In fact mas amraming reports about sa pagtitiis ng mga casts ng Prince of Persia kaysa sa mga casts ng Sex in the City. Pero mas tumatabo ng audiences ang Sex in the City. Di hamak na mas naging patok ang istorya nito compared sa isang adaptation from a video game.
Ang dami talaga ang natutuwa sa adventures ng apat na magkakaibigan and how their love for one another becomes a conflict with loving men. Although kung bablikan ko yung desert experiences, mas nakaklamang pa rin ang pagod ng mga characters sa Prince of Persia. Here is what Rowena Joy Snachez has to say between the two;
In “Sex and the City 2,” sex is still sex and the city shifts from New York to Abu Dhabi. Although it is interesting to note that the movie was actually shot in Morocco.
Picking up two years after the first installment's release, the fab four---Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis)---set off to the Middle Eastern country to “get away” from all the issues hounding their respective lives:
Carrie struggles to keep the “sparkle” in her marriage with Big (Chris Noth); Samantha tries to defy aging and to up her libido by taking pills, pills, and more pills; Miranda gets incensed with a discriminating boss; and Charlotte, now a mother of two, becomes paranoid that her hubby will leave her for their braless nanny, Erin.
“SATC 2” still has some of the fun, wit, and that sense of warm and celebratory friendship that filled its predecessor; plus more glamour and cameos Liza Minelli -- who sang and danced “Single Ladies” at the girls’ gay buds’ wedding -- Miley Cyrus, and Penelope Cruz.
However, the film fails at leaving a memorable footprint in the desert sand. The film’s unapologetic attempt at empowering women at the expense of another culture is utterly tactless. What travelers usually do is immerse themselves in a new culture, and not mock it.
Kim delivers the funniest performance but one that is cultural-insensitive sometimes. These include violating the law by kissing a guy at an Abu Dhabi beach, and lifting “the finger” and screaming “sex” like it’s a sacred chant around conservative Arab men.
With scenes like these, it’s no wonder that the Abu Dhabi government rejected the request to shoot parts of the film in their generally traditional city. The production team could've simply and directly referenced Morocco and that could’ve spared the film a little criticism at least.
“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”: Breezier than sand storm
Another video game finds its way to the big screen with “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” an exciting, fun, and breezy tale about the possibilities and consequences of turning back the clock's hands.
Originally created by Jordan Mechner back in 1989, the movie version is helmed by “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” director Mike Newell, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (“Pirates of the Carribean”).
Beyond lead star Jake Gyllenhaal’s drool-worthy six-pack abs and Tigger-like bounces, leaps, and runs from one roof to another, is a story set at the heart of historical Persia. Gyllenhaal’s Prince Dastan ventures into a quest of protecting a magic dagger from falling into the hands of his power-hungry, double-crossing uncle, Nizam (Ben Kingsley). Guarding that magic dagger, which has the power of revisiting time and altering history, is the beautiful princess of Alamut, Tamina (Gemma Arterton). Oh, doesn’t the sand smell of love?
Two hours inside the theater and it certainly doesn’t feel like forever, thanks to the film’s breezy pace, vibrant and sepia-toned cinematography, and sleek visual effects. The story may not be that unusual, but the visual feast the film offers more than makes up for it.
Jake’s Dastan is heroic and, at times, larger than life, yet his eyes are filled with wonder and hunger for adventure, just like when he was that little street urchin who defended his fellows from the king’s soldiers so bravely that King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup) took him in for his own son. This film gives the actor the credibility to star not just in heavy dramas like “Brokeback Mountain,” but also in a fantasy film like this one.
His pairing with Gemma works although the chemistry is not that palpable. Worth-mentioning, too, is Alfred Molina, whose Sheik Amar---a tax evader who seems to have a love affair with ostriches---provides the laughs.
Meanwhile, hindi naman puwedeng pahuli na lang ang mga Pinoy. Nagshoot din ang mga artistang Filipino outside the country and sa Morocco naman. Naandun ang isa sa pinaka malaking disyerto sa mundo ang Sahara. Pinangungunahan ito ni Franchesca Farr ang nanalong Next Big Star at siya nga. Dahil matapos nito, makikilala talaga siya for making history.
It is very shameful that in a musical country like ours, wala pa ni isang movie na musical ang naproduce for the past 3 decades. Kaya si Chito Rono, nagpasimula na ng bagong trend. Here is what a foreign fanatic in the name of Olivier Ochanine has to say about Emir, yes si Maestro Olivier mismo...
Last night, the gala viewing of EMIR, a Filipino film produced in conjunction with the Cultural Center of the Philippines, took place at Mega Mall in Pasig. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was in attendance, as the film was made possible in part with help from the Presidential Social Fund (and also since the film's inception is primarily due to GMA's experience in Dubai meeting a prince whose personal experience is retold in Emir).
The film proves to be a success on many aspects, and while the movie is a little long for my taste (about 2 hours and 15 minutes), the music is varied enough that the movie remains captivating, even for someone (me) who has a very limited to non-existent understanding of tagalog - unfortunately, subtitles are limited only to the sections spoken in Ilocano or Arabic. Helpful is the fact that the cast is comprised of talented actors/singers/dancers.
Without getting too specific about the story, as the movie will not officially open until tomorrow in theaters nationwide, I can tell you that, although the story line is quite simple (yes, I actually corroborated my take on it with someone who knows tagalog well), the movie works well because of the balanced combination of music and action. At no time in the movie did I feel that time was dragging or that the 'rhythm' was off.
Oddly, I am not a great fan of movie theaters, but last night, EMIR captivated my attention from beginning to end. Except for a 5-minute scene which seems a bit inutile, if cute (to be vague, it's a scene involving international travel - you'll see what I mean), the flow of the various scenes is very well done.
As for the cast, they were well chosen. The lead actress (Frencheska Farr), obviously very pretty, is kept looking fairly 'simple' for most of the story, which is nice, since this movie is not a movie about Filipino royalty, but instead about OFWs - or overseas Filipino workers. While the movie's title seems to hint that the story is possibly centered around an emir (which, in a sense, is partly true), it is really more about a group of Filipinos working in an Arab household, with Amelia (Farr) assigned as special caretaker to the young son of an emir (this young son becoming a secondary subject for much of the movie).
As for the rest of the cast, most have great supportive roles and get a lot of 'mileage' with the music numbers and spoken scenes. This also adds to the movie's rhythm, as the movie does not suffer imbalanced saturations of music over spoken word (I find musicals that are strictly sung to be a little off-putting, especially if the music is not stellar).
Speaking of the music, I was pleasantly surprised. Not knowing an abundance of Filipino music yet, the musical numbers/arrangements are quite attractive. The orchestral arrangements are played by members of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (and I must say I was extremely pleased and proud of their work on this movie). The arranger for this movie is Chino Toledo, and after hearing the work done on this, I look forward to checking out his own compositions. The singing, for the most part, is excellent. Save one role in the movie (whose singer unfortunately couldn't seem to reach some notes with decent intonation), the singers perform like stars, which is nice because their acting is also quite good.
As for the filming itself - that has to be one of the absolute highlights. The movie was filmed both in the Philippines and in Morocco. The film quality is beautiful, which is perhaps due mostly to the use of the RED camera, which I'm told has not been used much in Filipino movies to date. The camera work (angles/movement pacing) is also stellar and itself adds to the action - it is clear that the movie's director, Chito Rono, is no neophyte to the field of directing (he has, after all, directed almost three dozen movies/TV productions).
In short, this movie really is a good way to spend slightly over 2 hours in a movie theater. I came out of the theater wanting more Filipino music and movies. Actually, it is rare for me to want to see a movie twice, but I may very well be seeing this one again later this week.
Whatever it is that enetered directors' minds, nakakatuwa pa ring isipin na ok na ok na ang industry sa mga bagong pag sho-showcase lalo na ng isang bahagi ng mundo na hindi masyadong puntahin. Ano sa next time, Antartica naman!
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