5 films to see on the week of February 3-10, 2017
Kung Fu Yoga
JACKIE CHAN plays an archaeology professor at the Terracotta Warriors Museum who teams up with a young Indian professor and an assistant to locate India’s lost Magadha treasure in Tibet. They then find themselves on a race around the world to beat a group of mercenaries to the treasure. Directed by Stanley Tong, the film also stars Amyra Dastur, Disha Patani, and Sonu Sood. Reviews are mixed. Variety’s Maggie Lee is positive: “A movie that combines kinetic stunts with exotic locations on a very grand scale.” Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com says the film is “[s]o miscalculated that it briefly made me forget why I love Jackie Chan films.”
MTRCB Rating: PG
Monster Trucks
QUITE UNPOPULAR with the critics on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, which gave the film a score for just 32%, Monster Trucks follows a high school senior who builds a monster truck, and accidentally picks up a strange subterranean creature with a taste for speed. The film melds CGI animation with live action. Directed by Chris Wedge, this film stars Lucas Till, Jane Levy, Rob Lowe, and Barry Pepper. Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers writes: “Monster Trucks is a wreck, fueled by the crazy belief that noise and repetition can disguise the lack of credible writing, directing, acting and FX.”
MTRCB Rating: PG
Sakaling Hindi Makarating
ALESSANDRA DE ROSSI stars as a woman who receives a series of mysterious hand-illustrated postcards then goes on a journey throughout the country in search of their anonymous sender. The film was an entry in the 2nd CineFilipino Film Festival where it won seven awards including 2nd Best Picture and Best Director for Ice Idanan. The film also stars JC Santos and Pepe Herrera. Tristan Zinampan of Film Police writes: “Over-all, there is an aspirational message behind Sakaling Hindi Makarating, its tell us that, you know, things happen for reason. You may not know it yet, but the dots will connect themselves in due time. Nothing truly ends, so chin up, and treat life like you would this film — sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.
MTRCB Rating: PG
Swipe
IN THIS VIVA FILMS drama directed by Ed Lejano, Meg Imperial, Luis Alandy, Maria Isabel Lopez and Gabby Eigenmann play lonely people who use a dating app to look for love.
MTRCB Rating: R-16
The Space Between Us
THE STORY of the first human born on Mars who travels to Earth for the first time in search of clues about his father — his mother died at childbirth, never revealing his identity. He embarks on the search with a girl he met online. Directed by Peter Chelsom, it stars Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson, B.D. Wong, Carla Gugino, and Gary Oldman.
MTRCB Rating: PG
