Quirky Comedy "Ang Turkey Man ay Pabo Rin" Opens Exclusively at Ayala Malls Dec 18

“Ang Turkey Man Ay Pabo Rin,” the critically acclaimed comedy by first-time director Randolph Longjas, will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide starting Dec. 18.

A cross-cultural comedy about a Filipino American couple who celebrates life with karaoke music, superstitious in-laws, immigration laws, unexpected pregnancies, brown-outs, Thanksgiving turkey, with some love on the side, “Ang Turkey Man ay Pabo Rin” stars Tuesday Vargas, Travis Kraft, Julia Clarete, Cai Cortez and JM De Guzman.

The film is produced by Tonee Acejo with screenplay by Allan Habon, edited by Carlo Manatad, and Joris Fernandez, cinematographby Tom Redoble, music by Jedd Dumaguina, production design by Butch Garcia and Nette Madrid.

“Ang Turkey Man ay Pabo Rin” is an experimental comedy that explores the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of a Filipino-American couple on a universal love trip - that which do not discriminate against color, stature, or culture. It is a celebration of the Filipino experience in a foreigner’s perspective, and alternatively, the realization of the American dream in a Filipino’s eyes.

Fil-Am romantic relationships: We see a sampling of them in all places. The best stereotype is an ordinary-looking, gaudily-dressed Filipina clinging to an obviously older, casually-clad foreigner, caught in the bubble of their conversation, traversing the street as if it was their own. That visual often intrigues us, to say the least. What then, if we feature their lives amidst the judgment, bias and ridicule, beyond what we see in passing? What is their story?

The movie does just that, as it features one such couple: Cookie (Vargas) and Matthew Adams (Taft), a Filipino-American pair. The story begins when an online Fil-Am dating site decides to document a week in the life of these two site users who successfully found love in the net, with the aim of promoting such relationships through presenting the dynamics of their peculiar relationship.

The documentary opens with an introduction of the couple; their origins manifest a stark contrast at the onset. The show further establishes them as a couple by showing a typical day of the Adams. Hilarity ensues as the twosome strive to embrace each other’s cultural differences: Matthew encounters miscommunication, odd customs and unusual habits inherent to the Filipinos which he must be accustomed to (or else); while on Cookie’s end, the challenge is to successfully hurdle one of the most rigid and stringent examinations at present: the U.S. Immigration Citizenship Application.

Meanwhile, the online production team goes on to document milestones of the Fil-Am couple’s week, including (but not limited to) the following: eating balut; loud karaoke music; a telenovela sick leave marathon; food fight on a fiesta; black-outs and brownouts; the “A” word; ukay-ukay fashion shows; and a visit from superstitious in-laws; all culminating in an event we Filipinos have not imbibed despite a decades-long relationship with the United States: A Thanksgiving celebration, featuring arguably the most sumptuous centerpiece of all-- the roast turkey. Every day lies a question: will their cultures clash and burn? Or will they succeed in receiving the best of both worlds?

LAWLESS - MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewing the film Lawless starring Shia LeBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Guy Pierce, Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska. Directed by John Hillcoat and exclusively distributed in Ayala Mall Cinemas (Greenbelt 3, Glorietta and Trinoma).

Lawless is a visceral and brutal look at the lives of the Bondurant brothers who we meet in the Prohibition era selling moonshine. Yes, thats basically the whole plot. The brothers trying to get by their business, evading the law and getting their asses handed to them by a very creepy Guy Pierce.

That description might not warrant you to shell out dough to catch the film but here are some of the goodies I found in the film that might just tickle your fancy.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen Review

Here's a review for the film 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' which will be shown in the Philippines starting October 10.

Special thanks to the Ayala Malls Cinemas for the invites to this great event.

Shia LaBeouf Gets Lawless Chasing the American Dream

“Transformers” star Shia LaBeouf takes on the role of the youngest Bondurant brother, the smart, sensitive, forward-thinking Jack, in The Weinstein Company's epic, gangster tale, “Lawless.”

To be shown soon exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 3 and Trinoma), “Lawless” is the true story of the infamous Bondurant Brothers: three bootlegging siblings who made a run for the American Dream in Prohibition-era Virginia. Based on author Matt Bondurant’s fictionalized account of his family, The Wettest County in the World, the film gathers an ensemble of gifted, dynamic new-generation stars – LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Mia Wasikowska, Dane DeHaan – alongside two of the finest actors of their generations, Guy Pearce and Gary Oldman.

MOVIE REVIEW: Marvel's The Avengers - Contains Spoilers

Here's a raw review for Marvel's The Avengers which might contain minor spoilers. The film comes from Walt Disney Pictures Philippines and is now showing in theaters everywhere.

And no your "oh my god you spoiled the movie for me" angry rants aren't welcome here because I've had enough of that from the social networking sites the past few days.

So on to the review itself. The film is firstly directed by Joss Whedon who also wrote the script together with writer Zak Penn. It stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlet Johannson, Jeremy Renner, Cobie Smulders, Clark Gregg, Tom Hiddleston and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

OVERALL: It's a good solid action movie with a lot of fan-service moments and even funnier scenes. It's got a tinge of drama thrown into the mix and offers tons of Avengers level action moments for each and every member of the team. There's a new powerful mystery villain that this newly minted superhero group must face down the road or in a few years which was totally excellent. The film has some nice visuals that will make you go "wow" and the final battle looks awesome. The cast definitely got their characters down right including newcomer Mark Ruffalo who replaces Ed Norton as Bruce Banner aka The Incredible Hulk. The down side about this is that there are some plot points in the film that are not fully resolved or given any semblance of closure. Believe it or not, the 3D in this movie works well as compared to what we've seen in the film "Thor".

Now that ends the "safe" part of the review. If you feel like not getting any form of spoilers I suggest you turn back now.

MOVIE REVIEW: Battleship

Movie review for the film "Battleship" starring Taylor Kitsch, Rihanna and Liam Neeson courtesy of Ayala Malls.

Okay before going to the gist let me just thank the guys from Ayala Cinema for the special screening. I totally loved the seats they have in Greenbelt 3 as they were very comfortable.

GIST: The movie is great and looks clean. Taylor Kitsch also does a mean stoner and Rihanna looked so bad-ass in that scene where she was clutching that machine gun in the raft. Liam Neeson had a few good moments but was really absent throughout most of the story. The execution of the film was nice but it needed a few tweaks. Also as much as I liked the design for the "alien invaders" I couldn't help but think that the developers were playing too much "Halo".

If you're a fan of the board game or the game boy version, you will surely enjoy this. Plus there's some morality bits in the movie.