Spike Lee's Old Boy Poster is Out and it Looks...

... horrible. Really. 

Reading up on the comments from Joblo's facebook fanpage and it seems like there are a lot of people who are unhappy with the output for this poster. And I agree. It doesn't provide the oomph that can be found within this film. More importantly, the photography and the imagery made this look like a direct to DVD B-movie as opposed to something that's produced by legendary director Spike Lee. 

Also I don't dig Josh Brolin's look here. It's so far off from the classic Korean movie directed by Park Chan-Woo (Stoker). 

Plus I don't see Brolin locking in this scene:

Will Smith's "After Earth" Opens at No.1 in PH

MANILA, June 6, 2013 – Columbia Pictures’ “After Earth” starring Will Smith and Jaden Smith, rocketed to the No. 1 spot of the Philippine box-office, with a first-day gross of P8.72-million yesterday.

This was announced today by Victor R. Cabrera, managing director of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.

Described as the ultimate father and son adventure, “After Earth” dislodged “Fast and Furious 6” from the top box-office spot.

After Earth Review

Despite the negative comments, I saw After Earth when it opened and it was actually OK. Here's a rundown of what worked, what didn't and what shouldn't be in this film starring Will Smith and Jaden Smith directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

In this film, the father and son tandem plays a father and son tandem who gets stuck in the one place in the Universe that they shouldn't be in, and that's planet Earth. The movie's entire plot was conceived by Will Smith [who not only wrote the story and starred in it but also produced the flick]. The movie works for me to some extent. The father and son story is a relatable one. Disapproving fathers and overachieving sons looking for some appreciation from their fathers are not so rare in society today. IMHO, this is one of the things that Smith wants to talk about. 

The visuals are OK. It's not groundbreaking as James Cameron's Avatar but serviceable. What irks me though is that the Ursa, the film's main villain/monster isn't as terrifying as it should. For a creature that see's fear in people, it's not as menacing after a good minute or so of getting a good look at it. Where's H.R.Giger when you need him. That and the ligers are horrible.

I don't see why people hated the other creatures in this movie. Does it not strike them that the setting is an hyper evolved Earth thus it's just going to update any and all existing creatures on Earth. 

A Primer on Nova Prime: The World "After Earth"

A post-apocalyptic, primal world confronts Jaden Smith (“The Karate Kid”) and Will Smith (“Men in Black” trilogy) in Columbia Pictures' futuristic action adventure “After Earth.”

In the film, a crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.

A Dying Earth

Kitai Raige lives on Nova Prime, mankind’s new home. One day, he will be – he must be – a great Ranger, like his father before him.

Cypher Raige, Kitai’s father, is the Prime Commander of the United Ranger Corps and one of the greatest leaders in the history of Nova Prime. He is widely credited with saving the humans of Nova Prime from the planet’s fiercest alien threats: The Skrel and their vicious creations, the Ursa.

Starting in the 21st Century, Earth’s environment became increasingly uninhabitable. Massive seismic activity caused frequent earthquakes of alarming intensity; tectonic plates shifted, creating enormous volcanoes and violent collisions between continents; clean water became scarce and the atmospheric composition changed, resulting in deadly temperature fluctuations and air too toxic for human lungs to breathe.

After Earth Examines Fear of the Unknown

Columbia Pictures’ “After Earth,” the new futuristic thriller starring Will Smith and Jaden Smith, examines the themes of courage and fear in telling an astounding story of survival. “I’m fascinated by the question of why human beings fear the unknown,” says writer-director M. Night Shyamalan.

In the film, a crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.

“In our earliest days as cave-people, fear of the unknown was really important – fear could keep us safe. Fear could keep you alive,” explains Shyamalan. “ But now, we’ll fear a new job or a new relationship, because we don’t know what’s going to happen – and that’s not necessarily a good thing. Playing with that in a movie is a fun thing, and in this movie, it’s about a father teaching a son how to overcome that. It’s a wonderful lesson, because if you can learn how to control your fear of the unknown, you can do anything.”

Father and Son Face Dangers in Unfamiliar Planet in After Earth

A crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape, in Columbia Pictures' new, futuristic action-adventure “After Earth.”

With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.

The origins of the project began with an ordinary evening at home. After making “The Karate Kid,” as 14-year-old actor Jaden Smith and his parents were considering the teen’s next project, it was important to both father and son Will and Jaden to work together again. “Jaden and I were sitting around one night, watching TV and talking about how we’d liked working together on `Pursuit of Happyness,' and that we might want to do that again,” says Will Smith.

Men in Black 3 Opens at Number 1 Spot, Grosses P68.73-M

ANILA, May 28 – Alien-hunting black-suited secret agents have invaded the top of the box office.

Columbia Pictures' sci-fi action comedy “Men In Black 3” starring Will Smith opened at No. 1 in the Philippines, amassing a nationwide gross of an out-of-this-world P68.73-million for the five-day opening weekend May 23-27 frame. This was announced today by Victor R. Cabrera, managing director of Columbia Pictures Philippines.

Men In Black 3's” first weekend haul in the Philippines is the second best opening of 2012 for a foreign movie, behind only “Marvel’s The Avengers” and beating the bows of “Wrath of the Titans” (P62.5-million), “The Hunger Games” (P62.3- million) and “Battleship” (P46.3-million).

In the U.S., the sequel which reunited Smith with co-star Tommy Lee Jones and director Barry Sonnenfeld, effectively wrestled away the box-office crown from “Marvel's The Avengers” which has dominated the North American tills for the past weeks. "Men in Black 3" debuted as the No. 1 movie over the Memorial Day holiday weekend with $55 million. Distributor Sony estimates that by the end of the four-day holiday weekend Monday, "Men in Black 3" will have pulled in $202 million worldwide.

Men in Black 3 Review

The Men in Black are back for a third big screen outing in Men in Black 3 with the three main individuals back in the saddle (director Barry Sonnenfeld plus actors Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones).

The new movie brings s back Agent J and Agent K in a new case against an alien with a grudge against K (Jones). Things would have been a lot more simple if not for the alien getting his hand on some time-travel tech which screws up the time-space continuum. Agent J follows the intergalactic perp to 1969 to try to foil the assassination. 

Okay here’s my take:

MIB 3 is one of the best movies so far in the series. I’d like to say that while the original MIB was great and MIB II was so-so, MIB III took some initiatives in fleshing out more details about both J and K.

Josh Brolin also plays the role of the Young Agent K. You have to admit that the resemblance between Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin share an uncanny similarity in this movie. This is also the second movie where the two topbill but are never seen together on screen. More on Brolin’s acting later.



Boris (the Animal) is also an intriguing and menacing character. I thank Executive Producer Steven Spielberg for adding a really good nemesis in this outing. Don’t get me wrong the first movie had Edgar who was more creepy and disgusting rather than scary. Lara Flynn Boyle’s Serlina looked great on screen but she was never MIB-villain material. Truth be told, Ben 10’s alien villains had a lot more screen formidability compared to the MIB II baddies. Again Boris is a visual creep so it adds a lot of meat into the material plus Jermaine Clement's take on this vile creature was also thumbs up.

Men in Black 3 Time Travels to IMAX

IMAX Corporation and Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that the sci-fi, action comedy Men In Black 3 will be released to IMAX 3D theatres in the Philippines simultaneously with the film's grand opening in Digital 3D and regular theaters on May 23.

Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, Men In Black 3 is the first in the franchise to be released in IMAX. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reunite as the title chatracters. The film also stars Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, and Emma Thompson.

In Men In Black 3, Agents J (Smith) and K (Jones) are back... in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K's life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him -- secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K (Brolin) to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind.

“Releasing a film in IMAX 3D signals an event release, and Men In Black 3 on Memorial Day weekend certainly qualifies in a big way. We couldn't be more excited about how MIB 3 will look and sound in IMAX theatres," said Rory Bruer, president of Worldwide Distribution for Sony Pictures Releasing.

"Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Barry Sonnenfeld have made the Men In Black franchise a fan favorite and we're excited to feature the return of this iconic title in IMAX," said Greg Foster, Chairman and President, IMAX Filmed Entertainment. "Men In Black 3 is another strong addition to our 2012 film slate and we're looking forward to continuing to work with the talented team at Sony Pictures."

The IMAX release of Men In Black 3 will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX 3D Experience(R) with proprietary IMAX DMR(R) (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

Men In Black 3 is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads. Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.

Press Release: New and Retro Aliens Invade "Men In Black 3"

Master of make-up effects Rick Baker’s inventive (and Oscar®-winning) aliens are a vital part of previous Men In Black films, so it’s no surprise that the legendary artist returns for Columbia Pictures' new comedy adventure Men In Black 3.



For Baker, working on the Men In Black movies is especially fulfilling because the films inevitably require him to design in so many different ways: “Some films are straight makeup – say, we’ll do age makeup. Others will call for fake bodies or heads. Others, we’ll make animatronic characters and puppets. The Men In Black movies involve all of those things – and I got to design for the computer-generated stuff as well. We ended up making about a hundred aliens for this movie, and you could have made a whole story about any one of them.”



Director Barry Sonnenfeld says that Baker’s sensibilities mesh perfectly with the “play it straight” tone he brings to the rest of the movie. “You don’t want to design weird, wacky aliens,” he says. “If the aliens are funny, you want it to come out of observational humor, or their attitude, or the audience thinking, ‘Oh, that’s interesting.’”