Category Archives: movies

movies

over, sideways, and under on a magic carpet ride

a journey through the heartlands of vineyard california

watched sideways last monday with drei and diane. the movie was very simple but very real. it helped that the production was independently produced (partly by fox searchlight) and directed by alexander payne, whose previous work on election, also portrayed rural america. in the film we find two friends on a wine tour through sunny california. along the way they encounter great wine, great sex, and a few cheeses in between. life and relationships were likened to wine which ages greatly in oak barrels, it’s consistency getting darker and clarity heightens every year. of course wine peaks and begins its descent to decay. yet its value rises and should be more cherished. people going through midlife crises find themselves on a similar path with the aging of wine, every moment cherished and life changing, chances taken and are explored, enjoyed, and lived. some things cant be taken for granted like binding friendship and marriage, new friends and old ones, red wine, chardonnay and pinoit. asteg the film, try to catch it while you can.

me wished we had more time to enjoy the night but i got a text that the ayala area was on alert due to bombing threats. of course i wouldnt want to argue with chances so it was bye bye early to both diane and drei.

Standard
laundry therapy, movies

the punjab lasso

keeping your hands at the level of your eyes

i reread the libretto today and it explained why we keep our hands at the level of our eyes. thus reads:
GIRY: But remember: your hand at the level of your eyes!
RAOUL: but (hu-)why…?
GIRY: Why? The Punjab lasso, monsieur. First Buquet. Now Piangi.
MEG (holding up her hand): Like this, monsieur. I’ll come with you.
GIRY: No, Meg! No, you stay here!
(to Raoul): Come with me, monsieur. Hurry, or we shall be too late…

this part of the song wasnt included in the film thus a lot were confused, myself included, with the significance of the action. of course Buquet was talking about the magic lasso in the middle of the first act but that didnt explain much. in the stage version the lasso would magically suspend itself in mid-air (that’s how it caught raoul in the underground lair).

enough talk about lassos and opera ghosts.

******************************

today’s a day off thank God. it gave me the opportunity to do the rest of my laundry, which consists mostly of sheets and towels. now i can change my bedspreads and sleep on freshly washed cotton sheets. the beauty of washing machines and spin dryers. i bet you havent thanked God they were invented 🙂 it’s about time you do.

Standard
movies, musings

happy new year

hi all. finally afforded some time to update on the how-now browncows of me. im in mindanao and looking forward to doing this documentary for bukidnon. unfortunately my contact lost his cellphone and the only way to contact him is through email, and im almost never online as i used to.

so, “how now, browncow?” well, i just finished working on my boss’s film. it might not see light in local theaters as it is slated for an international release. i havent finished my docus in lake sebu and la paz zamboanga. im paranoid about wasting time in mindanao. i wanna go study abroad but i am clearly not viable to finance myself. i wanna get a laptop so i can be mobile.

looking forward to phantom of the opera the film. id think it will be a fascinating experience. for the mmff, ive seen only panaghoy sa suba, which i enjoyed, and happy together, which was, for lack of a more smarter term, stupid.

ive seen the documentary on the making of star wars from the bonus dvd disc of the original trilogy. am giving it to fanatic cuzin patsy for xmas.

i will be updating my page for real once i get back in manila. ill be following the template i used in about me, and might keep it that way for around 3 months, much like when i kept the balot embryo/these dreams templates for months.

im broke but im happy.

i miss my online friends. havent made chika or left notes and comments to them. i feel so removed since i havent really been online for months. since november. i havent recovered from supposed separation anxiety. i have my issues with this particular unintentional withdrawal. it’s driving me nuts!

i feel this is rather temporary. im bound for greater things yet my life is at a standstill, ready to take the plunge but not quite. a lot of things are missing. does time matter? perhaps. opportunities are nothing as long as i stay in mindanao. it’s a trap i dont have the energy to break out of too.

my life was at a roll until january seeped in. now i have lots of pending jobs and things are piling up. and i dont have the will to let things happen. or stop it from happening. things might get worse. and ive no idea what’s taking place.

how hard can life get?

a picture cesar hernando, my professor, took while in prague. when he realized ive been using paderewski for my domain name and email names, he gave me this copy. i learned about paderewski when i was a child. one of my dad’s various classical albums contained a recording of a waltz by paderewski, a polish diplomat turned pianist. my aunt, tabexs, commented on paderewski, it resembling the family surname, padero. years later, while in search of a name for my first email address (back in 1997 i presume) i remembered that recording, hence i started using paderewski.

the use of “unburdening my digital soul” was inspired by the film, “the matrix.” as i am clearly not out of it, i am in fact still slave to the machine, and since i would in effect dream electronic sheep and simulate environments that are of the virtual world, then what i know of myself is artificial. and perhaps my soul also is. although ive surrender to the God almighty, i may be conscious only of my digital soul, which rants and raves every so often. and to lay down my weary self on electrons, i unburden myself the only way i know.

enough blabber for now. i wish you all a joyous year ahead, i pray your goals and ambitions be fulfilled and may God be glorified always. oh yes, Lord do forgive us all. cheers to you Lord, you are indeed the greatest.

Standard
movies, musings, travel

lechon galore!

ive been home for about 2 weeks now. and almost every week there will always be a lechon. why is that? 🙂 there always seems to be an abundance and craving for the roasted beast. crispy skin, soft meat, flavorful ribs, creamy brains and luscious legs. if this is heaven then im dead. from high-cholesterol probably.

when i get the pics from siargao scanned ill put them up here. but i havent had time to do that.

ill be in zamboanga next week. coolness! yesterday it was my parent’s anniv (30th) and we spiced up the place by buying a few more flowers than usual and bringing in some candles for the mood. there was wine, which didnt really kick up but we enjoyed it nonetheless. not to be left out was the lechon of course. to counter looming health issues i had a side dish of veggies and a handful of kinilaw (para naa pud fish hehehe).

bought a copy of gus van sant’s “elephant” and paul schrader’s “mishima” yesterday. got my copy of “no man’s land” (ive seen it years ago but always wanted my own copy) and “junk food,” another jap film on violence. was gonna get “ichi the killer” too but i thought ill settle for one violent film at this time. i finally saw “man on the train” two days ago and i liked it. bought the dvd months ago but never had the chance to see it. my dad saw “the princess and the warrior” ahead of me and he liked it. i also introduced him to lars von trier, among others, via nicole kidman’s “dogville.” seen bertollucci’s “the dreamers” and i liked that, it inspired me somehow to get on with my film, whatever that would be. got a few ideas but nothing concrete. im also excited to see if SOM would get off the ground in the summer.

off to cogon for ukay ukay perhaps. i might get myself a new backpack (take a pick, jansport or eastpack for around p350-450) or a pair of jeans. so far i have found any that i liked. might just go for that banana rep surplus at gaisano, which is expensive at 600. i have to look for alternatives. need a pair of shoes too. but with me running low on funds, i might just slippers instead at p150 (can be haggled to p130 i hope or less).

been eating the whole time ive been here. and it’s not very healthy, ive been having Coke again (the drink, silly) and lots of humba (which i have yet to develop resisting). sleep is no problem, im getting a lot of that here. the food’s just crazy. puto everywhere! yum! barbeque and chorizo from the streets. and of course the irresistible (at least for this guy who hasnt had any lechon for the last few months or so) lechon. i gotta go. ciao! maybe on friday there’ll be another of that roasted beast. drool.

Standard
filmmaking, movies, musings

it’s 3:49 in the morning and i couldnt sleep. i was in bed since 12 and ive been turning and twisting all night. i eventually decided to come downstairs and surf. i think i had too much Coke tonight, although that never happened before (not being able to sleep, i mean). then again, it’s been a long time since i had that much coke. and i mean, the softdrink kind!

perhaps ive just been too preoccupied with the developments of our class film project. suddenly we’re contacting real film actors and the whole shenanigan just got complex and challenging. not that we’re backing down, but we really dont have much experience for this. if we actually got ricky davao and jaclyn jose it would be a really great learning opportunity for us. it’s scary in a way, and exciting on the other hand. we still have other things to plan out though, one would be logistics. the other and most important of them all deciding factors, the finances. im losing sleep over all these details and we actually have to start doing studies for the film! we’re shooting stills here at home later in the afternoon so i might have to get back in bed in a few more minutes. at least we’re mighty serious about this film project. all im asking from you are prayers. =) and if you spare alms (we’re talking thousands here), that would be much appreciated. =)

my org in fine arts, cinema as art movement (or CAM) recently screened darren aronofsky’s “requiem for a dream.” ive seen the film before, i was able to find a pirated copy in philcoa sold for only PhP40. i was watching it off a computer monitor and, though it lessened the possible effect the film would have on me, i nevertheless enjoyed it. it was a painful movie about 4 people on a downward spiral to self-destruction (how else would you explain the downward spiralling effect anyway?). the imagery was indeed haunting and very, very interesting. what i didnt realize until now was that viewing it on the computer hindered what could have possibly been such a heart-wrenching experience.

yesterday afternoon as i watched the film again on a huge tv, in a dark auditorium, and playing off a DVD player i was transported to brooklyn and into the very lives of those 4 people. i could have died in that screening, i wanted to cry. this powerful film was just so painful to watch (i cant find any other word to describe it). i suffered, looking at them succumb to horrible ends and terminating what could have been a beautiful life. they had dreams and they lost it. the score, led by a string quartet, kept beating and torturing us viewers as it played endlessly to the deaths of their dreams. requiem for a dream. aagghhhh! jared leto and the luminescent jennifer connelly played lovers who wanted the perfect american life. ellen burstyn, if i am correct, was nominated in the oscars for this performance as a supporting actress. she’s jared leto’s lonely mother whose wish to be on television was really all about being remembered and loved. damon wayans is the fourth player in this quartet of doom. painful and hauntingly beautiful, this is one film you should not miss.

“harry, will you come home today?” – marian, “requiem for a dream”

Standard
movies, musings

later i will be going back to greenbelt to watch the winner in cinemanila’s film festival. anyway, just wanted to say i bought myself a vcd copy of “shakespeare in love,” one of the best films ive seen ever and loved. gwyneth paltrow won her oscar in this movie and so did the scriptwriters, i think. most memorable is dame judi dench who won best supporting despite the fact that she was in the film for only about 8 minutes daw. anyway, really great film and im happy to have money to buy and add it to my collection. next up is american beauty! hehehehe ill update you later on the day’s events after news central tonight on studio 23! joke lang.

Standard
movies, musings

it was raining really hard today. the millennium storm (that’s the name of the storm) woke me up at 10.30 with splashes of water through my window. it started to flood in edsa, and so many other parts in luzon, and even in national bookstore katipunan (as usual). evidently classes were called off so tootsie and i stayed home and bored ourselves to death. i was actually relieved since i still havent finished my editorial assignment on the cancer awareness for kids. although i was finished a little after lunchtime and my classes were supposed to have started at 2.30, i wasnt rushed thus i worked better. i did a lot of emailing today also. then again, ive been doing a lot of emailing the past few days. my classmates in highschool and i have gotten connected by email and we’ve been reminiscing on past comedic episodes. it’s so nice to hear from some of them, and i do hope i hear more from the rest! paging aileen! paging janjan, fabe! paging sonvie, jill, erika, madlos!

when cuzin toots and i went to greenbelt, we caught up on watching “hollywood hong kong” and “what time is it there.” the first film was from hong kong (obviously) and was really really bad and boring. perhaps it was the familiarity of the place that rendered it ordinary and not even the raw, so-they-say animalistic visuals could make it any better. there were funny instances but i guess i just had to force myself to laugh, the pains we took to get to greenbelt was not funny! we were caught in traffic in cubao, we got lost in makati and the people who worked in greenbelt didnt understand the difference between greenbelt 1 and greenbelt 3. we practically missed 10 minutes to the film! anyhow, thank God for taiwan, they sent a much better fare than their asian contemporary.

the other film we saw, “what time is it there” was a far far cry from the so-pinoy-movieness of hollywood hongkong. the film told the story of a boy whose father just died and developed a ‘hobby’ of setting clocks in taiwan to paris time after meeting a beautiful girl who left for france. the film was shot with really really long takes and there werent even much of a score. in fact, i dont remember hearing any musical scoring except at the closing credits. the prod design was simple and sparse, colors were distinct and interesting. the long takes was really nice, it cradled the film in a way that elevated it to almost surrealism, yet the dynamics were really as it would be in reality, however you would take reality to be. the film’s twist at the end was interesting, something i didnt expect (although i read it off the poster before going in the theater). im babbling right now, i know. maybe im just hungry, i dont think any of the things i said made sense. ill go make myself a tuna sandwich.

this isnt making sense. and tuna sandwich tastes soooo good!

Standard
movies, musings

cuzin tutay and i will be taking the road less travelled to greenbelt today. i got hold of tickets for cinemanila, the international film festival here in, where else? manila. showing at 2pm is hollywood hongkong and it is said to be really good. so is the one showing after that at 5, what time is it there from taiwan. im prepping myself for a whole day thing and im sure we’ll have a good time. tita tems just saw Amelie yesternight also at the greenbelt and she had a great time. i guess that’s one more fan for the french film. it’s still on, if you wanna go watch. it’s been on for 6 weeks now.

i was doing research earlier on my project due in tuesday. we’re supposed to do a brochure or a poster or whatever material that raises awareness for kids regarding cancer. my first idea was to make a poster ad, giving cancer a human face. after consulting with my professor i realized that perhaps i should consider the coverage of my research and my output. poster can be so short-termed, and i dont even have a so-called major sponsor or a big NGO program backing up this poster. i guess i needed to hook up on an actual cancer awareness program to give my project more oomph, more reason for being. so ill probably adopt the kythe foundation’s program, following their goals and actual education program. i was focusing on the seminars and educational tours they take to schools around manila. i decided to do a sort of newsletter or fun magazine for kids that talk about cancer, causes and prevention, coupled with some games, fun art, and spiritual insights. im still thinking of contacting kythe for more information on their actual programs. yes, im still thinking… (tik tik tik boom). i also still

have to consult with my professor regarding this. ill go see him tomorrow. =)

Standard
movies, musings

i am sam

i watched “i am sam” yesterday at the up film center and i was amazed at how smart that kid, dakota fanning, who played sean penn’s daughter was. it was incredible. at one point in the movie, sam (sean penn) tells lucy diamond dawson (dakota) she has grown a little taller and her eyes seem to have aged. she actually looked a lot like my little cuzin, tanya abcede. she has big, black curls and an inquisitive look about her. but her eyes, just like blonde and cute dakota fanning, seems to be older and way beyond her years. anyway, the movie was really touching and i could have been crying by my lonesome in the theater if not for the people around me. even at the first few minutes to the movie freshmen started sniffing and wiping their eyes and it zapped off me any empathy id normally have in a drama film. i was too disturbed by this big guy seated beside me with his girlfriend who was weeping more than she did. despite it i enjoyed the film, the soundtrack is a must-have, peppered all over with beatle staples and other hits from the 70s. at the last few minutes into the end dakota fanning finds a flying paper bird made of pink art paper. she picks it up, realizing it’s from her dad. she scans the trees above her but didnt find him. she smiles and moves on as her foster mom (laura dern from jurassic park) leads on. later a crane shot zooms up and we see sean penn perched way up in the canopy of leaves looking on. all the while sarah maclachlan sings a cover of the beatles’ black bird. really sweet, heartbreaking and uplifting, an irony of love and family. truly cinematic, it’s youre cue to sigh and blow your nose.

Standard
movies

malena

have you ever heard of that little film called malena? malena is the story of a young boy’s coming of age, who speaks of her as the girl he’s always loved and will never forget despite the fact that theyve never really known each other. it starred super gorgeous model monica belluci. you cant forget the face. she’s so beautiful and it was painful to see her go through so much in the film. indeed it’s no small wonder the townsfolk stop to look every time she passes by. literally she stops traffic. the film opens to establish the period of the film where provincial italy remains idyllic as the father purchases a bike for his son, while outside in the city towncenter, speakers blare out addresses from military leaders regarding news about the war. the bike signals the boy’s promotion towards being regarded as a youth rather than a kid– although we would later find out that his short pants keep him from really leaving “boy” status. nevertheless, he is soon accepted to join the older kids playing adults and wolfing the beautiful lady living by the sea. here we first gape and be mesmerized at malena as she walks the whole dusty length of the seawall road to town in her pretty white dress. as if by magic we are enthralled, just like the boy, on the vision of ultimate beauty that just passed by our eyes. throughout the film, malena just takes our breath away even without meeting our glances or even engaging us in conversation. the rest of the movie surfs through malena’s downward spiral from goddess to pond scum (to borrow from my best friend’s wedding) and we stand witness, like the boy, admiring human perseverance and spirit, to empathize, and most importantly, to love.

the film was done by director Giuseppe Tornatore of cinema paradiso and it evoked a lot of the spirit and power of italian cinema at its best. my classmates have teased me about my preference to sad movies (sad, not melodramatic) with bittersweet endings like american beauty, children of the marshlands, la vita e bella, and many, many others like it. i just think that pain has been perfectly captured in these films and nothing can really beat the emotional rollercoaster ride an audience takes to enjoy these films. sometimes it’s so sad it gets me right there between my lungs and i cant help but be human.

the film also brings to mind another coming-of-age movie made in the 70s, summer of 42. other, the theme to the film, i dont remember much about it except that they actually got to consummate their quasi love affair. we could draw a lot of similarities between films– husband goes to war, he dies, boy spies on girl, boy falls in love with girl, etc. anyway, thank God malena is presently available in video rental stores and is also sold at PhP 150.

Standard