WM Cinemas launches six branches with Free Movie Day event

WM Cinemas in Walter Mart, the newest chain of digital cinema theatres operated by the largest cinema exhibitor in the country—SM Cinema, is launching six Manila and provincial branches on December 11, 2013: WM Cinemas Makati with four cinemas; WM Cinemas Tanauan, Batangas, WM Cinemas Plaridel, Bulacan, WM Cinemas Sta. Maria, Bulacan and WM Cinemas Calamba, Laguna with three cinemas and WM Cinemas Gapan, Nueva Ecija with two cinemas.

To celebrate its inauguration, WM Cinemas is holding a Free Movie Day event in its six initial branches. Free Movie Day, now on its second year with the maiden event held at SM Cinema theatres, aims to offer movies to movie patrons absolutely FREE. The movies—ranging from action to horror to romance and adventure—are four much-loved, pre-screened blockbusters: The Expendables 2 with Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Jet Li; The Host (2013) starring Diane Kruger and Saoirse Ronan, A Secret Affair (2012) starring Derek Ramsey, Anne Curtis and Andi Eigenmann and Japanese horror flick Apartment 1303 (2013).

To join WM Cinemas Free Movie Day, participants only need to pre-register from December 4 to 10, 2013 by liking the official WM Cinemas Facebook page (www.facebook.com/WMCinemas) and accessing the Free Movie Day app found in the said page. Using the Free Movie Day app on the WM Cinemas page, fill out a data, tag* a Facebook friend, (*tagged friend must accept the invite within 2 days. If not, the voucher will only be eligible for one person.) and get a ticket. Afterwards, a Free Movie Day voucher will download which the participant must print out.

Redemption period of Free Movie Day tickets will be from December 6 to 10, 2013 at selected WM Cinemas branch. Just present the printed Free Movie Day voucher at the designated areas within the mall where a WM Cinema representative issues an official Free Movie Day ticket to the customer. Each voucher entitles two tickets to a movie of choice and can be used by the persons whose names appear on the voucher. Only those whose name appears on the voucher is entitled to claim the ticket and any changes on movie title, movie schedule or branch will, unfortunately, not be accommodated.
To know more about WM Cinemas Free Movie Day, please visit WM Cinemas’ official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/WMCinemas. You may also visit the SM Cinema website at www.smcinema.com.

WM Cinemas Free Movie Day is co-presented by Coca Cola. Only food from Snack Time counters are allowed inside the cinema during the said event. Snack Time, the official food provider of WM Cinemas, has variety of delicious food and beverage products to choose from.

WM Cinemas officially opens to the public on December 12, 2013 for regular screenings.

7 Filipinos, 13 foreigners battle it out in ONE FC: Moment of Truth Dec. 6 at MOA Arena

Seven Filipinos and 13 foreigners will battle it out at this Friday’s ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) event, titled ONE FC: Moment of Truth, starting at 7 p.m. at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena in Pasay City.

            Filipino Team Lakay striker Honorio “The Rock” Banario will attempt to get back his ONE FC Featherweight World Championship as he squares off against Japanese tormentor Koji Oishi in the main event of an evening that features 10 gripping bouts.

            “This is the moment I have been waiting for. After my defeat in May by Oishi, nothing has occupied my mind except to reclaim my belt,” Banario said.

            Oishi is a tough veteran that will pose a stern test for Banario He had been vanquished only once in his previous 14 fights, including the win over Banario in May, which shocked many MMA fans.

            The featured co-main event will be the fight between Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon, another Team Lakay fighter, and undefeated Spaniard David Aranda Santacana in the bantamweight division.

            Belingon, who was also trounced last May in the ONE FC event, is expected to have his hands full as Santacana is no ordinary adversary.

            Besides being undefeated in nine fights, Santacana, who has competed primarily in Europe, has impressive grappling skills, having won eight of his fights by submission.

But what is going in favor of Belingon, with a 11-3 record with seven finishes, is his overwhelming self-confidence, not to mention his back-to-back technical knockout (TKO) victories over Thank Vu and Yusup Saadulaev before that unfortunate May outing. 

Team Lakay member and former Southeast Asia wushu gold medallist Eduard Folayang will also skirmish with Dutch-Indonesian shooto veteran Vincent Latoel.

Folayang has to prove he still has it after suffering two successive defeats and will require all his skills, especially since Latoel is no easy rival having fought in six different countries in three continents with a record of 14 wins. He has a kickboxing background and trains out of the famed Golden Glory Gym in the Netherlands.

The fourth bout is in the bantamweight division and pits former Japanese Shooto Featherweight Champion Koetsu Okazaki and jiu jitsu expert Joshua Alvarez, who was born in Guam but whose parents are both Filipinos.

Okazaki has showed he has defensive prowess, although he was beaten by unanimous decision by the dreaded Brazilian Bibiano Fernandes in his ONE FC debut for the interim bantamweight championship in May this year.

Although a late replacement, the Guam-based Alvarez said he has never skipped the gym and trains almost everyday and does strength and conditioning drills. He has five straight wins and nine of his 12 victories were by way of submission.

The fifth bout is between former American Marines Caros Fodor and South African muay Thai practitioner Vuyisile Collosa, whose matchup will be closely watched as both are contenders for MMA legend Shinya Aoki’s ONE FC lightweight belt.

Fodor and Colossa separately won in thrilling matches during ONE FC 10 “Kings and Champions” event in Jakarta, Indonesia, in September this year.

Fodor, a veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Strikeforce before joining the ONE FC fold, thrashed the previously undefeated Seung Ho Yang of Korea for three rounds in his debut match, while Colossa put up an impressive unanimous victory against veteran Japanese Kotetsu Boku, the former One FC lightweight champion, in the main event.

The sixth bout pits Kamma Bantamweight Champion Dae Hwan Kim of South Korea and cage fighting specialist Thanh Vu of Australia. Vu will try to bounce back from a loss at the hands of Belingon while Kim will be looking to extend his eight fight undefeated streak and prove that he is in fact the real deal.

The seventh matchup is between two Filipinos, Team Lakay striker Geje Eustaquio and tough Eugene Toquero of Submission Sports Philippines.

Eustaquio has won four of his last six fights, with three of those wins coming by stoppage. Although he was trounced last May in ONE FC: Rise to Power by decision, his confidence is at all-time high because of the rigid training program, including coaching from an Iranian wrestling coach, at Team Lakay gym. 

But Toquero, who has a kickboxing and muay Thai background and is very effective with knee strikes and kicks, is someone who should not be taken for granted being undefeated in his professional career with four straight wins by TKO.

The eighth contest will see Filipino World Wushu Champion Ruel Catalan, who will try to avenge his brother’s defeat in the hands of the fighter he is facing now, Kun Khmer Champion Cambodian Khim Dima.

Catalan felt bitter that Dima dealt his brother Rene illegal and dangerous strikes in their last outing in October which resulted in his (Dima’s) being stripped of his win after the bout because of the illegal blows to the back of Rene’s head.

Dima is also motivated to get back the win, but this time he said he will do it cleanly against Ruel.

The ninth bout will be a thrilling battle between two heavyweights, Canadian top-ranked Heavyweight Champion Paul Cheng and Cameroonian muay Thai and Kickboxing Champion Alain Ngalani.

Ngalani is out to duplicate his first round knockout victory at ONE FC: Champions and Warriors in September against Mahmoud Hassan.

Although Cheng came from football, he has already proven he can make it in the world of MMA. His record included knocking out Ryan Hunter last November at AFC 12: Domination in Calgary and stopping Eric Barrak in May 2012 at Ringside MMA 13: The St. Patrick’s Day Beatdown in Montreal.

The 10^th bout will see top Filipino prospect Edward Kelly, who has an impressive record of five wins without a loss, and Brazilian jiu jitsu purple belt holder Major Overall, an American of Japanese descent.

Kelly, the brother of popular Eric Kelly, is an aggressive striker, while Overall, with a record of 4-1, has finished all his opponents by submission, including recent ONE FC Malaysian national featherweight champion AJ Lias Mansor.

SM Cinema to Participate in SM Supermalls’ Pamaskong Handog Para sa Global Pinoy with Free Movie Day

As a way of giving back to the Filipino overseas worker, SM Cinema is launching this December the SM Global Pinoy Free Movie Day, an initiative that is part of SM Supermalls’ nationwide event Pamaskong Handog Para sa Global Pinoy which is now on its second year.

The SM Global Pinoy Free Movie Day is slated on December 7, 2013, with SM Cinema branches nationwide (except SM Aura Premier, The Podium, SM Las Piñas, and SM BF Parañaque) dedicating one of their theatres to a free movie screening for overseas Filipino workers and their families. The following blockbuster movies will be screened for free: Caregiver (2008); Dubai (2005); Milan (2004); and Anak (2000).

Interested OFWs and their families may register online until December 6, 2013 at www.facebook.com/smgpc to get a voucher. Confirmation vouchers may be exchanged for movie tickets at the e-PLUS booth of their preferred cinema branch. Walk-in registration at SM Global Pinoy centers nationwide will also be accommodated.

To cap off their free movie watching, OFWs and their families may join in the fun activities of the Pamaskong Handog Para sa Global Pinoy event to be held at the event center of all participating SM malls.

Visit www.facebook.com/smgpc and www.facebook.com/eplus.sm for more updates regarding this event.

MUMBAI LOVE: Will True Love Prevail over Tradition?

It is often said true love, like gold, must pass the “test of fire”.

This story is not just another love story. This is the love story of two people from two different sides of the world, separated by culture and tradition yet strongly bound by pure and true love for each other.

Here is Nandi, a self-made Indian-Filipino, who believes in his heart that somewhere in this world he will find his soulmate through destiny. His parents, however, still cling to the revered Indian tradition of choosing the right partner for their son. Ella, on the other hand, is a young Filipina businesswoman who sources accessories for a jewelry shop in Makati. Her work brings her to Mumbai, India where she didn’t expect to meet the man of her dreams.

By some magic of fate, the two meet in the majestic city of Mumbai where Nandi and Ella start up a friendship and romance. Nandi takes Ella to the most interesting and colorful places in Mumbai such as the center of arts and culture, the sacred temples and museums and historical sites of Mumbai where Ella begins to fall in love with the people, culture and landscape. Nandi, the young man from India who showed her the magnificent beauty of India has quickly captivated her heart.

However, an emergency in Ella’s home office suddenly happens forcing her to leave for home without even letting Nandi know, not even give him her cellphone number or any contact info, to the latter’s frustration. Not giving up that easily on his quest for his love, Nandi seeks the help of his cousin Romni and both fly to Manila to look for Ella. This time lady luck smiles on Nandi who is able to find Ella in Manila and they start from where they left off in Mumbai.

But their sweet love must face more conflicts such as deeply respected age-old traditions of their different cultures. Will this interracial love prevail in the end or will love give way to tradition?

Mumbai Love is directed by multi-awarded director Benito Bautista and is distributed by Solar Entertainment Corporation.

For more details visit our website : mumbailovethemovie.com or

Twitter@mumbailovemovie Facebook@mumbailovemovie

Keanu Reeves in Tokyo to promote film '47 Ronin,' based on true Japanese story By Yuriko Nagano.

TOKYO (AP) -- The director of the Keanu Reeves 3-D film "47 Ronin" says he hopes his adaptation of a true Japanese story becomes a Hollywood blockbuster.

Film director Carl Rinsch, Reeves and co-stars appeared together in front of a Tokyo audience on Monday.

The film is based on an actual historical event during the Edo Period known as "Chushingura." It involved a lord who was wrongfully put to death and his followers — ronin — who sought revenge.

Rinsch said he took on the film subject and sat down with Keanu Reeves about two years ago. They wondered how they were going to take on a popular Japanese tale and do it justice. Rinsch said they decided to make the story their own, making "it a Hollywood blockbuster and see it through that lens."

"These themes of revenge, loyalty, perseverance, were things we knew from the very beginning were universal," said Rinsch, who is making his directorial feature debut with the film.

Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada stars as the main supporting character, Kuranosuke Oishi, a leader of the men. Sanada said that during the filming Reeves became more and more of a samurai, while the character he played became more "wild" in style.

Sanada said Reeves and himself hoped to depict the friendship of two characters, which transcended borders and social positions, in the film.

Reeves said "47 Ronin" is a story where people "share this journey to reclaim their land, their honor, their way. It was very special to me to be part of it."

Reeves, who grew up attracted to martial arts movies, makes his directorial debut this year with the martial arts action movie "Man of Tai Chi."

Released and distributed by United International Pictures

through Solar Entertainment Corp,

The film "47 Ronin" premiers in Japan on Dec. 6 and opens in Philippine theatres on January 2014.

Jake Gyllenhaal injures hand punching mirror on ‘Night crawler’

The actor, who co-starred in 2005′s Oscar-winning “Brokeback Mountain,” was treated in a hospital emergency room after the accident on the set of “Nightcrawler.”
“While Jake was filming an intense scene .. his character purposefully banged his hand into the mirror. Unfortunately the mirror accidentally broke, and Jake?s hand was badly cut up,” his spokeswoman Mara Buxbaum told AFP.

“He received numerous stitches at the ER and was released a couple hours later. He already returned to set for work,” she added.

In the movie, 32-year-old Gyllenhaal plays a freelance reporter investigating Los Angeles’ tought crime underworld. He has lost a lot of weight to prepare for the role, with some photos showing him looking alarmingly gaunt.

The incident happened on set Wednesday morning, according to a source cited by People magazine, adding that he was in character, at the end of an 18-hour day.

“Jake flipped out,” the source told the celebrity bible. “His character was looking into a mirror during the scene and punched the mirror in anger and broke it, cutting himself so bad he had to be taken to a hospital.”

“The scene was emotionally charged and his character was talking into a mirror and he got so into it, he banged his hands against the mirror and it broke and cut him.”

The unidentified source added: “It was all the scene and not because he was mad about anything else.”

‘Nightcrawler’ is released and distributed by Captive Cinema. Showing 2014!

The Adventurer : The Curse of Midas Box

Ancient mysteries. Powerful evil. And a fearless hero's quest through a fantastical realm of steam-powered wonders and sinister magic. In The Adventurer : The Curse of the Midas Box, seventeen-year-old Mariah Mundi's life is turned upside down when his parents vanish and his younger brother is kidnapped.

Following a trail of clues to the darkly majestic Prince Regent Hotel, Mariah discovers a hidden realm of child-stealing monsters, deadly secrets and a long-lost artifact that grants limitless wealth - but also devastating supernatural power.

With the fate of his world, and his family at stake, Mariah will risk everything to unravel the Curse of the Midas Box!

‘The Adventurer: The Curse of Midas Box’ released and distributed by Captive Cinema showing soon!

Director Neil Jordan on Byzantium and Vampire Movies

Neil Jordan Director of Byzantium

Neil Jordan’s body of work is an odd, fascinating beast. On one level, the Irish director’s fablelike films — with their often mystical elements, their vivid photography, and their tormented, passionate characters — are remarkably consistent in tone, style, and themes. On another level, though, the films are a diverse lot, ranging from moody dramas like Mona Lisa and The End of the Affair, to thrillers like The Crying Game and The Good Thief, to big-budget, star-studded epics like Interview With a Vampire and Michael Collins, to fairy tales like The Company of Wolves. He’s even made a couple of exuberant comedies along the way (including High Spirits, which is better than you remember). Now, with his latest, Byzantium, a tale of mother-and-daughter vampires (played by Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan) hiding out in a British seaside town, Jordan has returned to the vampire genre, and the result is one of his strongest, most ambitious and romantic works in years. Jordan talked to us about his new movie, fairy tales, and vampires.

Were you wary of returning to a story of vampires so many years after Interview With a Vampire?
It was really the script that Moira Buffini had written. I hadn’t seen the play, and I was not involved in the development of the script, or the writing of it. But it was strange, because when it was sent to me, I saw that there were so many elements in it that felt familiar to me from other movies that I’d made: It was set in an abandoned seaside town, it was about a mother and daughter, it was about storytelling, and, yes, it was about vampires. Actually, the least attractive thing was that it was about vampires. It’s quite difficult to put a vampire movie out there nowadays.

Neil Jordan Director of Byzantium with Soirse Gemma

But they seem like very different vampires this time around.
I did try to reinvent the rules a little bit. I got rid of the teeth, so now they use their nails. Ultimately, I think vampires — we call them “sucreants” in the film — are really like people who have entered a spell: They endure eternity in some way because of a choice, or something that’s happened to them. That’s why they’re so popular; they come out of the repository of fairy tales. I really did think of these creatures in Byzantium as dark shadows out of some fairy tale.

If I hadn’t seen the writing credit, I could have sworn that you’d written this film as well.
That’s interesting. I felt the dialogue was very specific. Some of it could even be called “clunky,” but I deliberately didn’t want to put my fingers on it. I felt it was important to preserve Moira’s voice, as a woman and as a writer: She had ways of approaching things that I wouldn’t have taken. What I liked about the script was its multifaceted quality — it turns into different things. It’s like a lantern that lets you see different aspects of the story.

There have been so many films in recent years that have attempted to “update” fairy tales: the Snow White films, the Hansel & Gretel film. But in a way, you were already doing that sort of thing 30 years ago, and doing it a lot more artfully, long before it became a fad among filmmakers.
Yeah. I guess I’ve always been obsessed with fairy tales. But it’s easy to see their appeal: They’re so simple and so efficient. As a storyteller and writer, that just appeals to me. There are a lot of archetypes and symbols there, and these are stories that have very deep roots. I think that’s something I always find myself drawn to.

There’s something else I’ve noticed about your films: They’re all about devotion, on some level. That’s very much true of Byzantium as well. And it’s a kind of devotion that can be romantic, or maternal, or spiritual. End of the Affair, it seems to me, matches one character’s romantic devotion with another’s devotion to God. And Byzantium, too, twins one character’s maternal devotion with another’s romantic devotion.
It’s all because I grew up as an Irish Catholic. [Laughs.] It’s a very specific kind of mind-set. It’s like you’re in this strange movie theater showing the same thing all the time. That was the reason I wanted to do Interview With a Vampire: It seemed to me to be about guilt. It was the most wonderful parable about wallowing in guilt that I’d ever come across. But these things are unconscious: I don’t have an agenda. I’m neither a bad Irish Catholic nor a good one. What is weird, though, is to watch a movie I made years ago and see how revealing it is about me. Films are essentially attempts to disguise one’s intentions, or state of mind. It’s amazing, because there have been films I made that felt like they were opportunities to not be personal. But then, years later, it shocks me how revealing it is.

Neil Jordan Director of Byzantium with Soirse Gemma

Can you give me an example of such a film?
Mona Lisa. It turned out to be a film about how men are misunderstood. It shocked me how emotionally revealing it was. Of course, that is what they should be. They should just be full of emotion. Stanley Kubrick once said, “The problem isn’t having a message. The problem is disguising the message.”

Over and over, your films are replete with career-high performances from actors — be they accomplished, established ones like Bob Hoskins in Mona Lisa or Julianne Moore in End of the Affair, or people we don’t ordinarily expect to give standout performances, like Gemma Arterton in Byzantium. Do you work closely with actors? Are you hands-on?
I just like actors. It’s really as simple as that. I like the fact that they don’t have to be themselves. They can live in a world of fantasy. I don’t know how it works. As for how I work with them, I try to make sure the actors understand what the part is. I look for people who have emotional reality to them. Beyond that, I don’t know what I do. To be fair, if you cast a film correctly, you’ve almost nothing to do. If you cast the film slightly off kilter, then you have to work your butt off.

‘BYZANTIUM’ is released and distributed by Captive Cinema.

Keanu Reeves returns to the big screen in 47 Ronin

"47 Ronin" is helmed by visionary director Carl Erik Rinsch ("The Gift"). Inspired by styles as diverse as Miyazaki and Hokusai, Rinsch will bring to life the stunning landscapes and enormous battles that will display the timeless Ronin story to global audiences in a way that's never been seen before.

From ancient Japan's most enduring tale, the epic 3D fantasy-adventure "47 Ronin" is born. Keanu Reeves leads the cast as Kai, an outcast who joins Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), the leader of the 47 Ronin. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind.

To restore honor to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors.

“47 Ronin” is released and distributed by United International Pictures through Solar Entertainment Corp.

First look of “THE BOOK THIEF”

Sophie Nelisse as THE BOOK THIEF

Based on the beloved bestselling novel, THE BOOK THIEF tells the inspiring story of a spirited and courageous young girl named Liesel, who transforms the lives of everyone around her when she is sent to live with a foster family in World War II Germany.

For Liesel, the power of words and of imagination becomes a means of escape – and even joy – from the tumultuous events enveloping her and everyone she knows and loves. She is THE BOOK THIEF’s heart and soul.

Sophie Nelisse, Emily Watson & Geoffrey rush THE BOOK THIEF

Directed by Brian Percival, “The Book Thief” stars Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson and newcomer Sophie Nélisse in the title role.

“The Book Thief” will open 2014 in theaters nationwide from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Check out 20^th Century Fox’s YouTube where trailer has just been launched - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxXMQojyl_8&feature=c4-overview&list=UU-JrjBL_iZAn5wjEsw9nRYA and 20^th Century Fox (Philippines) Facebook page.