this is A MAP FOR SATURDAY, a 2007 documentary written and directed by Brook Silva-Braga, about backpacking solo around the world and living an unending weekend for 365 days. unlike most of us who would only dream of doing such things, Braga decides to quit his day job and go see the world. this movie comes at a critical time in my life when i just came from a trip in siem reap, cambodia and am already itching to pack my bags again and travel.
this is feeding on my current state of unrest (and a bit of insomnia) and further aggravating my need to fly away. this, despite im actually on my way back to baguio and sagada this month and climbing mt pulag all for a film shoot. after this “work project”, im already dreaming and planning a trip to boracay with co-workers in may, and a pre-scheduled trip to cagayan de oro and camiguin in june. ive currently semi-recruited two other people to join Carlo and me to backpack to batanes towards the 2nd half of the year. next year, we’re hoping to be trekking down southeast asia again. or maybe paris, who knows? these ideas are keeping me awake longer, you know?
the oscars show is fast approaching. and on the eve that we arrived in cambodia, i learned that my friend, jerrold tarog, was nominated for his musical score and editing work in chito rono’s the healing. as i was about to congratulate him, i decided to see who was nominated for best production design this year. i expected el presidente and thy womb in the category but i was pleasantly surprised to find my name in the list.
id like to thank the academy for this. it’s such an honor to be nominated amongst this awesome pool of talents in both indie and mainstream movie categories for production design (as to why there should be a divide in categories, i guess there’s just more love to share –such an optimistic remark).
practice lang sa thank you speech ko sa oscars. chos! hahaha 😉
cheers to films and friends nominated and recognized: the guys behind tiktik: the aswang chronicles– direk erik matti, co-nominee peter collias, producers dondon monteverde and dingdong dantes, artdep adrian espanola and dunn ledesma, kitch napigkit and cherry fortes, buboy crauz and his team. dop dix buhay, janice de belen; to thy womb with direk brillante mendoza, larry, tanya, tito odie flores, ms nora, sir katz; alagwa with bianca balbuena, bwakaw with ferdie lapuz and tonee acejo, adolf alix jr and ben tolentino in mater dolorosa, my friend coco martin for sta nina (chos!), slumber party with rk bagatsing, harley alcasid, carlo mendoza for bwakaw and el presidente, shayne sarte for a mother’s story. and jerrold tarog of course 😉 congrats sa lahat and thank you pmpc
Last week we had an interestingly artsy fartsy series of events we didnt see coming.
On february 7, thursday night, bianca balbuena, production manager and assistant director in some of jerrold tarog’s films and now producer for pepe diokno’s latest project, in which i and carlo are a part of, invited us to a screening at the UP of her recent producing stint off cinema one originals festival, ABERYA, starring will devaugn, mercedes cabral, iwa moto, and best supporting actor, nicholas varela, a sound recordist in real life and the ex-boyfriend of bianca. long sentence, i know.
We got to the UP early so we had dinner across the street from the theater at the ROC. awesome food and interiors. Loving the high ceiling, especially.
Clockwise from top left is tomato soup, bicol express bagnet, awesome herbed tomato and garlic roll up pizza and a beef stew (very good).
.
ABERYA was written and directed by christian linaban who hails from cebu. I would have enjoyed the film more if the sound were better during the screening. The film lost a lot of the mood and atmosphere to draw its audience into the world of love, sex, video scandals, designer drugs and circumstance. I learn later on that Pepe diokno had previously tweeted saying the film had the best sound design there is hence, it explained why i couldnt immerse myself into the film. Maybe i can catch it again in a better theater, which makes it also imperative that the UP film center (now called the UP film institute, but im old like that) must really upgrade its sound system, acoustics and put in a better and permanent digital projector.
im pleasantly surprised the effect of sea breeze and being on a ship have inspired me and afforded me time to write! In the last 24 hours ive posted 3 articles with photos and currently reviewing and editing 3 more prior to publishing. That’s more than what ive done in the last few months.
im also surprised to find myself writing more about food than my design work haha actually, im currently dishing out articles using my phone so i only have access to photos of food we’ve eaten via my camera phone. Years ago most people would say grace before eating. Now they post on instagram before praying. Most of my design materials are in my laptop so ill post about the new eq lapu lapu commercial and tide’s newest commercial with vic sotto, plus the relaunch of breeze detergent when i get back on land.
carlo makes it work
will be leaving for cambodia soon so i hope to write more about that. purchased tickets last year hoping my dad could make the trip but he passed away last august so we’ll be keeping his wishes alive by proceeding with the trip. thank God cebu pacific air agreed to reimburse his tickets after we filed an appeal and submitted a copy of his death certificate. carlo and i will be travelling with my mother, sisters tina and ana, aunt temay, and cousin mia, plus a friend of tita temay.
by march, my art department team and i will be busy shooting pepe diokno’s 2nd feature, Above the Clouds. We’ve already done locked in most of the locations so far and the artdep will resume preparations when i get back from cambodia. Let’s see if i have time to write about it while shooting.
We’re almost back on land so ill be missing the bunk beds and the food here aboard 2go. Also excited as my family from mindanao will be arriving in the morning! Wohoo
LES MISERABLES the musical the movie. we waited for this all christmas long and it’s finally here. lots of things i may or may not need to comment on. but no fun not saying them, right? the golden globes is right to grant hugh jackman and anne hathaway best actor and supporting actress respectively but i think they should have at least nominated eddie redmayne for his fantastic portrayal as marius. beautiful voice and his scene on empty chairs and empty tables alone was worth the admission price.
and they were also right to give the best director award to ben affleck and not to tom hooper if only because of his excessive use of closeups. what’s up with that? also, some of his staging in the film is too literal–the pavement shines like silver, the streets are full of strangers, rain will make the flowers grow? we get it!
anne hathaway was awesome but something about her winning reaps of accolades and awards may have hampered my appreciation for the performance. same thing happened with jennifer hudson’s effie white. when she got to “and im telling you, im not going,” i expected to cry buckets and i didnt. shame.
the design was awesome, the textures reminded me of perfume: the story of a murderer where you could smell the streets of paris. even that little detail of dirt on marius’s rump when valjean carries him off into the sewer is just awesome. but i hate that painted eye in the optical shop signage by the barricade. you didnt see it? it was the “eye” of God (bring him home scene)
the weakness of the film may be due to the nature of the musical as a stage production. the transitions could be much smoother, story telling wise, and despite this being an adaptation of the musical, they could have added a bit more score in between scenes.
having said that, i forgive russel crowe’s singing voice because he did try his best and his acting was still effective. i love the 2nd half of the movie when marius and enjolras started plotting out the futile rebellion. i love the new song that fleshes out valjean’s purpose in life. i love samantha barks here because i hated her in the 25th anniv concert. i love the young cosette and i love gavroche. kudos to sasha baron cohen and the typecasted but lovable helena bonham carter. and it’s awesome to give love to colm wilkinson, who passes the candlesticks to the new valjean.
i am aware of hugh jackman’s singing prowess and despite him not being a natural tenor, he owned this and more. the imperfections of live singing created so much more depth in his performance that i wish he could have a breather of space in his camera framing to make it perfect. still awesome!
dont get me wrong though. i was trying my best not to belt out enjolras’s parts lest i earn the ire of my fellow theatergoers. at the end of the day, i still love this musical. the movie is imperfect but i will still watch this adaptation again and again and again. and in a year’s time, i will love this movie more than i did today.
this tells us why these two are still the greatest actresses we have in the philippines. this is a scene from the film, ikaw ay akin, which ive never seen actually. hoping i could find a copy somewhere. shot in 1978, this is written and directed by philippine national artist for film ishmael bernal, with additional writing credits for jose carreon (story and screenplay), starring vilma santos, nora aunor and christopher de leon (source imdb.com). just awesome.
one of the most gorgeous films ive seen in recent years is practically unknown on this side of the world and i wonder why. tilda swinton stars in I Am Love (2009), a sweeping melodrama directed by luca guadagnino, production design by francesca balestra di mottola, set decoration by monica sironi, costume design by antonella cannarozzi, cinematography by yorick le saux and features previously produced music by john adams. this film is just exquisite, from the opening titles that evoked classical italian cinema to the magnificent modernist interiors of villa necchi and the impeccable tailored costumes by fendi (sylvia venturini fendi is an associate producer) and jil sander (with raf simons) plus the elegant plating and emotion of carlo cracco’s culinary masterpieces.
the deliciously stylish film, set in milan in the year 2000, follows a haute bourgeoisie family through changing times and fortunes, and its disruption by the force of passion. the title is taken from a line from the aria La mamma morta, which is explored in the film philadelphia (starring tom hanks and denzel washington), a scene of which emma is watching while in bed with her husband, during the film. wiki source
the detail that went into the film is beyond words. it was a beautiful showcase of family, tradition and the unmaking of it. every frame of this film is a masterpiece and every scene just breathtaking. i love the real time take on the opening sequence where the whole family arrives and sits for lunch while swinton, gorgeous in a burgundy dress, orchestrates the household serving the perfect meal from her seat.
the opening titles had me at hello. it is reminiscent of many old films by visconti, hitchcock and the like
much of the film was set at the villa necchi campiglio in milan, which is a character in itself. the interiors, reckoned the producers, were a wonderful mix of home, museum and prison. i marveled that the director highlighted the house by showing us not just the main rooms of the villa but also its kitchen, staircases, sitting rooms, entryways and even the househelp’s private quarters.
“I wrote a script that called for a cube of marble with a big staircase and sharp surfaces,” Guadagnino says. “I was banging my head trying to find a home that suggested great wealth but also a restrained sensibility.” After searching for years, he saw Villa Necchi in a book and immediately knew that it was the one. “It shows the obsession with perfection and details that the Milanese bourgeoisie have,” he says. “Old money always comes with great charm. Their real success is making others believe that money doesn’t exist — and luxury, as most people perceive it, doesn’t really exist in this house. It’s very severe, and feels almost unmovable, like a piece of rock.” source
i was excited when teaser clips of this film were circulated. what’s not to love? a younger batch of x-men in the 60s? it’s like porn. and rightly so, with the magnetic chemistry and undeniable bromance between professor charles x xavier and erik lehnsherr, played by james mcavoy and michael fassbender.
this may be the best x-men film out there for me. the pacing was right and fassbenber’s performance is just killer. he owned the film actually. online reviews reflect a more mixed feedback but im all for this film. weak link was probably january jones, playing the white queen, because she doesnt seem to know how to act. she always had this blank stare and looked like she’s eternally bored and it’s not a very convincing bored look in the first place!
but the biggest selling point for me with this film is the 60s look. i thought it was an obvious route for director matthew vaughn to take this movie to that era because he also did the 60s advertising tv series, mad men. i apparently have mistaken him for matthew weiner haha. vaughn, a totally different guy, produced lock stock and two smoking barrels with director guy ritchie (ex-mr.madonna) before he went on to direct stardust and kick-ass, among others.
credit for the gorgeous set design go to the production designer chris seagers and his team of art directors led by john king and dawn swiderski plus set decoration by erin boyd and sonja klaus. costume design is by sammy sheldon. i just love anything 60s-70s. they’re so much fun to look at and do. full info at imdb.com. i do not take credit for the photos below. details on the photos were taken from architectural digest. im just a fan 🙂
on american idol season 10: the season started off promising with steve tyler in the judges’ seat and jennifer lopez in impeccable makeup. we had our early favorites, especially casey abrams (crazy performance on “nature boy”) and the toothy paul mcdonald. in fact, this batch actually had a lot of good ones, including james durbin (who could have won the whole thing), haley reinhart (love her raspy voice) and naima adedapo (such a colorful personality). thia megia, who also tried out in america’s got talent, was another jasmine trias, cute and lots of potential but didnt progress much. i dont mind scotty mccreery in the finals but i am appalled lauren alaina made it to top 2. she should have been eliminated in the 1st week of the live show. didnt bother watching the finals. as it goes in recent years, it pays to be runner-up (chris daughtry, jennifer hudson, adam lambert, etc).
on rupaul’s drag race season 3: love love love manila luzon! if you still don’t know her, you’re missing a lot. and it’s no surprise, and yet frustrating at the same time, that manila luzon, a filipino-american drag queen, is making waves on the show but is not covered by local tv. is it because gay men who dress up are deemed bad role models? come on! here’s a fan-made compilation of all of manila luzon’s looks on the show:
.
on food: there’s this crazy resto called stoops on malugay st makati that serves to-die-for bagnet. cholesterol-ridden bagnet! i cant explain further, you just gotta try it. a plate of bagnet with rice and sidings cost less than $2 and you can order by the kilo as well.
on the sing-off season 2: the season has wrapped up long ago but i havent written about it. it’s a live glee competition and we just love it! the runner up from last season comprises the warblers on glee. we tried watching a few episodes of season 1 and i couldnt finish it though. the talents on season 2 is way off the charts, the top 4 groups are just a-mazing! watch their “american idiot” version of “21 guns” featuring all the remaining groups on episode 3:
.
on the RH Bill: im all for it. the filipino catholic church is defensive and being archaic without looking at the real issue. truth is, education and information is a right for every citizen and the filipinos need to know about health and sex and have choices on reproduction. why is it such a bad thing? why keep brandishing the abortion issue when it’s not even about that? i do think this bill will be passed despite the stubborness of some.
on stupid TV shows for the sake of airtime: i seldom watch TV and when i do, it’s because other people are watching and im in the same room. tonight i chanced upon GMA’s mind master and it was f***ed up. his so-called telekinetic powers are really just static energy. talking to the dead seemed bogus and the bereaved family are being played on badly on national tv. c’mon!
on fringe season 3: faux olivia was fun but i think i loved season 1 better. there is less walter bishop-ing this season than in the previous, and it lessens his chances of picking up a nomination. we always wonder why he is being overlooked during awards season. the finale is almost here and we’re still about 3 episodes short off our viewing list. gotta catch up!
on glee season 2: was a bit underwhelming but we followed it nevertheless. it was great in about the first four episodes, got boring (really boring), and then picked up in possibly the last 3 episodes. charice’s appearance in the 1st episode was exciting but her song selection in eps17 is frustrating only because “all by myself” is done to death by her and numerous contestants on american idol. and i long for the day she sings “out here on my way” from fame. favorite songs this season include “tik tok (by ke-dollar sign-ha), “unpretty,” “river deep mountain high (or all the santana songs),” all the rocky horror songs except “whatever happened to saturday night,” and all the barbra streisand songs especially the last one, “my man” from funny girl. ok, im still a big fan. kill me
posting the original video of “my man” from the film:
and here’s lea michelle’s version from glee episode 21:
on smash: a new tv show on nbc from steven spielberg. the production values in this film is great but i hope it doesnt turn into “burlesque.” im excited megan hilty is in the cast, she was fantastic as glinda in wicked (after kristin chenoweth, who went on to star in glee). christian borle from the original cast of “legally blonde the musical” is also part of the show and im looking forward to this. casting katherine mcphee is interesting but we’ll see if she succeeds in stealing megan’s spotlight. i highly doubt she can. still, will be watching. the more musical shows, the better.
on the rapture: thank you Lord for postponing because X-Men First Class is opening in a week’s time and the 8th Harry Potter movie is showing in a month. awesome!
ive mentioned before that im currently going through high stress in relation to my work. about the same time last year i was also dealing with anxiety and questioning why i still allowed myself all this stress. i used to enjoy the work, the stress accompanying it was healthy and pushed me to do better. nowadays anxiety prior to a shoot just eats me up. it has become taxing to my health and my sanity. what happened?
im thankful though for the focus the cafe we’ve put up has given me. i can channel all my stress to positive physical tension in waiting on our customers. it’s been fun actually but more about that later.
hopefully the shoot-related stress wash cycle will be over soon so i can move on. still got a few more shoot projects up my sleeve to accomplish before i run off to mindanao. i have to pull myself out of this rut im in. time for more dirty laundry to do.
on american idol season 10: the season started off promising with steve tyler in the judges’ seat and jennifer lopez in impeccable makeup. we had our early favorites, especially casey abrams (crazy performance on “nature boy”) and the toothy paul mcdonald. in fact, this batch actually had a lot of good ones, including james durbin (who could have won the whole thing), haley reinhart (love her raspy voice) and naima adedapo (such a colorful personality). thia megia, who also tried out in america’s got talent, was another jasmine trias, cute and lots of potential but didnt progress much. i dont mind scotty mccreery in the finals but i am appalled lauren alaina made it to top 2. she should have been eliminated in the 1st week of the live show. didnt bother watching the finals. as it goes in recent years, it pays to be runner-up (chris daughtry, jennifer hudson, adam lambert, etc).
benjamin padero 