500 Films: #10 Water for Elephants


You may sue me. I am a Robert Pattinson fan. As such, I decided to woman up and accept that his status as current "Hollywood IT Guy" will inevitably pair him with various actresses and he might never star in a film with Kristen Stewart again. (I'm guilty of still not having watched Remember Me though. BUT I *DID* sponsor tickets. So I *DID* contribute to sales! There!) Anyway, that's why I looked forward to Water for Elephants.

Weeeelll, also because I like Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz is my new idol villain.

I like it. I partially read the book before watching, so I went in the theater with an idea of how the story would be like. (Yes, and I skipped to the end! Guilty.) The backdrop of the movie was the 1930s, when traveling circuses were popular in the U.S. The set production was beautiful. The costumes, the lighting, makeup. It was a wonderful representation of the time period. I have no clue as to how accurate it was, but I definitely felt the fantasy of being there.

Rob seems, happily, to be a more natural actor when he's out of the "Edward" persona. He delivered as Jacob and his American accent improved. Sure, we diehard fans were there for the smoldering looks and the glimpses at his handsome mug (Gad. He really IS something to look at, you know.) But some of us can be very judgmental critics, no matter how much we worship the guy. So I'm quite glad I did not cringe like I usually do when I watch any of the Twilight movies. I think the presence of TWO Oscar-winning costars made him pull up his game a bit, and was a learning experience for him.

Sheesh, do I have to talk about Reese and Christoph. I'll talk about Christoph. Christoph... almost made me cry. He is so effective as a bad guy, I kind of wonder if he's like that in real life. The scene with Rosie. I just wanted to reach in and grab him and shake him!

Regarding the novel by Sara Gruen, a friend mentioned that he felt that there were a lot of unnecessary scenes in the book. And when I thought about it, I think there weren't any unnecessary scenes in the movie, so the edited version of the script was good. The story had a smooth flow to it and there weren't times where we would get bored just waiting for something to happen. Actually, when I did find myself ABOUT to have that feeling, August, Christoph's character, would come out eyes blazing with his bullhook. Then I'd be freaking out. Haha.

I closed my eyes during the love scene with Reese. Thankfully it was short. Which means, I WILL be buying the DVD and watching this movie again. I'm weird that way.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Renting a Kimono in Kyoto

Image
Girls in kimono in Kiyomizu-dera. There are a number of shops that rent out kimono in Kyoto and offer kimono-wearing services. Because Kyoto is a big tourist area--currently Conde Nast's top Asian destination for the second year --they cater mostly to travellers and tourists both foreign and local, although the Japanese are also apt to acquire their services for special occasions due to the expense of owning the actual garment. (Also, renting offers more variety.) Here are links to some of the stores with english websites: 1. Sensho Kitamura Location: 470 Shimokawaracho Higashiyama-ku Kyoto-shi kyoto 605-0825 Price: 5250Y (includes dressing, accessories and hair setting) Return on or before: 6:00PM 2. Yume-Kyoto Location: ( main shop ) 300 Gion-cho Higashiyama-ku Kyoto-shi ACROSS Yasaka building 4F ( Kodaiji shop ) Masuya 2F, 362-5 Masuya-cho, Higasiyama-ku, Kyoto-shi 605-0826 Price: for female, 3500Y if they choose for you, 5250Y if you choose for yourself (...
Read more

5 Tips for the Visiting Muggle to Wizarding World in Universal Studios Japan

Image
For us wee Asian muggles who missed our letters from Hogwarts and despaired of ever setting foot in anything Harry Potter-related, the news of Universal Studios Japan building its own Wizarding World theme park came as an answer to a prayer. Finally! We can fulfill our Hogsmeade dreams of drinking butterbeer! Notwithstanding the obvious language barrier, WWHP in USJ is... in a very cliched term, several kinds of awesome. Several different kinds of awesome. It's like unicorns and rainbows and chocolate and winning the lottery all at the same time. (On second thought, maybe not so much winning the lottery... but it's close!) Here are some hopefully helpful tips for first-timers on their way to demand their much-sought-after letters from Japanese Dumbledore.
Read more

The Pinoy Guide to Japan Travel: Flights

Image
Happy New Year! It's the first month of 2015, and if you're Pinoy and planning a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun this year, well, there's no better time to start than now. Trip planning always starts with a little research, and here I am joining the number of blogs that have shared their insight on which airline to take and which room to get. Flights There are a number of airlines that fly direct to Japan from Manila, and here's what I think of the most popular ones. Cebu Pacific is the budget airline famous for its piso fares that have made it possible for the average Pinoy to travel. They run out quickly, but if you're fast and extremely lucky, your round-trip will only amount to four whole numbers, which gives you room to book extra baggage for the trip back. Even if you don't get the cheapest fare, anything below 30,000php (which is the usual price for a Japan trip) already saves you money, although personally, Cebu Pacific is only a steal if I p...
Read more