Buong ipinagmalaki ng Pambansang Kamao na si Manny Pacquiao na inabot ng 9 na takes ang kissing scene nila ni Ara Mina para sa kanilang 2007 Metro Manila Film Festival entry na “Anak ng Kumander.”

Ayon kay Manny, ito ay para maging “maayos” ang eksena. Wala po ang kanyang asawang si Jinky nang shinu-shoot ang eksena.


"Anak ng Kumander" is easy to dismiss as just another Filipino action movie that doesn't offer anything new to the table. And it's hard to imagine how it would pull in audiences even with all the events surrounding the film (not the least of all star and co-producer Manny Pacquiao's shenanigans with co-star Ara Mina). An unconvincing jingoistic picture with melodramatic hogwash marked by tedious moralization, "Anak ng Kumander" is a slog that adds up to not much more than an empty affair in the ongoing Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

Philippine boxing idol Pacquiao plays Ka Iden, the leader of a viligante group in Basilan who puts to his brand of justice who has wronged the townsfolk. The mayor of the town (Efren Reyes Jr.), who is predictably corrupt, has placed a P10 million reward to anyone who can capture or kill Iden. Ara Mina plays a TV reporter assigned to Iden's case while Valerie Concepcion is a member of the rebel group.

Directed by Jose "Kaka" Balagtas, "Anak ng Kumander" is unconvincing in virtually all aspects. Its moral, which is all but mauled into its audiences, states how a man who lives by his principles could spark a national revolution and create transofrmation. While such an idea is all well and good, the notion of subtlety in storytelling is bypassed in favor of beating home the point with excessive mawkish sentiment.

It doesn't help that the screenwriters prove entirely feckless at establishing and developing its characters. The cloying final act might have held more resonance had the viewer been provided with enough opportunity to care about the people involved in the story. As it is, Pacquiao's characters is a monotonous cipher whose background and motivation are paced in a quick processor in favor of a whole lot of inept action scenes in the jungle and a lot more of moral mumbo-jumbo. The dialogue, while not becoming a classic howler as Balagtas' previous outing "Apoy sa Dibdib ng Samar" ("Saging lang ang may puso!"), still finds shards of laugh-inducing moments. Technically, the film suffers with ill-placed split-screen effects, an unmemorable score, distracting camera movements, and some blurred shots.

In his second leading role in a feature film (what, you don't remember 2005's "Lisensyadong Kamao"?), Manny Pacquiao should think about focusing on boxing. His recent foray into politics did not end as a success and his venture into film production seems treading the same path. Pacquiao's rendering of his paper-thin role is so uninspired as to almost feel like another supporting character rather than a lead performer, and his dramatic scenes are done so laughably bad. Ara Mina is every bit Pacquiao's equal. As for poor Valerie Concepcion, she just goes through the motions of the script, trying to achieve a look of a lethal female with guns, but she just isn't cut out for it.

If there is something good to be found, it is that "Anak ng Kumander" is at least filled with some humor (mostly unintentional) and, if you're up to those sort of films, you can at least laugh at it and say that it's not an entirely unwatchable affair.


Movie Synopsis:

The son of a rebel continues his father’s work, hiding out in the mountains with a band of men, wreaking havoc on the corrupt officials who continue to oppress the people. Using his unique code of honor, he meets out justice to all those who deserve punishment. But the life of a rebel is difficult, and he must eventually make a choice between his values and a chance for an easier life.

Getting It Right
by Philbert Ortiz Dy
posted on Thursday February 14, 2008

Getting It Right It’s hard to imagine that there’s still room in this crowded landscape of fantasy films for children. Last year alone, our theaters were flooded with book adaptations and big franchise hopefuls. Fortunately for The Spiderwick Chronicles, there’s always room for smart, well-made films.

Jared Grace and his family move out to an old family estate out in the boonies after their mom gets a new job. It turns out that the house is the estate of their great-great uncle Arthur Spiderwick who discovered the existence of the faerie. He wrote down his findings in a book, which takes the form of a field guide. Jared finds the book and opens it, thus catching the attention of a ruthless ogre who seeks the information in the book so that he can destroy everything. It is up to Jared and his family to defeat the ogre.

This is a pretty solid tale. The script is really intelligently written, never forgetting that it’s never enough to just throw fantasy elements at the audience. What really sets The Spiderwick Chronicles apart is that it takes the time to build its characters and its conflicts. Things introduced early in this film pay off in the end in triumphant ways. The solid storytelling base really makes the fantasy elements shine. Similar films often take too much time reveling in its fantasy setting, forgetting that it’s the characters that make us care. The characters of this film are all pretty fleshed out, and it’s easy to get invested in them. It’s still not the deepest tale, but it’s a marked improvement from what we usually get.

The special effects aren’t the greatest, but the film makes up for it by being intelligent about its use of effects, and some terrific character designs. The visuals are bright, the monsters are scary, and it’s all shot well. It’s obvious that the director really knew what he was doing. Films with bigger budgets and better special effects actually look worse than this film.

Freddie Highmore has always been a cut above your average child star. He’s a very intelligent actor, and a fantastic storyteller. He doesn’t rely on easy tricks to convey his characters. In this film he plays twins, and it works really well. He manages to give each brother a distinct voice and personality, which is pretty astounding. Sarah Bolger is turning out to be someone to watch. Mary Louise-Parker has really grown into the mom role, and few do the exasperated mother better than her. The film also features some pretty great voice performances from the likes of Nick Nolte, Martin Short and Seth Rogen.

Between Harry Potter, The Seeker, The Golden Compass, and The Chronicles of Narnia, it might be easy to ignore the relatively small The Spiderwick Chronicles. That would be a mistake. This film just does it better by sticking to what makes all movies good: well-written scripts, competent filmmaking, and great acting. The rest of those franchises ought to learn a lesson from this film. Take a child to this one. It’ll be a good time.

Jumper has a lot of elements that should add up to a pretty good film. It has an interesting, visually arresting conceit, a pretty talented director with a decent track record, a pretty large budget, and Samuel L. Jackson. Unfortunately, Jumper just doesn’t live up to its potential. While the film is at times unflinchingly cool, Jumper is generally unmemorable.

Teenager David Rice discovers one day that he can teleport. He uses this ability to run away from home. Years later, he lives a life of luxury, jumping all around the world, generally enjoying an excessive existence where he can have anything he wants. This all changes when he’s discovered by Roland, a man who works for an organization dead set on eliminating those with the power to teleport. Soon he and his longtime love are caught up in the secret war of Griffin, a violent and dangerous young jumper against the organization that seeks to take them all down.

The concept is solid. The execution is pretty suspect. There are three writers on this film, a general indication that the final script was more a product of corporate guidance rather than any sort of storytelling integrity. This lack of editorial cohesiveness manifests as the plethora of plot holes and script weaknesses that one has come to expect from these blockbuster films. Honestly, most of the weakness can be ignored in favor of pure visual enjoyment. What’s harder to ignore are the scenes that were stuck in with no story purpose whatsoever. For example, there is a car sequence in the middle of this film where the characters drive recklessly around Tokyo for absolutely no reason whatsoever. It was like a car chase, except they weren’t chasing anybody. It seemed like they wrote that scene in just so they can advertise a shiny new Mercedes convertible.

The filmmaking is pretty solid. There are a few sequences where it’s pretty hard to follow what’s going on, but otherwise, it gets the job done. The main attractions of the film are the locations. The film tries to carry the audience through a whirlwind of exotic locales, from Tokyo to Rome to Egypt, and truth be told, it’s pretty impressive at times. The “jumping” mechanic is pretty well done, and there are some sequences here that are unabashedly cool.

Hayden Christensen isn’t ready to carry a film by himself. One can see the effort that he puts into his acting, but the talent just doesn’t seem to be there yet. His performance is passable, but a better actor could’ve made us forget the weakness of the script. The weakness of his performance is made even more glaring by the strong performances from the supporting cast. Rachel Bilson is really revealing herself to be an actress to watch. Jamie Bell oozes charisma, and makes audiences root for him over Christensen. Samuel L. Jackson is Samuel L. Jackson.

Jumper is what it is. Despite the script problems and the weakness of the lead actor, it’s makes for decent popcorn viewing, mostly thanks to the strength of the supporting cast. The film could have been much more, though, and it’s a shame to see it falter.

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"I love this Movie, as i watch it im imagining myself as a "Jumper" too, this is great guys i recommend this Movie and rated as #1" :)

Hayden Is Anywhere, Instantly...