If you’re blazing hot in the movie industry, just strike, strike, and strike until you quit or if people grow tired of your same old antics. And it seems that Vice Ganda’s following is really big. I remember the time when he was able to do a show in Araneta Coliseum. The freakin’ Araneta Coliseum. As said, even if you don’t try to be funny in the film, these same people would still attribute to it as one of your zany antics. Imagine that, comedy without even trying.

As the story goes, Vice Ganda’s father, played by Jimmy Santos, had to turn away from the legacy of their kin of soldiers. As expected, Santos’ father, played by Eddie Garcia, throws them away from the family and Santos lived a quiet life with his wife and three children. Santos tried to make amends with his father and denied by Garcia because Vice Ganda is gay. A national issue came up when terrorists kidnapped all the highest ranking officials in the land. Unknown to Santos, Vice Ganda decided to take place of the father, since a family has to produce a representative that would help the country, preferably male.

There are a lot of lame publicity that this movie has brought to my eyes. For one, the title of the film itself is quite stupid. I mean, Praybeyt Benjamin? Did you guys asked the rights from the Goldie Hawn film? Then, the use of the family name in the film, Santos. Seriously? It is as if the writer ran out of names, so he or she saw Jimmy Santos, and told himself, “Hey, we should use the surname Santos. I’m so smart I am going to wash dishes in the washing machine.” And they were too late in using Derek Ramsey’s abs for the trailer, No Other Woman was first in line.

But I have to say that the Vice Ganda style of comedy is improving in the big screen. I hated her version of Petrang Kabayo and this time, it is quite acceptable in a few instances. At least, he didn’t have to trade lines with a kid, which is absolutely un-adorable. At least they were able to produce at least two laugh out loud scenes, in my book that is. One was the shower scene and the other being the Colonel punchline. In spite of the movie looking just like a long version of a sketch show, at least they were able to portray a straight story.

Surprisingly, for me and as said, Vice Ganda need not to act in the film. His followers would surely laugh at any scene that compromises him and his five type of faces. Funny director Wenn Deramas had to do the film so safe that he added good minor players with the likes of Nikki Valdez, DJ Durano, Vandolph, and a few other familiar faces.

The film is worth watching at home with the family while eating lunch. It feels like a long episode of Showtime. I think they should re-read the script over and over to avoid predictability. Lucky for me, even though I hated the idea of seeing Jimmy Santos back in the big screen, nostalgia somehow saved the occasional use of exaggerated, but not situational, scenes. If they’re planning to do a sequel, it would be nice if they would add finesse in the supposedly comedic scenes.

If there is an annual Best Nostalgic Filipino Film Award, then hands down, this film would nail it. In all its glory. Five years in the making, four band members, and a lot of familiar faces, director Quark Henares did something that suits him accordingly even if some pundits didn’t agree. And creating a film related to the local rock scene is a Herculean task, so whatever he does, he’d probably still be hearing negative reviews and positive praises. Damn if you do, damn if you don’t. But it all ends up with one thing, doing what you want and what you really love.

A love story enclosed by a lot of trivia, not just in the music industry but the Indie scene in general. Odie, played by Jason Abalos, decided to start a band due to his songwriting talent tagging Irene, played by Glaiza De Castro, his best friend. Lady luck shines upon the two and found a veteran in the underground rock scene, Mo of the band Titik O, played by Ketchup Eusebio. And to seal the deal, they found a drummer who happens to be angst stricken about everything, Junfour, played by Alwyn Uytingco. To add, they chose him as the drummer mainly with the innate rage when he was beating the crap out of a schoolmate. After their first gig, THE Matet De Leon surprises them by being their manager. And the story pulls us back to Odie’s undying love for Irene despite her falling in love with the annoying machismo of Jacci Rocha, played by Diether Ocampo.

A feel good movie. This best exemplifies what this film has been trying to say ever since you heard Odie start off with his opening spiel about his dad and his cousin loving the ridiculous sound or what they call rock nowadays. You have to believe Henares when he said that everything in this film came from the heart. If you’ve probably familiar with this guy, almost all of the scenes in the film would’ve been true on way or another. Let’s take Irene for example, her character was taken from Sandwich’s Myrene Academia or even Jacci Rocha, which I won’t really tell who his character is based on.

And aside from the fact that the characters and the scenes in the film are based on something, you have to add that Henares is a true-blooded geek. So, if you’re too keen with the surroundings and the environments in the entirety of the film, then you’d probably get the different shirts that the cast wore or even the NES controller belt buckle that Odie wore during the first part of the film. Again, Henares played by his strengths. Show something that you love and that has been dear to you all along.

The script itself is certainly hilarious, outrageous as a whole, written both by Sandwich’s Diego Castillo and Henares. But who wants a boring life of a rock group showing that they played on the shittest gigs or if somebody died in their band. I mean, come on. We’ve seen that already. I think it’s about time we see something that would just make us sit and enjoy the film. Like a retarded second-degree non-conformist roommate, an artsy-fartsy crazy director, an egotistical narcissistic lead singer of a pogi band, and the various places that some of us used to attend. By the way, Some of them are closed by now.

It clearly shows that the film took place during the decade of the 2000s that’s why the trivia itself didn’t get way beyond its timeline. For instance, pyramiding scams and the explosion of the emo scene. It’s all there. To add, a lot of people might not actually get the punch lines of used in the film. BUT if you’ve been part of it, then you’d know what they are. Let us say the manager of Mo, that guy is Mikey Amistoso, he gave the words of the music in the film. Or Philbert Dy, that long-haired guy in the coffee-house, he’s the main film critic in Clickthecity.com. I knew these trivialities in the decade of 2000.

Aside from the real story of the film, which is the love story of Odie and Irene, it was actually a Jacci Rocha movie. It was good that Diether Ocampo did the role. At least, there is a little redemption of what he did in the NU107 Rock Awards a few years ago. And he really did a fine job of being an ass, worthy of memory for decades to come.

Somebody said that the scene with one of the pillars of the 90′s Rock scene was abruptly lame. I beg to disagree. If you’re part of the rock / band industry, you’d ultimately get what he was trying to say. That you’d rather do what you love in your prime than regret it in the future. All of us should follow this if we found success in what we love and that come to think of it, that’s what Henares was trying to say all along.

A great friend once said, “If it is a great movie, it doesn’t need to spend on obscene amounts of exposure and promotion. A proved quid pro quo on quality and viewing pleasure.” Sadly, that friend doesn’t even exist but it establishes the basic principle on what this movie can provide. An ordinary Indie film that has an extraordinary use of script, stereotype, and punch lines.

The story is quite simple. In its movie logic form, a boy, played by Martin Escudero, teases a gay man “bakla” in repetition, played by Roderick Paulate, and that man counters it with a curse: when the boy grows up he’d be like one of them, a member of the third sex. As the story unfolds further, a serial killer brings doom to the village and murders all, or most, of the prominent members of the gay community. And the boy, who is grown up by now, has to escape the effects of his new-found form and needs to look for a “formula” to save himself from getting killed.

I have been fond of old school gay comedy films that spawned the likes of Dolphy, with him garnering fame with Facifica Falayfay and Markova, and Roderick Paulate, luckily the list is endless for this guy and the most famous of his gay films is Petrang Kabayo. Piracy proliferated during the nineties and the local movie industry went downhill from there, ergo, there weren’t any prominent gay icons in that era. And then, the 2000’s came and we are now experiencing “it’s raining men” literally especially in the indie gay industry.

Which makes this film great in all aspects. It was brave, it had good lines, it had good comic timing, it used old-school and great actors, it paved way for aspiring and impressive ones, and it was sensitive all throughout. Even at first, you’d think that the title itself is on the borderline of being cheap, it wasn’t the case. And probably, despite the misconception, it wouldn’t shoo away men who are straight or those guys who are trying to be straight, but are really excited with the film.

The veterans with the likes of Uge Domingo, Odette Khan, Janice De Belen, John Regala, and Dick Paulate definitely gave a memorable and hilarious performance with a few of firsts in the big screen for Dick and John. With them allowing themselves to be cast in this film is a simple way of saying that this film is going to be one of the most remarkable films of the year. Echoing writer Raymond Lee’s talkback a few weeks ago, “After mabasa ni Miss Odette Khan yung script, ang naging reaction lang nya ay, ‘wala akong barong.’”

Of course, let us not forget the three newbies in this film, which is partly reminiscent of the trio in the Harry Potter franchise, check out the Zombadings poster in the Internet. Lauren Young, the love interest of Escudero, is quite good in this film, she was just the appropriate support. Model Kerbie Zamora, Escudero’s best friend *ehem*, was naturally funny without trying to be one. And then, there’s Martin Escudero, known for his serious acting in one of our local channels, was the great reveal in this film. I am expecting him in more funny gay roles in the future. Purely effective.

Eleven thumbs up to the people who masterminded this timely film of this generation namely Raymond Lee, Michiko Yamamoto, and director Jade Castro. I’d like to say that this film is outrageously riotous, but that would be an understatement. And yes, i’d like to end this one with my FB status a few weeks ago:

“Para sa mga Zombuddies, mga Zombabes, mga Zombumbero, mga nakatira sa Zombabwe, mga Zombebot, mga may Zombaktol at Zombaktong, mga nakatira na sa Zombilibid, mga Zombasurero, mga Zombecky, at para sa Zombayanan. Tayo po ay manood ng Zombadings Patayin Sa Shokot Si Remington (official page: RemingtonTheMovie). Sulit ang buong pelikula. Keribels kung umulan o kung magka-aberya. Support! Chos.”

Now in its fifth year, the Goethe-Institut Philipinen, the Japan Foundation, Manila, Instituto Cervantes, the Embassy of Italy and together this year with the Embassy of Greece, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines and the Society of Filipino Archivists for Film present the 5th International Silent Film Festival Manila. (Facebook Event)

As the only Silent Film Festival in South East Asia, the International Silent Film Festival Manila presents these films in the same manner befitting their stature as an indispensible artefact of the human experience. All films are screened in their original formats and accompanied by live performances from contemporary Filipino artists. In the artistic tradition of self-sustenance through self-reference, these performances refamiliarize audiences with their cinematic past and continue to showcase the glamour, wonder and spirit of entertainment that has allowed this medium to endure and evolve into something much greater than itself.

Film entries: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150278753593307.352258.187157178306&type=1

Screening Schedule: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150280467103307&set=a.251484803306.142044.187157178306&type=1&theater

Film Synopsis: http://www.goethe.de/ins/ph/map/ver/en7825734v.htm

For more information:

National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA)
T: 527-2209
www.ncca.gov.ph

Society of Filipino Archivists for Film (SOFIA)
www.arkivista.org

Goethe-Institut Philippinen
T: 817-0978
www.goethe.de/manila

The Japan Foundation, Manila
T: 811-6155
www.jfmo.org.ph

Embassy of Italy
T: 892-4531
E: stage.manila@esteri.it
www.ambmanila.esteri.it

Philippine-Italian Association
E: filital2@yahoo.com

Embassy of Greece
E: gremb.man@gmail.com

Instituto Cervantes
T: 526-1482
http://manila.cervantes.es/

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Free entry for Nosferatu (Germany)

Ticket counter opens 90 minutes prior to film showing of Nosferatu (Germany).
We follow the first-come, first-served policy.

The Love Yourself Project presents: (Facebook Event)

The Love Yourself Benefit screening of Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa and Zombadings.

Details:

August 23, Tuesday at SM Megamall
7 PM – Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa
9 PM – Zombadings 1: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington

Ticket prices:
Php 300 – pass for 1 movie
Php 500 – pass for both movies

RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW! Reserve here: http://theloveyourselfproject.blogspot.com/p/ticket-reservations.html

Proceeds from this special screening will support the provision of free counseling and assistance services for the youth and key populations affected by HIV/AIDS in the Philippines. For more information on The Love Yourself Project, visit http://theloveyourselfproject.blogspot.com/ or email us at TLYproject@gmail.com

Link to the Event Poster: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5PV_7TzDF3c/TjoQ8mkPjUI/AAAAAAAAFAc/LSpf1jgoqJI/s1600/TLYposter.jpg

www.movfest.org

The UP Film Institute announces its main slate of screenings for August 2011 all at the UPFI Film Center. Cinemalaya fever continues with the Netpac Best Film Winner, Benito Bautista’s Boundary; the premier state university’s premiere of Cinemalaya’s closing film, Jade Castro’s Zombadings and a selection of outstanding student films under the Best of UPFI banner. The national cinemas of Japan and Brazil are in showcase respectively with Eiga Sai and the Brazil Film Festival. In commemoration of the National Heroes Month is the special run for Mario O’Hara’s Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio. More films further comprise the month’s features accordingly for Back to Classics, Untitled/Visions and Spotlight on Docus. Tudla Productions’ Pandayang Lino Brocka Political Film and New Media Festival now on its third year complete the month’s screening highlights. Over at Ishmael Bernal Gallery are exhibitions by U.P. and U.E. Fine Arts students, a photo installation by Buen Abrigo & Sam Kiyoumarsi and recent British video art.

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CINE ADARNA :

*CINEMALAYA 7: (Director’s Showcase and NETPAC Films)

Aug 2 Tue
San Lazaro (NETPAC), 230pm
Teoriya, 5pm
Bisperas, 8pm

Aug 3 Wed
Gayuma(NETPAC), 230pm
Isda, 5pm
Busong, 8pm

Aug 4 Thu
Nono (NETPAC), 230pm
Shorts A, 5pm
Patikul, 8pm

Aug 5 Fri
Local Girls (NETPAC), 230pm
Best Picture-New Breed, 7pm(SOLD OUT, NO SRO TICKETS)
Best Picture-Director’s Showcase, 9pm

Aug 6 Sat
Huling Halik (NETPAC), 230pm
The Natural Phenomenon of Madness (NETPAC), 5pm
Liberacion (NETPAC), 730pm

Aug 9 Tue
Zombadings : Patayin sa shokot si Remington – Closing Film, 5pm & 8pm

Aug 16 Tue
Boundary, Cinemalaya Netpac Best Film, 7pm

Tickets @ P80 , for Reservations:
contact 09272990318 for CINEMALAYA GOES UP 7
http://www.facebook.com/ev​ent.php?eid=18335336505831​7

contact 09159875323 for CINEMALAYA NETPAC Films
http://www.facebook.com/ev​ent.php?eid=20839569920967​0

*3rd PANDAYANG LINO BROCKA POLITICAL FILM AND NEW MEDIA FESTIVAL
Aug 10 – 11, 2011
Free Admission

Aug 10
10:00 AM Forum: Filipinization of Mass Media | Ishmael Bernal Gallery
1:00 PM Film Screening | Cine Adarna
6:00 PM Awarding of Trophies and Certificates | Cine Adarna
6:30 PM Tribute to Lino Brocka | Cine Adarna
7:30 PM Special Screening of Lino Brocka’s Dung-aw | Cine Adarna

Aug 11
10:00 AM Workshop: Script Writing | Ishmael Bernal/Videotheque
1:00 PM Film Screening | Cine Adarna
4:00 PM Launching of Brgy. Corazon de Jesus’ Documentary, Short Film and Book | Cine Adarna
6:00 PM Exhibit: PeliKulay | Ishmael Bernal Gallery

http://www.facebook.com/ev​ent.php?eid=17419966263730​8

*EIGA SAI 2011
Aug 17-20, 2011
Free Admission

AUG 17 Wed
Summer Days with Coo (138 mins) 12:30 PM
One Million Yen Girl (121 mins) 3:00 PM
Yunagi City, Sakura Country (118 mins) 5:30 PM
Villon’s Wife (114 mins) 7:30 PM

AUG 18 Thu
Your Friend (125 mins) 12:30 PM
Yunagi City, Sakura Country (118 mins) 3:00 PM
Feel the Wind (133 mins) 5:15 PM
Climber’s High (145 mins) 7:30 PM

AUG 19 Fri
Climber’s High (145 mins) 12:30 PM
The Chef of South Polar (125 mins) 3:00 PM
Villon’s Wife (114 mins) 5:30 PM
The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones (139 mins) 7:30 PM

Summer Days with Coo (138 mins) 12:30 PM
Feel the Wind (133 mins) 3:00 PM
The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones (139 mins) 5:10 PM
The Chef of South Polar (125 mins) 7:30 PM

*BRAZIL FILM FESTIVAL 2011
Aug 24 & 31 Sep 7 & 14 / Weds / 5pm & 7pm
Free Admission

Aug 24 Wed
Domesticas (Maids) 5pm
2 Filhos de Francisco (Two Sons of Francisco) 7pm

Aug 31 Wed
Brava Gente Brazileira (Brave New Land) 5pm
Estorvo (Turbulence) 7pm

Sept 7 Wed
O Homem de Capa Preta (The Man in the Black Cape) 5pm
O Casamento de Louise (Louise’s Wedding) 7pm

Sept 14 Wed
Sao Paulo, Sociedade de Anonima , 5pm
Terra Estrangeira (Foreign Land) 7pm

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VIDEOTHEQUE:
(Videotheque screenings are for free except for Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio, tickets @ P80.)

*UNTITLED/VISIONS:

Aug 11 Thu
Abbas Kiarostami’s Ten, 5pm
Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Mysterious Object at Noon, 7pm

Aug 18 Thu
Alexander Sokurov’s The Russian Ark, 5pm
Alain Resnais’ Last Year at Marienbad, 7pm

*BACK TO CLASSICS :

Aug 9 Tue
Luciano B. Carlos’ Petrang Kabayo (1988), 5:30pm

Aug 12 Fri
Gerardo de Leon’s Dawn of Freedom + Mario O’ Hara’s Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos, 5pm

Aug 23 Tue
Ishmael Bernal’s El Vibora+ Celso Ad Castillo’s Asedillo, 5pm

*NATIONAL HEROES SPECIAL :

Aug 13, 20, 27
Mario O’ Hara’s Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio, 230pm & 5pm

*CINEMALAYA 7 :

Aug 25 Thu
Best of UPFI

*SPOTLIGHT ON DOCUS:

Aug 26 Fri
UPFI Works, 230pm & 5pm

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ISHMAEL BERNAL GALLERY :
Free Admission

*DAILY DIGEST: Recent UP Fine Arts Graduates
(Jul 15 – Aug 12)

*OUTDOOR PHOTO INSTALLATION :
Buen Abrigo & Sam Kiyoumarsi
(Aug 8 – Sep 2)

*PELIKULAY 3 : U.E. Fine Arts Sining Buklod
(Aug 10 – 22)

*NEW WAVE : Recent British video art
(Aug 10 – Sep 1)

*FRESHLY SQUEEZED : Annual Freshspace Art Exhibition
(Aug 23 – Sep 9)

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UPFI WORKSHOPS :
Schedule , 4 Saturdays of September
Time, 1 – 5pm
Venue, UP Film Building CMC Media Center
Open to the Public.

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY – P6000
BASIC SCRIPTWRITING – P5500
DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCTION – P8000

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http://filminstitute.upd.e​du.ph/
926-2722, 9250286
upfi_workshops@yahoo.com.p​h

Since I am joining Cinematon Cinematon for this instance, I am going to play with my strengths. I’d like you to join me on the nuttier, crazier, and the fun part of the Japanese cinema. I am not exactly sure on how I would be able to present this. I know a list would be more appropriate but I would find it a little bit on the stiff side. I think it would be better if I would just like to give out my personal and cinematic experiences that I achieved when I saw these crazy and way out of this world films full of determination, oddity, love, expressionism, survival, and controversy.

Wow, I survived.

From as far as I know the Japanese media, when I was young, only provided us with the big monsters and giant heroes, like Godzilla and Ultraman, and Sentai, Robocop-like heroes in the form of Bioman, Shaider, and Machine Man. Other than that, I know that we have been peppered with a lot of anime that one might suddenly have a disinterest in, probably with me looking for other forms of entertainment, the ones where live-action is shown.

I frequent local comic and toy conventions and a cartoonist friend introduced me to the live action G-Force. The moment I saw that, I was overwhelmed with that short experience. I never knew that such media exists! Now, this same person introduced me to an unknown J-Horror named Ringu, directed by Hideo Nakata. It was making its rounds in one of the local film fests that we have in the Philippines, Eiga Sai. I never had the chance to take part in that film fest since it was over and I was still a student that time, no time to watch films.

Lucky for me, this cartoonist friend of mine, got a copy of Ringu. During that time, I used to be his fan and I belonged to his group, the Beerkadets. Since Ringu was a definite unknown during that time, he asked us to join in a game that would involve the film. It was fairly simple, he is going to give a copy of the film Ringu to one of his fans and then that fan has to meet with another fan in a span of six or seven days. And so we did it. It was fun and I think the copy of the film was passed to at least six people.

Fast-forward to a few more months, Ringu made its name into the world. Along with Dark Water, it has created a new type of genre, a rehash of the Asian cinema since a few other countries tagged along with the hype. And during this time, this same cartoonist introduced us to the film, Batoru Rowaiaru, translated as Battle Royale in English. Gladly, no Ringu games were played in our group anymore. We just have to ask what the film is all about and why they were hyping about it.

At this time, I was not aware of the extremes in cinema. And it was probably a test in my psychology whether I would be able to put up with a film such as Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale, as they were banging our Yahoo group on the idea of the film and its main essence as a dangerous subject in world cinema. You see, Battle Royale, I know a lot of people are familiar with this already but let us try to remember what happened, is a world gone wrong film. The utopian idea of a better society was what the film decided to point out. What they did was to take a random group of students and then they send them off to a place or an island where they have to kill each other, until one of them survives.

Despite its brutality, one can still be amazed on how it portrayed its morals to the viewers; sample of it is the unruly student disrespect the elders / teachers. I know that such theme is an eye-opener to conservative people; the take is on why they have to use children to kill off each other. But it conveys more on what is usually seen on the naked eye. Whenever I see this, I remember the adage that one has to do war to make peace. A funny concept and sad truth but as humans it is part of our nature. And with this film, the protagonist, Shuya Nanahara, tries to defy the system hoping to achieve what everybody wants, survival and freedom. People may say that the film itself is wrong but we have to see the grim truth to adjust our morality and go to the straighter parts of our society, at least.

Work it hard boys.

So, year after year, I try to check the latest Eiga Sai schedule hoping I could squeeze my thin stature in a crowd of freeloaders, just to see a new film from Japan. Luckily, this new film had its own buzz coming from the same people whom I got copies of Ringu and Battle Royale. The film is entitled Wota Boizu or Waterboys, directed by Shinobu Yaguchi.

Waterboys tackle the life of a boy named Suzuki, the main protagonist, whose sole love is swimming. The school hires a beautiful swimming teacher and a lot of male students joined the newly formed swimming group. They found out that she teaches synchronized swimming and a lot of boys withdraw from the team except for four boys and Suzuki. A big problem ensued when the teacher goes pregnant and the boys had to train for themselves. Asking help from a Dolphin trainer, the group found themselves initially exploited by the trainer and found out later that they can work well as a team. While they were practicing for an upcoming event, a sightseer takes a video of them and eventually ends up on TV. Making a good publicity for the boys take on something that is very unusual for a group of students.

One of the most upbeat and innovative Japanese films I’ve seen in my entire life. It was such a refreshing take on the usual life around campus that this movie gives us the out-of-the-box ideas that they can create, produce, and show. I usually ask people to see this in case they want to check out a funny Asian film. I know a lot of people are not aware that this kind of film exists and I am sure you are lucky enough in case you enjoy watching feel good movies.

The movie represents a big deal on the determination of the kids in the movie. I remember whenever I see this film, it is such a given that the Japanese are determined people and imagine at a young age, even if this is just a cinema, it is inculcated in their young minds that determination is important in a person, more so in a whole race and culture. And you have to remember the damage that has been dealt upon them during and after the Second World War. Where are they now, presuming of course that the recent events didn’t happen?

Apart from the determination of the boys, creativity shouts out from this film. I know bravado and machismo are usually taught, and what the cinema usually tries to point out, but we have to accept that the Japanese cinema can get away with it. Like what was shown at the end of the film, the boys get what they worked hard for and they were celebrated even if they were against all odds.

Robogirl, is that you?

I think we have established the fact that I am now interested and somehow engrossed with the Japanese cinema. From time to time, I check out the latest Japanese films, hoping I would get the same high I got from the previous movies that I encountered. It doesn’t matter what genre it is, as long as I enjoyed it before then I am all for it. Lo and behold, I got lucky one time when I got my hands on a film called Kataude Mashin Garu, or The Machine Girl, directed by Noboru Iguchi.

I know it might seem perverted for me to include this film in this write-up. I mean there is that fantasy of men regarding girls donning skirts and armed with kick-ass weapons; as this idea might gather the same sentiment for the guys who love Sucker Punch. But it is actually not the case; I wasn’t even that enticed with the cover of the film, it features a girl in school girl attire armed with a very dangerous weapon that looks like a hand-held Gatling gun. It was more than that exactly.

The main run of the film features the revenge of a girl against a boy, who is backed up by a lot of “powerful” people, who killed her brother. Since she has no experience in any armed combat, she tried to battle the antagonists even if the odds are clearly against her to the point where she has to lose her arm in the process and she was able to replace her arm with a machine gun, hence the title of the film that could’ve been derived from the said weapon.

Aside from this film’s main point being a revenge for a loved one, the main attraction actually is the craziness that the scenes in the film have provided to the viewers. It was amusing as those side shows in the local fairs in the U.S., and here in the Philippines too. An arm cooked ala tempura, a group of Sentai enemies who also do formations whenever they start a battle, and a Madonna-suit wearing enemy that features two drills coming from her bra are some of the memorable scenes in this film. This is an honest to goodness cult film suitable for the adult audience as I have tested this film with a female peer and she liked it.

I know it is quite shallow for the female lead to fight a lot of enemies. But if you think about it, she did it all for love. Amidst all the craziness in the film, which was what mattered, the survival of a person in a lot of trials would actually remind you of what happened to the female lead in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill franchise. And this film certainly goes to the fun part of the spectrum.

Welcome to the Japanese version of Ingmar Bergman’s Persona.

I had a conversation with a friend when we had a road trip a few months ago. I don’t know how it went there but he told me that there is this anime series about rock music. The story went like this: it is about a boy who loves music. He goes to the urban area and studies music. Now, the thing is this boy has two lives. One is singing the happy and sappy and corny songs that he plays alone and it basically makes people barf whenever they hear it, due to its extreme cheeriness. The other is he is part of a death metal band that a majority of his friends and family are unaware of. He sings the worst lyrics that man can make which mostly tackles murder, death, and incest, and is actually celebrated by a lot of fans in their area. Their group embarks on a class of the death metal bands tour, trying to outwit the other death metal bands in the other provinces hopefully gaining respect in the genre.

The funny thing about this is that this boy is not actually fond of his career. What he wants is the life of a cheesy pop singer. But whenever he tries to convince himself to do what he loves, he ends up with the wild side, which he can’t initially accept that that is his destiny.

The great thing about this film is it was able to grab the essence of its anime counterpart, even if I wasn’t able to watch the animated series. I mean if you’re just going to watch a film coming from a TV series and you are wow’ed, as opposed to what M. Night delivered last year since the movie version is just ok or really bad according to the followers of the TV series, and then the movie adaptation is effective.

But wait there’s more, aside from the lyrics used by the songs in the film; I was actually shocked and surprised that Kenichi Matsuyama, who is the main protagonist of this film, also acted as L from the celebrated Death Note franchise.

I believe that Japanese films that tackle music are one of the best expressionism in world cinema. I know a lot of Filipino would probably agree with me since they’ve been bitten by the J-pop and J-rock bugs. That’s why this film worked and mattered.

I also would like to add that there is this other Japanese film that relates to music. It is entitled Fisshu Sutori, or Fish Story. It is not as odd as Detroit Metal City but it clearly follows its main theme of great music and story. And would you believe that music in the film literally saved the world? It surely made the film Armageddon weak, IMHO.

The love will continue, XOXO.

As much as I would like to continue telling my journey with the wonderful world of Japanese cinema, I have to shorten this a bit as it might get too tedious already. I have two more films that I want to share, and yes, I am keeping it light.

The first one is Jisatsu Sakuru or Suicide Club, directed by Shion Sono. I know the Japanese loves controversy. And that is one of the reasons why they are great in the world cinema. They create films to boggle one’s mind, to challenge morality, to express the out of this world ideas, and to scare you as much as possible. Suicide Club might be it and one thing that defines this film among the other supposed scary J-horror films is its take on what seems to be impossible but at the back of your mind, it may happen, despite its sort of weird ending for me, I guess that is what makes this film distinct among the other scary films that I know of. Its impact level might not match what Battle Royale provided, but still it still made a name on its own.

And the other film is Takashi Miike’s Koroshiya 1 or Ichi The Killer. Some may say that this film is particularly brutally odd. I know the film doesn’t make any sense, well it did in some cases but there’s no point in a sexually aroused killing machine of a retardate, right? But that is what makes this film along with the other Japanese films in this genre that makes it particularly distinct. Actually, it includes the entire world too. I have to say that they are at best when it comes to the hateful nature of life. It may sound negative, regardless it was made to provoke and in the end, as much as some people wouldn’t like it, cinema wins.

Whether we like it or not, Japanese cinema changed our lives and our world. I know that they have been here for decades already but I have to mention the other films that mattered, especially for me. I know we have the Kurosawa and Miyazaki films abound and I think a lot of people know them already. I think after a decade, it is about time to update the movie queue.

One of the celebrated Asian films in the past decade with three segments that boasts awesome directors from three different countries: Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook, and Takashi Miike. Three Extremes is not your ordinary film since it follows the area of extreme or brutal horror that feasted on mainstream cinema during the turn of the century, and this time the Eastern counterparts provide the stories. Its concept came from the 2002 film, Three, a much weaker approach to the horror genre.

The first segment features Box, a story of twins who are part of a circus attraction. With their handler having an obsession to the two, it goes from bad to worse when one of the twins had a mishap in one of the boxes used for the circus. The second segment features Dumplings, a story of an aging actress who wants to restore her youthful looks; where the husband had lost interest in her. She looks for the best anti-aging solution and finds one in the slums the cooks a specially created dumpling; in a sense a very special version of the said food. And the last segment features Cut, a crazy game created by a crazy person who tortures a director by cutting off the fingers of a woman if the director wouldn’t kill a young girl by asphyxiating her.

I know I’ve seen the segment dumplings years ago. I initially thought that it was Three… Extremes all along. I was wrong. I found out that what I saw was a long version of the segment, implementing a longer storyline and side stories for the stars of the film. But I have to say that the moment I finished watching it, it still gave me the same barf-induced feeling. It was that wonderful.

The first one looked weak for me; I was surprised that Miike directed that segment. Though it feels that it was a different approach on the genre, showing a very slow-paced version without the cringe-benefits that Miike was able to enjoy showing such as Audition and Ichi The Killer. Nevertheless, the segment was still enjoyable and sort of predictable at the same time.

The last one was the most interesting of the bunch, since I’ve managed to live my life thinking of dumplings already. Imagine, as early as 2004, Chan-wook has been treating his viewers the various brain-drain approach, where he constantly surprise you with the different techniques in film torture. I definitely liked the climax it was surprisingly good.

So, if ever I get to have a chance to suggest a film to someone who loves the horror genre, I would definitely include this film in his or her suggested list. It was one of the best I’ve seen from the past decade. I have to warn everyone that this film is not for everyone though.

A bleak horror idea from the Koreans, 29 February is a supposed scare fest that happens in the heart of a tollbooth. I am not sure on how they created a resolution that includes the date, the twenty-ninth of February plus a tollbooth, God only knows the oblique idea coming from its creators and having this film the supposed breakout film of the director, Jong-hun Jung.

As said, much of the story relies on the tollbooth, the area around it, and the day February 29. Disaster always happen in that place every four years. A tollbooth attendant experiences this through a bloody encounter with one of the victims / ghosts by handing her a bloody toll booth ticket. She informs the police about it and the detectives will try to discover if there is a haunting in the place.

I have been an avid horror film lover for years already and there should at least have a definite reason on why crimes of ghosts happen in a specific place or instance. Take Hideo Nakata’s Ringu for instance, where Sadako kills off people by giving them a seven-day head start, or at least they can save themselves from death by copying the videotape and letting it be watched by whoever copied it. In which, the back-story of the film itself greatly justifies on why the mayhem is happening as such. Or even Takashi Miike’s One Missed Call where the dead victims die by random and after dying they get to spit out a round candy from their mouths.

It is always good to get a proper back-story for a horror film and not just because somebody died in a specific date. It doesn’t make any sense actually since everything is just common. And that great weakness of this film defined that it wouldn’t go anywhere. It will end up having just a less than ordinary of a film feel.

I am not saying that the creators of this film weren’t that creative. Remember that if you have the scares, make sure you have a fantastic story behind it. People want to see the movie not just for the shrieks but for the intellectual stimulation too.

It was not that that bad. Amidst the term provided by a few friends who saw this film in the theatres a few years ago, as they were claiming that it was the worst movie they’ve ever seen, I may say that it is probably watchable for a few points. Though we were all aware that this film was just created for the fact that Manny Pacquiao wants to create a movie, just because, we may also have to accept that the film’s potential was greatly addressed to the fans and their respective families.

Pacquiao works as a plumber who lives a regular life. He has lots of kids at home with the wifey working in a country somewhere in Europe. He gains powers, which I am not saying how he got it, and starts his life as a superhero. During the process of being a superhero, a certain set of people got the same approach, in which they got powers too, and in turn, a few of them became villains. Pacquiao’s family finds out about this and he is now caught in middle on whether he is staying a superhero or lives a normal life with his family.

This does not deserve to be shown during the Metro Manila Film Festival. As far as I can remember films like these are shown somewhere in the middle of the year where theaters are usually empty. And think about this why you would show a non-moral film during the holidays. With Pacquiao’s wife, played by Rufa Mae Quinto, opting to remove him from her life in exchange for a foreigner is not exactly a family holiday film.

The story actually doesn’t even make any sense. It was as if a twelve-year-old created the script of the film. Sadly, this movie was publicized worldwide and it would just be horrendous that they would take a glimpse of this film; probably foreigners would think that we Filipinos are crazy. And no, the film is not even campy in any way, sadly.

And yes, I am keeping this one very short. So there.

This film is a wonderful and underrated Martin Scorsese film shown decades ago, about the happy and sad life of stand-up comics during the seventies and the early eighties. Loved by critics and ignored by the viewing public, despite an all-star crew and an awesome director, it ventures into a life of a stand-up wannabe who just wanted to make a name in Hollywood.

This is a story of a hopeful stand-up comic, played by Robert De Niro, who tries to endeavor and desperately finds a way to become famous, at least to show his ware on an evening show ala Late Show with David Letterman. De Niro pesters a known stand-up, played by Jerry Lewis, and when Lewis feels that De Niro is going out of line, De Niro kidnaps Lewis. And will it be possible for De Niro to end up as famous as he wants it to be?

I should’ve seen this Scorsese film, years ago, if only I found out what the movie is all about. There was a small disinterest for me when I saw a glimpse of it in MGM. I mean, I’m not saying MGM provides bad films but most of them are actually unheard of even though the talent that they provide, are the ones that are respected and known of today.

It was such as surprise for me when I found out what this film is. It wasn’t actually joy joy but the concept of the movie itself is such right and ripe for its time plus you can’t deny the fact that we have De Niro and Lewis in one setting. De Niro as a bad guy is all worth it actually and the wonderful bonus that we have is an aged Lewis who still tries to make this non-hysterical fun type of comedy.

I was actually surprised that this film bombed. People are actually aware of De Niro and Scorsese already having starred and directed Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and New York, New York. Probably people got tired of the duo and the concept of this movie declined to the success story provided by Raging Bull or the crazy scenery in Taxi Driver. Or probably the story wasn’t as interesting during the time it was shown.

I am one of the few people who are starting to discover Jerry Lewis. His Nutty Professor bit made me realize that this guy was really good when he made his rounds in Hollywood before. Despite a just okay acting in this film, I would still commend him for his inclusion in this film. The role was just perfect for him, and I think the next best person to replace his role is Andy Kaufman.

Enjoy. This is a film worth watching especially if you have no expectations. I know the title itself is a given but who would’ve known that the ride took us to the rocky and bright part of the street. In case of a future watching, I might just take a chance and watch this giddy film once again.

I know sometimes it is just plain wrong to compare remakes and originals of films. There’d be debates since one film caters to a certain period of time only. Take this movie for instance, Adam Sandler made a successful retelling of the story, sticking with a few points in the film, such as the occupation of Mr. Deeds, and gave a different approach, a style owned by Sandler, clearly shown in the early stages of his filmography.

Much like its remake, Mr. Deed Goes To Town gives us a story of the Hallmark-writing Longfellow Deeds, played by Gary Cooper. He found out that he inherits millions of dollars from his uncle. He goes to town and tries to fit in with the modern crowd. To make matters worst, a female journalist tries to woo him where he doesn’t know that she is writing about him in the newspaper every time they have a chance to be with each other. It all ends up with something as surreal as a courtroom drama, or not.

As said, I won’t be comparing this movie with the Sandler starrer since I love Sandler so much that it would be bleak if I try to contrast this movie from the remake. I have to say that I enjoyed this film, the punch lines are still workable and the idea of the movie itself is still refreshing for me.

Frank Capra, the director, obviously did a great job in making this film. It was probably something new at the time when this was shown. A crazy idea is always fruitful if executed properly. And one thing that reminded me is the strong personality provided by Jean Arthur, the journalist. I believe those where the days when Garbo, et al are starting to give the rise for the female actors in an area where men were still chosen as the lead since Arthur was given enough scene time to show that her character is important in the film too.

It was also quite weird to see a screwball comedy ending in a courtroom “drama”. I think that was the point of the movie, everything ends up in the discussion whether Deeds is crazy or not, though I didn’t really love those scenes, the climax was worth the wait.

I’m not sure if this film would really fit in for today. People would say that they’d rather see the Sandler starrer since they are telling the same story anyway. And I say if they want a little bit of non-laugh out loud type of film, then they should go with this one, to say the very least.

This film probably says it all on what happens before and during the elections. It ranges from the different padrinos of each candidate, on how they’ll manage to get votes from one location, one sect, one religious group to another. It also entails on what are the dos and don’ts of a candidate, which basically tells us that one wrong move from the aspirant, would prove a disaster for the rest of the election campaign.

Along with the previous film experience that I wrote, the one with Alvin Yapan’s Ang Panggagahasa ni Fe, this one was what I enjoyed most during the Arts In The City indie film marathon, or in my case, the Irma Adlawan marathon where Adlawan was the lead actress in the movies that was shown earlier. Well, I have a penchant for our local elections, enjoying the different colors of what people can or may provide to everyone whether they mastered the art of sweet-talking or if they are smart enough to give a lot of promises and you’d end up saying that they did say that when they were running for that same spot a few years ago.

This is the movie that should be shown publicly, I know the joy factor is not as much for the mainstream viewer but a lot can be learned from this film. It really says that during the elections we Filipinos have the usual norm though this film, even if the changes promised were not great, it says that things can be changed even for small ounces. And in order to win, since this is a democratic thing for us, we have to sacrifice some of the good stuff just to get the majority vote. Funny thing is that it doesn’t even require the candidate to give out money to every voter; it just says that when you run, you have to reach out to everyone.

Aside from me actually enjoying how the film was executed, I was perfectly amused when a friend of mine had a scene with Julio Diaz and Irma Adlawan; I texted her about this and I know this is quite a personal thing for me but hey, amusing is amusing, right?

As said, I’d really want this film to do its rounds, not just in Manila but also in the whole country. I know the set-up for the film doesn’t go well with all areas but you have to say that this movie doesn’t reach for the clouds. It merely says that we are almost reaching the goal, gradually.

I’ve decided to summarize the first batch of the films I’ve seen so far for the 500 film challenge. This post doesn’t carry anything; I am just anal with things so I’ve done such. But in case you are willing to check out what I’ve seen so far, and if you are kind of lazy to backtrack per page, then expand this entry and take a glimpse of the first 100 films I’ve seen so far.

1. Topel Lee’s White House (2010)

2. Robert Weine’s The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (1920)

3. Dondon Santos’ Dalaw (2010)

4. George Tillman Jr.’s Faster (2010)

5. Duncan Jones’ Moon (2009)

6. Gabriel Axel’s Babette’s Feast (1987)

7. Alexei Uchitel’s Kray (2010)

8. Roy Burdine and Lloyd Goldfine’s Turtles Forever (2009)

9. Tony Reyes’ Once Upon A Time In Manila (1994)

10. Chito Rono’s Bulong (2011)

11. Steven Monroe’s I Spit On Your Grave (2010)

12. Gore Verbinski’s Mouse Hunt (1997)

13. Antti Jokinen’s The Resident (2011)

14. Ji-Woon Kim’s I Saw The Devil (2010)

15. Brad Anderson’s Happy Accidents (2000)

16. Donnie Yen’s Legend Of The Wolf (1997)

17. Wilson Yip’s SPL (2005)

18. Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine (2010)

19. Giorgos Lanthimos’ Dogtooth (2009)

20. Brian Trenchard-Smith’s Arctic Blast (2010)

21. Ethan Spaulding’s Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare (2010)

22. Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2007)

23. Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone (2010)

24. David Ellis’ Snakes On A Plane (2006)

25. Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right (2010)

26. Terence Fisher’s Horror Of Dracula (1958)

27. Brad Anderson’s Vanishing On 7^th Street (2010)

28. Edward Zwick’s Love And Other Drugs (2010)

29. Hideo Nakata’s Ch@troom (2010)

30. Martin Scorsese’s Casino (1995)

31. Toshio Lee’s Detroit Metal City (2008)

32. Dave Mckean’s Mirrormask (2005)

33. Steve Antin’s Burlesque (2010)

34. Gordon Chan’s Fist Of Legend (1994)

35. Aki Kaurismaki’s Ariel (1988)

36. Quentin Dupieux’s Rubber (2010)

37. Roger Michell’s Morning Glory (2010)

38. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman’s Catfish (2010)

39. Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck’s The Tourist (2010)

40. Veronica Velasco’s I Do (2010)

41. Paul Haggis’ The Next Three Days (2010)

42. Sam Liu’s All-star Superman (2011)

43. Simon West’s The Mechanic (2011)

44. Gregg Araki’s Kaboom (2010)

45. Greg Mottola’s Paul (2011)

46. Souleyman Cisse’s Brightness (1987)

47. Jacques Tourneur’s I Walked With A Zombie (1943)

48. Richard Somes’ Yanggaw (2008)

49. Pepe Diokno’s Engkwentro (2009)

50. Mike Sandejas’ Dinig Sana Kita (2009)

51. Brillante Mendoza’s Lola (2009)

52. Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot (1959)

53. Christian Christiansen’s The Roommate (2011)

54. Marvin Kren’s Rammbock (2010)

55. Kelly Asbury’s Gnomeo And Juliet (2011)

56. Adolfo Alix Jr.’s Adela (2008)

57. Jerrold Tarog’s Senior Year (2010)

58. Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound (1945)

59. Doug Pray’s Art & Copy (2009)

60. Armando Garces’ Darna Vs. The Planet Women (1975)

61. Victor Cook and Tad Stones’ Hellboy Animated: Blood And Iron (2007)

62. Jean Renoir’s The Golden Coach (1952)

63. Rob Letterman’s Gulliver’s Travels (2010)

64. Joe Dante’s Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

65. Neil Marshall’s Doomsday (2008)

66. Ivan Reitman’s No Strings Attached (2011)

67. Michael Snow’s Wavelength (1967)

68. Catherine Hardwicke’s Red Riding Hood (2011)

69. D.J. Caruso’s I Am Number Four (2011)

70. George Miller’s The Witches Of Eastwick (1987)

71. George Nolfi’s The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

72. Michael Curtiz’s Captain Blood (1935)

73. Andrei Tarkovskiy’s The Mirror (1975)

74. Brillante Mendoza’s Manoro The Teacher (2006)

75. Kevin Greutert’s Saw VI (2009)

76. Buster Keaton’s Our Hospitality (1923)

77. Zhang Yimou’s Red Sorghum (1988)

78. Jalmari Helander’s Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)

79. Catherine Hardwicke’s Thirteen (2003)

80. Ben Yalung’s Anak Ni Zuma (1987)

81. Woody Allen’s Deconstructing Harry (1997)

82. Paul Weitz’s Little Fockers (2010)

83. Louis Malle’s Au Revoir Les Infants (1987)

84. Pedro Almodovar’s Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown (1988)

85. Wolfgang Reitherman’s The Jungle Book (1967)

86. Ross McElwee’s Sherman’s March (1986)

87. Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing (1989)

88. Buster Keaton’s College (1927)

89. Edward Cline and Buster Keaton’s The Electric House (1922)

90. Edward Cline and Buster Keaton’s Hard Luck (1921)

91. Malcolm St. Clair and Buster Keaton’s The Blacksmith (1922)

92. Nagisa Oshima’s In The Realm Of The Senses (1976)

93. Michael Tuviera’s Super Inday And The Golden Bibe (2010)

94. Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s Karnal (1983)

95. Jean-Luc Godard’s 2 Or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967)

96. Rudy Dominguez’s No Blood, No Surrender (1986)

97. Samuel Fuller’s Shock Corridor (1963)

98. Jose Javier Reyes’ Regal Shocker The Movie (1989)

99. George Sluizer’s Spoorloos (1988)

100. Alvin Yapan’s Ang Panggagahasa Kay Fe (2009)