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Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew).

Tue, 14 May 2013 23:21:35 -0400

Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew).

Iron Man 3 Review

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 00:28:00 -0400

Beneath the Quip andArmor

A movie review of Iron Man 3 by Wincy Aquino Ong

Directed by Shane Black

The great thing about Marvel Comics superheroes is that we’re more interested in the face behind the costume than the costume. Whereas for their DC Comics counterparts,there is not much about Clark Kent or Bruce Wayne: Their civilian identities are the masks. The characters only crackle when in costume.

Indeed, that’s a rare feat of skill, if Marvel has us more riveted to the plain-clothes civilian than his color-schemed silhouette.

Good thing director Shane Black paid attention and played to Marvel’s strengths. This third movie spends a chunk of its running time with Tony Stark in t-shirt and jeans.

And what’s wrong with that?

Fact is, Stark truly is more charming than Iron Man. Larger than Iron Man even.

Perhaps that is the movie’s very nucleus.

The best parts of the last two Iron Man films and The Avengers were times when Stark is unprotected by his technology and he’s left only with his wits and one-liners to survive a pickle. Consider that precious scene in The Avengers when he tries his best to hide the quaking in his boots when he sees the demigod Loki in his apartment.

But oy! Nothing spells deus ex machina than that infernal exoskeleton coming to his rescue. When the cavalry of gadgets arrives, we sink low on our seats, the delicious knots of suspense in our stomachs…gone.

Thankfully Shane Black, a gifted screenwriter and helmer of the neo-noir Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, knows a thing or two about the arcane science of suspense.

It’s clear that he hates that suit.

Finally, we’re worried about Tony Stark, all squishy meat and bones.

As with the past two films, this third installment follows the skeleton mounted by its former helmer Jon Favreau: A calm first half buoyed by lightning-quick banter, and a second half that’s a pageantry of gadgetry amidst the fireballs.

That said, Iron Man 3 takes its pace like it has all the time in the world. We’re welcomed by flashbacks, expositions and quips for a half-hour before we’re introduced to the all-important threat— the all-important threat that frames all spandex movies. Yes, it takes a while before the pressure cooker warms up, folks.

The suspense only ratchets up by the time we witness the first set piece, the annihilation of Stark’s beachfront palace—one that may leave you howling in spectacle or silently agog at the Pixel Wizards behind it. There’s freshness in the sight of Pepper Potts donning the armor, if one can shake off the silliness first.

What this franchise really needs are better villains. And yes, finding some is quite the quandary. What’s left when you’ve used up all the mad scientists, the saboteurs, and the terrorists? Well, in this case, marry the three.

Also, I see a trend here.

Once was a time when movie posters promised a villain. Nowadays, we’re never really sure. The Mystery Villain seems to be trending in the minds of Hollywood moguls.

The good and bad thing about superhero movies is that they inform each other, build on each other’s hits and misses. In Iron Man3, there seems some obvious lifting of ideas from Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. You decide.

Clearly, the best chapter of the film is when Tony Stark crashes on a provincial town and befriends a kid. The movie’s flavor efficienly swerves into something like E.T. or Russkies, where a precocious child befriends an alien/robot/spy/superhero found in their basement. Now, this is something I call a welcome novelty,something that the past films didn’t touch on. What’s Stark like when he’s around kids?

In true Marvel Comics fashion, we see Stark at his most human when he’s in the company of his junior. These magical minutes could indeed have been Marvel Studios’ riff on Léon the Professional, but alas,there were presidents to be saved and ports to be razed.

Save for a scene where Stark weaponizes hardware-store supplies to infiltrate a secret headquarters, the good things pretty much fizzles out when he leaves the town. And the kid.

And where’s Sam Rockwell when you need him? Agent Coulson? Black Widow? And Happy Hogan is in a coma for most of the movie? The heart of this franchise is its gang of supporting characters. Sadly, the third one is bereft of them. The talented Rebecca Hall isn’t given much to do here, other than pout and dish out science facts. The same goes for Ben Kingsley, whose purpose is for one good laugh. (Clever as the villain switcheroo may be, we’re secretly disheartened by the anticlimax.) Guy Pearce does his best to snarl and toot villain speeches, but he’s never as fun as Sam Rockwell.

In the end,the results are satifactory. However, we’re not sure what the film drives home. Is it an ode to the yin-and-yang of minimalism and maximalism, of the downgrade and the upgrade? Is it a question of compassion being greater than technology? Or is it just another cliffhanger designed to have us returning for more sequels that its makers could milk?

Woman stripping. Artwork by Wincy Aquino Ong. Ink and Photoshop.

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 02:37:42 -0400

Woman stripping. Artwork by Wincy Aquino Ong. Ink and Photoshop.

Spider-Woman ‘Jessica Drew’ in action.

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 02:36:00 -0400

Spider-Woman ‘Jessica Drew’ in action.

“Batman In The Flood” An artwork I made using ink...

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 08:13:08 -0400

“Batman In The Flood” An artwork I made using ink and Photoshop.

Art I made today using Photoshop.

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 10:57:00 -0400

Art I made today using Photoshop.

ramonbautista: maraudingmar: “I-dial mo yang caller ID para...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 01:18:45 -0400

ramonbautista:

maraudingmar:

“I-dial mo yang caller ID para mapapulis na natin yang g@g*ng yan!”

SAN LAZARO the movie

suicideblonde: The Virgin Suicides book cover

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 21:14:08 -0500

suicideblonde:

The Virgin Suicides book cover

AND WE’RE MARRIED!!! @cjdesilva

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 22:25:49 -0500

AND WE’RE MARRIED!!! @cjdesilva

A sample comic book page I made. Created in Photoshop and Comic...

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 22:43:18 -0500

A sample comic book page I made. Created in Photoshop and Comic Life.

rajahofsarawak: Wincy Aquino Ong + Cj de Silva Prenup “We...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 06:38:36 -0500

rajahofsarawak:

Wincy Aquino Ong + Cj de Silva Prenup

“We became part-time lovers and full-time friends.”

New artwork: “The Lonely Swimmer” by Wincy Aquino...

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 05:40:00 -0500

New artwork: “The Lonely Swimmer” by Wincy Aquino Ong

@cjdesilva

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 04:22:19 -0500

@cjdesilva

Photo

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 02:56:44 -0500

letting go and moving on as told by cubi: rakista fever

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 21:24:34 -0500

letting go and moving on as told by cubi: rakista fever:

strengthtomoveon:

i still can’t believe that tv5 kept mum on the question: is there another season of rakista? if there will be no season 2, i just feel bad for quark, his crew, and the entire filipino free tv viewers who have no choice but to choose crappy shows between two giant networks. and worse, they’re not…

i'll color your world with acrytex: San Lazaro

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 21:24:23 -0500

i'll color your world with acrytex: San Lazaro:

joysenacrytex:

Sa wakas, nagkaroon na rin ako ng kopya. :)

Una’t hule kong napanuod yung San Lazaro sa CCP, Cinemalaya 2011 at dun ko din minahal yung pelikula. Kaya naman nung nagkaron ng DVD copy eh inasam ko talagang magkaroon ng kopya. Pero halos mag pi-pitong buwan na bago ako nagkaroon. :( Nung unang…

A Spanish film critic (Made In China blog) reviews San Lazaro!

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 21:25:18 -0500

A review of the movie San Lazaro was found in this elusive film blog of a Spanish film critic. Read on! (Translated via Google Translate.)

San Lazaro (2011)

Starring: Ramon Bautista

Genre: Comedy / Horror.

Far from the splendor of the studios that made…

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A true-blue San Lazaro fan!View Postshared via WordPress.com

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 21:20:29 -0500

A true-blue San Lazaro fan!

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shared via WordPress.com

Ellen Page smoking. So cool.

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 02:16:21 -0500

Ellen Page smoking. So cool.

@cjdesilva as a hipster!

Sat, 24 Nov 2012 23:19:15 -0500

@cjdesilva as a hipster!