“The Book of Life” makes a terrifying subject matter a funny thing

The Book of Life definitely brought a breath of fresh air after a series of heavy drama and horror films in theaters for the past few weeks. The movie ought to give the mass audience a unique kind of tale that indelicately tackles about love, life, dreams and even death. And despite of its darker tone, the film doesn't feel frightening at all.

The Book of Life is an American 3D animated adventure/musical film produced by Reel FX Creative Studios and distributed by 20^th Century Fox, the creator of the films like “Rio” and “Life of Pi”.  Most schemes in the film were taken in Mexico which is probably highly influenced by the director who is Jorge Gutierrez, a Mexican himself.  The film also stars the voices of Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana and your Magic Mike hunk - Channing Tatum.

I don’t have any expectations set when I saw the trailer early of second quarter this year but to my surprise, the movie is not only beautiful and visually stunning but the story is sprinkled with pretty good life lessons too!

I love how each character is distinctive and colorful despite of its marionette-like appearance. The film also succeeds in incorporating Mexican flavor to all the musical performances in a very tasteful way.  And even if there a couple of jokes in the movie that are meant for adults, the point of the story and its intention for entertainment are vivid to all ages.

The Book of Life is certainly enchanting and I can tell there are a lot of depths and efforts put into this animated film. From the glitzy Mexican elements down to wonderful adventures, it’s evident that this film is made for everyone to enjoy.

And because the film gives a poetic look at life and death, my rating for The Book of Life is 9/10. «««««««««¶

The Book of Life opened in theaters last week October 17, 2015. Here's the movie trailer:

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“The Best of Me” imparted a bittersweet ending

Here comes another Nicholas Sparks book adaptation movie which I know most fan of the author are thrilled to see. But to manage your expectations properly, it is not a kind of film like “The Notebook” or “A Walk to Remember” which you don't mind watching constantly. I’m not saying the story is bad because in fact, it was brilliantly written by Mr. Sparks in the book but the movie on the other hand, didn’t fully deliver the kind of goods that I think most spectators are anticipating to see. Read more to know why.

To give you a proper introduction, “The Best of Me” is an American romantic drama film based on Nicholas Sparks’ 2011 novel of the same name. The movie revolves around the story of former high school sweethearts which reunited after 20 years. Hence, the film depicted a sense of old scenario which I think most believers of long-standing love stories would be delightful to see.

The movie is directed by an American film director, Michael Hoffman who’s famous for his filmography in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. No doubt he is a great director but I think his approach for the movie "The Best of Me" didn’t make way for the most part. The beginning is quite good but the rest progresses in a deranged manner. Well, the panning of scenes seems understandable but some parts are just plain dull and boring. Also, the choice of tracks for the motion picture didn’t sound appealing for its kind of story. The good side though is that the cinematography and images of the film were wonderfully produced.

The film’s main casts are Michelle Monaghan and James Marsden who played as Amanda and Dawson, respectively. Acting wise, I think they delivered a job well done and I couldn’t think of any better artists to play those parts. Both have sensual attitude towards their characters and they delivered the right amount of intimacy and romance that the movie requires.

But the young Amanda and Dawson who were portrayed by Liana Liberato and Luke Bracey fell a little short for the movie. Particularly, Luke who by the way looks older for the character, lacked intensity compared to James Marsden’s acting. For me, James and Luke don’t even have similar facial attributes to play the same character and neither Michelle and Liana. But nonetheless, other casts like Sean Bridgers and Gerald McRaney did an excellent and convincing acting. I swear you would be moved furiously by Sean's antagonist role.

Besides the cinematography, what I also love about the film is the fashion. Despite of its old setting, I admire how all the characters appeared on the film - sweet, clean and chic.

The movie truly imparted a bittersweet emotion to most moviegoers. But despite the film's concentration to inconceivable problems, I still admire Nicholas Sparks' body of works. Though I find the story unrealistic, I somehow appreciate the imaginative love story it entails to both young and old audiences. And yes, the movie ended just the way Mr. Sparks had it on the book - tragic and very heartbreaking but it is also meaningful.

"The Best of Me" is far from best but it's not the worst movie either. I would still recommend it to watch but I suggest be in a right mood for you to appreciate the story. 

Overall, my rating for the film is 6/10. ««««««¶¶¶¶

The movie opens in Philippine theaters starting tomorrow October 22, 2014. Here's the trailer:

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