Movie Digest # 018

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF PHOENIX
Mall of Asia, IMAX Theater, July 15, 11:00pm

Not as magical (read: eye candy) as the first four installments (especially Alfonso Cuaron’s interpretation of the third book), but this one’s the most mature to date in terms of film direction and adaptation. I can say that this is my favorite if I have to choose. Others might be complaining about the details that were scraped out from the book but the way the storyline was streamlined is awesome and just right. HP5 showcases Harry Potter at his most political self.

Friends who might appreciate it: those who read the books (understatement).

THE SIMPSONS MOVIE
Greenbelt 3, Cinema 2, July 27, 9:00pm

I am a fan of The Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening. The thing is, I haven’t seen a lot of The Simpsons TV episodes. But I love the humor. I love the instant twists and mini-plots. Parang ang hirap kasi n’ung in 30 minutes, nakaka-create ka na ng twist na hindi nagsa-suffer ang humor. The lousy verdict: if you like the TV show, you will definitely like the movie.

Friends who might appreciate it: donut lovers.

RATATOUILLE
Greenbelt 3, Cinema 1, July 29, 11:15pm

My third good film for this year (300 and Zodiac are the two other two). The script is well written. Hindi s’ya kababawan o eye candy lang. The film is also very entertaining. Hindi nakakabobo ang pagkakagawa at ang taas ng redeeming value n’ya (if it’s from Disney, it must be….).

Friends who might appreciate it: everyone in the colony.

Movie Digest # 017

TRANSFORMERS
Greenbelt 3, Cinema 2, July 1, 10:15pm

The film delivers the most mind-blowing CGI scenes I have ever seen in a film. Michael Bay just invented the word “perfection” (naks). For me, it is an above average live action film adaptation. The only drawback (hey, friends, don’t kill me!) I think is the lack of a really satisfying redeeming value. Yes, the film is about bad aliens invading the planet and the good ones preventing it. But what it is really all about? I can’t seem to answer that. I can’t say that it’s about bravery and purity and innocence. “Spiderman” (!), “X-Men” and even “Fantastic Four” have a lot more to say than “Transformers”.

Friends who might appreciate it: those who were once an Autobot or a Decepticon during their childhood days.

PARAISO (Tatlong Kuwento ng Pag-asa)
SM Mall of Asia, Cinema 6, July 7, 12:10pm

Not bad for a noble project called Gawad Kalinga. Tony Meloto’s vision remains in tact. I can say that the film moved me. It made me want to look for GK on the internet. The last two episodes/mini-films are good. I can't forget the story about a boy who eats stones. It was mentioned in the film that the eating disorder is called Pica and is normally manifested in neclected children. The last feature is directed by actor Ricky Davao and is about a widower who continued his dead wife's dreams. The journal style and the music from Vincent de Jesus are effective. This film is another must-watch for all the Filipinos out there and should be the one having the movie line "more than meets the eye".

Friends who might appreciate it: those who care.

DIE HARD 4.0
Greenbelt 3, Cinema 2, July 8, 10:00pm

I left my expectations at home and I wasn’t disappointed. The film delivers what the viewers expect: fast pace, lots of explosions, stunts, witty lines and CGI. I love the truck and jet scene (very James Cameron). That’s a “whoa!”

Friends who might appreciate it: those who are curious with Bruce Willis’ anti-ageing secret.

07-07-07

The Bible refers to “7” as the perfect number. But last July 7, 2007, I didn’t squander the day perfectly grand as foreseen but it wasn’t that bad. I started it actually with an overtime work, finishing some stuff. That’s after Christina Aguilera (yeah, I watched her concert at the The Fort open field, complete with midyear rain showers) did her thing for the Asian leg’s Manila stop of her Back to Basics concert. I was with officemates Richmond and Sarah (a big fan and a VIP seat taker).

Christina is great. I always admire the way she does a counterpart of Michael Jackson’s famous dance step (the one with his “pototoy”). Christina on her part does it with her “monay”. And maliciously aside, that’s a loud statement for those vying for gender equality. Of course, there’s more to Christina than that. The “birit” voice quality didn’t fail up to the last song. People were singing with her on the encore song “Beautiful”. She did it with ad lib and “kulots” while the crowd was doing the “first voice”. What a musicality!

Actually, I am just explaining why I enjoyed working at the office ‘til the wee hours on that allegedly lucky date.
Afternoon of 07-07-07 was well wasted with the second round of Virgin Labfest 3 (two sets, “Identity and Politics” and “International Night”) at the CCP. It was enjoyable still and I ended up craving for more. Same time, next year perhaps (no pun intended).

The rest of the day was spent enjoying the breeze from the rain showers while cruising along the Harbour Square. No sunset, no mandarin sky, no sentimentality.

Just the breeze.

Midyear

Last weekend (June 30 – July 1) was the first weekend for the third serving of Virgin Labfest. It’s an annual event that showcases new (hence the term “virgin”) works from the playwrights of Writers Bloc. Consider it the Cinemalaya of Philippine theater.

Along with my officemates, we ventured into catching the first set called “Madadramang Pamilya” last Friday. The first play was written by J. Dennis Teodosio, a familiar name to me ever since I made a mini-review of his work called “Si Geegee at si Waterina”, a fictional conversation between Justo Justo and Walter Markova. His entry (well, one of the two entries) this year was a skeletons-in-the-closet drama between an aging mom and her son in the US. It is directed by theater personality and PDI editor/columnist Rito Asilo. The other two were “Looking for Darna” and “Teroristang Labandera” (for me, it’s the most engaging among the three plays). We ended up having a late dinner at Dencio’s in Harbour Square.

The next day, I woke up early to catch the “Children’s Play” set with “Kung Pwede lang Ipagpalit ang Tatay”, “Bertday ni Guido” and “Obra ni Maestra”. So far, this is my favorite set.

“Ipagpalit…” is about a boy (and his younger sister) who traded his dad with a pair of goldfish. Their mom later on asked them to look for their dad. The owner of the goldfish traded his dad with a violin (and the violin’s owner, with a trolley; and the trolley’s owner, with two chicks…). After a fun journey, the two kids eventually found their dad and returned home. “Bertday ni Guido” is set in the 80’s and is about Guido who’s having a birthday on the same day as EDSA Day. He was anxious that his parents who were in the rally might not join him on his birthday party and might only end up with “coke, ice cream, cake at spaghetti” (as sung a la musical piece composed by Vincent de Jesus of “Zsazsa Zaturnnah” fame). The third one is an action-packed children’s play complete with colorful costumes and stunts. “Obra ni Maestra” is written and directed by Niel de Mesa who wrote the popular and Palanca-winning piece “Subtext”.

The event was capped by a meet-and-greet with the great Rene O. Villanueva. He wrote “Bertday ni Guido” which happened to be the most enjoyable among the three because of the audience interaction. I asked for an autograph. He looked old and a bit frail. Na-stroke daw kasi s’ya. I said, “Sir, batang Batibot po ako. I owe you my childhood.”. He just smiled and wrote “Salamat, Manny. EDSA was a party. Rene Villanueva.” on my ticket.

During break, I went to Mall of Asia to fetch my “Harry Potter: Order of Phoenix” tickets at IMAX, had lunch at French Baker and hurried back to CCP for “X, X and X: Hindi Pang-Isip Bata” set. Really, really disturbing.

Then evening came.

At exactly 10pm, I was already at the gate of Saguijo. I met my roommate there and another friend. It was Rivermaya’s first gig without Rico Blanco. Other bands like Sandwich, Pedicab, Cambio, the reuniting Fatal Posporos and Sugarfree also performed and gave support to Rivermaya. It was a sad experience. They were all wearing black shirt. Another Pinoy band is about to fall and it’s heartbreaking to see Mark, Mike and Japs survive the rain. My roommate commented that it could be the last gig of the band. They performed some Blanco songs and it was hard to take even with the help of the Dancel brothers Ebe and Vin. There’s one single that captured all the questions and uncertainties that Rivermaya is now facing. It is entitled “Sayang”.

Things 003: Yabang Pinoy “Baller Band”

I saw this fashion accessory about a month ago in one of the shops at Glorietta’s Art Space. I just put the idea of buying it into oblivion only to relive it again after browsing the July issue of FHM’s fashion/grooming section. The item is made of Abaca, which, according to the card that comes with it, is a metaphor of Filipinos being malakas at matatag. Cool, eh? It’s also a campaign, by the way. Similar to other cause-oriented baller bands from Nike like Live Strong and One or the politically correct WWJD. The item is only P50 (I got mine from The T-Shirt Project, formerly Spoof, in Glorietta) but the pride attached to it every time you wear it is priceless. O-ha! Just visit their website: www.yabangpinoy.com.

The Ultimate Roommate Checklist

Without much further ado, below is my Not List. Period.

1. Not a “Kababayan”

I have nothing against all my “kababayan” but I don’t want to risk my life being broadcasted all over Lopez, Quezon when the going gets tough. I am a private person here and in my hometown. I prefer to listen than talk and I wish to remain that way ‘til I run for a seat in the congress (hehehe).

2. Not an Officemate

Again, I have nothing against the office (I just took an online test that preaches not to put the name of the company in vain, too bad) and my officemates. I find my colleagues very professional (take a bow, folks) and very friendly (during and after beer sessions, hehehe). I just don’t want to wake up one day with my roommate is asking me how to debug a code or how to create a Service Agreement online. This would definitely spare me from sleep talking about our customer information system (nightmare!). Also, having a roommate on a different field/career provides perks (though not an assurance) like a nightshift schedule (no need for a toilet queue in the morning) and other privileges (hey, man, is your company having a backstage pass for an FHM-sponsored event?).

3. Not Penniless

Let me play evil here (and I wish to clarify this pointblank): my room is not a charitable institution. Sure, an aged person lives there that makes it, err, Home for the Aged, but no, it’s not for free. My room has an AC that has a sub meter reader, a lamp for reading books (and internal designs!), an electric fan, a bulb for the entire room and another one for the toilet, that requires a monthly electric bill distribution from a hardworking Meralco staff. Completing my monthly room rental fee of P6,000+ (depending on the reading for the AC, the rest of the consumption including TV watching while lying at the wooden “sofa” at the living room is part of the package) is the water supply and my landlady’s “income”. In short, rent is rent. And renting a room in Makati is like eating peanuts at a 7-star hotel. One of the reasons why I opened my room for sharing is for me to try something that I haven’t done for the last 29 years or so. The other reason, the more convincing one, is for the extra saving. Just a side note, I made a background check (not that extensive though) on my roommate. He lives in a townhouse in Marikina, which he visits every weekend, and his family looks "sosy". Damn, I feel so lousy at discriminating people.

4. Not Evil

This is corny to explain but I hope you know what I mean when I describe a person to be evil.

5. Not a Moviephobe

At least if he’s geek and/or autistic, we can still talk about movies when sleeping is scarce. Not to mention that I badly need an assistant who is more than willing to help me with ticket reservation and pick-up (evil laugh, bwahahaha). And it’s a blast if he can start up a movie topic like who is a better auteur between Mike Relon Makiling and Luciano Chaning Carlos.