Who were with you on your first heartbreak? They were with Q in "Paper Towns"

              How many miles would you go for a friend? In the very endearing coming of age movie, “Paper Towns” based on bestselling tome by John Green, high school friends drove and rode more than a thousand miles for a friend to find the girl he’s smitten with since he was nine.


              From the same team that produced “Fault In Our Stars,” “Paper Towns” tells the story of Quentin (Nat Wolff), a romantic and studious teenager, who is in love with Margo (Cara Delevingne), his beautiful and enigmatic next-door neighbor.  Good friends as children, they have since grown apart. But one night, towards the end of high school, Margo persuades Quentin to join her on a wild, night long adventure, which involves a series of outrageous pranks.  But the next day, Margo disappears, leaving behind a trail of clues. Q and his friends set off on a road trip to track her down.

              Directed by Jake Schreier, Q’s story began when he was nine when the lovely Margo moved into the house next door. A studious boy who has his life mapped out, Q is close to his similarly clever and slightly nerdy classmates, Ben (Austin Abrams) and Radar (Justice Smith).  In finding Margo, the group bonds along their journey and what begins as a mission to find the missing girl turns into a fun-filled, transformational journey of discovery, as they head for a ‘paper town’, called Agloe in New York.

              While the story centers on the relationship between Q and Margo, the supporting cast have their own interesting trajectories. “Everybody is at the center of their own story and I wanted them all to have arcs,” says Green. Justice Smith plays Q’s friend Radar who is on the road trip with his girlfriend Angela. “He’s nicknamed Radar because he looks like Radar from M*A*S*H, but the only similarity is that they both have glasses and they're both very intelligent,” says Smith. “Radar is obsessed with looking up facts and solving puzzles and mysteries. He is obsessively organized.

              Smith and Jaz Sinclair who plays Angela, were actually friends before landing the roles in “Paper Towns.” “It was a huge coincidence that we ended up playing boyfriend and girlfriend. We have lots of chemistry and a solid connection; it’s awesome,” Sinclair shares. Also on the road trip is Q’s friend Ben (Abrams), who is obsessed with Lacey (Halston Sage) but considers her to be way out of his league. “Lacey is known as the pretty blonde girl in high school but you find out that she is actually very smart and she has a brain, there’s a lot more to her than her looks,” says Sage of her role.

              Director Schreier brings an inimitable style and enthusiasm to the film, but it’s the author’s original story that gives “Paper Towns” its heart.  “John really admires teens and sees them as thoughtful and emotionally questing human beings,” adds Isaac Klausner. “He identifies high school years as a time when your intellect is fully formed and you're deeply curious. His characters don’t feel like the generalized whitewashed teenagers you often read, they feel like real people.   It is the sort of coming of age story that we haven't seen in a very long time,” concludes Isaac Klausner. “It has adventure, comedy and mystery and it explores big ideas. I think the film is going to be really great fun and incredibly touching.”

              It’s a date with friends when “Paper Towns” opens July 22 in cinemas nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

“THE MAZE RUNNER: SCORCH TRIALS” – FIRST LOOK DELIVERY

The gang’s back in a series of first-look photos hot-off the set of the upcoming second instalment of the “The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials” young adult book phenomenon following the blockbuster first movie release “The Maze Runner.”

In this next chapter of the epic “Maze Runner” saga, “The Scorch Trials” now sees Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) and his fellow Gladers face their greatest challenge yet: searching for clues about the mysterious and powerful organization known as WCKD.  Their journey takes them to the Scorch, a desolate landscape filled with unimaginable obstacles. Teaming up with resistance fighters, the Gladers take on WCKD’s vastly superior forces and uncover its shocking plans for them all.

In the latest movie “The Scorch Trials,” director Wes Ball who delivered the first movie with such strong palpable kinetic force, he describes the second chapter of the saga - “For me, the story becomes: they’re out of the maze, but they’re still lost. It’s a cool concept to play with. They don’t know what they’re supposed to do now. It’s not about saving the world, it’s about finding their way through it and what their existence means to the world.”

“The coolest thing about this franchise is it’s a constant mystery,” added producer Wyck Godfrey. “These characters have no memory of who they are or where they came from. You’re constantly unravelling that for the audience.”

Dylan O’Brien who plays “Thomas” noted, “The challenge is that it’s a whole new world now. It’s not just the Maze and the Grievers, and solving one mystery or overcoming one challenge. The group is lost, but they’re not confined to the same space as they were in first one. But they still stick together, because they believe they have to in order to survive.  You get to see what’s happened to this world and why they’re put into that maze, and what it is about them that people are after.”

                “The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials” will opens across Philippine cinemas on September 16 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Colin Firth plays a spy in "Kingsman: The Secret Service"

              Colin Firth reveals his other side as a suave secret spy in the non-stop “Kingsman: The Secret Service” directed by Matthew Vaughn (“X-Men: First Class,” “Kick-Ass”) where a super- secret spy organization that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency’s ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.

              The director warned his leading man that, should he accept the role, there were tough challenges ahead - very tough challenges indeed. “He said, ‘It’s going to hurt and you’ll hate me by the end,’” laughs Firth. “All true!”  Firth was indeed about to embark on a role unlike any other that he has tackled during his long, distinguished career, and he clearly loved it. Yes, he says with a smile, there were plenty of occasions when, after a particularly gruelling day, nursing cuts and bruises, he questioned quite why he had taken on an action role in a spy movie, but the rewards were enormous.

              In “Kingsman: The Secret Service” Firth heads an all-star cast as Harry Hart, a crack operative with secret independent intelligence organisation. Hart is a British gentleman – a suave sophisticate impeccably attired in the finest Savile Row suits – who also happens to be a formidable spy and, as Firth says, ‘a cold steel killer.”

              Firth embarked on months of intensive training to get into peak condition for the all action role. He enlisted the help of his regular trainer, Ed Chow, and the hand picked specialists, led by stunt coordinator Allen, recruited by Vaughn for the film.  “It was about six months, three hours a day,” he explains. “Three hours a day, every day with this extraordinary team of guys. I’m not an athlete, historically, at all. This was taking a man in his 50s and starting almost from scratch – not quite from scratch, because I’d done some fairly standard middle aged man’s maintenance, over the years with my trainer.

              Brad Allan, an Australian martial artist and action choreographer who worked with Vaughn on “Kick-Ass,” coordinated the fight sequences with a team that included a parkour champion and a breakdancer Bradley Allen whom they discovered on YouTube.  One of the film’s many standout action sequences is a climactic fight set inside a church, which sees Firth taking out the entire congregation.  Incredibly, the scene was done in one take.

              Much of the stunt work was a new experience for Firth, whose character moves between high-octane action and pensive stillness. When Harry does get involved in the action, he’s unstoppable – while losing none of his sophistication.  “It’s the ‘not a hair out of place’ world of fighting at first,” explains Firth. “Then there’s sheer mayhem, where there certainly are hairs out of place.”

              To prepare for the church scene, the production called upon the crack stunt team Firth describes as “the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.  They have their own sets of amazing skills. You have the Jackie Chan-like training team of Brad Allan, who’s one of the finest martial artists in the world, and then we a have a six-times world championship Thai boxer, an Olympic gold medalist gymnast, and someone from the special forces to do the gun training. I didn’t know what hit me.”

              Firth’s training regimen took three hours a day, every day, for several weeks. “I was learning to use parts of my body that I’d never used,” he says. “I didn’t even know they existed. It was painful.”

              “The stunt people training Colin were incredibly impressed,” recalls writer/co-producer  Jane Goldman. “It’s not something he’s done before and yet he was meticulous and so diligent in his training. Colin’s worked harder than anyone I’ve seen before. Not because he had to, but because he really wanted to. He nailed it, and almost none of his action work involved stand-ins.”

              “Kingsman: The Secret Service” opens February 18 nationwide from 20th Century Fox.

Liam Neeson is back for the action packed "Taken 3"

BARRELS OF NO-HOLDS-BARRED ACTION SEQUENCE IN “TAKEN 3”

Everyone is clamoring for the 3rd installment of Taken, after watching 1 and 2. The movie has made Liam Neeson the action star that he is right now. The plot and twists of Taken has made me more excited to watch for the 3rd installment.

                Like a big typhoon, the action never stops in the third installment of the blockbuster franchise “Taken” that cemented Liam Neeson as cinema’s newest and most unexpected action hero.  “Taken 3” brings Liam Neeson’s character Bryan Mills to the extreme as his particular set of skills is pushed to the edge when his reconciliation with his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) is tragically cut short when she is brutally murdered.  Consumed with rage, and framed for the crime, he goes on the run to evade the relentless pursuit of the CIA, FBI and the police. For one last time, Mills must use his “particular set of skills,” to track down the real killers, exact his unique brand of justice, and protect the only thing that matters to him now – his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace).

             
                The world will once again cheer and root for the overprotective father, Mills, whose skills, forged through years of covert ops – continue to be put to the test long after his retirement from the CIA.  TAKEN 3 sees Bryan facing his biggest challenge ever, as he deals with the aftershocks of his ex-wife’s murder, while evading pursuit from several law enforcement agencies, hunting down the real killers, and most of all, protecting his daughter Kim.

                “What makes TAKEN 3 a quintessential Taken movie is that, at its heart, it’s still about Bryan Mills doing everything in his power to save his family,” says Neeson.  “That’s why these films resonate with a global audience, because at their core, they are about the love and sanctity of family and the lengths we’ll go to protect that.”

                Neeson elaborates on the films’ careful mix of action and drama: “Even though Bryan Mills is a guy with a ‘particular set of skills,’ he’s also a kind of everyman. People identify with his love of family. Parents will do anything for their kids and they see that in Bryan. For all his faults, he still is a very devoted father who’ll do anything for his child. But I think audiences also enjoy the fact that he bucks the system and doesn’t trust anyone in authority. And if he has to break the law, then he does.
                “The underlying stories in the Taken films are solid,” Neeson continues.  “We’ve tried to avoid doing anything in excess just to excite an audience. The triggers for that action have always been very strong. And it’s, of course, about Bryan Mills defending his family and protecting them, against all odds. You have that bedrock of a very stable relationship that’s being tested all the time. So once you have that base in place and audiences believe in that charge of love – especially between Bryan and his daughter Kim – you can take the action anywhere you want.”

That being said, Neeson notes that he enjoys the films’ non-stop action and the physicality of the role of Bryan Mills.  In terms of thrills, TAKEN 3 is the biggest Taken yet.  Highlights include lightning-fast fight sequences, an incredible freeway chase – and the film’s overall relentless pacing.

                “Making a movie is like solving a puzzle, like a Rubik’s cube,” adds director Olivier Megaton.  “At first, you have no idea how to attack these things. You have to figure out every element on almost every shot. If you try to be too clever, it’s too complex. So you look for simpler solutions. But in the end, everything clicks.”

                “Taken 3” opens Jauary 14 nationwide in cinemas across the Philippines from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Owen Wilson is back as the miniature cowboy in "Night of the Museum: Secret of the Tomb"

OWEN WILSON: MINIATURE-SIZED HERO IN “NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB”




                In “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb,” Ben Stiller returns as security guard Larry Daley, together with a highly impressive group of comic actors.  Owen Wilson is back as the irrepressible miniature cowboy Jedediah, along with his equally small buddy, the Roman general, Octavius, (Steve Coogan). Both are embroiled in the latest adventure, directed by Shawn Levy. As always, the legendary artifacts at New York’s Museum of Natural History come to life, but this time, problems arise when they start malfunctioning.  The magic that keeps them alive is waning and Larry’s friends are in danger. Saving them involves an urgent trip to the British Museum in London.

                While the first two films were set in the U.S., the new adventure takes the team to the United Kingdom.  Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan, reprise their roles as the duo of American cowboy Jedediah and Roman Centurion Octavius, both miniatures from historic dioramas.  They’re the smallest characters with the biggest friendship.  Wilson says, “There has been an arc to our relationship.  We started off sort of as adversaries, and now it’s evolved into more of a team.  We’re practically a buddy comedy within a funny family movie.”

                The friendship is all the more unexpected because the characters come from very different cultural backgrounds and eras.  “There’s a brashness to Jedediah,” says Wilson, “that sort of runs up against and chafes the gentility of what Octavius represents.”  The picture of civility, Octavius is a military leader from ancient Rome.  He and Jedediah face their greatest peril yet when they fly through a museum air duct and find themselves in a Pompeii diorama where Mount Vesuvius is about to erupt.

                On being funny, Wilson relates that “My dad had a great sense of humor and on both sides of my family, humor was the way that the family related to each other. My mom had a good sense of humor, but my dad was hilarious. My dad was the head of the public television station in Dallas and that was the first station to carry MONTY PYTHON. He really loved MONTY PYTHON. So I think that being around him and his friends growing up was very helpful for me. And  though I didn't have a background as a stand up comedian and as a child I didn't ever think about becoming a comedian. In school I wasn't really a class clown, but I would get into trouble and sometimes give colorful answers to what I perceived to be banal questions from teachers, and that would make the other kids laugh and sometimes I’d get the teachers laughing a little bit. So maybe there’s a little bit of that in my background.”

                Returning to “Night at the Museum,” Wilson believes that like the movie, there is an underlying magical charm in the movie, “Apart from its great adventure, what's also nice is that it’s led to an upswing in kids' interest in museums - and the Natural History Museum. So that's a great thing that's happened and I think that is really because of Ben and Shawn and the way Shawn's able to mix the laughs with something that can be very touching. He just seems to have that touch.”

                One of the most gifted and versatile actors of his generation, Owen Wilson has starred in a slew of hit films. His early credits include “The Cable Guy,” “Armageddon” and “Permanent Midnight.” He further starred “Bottle Rocket,” “Rushmore,” “Zoolander,” “Marley & ME,” “Wedding Crashers,” “Meet The Parents,” “Starsky & Hutch,” “The Internship,” “The Royal Tenenbaums,” (for which Wilson and Anderson received a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination), “The Darjeeling Limited,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and most recently, the highly praised film, “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”
             
                “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” opens January 8 in cinemas nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Exodus: Gods and Kings premieres at London

FROM RED SEA TO LONDON’S RED CARPET – “EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS” PREMIERE PHOTOS

After traversing  mountains, crossing the Red Sea and dodging spears in the most anticipated Biblical epic of the year,   “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” Christian Bale walked the Red Carpet in the recently concluded premiere night in London along with director Ridley Scott and cast of the movie.

In photos and at the premiere are Joel Edgerton, Maria Valverde, Golshifteh Farahani, Ben Kingsley and Andrew Tarbet.  “Exodus: Gods and Kings” by acclaimed director Ridley Scott (“Gladiator,” “Prometheus”) is the story of one man’s daring courage to take on the might of an empire.  Using state of the art visual effects and 3D immersion, Scott brings new life to the story of the defiant leader Moses (Christian Bale) as he rises up against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses (Joel Edgerton), setting 400,000 slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues.

“Exodus: Gods and Kings” opens December 5 in cinemas nationwide from 20th Century Fox – available in 3D and IMAX 3D.

Tom Hardy stars in this gripping tale of crime and passion "The Drop"

Tom Hardy heads up a phenomenal cast in this gripping tale of crime and passion in “The Drop” from a screenplay of world-renowned crime novelist Dennis Lehane.  At first glance nothing looks particularly unusual as the movie starts. But as the clientele of the bar put their hands on their hearts, Bob (Hardy) discreetly stashes an envelope of cash behind the bar. Indeed, there's more to Cousin Marv's bar than meets the eye. Cousin Marv (played by the late James Gandolfini) has been drawn into working with a group of nefarious Chechen gangsters, meaning his employee Bob has to go along with the scheme. Meanwhile, the bartender has found an abandoned pit bull puppy in a trash can, leading him to cross paths with the beautiful but troubled Nadia (Noomi Rapace) and her violent ex-boyfriend Eric (Matthias Schoenaerts). It's the set-up for an explosive, emotional drama with plenty of twists and turns.


Bob’s simple life becomes much more complicated when he discovers a battered pit bull puppy in a trash can. Turning to his neighbor Nadia (Noomi Rapace) for help, he nurses the puppy back to health, as their mutual concern for the dog sparks an unexpected attraction between them. But when Eric Deeds (Matthias Schoenaerts), the dog’s original owner and Nadia’s abusive ex-boyfriend, tries to reclaim both of them, and a robbery at the bar puts Bob in the crosshairs of the Chechen crime boss who owns it, Bob is forced to face the shocking truth about the people he thinks he knows best—including himself.

The story is, as Lehane points out, still quite simple. “A guy finds a dog. The dog allows him to reclaim a part of his life. But at the exact same moment, outside forces press in on him. The Chechen mobsters who own the bar where he works for his Cousin Marv are suspicious about a robbery. The guy who originally owned the dog wants it back and he’s not taking no for an answer.”
The film opens on the day Bob re-engages with the world he’s closed himself off from. It all starts with Rocco, the puppy. “Bob made a decision ten years ago to shut himself away from humanity, from feeling,” says Lehane. “Suddenly something begins to open up in him. He meets this woman. He starts to re-join the human race. The largest dramatic question of the film is, can Bob really be rescued?”

“Like most of the people in the film, he is chasing something that’s already in the rearview mirror,” the writer continues. “They’re trying to get back to a self that doesn’t exist anymore. That idea fascinated me as I was writing the script. I think the audience will feel an emotional connection with the characters that leads them to some sort of emotional truth about their own lives, about the moments when they seem to be stuck in gear. The people who successfully navigate those waters are the ones who will ultimately reach a happy ending.”

"This has been an intense shoot," says director Michael Roskam. "It is such a tense story, but there is also a huge amount of heart. That combination is really what made me fall in love with it." The cast and crew know that they are making something special. "It's a very beautiful story about daring to take a risk with your emotions," muses Rapace. "To let someone in, even though you have a smashed heart. Someone who has been beaten up really badly still finds a way to believe and to hope again. Through a dog!"

                “The Drop” opens November 12 in cinemas nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

"The Book of Life" composed of a voice cast led by Channing Tatum

           Director Jorge R. Gutierrez's love for family, tradition and storytelling created a truly singular, a first of its kind animation in "The Book of Life" where it will reveal never-before-seen characters and will take the audience in three fantastical worlds - the town of  San Angel, The Land of the Remembered and The Land of the Forgotten.

        "The Book of Life" is also about remembrance and cherishing memories composed of a voice cast led by Channing Tatum, Diego Luna and Zoe Saldana, along with multi-talented actors Christina Applegate, Kate Del Castillo, Ice Cube and Ron Perlman. In the movie, following Maria’s (Saldana) return to San Angel, she is reunited with her best friends Manolo (Luna) and Joaquin (Tatum) at the bullfighting arena, where Manolo is preparing for his first match.  Manolo, like all the Sanchez men who preceded him, battles bravely and skillfully.  But unlike his forebears, when the moment comes for Manolo to finish the bull, he refuses.  The whole town turns on Manolo, including his father who feels terribly let down.  Moreover, Manolo fears he may have thrown away his chance to woo Maria.

              As if bucking family tradition wasn’t enough of a barrier to Manolo’s romantic pursuits, two other principals have thrown themselves into the romantic triangle, and they’re betting it all on who ends up with Maria’s hand.  The battling husband-and-wife deities La Muerte (Del Castillo) and Xibalba (Perlman) have made a wager, and the stakes for all of them couldn’t be higher.  Resolute in her belief in the fundamental goodness of mortals, La Muerte puts her faith in Manolo.  If he succeeds in winning Maria’s hand, then La Muerte will remain the beloved ancient god who oversees a wondrous world called The Land of the Remembered, and Xibalba must stop his meddlesome ways with humans.

           
            When La Muerte and Xibalba's wager started, Manolo gets swept up in the parade of his ancestors, who to Manolo are superheroes he’s been hearing about his entire life. But his joy is tempered when he discovers that Maria is not there – and indeed never made the journey to The Land of the Remembered.  With the support of his ancestors, Manolo embarks on an extraordinary mission to find La Muerte, who is the only one who can help him return to San Angel.
                But first, he must travel to a portal, the Cave of Souls, between all the magical lands. There, Manolo meets another spirit, the Candle Maker.   With a body made of wax and a beard made of clouds, the Candle Maker is a larger than life – and kind of nutty – ancient god.  He makes billions of candles, with each candle representing a life.   “The Candle Maker looks over – and geeks out over – humanity,” says lead animator Eric Dobrile.

                Though he’s supposed to be hands-off with mortals, the Candle Maker bends the rules a little to help Manolo.  “He sees something special in Manolo,” says Ice Cube, who makes his animated feature debut voicing the Candle Maker. “The Candle Maker has never seen blank pages in The Book of Life, so this is an exciting thing for him.  Also, it’s The Day of the Dead, which provides some license for him to break a few rules.”

                Manolo’s feisty and quick-witted great-grandmother, known simply as Grandma (voiced by Grey Griffin), is sure to become another audience favorite. Short in stature but long of whisker and tough to boot, Grandma is more than a match for the men in her family – past, present and future.  “Grandma’s kind of seen it all and been through it all, and she’s kind of our Peanut Gallery,” says producer Brad Booker, who adds that she’s his favorite character in the film.

                "The Book of Life" (2D and 3D) opens nationwide in cinemas on October 16 (Thursday) from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

DON’T BE LEFT BEHIND: “THE MAZE RUNNER” NOW IN CINEMAS

                Can W.C.K.D. be good? Find out in the thrilling and out-of-your-breath action adventure film “The Maze Runner” starring a group of amaze-ing young boys and a girl – headed by Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Aml Ameen, Blake Cooper and Kaya Scodelario.

                Directed by Wes Ball, the movie opened in Philippine cinemas (last September 17) with fever-pitch anticipation from movie enthusiasts especially from the young adult crowd from whom the book has enjoyed immense success catapulting it to one of YA bestselling series of all time.

                In the movie, Thomas (O’Brien) wakes up trapped in a massive maze with a group of other boys, they call it the Glade, he has no memory of the outside world other than strange dreams about a mysterious organization known as W.C.K.D.  Within the glade stands a massive series of walls that forms a dangerous maze where their only hope to escape lies at the end of each cluster, but the walls change every single day, as such they assign runners, the fastest of the bunch to track and take mental notes of the maze’s secrets.

                “The Maze Runner” also brims with a cast full of talent within its action-packed and visually stunning production, director Ball and producer Wyck Godfrey assembled an impressive cast to form a highly functional society as they perform their daily jobs, look out for each other and engage in power struggles as they try to solve the mystery of the Maze. Godfrey says, “The casting was one of the most exciting things about the project.  The actors really believed in this world, and we went far afield to find them.”  

Thomas, played by Dylan O’Brien is the boy who takes that step forward when everybody else takes a step back.  He’s curious and comes to learn that he is just one of many who have come up on that elevator once a month over a three year period.

The leader of these Gladers is Alby, who’s the closest thing to a father figure.  “Alby is the main dude,” says Ball.  “He was the first Glader, the first boy sent up the elevator, and he had to survive an entire month by himself not knowing where he was and without any help.  Then the next guy showed up.  Alby figured out that order and discipline were necessary to survive in this world.  He’s very protective of it.”

Thomas’s nemesis in the Glade is Gally.  Smart and intimidating, Gally wants to maintain the status quo and clashes with the new arrival.  “But Gally and Thomas are really two sides of the same coin,” notes Ball.  “Thomas fully embraces and charges into the unknown and Gally is all about self-preservation and keeping things safe and normal.”

Alby’s lieutenant, Newt, is played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster (voice of Ferb in “Phineas and Ferb”), who appears in the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones” and first gained attention for his performance in “Love, Actually.”  Newt walks with a limp that’s not fully explained because it’s something he’d prefer not to talk about.  Nevertheless, Brodie-Sangster says the character is “the fun one of the group, the one that everyone gets along with.  The Gladers come to Newt with their problems because they like and trust him.”



British actress Kaya Scodelario plays the only young woman among the Gladers, Teresa, who has a mysterious connection with Thomas. Having made her name with the UK TV series Skins, Scodelario impressed the filmmakers by being “one of the guys,” as Godfrey puts it. “She’s badass, which is what you need to be if you’re going to be thrust into the world of the Glade with all these young men.”

The elite among the Gladers are called Runners, whose athleticism propels them through the Maze each day, which helps them compile a map of the foreboding structure and, maybe, figure out a way to escape.  Their captain is Minho, played by Ki Hong Lee.  The young actor grew to understand his position of leadership among the Gladers in a very individual way.  “I looked at the Marines and the Army and, and I consider Minho like a general of the Gladers,” Lee explains, “It’s his job to rally the troops.”

“The Maze Runner” is now playing in cinemas across the Phils. from 20th Century Fox distributed by Warner Bros.

CREATING “THE MAZE RUNNER” WORLD

                It will take wit, agility, speed and strength to survive a labyrinth of dangerous walls with predators ready to kill at an instant in the upcoming young adult movie “The Maze Runner.”

                Based on the bestselling YA series of novel of the same title by James Dashner, “The Maze Runner” brings a group of young boys (and a girl) together in a secluded place known as the Glade where they come and stay but does not have any idea of who they really are and what brought them there. Starring, Dylan O’Brien, Ki Hong Lee,  Kaya Scodelario, Aml Ameen, Will Poulter and Thomas Brodie-Sangster, the movie is directed by Wes Ball who envisioned the Maze walls to be modern and ancient.   The towering structure’s creeping vines and seemingly empty corridors mask a threat that terrifies even the most hardened and veteran Gladers.

 The hidden creatures, which the kids call Grievers – though none has actually seen one, preys on those who stay too long in the Maze. This means the boys must get out of the Maze before its walls close because nobody survives a night there.

Check out the cast and filmmakers video here on the making of the walls:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4zAhE67Gyw&feature=youtu.be
“THE MAZE RUNNER” opens September 17 in cinemas from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Ben Affleck plays married Nick Dunne to "Gone Girl" the movie

BEN AFFLECK’S TOUGHEST CHALLENGE YET ON BEING MARRIED IN “GONE GIRL”

This is one of the best book that I have read 2 years ago, and I keep re-reading it to relieve the moment and pain of Nick Dunne. I am pro -Nick, find out why.  Just like everyone else who read the book. I am excited to see the movie. 

The page-turner tome “Gone Girl” written by Gillian Flynn about a woman gone missing on the day of their fifth year wedding anniversary and a marriage believed to be on the rocks is brought to life by Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike under the direction of David Fincher.

From the bestsellers’ shelves, “Gone Girl” reveals the real Mr. and Mrs. Dunne as they go through the motion of making their marriage work. Nick (Affleck) decides to move back to his hometown in Missouri from New York after being sacked as a print journalist, bringing his wife Amy (Pike) with him.  Embittered by his current state due to the advent of online publishing, the couple has slowly drifted apart, with Nick spending most of his time at a local bar he bought and manages while Amy is mostly home and explores the community with a few newfound friends.

                Unexpectedly, Nick’s sleepy town has awakened due to Amy’s sudden disappearance, what was left are confusing clues as to why and how his wife had gone missing.  At the scene of the crime within the Dunne’s home are clear signs of struggle – shattered glasses and an overturned coffee table but there were no signs of forced entry, leaving investigators to think that the prime suspect they’re looking for might be Nick.

                In recent interviews, Pike stated that the movie will make people re-examine their thoughts on marriage.  “That aspect of marriage as a con game, or whatever.  The idea that we perform a sort of ideal version of ourselves that the other person wants. We perhaps belie our true nature in order to perform to the ideal. David and I talked a lot about living in an age of rampant narcissism.”

                Likewise, Affleck shared that ““I actually think this is the perfect date movie, not because I think it’ll result in divorce – I think that’s just David’s fantasy – but because it’s the kind of movie that a husband and wife could talk about afterwards. I think a man and a woman would have different takes on what happens. The last time I was in a movie that I thought polarised men and women in an interesting way was ‘Chasing Amy.’ That was quite some time ago.”

                “Gone Girl” opens in cinemas nationwide on October 8 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

“THE MAZE RUNNER” PICKS UP SPEED AS SEPTEMBER 17 NEARS!

Watch and Meet the Gladers Video

                “The Maze Runner” is set to turn things in a dizzying blur as the teenage captives in a virtual prison known as The Glade run for a chance to save their lives.   Headed by “Teen Wolf’s” heartthrob Dylan O’Brien along with a group of talented young actors including Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter, Aml Ameen, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee and Blake Cooper,  “The Maze Runner” is directed by Wes Ball based on James Dashner’s hugely successful (trilogy) tome.

                At this year's Comic Con, the cast attests that the movie will be shocked on how the book’s famous baddies known as the Grievers, were depicted. Director Ball further stressed that the audience will definitely be in for a pretty terrifying ride.

Published in October 2009, “The Maze Runner” became a New York Times Best Seller and captured the imaginations of readers around the world, who described it as a combination of “Lord of the Flies,” “ The Hunger Games,” and the legendary television series “Lost.”  Dashner understands those comparisons, especially to Lord of the Flies, but notes that THE MAZE RUNNER is at its heart a very different story.  “I don’t think characters would react they way they do in Lord of the Flies,” he explains.  “I think they’d be more civilized, orderly, and determined to survive and escape.  THE MAZE RUNNER is an adventure story that’s also about hope and the potential of the human spirit.”

             
The book caught the attention of producers Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Lee Stollman from the management/production company The Gotham Group.  “We see a lot of young adult novels,” Stollman explains. “And you always look for something that has a big world creation with characters that are identifiable and something we haven’t seen before,” which is what they found in Dashner’s book.

                Leading man Dylan agrees, "That’s something that might separate this, I think, being like one of those YA movies that are coming out. I so genuinely don’t think it’s like that. It totally exists in its own right and like he said, it could easily be taken as a kid’s movie just objectively, but there is a real sense- there’s this gravitas to it It’s really, really mature in that aspect of performances and just the story."

                Reflecting on the story’s appeal, Dashner notes that much of it stems from the “constant state of not being able to predict what’s going to happen next.  I wanted my readers, and now the moviegoing audience, to feel like Thomas when they enter the Glade.”



                “The Maze Runner” opens September 17 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Meet the Gladers video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFvok6gBAdM&list=PLcZs6n5iZPx8CHV6UBIQaEHvK4Uru0CqW

Rosamund Pike stars as Amy Dunne for the bestselling book "Gone Girl"

“GONE GIRL” TRAILER REVEAL

I read the the book in three days when I was out of the country, the book was a page turner.  I never cried so much in my life, it sounds crazy but the story just blown me away, I will never forget  Amy's character until today. Now that it will be shown in screen, Im just as excited as everyone else.

           Recently, bags of evidence have recently surfaced on the net on the disappearance of Amy...gone on the day of their 5th wedding anniversary.  A piece of underwear, a cutter stained with blood, a photo of their wedding day and a note that says ‘this man may kill me’ suggest that her husband might be the main suspect of her mysterious disappearance.  Despite it all, he swears he didn't kill his beautiful wife.

                Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike star in the bestselling page turner tome “Gone Girl” by author Gillian Flynne.  Affleck and Pike play Mr. Nick and Mrs. Amy Dunne whose marriage have been exposed to the public when Amy had gone missing.

                Directed by David Fincher, known for his gripping works such as “Fight Club,” “Seven,” “The Social Network,” “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” the trailer of his latest movie “Gone Girl” has just been released here:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTj2ddCg5C4&list=UU-JrjBL_iZAn5wjEsw9nRYA

              Did he or didn’t he?  Find out the truth when “Gone Girl” opens in cinemas nationwide on October 2 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

APE OF KINGDOM IS BACK IN “DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES”

A RISING NATION UNITED IN “DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES”

                10 years after the Simian Flu virus almost wiped out man’s kind, a nation of apes is thriving despite the virus – growing stronger and multiplies in director Matt Reeves’ most awaited sci-fi action of the year, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” starring Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Gary Oldman and Andy Serkis.

                “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” follows what transpired on the previously released film, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” where Caesar, captured by Serkis, his journey took him from orphaned baby, raised in a human household, to abused prisoner in an insalubrious ape sanctuary, to the liberator of a whole army of apes, artificially evolved to super-intelligent levels by a man-made serum. That film concluded with Caesar’s community disappearing into Muir Woods near San Francisco, before the same serum, in viral form, wiped out most of humanity.

Now, “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes” picks up a decade later. The apes live peacefully in their own woodland territory, thinking humanity has gone forever. Then, it turns out there are virus-resistant survivors, struggling to recover in a devastated San Francisco. In this new world, a tense stand-off develops, one which leads to a potentially disastrous ape-versus-human conflict.

                Human and ape have not encountered each other for years. This chapter of the Planet Of The Apes series concerns their ‘first contact’ since the pandemic — and that encounter’s fallout. “There is this question of co-existence,” explains Reeves. “So, this is that one moment when it could have been Planet Of The Humans And Apes. And that’s what we’re exploring in this story: how that fell apart.”  
 

A formidable antagonist for the humans is Koba, played by Toby Kebbell.  The milky-eyed and scar-faced bonobo, introduced in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Koba spent much of his younger life confined in laboratories, where he was subjected to experimentation in the name of science. In the decade following the apes’ liberation, Koba has evolved into a grizzled warrior who harbors a strong hatred of the human race, believing that the only good human is a dead human.

Kebbell, who recently landed the role of the iconic villain Victor Von Doom in The Fantastic Four, says that Koba’s relationship with Caesar is one of “son and father, if not younger brother and older brother.  Caesar is very much in control, and Koba appears to be fine with that.”

A far gentler ape character is Cornelia, the young female chimp who in Rise of the Planet of the Apes was held at the San Bruno Primate Center, and who is played in this film by Judy Greer. Ten years after Caesar’s uprising against humanity, their budding relationship has blossomed. Cornelia is now Caesar’s wife and queen and the mother of his two children: an impatient and sometimes-rebellious adolescent male simian named Blue Eyes, played by Nick Thurston, and a newborn baby chimp.

When Rise of the Planet of the Apes was released, fans immediately recognized that Cornelia was named in tribute to the 1968 film’s lead ape character Cornelius, played by Roddy McDowall.  Given her romantic connection with Caesar, her name is also a historical reference to Cornelia Cinna, the first wife of Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar.

Another ape introduced in the last film, Rocket, played by Terry Notary, is a skilled combatant and one of Caesar’s closest allies. As in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Notary also served as the ape movement coach and stunt choreographer.

Also returning is Karin Konoval, as Maurice, an ex-circus orangutan who was forced to perform for the entertainment of his human captors.  Now the wise elder, Maurice serves as loyal consigliere and advisor, serving Caesar and educating the youth of his ape kingdom.

                “In this movie,” concludes Reeves, “Caesar goes from being a revolutionary to a leader and a father and someone who has to lead through very difficult times. In that sense, the ambition is for him to be an ape Lawrence Of Arabia. And Andy is someone who has the gravitas and the depth to play that. The fun of the movie is to have the scale of it and never lose sight of the intimacy or the soul of it.” Serkis, he asserts, is the key to its success. “He’s our ace in the hole. He’s just amazing.”

                “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” (2D, 3D, 4DX) invades more than 200 theatres nationwide on July 9 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

                Stronger and united apes in this trailer link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN5KJ4x2oO8&list=PLcZs6n5iZPx-m4mEqWPLnh5bpwU-Wm2Ny&index=6

Making Friends with "The Other Woman"

KATE UPTON IN HER FIRST MAJOR FILM ROLE IN “THE OTHER WOMAN”

Kate Upton, one of the world’s most sought supermodel/endorser debuts in her first major film role in the hilarious romantic comedy “The Other Woman” starring alongside Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann.

An unconventional friendship begins between three unsuspecting women as they cross roads when the man of their dreams gets exposed as a three-timing liar.  Carly (Diaz), a stunning lawyer from New York suddenly appears on Mark’s (NIkolaj Coster-Waldau) doorstep to surprise him, but when the door opened and she was greeted by a sweet-suburban woman named Kate (Mann), who is actually Mark’s wife, Carly’s world suddenly turned upside down.  She can’t believe that Mark made her the other woman all along!  The two women don’t appear to have much in common, other than the philandering womanizer who has been tricking both of them. They become great pals, however, and decide to teach the lying Mark a few lessons to prove that cheating will not work. But their journey goes way beyond straightforward revenge. Infidelity may have led to hurt and upset, but they don’t let it destroy their lives. Far from it.

Everything becomes more complicated when Carly and Kate find out that the charming cheat has been engaging in yet another affair, with the beautiful Amber (Kate Upton) who is half his age.  Kate Upton plays the naïve Amber, a classic blonde bombshell who innocently believes she has found true love with her handsome and highly successful boyfriend, Mark, until she discovers that he has been deceiving her.

For the role of Amber, the third woman deceived by Mark, producer Julie Yorn considered a number of actresses, but in securing Kate Upton, the producer ended up where she started.  Yorn explains: “Initially, we used Kate as the loose prototype of the character, never thinking we were actually going to get her.  But she came in and she was just so disarming.  The key to that role was that you have to hate her when you first see her, at least a little bit, and then love her when you get to know her.  She fits the bill so well for both of those situations.”   Likewise, screenwriter Melissa Stack marveled at the similarities between the character Amber and Kate Upton the person.  “Kate is such a bombshell but she’s very sweet,” says the screenwriter.“Kate has this lightness and a kind way about her that is perfect for Amber. That was always who we all hoped Amber would be.”

Upton enjoyed her first major acting role under the tutelage of Diaz and Mann.  “I am so lucky to have one of my first movies to be with Leslie and Cameron,” she says.  “They’re so inspiring.”

As the youngest of the trio, fashion designer icon Patricia Field along with her longtime collaborator and protégé Paolo Nieddu says of Kate’s Amber,  “She’s the cool girl,” says Nieddu.  “Amber’s style is a young style. Her most memorable wardrobe moment is when Carly and Kate spot Amber on a sunny Hamptons beach, jogging in a perfect white bikini made by Malia Mills.Amber is your jeans-and-t-shirt, all-American girl-next-door.  She’s kind of a tomboy at times.  Amber shouldn’t be over-styled or overdone.  She’s not out on the prowl.”

Upton, an American actress and supermodel also did cameos in the films “The Three Stooges” and “Tower Heist.”   As one of the most in-demand supermodels, Upton has broken boundaries in the fashion world, gracing the covers of the industry’s leading international publications including VOGUE US, VOGUE UK, VOGUE Italy, VOGUE Brazil, ELLE US, GQ US, as well as being featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition two years in a row. Kate was most recently the cover subject of the 100th Anniversary issue of Vanity Fair.   An avid horseback rider, she showed for the American Paint Horse Association and competed on a national level.

“The Other Woman” opens May 7 in theaters nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

MEET & GREET “MR. PEABODY” THIS WEEKEND – MARCH 8 & 9

MEET & GREET “MR. PEABODY” THIS WEEKEND – MARCH 8 & 9

                Mr. Peabody, the most accomplished dog in the world is in the country’s premiere malls this weekend (March 8 and 9) for a rollercoaster ride through history!

                Treat your family and friends this weekend and catch Mr. Peabody tomorrow (March 8, Saturday) at Robinson’s Manila (2:00pm); SM Manila (4:00pm); SM Manila (5:00pm) and at Lucky Chinatown (7:00pm).  Mr. Peabody will also be seen on Sunday, March 9 at SM Megamall (2:30pm) and at Robinson’s Metro East (6:30pm).

                In the movie, “Mr. Peabody & Sherman”, the father-son tandem use their time machine - the WABAC - to go on the most outrageous adventures known to man or dog. But when Sherman takes the WABAC out for a joyride to impress his friend Penny, they accidentally rip a hole in the universe, wreaking havoc on the most important events in world history.  Before they forever alter the past, present and future, Mr. Peabody must come to their rescue, ultimately facing the most daunting challenge of any era:  figuring out how to be a parent. Together, the time traveling trio will make their mark on history.

                “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” is now showing nationwide in more 120 screens nationwide –  A DreamWorks Animation presentation from 20th Century Fox distributed by Warner Bros.