Personally I think that there has been a rut in comedic shows this year, since "Pushing Daisies" left the tube, which for me was like the best thing that happened in TV for the past years. So after Daisies got canceled, I haven't been seeing that much comedic shows. Well I got the usual suspects: Weeds, Ugly Betty and 30 Rock but other than those I have been seeing scant greatness in comedict TV.
Then came "Hung". The title is a give away, methinks. It is about a middle aged guy who just lost his kids to his divorced wife, lost his house because it torched. All that is left to him is his crappy job and his "hung" tool. Which he will eventually make money of, his dick that is, with the help of his now pimp, poet seminar mate.
I think that the concept is highly original. Kinda reminded me of "The Riches", in a way. All I can say that it looks like an excerpt from a superb Payne movie, and to no shock, Alexander Payne directe the pilot, which is all sorts of superb.
I have really high hopes for this show. I am loving it and I want to see more of it. Bring it on and thanks HBO
As you all know, movie piracy is a hella big issue in the Philippines. Almost every where you go, even in corners, you will see someone selling pirated DVDs. Heck I even see someone who is walking around streets and peddling them. It is such a shame that piracy is that rampant here in the Philippines, but I have got to say that those who buy them just could not help themselves. I am guilt of buying them. I do buy original ones, and proud of my video city ish collection, but there are a whole lotta movies that are not available in original vcd or dvds. Like yesterday I passed by this place where they sell them pirated dvds and I saw a DVD of "Serbis" and they are playing it! It is a very clear clear copy, like it is original! So I was excited to think that the DVD maybe in a local DVD store. SO alas! I hurried to a nearest store and only to find out that it is not yet available. Fuck.
Plus, they cost so much, especially when they are new. One movie for like seven hundred bucks. It is too costy.
If only original dvds or even vcds would cost less. Especially Filipino movies. They cost so much. They should cater more to the public. Sell it cheaper!
What happens now is that whenever I scour for movie, is that I keep on seeing crap titles all the time. Plus here in the Philippines, I think they stopped selling classic movies. Which makes me sad. I am just lucky that I was able to buy them when they were still available.
I really don't get it. They replaced "Project Runway", one of TV's most addicting reality shows, with something that is something almost exactly like it. Weird thing is that almost everything about it seems like a copy of "Project Runway". I am talking about Kelly Rowland starrer "The Fashion Show". I am not saying that it is not good or addicting, it is, but they should just have rebooted "Project Runway". I am gonna miss Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia and Michael Kors. Something tells me that Kelly Rowland is not as credible as Heidi, I do not know. But I am giving the show a chance.
Someone please remove Merlin, he is a circus, and I do not think that it is a good thing.
So I have been like very repetitive that I finally got the chance to join the supporting actress smackdown, and I was one of those who did the smackdowning. It was a really weird batch of nominees for me because I think that only two of them deserves to be in the list. So here's how it went down with my choices.
Cher in Silkwood (5 Stars)
Underplayed but striking, It was as if she was not acting at all because her performance came out naturally. She did not have those obvious Oscar grabbing moments, it was her whole performance that you have to fully experience.
Linda Hunt in The Year of Living Dangerously (5 Stars)
She was the heart and conscience of this movie and she stole every scene she was in. She totally deserves the nomination, and the win, is something you would have to wait for if I think she deserves it.
Alfre Woodard in Cross Creek (3 Stars)
I think what Woodard did was to make the most out of the material given to her, and I think it really paid off. She was the hidden gem of this movie, even though she was not in the banner role. She was touching and memorable, but I kinda wish that she was given more.
Glenn Close in The Big Chill (2 Stars)
I think she got nominated because she got the emotional parts, crying during dinner and all that mush. But other than playing her part well I just do not get this nomination. She was good and all but I think that she did not shine, nor stood out, much more, give an Oscar Calibre performance.
Amy Irving in Yentl (1 Star)
Sad part of it was I thought that her performance was close to becoming a wallpaper for the movie, or an accessory, or a part of the set. I just did not feel anything from her. Yes she was there but I hardly felt her presence, and it baffles me that she got an Oscar nomination for this when she deserves a Razzie.
My Winner is :
Cher (Silkwood)
and Linda Hunt is a very close second, though I still feel like it was a lead performance.
During this time of the year there are those usual rom com movies tat come your way. Most of them stink, and some are OK and seldom do we get those perfectly fun rom com movies. Sandra Bullock's latest rom com movie alongside Ryan Reynolds falls in the OK category of rom com movies.
It was just OK, nothing special and nothing really exceptional. It did not stink either. It had this certain kind of charm that can be really entertaining and I think that it is predominantly caused by Sandra's somewhat good chemistry with Ryan Reynolds. It was fun to watch, it really was. But I think that its premise and the script prevented it from elevating.
I think I am in the minority when I say that Robert Pattinson is a good actor. Heck I even thought that he was good in Twilight. So to see him give a performance outside Twilight is a treat for me especially if he gives a great performance. So I saw "How To Be" about a guy named Art (played by Pattinson) who moved back to his parent's place to find what would make him happy, that would eventually lead to finding his meaning of life. Art asked the help of an old guy whose book, Art read religiously.
"How To Be" is obviously a very low budget production, and the actors are almost all relatively unknown. It was tossed with Brit humor, some I get and some I don't. It was really just a good effort rather than a moving one. I personally just think that this movie is a showcase of talent for Robert Pattinson. He was perfect as a geekish musician, who found life in his music. The role fit him like a glove, and he delivered a superb performance, and probably one of the bests so far.
I hope to see more of Pattinson in projects such as this, he is a good actor and singer, and I hope they do show more of that rather than just his Cullenisms.
They will be forever be remembered for gracing our lives with their endless talents. One for TV and movies and the other for being one of our generations most influential music icons. They I am really out of words... Life is too frail. Sad day.
I would just like to share this story with you guys about my good friend who is currently sick. She thinks she may have Swine flu because there is someone sick with Swine flu in their condominium. So what she did was that she went to the nearest hospital, in our case MAKATI MEDICAL CENTER. We have our MediCard, so we can get consultation for free. She requested that she undergoes swab testing for AH1N1 virus. So guess what the flying fuck the nurse said? The nurse said "You better be ready with 8000-10000 PESOS". TEN FUCKING THOUSAND PESOS. That could buy like 30 DVDs already. That is also equivalent to my pay! That costs hella lot here in the Philippines. No wonder a lot of people are getting sick because no one (in our stature) can afford them damn tests. If they want this virus to stop spreading, make the testing more available to anyone. That's why a lot of people resort to self medication because they can not afford the services of hospitals. Do I need to have a lot of symptoms before they even notice that I am sick? Fuck it.
So here's to you Makati Med! Stop being too high brow. I just wonder what the hell Binay (Makati Mayor) is saying about "Ganito Kami sa Makati (We are Like This in Makati)" and free medical attention.
I think by now most of us know that James Cameron is back, and his latest sci fi movie "Avatar" will hit cinemas later this year. But honestly I am not that much eager to see this. It might tank a whole lot and he can kiss his comeback goodbye. But actually this is not the "Avatar" I am dying to see. It is M. Night Shyamalan's take on a live action version of Nickelodeon's hit (and also one of my favorite animated series ever, ranks in top five, I think.) "Avatar: The Last Airbender". But for his movie he dropped the Avatar and stuck with just "The Last Airbender".
I have been following "Avatar: The Last Airbender" animated series like a big big fan. Usually I am up in my it waiting for the next episode to come. I especially liked the lat battle in the first series, it was so Lord of the Rings, and never would I have expected that an animated series would give us this kind of grandiose episodes. It was kinda like a mix of "Lord of the Rings" meets the genius mind of Hayao Miyazaki.
So here comes M. Night Shyamalan. I am not a fan of him. I only liked one movie he made: "The Sixth Sense". and sorta liked another "Signs" and loathed the rest. So I guess he deserves a comeback to form. Something to prove that he deserves to be Oscar nominated. By the looks of the trailer I think that he has mined gold. But I do not want to keep my hopes up. I am often times disappointed.
I'll just try to keep this short. Because I really can't say that much about the movie. Why would I want to spend that much time about a movie that I did not like at all.
It was bigger, longer, noisier and more grandiose. It felt too crowded most of the times. I think that they got a bigger budget for this, so they over invested on the effects and battle scenes and forgot to do something about the story and plot much more for the cheesy dialogue. Heck even the acting was bad. But that said I admired the visual effects of the film. If there was a part of it that I enjoyed, it was the kid in me enjoying the mindless battles.
Total mess. But Megan was hot indeed. This is one of those cases when more is less.
So it goes without saying that I saw this movie again for the Supporting Actress Smackdown that will be happening towards the end of this month. This is my fourth entry, and this time I screened "Silkwood".
Silkwood tells the story of Karen Silkwood and her Erin Brockovich esque pursuit against the company she is working on. She was tortured physically and psychologically which lead to her eventual murder. Seeing the movie made me realize where "Erin Brockovich" and "North Country" got their inspiration from. And I am amazed to see Mike Nichols in fighting form because it is something that is quite missing from his current works.
Meryl Streep was beyond superb in this movie. She was Karen Silkwood. I do not know of Karen Silkwood at all but with Streep's performance it is hard not to fall in love with her and shed a tear with what has happened to her towards the near end. Plus we get to hear Streep's lovely voice in this movie which is always a big big plus.
After I have seen "Moonstruck" I was in awe and never would have expected that Cher could act. And after seeing "Silkwood", I am now a fan of Cher and I would want to see more of her great acting (I am not fan of her songs) works (if there are any more). Talk about scene stealing, Cher stole some of Streep's light. What made her performance memorable is that it was underplayed (see Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain) but the results were outstanding. It was as if she was not acting at all because her performance came out naturally. She did not have those obvious Oscar grabbing moments, it was her whole performance that you have fully experience. I fell in love with her work after seeing her in the movie.
Among the five movies that I saw, this is my favorite so far.
A tale of two sisters who found each other while cleaning after death dirtied places. Premise sounds promising no? But the movie hardly lift off from its very promising premise. But that said you can't help but fall in love with the two lead stars. Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. Both gave two good performances to keep the movie aloft. But they really can not stop the movie from crumbling downwards. I really can't say much because I was really disappointed.
As it is evident, I am deeply in love with Nicole Kidman. She is a God and all should bow down to her perfection. If only I poop money and be a far famous singer than say Keith Urban, I think I have a good shot of marrying her, not to mention that she is like almost two decades older than me. Hey, if it worked for her ex let's name Tom Cruise, maybe it would work for us.
In honor of Nicole Kidman, my personal Goddess, let us all take a look at her awesome resume and celebrate eleven of all of her great works.
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006) Nicole Kidman as Diane Arbus in this mindfuck of a movie is something of a remarkable work. First off, it was a bad bad movie, the only factor of it that made me watch the whole thing was Nicole's subdued and stunning performance. This is one of her works with "auteurs" in smaller movies that she delivered superbly but the movie quite did not.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999) This was the first movie that I have seen from Nicole Kidman. How weird it was that she got a smaller screen time than her former hubby Tom Cruise yet she gave a far lasting performance. Though on paper, her character, Alice was a weepy one, Nicole Kidman played Alice without sentiment at all, but still you fell hard for her. Best Supporting Actress Racso Awards 1999: Catherine Keener (Being John Malkovich), Chloe Sevigny (Boys Don't Cry), Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted), Nicole Kidman, Toni Collette (The Sixth Sense)
His Dark Material: The Golden Compass (2007) Playing a bitch was something I did not expect to come out of Nicole Kidman, but as the villain Mrs Coulter, Kidman did not exaggerate her role to become evil. It was her subtlety and finesse that became insanely evil, besides from the usual outburst of anger that would suggest the obvious.
The Portrait of a Lady (1996) Usually when Kidman goes for auteurs, the critics and award giving bodies alike fail to notice her. Kidman in the hands of Jane Campion worked wonders. She was mesmerizingly addicting. She need not talk that much, her facial expressions alone convey thousands of electrifying emotion. Best Actress Racso Awards 1996: Frances McDormand (Fargo), Brenda Blethyn (Secrets and Lies), Nicole Kidman, Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves), Laura Dern (Citizen Ruth)
The Hours (2002) Deglamming is the usual way to go to win an Oscar, which Nicole Kidman did and walked away as best actress. But that does not mean that Oscar baiting is a bad thing, it is bad if the performance is bad, but if it is as good as her turn as the suicidal Virginia Woolf, then you would not even complain that she wants that Oscar, I would have given it to her too (If it was not for Julianne Moore or Isabelle Huppert).
Best Actress Racso Awards 2002: Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven), Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher), Nicole Kidman, Diane Lane (Unfaithful), Maribel Verdu (Y Tu Mama Tambien)
Margot at the Wedding (2007) She went for a one two bitch slap in 2007, first with Golden Compass then to cap off another superb year, she gave us Margot, another cold hearted bitch, off to set her sister's wedding aflame. With all her verbal abuse and dry and dark humor you still feel for her because that was her withering facade.
Best Actress Racso Awards 2007: Julie Christie (Away From Her), Nicole Kidman, Amy Adams (Enchanted), Tang Wei (Lust Caution), Angelina Jolie (A Mighty Heart)
To Die For (1995) As the murderous wife Suzanne Maretto, Nicole Kidman won her first ever Golden Globe. She played an intimidating, icy, seductress wife and was very convincing at that. It is a pity that she did not at least got an Oscar nod for this. Best Actress Racso Awards 1995: Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore (Safe), Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking), Meryl Streep (Bridges of Madison County), Jennifer Jason Leigh (Georgia)
The Others (2001)
Nicole Kidman is probably known for giving at least one great performance a year, and in 2002, she gave us two! One we will discuss a little later but now let us go over her work as Grace in the spine tingling ghost horror movie "The Others". Sometimes you feel pity for her, but some times you disgust her for being so uptight and over protective. But that kinda was the arch of the character and she aced every inch of the character.
Best Actress Racso Awards 2001: Nicole Kidman (for 2 films), Naomi Watts (Mulholland Drive), Sissy Spacek (In the Bedroom), Kirsten Dunst (Crazy Beautiful), Charlotte Rampling (Under the Sand)
Dogville (2004)
Now on to another Grace. Kidman yet with another auteur brought as the heart wrenching "Dogville", where Kidman plays Grace who ran from her mobster dad to a quiet little town only to be abused by the townspeople in the end. Kidman has this unique whispery voice, and this is where she put it to good use. I can still remember how emotionally wrenching was her when she was being used, especially that scene with Patricia Clarkson. And even more perfect when she took her revenge in the end. Oooh I still have the chills.
Best Actress Racso Awards 2004: Julie Delpy (Before Sunset), Nicole Kidman (for 2 films), Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake), Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Annette Bening (Being Julia)
Birth (2004) It's a hard task to top your previous work especially when you deliver them the same year. But Nicole Kidman does that. In 2004 she repeats the same feat topping another pefect performance with another. This time she delivered Anna in "Birth". This role made use of her facial reaction more than in any other movie. I think that the opera scene alone, is something worth salivating for, I did.
Best Actress Racso Awards 2004: Julie Delpy (Before Sunset), Nicole Kidman (for 2 films), Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake), Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Annette Bening (Being Julia)
Moulin Rouge! (2001) Like I said, Kidman for me is known for topping her previous best whenever she delivers more than one peformance a year: 2004: Dogville and Birth, 2007: The Golden Compass and Margot at the Wedding. But I think her banner year was 2001 when she gave the star turn performance in any year. I will forever remember her as Satine in Moulin Rouge. Who knew she that she could sing? Who knew that she could dance? Who knew that she could sing and dance and act and do comedy all at the same time? I didn't. She blew me away, and after this performance, it is so easy to say that for me (NOTE: FOR ME) she is the greatest actress ever (of course Meryl Streep is an obvious answer, she is a very very close second).
Best Actress Racso Awards 2001: Nicole Kidman (for 2 films), Naomi Watts (Mulholland Drive), Sissy Spacek (In the Bedroom), Kirsten Dunst (Crazy Beautiful), Charlotte Rampling (Under the Sand)
So cheers Nicole! Happy Birthday and may you give us one superb performance after another.
This is a very interesting watch for me because it is a rare treat to see such a blazing performance early on in the year. Believe all the buzz that you have heard about Tilda Swinton because she gone one helluva performance. Methinks that it could be the year's best performance so far.
What made it interesting for me was the title of the movie, "Julia". Though I do not believe that Tilda will get any awards traction with her little movie, I have this weird way of thinking that Tilda = "Julia" Roberts in 2000. Julia Roberts gave a star fucking turn in 2000 with Erin Brockovich and went on to win the Oscars (If I give an award for 2000 for best actress I would give it to Roberts).
The theme of the movie may be hard to swallow, that is why I think that Tilda may not walk away with even a nom in this year's Oscar. A selfish bitch who would kidnap a kid to earn some money found her maternal instincts during the process. Kinda unique no?
I just could not get over how superb Tilda Swinton is in this movie. I hope she gets noticed for this, I really do.
There are movies that after you see it, you feel that it stunk a lot but in the same time you sorta enjoyed yourself because there were moments in it that you did enjoy. That was exactly what I felt while watching "My Fake American Accent". A timely movie about working in a call center. It felt really really amateur. It was badly edited and the sound editing was just plain messy.
"Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy!". This was one of the quotable lines delivered by superb Mailes Kanapi as Ms. Tyra Seva. Ironically, the line is a perfect adjective or line to best describe the movie. It started off OK, the sound was not that irritating. I felt that I was watching an episode of a teen angst tv series, which is generally ok and mildly entertaining. Then thing started to go awry towards the middle then off to the OK climactic ending. There were moments in the movie that were really good but the parts of the movie were far better than the less cohesive whole.
The best asset of the movie was Mailes Kanapi. Her role as the bitch team leader in a call center could have easily passed as a comic caricature but Kanapi masterfully brought her to life a la Steep in "Devil Wears Prada". I am not saying that they are equally good, Streep is a God, but Kanapi really created a role that is very entertaining, well thought of, and a comic perfection. Had it not for her the movie could have easily crumbled. I LOVE HER TO bits. I'd like to share my picture with her in last year's Cinemalaya. C
So I saw two movies about babies the past two days. One is the classic suspense horror film "Rosemary's Baby" (1968) and the other the stoner comedy "Citizen Ruth" (1996). Weird because I did not plan to do like a baby blog-a-thon but accidentally I sorta kinda did, well a personal one at that. If you guys would like to start a baby blog-a-thon then just leave a message hehehe.
Case 1: The Mothers
Rosemary Eileen Woodhouse is the youngest child of Edward Reilly Sr and Marry Ellen of Irish Catholic descendent. She is by nature sweet, quiet and caring. She is married to protestant actor Guy Woodhouse whom she met in a party in the summer of 1963. They got married in 1964. The marriage caused quite a stir with Rosemary's family because Guy was Protestant. Her family disowned her after the marriage. In August 1985, they moved to the Bramford house where a former tenant mysteriously died. One night, she got dizzy after a romantic dinner with husband, and had a weird dream that she was having sex with the devil. She later then found out that she is really pregnant. She was succumbed in paranoia after a series of events lead her to think that her doctor is performing witchcraft with her pregnancy.
Ruth Stoops has been in and out of prison for being a drug. She has this habit of using paint or sealant then she would put it in a paper bag and huffs it and then get really high. One day when she was tossed out of his ex boyfriend's house post sex. She went to her brother only for him to give her fifteen bucks. She used the money to get herself high again, she was then sent to prison. In a weird turn of events she met a group of baby savers inside the prison. One of the baby savers asked her to live in with them and convinced her not to abort her unwanted baby Tanya. This lead to a bizzaro chain of events that resulted to the battle of the baby savers and the pro choice.
Case 2: Million Dollar Babies
Adrien, Rosemary's baby is the son of Satan. Though he was not shown in the movie, it is pretty evident that he may look devilish given by the gesture Rosemary did after he saw his son for the first time. Adrien is important to the coven of devil worshippers, he is the son of Satan after all. Rosemary had quite a hard first few weeks when Adrien was still in her womb. She was always in pain.
Tanya, Ruth's daughter/son is the son of someone from Ruth's past that we do not know of. Though she/he was not seen in the movie, it was pretty much the source of all the fuss. I think that she will grow up rather happy given that Ruth straightens up her act and she has 15 thousand dollars.
There is really nothing special about this movie. It is just that it is at times funny and a little bit charming. I love Parker Posey, but I think that she lacks a little something something in this movie. Amy Poehler was as always funny. I just could not get over that scene wherein someone flashed her boobs at Amy and then she slapped the bejesus out of the girl. One scene, that really got me laughing out loud. Rachel Dracht was weirdly funny. She is in love with a gay guy so likes to cut short his words.
The movie was mediocre at best, funny at times and very forgettable. Excluding probably the priceless scene that I dearly love.
I do hope you get justice for how Hayden messed your life. I do hope also that Hayden loses his license and gets the bad karma he rightfully deserves. I am with you 100% in your battle.
I do not want to give and advises, but I just want you to take a looksee at what happened to Oscar winning screenplay writer (Milk) Dustin Lance Black. His unprotected sex pictures with partner is all over the internet, and people keep on calling him hypocrite because he is an advocate for safe sex practice. However he decided to move on and dismissed the issue perfectly. Take a look at this article...
The damage is done yes, and will leave a mark. But he still continues to fight for what he believes in. That makes him admirable and a personal idol of mine.
"Were the World Mine" is a musical gay indie film about a group of High School guys in their literature class playing "Midsummer's Night Dream". "Gay" guy falls for "straight" guy, then "Gay" guy used voodoo magic via weird flower to make "straight" guy fall in love with him that worked, but in the end, when the magic wore off, "straight" guy really loves "gay" guy.
What sets apart "Were the World Mine" from the generic gay indie stories was that it had this creepy thingy a-la "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" that made it a little sitcom-y but it sorta did work in its favor. There was this voodoo magic thing where Timothy created a sort of magic concoction when he squirts it in the eyes of someone, they will fall in love with the first person they see. Things went out of hand when he abused the use of the magic flower (he placed the magic water thingy in a flower gadget that squirts water), he started turning people gay and lesbians. But during the play, when his weird professor convinced Timothy to revert the magic he used, he reversed all his actions and people started to go to back to their normal selves. In the end, Timothy's obsession, Jonathon, really did love him in the end, without the effect of magic.
It was a weird weird experience. Things happened unexpectedly because the movie kept on doing weird turns. But I have to say that I was so addicted with the soundtrack. Especially the "Were the World Mine" song, which is in heavy iPod rotation.
Even though "Were the World Mine" is odd and a little sitcom, it makes up for charm, OK acting and great soundtrack. Oddly enough, I was beguiled.
This movie could easily be the quirky comedy hit of the year! Everything looks good. And the buzz is good also, Nat had seen it and he sort of liked it. I hope I get to see it sooner.
The cinematography was just so breathtakingly beautiful! I think that this movie is a lock for cinematography and for some technical categories. I am so so intrigued. I can't wait for this any longer!
I went last Friday to the French Film Festival here in the Philippines (Shangrila) just to watch Filipino films. It is Independence day yesterday and for them to showcase feature and short films that were shown in Cannes was truly a treat. I first started watching the short films, which I will review later. Then I went out of the screening to get free tickets for the 8 PM showing of Raya Martin's "Independencia". That was 4PM and I already lined up even if they are going to open the ticket booth on 6PM. So 6 PM came, the line tarted to move, then after like twenty ish people got their tickets, they said that there were no more tickets to be given (because the event is free). Then the organizers started to explain that they have to make room for the cast and crew. What the fuck? right? Was that their goal? To make the movie then show it exclusively for the cast and crew? Then came the other organizer and said "We did not ask you to line up for four hours (cause some people did, I only waited for 2 hours), the line starts at 6pm not four hours before." So hands down to the DUMBEST argument ever, that man has stupid written all over him. Hey man, I hope you are reading this. We are the ones who are going to make your movie popular and not the cast and crew. You need enthusiasts like us to bring the indie scene forward, and then you are going to end up saying that dimwitted remark. Grow a brain, you are n times my superior, yet I can see that you do not know what you are doing.
But luckily, they ended up giving more tickets to us. People power at the French Film Festival. I lined up early again for the show, and said to myself "This better be worth the wait".
Deciphering "Independencia" for me was an arduous task for me. I had a hard time watching the damn movie because I was sitting rather close to the screen that it made my eyes hurt. Second I was high up on meds because I had a fever.
"Independencia" follows the story of a mother and son, fleeing their town to live inside the forest because the war against the Spaniards is nearing its violent end, then in comes the Americans prepped up as knight in shining armors only to end up colonizing the Philippines as well. They lived a rather OK life in the forest, they easily found food to eat and a hut to stay in. Then one day the son found a raped girl in the forest. He took her home with her mother though his mother was silently against it. The three lived together until the mother got sick and died. The girl then gave birth to an American looking child and three lived in the forest as one family. The son now father was in a relentless quest to look for the charm that his uncle had to give him good luck. What happened to him was that he gradually lost his eyesight. The girl on the other hand grew lonely because his son and his sort of husband are always out minding their own business. The child is always out looking for fruits and he is always telling his parents that he sees a caped man in the forest. The mother and uhm father died when a storm hit, the father died with the child in his arms. But the child did not die there. Towards the end, the Americans are drawing near the forest and they saw the child (one of them was the child's father). The child ran away from the Americans and killed himself by jumping off a cliff. So that was pretty much what happened.
I ended up dismissing it as a survival movie rather than artsy one. Looking at it from a survival movie point of view, I will say that it was rather dragging. Numerous shots of empty forest and nothing but walking and blah blah blah made the movie a snoozefest. I had to admit, I slept like one third of the movie. It really was that boring. If Raya Martin (the director) is gunning for an artsy point of view, I just did not get it. I could have easily said that it was just a mindfuck bore. There was also a segment where a clip was shown where an American killed a Filipino kid, a segment that I think they could have gone better off without. At the end of the screening, I was really battling with myself trying to think of possible explanations to what happened, a.k.a. I was trying to hard to force myself to like the movie akin to the movie trying to run my patience out.
What made the movie admirable was their bold choice to shoot it in a studio and used potted plants and fake trees and back ground paintings. Sid Lucero also gave a rather great performance. It was not an easy task for him because they had little dialogue, little plot to work with and they had to rely on facial reactions to convey emotion. Tetchie Agbayani who played the mother made a little comeback to form. The two remaining cast members did errr OK. The cinematography was also spot on.
With all that had happened, It was really not worth it.
So here is another assignment movie in preparation for the Supporting Actress Smackdown happening at the end of this month. I have re-screened "The Big Chill".
Nostalgic is the perfect adjective for the movie. Starting from the soundtrack, to the costume and to the big hair, watching it brings back old memories of me being young watching my mother dress up like them girls in the movie. "The Big Chill" is a story of a group of friends getting together after their friend died. All of them seem to be looking for something that they still do not have but then in the end, all they needed really was for them to be with each other.
The movie would have crumbled had it not been for the top class acting of its ensemble cast. They are the seven leads of this story, all of them giving good to great performances. Personally, the standout for me here is William Hurt. But what do I think of Glenn Close? She got nominated for this. I think she got nominated because she got the emotional parts, crying during dinner and all that mush. But other than playing her part well I just do not get this nomination. She was good and all but I think that she did not shine, nor stood out, much more, give an Oscar Calibre performance. The most memorable scenes in the movie were those where in almost all of them are in one frame.
Nonetheless, I loved the movie for what it was. It may not age well but it was still a very good movie, and the best so far from the three movies I had rescreened. Strong performances, great direction and superb script elevated this movie from becoming a cliche. Truly a nostalgia inducing ride.
"Andong" is a short film shown in Cinemalaya last year, where it won the top prize for best short film in competition. The reason why I am posting it here is that I saw it again, last Friday in Shangrila during the French Film Festival here in the Philippines.
I really like the story behind it. It was in no way that hard to grasp, because it was pretty much straight forward. What I loved about it was the simplicity of the story and the moral and the amorality behind it.
"Andong" is a story about a kid who really enjoys watching TV all the time and that's all he does, and take also into consideration that he lives in the slums and is very destitute. One day when her mother left he scourge the slums looking for place to watch free TV. He then went to a TV repair shop where a man selling tickets came in. The prize in the raffle is a colored TV, but the problem is Andong does not have the money to buy one, so he went on and continually beg his mom to give him twenty bucks to buy a raffle ticket, to no avail, his mother gave him none. Desperate he went to the dump site and scourge for box cartons and metal to sell to the junk shop. He then earned twenty five pesos, enough for one ticket. Then another ordeal, his younger brother demands Andong to buy him a necklace, but Andong did not want to spend the money on the necklace, but in the end he was forced to. In the end, they came up with a plan for Andong's younger brother to beg their mother for twenty pesos.
Pretty straighforward ain't it? It was highly entertaining too. Though I could not say that this deserved the award last year (because I am rooting for another short film), it deserves all the citations and recognition it gets, because it was really that good.
OK so I really had a hard time picking a new template. So I decided to return the template. So here it is, back again, as if nothing happened. Wasted fucking time to change!
I am not satisfied with my previous blog layout so I decided to change it again. I am liking this one. Except that you should go figure out what that bubble on the top right corner of each posts. THEY ARE COMMENTS. Take note! Comment on this please. Hehehe.
So here I am, I just got back from a screening of the movie "Kamoteng Kahoy", directed by Mario J. de los Reyes. It is the loose retelling of a true story where an old woman accidentally poisoned about a hundred students from a local elementary school. As you all know, I was tad excited and eager to see it. And once again, I am very disappointed.
Let's start discussing the positives. First, it was a gorgeous film to look at. The sceneries were captured very beautifully. Second it was in general, impeccably acted. Gloria Romero as Lola Idang, the old woman who accidentally put pesticide in her "maruja" (a Philippine snack delicacy) , gave a heartwrenching performance. You hardly felt anger towards her, all you have for her is just sympathy. She fed those kids for years and with just one false move, she accidetally poisoned the kids she dearly loved and fed. The kids outshine the older actors in this movie. Nash Aguas delivered a serviceable lead performance as he kid who lost his two best buddies. But the real star of the movie was Robert Villar played the young outcast kid who was abused by her abusive aunt played with great gusto by Irma Adlawan. I rarely see this kind of performance from such a very young kid. Really very good and citation worthy. Lastly, I think that the movie has a clear story it wanted to tell. And that will lead me to the negatives.
My main problem about the movie is that its story was too soapy. It felt like as if it was like a hallmark movie. Not that there is nothing wrong with that, but all I felt was I was watching a droopy emotional sap. Another thing I hate was that they decided to included comic releief in segments that should not have any. The most heartbreaking scene in the movie should have been the burial of the kids but it turned out to be a circus. Another thing that I did not like was that they decided to put in political issues in the movie where it could have focused solidly on the incident.
"Kamoteng Kahoy" is a really really emotional movie. It really could have been better, because it started off great. But it faltered in the middle, towards the dreary ending.
This review is part of my assignment from StinkyLulu since I will be (for the first time) joining Supporting Actress smackdown! My second movie viewing (I am way behind schedule) is Barbra Streisand's "Yentl".
First off, I was not really expecting that she would just break out and sing. When I first saw this (I was really young) I was not aware that it was a musical. I immediately dismissed it as corny and cheesy. Dismissal notion seems to hold up until now, but then this is that cheesy kind of movie that you at most times can tolerate. The first part, more so, the first song was really cheesy and there were times that
Minutes past, I was more engaged now than I was when it all started. I started to think of Amanda Bynes summer movie dud when she wanted to play soccer but she was not allowed to because she was a girl. "Yentl" is exactly like that, well, since that Amanda Bynes movie "She's the Man" was based on "Yentl". The difference is the time and set up. Yentl was not allowed to study because at her time women are not allowed to study because all they are were sort of house maids and husband worshippers. Yently was bohemian girl and wants to learn more. What she did was that she disguised herself as a man for her to be able to study. She ended up falling in love with her new found best friend.
Barbra Streisand was superb in this movie, and not to mention the fact that she directed this movie. The movie may be cheesy, most of the times, and it felt really odd when the songs started to play. I would like to commend her more for directing this movie, rather than her acting in it. But that does not mean she was not good. Like I said, she was superb.
While going through the movie again, I was really more in focus of Amy Irving's performance, since that was my assignment. Sad part of it was I thought that her performance was close to becoming a wallpaper for the movie, or an accessory, or a part of the set. I just did not feel anything from her. Yes she was there but I hardly felt her presence, and it baffles me that she got an Oscar nomination for this when she deserves a Razzie.
All in all, it was a fun fun fun movie. Entertaining enough for me to get over the cheesiness of the movie.
As you may all know and I think I was pretty evident about it, I am a really big fan of Adam Lambert. I really think that he should have won over rather bland Kris Allen. And now Adam Lambert has been getting quite a very good reception from public. Lately he confessed the rather obvious, and that is that he was gay. He is getting a fall album release. And now he is in the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Eat that Kris Allen!
I hope he records a kick ass album. I will be lining up in music stores just to purchase one. Coming up later, my favorite American Idol season 8 performances...
Having decently liked "Magnifico", directed by one of Philippines' prime director Maryo J. de Los Reyes. I am quite eager to see "Kamoteng Kahoy". It looks like a good sit, but I do not have that much high hopes for it. But I will go check it out. So enjoy the trailer for now.
Ok so I am tinkering around with this new template. I think this one is better because it is simple and I do not have change the banner all the time. I Hope you guys like it. I am still fixing it so bear with me.
By the way I just bought the VCD of "Jay". Why VCD? Because there are no dvds of this yet. I'm loving this movie.
I LOVE Mailes Kanapi! There is no denying that. I am wherever she goes. But sadly I failed her when I missed the commercial release of her movie dud "My Fake American Accent". It was shown DECEMBER last year, and I was not really aware of that. My apologies to you Ms. Kanapi.
You guys all know my addiction to my own awards, and it sometimes pains me to miss a movie that I should have seen before making the list. First off, I got "The Class", which I think is the best movie last year. Then there was "Serbis" a movie that could've ranked higher if I have seen it earlier. Then now Mailes Kanapi's performance in "My Fake American Accent". I really did not in now way liked the movie. For me it was really amateur. But that said, no one can deny the fact that Mailes aced her role as the bitchy team leader in a call center. Her role could have easily passed as supporting but somehow you can still feel her presence even though she is not in the scene. Needless to say, she chewed every scene she was in and nailed every comedic arch of the character.
So luckily! There is a good news to this! Last year it got limited release, this year it will get an even bigger release (still miniscule though, I have to travel far just to watch em), so I could easily cheat and probably include her in my awards this year.
This probably is Joaquin's Phoenix's last movie unless someone bitch slaps him to make him realize what the fuck is wrong with him. It seems such a waste because I really think that this is his best work to date. He was manic mad though reserved. Playing with love was a tricky role for one to feel sympathetic at but then that's exactly what I felt for him.
Another sorta comeback-ish of sorts here was Gwyneth Paltrow's character as the fucked up neighbor who was tangled with a married man and was desperately in love. I really love her in this movie. It is nice to see her give another superb performance though I highly doubt that this is going to get any awards traction.
The pacing of the movie was tad glacial specially in the beginning, it could have sent people walking out of the cinema. But things started to got interesting when Paltrow came in to view.
All in all it was a great drama about love, a fucked up love.
This entry is in preparation to me joining the Supporting Actress Smackdown over at Stinkylulu's Blog, it's my first time ever, I am so enthralled. So what I did was to re watch all the movies where in the supporting actresses where nominated for. Luckily, I already saw most of them, but some I have the faintest memory of (specially "Cross Creek"). So I started watching all of them five, and I opt to start with "The Year of Living Dangerously".
Peter Weir's movie about journalism and how one is willing to go through all lengths just to get a story was, for me, a little bit all over the place. It was good and a solid movie, gripping and very entertaining at times, but I could not help my brain from wandering off some place else. What really boggles me is that it was shot in Indonesia and it was about Indonesians and then Bembol Roco and Kuh Ledesma, both filipino actors, were in it playing Indonesians. Weird also is that I continually hear people in the movie speaking in Filipino.
Clearly, it has the makings of a grand epic. It was. Poised with a good performance by Mel Gibson. Back in the days when he was still sane. Sigourney Weaver was great as ever though at times lacking. But it was Linda Hunt's show. She was the heart and conscience of this movie and she stole every scene she was in. She totally deserves the nomination, and the win, is something you would have to wait for if I think she deserves it. Playing the dwarf-sh half Chinese half English man, Billy Kwan, Linda Hunt did not just play the role of the man, because you hardly felt that. She was Billy Kwan.
All in all it was a solid effort, though it felt as though I was like watching four movies at once.
I have been a fan for almost a decade. I am a big big fan. So here's to you Nathaniel! Happy Happy Birthday! And I wish you all the best wishes that can be wished. I hope you continue your work because I follow it perpetually.
Yesterday I was out and was rummaging through DVDs in a DVD store near me, and I was starting so bad at "Tirador" and "Selda", two Filipino films that I dearly love. What happened was that I wanted so much to buy the two DVDs, but I could not buy them because, stupid me, I forgot to bring my wallet with me. I went home depressed, but inspired in a way to write this entry, about the best Filipino films in recent memory. Note: this is not an official list of the best Filipino films of the decade, but this is more of a list of movies that I loved and I remembered whilst writing this. So if there are any movies I missed, please do remind me in the comments.
Part 1. I just realized that 4 of the five films billed Coco Martin. I am not shocked, he is very in demand in independent projects.
Daybreak
Directed by Adolf Alix Jr.
This is my number five movie of 2008, and it still holds up until now. An overnight story of a love that could have been, directed by Adolf Alix Jr, this movie made use of Pinoy Gay Indie cliche and spun it to a very original piece. Beautiful shot and acted, Coco Martin gave his best performance to date in this movie.
Deathrow (2000)
Directed by Joel Lamangan
One of my all time favorite movies, "Deathrow", starring veteran Eddie Garcia and newbie Cogie Domingo, is a story of a kid (Domingo) who was wrongfully accused of killing ang robbing an old woman was thrown into jail and was death sentenced. Scary and felt really real, this set the bar for movies to come. Cogie Domingo proved that he is the actor to sought out for, he gave one helluva debut performance in this movie. And Eddie Garcia and Jacklyn Jose were as always superb.
Serbis (2008)
Directed by Brillante Mendoza
You guys all know that I loved Serbis, but what happened was that I think that his previous works were more accomplished than this Cannes entry. Again, Mendoza opted to follow multiple story lines. The main star of this movie is the tattered down cinema house.
Tambolista (2007)
Directed by Adolf Alix Jr.
This is my favorite Pinoy film of 2007, and again it was directed by my favorite Filipino director. The story was told a-la "21 Grams" where the sequences where jumbled up in the beginning to build up one cohesive and engrossing story. It follows the loves of two brothers and their thief friend, the younger one wanting to buy a drumset, who went to all the lengths just to purchase one.
Tirador (2007)
Directed by Brillante Mendoza
Brillante Mendoza continues his streak in 2007 with another gritty movie about the lives of con man in Manila. What makes it special is that it did not follow a singular story, think Altman in the slums, it was a little documentary-ish because of its look and feel. It is not a movie for those who lack patience, but it was an experience worth taking.
Having loved Joe Wright's work in general (Pride and Prejudice and Atonement are in my top ten in their respective years) I really was expecting to like "The Soloist". But I was really disappointed, the movie did not come close to the high bar set by his two previous films. It was not bad, but I just could not really say that it was good. It is just that it did not make me interested, it failed to draw me in and that was my problem with it. The music was good, ditto the performances (kudos to Robert Downey Jr.), but it was just a boring story to begin with. Yes I get that it was a story of friendship (an odd one at that) and a story about the power of music, something I really believe in, but I could not help my self to feel and think that it missed all the notes it was suppose to hit. And the end product was a schmaltzy mush tossed with good music and great performances.
I saw this movie last year in Cinemalaya, and I saw it again early this year and I have not gotten the chance to write about it. Scouring for good movies this early in the year is a tough task but my efforts are paying off. I would not want to waste my time watching the likes of "Knowing". I have suffered "Dragonball Z Evolutions" and I think it is something I would not want to happen to me like ever, but I guess that is impossible.
So let us go back to "Jay", it a story of a gay reporter named Jay covering the life story of the murdered gay nurse named Jay aussi. It was comic and touching at the same time. Baron Geisler, the bad boy maniac of Philippines played the gay reporter and he has proven that he has the acting chops to boot. Coco Martin (Philippines' Indie Prince) continues his streak of greatness in this movie playing the ex lover of the murdered Jay. But for me, the star of this show was Flor Salanga, who played the grieving mother.
This truly is a breath of fresh air. A Wonderful and superb debut from Francis Xavier Pasion.
Since I am in the Philippines, and this film fest is on, you know where I will be for next weeks. They said that they will show 14 films that were showcased in Cannes, and since I was not in Cannes, I might as well go to the film fest so I could see them movies. I wonder if they are going to show "A Prophet"... I do hope they do...
There are times when sometimes I feel bad about seeing a movie too late. I have this weird thing in me that I need to honor movies in my own way, thus the RacsO Awards. Watching "The Class" falls into that. If I have seen this movie earlier it would have easily topped my list of 2008. Back then I was torn between "Let the Right One In" and "Love of Siam", but with the viewing of "The Class" they would just have to settle to battle for tops two and three. I saw this movie right after I made my awards so that is really a bummer for me. And I only had the chance to write about it now.
It was a pseudo-documentary about a French school teacher and its ruckus making class. It felt really real and natural, primarily because of its actors, spearheaded by Francois Begaudeau, who acted, wrote the screenplay and the book, which is a semi autobiographical story of his expereiences as a teacher. I really feel for him because I was a teacher for about a year and it was really quite an experience for me. It was crisply edited and framed, adding up to the tension that is slowly building.
I have learned my lessons, and that is to watch them movies if they are readily available. The experience is sometimes rewarding. Truly the best film of 2008.
Welcome back Sam Raimi! After doing the dud "Spider-Man 3", Raimi is back in form with a scary shit "Drag Me To Hell". It was terrifying and at the same time hilarious, it really did remind me, back in the days, when Raimi started out making horror/comedy movies. Evil Dead anyone?
The story was easy to follow and the scared just keep on coming. And none of them fell flat or missed to scare, they were all in the right places. Scary movie definitive, and it does not run out of frights till the end. I have never been that scared since last year's "[REC]". It was also funny most of the times, laughter is your only substitute to screaming. The acting was serviceable and apt, no stand out really. This really is Raimi, and this is the Raimi I loved. You can see and feel that he is again having fun, pretty much what he ehxibited in the first two Spider-Man movies.
I am going to see it again tomorrow. I loved it. It scared the living shit out of me. And I would love to experience that again.
