Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

I first heard of this film during the 75th Academy Awards when it was announced in the Best Animated Feature Film Category. I saw that it was about a horse, and it's the only thing I know of it then until Sunday, when I chanced upon it in HBO.

There was one part in the introduction wherein it was mentioned that someone said that American history was told from the saddle of the horse, but this time it would be told from the heart of a horse itself. The idea is quite ingenious and original, if you think of it. After watching the film, the story turned out to be engaging, exciting and moving.

Moreover, the production of this animated film is quite a feat. I was so impressed with how the animators drew the vast grasslands of America in here. During the introduction, there was this great visual tour of the savannah and wildlife of North America. It was very, very good! It felt real, like there was really a camera shooting this animated world with cinematography comparable to The Lord of the Rings movies. Brilliant.

Rating: A-


Spirited Away

This film was nominated alongside with the other Spirit cartoon, but this one's different: Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece Spirited Away was the winner during that year. Of course, as usual and expected, I was intrigued. Good thing fellow movie enthusiast Andrei lent me his copy of it, and I am so thankful that he did because this film is so good.

One thing good about this film for me, at least, was that I did not know what to expect of it. I did not even know what the story was! I just placed it on the rack and started watching it. And the moment that the film ended, one idea came into my mind: it was a Japanese anime version of The Wizard of Oz, but with a different touch of course. It did not have robots and lions and witches in it but instead it had gods and spirits and dragons, or as I want to call it, the Asian twist. I compared it to Alice in Wonderland too.

I was never an anime fanatic, but I can tell that this one is good. Weirdly good.

Rating: A


Alexander

Okay, even though this film received quite harsh reviews from various film critics, I still maintained a positive outlook for Oliver Stone's latest film Alexander. I was still excited to see it. But I take it back now. I am with the critics once again.

Gah, this film was gravely upsetting. Believe it or not, it put me in a bad mood for about an hour after watching it today. I was telling all the people within my reach that they should not watch Alexander anymore, for they will be just wasting precious money on it. I promoted National Treasure instead.

So what was in it that made me say all of this? First, the story was poorly told. Even a very good listener would have a difficult time in following what's going on. Suddenly we see that Alexander became king. Suddenly we're back to a different place. Suddenly we're transported on a different time. What the hell?

Next, I didn't like the cinematography of this one. What's with the sudden transformation of the light to red hues in the battle in India?

Last, I didn't like the production design. I did not find the sets beautiful. It was not impressive. I've seen those on previous period movies.

Good thing that Colin Farrell's and Angelina Jolie's acting skills saved the movie from total degradation. I never thought that Colin Farrell could play a role like this until I saw him here. He's effective as Alexander, actually. You could feel the struggles that the hero felt in his life. And then Oscar-winner Angelina Jolie proved to be a delight once again as Alexander's mother. Too bad she's not given too much exposure on this one.

Oh, Mister Oliver Stone. Fortune does not favor the bold all the time.

Rating: C-


Anyway, can somebody tell me if Alexander was really that gay that he kept a male servant, made him dance around him on celebrations, and kiss him afterwards in front of his wife? I mean, the Alexander-Hephaistion love affair is still acceptable, plus there were really rumors about it, but the other one is a bit exaggerated, I think.