rating: Rated R for violence.

Another promising young actor comes from UK by the name Jamie Bell who starred and won awards for his performance in the Academy Award® nominated film, Billy Elliot in 2002. As a young actor, we can already see his talents and potentials to be an Oscar winner few years from now, given a great breakthough performance from a renowned director.

PLOT
Undertow tells a story of a family of three; John Munn (Dermot Mulroney) lives with his two sons, Chris (Jamie Bell) and Tim (Devon Alan) in Georgia. They secluded themselves from the rest of the neighborhood, fixing their backyard and farmhouse all-day long. The eldest son, Chris (Bell) is know as the problem child while Tim (Alan) has some health problem.

It was a typical day for all of them as they do their respective chores when a visitor came. It was John's brother straight from prison, Dell Munn (Lucas). Dell stayed in their house trying to re-live the past with his brother. The children found it awkward to have an outsider in ther house until their uncle finally got what he wants. He then unveiled the main reason why he came back, which ended in a bloody blow with his brother.

ACTING
The actors did well in the movie. The set design and make up should also be commended 'cos you can already smell them from their appearance, which is a plus! One not-so-good reaction in the film is when the brothers found out that their father's dead in their living room. They didn't show the right emotion of seeing your father's murder. They didn't even cry or shout in disbelief. They just ran away. And in their journey to the city, they didn't feel the pain of leaving home and losing the father while being chased by their uncle.

LESSON
It's all about man's desire for money and fortune and the things people could do just to achieve it. It's really pathetic when you're so into bad vices, violence and revengeful motive. It's like one's very much possessed to do bad things for the love of money.

I don't like the ending though. It's too melancholic for the family to have too many casualites! LOL. But I give Jamie Bell another two-thumbs up for his performance as a native American. He even had an American accent in the film.

RECOMMENDATION
It's good to see the film. It's not a must-see film but if you feel like going to the countryside and live in a farmhouse in less than two hours, try to watch the film. The idea it to feel and live with the characters in the movie and deal with their problems at the same time. ('Cos that's how I watch movies. I try to experience their lives by knowing how it is to be like them). ¿?

Review: Imaginary Heroes (2004)

2.0

Written and Directed by: Dan Harris

Sigourney Weaver .... Sandy Travis
Emile Hirsch .... Tim Travis
Jeff Daniels .... Ben Travis
Michelle Williams .... Penny Travis
Kip Pardue .... Matt Travis

Genre: Drama
Language: English
US Premiere: 2004
US Rating: Rated R for substance abuse, sexual content, language and some violence.

With all the young American actors of today, I personally like Emile Hirsch above all. His performance in his movies like "The Emperor's Club" and "The Dangerous Lives of the Altar Boys" shows real emotion and unspoken thoughts than can be easily understood with his body language.

PLOT
I found Imaginary Heroes in his filmography several months ago and I wondered how the story developed. It's a tale of the lives of the Travis family torn apart by the tragic suicide of their eldest son, Matt. Emile plays the role of Tim Travis as the confused son of Sandy Travis (Sigourney Weaver), who plays as their drunken mom. Like anybody else, Tim has unanswered questions in life, relationship and bothersome truths. The aftermath of Matt's suicide caused a lot of circumstances with their relationship with each other. All were in denial, trying to cover up the hurt, the sorrow and the anger of a loved one's death. Their father, Ben Travis (Jeff Daniels) secluded himself from the people around him, punishing not only himself but the members of the family as well.

ACTING
The actors did a good job playing their respective characters and Dan Harris (who's in his mid-20's) should also be commended for teriffic storyline. As a young writer to make such heavy concept of a family crisis, he has a great future ahead. There's no doubt about Sigourney Weaver's acting skills and style. Her grace in portraying the role simply adds color to the story as supported by the young actor, Emile Hirsch, who's only 20. Brilliant performance for everyone though it's not enough for an acting nomination.

LESSON
Most of the time, we do not speak the truth. It's sometimes symbolic or implied and most of the time, we run away from it, hide it and ignore it. It's something that haunts us and it kills our mind as we deal with it. We need affirmation in times of trouble and they are these imaginary heroes that we have in mind. We're enveloped by bitterness especially when in denial. Dealing with such crisis is sick and finding ways to solve such is everybody's problem. It's about transparency, honesty and truthfullness in our words and actions. It's a declaration that [maybe] we all have angsts in life.

RECOMMENDATION
It's a so-so drama about a family. When you're free, try to watch it. It's not really a must-see movie. It's short to being average, actually. But it's fun with all the bitterness they have in the movie. ¿?

Christmas Get Together

We had a pre-Christmas-party party last Saturday afternoon at our old house in Sta. Ana. Right after office, I rushed to our old house for another bountiful lunch and unending fun and laughter with office staff and messengers.


After eating, I met up with Gerard, a childhood friend who lives just next to our old house. We had fun telling stories of our childhood days, the toys we played, and the Michael Jackson songs that re-lived the hits of the past. I went inside and saw his mother who didn't even recognize me. It was so good to see them once again after (roughly) ten years. The last time I went inside their house was in 1994 (?), I think.

It's cool to meet up with old friends and to recall the good and bad times. I hope to reunite with other Road 6 kids.

In some cases, time is not a barrier of friendship. Sometimes, you can still be a friend to someone even though you haven't seen each other for a decade or two. However, it's up to you whether you still have a space for an old friend. As for me, of course!

Gerard, Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones! ¿?

MY CHRISTMAS MESSAGE TO ALL

Christmas 2005

It was blast! We spent another Christmas with the our nephews and neices (c/o our 2nd cousins). Here are some pics of us with our relatives from the Gonzales' clan.
































Here's my Christmas message to everybody. Click here [Shift-Click to open in a new window]. ¿?

What I've Missed

For some reason, I stopped writing my thoughts and stopped posting my entries here. At first, I thought it was cool. I realized, I was wrong.

I lost a huge part of me without expressing myself in writing. I missed a big part of my senses when my thought were set aside without any medium to record it. But why did I stop?

I just had nothing to say - nothing to talk about the days passed. But in between those days and nights, in between those ups and downs are the missed opportunities to verbalize the resonating insights, questions, anger, depression and happy thoughts of course! First, I was afraid to admit that I was missing my blog. Day by day, I've been wanting to write but I didn't had the courage to face my site and write. I planned to overhaul the page but I suddenly changed my mind and then shut the laptop off instead. What was it the stopped me to write? What was it that hindered me to express myself in writing for the past 3 months?

Work consumed my day. I can no longer open the PC at home after dinner. I'd reather sleep than to check my Friendster account. My days changed since I started to work here at Orient Square. After I geared up my skills, ability and personality in college, I'm back in the old habbit of waking up early for work just like in high school. Adjusting to the schedule was a great challenge. In college, I could sleep at 4am and then wake up at around 11am for our 2:30pm class in Arellano Ave. (AKIC), (which is a 10-15 minute drive away from home)! Now, I have to leave my place one hour earlier to be at the office at least 10 minutes before 8.

Maybe I was just bored of doing the same blog--sharing my thoughts to a few readers. Maybe I should continue with my personal site layout. Maybe I was just sick of writing. But I came to realize the value of this blog, whether I have readers or not. What's more important is that I've found an outlet of my emotions ready to listen and ready to accept whatever's in my mind.

Now I'm here at my desk checking at the time. It's 4:35pm and I'm tired. I just want to leave and drive myself to Mendiola. Better get ready for simbang gabi. ¿?