Sneaky

Having had too much to eat for dinner, my colleagues and I decided to watch a movie before going back to the hotel. Glorietta 4 was the obvious choice because of proximity, so that's where we went.

Good movies were slim pickings tonight. It was a choice between The Waterhorse, Vantage Point, Dan in Real Life, Kite Runner and My Big Love. Two of these movies I've seen, one was in Tagalog (ergo, my colleagues wouldn't understand), and one was too heavy for our taste. So we ended up deciding to watch Steve Carrell's next foray into the big screen.



By Golly Gulaman (as Superfriendster Madzie would say) this is a sneaky film! We came in expecting a boring, B-movie - after all, this movie didn't have any major buzz in Hollywood. Star power wasn't that powerful - although it had Juliette Binoche and Dianne Wiest - and it felt like one of those indie films that end up straight to video. But it turned out to be "the-little-indie-movie-that-could."

The story was tight and simple. The acting was subtle yet powerful. The dialogue was unassumingly funny. It's almost like this year's "Little Miss Sunshine."

It's rare that a movie gets me laughing, cringing in my seat, covering my face and sighing - all at the same time. "Dan in Real Life" is largely a comedy, but it has drama, and bit of suspense thrown in for good measure. I was glued to the entire movie from the opening scene to the last name on the credits, and very few movies can do that. This is definitely the first best film I've seen this 2008.

My film professor was right when she said that it's best to enter a movie house with no expectations or preconceived notions at all. When you do, there are better chances of you being surprised and appreciating a movie more. And tonight, was definitely a surprise. A big and uber pleasant surprise.