REEL DEAL: The Croods TRAILER

FIRST FAMILY, A FEW MILLION YEARS AGO: “THE CROODS”

                
Get ready for a million adventures when “The Croods” opens March 22 in 3D in cinemas nationwide.

THE CROODS is a 3D comedy adventure that follows the world's first modern family through the journey of a lifetime. When the cave that has always been their home is destroyed – with the rest of their world not far behind it – The Croods are forced to set off on the first family road (or path) trip. Rocked by generational clashes and seismic shifts, The Croods discover an incredible new world filled with fantastic creatures, and a future beyond any they imagined.

The Crood family dynamics, though unfolding a few million years ago, feel like they could come from your own household.  Like most fathers, family patriarch Grug (Nicolas Cage) is fiercely protective of his wife and three kids. His hyper-vigilance has kept his cave-bound family safe, secure and....super- bored.  Grug’s strong and dutiful better half, Ugga (Catherine Keener), accepts her husband's "fear is good; change is bad" mentality, as does their son Thunk (Clark Duke), who’s content with the static status quo.  Feisty mother-in-law Gran (Cloris Leachman) never tires of needling (or sometimes assaulting) Grug; and stone-tough toddler Sandy might be the fiercest Crood yet. 

But leave it to a rebellious teenager (is there any other kind?) to stand up to parental authority.  Grug's sole focus is survival, but Eep (Emma Stone) wants to actually live, and her curiosity about the world outside their cave collides with her dad's primitive rules.  (Ever the defiant outsider, Eep gets her own ledge to sleep on while the rest of the Croods pile on top of one another for some family shut-eye.)

A cataclysmic event forces the Croods to venture into parts unknown and rethink their way of living.  En route, they encounter Guy (Ryan Reynolds), whose dazzling new discoveries – like fire...and shoes – shake up the Croods in unexpected ways. Most of the family (especially Eep) is open to Guy’s vision of a new place called “tomorrow,” but Grug sees the biggest calamity yet: a charming teenage boy from which he must “protect” Eep.  The Croods soon realize that if they don’t evolve…they’re history.

The movie presents an age known as the Croodaceous Period, which, says filmmaker DeMicco, “fell between the Jurassic Age and the ‘Katzenzoic Era’– at least according to DreamWorks archaeologists.” It is a world of visual splendor and grandeur that holds innumerable challenges for the beleaguered clan. 

From DreamWorks Animation SKG, “The Croods” is directed by Chris Sanders & Kirk DeMicco, and produced by Kristine Belson and Jane Hartwell.  The screenplay is by Kirk DeMicco & Chris Sanders, with a story by John Cleese, Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders. The music is by Alan Silvestri.

“The Croods” features a stellar voice cast headed by Nicolas Cage as Grug, Ryan Reynolds as Guy, Emma Stone as Eep, Catherine Keener as Ugga, Clark Duke as Thunk, and Cloris Leachman as Gran.

Take a peek at "The Croods'" hilarious adventures at 20thCenturyFoxPh YouTube channel here: 

REEL DEAL: Stand Up Guys SPOTLIGHT

Meet the retired gangsters Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin in Stand Up Guys

STAND UP GUYS stars Academy Award winners Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin in a tough but touching action comedy as retired gangsters who reunite for one epic last night.

VAL (Al Pacino) is released from prison after serving twenty-eight years for refusing to give up one of his close criminal associates. His best friend DOC (Christopher Walken) is there to pick him up, and the two soon re-team with another old pal, HIRSCH (Alan Arkin). Their bond is as strong as ever, and the three reflect on freedom lost and gained, loyalties ebbed and flowed, and days of glory gone by. And despite their age, their capacity for mayhem is still very much alive and well – bullets fly as they make a hilariously valiant effort to compensate for the decades of crime, drugs and sex they’ve missed. But one of the friends is keeping a dangerous secret- he’s been put in an impossible quandary by a former mob boss, and his time to find an acceptable alternative is running out. As the sun rises on the guys’ legendary reunion, their position becomes more and more desperate and they finally confront their past once and for all.

‘Stand Up Guys’ is released and distributed by Crystalsky Multimedia Hits theaters soon!

Nashville takes the spotlight on beTV this February

“With an impeccable cast and tons of talents behind the camera, Nashville could be one of those huge grown-up soaps that hook viewers for years.” -Hollywoodreporter.com

If there’s one show y’all have to check out, make it Nashville. The premise of the aurally pleasing series is an uncanny reflection of the music industry – a country music legend, Rayna James (Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights), is being eased out of the charts after 20 years in the spotlight by the next big thing, Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere, Heroes). What probably rubs Rayna the wrong way, is her record label’s insistence on organizing a co-headlining tour with Juliette, to bring up her numbers; and how even Rayna’s kids themselves are bobbing to the pop-oriented songs of her young, sexy and fame-hungry rival.

MEGA Goes Digital on their 21st Anniversary

MEGA magazine, the Philippine’s best fashion magazine, celebrated 21st anniversary with a digital-themed bash at Opus Restaurant.  Lights, lasers, holograms, and LED displays set the futuristic tone of the celebration. A digital photo wall welcomed the guests, and they made their way to the main event via an LED carpet. A specially-created Twitter and Instagram wall allowed the guests to see, in real-time, tweets and photos with the hashtag #MegaGoneDigital. iPad “trend tablets” were available for the guests to tweet, post photos, and browse the Megastyle.ph site. 

REEL DEAL: G.I. Joe:Retaliation - Byung-hun Lee SPOTLIGHT

Korean Superstar sensation Byung-hun Lee is back as Storm Shadow in G.I. JOE 2

Korean superstar Byung-hun Lee, who reprises his role of STORM SHADOW, was excited by the possibility to explore the more internal side of the character. “If I had just a lot of sword fights and kicks in the first movie, this time my character (Storm Shadow) is seen more up close. It has a dramatic aspect that shows his history, inner conflicts. I loved how much of my acting I could show this time around... but I still think I could have been much more competent in a Korean film. “Frankly speaking, it’s hard. Casual speech and delivering lines in English belong to two different dimensions. Because you use a foreign language, you’ve got to be sure you could recite lines without a mistake even if someone woke you up from a nap. “On the set, someone from the crew told me after I read my line that my pronunciation was off for one of the words. Right after my head became completely blank, busy thinking about that one line. Sometimes I felt I was back in the earliest days of my career.”

Yoshinoya Beef Gyudon Eating Grand Finals gets going

It’s “burp or bust” as Yoshinoya, the country’s most popular fast-food chain that specializes in all-time favorite Japanese culinary fare, holds the Grand Finals of its ever-popular “Yoshinoya Beef Gyudon Eating Contest” that happened February 23 at the New Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City.

And as promised, the grand finals will not be short in excitement and competitive gastronomic spirit as a total of Twenty Eight (28) contestants from all around Metro Manila, who competed in several qualifying stages held at various Yoshinoya stores for the past month, duke it out to eliminate each other. The objective is to find out who is “the best among the best” and ultimately crown the newest “Yoshinoya Beef Gyudon Eating Contest Grand Champion.”

LAKBAYAN: Philippines’ AirAsia introduces new customer-friendly services with new hotline and cash payment partners

Philippines’ AirAsia, the low cost carrier with the youngest fleet, today announced significant changes in its customer call center. Starting February 25, Philippines’ AirAsia’s new customer hotline number will be 742ASIA or 742.27.42.

“To provide optimum customer care service for our guest, AirAsia is launching two new significant innovations. We have a new customer hotline that is easy to remember and we are also rolling out our cash payment partner with 7-Eleven store for our passengers who want to avail of our online promo and other privileges but would like to pay in cash instead of using their credit cards,” AirAsia Inc. Commercial head Freddy Herrera said.

AirAsia’s payment partner service provides the convenience of using cash when paying for AirAsia promo fares and other online purchases at www.airasia.com.

REEL DEAL: Stoker - Mia Wasikowska SPOTLIGHT

MIA WASIKOWSKA: INNOCENCE ENDS IN “STOKER”

The highly-anticipated thriller “Stoker” starring Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska and Matthew Goode tells of the bizarre coming-of-age of India (Wasikowska) as she enters womanhood written by Wentworth Miller and filmed by Park Chan-Wook.

Helmed by Korean director Park which is also his debut movie in English, the movie introduces India Stoker as she loses her beloved father and best friend Richard (played by Dermot Mulroney) in an unexplained car mishap on her 18th birthday.  Upon her father’s demise, India’s life is suddenly shattered in their very secluded estate.   Left with her unstable mother Evie (Kidman) and Uncle Charlie (Goode), her father’s brother who mysteriously showed up during her father’s funeral, India experiences an unraveling of herself that surprises and frees her at the same time.

She’s Only Sixteen opens for Motion City Soundtrack

This March 9, at the SM City North EDSA Skydome, internationally-renowned pop punk band Motion City Soundtrack, composed of Justin Pierre (vocals/guitars), Joshua Cain (guitars), Matthew Taylor (bass), Jesse Johnson (Moog), and Tony Thaxton (drums), is performing for their Filipino fans for the first time. This event is made possible through CNCA Media Concepts, together with Redstone Productions.

REEL DEAL: Jason Clarke SPOTLIGHT

“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” Casts “Zero Dark Thirty” Breakout Actor Jason Clarke

Jason Clarke, whose marked, riveting performance opposite this year’s Golden Globes’ best actress Jessica Chastain in “Zero Dark Thirty” has officially signed on to star in 20th Century Fox’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”

Clarke whose role in “Zero Dark Thirty” as the gritty torturer opened possibilities for him within Hollywood arena as a potential leading man in the upcoming Fox’s tentpole franchise “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”

Directed by Matt Reeves, ““Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is set 15 years later after “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” previously starred in by James Franco.  Though the plot is tightly under wraps, www.hollywoodreporter.com reports that the movie’s plot deals with the human scientists who are struggling to survive alone in San Francisco where the most memorable battle scene took place in “Rise” between man and ape struggling for freedom from both knots.