Rating: ★★★

From the hearty tales of the Emerald Isle comes this rom-com, Irish Wish. Directed by Janeen Damian, this cute in-flight to Ireland is an hour and thirty-three minutes of laughter and folklore wrapped in friendship and love.

Plot Overview

Irish Wish brings us Margaret "Maddie" Kelly, a role  brought to life by Lindsay Lohan. Maddie's life turns upside down when the man she secretly loves decides to marry her best friend. The plot thickens when she chooses to be the bridesmaid at the wedding, set in the quaint and picturesque towns of Ireland.

Cast & Characters

One of the film's strengths lies in its casting. Lindsay Lohan is perfect as Maddie Kelly, balancing comedy, and romance. Ed Speleers as James Thomas and Alexander Vlahos as Paul Kennedy engage in believable chemistry with Lohan. The supporting cast, including Ayesha Curry, Jane Seymour, and Elizabeth Tan, also deliver performances that enrich the story and satiate the audience.

Direction & Screenplay

Janeen Damian encapsulates the Irish charm and magically weaves it with a modern-day love story. Kirsten Hansen's writing is light-hearted, keeping the audience glued and entertained.

Critique

While the movie offers an engaging love triangle set amidst the lush Irish landscapes, it doesn't shy away from cliches often associated with the genre. Yes, it's filled with romantic tropes - but that's part of its charm. It's lovely seeing Lindsay Lohan on the big screen again, and the on-screen chemistry between Lohan, Speleers, and Vlahos makes it an enjoyable watch.

Conclusion

In the end, Irish Wish is an enjoyable romcom that beautifully explores an Irish wish. The belly-full of laughs combined with moments of tenderness justifies its 5.2 IMDb rating. It's not the best movie ever created, but it's certainly cute, funny and undeniably entertaining. This film feels like a warm cup of Irish coffee on a rainy day – familiar, yet pleasantly heartwarming.

Having seen a lot of movies that butchered the books that I love when it were adapted to film, I learned to lower my expectations. It is very rare that the movie is better than the film, in this case: The Fault in our Stars.

The film follows Hazel and Gus, played by today’s well-loved pair – Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, as their relationship develops from their first meeting at a cancer support group until the time they set off on a surprising and exciting journey to Amsterdam.

Shailene Woodley is a force to reckon with. I can’t help but smile whenever I see her portray Hazel Grace as I envisioned her in the book. It was her quiet confidence, yet strong performance that glued all the pieces of the film together. I will look forward to seeing this girl become one of the most sought after actresses of this generation.

Ansel Elgort was all charm. Just the right ingredient to support Woodley’s character. Being a fan of the book, it was a dream cast specially seeing Peter Van Houten come to life thanks to Willem Dafoe. What can be felt in the book is the overflowing love of the characters to each other, the good news is this love is felt throughout the movie.

They gave justice to the most memorable scenes on the book,  the Anne Frank House, the restaurant where they had their first date, the “literal heart of Jesus” where the support group is held. It was a faithful depiction of what was in the book that I am sure the fans will love.

Overall, the film was worth a watch whether you have read the book or not. It is a breath of fresh air after watching all of the computer graphics heavy movies that are available in theaters.

The Showbook Rating : 4 out of 5 stars

“The Fault In Our Stars” opens June 5 in cinemas from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

“What if you were stuck in a house with your friends as the world was ending outside?” says Seth Rogen, who, with his writing and directing partner Evan Goldberg, answers that question in the new comedy This Is The End.

In “This Is The End,” six friends – who just happen to be James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, and Craig Robinson – are trapped in Franco’s house as the end of the world begins outside. And we’re not talking about any old California-slides-into-the-ocean earthquake… we’re talking the fire-and-brimstone Apocalypse – the real Biblical deal.

Seth Rogen was successful in creating a film that I would love to watch over and over again. This film is peppered with cliché, crass humor, dick jokes which might make some moviegoers cringe. But even if you feel like you are watching a “stupid” film, the timing, the writing and how the funny elements was injected into the film was smartly positioned in such a way that once they hit the punchline, you’re in for a great laugh!

Yes, James Franco plays James Franco, Jonah Hill plays Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen plays Seth Rogen, and so on.  But of course, they’re not really playing themselves. “People think they know everything about you based on the characters you play,” says Rogen.  “So we thought it would be funny to play into that – to have these characters that behave in the way that everybody thinks is what we’re like off-screen.  There are elements of our real selves, but we all twisted them or exaggerated them to make it funny.”

Definitely a must-watch for those who would like to be entertained this weekend! Watch out for the end scene and the cameo appearances of Rihanna and Emma Watson.

The film got a lot of street credibility on Facebook, as memes and links about the Annabelle doll and  the movie flooded my Facebook Newsfeed. It maybe because of the typhoon Maring where a lot of us Filipinos are just at home waiting for the er- floods to subside, or is just curious about all the hype. So what’s our verdict?

“The Conjuring” is based on how world renowned paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren were called upon to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in a secluded farmhouse. 

Forced to confront a powerful demonic entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most horrifying case of their lives.

Plot

We see a lot of time and tested elements of a horror flick in this film. But the decision to veer away from the computer graphics and just use the good old horror trickery of whispers-here-door-creaking-there-then-the-massive-scare is quite effective. Although the tiny funny inserts were cute, James Wan was successful in delivering a good horror film that urged people to talk about it after watching the film.

The fear of the unknown, the use of everyday things in the film had a lasting effect. I see myself occasionally glance at my shoulder as I finish some stuff at 2am in the morning, and ensure that my feet is conveniently under the covers of my blanket for almost a week.

Casting

We see some horror film regulars such as Vera Farmiga (Orphan, Up in the Air) and Patrick Wilson (Insidious). The Perron kids breathe life in the film as they are the first ones who experienced the infestation and described what they seeing in crisp horrific detail. It was a smart cast. No time was wasted for bad acting in this film.

Cinematography

Weirdly one of the film’s strongest points. The small details mattered a lot in this film, from the wardrobe, the everyday items, the opening billboard, the film stayed true to its era that it will be confusing to say that the film is made on 2013. I’m sure the hipsters will love the little details.

The Verdict:

It was a good creepy film. Definitely something that should be watched on the big screen. Stop the torrents guys ;)

The Showbook rating: 4 out of 5 stars

"The Conjuring" has been rated R-13 by the MTRCB and is now in theatres.

I hate seeing the Wolfpack go.

It’s been two years.  Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Doug (Justin Bartha) are happily living uneventful lives at home.  Tattoos have been lasered off, files purged.  The last they heard from disaster-magnet Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong), he’d been tossed into a Thai prison and, with him out of the way, the guys have very nearly recovered from their nights prowling the seamy side of Las Vegas in a roofie’d haze, and being kidnapped, shot at, and chased by drug-dealing mobsters in Bangkok.  The only member of the Wolfpack who’s not content is Alan (Zach Galifianakis).

Still lacking a sense of purpose, the group’s black sheep has ditched his meds and given into his natural impulses in a big way—which, for Alan, means no boundaries, no filters and no judgment—until a personal crisis forces him to finally seek the help he needs.And who better than his three best friends to make sure he takes the first step.This time, there’s no bachelor party.  No wedding.  What could possibly go wrong?   But when the Wolfpack hits the road, all bets are off. “The Hangover Part III” is the epic conclusion to an incomparable odyssey of mayhem and bad decisions, in which the guys must finish what they started by going back to where it all began: Las Vegas.

I am just ecstatic about this film is not seeing Chow again. The writer is very successful in making Chow such a hateable character that I almost want to walk out everytime I see his face (That would be a series of walkouts and walkbacks if that happens). Zach Galifianakis character has a certain charm to it, the plain cluelessness of his character and disgusting antics, although disgusting is still funny.

The third installment is quite different from the first 2 films. There was a seriousness to it making me think that the message that the movie is trying to send across is “Hey, we kind of matured a bit.”  Which is true with two of the main characters Phil and Stu. Reading through some of the reviews of The Hangover 3, I see that a lot of people hated it. Maybe it is the toning down of the story that did not win the hearts of the fans of the first two. While some like it. As for me, I missed the craziness of the first 2 movies that was quite lacking in the third one. Maybe it was the most logical development of the film as the two guys Phil and Stu kind of lead family man lives, but looking at it into another angle I hope that the writers sustained the level of crazy that the old ones have.

In conclusion, The Hangover 3 is still great comedy that I would recommend to those who are looking for a great laugh. Don’t forget to see the clip after the credits.

The Showbook Rating: 3 out of 5 stars