Indie Film: Sundalong Kanin (Rice Soldiers)

Movie as described by its studio: Sundalong Kanin is a film about four young children during the World War II who wanted to be soldiers in order to fight the Japanese Army. What started out as play, starting off as “sundalong kanin,” (a sort of toy soldier, "saling pusa”) they quickly learned the difference between a real gun and the toy they use to play with.

Every Cinemalaya season, I'm always one of those who'd just pick randomly and think, "Surprise me." Truth be told, when I was picking a movie last Monday, I was looking at the title with less people in the theaters. Probably because part of me likes rooting for the underdog, while another part of me just hates crowded theaters. So when I picked Sundalong Kanin, I wasn't quite sure what I was in for.

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Best of 2013

Because my goals are pretty much set (well, I could actually blog about them much later when I've decided on what I want to do), I'd rather talk about the things I discovered in 2013 that will probably affect my activities for 2014. Some of these I actually didn't want to blog about because I was feeling selfish, haha!

Anyway, without further ado, my top 10. Not in any particular order, of course:

Juju Eats

Dear Juju Eats, please move somewhere near Makati CBD. Every time I struggle to think about what I'd eat at night -- especially now that I've decided to forgo rice in the evenings -- I think about you. Please please please please move near me.

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Disney's Frozen (2013 film)

If there's one movie you shouldn't miss with your friends and family this year, (I can say The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug but) it's Frozen. Especially for people my age who grew up with The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast, and even those who have experienced watching older Disney films (our aunties had an entire collection of the earlier Disney Princess films), this particular animated feature might just bring you back to the old days where singing in cartoons was fun.

I can't say much because I don't really want to spoil it for you guys, but let's just say Frozen brought old school back and merged it with progressively self-empowering (not the bratty, self-entitled kind) values. Like Merida in Brave, the two new Disney Princesses are definitely not your typical damsels-in-distress in need of the gallant white knight. There were certain instances that had me facepalming to death but it was negligible when you look at this feature holistically.

I have to admit there have been many recent musical animated features but none after Aladdin (not since lyricist Howard Ashman's death) had anything remained glued in my head. That is, until I heard this:



(That was unmistakably Idina Menzel, Elphaba of Wicked, by the way.)

So go on. Grab your kids or your friends and see this movie before it disappears from the big screen!

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Pacific Rim is pure geekgasm goodness

I swear, director Guillermo del Toro never ceases to amaze me with his versatility. This is a funny thought, considering he was also the director of Blade II and Pan's Labyrinth, two movies from completely different genres. Now this.

Ok, forgive me if I won't sound coherent to those who are not fans of Japanese giant robots...

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Warm Bodies (2013 film)

Sorry if my review will sound like it was written by a zombie but that's exactly my mental state right now now, being in a drug-induced haze (Benadryl kicking in).

Anyway... When I first saw the poster for Warm Bodies, my first thought was that it would be yet another fanfic-turned-published-novel and that it was bound to ruin zombies the way Twilight ruined vampires. I did a quick search and found out that it was written by a man, Isaac Marion. Months later, a geeky friend Chrissie (whose literary tastes I trust because she was a member of De La Salle University's Malate back when she was in college) talked about how she was riveted by the author's writing style. Hm. Ok. So I told myself that the movie couldn't be that bad if the source material was good.

Still. I could not get rid of my misgivings. I mean, a zombie and a human fall in love. Vampires and werewolves I could take. They're supposed to be frozen in time or at least resemble human beings. Plus, Bram Stoker's Dracula (the original vampire tale) was bonded at some point with human Mina Harker. But aren't zombies on their way to decomposition? Imagine the stench! And the premise is that this zombie falls in love with the girl because he absorbs the memory of her boyfriend after eating his brains. How the heck would a normal girl get over that?

See this is where it gets brilliant: Warm Bodies is hilarious. It does not wax poetic and it forces you to suspend your disbelief because...well, it didn't seem to take itself seriously. I couldn't decide if it was laughing at me while I was laughing at it or it was laughing at itself.

I definitely went through lots of mixed emotions even though it was dripping with sarcasm. I would also find myself scared, excited, apprehensive etc. Definitely not the snooze-fest that I have come to expect from sparkly vampires.

I can't really say more without spoiling it. Just that this really was a huge surprise for me. I'm going to go and grab the book now!

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Les Misérables 2012 Movie

Starring:
Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean
Russell Crowe as Javert
Anne Hathaway as Fantine
Amanda Seyfried as Cosette
Samantha Barks as Eponine

Synopsis (from the official Les Mis website):

Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption – a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. Ex-convict Jean Valjean is hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert after he breaks parole. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s young daughter, Cosette, their lives change forever.

First things first, this version of Les Misérables is an adaptation of the musical production created by Cameron Mackintosh and it was based on Victor Hugo's novel. This was probably created for fans of the musical, old and new (though some musical purists have already started attacking the cast's singing before the movie even premiered).

Why the disclaimer? Well, I've heard bored people complain that the singing wouldn't stop and it was kinda disturbing to hear a few of them getting restless behind me. I would like to make a suggestion to the movie goers out there who are interested in the novel but cringe at the thought of having to plough through Victor Hugo's highly descriptive wordings. I know many of us have become very busy and probably only high schoolers would have the time to immerse themselves in Hugo's dark, tragic world. (I read Les Misérables when I was in high school and I can't bring myself to re-read it again now.)

So...my suggestion to people who hated the singing is to try and find a copy of Les Miserables 1998, starring Liam Neeson and Uma Thurman. (Ah. You joked about Catwoman getting rescued by Wolverine, who was being chased by the Gladiator, did you? Well, Ra's al Ghul, the guy who trained Batman, was in Les Misérables, too.)

This version has no singing. And it was given a high rating by Rotten Tomatoes.

Ok, going back to the 2012 movie, I didn't expect much in terms of vocal prowess, since a film director's job is to bring it into an entirely different medium.  For me, it will forever be Lea Salonga as Eponine AND Fantine. (When I first listened to the original London soundtrack, Eponine was Frances Ruffelle and Fantine was Patti LuPone.) In my heart, Colm Wilkinson will forever be Jean Valjean.

EDIT NOTE (01/20/2013): OMG. I only realized now that the bishop in this movie was Colm Wilkinson! I found out when I saw this video on YouTube, where Wilkinson told Hugh Jackman that he did so many things that were not written, that he made Jean Valjean his own, and that it was time for Hugh Jackman to make  Valjean his own. Love how he and Jackman sang, "God it's high, bring it down!" /END EDIT

Anne Hathaway, however, just totally stunned me. And later made me bawl my eyes out so hard that it was actually a little embarrassing already.  She didn't sing with the power of a mezzo soprano but sang with the devastating pain of a broken woman.

I must also mention Samantha Barks, who played Eponine. I recognize her from the Les Misérables 25th Anniversary and has become one of my favorite Eponines. Well, unlike the original London (and original Broadway) Eponine, she didn't make my ears bleed.

I'd also like to applaud Hugh Jackman for the gripping portrayal of Jean Valjean, though I would feel sorry for him whenever he had to sustain some pretty high notes. Ditto with Russell Crowe, who played the antagonist Javert.  "Stars" (sung by Javert) and "Bring Him Home" (sung by Jean Valjean) were two of my absolute favorite tracks and I felt like...hm. I didn't realize that Javert's baritone was that difficult.

I was a little disappointed by Amanda Seyfried's performance, though. I was very excited to see her play Cosette. She looked the part and I loved her voice in Mamma Mia. She also has a background in opera and Broadway. Unfortunately, she kind of drowned in there. Vocally speaking, that is.

They shortened some of my other favorites, like "Castle on a Cloud" (sung by little Cosette) and "Little People" (sung by Gavroche) but I think it was all for keeping the movie's length reasonable. They had to include some new songs, probably for the sake of winning an award. It's all good.

Many non-musical fans would probably argue that Les Misérables 2012 is overhyped and overrated, but anyone who can appreciate the effort it took to translate this from theater to the big screen would disagree. The execution was beautiful. The hype and the rating, for me, was well-deserved.

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Metro Manila Film Fest should be renamed

Related posts:

• Metro Manila Film Fest: Isang Kang Malaking Joke Time
• Si Agimat at Si Enteng Kabisote and the Proverbial Torture Chamber (written by Paulo Lapa)

By now everyone should have known that a beautiful movie like Thy Womb was pulled out of nearly all the theaters because of low sales. Going through comments and debates regarding the commercialism that pervades our Philippine film industry, it alarms me to notice that a good number of Filipinos have forgotten what the word "festival" stood for. Many argue that the director should have known his target market (you serious?) and that this should be solely based on economics.

I had to endure the absence of Les Misérables in the theaters because of these money-related arguments? Let me just get my beef out of my system so that I can end the year in a positive note (with a review at Sarimanok.ph).

(Poster of Thy Womb from the official FB page, an internationally acclaimed film that embarrassingly flopped in the Philippines.)

On the argument that "the director should have known his target audience." 
(Again, you serious??) This is a festival, not a marketing pitch. The goal of festivals, particularly art-related festivals, is TO EDUCATE, reflect culture and to elevate discourse. In a festival, making money should be secondary, not primary. Director Brillante Ma Mendoza did not complain about low sales, he complained about the pulling out of this entry when festivals should run everything until the event is over. By allowing the removal of Thy Womb in theaters we are telling the world that our culture is Enteng Kabisote.

On the argument that this should be solely based on economics 
If you argue about letting people's wallets decide, well...my wallet wanted to spend on Les Misérables...was I given a choice in this matter? Philippine cinema has the entire year to showcase trash movies, but when you require a month-long government mandated banning of non-festival movies, you better make sure that it is a TRUE festival that reflects our country's culture.

On the argument that the entertainment industry exists solely for fun and its goal is not to educate 
As a member of the Philippine entertainment/creative industry, this is insulting to me on so many levels I can't even begin to imagine where to start. Artists are rarely taken seriously because people think we do things for fun and we are all just here to provide mindless entertainment. Let me give you an example of how it's like: Whenever my parents introduce me to a friend, they always introduce me as the daughter who has a PhD. They never mention my day job so people immediately assume that I am jobless. If my dad weren't the sweetest dad in the world, I would think that he is embarrassed that I make video games for a living (but I know he's not like that). Our problem here is that it is difficult to explain to friends and family what we do because in the traditional Filipino eyes, working in the entertainment industry is not a real job.

And then you read comments that say we shouldn't be out to educate but just provide mindless entertainment, which basically validates what everyone thinks of us. When you tell someone that you work in the entertainment industry, the first reaction is, "Wow, sarap naman ng buhay mo." Not knowing that many of us stay awake and slave away for 20-24 hours for days on end, trying to perfect our craft so that we could provide you with values-driven entertainment that you will remember for as long as you can.

One thing most Filipinos should realize is this: MEDIA has such a profound impact on our daily living, our relationships, our culture, and the kind of discourses we produce. We have a huge social responsibility and it's a responsibility many of us take seriously, hence the number of people that choose to go indie instead of mainstream.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate shallow movies (i.e. Twilight) because it is true what they say about shallow movies being wonderful means of escaping the stress of daily living. But if we are to improve our deplorable third world conditions, we can't escape all the time. An annual film festival should allow us to reflect within ourselves so that we may find solutions. Movies like Enteng Kabisote should have no place in a true festival, not in the cultural sense. Just give us this month, please. Otherwise, give this event another title.

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200 Pounds Beauty

It's a beautiful Sunday afternoon and I never thought I could actually sit down and enjoy a good Korean movie. I remember seeing my former boss' FB status a few days ago, wherein he lamented about how old Asian movies relied a lot on storytelling that emphasized on "show" instead of "tell". He used one of my favorite classic HK films, Love On A Diet, as an example. I guess I missed watching entertaining and heartwarming movies like those, so today, I curled up with 200 Pounds Beauty, a Korean dramedy about love, loneliness and plastic surgery.

Once upon a time, there was a "fat and ugly girl" named Hanna, who was desperately in love with this guy:

Because of her appearance, she was burdened by a deep sense of insecurity that made her feel that she could never do anything right.

Except for one thing:

Her beauty (or lack thereof) is inversely proportional to her voice. She works as a "call center agent" (it's actually less wholesome than that, hence the quotations) because it was the kind of job that did not require her to show her face at all.

Unfortunately she also did ghost singing for a sexy and beautiful diva, whom the dude up there (*points to first picture*) happens to manage.

Hanna would have been contented with the arrangements if she could have moments like this:

The diva she sang for, however, had to humiliate her publicly so she decides, with the help of advanced medical science, to turn herself into this:

Everyone -- except her dog -- could not recognize her, which means that she could rebuild her life from scratch.

Or could she?

200 Pounds Beauty is based on the Japanese manga Kanna-San, Daiseikou Desu (カンナさん大成功です!) written by Yumiko Suzuki. It's funny, sad and cheesy all at the same time. While I don't endorse resorting to extreme measures in order to live your life to the fullest, I suppose it doesn't hurt to put ourselves in the shoes of those who had plastic surgery (and regretted it!!!) once in a while.

For my part, I kinda feel sorry for women who had to undergo so much ridicule for looking less than perfect then be ridiculed all over again when they actually do achieve that "perfection". (Remember why actress Heidi Montag underwent surgery? People were encircling her chin in their blogs while saying mean things about her looks. Then when she finally became beautiful via plastic surgery, people started dissing her for not embracing her God-given looks. *Sigh* You can't win!!)

This is a light-hearted Asian movie, though. Its humor could work for our culture, but I doubt it would be as cute if it were remade by Hollywood. Ohhhh...and this has a Japanese counterpart, Kanna's Big Success, which my cousin reviewed for my other blog.

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Transformers: Dark of the Moon

"At least Megan Fox was useful."

That was my Facebook status, which I posted as soon as I got out of the theater last Friday night. In a nutshell, Transformers: Dark of the Moon was a waste of PhP300 (I hate that I always have no choice but to watch in stereoscopic 3D because they have the best schedules) and wow...that was 2 hours 30 minutes of my life that I can never ever get back.

If I added about PhP300 more, I could have had a massage while sleeping and then enjoyed an eat-all-you-can buffet at Wensha Spa. It is not comfy to sleep in a movie house because you can't recline the seats. And the amount of money we spent for this crap made me think thrice about walking out even when I was dying to.

With me wanting Megan Fox back, who isn't actually the greatest actress there is, that only means one thing: the new girl's existence was so banal that I started hating Michael Bay. Will actually avoid ALL Michael Bay movies from now on. Don't get me wrong, I am a Third Wave feminist. I am all for the expression of female sexuality and I don't care if you're straight or queer. But she is just ridiculous. Sure, we want eye candy, but at least make her do something besides strut her assets and scream, for crying out loud! (I get that they want Megan Fox out, but at least bring her kick-ass character back even if they get a new actress.) You can actually remove the new girl from the movie and it wouldn't have affected the story. At all.

Pure annoyance, really.

Hm. Wait. Now that I think about it, let's just scrap all the human beings in the movie and concentrate on the robots, shall we?  There's already enough drama about Cybertron to begin with. We don't need to add human dramatics to that. Also, why do the Decepticons have all the cool machinery when the Autobots sacrifice the good robots? Bring in the Dinobots, jeez!

Ok, enough ranting. I'll just stay away from Michael Bay movies and save myself some grief.

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Beastly (2011 film)

I love fairy tales!

Sometimes I enter the movie houses without knowing what to watch. I just randomly pick a title. (And I don't blog about all of them either.) With this particular film, it was the poster that got me intrigued. I was to find out later that this was actually based on a book of the same name and it was based on the fairy tale classic, Beauty and the Beast.

I couldn't have missed that, of course, because Beastly feels so much like an older teen's Disney movie. The characters' personalities are so exaggerated, they're almost cartoon-y. I could almost hear myself sing, "There's something sweet and almost kind, but he was mean and he was course and unrefined!" It had all the elements of the fairy tale (roses, gardens, books, Beauty's sick father) neatly wrapped in fine, modern-day trimmings and topped with a beautiful Neil Patrick Harris. Hehe. I'm sorry, anything that has to do with NPH (who plays the Beast's tutor), I would have to adore.

I'm sure critics have already killed this one with negative reviews and I'm going to be the naysayer once again when I declare that I absolutely love this contemporary retelling of a timeless tale. Plus, I think Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer are both amazingly pretty. You also can't lose with Mary-Kate Olsen playing the witch (at least now we have a solid reason for why she enchanted the prince). Even when she's supposed to look like an ugly outcast, you just can't lose with all those glorious ramp-ready outfits. You'd have to see it for yourself -- she's one heck of a fashionable witch!

Most importantly: I was kilig all throughout the viewing.

I'm mababaw that way.


Whatever the critics' beef with Beastly, well, for me, it did what it had to do. And I wouldn't mind watching it over and over as its title now belongs to my pile of feel-good (a.k.a. don't-intellectualize-everything) movies. I'm downloading the Kindle edition (authored by Alex Flinn) as soon as my budget permits. (Since I just spent about 3K on Kindle purchases last week.) Heh.

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Source Code (2011 Film)

First, an introduction to the movie: Source Code (directed by Duncan Jones) revolves around Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal), who finds himself inside the body of a man that died in a train bombing incident. Apparently, the last eight minutes of a person's life leaves a small spark of cognitive imprint that the military wanted to exploit so they could save thousands of other lives. What Captain Stevens does is dive into the last eight minutes of the diseased school teacher's life so that he could investigate where the bomb is located and who the bomber is.

I'm not going to spoil this movie any further, but suffice to say that Jake Gyllenhaal and his co-star/leading lady Michelle Monaghan were such great actors -- hey, even the unethical scientists played by Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright were utterly convincing! -- that you might find yourself falling in love with the movie. In my case, however, I had this tiny argument with myself in my head:

"Oooh, my favorite comedian, Russell Peters is in Source Code!"
"Cool, but what do you honestly think about the entire movie?"
"Nadapa utak ko." (My brain tripped.)
"Seriously? But doncha just love Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan?"
"Yes, yes, he has come a long way from Brokeback Mountain and Prince of Persia, but those loose ends are killing me..."
"But Jessica Zafra loves it! You love Jessica Zafra, even if you're afraid of her."
"She loves it because of Jake Gyllenhaal."
"Okay, but you have to admit it's like Groundhog Day meets Inception."
"Everyone's making too many Inception-esque movies these days..."
"How come you never like movies that everybody else likes?"
"You think everybody likes this? But...NADAPA UTAK KO!"

Sure enough, I went to Rotten Tomatoes and found that 90% of the 196 reviews of Source Code were glowing. I want my validation, darn it! But yeah, the other me was correct. I have weird taste in films. I generally like films that everybody else hates and vice-versa.

I mean, renowned film critic Roger Ebert sings praises to it:

...Jones has the right spirit, Gyllenhaal and Monaghan are adept at playing their variations on the eight minutes, and here's a movie where you forgive the preposterous because it takes you to the perplexing. Full review here.

I guess, I found my validation in IGN, which is mostly known for video game reviews. Jim Vejvoda writes:

Source Code's Groundhog Day meets Minority Report premise is definitely intriguing, but its gaps in logic and arbitrary rules about the source code ultimately do the film in and it splinters apart like the train Colter's on. And while the story by its very nature is repetitive, at least its returns to the attack were interesting and not merely rehashes (unlike, say, in Vantage Point). Gyllenhaal fares better here than he did in Prince of Persia -- another movie where he's able to relive past events, but now with advantageous information gleaned from having already lived through them.

Gyllenhaal brings sincerity and warmth to his role, but his conviction only helps the movie so far before it ultimately buckles under the weight of its plot mechanics. Full review here.

I think the nature of those two reviews just explained why I don't react to Source Code the way I oughto react. Ebert is a film critic. IGN is a video game information repository. I'm a video gamer, not a film buff. (Though I generally agree with Ebert's reviews, I'd have to deconstruct what he meant by "forgive the preposterous because it takes you to the perplexing".) So I suppose we need to take this fact into consideration if we plan to take my review seriously. Hehe. =^.^=

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Sucker Punch (2011 film)

From the trailer alone, I wasn't really expecting any mind blowing plot lines or groundbreaking creativity. I saw these leggy girls kick butt, listened to the edgy soundtrack, and I just knew I had to watch it.

We were all discussing this over Facebook, how people were wishing that Sucker Punch could have a decent story so that they'd have reasons to watch it repeatedly. Well, Naked Weapon (starring Maggie Q) didn't have a decent story -- it was infested with hilarious plot holes the size of Jupiter -- and yet it was one of those movies that I'd repeat over and over just for the action scenes. And Maggie Q.

Suffice to say I wasn't disappointed with Sucker Punch. It felt a lot like Inception meets 300, with stars that looked like the younger version of Nicole Kidman (Abbie Cornish playing Sweet Pea) and Meg Ryan (Jena Malone playing Rocket). The platinum-haired protagonist, Baby Doll, is portrayed by Emily Browning...a 22-year-old multi-nominated actress who looked like a 13-year-old kid in the movie. I'm guessing writer Steve Shibuya, who co-wrote the script with director Zack Snyder, is responsible for Baby Doll's Lolita inspired sailor outfits. Those costumes are pretty hot in Japan and true enough, the film has been given the more Japanese commercially viable title: Angel Wars (エンジェルウォーズ ). The plot, which highlights a young girl's imaginary journey that crosses three levels of consciousness (you can actually tell which reality the girl is in based on the length of her lashes, haha!), is interesting enough even if it left a lot of questions that I dare not dissect for fear of ruining the fun.

It's an entertaining movie. Especially if you stay for the credits. (That alone should tell you that this is not a movie we should be taking too seriously.)

Also stars High School Musical sweetheart Vanessa Hudgens as Blondie and Jamie Chung as Amber. Here's the official trailer.

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Goodbye, Timeless Beauty: Elizabeth Taylor

It took me a while to compose my thoughts as I pondered about the passing of an iconic beauty: Elizabeth Taylor, aged 79. I still have not digested the information fully, truth be told. It felt a lot like Michael Jackson's death.

I first beheld her exquisite image on a vintage issue of LIFE Magazine. She was 12. I couldn't believe she was 12 because she looked so grown-up!

Apparently, when she was just starting out as a child star, Universal Pictures found that she looked too old, largely thanks to her now legendary eyes. We all know she's famous for having that much-coveted genetic mutation: a double layer of eyelashes and mesmerizing violet eyes. (Well, besides the fact that she married 8 times.)

Here's a photo of her at age 10.

Unbelievable! Most little girls that age would probably be in their awkward phase.

But MGM saw and nurtured her potential and the rest is history. Who isn't aware of her successful acting career? She is also mostly recognized for her humanitarian activities, especially with regards to AIDS/HIV projects and advocacy.

One of her most famous quotes about her humanitarian works was: "Give. Remember to always give. This is the thing that will make you grow."

Elizabeth owned the role of Cleopatra, pictured here with her (arguably) greatest love Richard Burton, who played Mark Antony. Who else fits the bill of a tempestuous goddess who had the world at her feet? No one else but Dame Elizabeth Taylor.

By the by, madame is Piscean, which probably explains why she had been constantly hounded by drama for most of her youth. Anyhoo...

We will miss you dearly, Beautiful Elizabeth. I hope you're having a great time with your best friend MJ now. T.T

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Red Riding Hood (2011 film)

I honestly don't know what to think when it comes to this movie. Despite the number of negative reviews scattered all over Facebook, I held on to my resolve of seeing it...if only for Amanda Seyfried. And I still tried to figure out what's wrong with it, even if the two people flanking both my sides (Cris and Cham) were already facepalming every five minutes.

Well, the plot is as cliché as it could get and I could summarize it into:

"Valerie is in love with Peter but her mom wants her to marry Henry. It all seems so trivial, really, because the village is beset by a bigger problem: it is constantly attacked by a rampaging wolf every time the moon is full. Then a priest (Gary Oldman) with a large golden elephant walks into the village and tells everyone the wolf turns into a human being by day, making all relationships complicated because everyone in the village suddenly becomes a suspect." 

I wonder if my summary made sense because I, too, am still scratching my head in wonder. I feel like this is director Catherine Hardwicke's revenge on Twilight's author because she wanted Bella to end up with Jacob the hot, beefy werewolf instead of the floral-scented, glittery vampire Edward. Hardwicke directed Twilight and that much is pretty obvious in Red Riding Hood even if you don't tell viewers this detail. The camera angles, the treatment, the transitions... I've always told my students that I can tell who their video production professor is just by looking at their thesis projects' shots and editing. So yeah, this has Hardwicke written all over it.

It's a pity how Red Riding Hood came out because I loved Hardwicke's pre-Twilight movie Thirteen. I also appreciate how Hardwicke made Twilight movie more interesting than the book itself, which felt like slow torture. Now I'm deeply disturbed to notice that she might be going the way of M. Night Shyamalan (Last Airbender, which I reviewed in 2010).

I'm still scratching my head in wonder. So here are the reactions of my two seatmates.

Cris: You don't abbreviate words in a period film. That's why the entire thing feels off. The acting is also very theatrical.
Me: But Hardwicke isn't a theater director.
Cham: It's a stupid movie!!!
Me: Urr...can you give me something more substantial than "It's a stupid movie!!!"
Cham: It's a stupid movie!!!

All right. Here's a more profound description of an epic fail, which I grabbed from my friend Elena's FB Wall:

Len de Gracia I quote Catherine Rae Espinosa : "Amanda Seyfried looks pretty in Red Riding Hood though. And in case you fail to notice that Edward 2.0 is hot too, the director will keep reminding you of that with 360 camera panning until it's seared into your memory."

*Sigh* Methinks this film is a waste of Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman. The production design is something to behold, though. Then again, Hardwicke has a degree in architecture so I know she can perfect that.

My theory? I think if they made Red Riding Hood into an LGBT film, it would be a lot more interesting. Aaaaand...I don't agree with Robert Ebert's review, when he said that of all the fairy tales to turn into a movie about sexual awakening, this should be "far down on the list". Dr. Jack Zipes, who holds a PhD in Comparative Literature, has already dissected the sexuality -- inclusive of cultural and linguistic roots -- out of this fairy tale in his book The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Ridinghood.

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Jerrold Tarog's Faculty is a soft cry for better education

Whether or not Jerrold Tarog intended to send a message to academicians, one thing's for sure: his short film Faculty is a swift kick in the gut. Or more accurately, it shot an arrow straight into my heart.

My favorite lines:
"Yan ang trabaho natin dito. Yaya."
(This is our job here. To act as nannies.)

"Ah, empleyado ka. Sorry ha, teacher kasi ako. Kelangan ko magturo."
(Ah, you're an employee. I'm sorry but I'm a teacher. I need to teach.)

"No, we are talking about social awareness and responsibilities. Alam mo, sorry ha, hindi kasi ako kuntentong mangitlog ng mangitlog ng mga mangmang katulad mo. May pakealam ako sa mga bata."
(No, we are talking about social awareness and responsibilities. You know, I'm sorry, I'm not like you, content with laying eggs that have no substance. I care about these kids.)



Both sides shown here -- a teacher who wants to develop critical thinking in students versus a teacher who would rather follow the rules -- have their flaws and Tarog was able to highlight the strengths and the weaknesses in their arguments. I'm actually surprised at the level of insight Tarog was able to project in such a short film. Faculty is only 7 minutes long, and yet, without being too obvious or literal, it was able to shake me right to my very core. I had loved his recently released full-length film Senior Year, but it was Faculty that cemented my place among his many fans.

My take on the the thought-provoking issues this short had raised? We educators become complacent when we begin to look at teaching as a job and not as a vocation. My former boss Gerard Cadlum, whom I greatly miss, once (endearingly) called me an idealist because of my blatant defiance against promoters of intellectual mediocrity. Simply put: I do not like diploma mills. They are responsible for the proliferation of the Cut and Paste Generation and the purveyors of the Robot Mentality (all technical work, no critical thinking). Diploma mills are like the more expensive, glorified version of those fake university certificates being sold in Recto.

And shockingly enough, there are plenty of these around the country, run by people who are fueled by political/personal ambition rather than social responsibility. The good news is, many teachers can make a huge difference. I've seen schools that are truly concerned about enriching their students -- not necessarily to go out and attend rallies (I find that to be quite extreme) -- but striving to make students aware of the changes they are capable of enabling.

"[Education] for me is a starting point if you want to try at least to change a society," Tarog once said during an ANC interview. I concur wholeheartedly. That was why teaching became my vocation for the last five years. And even if I am leaving the academe for a year, I know that I can still continue my support of quality education as a media researcher, social scientist, artist and writer. If Tarog can make awareness possible within 7 minutes, then we know we all can follow his example in our own little way.

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HSBC Annette and Johanna's Favorite Things

HSBC has a lot of new exciting things in store for us this 2011. I remember enjoying their Coffee Talks 3 session, wherein celebrities discussed politics and showbiz. This time around, I and my fellow bloggers Rowena and Michelle, were invited to HSBC Red Mastercard Hot Deals launch at the Makati Shangri-la.

Apprently, the theme of the day was red. But first, let's get lunch out of the way. (I normally don't document what event buffets have to offer but Makati Shang's Filipino cuisine just tickled me.)

Yeah, this was my messy plate, which contained lumpiang ubod, fish and mostly vegetables. Johanna actually complained that my plate was too healthy, haha! (I skipped the lechon.)

This tinola was just divine. Rowena said that she tasted lemon grass in it, so that probably explains the soothing effect it had on my very sore throat.

I'm a Brazo de Mercedes addict, by the way. But the ones they served were delectable minis.

Om nom nom. Eez my dessert plate!

Anyway, I've segued long enough. Let's get to the exciting part. The Red Mastercard obviously targets the woman on the go. Hm. I notice we're always represented by the color red.

To start off, a few items were raffled off and given away. The items were from the establishments that HSBC partnered with.

As the press kit indicates:

[W]here for every P2,000 everyday spend, you get a P100 Gift Certificate or P100 off from select retailers. Whether it's shopping, groceries, movies, salon or spa HSBC Red Mastercard has got every woman’s need covered.

“At HSBC, we’re always on the lookout for new and exciting deals for our customers. With this permanent feature, your everyday spend allows you to be able to treat yourself to a round of shopping, buy groceries, catch the latest movies, get a new hairdo, or enjoy a massage at the spa!” said Annette Tirol, HSBC’s Deputy Head of Personal Financial Services.

Needless to say, we were showered with a looooot of goodies from the partner merchants. Michelle won one of 'em bags! (That's Rowena right behind her.)

Ok, now for the most entertaining part. Johanna went retail hopping in the name of market research. I had fun taking photos of her projections so even though I found out later on that the hi-res versions were actually inside the press kit CD, I'm opting to use the ones I took. Let's just call it re-appropriation of art, if you will. Besides, I kind of like the vintage effect these projected images seem to exude. Anywaaaaay...

Shown here is Johanna playing with Forever21's cute accessories. I received one of those gorgeous off-white rose rings.

She also surprised us by saying she loved Ace Hardware. Seeing her kikay tendencies, this came off as almost shocking. (But then I also carpenter my stuff, as well as buy paints, thinner etc. from Ace Hardware, too. The only thing I can't get there is an 8ft x 4ft plywood. And raw palochina.)

Then there's my favorite Korean beauty haven: The Face Shop. I'm afraid to remember what it was Johanna was holding here (looks like a syringe) so let's just assume that she's doing it for beauty. Everyone who's used to this blog probably knows that my ultimate favorite lip balm can be found in The Face Shop.

Who wouldn't enjoy almost free movie passes?

Judging from this picture, it seems like I'm not the only one who goes gaga over The Body Shop's bath products. (I was supposed to review my TBS vanilla bath set this week but just got too busy reminiscing about Boracay.)

Thanks, Johanna and Annette! I definitely had fun watching you have fun!

For more information about these Red Hot Deals and the HSBC Red Mastercard, you may visit the website at http://www.hsbc.com.ph.

For a more personalized service, you may contact one of HSBC's representatives, Ivy P. Raya, at 7592781 or 0922-8564373.

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