Seymour Gonzaga
My vote is 1 out of 10 but if there was a 0, it would be 0.The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin is an insult to the realm of cinema. The jokes were rarely funny and out of place. The shifting of moods is absolutely terrible as their attempt to go from funny to serious does not work at all. Vice Ganda was overacting nearly every scene and his only asset is his hyper-speed-talking mouth, which made his performance all the more annoying. Richard Yap could easily be replaced by a rock and no one would notice as his acting is stiffer that a stick. The worst part of this movie is the child actor, man what a performance, no emotion was express by his face at all, no anger, sadness, happiness or whatever. NONE! Just line reading. Why he was nominated for some "Best Child Actor" award is a mystery we will never solve. His performance was the worst I have ever seen in a child actor. Perhaps the only acting that was not as cringe-worthy was the villain's which was not even that good. The only character well-developed was the main character's and no one else's. Overall, I would recommend burning your DVD copy of this film or permanently deleting your pirated copy of it and just watch your dog take a crap as it has the same amount of entertainment in it.
Mike Aldrin Cainglet
This year, as for being an avid fan of International productions, I decided to be a good citizen and support the Local Production. Every year in my country there is this Festival called MMFF or Metro Manila Film Festival who exhibit line up of movies to be presented during Christmas Holidays. I'm not an avid fan of it but ever since last year, hearing a good rumor that movies we're great and of course I have watched it through local television channel, I decided to watch one movie. That movie is Praybeyt Benjamin 2 (2014). The first sequel was really good and as many people in my country say "please, have a sequel", our wish was granted and by 25th December of 2014, the movie was released alongside others and it was a hit. Afternoon of that day I decided to watched it but as the movie roll in the screen and as time passed by, I tell to myself "Yes, this movie is a hit on the people face". The movie rendition of the honorable soldiers of my country was turn into something unimaginable as what the movie render.The movie shows nothing but lame humor and disgusting effort that it might save the movie from being such a pain in the eyes. As I seat more for another half an hour, I came to a direct resolve that I should get up and just get out of the room. I pity all the people who wasted good bucks and pay for something ungrateful and very unprofessional film who will only hurt their eye and shower themselves with many unimaginable bad humor created by it's writer or the one who is acting. I can't believe even the President of the Republic of the Philippines have watched this such low rated movie. As the news stated this morning, they are proud (ABS-CBN) to announce that their film profited P200 Million. Profited in a way they throw a bomb on the mass public and they catch it, I as well did caught it. This gave me a resolve never to trust local movies again. A total regret, disgust and disappointment. A movie alike this is not worth any penny. Lame production and script editors should try going to college once more. Overall, for those people who are idiotic enough to give this movie a low ratings, I'm a good reviewer of movies and I at least have the credibility to give this 3/10.
Step Up Guy
THE AMAZING PRAYBEYT BENJAMINThis film takes off where the highly successful Part One ended, with the flamboyant and heroic Benjamin Santos VIII given honors by his state and country. Beneath the crude jokes, half-hearted gags and ridiculous plot, one can glean lessons about humility, pride, honor and a sense of family values. But I'm just being kind, because from start to finish, BENJAMIN unashamedly wallows in frothy nonsense, with four surprise guest appearances thrown in to dazzle the undazzled viewer. The authentic comic mettle one got from earlier Deramas vehicles has diminished, and Deramas can now only produce sheer nonsense, replete with product placements, "in" jokes that fall flat, and the aforementioned guest appearances. When one is bombarded midway in the movie with song-and-dance numbers (which includes the really unfunny Atak Arana as a househelper), a video game segment (don't ask) and a flash mob dance, one begins to confirm Deramas' considerable directorial talents spiraling downhill. If this is Filipino comedy (and, let me underscore, all the Vice Ganda movies make a killing at the tills), I'd rather watch indie films ad nauseum (indie film DED NA SI LOLO, in comparison, is a lot funnier, with nonstop gags and absolutely sidesplitting comic scenes).Keeping straight faces amidst all the insane proceedings is 85-year-old Eddie Garcia, who made beautifully dramatic movies in 1950s like SIETE INFANTES DE LARA (1950), EL INDIO (1953), CONTRAVIDA, LUPANG KAYUMANGGI and WALDAS (all in 1955), MGA LIGAW NA BULAKLAK (1957) and ANINO NI BATHALA (1958) (Sidenote: Garcia is the most awarded person in the long history of the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) Awards. He garnered 6 Best Supporting Actor wins, 5 Best Actor wins and 5 Best Director wins, 3 Hall of Fame Awards and 1 Lifetime Achievement Award. He was awarded his first FAMAS Award in 1957 and his last FAMAS, a Hall of Fame for Best Actor, in 2003.); also, Malou de Guzman, who by now has mastered the art of keeping a straight face with all her fantasy teleserye work behind her; Al Tantay, who was a matinée idol in the 1970s; Lollie P. Mara, a Zamboangueña who always plays aristocratic roles -- she refreshingly goes loose here, especially the scene where she's really hungry and would like to start eating food at a party. Others look bored (like Kean Cipriano, DJ Durano, Boom Labrusca and comedienne Rubi Rubi. But throughout the movie, as if to compete with the inanities arrayed for Vice Ganda to do, Tom Rodríguez mugs with a capital M. He plays the villain, Janjaranjan, flanked by several heartthrob goons including Boom Labrusca. Meanwhile, Alex Gonzaga is shrill, Ricky Rivero milks a few chuckles from some key scenes, and most surprisingly of all, Richard Yap shows skill for comedy (I always found his acting in the TV soap "PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH MY HEART wooden, monotonous). His comic repartee (as a grouchy general tasked to supervise Benjamin for a bodyguard mission) was good and refreshing. Alas, Bimby Yap, son of Kris Aquino, hardly exerts himself in his second movie role. Like mother, like son. He even dresses up in drag! Bimby Yap, cute as he is, simply plays himself, a spoiled brat. I'm not a Vice Ganda fan, and every year, his comic skills run out of steam (for me), so reluctantly watching PRAYBEYT BENJAMIN 2 only reiterated my perception of Vice Ganda movies wallowing in absurd plots, unfunny gags and thin humor. This is perhaps part of the ramifications of appearing in a daily noontime show and having to churn out gags ad nauseum. Sadly, the ending has the fourth surprise star appearance (of a male teen heartthrob), paving the way for a Part Three. Not very amazing.
prospectus_capricornium
'The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin' bears no evident effort to present something new, much less deliver something better than any of past Wenn Deramas film. Deramas has heavily relied on the same old formula for years, and while he lost hold over the intellectual and high-brow comedy followers, his works never failed to dominate the mass market that easily get drawn to his mindlessly entertaining brand of comedy.In 'The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin', his magic once again works effortlessly. His partnership with Vice Ganda proves to be an unmistakable key ingredient to his success. Here, Vice Ganda is joined by Alex Gonzaga, Richard Yap and Bimby Yap. Alex Gonzaga proves to be a reliable comic support, while Richard Yap provides mostly the 'kilig' element in the movie. Storywise, there is nothing much to see, at its heart is still Benjamin, now consumed by fame and pride, and from there the film attempts to deliver lessons on humility and family. Ultimately, though, its the endless punchlines, spoofs and unexpected cameos, that make this film a worthwhile holiday experience.
