The Robot Movie For All Dads

It is not a feel-good-movie but a feel-GREAT-movie!  This is how I perceive Real Steel the robot boxing movie extravaganza starring Hugh Jackman.  I highly recommend this movie to be seen and enjoyed by all fathers for it will make them feel like a young kid again playing with their most favorite toy.

For all those young single adults, you can actually tag along your old man to catch this movie since it can actually represent the ultimate realization of your old man’s dream who at one time in their life was a young kid with rich imagination fancying about robots and action figures.

What I like most about this movie is that it is a toned-down type of Transformers movie.  It’s not a dark robot movie but instead light, fun and visceral.  In Transformers there are scenes where I can hardly discern the robots apart when they fight, unlike in this movie in which the robots even during the action-packed fights can easily be discernable.

Moreover, what I like most about the robots is that they are mere robots controlled by human pilots.  They don’t talk, not percipient and do not have free flowing emotions.  They are essentially like giant toys in which kids can grow deep attachments with.   All in all Real Steel is a real deal of pure enjoyable rugged story with endearing characters along with action-packed bouts of brawling robots. Watchitwatchitwachit!

If my father is only alive, I would definitely treat him to watch this fun and heartfelt movie.  This could have been a great birthday present for Tatay Joe (my father) whose birthday is today.

Grabe ang walang humpay na bakbakan ng mga bakal.

The Super Powers of Anne Curtis

anne curtis

Without doubt, fear and hesitation let me declare that the most powerful human being in the Philippines in this present time is none other than Anne Curtis.  Why?  If Curtis with her enigmatic charm, gorgeous face and drop dead body will just live with her most popular spoken lines on television “I may be a slut, but I’m the best slut in town”, she can easily swoon all the chauvinist public officials (both in politics and in the armed forces) as well as the dirty richest men in the country.  She can effortlessly mesmerize these men to fall unto her prey to instruct them on whatever she may want them to do.

You can never get rid of her in this country.  Curtis nowadays is everywhere.  She’s on the façade of your favorite malls, she’s on the cover of your glossy magazines, she’s on the huge billboards of the major thoroughfares, she’s in the stories of your newspapers, she’s singing on your radio, she’s hosting on TV, and she’s even at the back of your commuter bus.

Ironically, Curtis has yet to be named and ranked #1 as the sexiest Filipina by the most popular male magazine of the land.  Maybe because Curtis has gone beyond just being sexy, Curtis is a goddess.

Nowadays, whatever thing, event or person that Curtis is associated with seems to spell out nothing but success.  Just like the recently concluded Philippine Fashion Week which actually became fashionable because Curtis was there.  Riding the metro has also been a hip thing to do after the news broke when Curtis took the train ride twice: to catch the Kylie Minogue concert on time and to report to her TV studio recently.

She was also in the headlines when her photo on a magazine cover smoking a cigarette created a huge buzz among the medical practitioners, in which the issue she shared with was with no less than the prime actress and superstar Nora Aunor.

Unlike Aunor, Curtis can hardly sing.  She actually laughs at herself when she does.  When Curtis sings, people surprisingly stop to listen for it will result to a vivacious laughing moment.  But when she recorded and sold an album it turned multi-platinum.  The last time I heard, people will again catch this lady via her mall shows and mini-concerts all around the metro.

And most recently, to everybody’s surprise, her movie entitled No Other Woman just broke the record for being the highest grossing film in the Philippine movie industry history.  One thing though.  I don’t seem to have the chutzpah to watch this movie and would rather settle to be one of the few souls who failed to see it in a movie theater.  This is because I disagree with the story-line.  Curtis played the role of a mistress while her co-star Christine Reyes played the role of the legal wife who expectedly went on a meltdown, turned sad and miserable but later on fought for the man that she loves.  I disagree with the story line of Christine Reyes going depressed and miserable because for me if a woman learned that her husband’s mistress is Anne Curtis then she must instead celebrate and be in good spirits.  This only confirms that her husband got some impeccable taste.

Anyway, maybe the reason why Curtis is so powerful is because she can project various personas effectively.  She can be highly fashionable, she can be extremely sexy, she can be flirtatious and liberated, she can be subtle and delicate, she can be fun and bubbly and she can be silly yet strong-willed.

Paki-bagayan ang di pagsang-ayon base sa iyong kagandahan.

My My Sharona Itch

There are two events I always remember every time the song My Sharona by The Knack is played on the radio.  First is when I was still a young soul – who is not yet ear-fatigued from club music – me and my sister Jocel would make sure to proceed to the dance floor in high spirits to strut and bop every time the DJ plays this mind-blowing tune.   Second is the amazing scene in the movie Reality Bites when the song was played inside a convenience store and was asked by Jeanene Garafolo to turn up the music for them to hoof, twist and hustle.  After watching that scene, I always itched and wondered how it feels like to sing and dance freely along the aisles of a grocery store.

Today, I caught a Youtube video that somehow animated my secret wonder.  It’s Sara Bareilles (who claimed to have difficulty doing the dance routine) strutting her stuff inside a Mexican supermarket. It’s so insane!! It made me laugh at the end of the video because the last scene would most likely what would happen to me in case I would take the risk of fulfilling this infatuation.

Oo, aym so wird…

Look Up Below

Six weeks ago, while waiting to locate my naturally recurring state of reduced or absent consciousness called sleep, I watched a number of videos via YouTube.  I was lucky enough to stumble into watching two of the ten short films produced by Nestle Philippines.  Nestle’s collection of short films released simultaneously a couple of months back is dubbed as Kasambuhay Habambuhay in celebration of Nestle’s 100 years of existence in the Philippines.

Three weeks ago, while in the middle of a Management Committee Meeting, Malou Domingo my office’s Marketing Manager, out of the blue whispered to ask me if I have seen Nestle’s collection of short films released this year.  I whispered back and told her that I have seen two of the films that starred John Lloyd Cruz in one (entitled: Sign Seeker) and Marvin Agustin with Kaye Abad in the other (entitled: Unplugged).

Last night while waiting for sleep to seep and leach onto my being, I was able to watch (still via YouTube) the other Nestle short films featured.  I was able to see the other four of it.

I have yet to see the other two, but the last film I saw last night touched the tender-most region of my emotion.  It is the film directed by Henry Frejas entitled “Tingala sa Baba”.  It is a light satire that depicts the lopsided life of the rich and poor.  The film gave me goose bumps especially the delightful scene when the poor boy descends while the rich boy was lifted up the seesaw.  The goose bumps in my skin were so distinct it was like Braille on my arms that reads “Amazing!”

There are tons of socio-economic and socio-political paradoxes depicted in the film presented in a smart, creative and entertaining yet subliminal manner.  The film can also be depicted as a portrayal of reaching a dream; of personal acceptance; of friendship regardless of social strata; and, of life’s contrariness on the concept of happiness.

The main characters were brilliant!  The actor who portrayed the rich kid is so adoring!!! The film does not have big stars neither have complex settings, yet it will twist your thoughts and make you very emotional in the end.

Check the film below and I hope you be amaze the way I do.  Also, at the end of the film, try to figure out which end of the seesaw are you actually seated.  Are you a Renzo or an Angelo?

Aber, aber, aber. Saang dulo ka ng siso naka upo? Di pwede sa gitna, maiipit ka.

Zombadings

Almost all Filipino blogs has released an article or two about the movie Zombadings 1: Patayin Sa Shokot si Remington (Zombadings 1: Kill Remington By Fear).  Let this blog join the happy bandwagon and let me give my two cents on it.

Almost all blogs says that it is hilariously funny and smartly written and executed.  I totally agree with all of it.  I always adore Filipino camp movies.  And Zombadings is one classic that is comparable to the level of campiness achieved in the likes of Temptation Island and Secrets of Pura.

However, majority of the articles written about the movie is their failure to acknowledge the birth and emergence of a new and unique local pop vernacular different from the recorded dialects in the Philippines which I think was taken into great consideration in the movie.  The Bekimon dialect. Awaaard!!! 

Anyway, this is the only movie where you can find an insane-looking gaydar; a serial killer; a widow in roller blades; homosexual animals; a lunatic policewoman; the morphing of a hunk to an effeminate eve; and of course, gay zombies.  All combined and mixed up to create a coherent hilarious movie.

All in all Zombadings is undoubtedly heaps of fun.  But if those who watched it would contemplate deeper amidst the laughter and entertainment that the movie brought, it is actually a piece about empowerment; it is a deposition on embracing your own personal choice; and at the same time giving a big hard punch towards society’s intolerance and narrow-mindedness.

May puso ang istorya at ang hindi matawa sa pelikulang ito, bato.

Isda (Fable of the Fish)

Isda is a full-length movie entry in Cinemalaya 2011 written by Jerry Gracio.  It is one of the most unique story materials that have been crafted into a film.  The story is about a poverty-stricken woman who gives birth to a fish.  This poignant premise alone has been enough to jolt my interest to go to CCP’s Tanghalang Huseng Batute (Studio Theater) to watch it.

According to the director Adolfo Alix Jr., who was present to answer few audience’s questions after the screening, it was inspired by the 80’s TV show Eye-To-Eye in which host Inday Badiday featured a woman who was said to have conceived and gave birth to a dalag (mudfish) in the midst of a raging super typhoon.

Isda is an intriguing account that crumbles the barrier between true to life drama and the fight of imagination.   I can consider this film as one of the greatest films of Philippine cinema.  It’s rich, it’s multi-layered and it’s thought provoking. What I like most about the film is that it leaves the viewer to decide in what slant and perspective he wants the characters of the story to be perceived and takes the lesson/s out from it.

I was very impressed with the delivery and portrayal of actors and actresses in the movie.  Cherry Pie Picache in the lead role (of Lina, the mother of the fish) was so overwhelmingly effective she was able to reconcile the irreconcilable.  Picache’s portrayal and attack on the role was serene and simple yet so real and undeviatingly precise.  She was able to depict Lina’s character being a normal loving wife and mother without any tinge of being psychologically insane.  I was actually made to believe that she truly gave birth to a fish and nurtured it.

Bembol Rocco, who portrayed as Miguel (the father of the fish) was a class of his own.  He was no doubt compelling.  Though he uttered very few lines, Rocco exhibited the full intensity of his convincing characterization through his mere looks and gestures.  Supporting actors and actresses in the film – Rosanna Roces, Anita Linda, Evelyn Vargas, Allan Paule and Arnold Reyes – were equally brilliant.  Even the fish in the movie deserves an acting award!

I am not a film authority but for me, Isda (Fable of the Fish) is a mixture of great elements of a motion picture: a unique and intriguing material; a distinctive director; and, an inimitable cast.  It deserves all the awards and recognitions it will be bestowed with, may it be in the local or international film arena.

Parang gusto ko kumain ng pinangat na tulingan.

Cinemalaya, Rafa Santos & Bisperas

I don’t have the exact figures but from my personal observation Cinemalaya 2011 is a big hit.  Judging from my experience last night when I watched one of the full-length entries, the CCP Main Theater was jam packed.  It was unlike the previous Cinemalayas wherein only few souls had the interest to watch.

I’m sure organizers are partly thankful to Rafa “the-joke-that-never-was” Santos who ignited curious interest of the movie-going public after expressing in an awful TV interview that he prefers to get theater actors in his films because according to him these thespians don’t complain even if they are fed with biscuits three times daily and paid in cat food.

True enough, from the full-length film entry I watched last night (Jeffrey Jeturian’s “Bisperas”), the best performance exhibited in the film was not from the main stream actors and actresses – who sometimes dip their fingers in doing indie film for them to classify themselves as true motion picture artists – but it was from Jen Donnaire, the lady who played the role of Evelyn, the katulong (maid).  The recognized celebrities who starred in the film expectedly portrayed their respective roles in histrionic modes but the actress who played the role of the maid was so natural, so believable and so true-to-life.  She acted with spontaneity without the melodramatic embellishments.  Watching her would make you forget that she is an actress and would make you believe that she is a maid in real life.  Her portrayal certainly do not just deserve biscuits and cat food.

Siguro naman di lang meow fud and binayad sa longkatung yon.

The Eyes and Tongue of Aljur Abrenica

New King of Pinoy Camp Movies

As promised, here is my personal analysis why Aljur Abrenica was the saving grace in the remake of the Pinoy cult classic movie Temptation Island.  (Press this LINK to read on my previous post about the movie.)

Aljur Abrenica was a big revelation in the movie Temptation Island 2011.  Abrenica who played the role of Alfredo originally played by the late Alfie Anido was in his comfort zone.  Not because of great acting ability and not because he was able to duplicate Anido’s coniotic stature and presence but because he fits well on being so campy for such a campy movie.

Aljur is a walking camp.  I would like to believe that he is the male version of Alma Moreno, the Queen of Pinoy Camp Movies.  He perfected the “twinkling-of-the-eyes” movement.  In the movie, no matter what emotion he wants to convey, he only has one obscure style of stare. This guy is so funny for he never wink nor blink in the film because his eyes is constantly twinkling.

In the original version, Anido – a natural conio, who perfected the art of mixing and interchanging English and Tagalong in a chic and sophisticated manner – never got the chance to make me laugh.  But in the remake, Aljur never failed to give me a chuckle.  This is especially true when he utter his lines in the English language.  Every time he speaks in English, me and my friends who were watching the film would whisper and ask each other “Ano daw?” (What did he say?), then laugh so hard other viewers thought Abrenica just delivered a hilarious line.

The portrayal of Abrenica in the film was so mediocre but it resulted to being so appealing in an ironic sense.  With his enigmatic twinkling eyes and ambiguous delivery of lines that emerged into an unintentional comedic performance, Abrenica was able to achieve his goal of making Temptation Island 2011 (The Remake) a passable campy film.

Si Aljur malamang ang tatanghaling Hari ng Pinoy Kamp Mubis…

Temptation Island 2011

When I learned that the same film producer is planning to do a remake of the ostentatious Temptation Island, I was initially upset, disheartened and bothered.  I wondered why this perversely sophisticated movie has to be redone.  I deemed that it would be a desecration and chastisement of the genius work of Joey Gosiengfiao.  It’s simply blasphemous!

But when all forms of media were showered and spewed with advertisements about the 2011 version, I turned erratic, provoked and eager.  All publicity write-ups and interviews conveyed that the new version will “remain faithful to the campy spirit of the original film”.  This gave me a benefit of the doubt for the new version and made me persuaded to look forward in seeing the film.  I was actually looking forward on how the stars of the new film deliver those precious lines…

Last night was the moment when I along with seven other souls (my equally twisted cosmopolitan office mates) saw the new version.  I knew all the while that the celebrities who starred and played the roles of this year’s version could not equal the fuzzy sophistication as delivered by the original cast.

Surprisingly, Lovie Poe came close to that of the character originally played by Jennifer Cortez in the original version.  Though she came short on the classy, flashy and foxy high-chinned moves and patrician bratty demeanor of Jennifer, she delivered her lines well.  Lovie was unexpectedly funny. She came close to the original in delivering the lines (now considered classic in Pinoy pop culture) since both ladies possess the sexy low-toned breathy voice.

John Lapuz who played Juswa (Joshua when articulated in proper English) was a bit of a disappointment.  Lapuz evidently tried very hard to deliver his lines similar to the fluency and eloquence of the original Joshua played by Jonas Sebastian.  Lapuz, who do not possess the natural required accent along with an innate coarse and croaky tone, will obviously never equal the feat Jonas Sebastian has done in the original version.  Moreover, it was a letdown when Lapuz sported the Queen-Melo-look.  Because of such costume-y and cartoon-y look, Lapuz’ characterization of Joshua created a notion that it was too-over-taught to the point that he desperately wants the viewers to laugh.  It was so unlike Sebastian’s characterization – effortless yet grand and hilarious!

The other actors and actresses who starred in the new version seemed too novice for the demands of their respective roles.  In my own personal view the cast and re-creators of this year’s version tried too hard which resulted to categorizing the film according to Susan Sontag (a literary theorist) as “deliberate camp”.  This is so unlike the original movie which was crisp, candid and unpretentiously presented in which as per Sontag is categorized as “naive camp”.  Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the movie simply because Temptation Island is such a rich, colorful, hilarious and ostentatious film material.

But, the film’s saving glory is actually in the quintessential personification of the ham, the hunk, the beefcake, Aljur Abrenica!  (to be continued…)

Bakit si Aljur?  Pwes, abangan ang susunod na powst. Ang haba na kasi.

Sing Lek Lek Thee Riak Wa Ruk

Though all movies shown in the Philippines for the last two weeks of 2010 are all Filipino-made (due to the Metro Manila Film Festival) and every citizen has flocked the movie houses, I have yet to watch one.

And since I seem to belong to the odd segment of humanity that always made me wonder what parallel in the universe am I in, the last film that I was able to watch last year was neither a Filipino nor a Hollywood movie. It’s Thai! The movie is entitled Sing Lek Lek Thee Riak Wa Ruk starring Mario Maurer and Pimchanok Luewisedpaibon.

It’s a feel good comedy film about a schoolgirl’s undying crush towards a campus heartthrob.  The characters were so effective and the mesmerizing “kilig” (giddy fuzzy feeling) factor was so pure.  They were loads of endearing charm and cuteness presented in multiple solid laughs.  But what made it so wacky was because of the supporting role played by Sudarat “Tukky” Butprom.  Tukky as the English Teacher was so hilarious.  I wanted her to be always on the screen as the story progress for she was a BLAST!

The movie also deals about genuine friendship, youth’s struggle to look good and feel good, youthful fun and life’s simplicity. It’s pure entertainment full of unadulterated charm that is hard to resist.  It will make you truly realize that sometimes the simple unfussy entertainment is the one that comes off best.

In a more serious note, it is about life’s struggle to be better anchored on undying love and (pronouncing like how Tukky pronounced it in the movie…) INSPIRATION.

If I only have enough bucks and have the right connections, I am all but willing to produce the Philippine release of this movie.  I will not remake it to be played by Pinoy thespians but release it like it is.  I’m sure it will be a big hit!

Imadyin, tong tanda kong ‘to.  Kinikilig pa pala.  Mwahahaha! *evil laugh*