23 May Top 5 Movies to Watch Out For this May
It’s still May, it’s still summer, and there’s still plenty of time to check out any, or all, of these upcoming movies at your favorite mall cinemas. And what a delight to have four malls in the city, with 4 cinemas in each mall. This may seem like a luxury to Kagay-anons today, but what a far cry back when Cagayan de Oro had only 4 working movie houses, all located in Divisoria (see if you can name all 4, no spoon feeding please – just a bit of trivia here). Anyway, back to the coming movies, and the dates they’ll be coming out. Take note that two of these movies are already showing in international theaters and so have a different release date in the Philippines.
X-Men: Apocalypse (Already showing)
The U.S and international release date was set last May 18, so you can catch the movie this weekend. Director Bryan Singer returns with X-Men: Apocalypse following on the heels of his critically acclaimed global smash hit, X-Men: Days of Future Past.
The story centers on Apocalypse, the first-ever and most powerful and god-like mutant in the universe who has amassed great powers of immortality and invincibility by absorbing powers from other mutants. After falling into hibernation for thousands of years, he wakes up and finds the world unsatisfactory to his liking. He then plans on removing mankind and create a new world order on which he will reign. He recruits Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and other powerful mutants to do this. To save the world, Professor X (James McAvoy) and Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) form an uneasy alliance to stop Apocalypse. Unfortunately, unlike past X-Men movies, there seems to be too much focus on the villain that takes away strong performances from the X-Men. But then again, it’s Oscar Isaac performing as Apocalypse, so what did you expect?
Trailer Courtesy of YouTube:
The Young Messiah (May 25)
The film was already released last March 11 in the U.S., but its international release dates all over the world is somewhat erratic.
This is the story of a 7-year old Jesus Christ (Adam Neal), Mary (Sara Lazzaro), and Joseph (Vincent Walsh) as they embark on their journey from Egypt to Nazareth after the young boy miraculously brings someone back to life. When King Herod (Jonathan Bailey) hears of this, he orders the death of the child. Roman Centurion Severus (Sean Bean) goes in pursuit of the family, as the young Jesus becomes naturally curious about the world around him and begins to discover his remarkable powers.
Honestly, if you’re just out for a weekend romp, this movie will do, but frankly, it’s a great disappointment. It’s basically an attempt at pious drama with very minimal imagination work and very little piety. Probably only God will get to enjoy this dull, cheap-looking, and moronically-scripted account of the fictitious Jesus in his childhood days. You’re better off watching The Risen, wherein Joseph Fiennes won critical acclaim as a Roman Tribune investigating what happened to the remains of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion. But if you have money to pass the time away, The Young Messiah will do.
Trailer Courtesy of YouTube:
Warcraft: The Beginning (May 25 and June 10)
Being touted as one of the much awaited movies of 2016, its international release date is actually scheduled at May 30, while it is set to be released in the U.S. on June 10. However, some movie theaters will have limited sneak previews this May 25, so you need to check out which cinemas in Cagayan de Oro will have this.
This upcoming epic fantasy film is directed by Duncan Jones and is based on the all-favorite Warcraft video game series and novels set in the distant world of Azeroth. This is the first project of Blizzard Entertainment (owners of Warcraft) in partnership with a film company using live actors/actresses in CGI-based environments. Although Azeroth will feature the four basic species living on the planet (humans, Orcs, Elves, the Undead), the film focuses on the initial encounters between the humans and the fearsome race of Orc warrior invaders. Later Warcraft films will feature the other species, their sub-species, and a fifth species, the Burning Legion Demons.
Trailer Courtesy of YouTube:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (May 28)
International sneak previews are scheduled for May 22 and 28 (check out your local cinemas for this), while the film will be released on May 30 in international cinemas and on June 3 in the U.S. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is a science fiction action comedy film directed by Dave Green.
It is based on the characters of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoons that was popular back in the 1990’s. It is also the sequel to the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film back in 2014 that also starred Megan Fox as the reporter April O’Neil. The film still follows the exploits of the four mutant ninja turtles as they battle their nemesis, Shredder (Brian Tee), who has hired evil scientist Dr. Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) to create evil mutants in the form of Bebop and Rocksteady (these are the original characters, not the copycats from Showtime on ABS-CBN). However, before they can perfect a retro-mutagen that can make them human, New York City is invaded by Dimension X creatures led by Krang. The invasion thus finds the mutant turtles, their Master Splinter (Danny Woodburn) and their human friends in a fight against the extraterrestrial invaders.
Trailer Courtesy of YouTube:
Pinocchio (May 28)
Scheduled for an international release on May 28. There have been numerous animated versions by various film companies in the past, but of course, none can ever overcome the original 1940 animation created by Walt Disney. So, whom better to create a live-action version of Pinocchio than Walt Disney, starring Robert Downey, Jr. as a retired Iron Man – oops sorry, just kidding – as the puppeteer Geppetto.
In the wake of the past success of live-action versions of Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, Cinderella, and Jungle Book, it’s only safe to say that Pinocchio will eventually see the light of day. Although this is a live-action remake, the story will stay faithful to the original story that came out in 1881 as a novel, “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by the Italian author Carlo Collodi, and made into the iconic 1940 animated Disney film. It will still be the tale of the wooden puppet who wants to become a human boy, though much of the action will focus on Downey as the would-be father in search of his lost son.
Trailer Courtesy of Clickthecity.com:
Should this film find success, live-action version remakes of Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, and Tinker Bell are set to follow. Like Star Wars, the Walt Disney company seems to have struck gold and oil with its live-action versions of former animated films. Of course, this remake takes away the songs and singing that is inherent in the animated films. And who else will be directing this film than Ron Howard himself, after a long list of directors that included Guillermo de Toro, Ben Stiller, and Tim Burton. Many see Howard’s choice as a good one since it was he who directed 2001’s popular A Beautiful Mind, and the even more popular The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, and the more recent In the Heart of the Sea.
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