The latest Hollywood star? It’s Manila

[lastlid]

Anybody seen it yet?

"What's being raved about in Hollywood? Believe it or not, it's Manila.
Yes, the city, in all its glorious decay and overpopulation and can-do spirit seen recently in how people responded spontaneously to help last week's flood victim, is a star.
Thanks to "The Bourne Legacy," Manila is shown as it is—its splendor beyond sordidness, the true worth of our actors, and yes, our policemen."
Best chase scene
The producers of "The Bourne Legacy" may have been genius in conceiving a plotline that would resurrect a lucrative franchise that was supposed to have ended with "The Bourne Ultimatum," the last of the Matt Damon-starred trilogy.
And as the new Bourne, Jeremy Renner, prepped for stardom in "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" and "The Avengers," can look forward to more sequels as he's on his way to prove his mettle as a blockbuster action star.
But the real star of the film, as what critics have hailed in their reviews, is Manila, which was the setting of the climax of the film, with a "well-crafted" chase scene amidst the chaos of the city: highways and side streets, jagged rooftops and packed harbors. Some critics even considered it one of the best chase scenes ever.
There was no need for any cosmetic effects or sanitize Manila's so-called "eye sores." With the help of cinematographer Robert Elswit, director Tony Gilroy gave the world a real yet amazing depiction of a city where cinematic spies can really make a killing."

http://ph.omg.yahoo.com/blogs/omgphn...020404001.html

"Can you imagine Daniel Craig as James Bond facing his aggressors in the crammed Quiapo district during the Black Nazarene procession?"

[lastlid]

Bourne Legacy's Filipino Cast.....


"Most of the Filipino and Filipino-American cast members hired to be a part of The Bourne Legacy are ordinary citizens with normal day jobs. For some of them, the opportunity to be a part of this highly-successful film franchise was an opportunity too good to pass up. Never mind waking up really early in the morning to prepare for a 3:00 am call time for three days straight, or just plain waiting on the set for hours for their scenes to be shot.

“It was a rare opportunity for our NYC based Fil-Ams to be part of a historic movie featuring our country, the Philippines,” actor Luis Pedron said. “We will not only see talents from the Philippines like John Arcilla and Lou Veloso but also local ordinary people from the NYC area.”

Pedron got a call from Grant Wilfley Casting to be part of the group of Filipino actors during the initial two-day shoot at the American Airlines Terminal of the JFK airport.

“Since the scenes were going thru TSA and boarding a real American Airlines plane (even though it was still on the ground) we had to go through American Airlines ticketing counter and get ticketed and pass through TSA every day. We had to present our ID’s every day as if we were really boarding an international flight to Manila,” he said.

Then came the other big scene a few days later which needed a lot of Filipinos."



http://entertainment.inquirer.net/54...-films-moments

[lastlid]

Manila Chase Scenes In ‘Bourne Legacy’ Earn Mixed Reviews

MANILA, Philippines – "Amid all the local fanfare over and mixed reviews of “The Bourne Legacy," the scenes shot in the country also caught the attention of film critics abroad.

Commentaries continue to pour in since the film was released worldwide last week. “Bourne” received an overall rating of 53% in the Tomatometer of Rotten Tomatoes, an online review aggregator, with the consensus being, “It isn't quite as compelling as the earlier trilogy, but ‘The Bourne Legacy’ proves the franchise has stories left to tell -- and benefits from Jeremy Renner's magnetic work in the starring role.”

Thumbs up

Entertainment Weekly’s Lisa Schwarzbaum described the chase sequences in the Philippine capital as a “well-crafted showdown action.” Director Tony Gilroy, who penned the screenplay of the "Bourne" saga from author Robert Ludlum’s esteemed espionage series, delivers “something more realistic and closer to the ground. The change is refreshing. Jason Bourne's legacy is in good hands,” she added.

Lisa Kennedy of the Denver Post called the motorcycle chase in Manila “beautifully absurd” but “boldy choreographed;” Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said it’s a “killer” sequence, while Chris Tilly of IGN.com found it “jaw-dropping.”

The said scene looked to have brought something more than thrills. A caption for Peter Howell’s review for The Star read, “A Manila-set motorcycle chase late in the proceedings nearly saves 'The Bourne Legacy' from inertia.”

Associated Press’ Christy Lemire deemed that “Bourne” as a “straight-up action flick… does come up a bit short, except for one dizzying motorcycle chase through the streets of Manila.”

“But it feels like Tony Gilroy is trying to do something different here, something more cerebral and potentially less crowd-pleasing,” she added.

“When the story zips to Manila, the resulting foot chases, vehicular chases and whatnot take center stage (especially the whatnot),” Chicago Tribune’s Michael Phillips wrote, while New York Daily News’ Elizabeth Weitzman said that the “high-pressure escape scenes, including one through a maze-like Manila, are all thrillingly true to the series’ spirit.”

Manila is also listed among the seven reasons people should see “Bourne,” according to Ramin Setoodeh of The Daily Beast, the online home of Newsweek Magazine.

“That’s where the movie takes our heroes, as they continue to run. I won’t tell you why the movie’s plot brings them there—the real reason they go is because the high rooftops and narrow streets are such a great backdrop for all the aerial acrobatics about to follow,” he noted.

Calling it an “enormous action sequence,” Rene Rodriguez of the Miami Herald surmised that “that must have been exceptionally difficult to shoot and even harder to edit together.” However, “it’s also hard to sit through, because by that point ‘The Bourne Legacy’ has repeatedly proven there are no surprises to be had here, no more fresh stories to be mined from this well…”

Thumbs down

Some critics, however, are not fully sold on the action-packed sequences in Manila. Tim Robey (The Telegraph) wrote, “In Manila and on motorbikes, this one does its job as an obligatory action climax, but only just.” Todd McCarthy (The Hollywood Reporter) echoed Robey’s sentiments, saying, “Manila, a relatively unfamiliar location in big features that is the scene for a long motorcycle chase… unfortunately, features mostly familiar moves.”

Roger Ebert found the motorcycle chase “way too long” and “is edited in that frustrating style where you see fragments of action but don't always have the whole picture.”

“The Bourne Legacy," stars Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, and Edward Norton, among others, and features cameo appearances by Filipino actors such as John Arcilla and Lou Veloso."

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/369639...-mixed-reviews

[Arjie]

i like this movie " "Bourne Legacy" especially the scene in the Philippines.. love it!!

[lastlid]

i like this movie " "Bourne Legacy" especially the scene in the Philippines.. love it!!

Good. I am going to see it tomorrow night. Where did you see it? In the Philippines?

[lastlid]

Just been to see this movie. Looks like about 25% of it is set in Manila. And a possible scene around the 100 Islands - not sure.

An enjoyable movie and Mrs Lastlid enjoyed it too.