The epic adventure “Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace,” from visionary filmmaker George Lucas, captivated global audiences when it first came out in 1999.  The Force is back. But this time in 3D giving the film an immersive dimension and turning it into an altogether richer cinematic experience.

It’s an experience that will inevitably be thrilling: watching “Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace” 3D on the big screen. The first Star Wars movie to be presented in spectacular 3D, all the exciting elements of the original remain, with  added dimension and nuance.

George Lucas, the pioneering and brilliant filmmaker behind Star Wars, has overseen the process with his renowned attention to detail. John Knoll, the visual effects supervisor for Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) was responsible for the actual conversion. He served as visual effects  supervisor on all three of the Star Wars prequels.  The remaining five Star Wars films will be converted to 3D over the coming years.

“I think 3D makes the film more immersive,” says John Knoll. “The extra dimension makes the audience feel like they are more present in the Star Wars universe. I wanted to make sure that we were not turning this into a gimmick. It’s something that should feel natural and not cause eye-strain or cheapen the product so I was not looking for places to poke stuff out of the camera. I went for naturalistic stereo as though the movie had actually been shot in stereo. I think the film looks better than it ever looked before.”

“Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace” was released in 1999.  The movie starred Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn and Ewan McGregor as his apprentice Obi-Wan-Kenobi, a determined young Jedi Knight. Natalie Portman played Queen Amidala. Jake Lloyd starred as Anakin Skywalker. It is a fantastically exciting adventure set 32 years before the events of the original.  The film follows Anakin’s journey as he pursues his dreams and confronts his fears in the midst of a galaxy in turmoil.

In between the production of Episode II (2002) and Episode III (2005), director George Lucas first began exploring the idea of presenting the entire Star Wars saga as 3D theatrical releases. Active 3D conversion work on “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” began in 2010. ““I’m really excited about the new big screen release of the film.  We’ve worked very hard to get the best quality 3D we could. The big screen experience is so much better than watching it on television. It was designed to put you in the environment and surround you with the sound and the picture. There is   nothing like it. I’m so glad that we were able to bring this whole experience to the next generation. This will be the third generation that will be able to see it on the big screen and when you’re young, it’s an overwhelming and powerful event,” relates Lucas on the 3D conversion of the movie.

Lucas recalls that “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” underwent a painstaking frame-by-frame conversion from a 2D film to a 3D experience thanks to the efforts of Prime Focus, a global visual entertainment services company, and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the preeminent visual effects company that has produced the visuals for all the Star Wars movies.

“Originally I was not a big fan of 3D. I really thought 3D was a gimmick. Then later on I was trying to get digital projectors into the theaters. I was doing a presentation in Las Vegas. Bob Zemeckis and Jim Cameron came up to me  and said: ‘We want to get 3D into the theaters. Would you join us in showing the theater owners that you can do 3D?’   And I said: ‘That’d be good because in order to do 3D you have to have digital theaters. So it would promote my idea of digital theaters.’ Then when I saw the test that we did of Star Wars in 3D, I realized how great it was and how great it looked.  I became  fascinated with the idea of converting STAR WARS into 3D, which was  easier said than done.  It took us a long time to develop a structure in which we could actually do a really good conversion of a 2D film into a 3D film,” further shares Lucas.

“Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace” (3D) opens February 9 in  cinemas from 20^th Century Fox  to be distributed by Warner Bros.

This year’s Oscar frontrunner for Best Picture (Drama), Best Director (Alexander Payne),  Best Actor (George Clooney) , Best Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay – “The Descendants,” is set to have its sneak previews on February 6 (Monday) and February 7 (Tuesday) in  Metro Manila cinemas.

“The Descendants” is based on Kaui Hart Hemmings’ acclaimed debut novel of the same title depicting a portrait of a man grappling with some of the worst news, most difficult people, and most impossible decisions of his life.

Matt King (portrayed by George Clooney) is not the man he would like to be.  His mischievous daughters don’t trust him, his imperiled wife has been cheating on him and his broke cousins see him and the land trust he controls as a piggy bank. To add insult to injury, he’s surrounded by a lush, fertile, awe-inspiring landscape that defies his inner turmoil.  Yet all of this leads Matt to a tumultuous awakening that might be awkward, comical and sometimes absurd, but nevertheless changes his concept of love, fatherhood and what it truly takes to be a man.

“The Descendants” has recently scored major awards including Best Actor (George Clooney) in Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, Golden Globes, National Board of Reviews; Best Supporting Actress (Shailene Woodley) in Denver Film Critics Society, National Board of Reviews and Florida Film Critics; Best Film in Florida Film Critics, Los Angeles Critics Association and Satellite Awards;  and Best Adapted Screenplay in Denver Film Critics Society, Florida Film Critics, National Board of Reviews, New York Film Critics Online and Satellite Awards.

“The Descendants” will have its regular run in Philippine cinemas on February 15 from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…Twenty-two years ago, these words first flashed across movie theater screens around the world, and a modern legend was born.  Hundreds of millions of people would be introduced to a saga that would touch their lives in ways then unimaginable.  Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and the Special Editions of all three films, became defining events for two generations.  The fast-paced action adventures, set in a new and exciting universe, featured grand design and boundless fun. The films inspired countless of viewers with themes that are universal and timeless: the conflict between good and evil and between technology and humanity, the celebration of heroism, and the limitless potential of the individual.

The Star Wars saga is a modern-day fairy tale reflecting the vision of George Lucas.  Lucas imbued this new myth with pieces of American pop culture, including movie westerns, swashbucklers and – for seasoning – Japanese samurai epics.  Star Wars was also a reaction against Watergate, Vietnam and other periods of domestic turmoil that seemed to undermine the concept of the hero for disillusioned Americans.

With the Star Wars saga, Lucas decided to bring together these recognizable, modern-day threads under the umbrella of the basic mythic structure – the journey of the hero – that has been in place for thousands of years, in hundreds of civilizations. With its mix of the traditional and the modern, Star Wars’ new mythology thrilled young and old alike.

Now, with “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” converted into 3D, Lucas takes us back to the beginning, in which Darth Vader is a hopeful nine-year-old boy named Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi is a determined young Jedi knight.  This first chapter, which is rich in art, design, costumes, architecture and technology, follows Anakin’s journey as he pursues his dreams and confronts his fears in the midst of a galaxy in turmoil.

George Lucas, the pioneering and brilliant filmmaker behind STAR WARS, has overseen the process with his renowned attention to detail. John Knoll, the visual effects supervisor for Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) was responsible for the actual conversion. He served as Visual Effects  Supervisor on all three of the Star Wars prequels. The remaining five STAR WARS films will be converted to 3D over the coming years.

“I’m really excited about the new big screen release of the film.  We’ve worked very hard to get the best quality 3D we could. The big screen experience is so much better than watching it on television. It was designed to put you in the environment and surround you with the sound and the picture. There is   nothing like it. I’m so glad that we were able to bring this whole experience to the next generation. This will be the third generation that will be able to see it on the big screen and when you’re young, it’s an overwhelming and powerful event,” Lucas shares on converting Episode 1 into 3D.

Lucas further shares on challenges faced on converting the movie to 3D – “Originally, I was not a big fan of 3D. I really thought 3D was a gimmick. Then later on I was trying to get digital projectors into the theaters. I was doing a presentation in Las Vegas. Bob Zemeckis and Jim Cameron came up to me  and said: ‘We want to get 3D into the theaters. Would you join us in showing the theater owners that you can do 3D?’   And I said: ‘That’d be good because in order to do 3D you have to have digital theaters. So it would promote my idea of digital theaters.’ Then when I saw the test that we did of STAR WARS in 3D, I realized how great it was and how great it looked.  I became  fascinated with the idea of converting STAR WARS into 3D, which was  easier said than done.  It took us a long time to develop a structure in which we could actually do a really good conversion of a 2D film into a 3D film.”

“I don’t like things coming out into the audience.  I like everything to be behind the proscenium. I think 3D is an art. You need artists who have a sensibility about where things fit in the frame.   It’s very  subtle but it’s very, very important.  We had an advantage because we had experts in visual effects like John Knoll. We had the skill set of ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) and people who had  worked in 3D  on films, including “Avatar.” So we could get a group of people together that could actually do this,” concludes Lucas.

“Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace” in 3D comes to theaters on February 9 from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

The highly intense edgy teen thriller “Chronicle” tags 10-minutes of “This Means War” footage when it opens in theaters nationwide on February 2 (Thursday).

“This Means War” stars Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine and Tom Hardy in a love war triangle when CIA agents and childhood best buddies find out they are dating the same woman.  Hilarity and hard-core action ensue as the trio try to work on the situation the best way possible brought by Hollywood’s ensemble of hit filmmakers.  “This Means War” is helmed by director McG whose worldwide hits include “Charlie’s Angels,” “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” and “Terminator Salvation,” written by scribe Simon Kinberg who penned the incredibly thrilling films “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” “”X-Men: The Last Stand,” “Jumper” and “Sherlock Holmes,” and produced by Will Smith to create  2012’s most enjoyable adult romantic-action-comedy.

Consecutively opening this February  - “Chronicle” (February 2) and “This Means War” (February 22) are from 20^thCentury Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros. in theaters nationwide.­

Gravitating towards the disturbingly unimaginable, “Chronicle” reckons what teens are capable of when given such endless overwhelming powers.

20^th Century Fox brings Josh Trank’s debut feature film to the big screen – “Chronicle,” like so many of us, the lead teen actors portray regular everyday people obsessed with chronicling their lives, however mundane – or in their case, however extraordinary.   For Andrew, Matt and Steve have stumbled upon something beyond their – or anyone’s – understanding.  Their discovery leads them to acquire powerful telekinetic abilities; in graphic novel parlance, they have superpowers.

They’re now capable of, well, almost anything.  They can move objects just by thinking about them, crush cars through force of will.  They learn to fly…the ultimate wish fulfillment.  Then things get dark.

What would you do if it happened to you?  What would you be capable of? Those are the intriguing questions posed by “Chronicle,” a new film unlike any you’ve seen before.  It’s a superhero movie that’s not really a superhero movie.  On the surface it belongs in the relatively new sub-genre of “found footage” or “P-O-V” films, but it turns their conventions on its head. It’s thrilling, yet relatable; rich with creatively conceived and executed camera work and visual effects, but grounded in reality.

So, what would you do if you suddenly obtained abilities beyond comprehension?  Would you don a special suit, fly off, and battle evildoers?  If you were a teenager, the likely response would be: hell, no.  You’d have a blast with them, pull elaborate pranks, and maybe exact revenge on those who’ve wronged you.  Maybe those powers would amplify your less noble qualities.  Or worse.

“Chronicle” opens February 2 in theaters nationwide from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

A young man flies between the buildings, lifting cars into the air with the power of his mind – based on an original story by director Josh Trank and screenwriter Max Landis, “Chronicle” is the tale of three teens who find a power beyond their imagination, and the struggle they face in learning to control it.

Like so many of us, they’re obsessed with chronicling their lives, however mundane – or in their case, however extraordinary.  For Andrew, Matt and Steve have stumbled upon something beyond their – or anyone’s – understanding. They’re now capable of, well, almost anything.  They can move objects just by thinking about them, crush cars through force of will.  They learn to fly…the ultimate wish fulfillment, until things get dark.

As the story opens, Matt is a cynical, know-it-all, too-cool-to-care teen.  But like his two new cohorts, Matt undergoes radical changes after an encounter with a mysterious force leaves him with incredible powers.  The two other members of the newly empowered high school trio are Matt’s cousin, Andrew (portrayed by Dane DHaanl), and campus king Steve (Michael B. Jordan).  Australian actor Alex Russell reflects on playing the all-American high schooler in the following q&a:

Q:         It’s not like a traditional Marvel or DC superhero movie.  Was that part of the attraction?

A:         You get to do all these incredible action sequences.  You get to do superhero stuff, but the characters are so layered. Not to say that isn’t always the case, but if there’s a superhero movie the prime thing is to sell that aspect of it—the superpowers and the function of a superhero. This is more about characters learning about themselves and developing as people. It’s interesting to think about what Matt, Andrew and Steve would have been like if they hadn’t had  superpowers.

Q:         Can you introduce us to Matt, your character?

A:         Matt Garetty is in his senior year. He’s spent much of his high school life with a “screw you” attitude toward everyone and everything around him. He’s had this nihilistic approach, up until recently, all through his high school years. He’s intelligent, but he doesn’t do well in school because at some stage he turned against the system. Now he’s in his senior year and while that’s a huge part of him, he does have that desire to want to connect with people again. The arc of Matt’s character throughout the film is huge.

Q:         Will the handheld element bring something different for audiences?

A:         That’s what is so exciting about it. The illusion is that characters are holding these cameras and you’re seeing stuff that’s surreal and amazing. I think bringing those two elements together – that raw style of shooting and these incredible effects – is going to be really unique; especially because it’s not the shaky handheld approach. You may have whole scenes where the camera is just sitting there and there’s no room for cuts. It’s very tricky but also very exciting because people get a feel that they’re looking in to a world with that kind of shot.

Q:         What do you like about your character?

A:         I like that he has a thirst for knowledge. I really like that who he is in the beginning is who he is in the end. Even though a lot of his thirst for knowledge is part of his image, he does have a real desire to expand his thinking. I really like that about him.

Alex Russell graduated from the prestigious NIDA acting program in his native Australia in 2009 and became one of the first of his graduating class to book a leading role in a feature film. “Wasted On The Young” was one of the breakout international hits of the 2010 Toronto Film Festival and led to offers in the shape of independent feature ALMOST KINGS and the upcoming Australian action thriller “Bait 3D.”

“Chronicle” opens February 2 in theaters from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Filmmakers director McG whose worldwide hits include “Charlie’s Angels,” “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” and “Terminator Salvation,” screen scribe Simon Kinberg who penned the incredibly thrilling films “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” “”X-Men: The Last Stand,” “Jumper” and “Sherlock Holmes,” and Will Smith as the film’s producer lock forces to create another unprecedented romantic-action-comedy movie in “This Means War.”

In “This Means War,” Reese Witherspoon plays Lauren, a very decisive woman, but in her romantic life she’s just a disaster. The man she moved from Atlanta with ended up leaving her, shattering her heart and crushing her spirits. Having been unable to date, her best friend Trish (Chelsea Handler) finally decides to help her to enter the dating world again.

Lauren meets Tuck (Tom Hardy), on a dating website and they have an awkward first date that ends up going really well; then she ends up meeting Chris Pine’s character, FDR, in a video store. They’re both excited about their new relationships, and there’s this great reveal where they show each other a picture of their girl, and it’s the same girl bringing up all that territorial male dominance stuff.

Director McG shares on working with his three stars – Reese: “It’s never an easy sell to get anybody involved in a movie. Reese is very accomplished, both as an actress—she won an Academy Award—but also as a comedienne.  She won the Academy Award for her turn in “Walk The Line” and she’s very funny in the Legally blonde movies. She can do a great many things. The one thing she hadn’t done was be a screen siren and I wanted her to bring that energy to the role.  I thought Reese had a certain confidence in me, largely because of what I was able to do with the girls in Charlie’s Angels. There was never anything misogynistic or mean spirited in that movie but it was decidedly sexy, with all of the women being very intelligent and powerful. I think everybody knows that Reese is an intelligent, powerful, capable woman. Now let’s show the world exactly how sultry she can be when she chooses to be.”

“Chris Pine was very entertaining and engaging in Star Trek; he was great in Smokin’ Aces; but it was primarily his turn in the Lieutenant of Inishmore, which is a Martin McDonagh play that played here in Los Angeles  that I saw two or three times. He was astounding; his accent was spot on, his physicality, his commitment to the role—he’s infinitely more talented than people could ever imagine, and more clever and considerate. Plus he’s different to Tom Hardy, which is what I was looking for: two alpha males who are always interested in finishing first, but who do so in an entirely different way,” director McG says of Pine.

On Tom Hardy: “Tom, and of course he’s known for Bronson and his character in Warrior and now he’s doing Mad Max. He is so physical and powerful and intense… but he’s also got a brilliant mind. Just from speaking to him that he’s very kinetic, very clever, that his mind is moving at a thousand miles an hour.  There’s the broad level the film plays on, but also the more subversive level for those who care to look more closely. I think people need to understand his dimensionalized ability and performance range. He was very game and  he’s great – I can’t imagine anyone other than Tom and Chris for these roles,” concludes the director on working with Reese, Chris and Tom.

Reese, on the other hand sums the director’s works as joyful – “He’s wonderful: he’s enthusiastic, he’s decisive, he knows his shots, he knows what he wants, he knows how to create great action sequences, and he’s also hysterically funny– he comes up with witty lines off the top of his head. It was great to work with somebody who’s so excited to make a movie instead of hand-wringing and miserable. And it comes out in his movies – they’re joyful.”

“This Means War” opens February 22 in theaters from 20^th Century Fox.

There’s a new kind of high in the movie “Chronicle” among three best friends  Andrew, Matt and Steve set in a very familiar American landscape –  high school students in a campus where each fraction of a teen  either  make themselves seen or invisible.   Directed by first time feature film director Josh Trank, James Dehaan, Alex Russell and Michael B. Jordan play the lead roles in this edgy teen movie where they pit on each other’s newly acquired superpowers.

Andrew (Dehaan) coming from a poor family with a rough background has always been the subject of bullying, Matt (Russell) is Andrew’s cousin in his senior year and has applied a nihilistic approach through his high school years and Steve (Jordan) is the most popular guy in their school whose congenial personality made him friends with even the most introvert kid in the campus.  Together, they bonded in one wild night of partying when they discovered something unnatural in the woods.  Naturally brash, they head deep down into the strange phenomenon to get up close – Andrew, who recently decided to document each day of his life brings his camera underground to record.

Upon close encounter, the three became frantic and suddenly the only light coming from Andrew’s camera went kaput.  After surviving a deafening silence in darkness, days after the unexplained, the three became almost inseparable testing their newfound powers.  It presented Andrew a plethora of opportunities to get even to those who’ve hurt and insulted him.  Unbeknownst to Matt and Steve, Andrew is becoming stronger than them focusing on harnessing his power each day.

As Andrew’s motives becomes apparent, Matt and Steve try to help him cope with power and anger. Reinventing a whole new approach between (teen) hero and antagonist, Josh Trank presents “Chronicle” throwing out any preconceptions on superhero movie by starting afresh with a core group of well-realized characters.   “I didn’t want to be too obsessed with making an homage or  in making the movie a certain way,” Trank explains. “The whole mantra of “Chronicle” is just to go the opposite and make it as relatable as possible. Max and I, in characterizing these kids, wanted to make sure they were as normal and close to us as possible, but set them in middle class suburbia.”

The style of shooting helps make the tale all the more relatable. “The bar is that it has to feel real,” argues executive producer Dodson. “It has to feel like we were on YouTube, we were surfing around and we found a video – that this real thing happened and some cameraman caught it.” But Trank was keen not to deliver another nausea-inducing shaky-cam experience to his audience.

In the era of YouTube, the idea of teens documenting every aspect of their lives on videotape is no longer unprecedented. As good quality cameras get ever cheaper and the ability to upload and share footage with friends gets ever easier, young people are increasingly sharing their experiences with one another through a visual medium.

Says DeHaan: “I think a lot of scenes in this movie could become viral hits if they were just two minutes on YouTube. But they’ve taken all these moments and made a very thorough narrative out of them. It really does blend the modern question of what’s become of video with the old-school superhero film.”

“This generation in high school is the most self-photographed generation ever because every single person has a camera on them now,” says Trank. “It’s exciting because we can create this new style of shooting things – fictional stories about people – without having to do it in the way everybody’s been doing it for the last hundred years.”

Uncontrolled teen powers unleash when “Chronicle” opens in cinemas on February 2 nationwide from 20^thCentury Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.