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Flash Movie Review: Plane
I LOOKED OVER AT THE PERSON playing a video game on their phone and wondered how they would help in a crash. They were small in stature and appeared to still be in college. Looking in the opposite direction, I looked at the person sitting by the window. Hopefully, I am not sounding judgmental; but they looked like they had been in their senior years for some time. I wasn’t sure if they were staring out the airplane window or dozing. All of us were sitting in the emergency row; my main reason was for the extra legroom. Before we had taken off, the flight attendant came over to ask each of us if we understood what was required in the case of an emergency. Each of us had to answer her with a yes or no answer. In all my years of flying on airplanes, I have only witnessed two people who said no to the request. They were asked to take a different seat on the airplane. This may sound weird; but when I find myself sitting in the emergency row, I tend to pay more attention to the other passengers. I am not sure entirely why I do this, but I think I am doing a quick assessment of who might be resistant to following the rules in the case of a crash or emergency landing. I know I would be freaked out, but I do not think I would bolt and forget about helping others get off the plane. THERE WAS ONE FLIGHT I WAS on, where I thought I would find myself assisting the flight attendants in an evacuation. The captain had announced over the speakers that we were headed into a rough patch while they tried to go around a bank of storm clouds. He turned on the seatbelt light and told everyone to hold tight; he would try to get through as fast and as safely as possible. We certainly hit a rough patch because there were a few times where the plane suddenly dropped in altitude. My stomach felt the same as when I am experiencing a sudden drop on one of those huge mega roller coasters. I was tightly gripping the armrests. Gratefully, the captain made good on his promise to get through the bumpy air quickly, though at the time it seemed awfully long. Listening to the chatter among the passengers, it was clear everyone was freaked out. Luckily none of us were on a flight like the one that took place in this action thriller. FORCED TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY LANDING, the pilot of a passenger plane was lucky to have spotted a small patch of land on an island, where he might be able to keep the plane relatively intact and the passengers alive. Unfortunately, there was more danger waiting for them after they landed. With Gerard Butler (Den of Thieves, A Family Man) as Brodie Torrance, Mike Colter (Black and Blue, Luke Cage-TV) as Louis Gaspare, Yoson An (Mulan, Jawbone-TV movie) as Dele, Paul Ben-Victor (The Irishman, Get Hard) as Hampton and Evan Dane Taylor (Castle Falls, The Enemy Within-TV) as Datu Junmar; this was a typical Gerard Butler film. I am not knocking it, but it was easy to figure out what would be taking place in this story. Having said that, I have to say this film was still exciting to watch. Put reason to the side and just go for the ride, would be my suggestion. I did like the variety of scenarios, and thought they kept the story on a steady clip. There was nothing new presented in the script; but if one just wants to experience a couple of easy thrills, then this movie would provide it and in a safe way. There were multiple scenes of blood and violence.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Heneral Luna
It can be frustrating when you know something is right but someone else does not believe you. We were driving on a stretch of road that was quite familiar to me, since it was part of my daily commute to work. I knew it so well that I could tell you where every pothole was on the road. For those of you not familiar with potholes, think of them as piranha that are swimming through the pavement, hungry for your car’s tires. So I told my friend who was driving to be careful as we were coming up to a treacherous part of the road. They insisted they knew what they were doing and told me I did not need to worry. I tried again, explaining how I took this road every day and knew where to avoid the potholes. By now you probably know what happened; they drove into a pothole that blew out one of the car’s front tires. Part of me wanted to say, “I told you so;” however, I kept quiet as they were cussing the entire time it took them to take off the flat tire and put on the spare one. There was a time where I would put up a better fight to prove I was right about something; but over time, I seem to either not have or choose not to spend so much energy to change someone’s mind, who doesn’t want to listen or consider what I have to say. Don’t you find this type of thing frustrating? Gratefully this occurrence did not turn out to be a life or death situation, unlike what was taking place in this historical movie. AFTER years of Spanish rule Filipino General Antonio Luna, played by John Arcilla (Metro Manila, Compound), did not feel any better about the United States taking control of the Philippines. Based on a true event this action film had the elements to make it a blockbuster type of picture. With Arron Villaflor (Maalaala Mo Kaya-TV, Paraiso-TV) as Joven Hernando and Mon Confiado (Faces of Love, Manila Skies) as Emilio Aguinaldo; there were bloody battle scenes, dramatic flair and intense emotional scenes. However, I found many scenes to be over the top; in other words, they were either overdramatic or excessive on the violence. I can appreciate the significance of the story since it took place during an important time in Philippines’ history; but I thought the execution of the story came across more like a soap opera. One possibility could have been the language barrier for me; I did not find much range in the actor’s acting skills. The funny thing about it though, I found the basic story line to be easily relatable to current times. Coming strictly as a movie reviewer I was frustrated that this picture did not do a better job in telling its story. Violent and bloody scenes were shown; Filipino, Tagalog, Spanish was spoken with English subtitles.
2 stars
moviejoltz 