tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56072164525000106212024-03-19T09:03:16.289+08:00Fred Said: MOVIESFred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.comBlogger2167125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-59878536554211626482024-03-18T22:00:00.007+08:002024-03-19T09:02:44.438+08:00Puregold: Review of UNDER A PIAYA MOON: Treasuring Tradition<p><span style="font-family: arial;">March 18, 2024</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpSiApUBcnl-QtPX3-usF8VjXnutEy77sAB9lDTG4yCOQ_dnBgIoM65sBbCOS9PB-MyzrltsIeWdqF7_C6V1g5JiOtTwhmF8hn5_BaaBujyNCdw3zkURUxLp5yRN3xjAhnhpKg3cbvdH1I52aK8ua3BoPStnR6ImSxlPuLfQmX7sqX0w3R2tFBd-D5h4M/s1350/under%20a%20piaya%20moon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpSiApUBcnl-QtPX3-usF8VjXnutEy77sAB9lDTG4yCOQ_dnBgIoM65sBbCOS9PB-MyzrltsIeWdqF7_C6V1g5JiOtTwhmF8hn5_BaaBujyNCdw3zkURUxLp5yRN3xjAhnhpKg3cbvdH1I52aK8ua3BoPStnR6ImSxlPuLfQmX7sqX0w3R2tFBd-D5h4M/w320-h400/under%20a%20piaya%20moon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">While doing a television interview which talked about his family's legacy bakery Celine, Stephen Maravilla (Jeff Moses) and girlfriend Joy Decena (Pau Dimaranan) looked like the perfect couple. Joy even excitedly announced that they were going to introduce European pastries to Celine's classic menu of local delicacies. However, when the couple was by themselves, Joy broke the news to Stephen that she wanted to break up with him. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">At that time, Stephen's grandmother Serafina Infante (Chart Motus) was in Bacolod after a bad quarrel with her husband Poldo (Joel Torre) caused her to leave their house in La Carlota. She encouraged the distraught Stephen to join the upcoming Concurso de Calamay, the most prestigious native specialty baking competition in Negros Occidental. While Stephen wanted to modernize his creations, Lola Fina advised him to stick with traditional techniques.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Set in Bacolod and surrounding towns of Negros Occidental, this film was in the Hiligaynon language, with that delightfully distinctive lilting accent. The story was set back in the 1980s, which necessitated appropriate period production design, costumes, hairstyles, without the high-tech gadgetry of today. The cinematography had such a quality that evoked nostalgia, as it made our mouths water with tasty close-ups of these sweet Negrense snacks, like bitso-bitso, pilit-turon, napoleones, and of course, the titular piaya.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Jeff Moses had a smiling face and friendly demeanor that immediately made us like him as Stephen and root for him to win the Concurso. Senior actors Chart Motus and Joel Torre had fun with their roles as Fina and Poldo, as they bickered bitterly at first, then made up so treacly sweet later. Pau Dimaranan's Joy was such an annoying character from her very first scene up to her last, you could not wait for Stephen to snap out of her toxic spell. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The script by Vicente Garcia Groyon hewed to old-fashioned linguistic styles to keep to the nostalgic theme of the film. It included a number of charming, kitchen-inspired sayings and mottos to keep to the culinary theme, ranging from sensible ("Kneaded dough continues to rise when left on the table.") to naughty ("The longer you knead it, the longer it needs to rest."). Aside from food, there were also side trips to other tidbits of Negrense culture, like betting at the cockpit or the story behind the song "Nitang." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This is director Kurt Soberano's feature film debut, but I had seen and loved his short film recreating the shooting of Peque Gallaga's "Oro Plate Mata" entitled "Sa Balay ni Papang" (<a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2021/08/sine-halaga-2021-ranking-12.html" target="_blank">MY REVIEW</a>) (2021). In "Piaya Moon," the clash between traditions vs. modernity was brought up multiple times, but . Different generations will answer this question differently, but me, I am a sucker for this type of sentimentality and positivity. 9/10.</span></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-88031757593858069702024-03-17T22:56:00.001+08:002024-03-17T22:56:54.981+08:00Puregold: Review of BOYS AT THE BACK: Rambunctious Repeaters<p><span style="font-family: arial;">March 17, 2024</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr-syJZQVWlkzbeHQ75SE4Xactdwh4l9KAIzUjMEfufjpVJsyzCtUvfsP2LEDHhulTbfaiHecby0QGsjv48u229PkYnc6WcjQrV18or3I64WgEV9WJbgFioXzMTlLpAWFj6asDN5asRmwpQ50vGET0TXu7Kzc10wluSLrpByLTjjLAQ_OF-cCZtdgdkKQ/s1600/boys%20at%20the%20back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1136" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr-syJZQVWlkzbeHQ75SE4Xactdwh4l9KAIzUjMEfufjpVJsyzCtUvfsP2LEDHhulTbfaiHecby0QGsjv48u229PkYnc6WcjQrV18or3I64WgEV9WJbgFioXzMTlLpAWFj6asDN5asRmwpQ50vGET0TXu7Kzc10wluSLrpByLTjjLAQ_OF-cCZtdgdkKQ/w284-h400/boys%20at%20the%20back.jpg" width="284" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The Boys at the Back (or BATB for short) was a group of notorious for being high school students at the Kinantong National High School. They were infamous for being in fourth year high school for four years now. The muscle-bound leader was Mike (Michael Berces), and his knucklehead minions included Arnold (Bob Jbelli), Porkchop (Nyle Libranza), Jerome (Raynier Brizuela) and tomboyish Cayang (Merry Chris Rodriguez).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This semester, a new freshman kid Kevin (Noel Comia, Jr.) transferred into Kinantong from a private school La Naval. His first friend in his new school was Joyce (Nicole Omillo) with whom shared a love for Filipino pop music. One day, Kevin's iPod fell out of his pocket and was confiscated by his teacher, Mr. Robert Dimasupil (Bani Baldiserri). Desperate, Kevin thought of asking BATB to steal the iPod back, in exchange for helping them graduate. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This film was all be silliness and shenanigans on the surface, with scene after scene showing naughtiness, truancy, bullying, disrespect, and failing grades. All of these were dealt as a laughing matter, with a juvenile sense of humor which may come off more as annoying than funny. However midway, it would catch you completely off guard when it revealed</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> that deep within, there lay very serious triggering topics of suicide and sexual abuse. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Noel Comia Jr. is already a veteran in indie films even in his young age, and here he proved that he still had what it takes for the drama scenes, especially those with his mother (Dovee Park). Pretty and perky Nicole Omillo was a surprise winner of Best Supporting Actress even with her limited screen time. The five actors playing the BATB tended to play things just for laughs, not recovering even in the end when they were supposed to be more mature.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">One of the more remarkable awards Boys won was Best Story and Screenplay award for director, writer and star Raynier Brizuela. However, I felt that this screenplay just presented a lot of open threads, but none of them really had closure at the very end. Those who were waiting for the villain to get his due comeuppance will wait in vain. There was no satisfying sense of justice at all the very end. We don't even see Kevin's iPod ever again. 5/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-70845142646996197182024-03-17T21:18:00.004+08:002024-03-18T09:18:58.375+08:00Puregold: Review of PUSHCART TALES: Grounded at the Grocery<p><span style="font-family: arial;">March 17, 2024</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHMFgqp8DqcqoKmhTucmiwNeambQrGo6OHsdzwkS7cpq0WiRGgNUgixoogZ96HkHGakX9FNfG5TcDoTeXxdpAlFDkOBNrSpGlcBnK0GyuzdNknK6BQlaHPyaDEy9x1M51hvA-YV0LFN00mMry5dYvakYjQDdsoUlx-z6tFr5eC6rHV4H9iRUHsQBaBTP0/s1800/pushcart%20tales.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1440" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHMFgqp8DqcqoKmhTucmiwNeambQrGo6OHsdzwkS7cpq0WiRGgNUgixoogZ96HkHGakX9FNfG5TcDoTeXxdpAlFDkOBNrSpGlcBnK0GyuzdNknK6BQlaHPyaDEy9x1M51hvA-YV0LFN00mMry5dYvakYjQDdsoUlx-z6tFr5eC6rHV4H9iRUHsQBaBTP0/w320-h400/pushcart%20tales.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It was a very strong storm, and all the roads outside the grocery store were flooded such that no vehicles could pass. Store manager Jack (Nonie Buencamino) still had two employees in the store with him -- Sarah (Shamaine Buencamino) and Emily (Therese Malvar). There were still three customers trapped in with them -- aspiring filmmaker Ria (Elora Espano), bratty rich kid Ryan (Harvey Bautista) and elderly grouch Benjamin (Carlos Siguion-Reyna).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Their food and water supply was scarce from prior panic buying, and there was no electricity nor phone signal. Glass panes have been shattered and portions of the ceiling have caved in, which caused them to panic that this may be the last them of their lives. They decided to play a game, passing items to one another in a circle. When each of them got a certain item in hand, this would trigger memories of major events in their respective lives.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">When the first Puregold CinePanalo Awards were held last night, this film won several major awards -- Best Director for Sigrid Andrea Bernardo, Best Actress for Shamaine Buencamino, Best Actor for Carlos Siguion-Reyna, Best Ensemble, Best Sound Design, and Special Jury Prize. the acting was really the strongest suit of this film (all six main actors were nominated as leads)</span><span style="font-family: arial;">, and Bernardo did well shepherding them through the story she was telling.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This certainly looked like a very complicated film to do on what was presumably a limited time and a shoestring budget. The technical requirements of its production design and sound design (most deserving of its win) were formidable to make us feel the storm howling outside and show the violent effects of the strong wind and rain on store's infrastructure. That opening scene of zombies rising up of the debris also looked very difficult to execute. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">On bookend scenes of undead beings and calamitous disaster, Bernardo stitched on six episodes of melodrama dealing with a variety of family issues about infidelity, separation, LGBT, sacrifice and disease. After this, she then surprised us some more with her last minute twists that tied all the loose threads up neatly. I thought her complex script was a winner. Even with zombies in there, it still managed to live up to the positivity Puregold was going for. 8/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-85876281606717544582024-03-16T07:07:00.003+08:002024-03-16T07:07:49.433+08:00Vivamax: Mini-Reviews of KAPALIT, KALIKOT and MAPANUKSO<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">March 16, 2024</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNnBMvP6YVF2bIQuFwlrmtFaZZGWRFjCH_GMZX2osthI7CiLMHl_nPfFjmS558PNaVtbX2U8G2Rxd1E1Gj4tzeA3SaTOghhBij4X4VSipHjiIRXOfpKTJ1qkKx6IuJkNpQ03xSdJJSfRERTjOUI9TpUnJa2s9t6jBQpXgdBb9lnjP3Nrl-RdHcAsFu_zE/s960/kapalit.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="694" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNnBMvP6YVF2bIQuFwlrmtFaZZGWRFjCH_GMZX2osthI7CiLMHl_nPfFjmS558PNaVtbX2U8G2Rxd1E1Gj4tzeA3SaTOghhBij4X4VSipHjiIRXOfpKTJ1qkKx6IuJkNpQ03xSdJJSfRERTjOUI9TpUnJa2s9t6jBQpXgdBb9lnjP3Nrl-RdHcAsFu_zE/s320/kapalit.jpg" width="231" /></span></a></div><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>KAPALIT</b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Directed by Carlos Alvares</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Written by: Gelo Catamio, Maya Diaz</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Nurse Audrey (Cess Garcia) was fired from her job, following naughty shenanigans she did with her ne'er-do-well boyfriend Richard (Chad Alviar). The recruiting agency she relied on to work in Australia also turned out bogus. She got accepted as a caregiver of Demi (Rica Gonzales) who suffering from an unknown disease. Audrey admired Demi's husband, Dr. Stan Monasterio (Matt Francisco), for his dedication to his wife, his kindness and good looks.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Cess Garcia is a pretty lead actress, and had potential for dramatic scenes. However, the way her Audrey was written was quite haphazard. She wanted Dr. Stan for herself, but she also wanted to stay loyal to Ms. Demi. The reveal was not really surprising, no one that perfect could be true. Like he did in "Haliparot," Matt Francisco could convincingly portray decent-looking men hiding demons within. Chad Alviar had that roguish bad boy look and presence that Vivamax boys should exude. 6/10. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-o3B_PSmD0ULY4CIfvnxaKQXPgl2Zctx0DaHJGwRZI1FZ-BML4vxAOocz58Xi6PWm48jRLz2spQcgRw-fCVm8Pfmpwtveu2ypvOE3bWEoUJrNixcebEXqbN45QLdYYWjgs64T8_jr8BCdLFjfbcNDmvjEOGDXNzNxXz1I-ClHTcYdTNPj2M17OuarT-k/s1600/kalikot.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1066" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-o3B_PSmD0ULY4CIfvnxaKQXPgl2Zctx0DaHJGwRZI1FZ-BML4vxAOocz58Xi6PWm48jRLz2spQcgRw-fCVm8Pfmpwtveu2ypvOE3bWEoUJrNixcebEXqbN45QLdYYWjgs64T8_jr8BCdLFjfbcNDmvjEOGDXNzNxXz1I-ClHTcYdTNPj2M17OuarT-k/s320/kalikot.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></div><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>KALIKOT</b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director: </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Artemio Abad</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Writers: </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Roni Benaid, Nigel Santos</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Arnel (Van Allen Ong) was a budding auto mechanic moonlighting at the repair shop of his uncle BJ (Raul Montesa). Despite having a girlfriend Jenna (Arah Alonzo), Arnel could not help but fantasize about the sexy new neighbor who just moved in across the street, Sal (Shiela Snow). Nothing prepared Arnel for a big surprise when his new professor for his major subject Engineering Economics walked into the classroom. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The three main actors in this Vivamax short film (Ong, Alonzo and Snow) may be relatively new, but were actually quite natural in the acting department (that is, when they were not involved in sex scenes, which were practically happening one after the other).Van Allen Ong can give Gold Aceron a run for his money as Vivamax's go-to boyish loverboy-next-door. Arah Alonzo played Jenna with spunk. Shiela Snow was not really credible as an engineering professor, she could have tried harder to project intelligence on top of her sex appeal. 4/10. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0t2GqHTsgv4z6by1X_kB5Un8V0fl1JSvMes1m9OIG16fECIcmNES3Yqub6ZytT78xJ19LshFEAYM8JnZ_GFSQECnfiwZbLKLHhArUa3XuQOEnqAHaeVhV0q4cXTQick58uDDGNBzsn2_nvSOTyXIrv2r-8CHyTojSTOyKgCb2YCq7vTY2_NJkRYFsS0/s2048/mapanukso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0t2GqHTsgv4z6by1X_kB5Un8V0fl1JSvMes1m9OIG16fECIcmNES3Yqub6ZytT78xJ19LshFEAYM8JnZ_GFSQECnfiwZbLKLHhArUa3XuQOEnqAHaeVhV0q4cXTQick58uDDGNBzsn2_nvSOTyXIrv2r-8CHyTojSTOyKgCb2YCq7vTY2_NJkRYFsS0/s320/mapanukso.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></div><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>MAPANUKSO</b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Directed by Jose Abdel B. Langit</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Written by Quinn Carrillo</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In the private bar - nightclub of Madame E (Boobita) called The Den, rich female clientele were entertained by a group of male dancers. The current team were Carlo (Sean de Guzman), Primo (Marco Gomez), </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Jason (Calvin Reyes) and </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Benjie (Mon Mendoza). Aside from their dancing, they had their respective sugar mommies. One day, Carlo brought in </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Angelo (Itan Rosales), </span><span style="font-family: arial;">an 18-year old delivery boy who wanted a better way to earn tuition. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This was just another one of those Vivamax films about people who prostitute their bodies to earn money for themselves and their families. This time, the boys were the dancers and the women -- </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Tanya (Ataska), </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Abbie (Thia Ledesma), </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Anne (Apple Castro), </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Bianca (Tiffany Grey) and her aunt To</span><span style="font-family: arial;">nette (Panteen Palanca), </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Mica (Rica Gonzales) </span><span style="font-family: arial;">-- who were the sex-starved predators. There was nothing new with the cliched story, the lazy acting, and the predictable final turn into violence. 3/10. </span></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-25555154861994797262024-03-16T07:07:00.002+08:002024-03-16T07:07:40.724+08:00Vivamax: Mini-Reviews of SALISIHAN and EKS<p><span style="font-family: arial;">March 1, 2024</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNknGQc-85LIK1htWwBNn527vaVIKnUKhwA25-KZ0HLpMu3fg6ifImWiRCSRtK3mNubESuiM9-IafDAYHhBc02DSpbXu0GTuRD3VkSY9rdh-m1cG8wAkkhxpK-AJDN5g6oKbV2UwDLvWrrHGgxpyTBOTfn57asoOsC_mNRkDPFaCP0tpx5rgf98p3uSnw/s1080/salisihan.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNknGQc-85LIK1htWwBNn527vaVIKnUKhwA25-KZ0HLpMu3fg6ifImWiRCSRtK3mNubESuiM9-IafDAYHhBc02DSpbXu0GTuRD3VkSY9rdh-m1cG8wAkkhxpK-AJDN5g6oKbV2UwDLvWrrHGgxpyTBOTfn57asoOsC_mNRkDPFaCP0tpx5rgf98p3uSnw/s320/salisihan.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>SALISIHAN</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director: Iar Arondaing</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Anna (Zsara Laxamana) and her husband Dan (Chester Grecia) had long been trying to conceive a child, but in vain. One day, a young woman named Sophie (Amabella de Leon) went to their house asking him her partner Gab (Ralph Christian Engle) was with them. It turned out that Gab was the son Dan never knew he had, and he had gone into hiding since he found out that Sophie was pregnant. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director Iar Arondaing, head writer John Carlo Pacala and writer Rijel Reyes spun a neat little tale here of infidelity and karma, and a wickedly twisted, darkly comic ending. Of the two new sirens, Laxamana did show more promise in terms of her looks and drama skills, while wan and homely de Leon paled in comparison. With his mature mien, Grecia got to play a role much older than his actual age of 26. Engle, who was supposed to be Grecia's son, actually looked just about the same age as him. 6/10. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-HjxMVWlcpVEdTcQwV6CqKMhJRdqWqAs3rezuOkqlAS-O6Mtj05vSSUUdD0IzhfQsg_Z8WBcsVtCzDU_yQ7WdEoGHtGunRJEoiH3nqW8kwjEOjZZTiTsn_MFyoUyDA9ZLzd_AsPDz80PVMuNtM_4DQv5NVCSOrdSetp5AmgC3Qg1QRxjMzui86KDGPs/s1600/eks.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-HjxMVWlcpVEdTcQwV6CqKMhJRdqWqAs3rezuOkqlAS-O6Mtj05vSSUUdD0IzhfQsg_Z8WBcsVtCzDU_yQ7WdEoGHtGunRJEoiH3nqW8kwjEOjZZTiTsn_MFyoUyDA9ZLzd_AsPDz80PVMuNtM_4DQv5NVCSOrdSetp5AmgC3Qg1QRxjMzui86KDGPs/s320/eks.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></div><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>EKS</b></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Story and Screenplay by ER Astrologo<br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>EKSPRESIBO</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Directed by Roman Perez, Jr. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Ardo (Felix Roco) was an artist who made a living by selling his paintings on the roadsides. Sometimes he gets lucky with an art collector like Mrs. Nebres (Ayah Alfonso) passes by and brings him home for a private posing session. She would pay him not only for the paintings, but for his body as well. However, Ardo kept having visions of Lisa (Yen Durano), his love and his muse, who one day just upped and disappeared from their home. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Being directed by Roman Perez Jr. (with DOP Neil Derrick Bion), this film carried his signature visuals bathed in warm yellow sunlight, the sun beamed through windows</span><span style="font-family: arial;">. They had nice shots of the Bonifacio Monument as well. The business of selling art was interesting, but could have been explored more seriously. Felix Roco is a good actor, but again that awful wig he wore was very distracting. Durano (who was launched in Perez's "Litsoneras") was also good, but her part was very short. 5/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>EKSPERTO</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Directed by Omar Deroca</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Lara (Yen Durano) was a very popular sexy vlogger who had millions of followers. Her constant escort was gym rat Dex (Albie Casino), but she kept on turning down his proposals to be her boyfriend. Lara was quite the playgirl with a fetish for recording herself in action, as she had casual sex with mature business partners like Marcus (Chester Grecia) and Benj (RR Lopez), or 20 year-old resort employees like Ches (Gabriel Fernandez).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The story of this one felt a bit off-tangent in this artsy trilogy, unless you consider sexy vlogs as an art form. Director Omar Deroca tells it pretty straightforward, just scenes Lara having sex with Dex and other men, held together by a simple story of how she used sex to further her "businesses." Casino's portrayal of weak and whiny Dex was so annoying, especially being the veteran in the cast. You totally see why Lara did not want to commit to him. 3/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>EKSPERIMENTAL</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Directed by Sigrid Polon</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Lilak (Yen Durano) was a very popular visual artist, whose specialty was to make paper mache figurines of a woman's open legs showcasing her wide-open pudendum. Her current workshop aide was Gabo (Itan Rosales), who assisted her in more ways than one. One day, a Japanese-Filipino news reporter Aiko (Audrey Avila) visited her shop in Laguna, and requested for an in-depth interview about her artwork.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director Sigrid Polon captured the carefree bohemian spirit of artists in her latest work, and that was the most interesting aspect of this short film. I am not sure why her vulgar-looking paper-mache art was a big hit with the public, but I guess there is no arguing with popular taste when it comes to "art". Durano and Avila make a good match, but when it comes to Vivamax, their Sapphic pairing was hardly experimental anymore. 4/10</span></p><p> </p></div>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-18480628545379640152024-03-15T20:26:00.005+08:002024-03-16T07:18:49.401+08:00Puregold: Review of A LAB STORY: Quizbee Qualms<p><span style="font-family: arial;">March 15, 2024</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkoW7ec_dNiZxeu7gMVMvvsQJHHVj4A9j6IuuaCZyp9JCXyEVVHV9yk28MXWrH5PdoMZdOuuxafWPWpls-RtEmo-MlSyFT_kh34-ktvOcS9-nG1vcj7UIRTFOoP5HsZrM3P-ju0HMfHVocmHs4Mpay40QwwnSAKyhlXI3UwcMbV_CeqR8g12MOPrmPy4/s1600/a%20lab%20story.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1107" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkoW7ec_dNiZxeu7gMVMvvsQJHHVj4A9j6IuuaCZyp9JCXyEVVHV9yk28MXWrH5PdoMZdOuuxafWPWpls-RtEmo-MlSyFT_kh34-ktvOcS9-nG1vcj7UIRTFOoP5HsZrM3P-ju0HMfHVocmHs4Mpay40QwwnSAKyhlXI3UwcMbV_CeqR8g12MOPrmPy4/w276-h400/a%20lab%20story.jpg" width="276" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Pinky (Uzziel Delamide) was an Aeta teenager who had been chosen by the nuns to study at the Josephine Cojuangco Tech Voc high school. She was more obsessed with reading romance pocketbooks than her schoolwork. One day, their teacher Ma'am Kristine (Donna Cariaga) announced about the upcoming Agri-Quizbee. When the teacher said there was going to a "Lab" test, Pinky thought she said "Love" test and volunteered to join.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Her first meeting with her quizbee partner, an ambitious achiever Genesis (Potchi Angeles), was awkward, but they eventually got along. Knowing that this quiz could give him a scholarship he needed for college, he had committed to memory all the scientific names of tropical plants in the Philippines. A silent introvert, Genesis coped with stress by looking at slides of cells and microbes through the microscope. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The way writer-director Carlo Obispo wrote and told this story of high school life and puppy love in a most childlike and entertaining manner. This was such a fun watch as it can bring back a lot of high school memories, especially the silly (playing FLAMES with crush's name) or cheesy (the first girl you gave flowers to) ones. For me, I joined quiz-bees before, so I can relate with the tension during review prep and competition proper. (During the film, I was able to recognize Ulasimang Bato and still recalled its scientific name, haha!)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">True blue Aeta teenager Uzziel Delamide radiated such a winsome personality onscreen. Her being an Aeta enabled Obispo to address not only their traditional medicinal herbs, but also serious problems Aetas have because of their elders' illiteracy. She and Potchi Angeles may be acting neophytes, but they carried the story very well, even generating romantic thrills when they would do something cute together. To keep things interesting, Obispo introduced a pretty, brainy classmate Lovely (Barbara Miguel) midway to throw in a wrench. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">As Pinky's class adviser Ms. Kristine Mangrobang, Donna Cariaga was so lovable with her faulty choice of English words and her interchanging consonant sounds. (I know this may not look good for</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> public school teachers, but it was cute and in the spirit of fun.) In fact, the louder hoots of romantic thrills were heard in scenes of Ms. Kristine with her good-looking co-teacher Mr. Kurt Dalang (Ely Cellan). One delightful scene between Cariaga and Cellan was ripped right out of a K-drama which sent the entire audience howling with glee. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This is one of the six feature films included in the newly-launched Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival, running at Gateway Cineplex from April 15-19, 2024. With the festival theme of "Mga Kuwentong Panalo ng Buhay," we are expecting films with positive messages. Festival director Chris Cahilig had said in a statement that "CinePanalo aims to leave audiences with a warm fuzzy feeling," and, true to his word, "A Lab Story" did exact that. 8/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-53217701057255270842024-03-14T20:26:00.006+08:002024-03-15T07:17:50.642+08:00Review of 3 DAYS 2 NIGHTS IN POBLACION: Floundering Friendship<p><span style="font-family: arial;">March 14, 2024</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEvJkKX6mCjlZfji__04aKMXFzcn7xvnPof6BN623V4PdWsUntXuvWm4yOD6UXxTS85Rg26xZbNZimUbjLRYTj8gkZH1Ishl4vKkzdkx-kCW9orYd1LzqHZ1-Kj5pPhSuDOfAMaQCy9JTAt8p9Xkb-ksCUS4zfpFlLA495nVnBKqQ6GbFYHfcpDbxkDE/s1024/poblacion.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="691" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEvJkKX6mCjlZfji__04aKMXFzcn7xvnPof6BN623V4PdWsUntXuvWm4yOD6UXxTS85Rg26xZbNZimUbjLRYTj8gkZH1Ishl4vKkzdkx-kCW9orYd1LzqHZ1-Kj5pPhSuDOfAMaQCy9JTAt8p9Xkb-ksCUS4zfpFlLA495nVnBKqQ6GbFYHfcpDbxkDE/w270-h400/poblacion.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Gabbi (Jasmine Curtis-Smith) and Charlie (Barbie Imperial) were best friends and constant partners in school activities when they were in high school. They had not seen each other since Charlie left their hometown in province to study in Manila. Five years later, Gabbi </span><span style="font-family: arial;">was about to leave the country to work in Canada. She set up a reunion with Charlie to paint the town red in Poblacion, the red light district in Makati City. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Circumstances made it possible for the two friends to spend three days and two nights roam, drink and party all around Poblacion. The two girls were having a great until they met Javi (JM de Guzman), on whom Gabbi had a crush on since their school days. It turned out that Charlie and Javi were keeping a secret between themselves which they were not about to reveal to Gabbi. But of course, no secret could be kept forever. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Jasmine Curtis-Smith and Barbie Imperial did try their best. However, they not only felt miscast in their respective roles, they also did not look very good with unflattering make-up, outfits and cinematography. JM de Guzman looked too old to be their classmate and root of conflict, Javi. Kakai Bautista again stole scenes with her wild antics, as wacky Tita Cion. Drag queens led by Lady Morgana were in the cast, but were sorely underused. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This film told a story about a dear friendship facing a grave threat to its continued existence. Despite the fact that the focus of the film was about a friendship between two young women, it was made by men -- written by Jules Katanyag and directed by RC delos Reyes. I am not sure that they got the dynamics of this relationship correctly. The way the story was written and told, there was no sincerity felt whatsoever between Gabbi and Charlie.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I guess they were of the thinking that to be "entertaining" to the Gen Z, everything had to be loud and obnoxious. It's probably meant to be immersive, but I am clearly not the demographic targeted by this film. As a parent of Gen Z kids, it was disturbing to see educated young ladies drinking so much alcohol and indulging in such scandalous activities when they are out with "friends" in Poblacion. This film should be rated R-16 instead of R-13. 2/10. </span></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-2566933631969218612024-03-07T21:44:00.005+08:002024-03-08T10:01:46.409+08:00Review of THE COLOR PURPLE (2023): Emancipation from Exploitation<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> March 7, 2024</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNkejV7JYz7EHgFEnU3XgdOLltPhb-IctxeMtHwc6vJS2lLUbXl0W178x6xA3MhOx3BkOIYojUXuHZovNBZkxqivQeqQl-3Fh6EG_Xvs_I3I27sXNTLnlz6-YNJjSp_DZ6qO6vFvMqU33FQCQNYP_E9Dh7C-nIhpeWLw3jtp6PC01Fom0aKCevtArzQw0/s755/color%20purple%202023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="509" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNkejV7JYz7EHgFEnU3XgdOLltPhb-IctxeMtHwc6vJS2lLUbXl0W178x6xA3MhOx3BkOIYojUXuHZovNBZkxqivQeqQl-3Fh6EG_Xvs_I3I27sXNTLnlz6-YNJjSp_DZ6qO6vFvMqU33FQCQNYP_E9Dh7C-nIhpeWLw3jtp6PC01Fom0aKCevtArzQw0/w270-h400/color%20purple%202023.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">As teenagers, homely Celie (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) and her prettier sister Nettie (Halle Bailey) were the best of friends. Celie was being sexually-abused repeatedly by their father Alfonso Harris (Deon Cole). She had already giving birth to two babies, who were both given away right after they were born. Alfonso then made Celie marry a ne'er-do-well who called himself Mister (Colman Domingo), who inflicted physical abuse on her. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Eight years later, Mister's eldest son Harpo (Corey Hawkins) announced that he wanted to marry a tough woman named Sofia (Danielle Brooks). Celie (Fantasia Barrino) was fascinated by Sofia's strength of character and bold defiance of men, and they became close friends. Popular jazz singer Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson) came to perform in Harpo's saloon, and she also became close friends with Celie, despite being Mister's mistress.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">"The Color Purple" was first a book written by Alice Walker in 1982. In 1985, it was adapted into an acclaimed film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey and Margaret Avery. In 2005, a Broadway musical version debuted, with music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray, and a book by Marsha Norman. This new film was based on the Broadway version of the story, with its songs.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Despite its success in the Tony Awards (11 nominations and 1 win for the 2005 original, and 4 nominations and 2 wins for the 2015 revival), there was no new song which were particularly memorable. In the film, the song numbers felt incidentally inserted, like singing at church ("Mysterious Ways") or while building a house ("Workin'"). These song numbers tended to stall the flow of the storytelling, instead of helping it go forward. It's always welcome to hear Shug sing "Miss Celie's Blues (Sister)" again though.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Aside from their melodramatic moments, the main triumvirate all sang the heck out of their songs. Brooks had "Hell No!" Henson had "Push Da Button." Barrino had "I'm Here." Together, they had a colorful upbeat "Miss Celie's Pants," and an epiphanic finale "The Color Purple." Presented as a musical, the story felt sanitized despite the dark subject matter. Female empowerment was main message, but a lesbian subtext was also implied. 7/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-45568274189944985572024-03-07T11:33:00.004+08:002024-03-07T13:37:36.157+08:00Review of A GLIMPSE OF FOREVER: Psychological Pressures<p><span style="font-family: arial;">March 6, 2024</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdkHRJMH_8i7-U_HqmwRdCAq_iOoRuIcJwTu2fbWIBnD3MabL-3kfdCxl1ZXu_aBV4qa4eY78uPoerB7HnSmygPhzsYxEJfxkbGf-nZ7aVGwXUZw3OhQgveFuu5VF6CMU80Cwyx91o5szvk7Qjls4DgxBO0fqH-TLm15Yd5lt9GCAEem83egA2PGKee1g/s2048/a%20glimpse%20of%20forever.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1636" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdkHRJMH_8i7-U_HqmwRdCAq_iOoRuIcJwTu2fbWIBnD3MabL-3kfdCxl1ZXu_aBV4qa4eY78uPoerB7HnSmygPhzsYxEJfxkbGf-nZ7aVGwXUZw3OhQgveFuu5VF6CMU80Cwyx91o5szvk7Qjls4DgxBO0fqH-TLm15Yd5lt9GCAEem83egA2PGKee1g/w320-h400/a%20glimpse%20of%20forever.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Because he had to take a three-month leave owing to a fractured arm, Charles (TJ Valderrama) requested his bosses at ForeVR -- Ligaya (Andrea del Rosario), Frida (Marion Aunor) and Trini (Marnie Lapus) -- to hire his sister's best friend Dante (Jerome Ponce) to cover for him at work. Despite his Social Anxiety Disorder, Dante proved to be very good at his job as a Mumu -- a motion-capture artist portraying the virtual men of ForeVR.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">ForeVR offered their female clientele four different male stereotypes to tickle their fantasies -- the bad boy Zach (PJ Rosario), the fancy guy Misha (Keann Johnson), the workman Luis (Massimo Scofield), and the gigolo Kenji (Thor Gomez). One day, Glenda (Jasmin Curtis-Smith) walked into ForeVR asking one of their former choices which was now put on hold, the boy next door Kokoy (Diego Loyzaga). Dante was assigned to be the Mumu to voice him. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A central aspect of this film was Dante's Social Anxiety Disorder, and the success of this film depended on the accuracy of how this disorder was portrayed. Dante Dimla had always been afraid that everyone was judging him, causing extreme anxiety. However, can simply wearing a surgical mask really help him to face others? How can he be so confident in portraying men of the world when he did not have any personal experience of these interactions with women? Is the effect of Propranolol shown onscreen for this anxiety disorder realistic?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Writer-director Jason Paul Laxamana had tackled a sci-fi theme before in "Instalado" (2017), about education via direct uploading of information in people's brains. This one does have a futuristic vibe to it given the high-tech gadgetry, but this one seems more doable, if not already existent in some form somewhere around the world. He showed here how people with serious mental health issues tend to use technology to cope with their perceived shortcomings.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Curtis-Smith's Glenda was frustrated because she was losing connection with the man she loved. The real person behind Loyzaga's Kokoy was so obsessed with showering his lady love with riches, he didn't realize he was pushing her away. Dante gave Jerome Ponce a showcase for his versatility, and he gave it his A-game without melodramatic excess. He had to shift roles among the five ForeVR avatars, as well as Dante's own demons given his debilitating psychiatric disorder, plus the massive guilt feelings weighing him further down. 6/10. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-33456565025982763342024-03-05T22:41:00.000+08:002024-03-05T22:41:02.565+08:00Ranking This Year's OSCAR BEST PICTURE NOMINEES (2024) & MY OSCAR BETS<p><span style="font-family: arial;">March 3, 2024</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">With the Oscar Awards coming on March 11, 2024, Monday morning (Manila time) live streaming on the Disney+ app, it is time for me now to make my fearless Oscar predictions. <span> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">(My Oscar predictions of previous years were posted on these links: <a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2023/03/ranking-this-years-oscar-best-picture.html" target="_blank"><b>2023</b></a>, <a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2022/03/ranking-this-years-oscar-best-picture.html"><b>2022</b></a>, <a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2021/04/ranking-this-years-oscar-best-picture.html"><b>2021</b></a>, </span><a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2020/02/ranking-this-years-oscar-best-picture.html" style="font-family: arial;"><b>2020</b></a><span style="font-family: arial;">, </span><a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2019/02/ranking-this-years-oscar-best-picture.html" style="font-family: arial;"><b>2019</b></a><span style="font-family: arial;">, </span><a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2018/03/ranking-this-years-oscar-best-picture.html" style="font-family: arial;"><b>2018</b></a><span style="font-family: arial;">, </span><a href="http://said-fred.blogspot.com/2017/02/how-i-would-rank-this-years-oscar-best.html" style="font-family: arial;"><b>2017</b></a><span style="font-family: arial;">, </span><a href="http://said-fred.blogspot.com/2016/02/how-i-would-rank-this-years-oscar-best.html" style="font-family: arial;"><b>2016</b></a><span style="font-family: arial;">, </span><a href="http://said-fred.blogspot.com/2015/02/how-i-would-rank-this-years-oscar-best.html" style="font-family: arial;"><b>2015</b></a><span style="font-family: arial;">, </span><a href="http://said-fred.blogspot.com/2014/02/how-i-would-rank-this-years-oscar-best.html" style="font-family: arial;"><b>2014</b></a><span style="font-family: arial;">, </span><a href="http://said-fred.blogspot.com/2013/01/i-rank-this-years-best-picture-nominees.html" style="font-family: arial;"><b>2013</b></a><span style="font-family: arial;">).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here is how I would rank this year's 10 nominees for Oscar Best Picture based on my own personal opinions when I first saw them (not based on probability that I think they will win):</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSK3j2NbUL8Yob8O81bUyN4UiKuVpYk5qxRhnGaGQp3JzhGu3Vp4mZLF9_EVpJWhc-G09NjhtSwi7GXZCNye2F1mwkmK1yTD589oTX0kmKiwd187998O-b4-B7XzkVkMcAaNUsZwLmWm77i0U56hfd71aMI8QP0s3fD8NaRn1u0WWIwJqdbA-2KAz6abQ/s1500/oppenheimer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="947" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSK3j2NbUL8Yob8O81bUyN4UiKuVpYk5qxRhnGaGQp3JzhGu3Vp4mZLF9_EVpJWhc-G09NjhtSwi7GXZCNye2F1mwkmK1yTD589oTX0kmKiwd187998O-b4-B7XzkVkMcAaNUsZwLmWm77i0U56hfd71aMI8QP0s3fD8NaRn1u0WWIwJqdbA-2KAz6abQ/w202-h320/oppenheimer.jpg" width="202" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b>1. OPPENHEIMER </b></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">(<a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2023/07/review-of-oppenheimer-prometheus.html" target="_blank">MY FULL REVIEW</a>) </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director: Christopher Nolan</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominations (13): Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing, Costume Design, Production Design, Original Score, Sound, Makeup & Hairstyling</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Being a Christopher Nolan work, this was far from a typical biopic. So like other Nolan films, the audience needs to pay close attention because every little detail -- words, images, color, sounds -- mattered. It had multiple characters (scientists, communists, military men, lawyers, and politicians) in events which were not told in chronological order. For those who do not know the history, there was even a twist that Nolan springs on the 11th hour. 10/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOqItMOl18LtGfPVLla-yJBC9sZgPHtPIl70L0TZ_K7JNbIfZaqKSCRnmF43bhzrGBbH2tW7sU4KhZg52-fVXvcB2cPBKSKNdIPet3RB8Kvp6NZmgZ__Eg0-hldK6xq3fkYaQ7lSGGRRBYx5dzBeDcjbNhA2HAOkLtWBq_uUowxNXEzzus-MlUsUjo8M/s1440/past%20lives.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="972" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOqItMOl18LtGfPVLla-yJBC9sZgPHtPIl70L0TZ_K7JNbIfZaqKSCRnmF43bhzrGBbH2tW7sU4KhZg52-fVXvcB2cPBKSKNdIPet3RB8Kvp6NZmgZ__Eg0-hldK6xq3fkYaQ7lSGGRRBYx5dzBeDcjbNhA2HAOkLtWBq_uUowxNXEzzus-MlUsUjo8M/w135-h200/past%20lives.jpg" width="135" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b>2. PAST LIVES </b></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">(<a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2023/08/review-of-past-lives-instilled-on-inyeon.html" target="_blank">MY FULL REVIEW</a>) </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director: Celine Song</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominations (2): Picture, Original Screenplay</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There was that chemistry between lead actors Greta Lee and Teo Yoo which made you want to root for Na Young and Hae Sung's friendship to go up the next level. However, John Magaro played the unenviable role of the man who, through no fault of his own, stood in their way. Because of the elegantly understated mood Song built up, these actors only had their facial expressions and vocal inflections to reflect the nuances of their characters. 9/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhON6kVNjYf7R_42zbe1bsr_3-AxDzL_AM2QvdYSl062xzFkus0RxE0ot2ukcrDp3vNbvZQML9njXr7c9ebVQ4ETsoQ62akQbjlt7vsepqiwUSe8fz202snZhtHrZfcoUhb-bEBRgNZr2iklzXE7izjnZ4onAvlia4f_kIjmt3qDthbsvXwXXZpRWxQ0LE/s2000/poor%20things.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1350" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhON6kVNjYf7R_42zbe1bsr_3-AxDzL_AM2QvdYSl062xzFkus0RxE0ot2ukcrDp3vNbvZQML9njXr7c9ebVQ4ETsoQ62akQbjlt7vsepqiwUSe8fz202snZhtHrZfcoUhb-bEBRgNZr2iklzXE7izjnZ4onAvlia4f_kIjmt3qDthbsvXwXXZpRWxQ0LE/w135-h200/poor%20things.jpg" width="135" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b>3. POOR THINGS </b></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">(<a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2023/11/qcinema2023-review-of-poor-things.html" target="_blank">MY FULL REVIEW</a>) </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director: Yorgos Lanthimos</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominations (11): Picture, Director, Actress, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing, Costume Design, Production Design, Original Score, Makeup & Hairstyling</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Because of its out-of-this-world topic and out-of-the-box execution, this film looked and felt too weird, likely not to fit everyone's taste or sense of humor. However, there would be no arguments for the merits of its technical aspects -- lively shifting cinematography by Robbie Ryan, 19th century steam-punk production design by Shona Heath and the Victorian haute couture by costume designer Holly Waddington. 8/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAp2DQho-0Ge7qlCc1YfPqay1VPI7sWLc8Y8jQtvk_bHIG5z0rI1X0fhcLDqYFSL6uK6BgFgfqwaehyphenhyphen3ZF4So0Zi0J7EaY2C3YE5pAd0ANMGKhc0cnlf4ZC23e5J19eEq5xdLi8uW3ByOlP2R_27z4OUGzAsQLt1yVMLC009wLQhqBWSoVrQglUe3UWC0/s1500/anatomy%20of%20a%20fall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1023" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAp2DQho-0Ge7qlCc1YfPqay1VPI7sWLc8Y8jQtvk_bHIG5z0rI1X0fhcLDqYFSL6uK6BgFgfqwaehyphenhyphen3ZF4So0Zi0J7EaY2C3YE5pAd0ANMGKhc0cnlf4ZC23e5J19eEq5xdLi8uW3ByOlP2R_27z4OUGzAsQLt1yVMLC009wLQhqBWSoVrQglUe3UWC0/w136-h200/anatomy%20of%20a%20fall.jpg" width="136" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b>4. </b></span></span><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>ANATOMY OF A FALL </b></span><span style="font-family: arial;">(<a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2024/02/review-of-anatomy-of-fall-skeptical.html" target="_blank">MY FULL REVIEW</a>) </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director: Justine Triet</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominations (5): Picture, Director, Actress, Original Screenplay, Film Editing</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Justine Triet made sure that audiences would make feel Sandra's vexation (or anger) towards her husband at that point in time. The very loud playing of Bacao Rhythm and Steel Bars' cover of 50 Cent's "P.I.M.P." was purposefully done to get on one's nerves. This raucous music also put the accuracy of Daniel's testimony in question, as, however sharp his hearing was, he may well have not accurately heard what his parents were talking about before he left. 8/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy8yI2mx9pQZbwcGO6eGskiHUDH0Euy5P1tAz0kV9a1mq9CMKyh_ZSRuuIlI3UuRhcmXFEmtHbEkzhxRWuhaWvV2aj1z_51Dv6xnO74gNXDelx9u-cQgAbxkZE9Faw70usGfFk5_eHT11GVoxnze6Wzo-1TEOusU1wGHdaRSlcyctH-HfRKD2T_dD9YGE/s1350/killers%20of%20the%20flower%20moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy8yI2mx9pQZbwcGO6eGskiHUDH0Euy5P1tAz0kV9a1mq9CMKyh_ZSRuuIlI3UuRhcmXFEmtHbEkzhxRWuhaWvV2aj1z_51Dv6xnO74gNXDelx9u-cQgAbxkZE9Faw70usGfFk5_eHT11GVoxnze6Wzo-1TEOusU1wGHdaRSlcyctH-HfRKD2T_dD9YGE/w160-h200/killers%20of%20the%20flower%20moon.jpg" width="160" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b>5. KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON </b></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">(<a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2023/10/review-of-killers-of-flower-moon-ordeal.html" target="_blank">MY FULL REVIEW</a>) </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director: Martin Scorsese</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominations (10): Picture, Director, Actress, Supporting Actor, Cinematography, Film Editing, Costume Design, Production Design, Original Score, Original Song</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Now at age 80, Martin Scorsese can really tell a complex multilayered story about true-to-life racial abuse. He led a formidable artistic team to achieve his epic vision --cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, editor Thelma Schoonmaker, musician Robbie Robertson -- all of whom are sure shots for Oscar nominations. It took 3-1/2 hours to tell because he wanted to immerse us in the rich Osage culture before laying out the reprehensible crimes committed against them. 8/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF6tGkRXkeDo7pXS-J8qq3xc7jdDyZDXLE57xdkzkw5D2oo1-z0HsKllPeSl1IUDVNmJwdQsk-RiwWpnJkRELxq9ISKXd5x5UxXLbIy7vBvaCN1BgQgoCSok04Bl56sjx7USr-yy6H9Ugm_-TvzW8U5hdHngK0aCavDi-nyFKowgQqB73ehIFsUa-Cne4/s1280/holdovers%20fil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF6tGkRXkeDo7pXS-J8qq3xc7jdDyZDXLE57xdkzkw5D2oo1-z0HsKllPeSl1IUDVNmJwdQsk-RiwWpnJkRELxq9ISKXd5x5UxXLbIy7vBvaCN1BgQgoCSok04Bl56sjx7USr-yy6H9Ugm_-TvzW8U5hdHngK0aCavDi-nyFKowgQqB73ehIFsUa-Cne4/w160-h200/holdovers%20fil.jpg" width="160" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b>6. THE HOLDOVERS </b></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">(<a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2024/02/review-of-holdovers-perceiving-professor.html" target="_blank">MY FULL REVIEW</a>) </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director: Alexander Payne</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominations (5): Picture, Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay, Film Editing</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It is hard to believe that Paul Giamatti had only earned one Oscar nomination before, and no it was not for "Sideways," but a supporting nod for "Cinderella Man" (2006). His nomination (and possible win) now for "The Holdovers" is well deserved because only Giamatti could have played this wall-eyed, cantankerous grouch Paul Hunham, and make him actually lovable despite his obvious character flaws. 8/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZt0DoVikdf_47qTjjMOgZ808VxG7KUcaUZXi1CMwR670wNeNHMzYgr2yvLbqxzPkxG43z8QD0sfZ2fqkJS72AcVNYNwjl_Qp-w0Lv8-KlqlwUbjkkHnP_FIUv3G_IUhkVTzCX3K3nK0X68ddUI0Hd9MjbkkCWzbikZxqIopUrStKXIgX9i4wDHcw50Y/s1500/zone%20of%20interest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZt0DoVikdf_47qTjjMOgZ808VxG7KUcaUZXi1CMwR670wNeNHMzYgr2yvLbqxzPkxG43z8QD0sfZ2fqkJS72AcVNYNwjl_Qp-w0Lv8-KlqlwUbjkkHnP_FIUv3G_IUhkVTzCX3K3nK0X68ddUI0Hd9MjbkkCWzbikZxqIopUrStKXIgX9i4wDHcw50Y/w133-h200/zone%20of%20interest.jpg" width="133" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b>7. ZONE OF INTEREST </b></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">(<a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2024/02/review-of-zone-of-interest-ironic-idylls.html" target="_blank">MY FULL REVIEW</a>) </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director: Jonathan Glazer</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominations (5): Picture, Director, International Film, Adapted Screenplay, Sound</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This film had practically no plot. All we saw were mundane scenes of daily family life, all going on unmindful of the atrocities outside. Glazer only wanted us to see and feel the life of a Nazi officer and butcher at home. He was just like any other father who ate dinner with his family and told his kids bedtime stories. But then, we knew this was not a normal family. We knew where that mink coat and those gold teeth came from. The irony was not lost on us. 8/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQGu_OXVJN-Jj2WlrWIKWowDOv0iNxA79uumbvnCmyle2InXK2kgxykdT1psM6FdPQCHYEEn4jQZat9qz4YqB43En7HE3CvWU3swvIpD9-PqMHMS6vE-YI_P23j24G8vNqLOSW4dVqNf7lSo70PolFq7znsN3qlMYDKHcR87BqZ_QFCVIwSOHkd4sYmA/s1500/maestro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="934" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQGu_OXVJN-Jj2WlrWIKWowDOv0iNxA79uumbvnCmyle2InXK2kgxykdT1psM6FdPQCHYEEn4jQZat9qz4YqB43En7HE3CvWU3swvIpD9-PqMHMS6vE-YI_P23j24G8vNqLOSW4dVqNf7lSo70PolFq7znsN3qlMYDKHcR87BqZ_QFCVIwSOHkd4sYmA/w124-h200/maestro.jpg" width="124" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b>8. MAESTRO </b></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">(<a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2023/12/netflix-review-of-maestro-bradley.html" target="_blank">MY FULL REVIEW</a>) </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director: Bradley Cooper</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominations (7): Picture, Actor, Actress, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Sound, Makeup and Hairstyling</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Bradley Cooper was not only lead star, but also director, producer (together with Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg), and co-writer (with Josh Singer, Oscar-winning writer of "Spotlight"). In only his second feature film after "A Star is Born" (2019), Cooper displayed remarkable artistic growth in his directorial style. With cinematographer Matthew Libatique and editor Michelle Tesoro (Fil-Ams both!), his scene transitions were seamlessly poetic. 8/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYE-4dD9sJ2pYy_v0tv9JqR7CeuncyY2OglbX0Ys7PS2hk65xuLBMBVnxB2AOLRA5udrRRMt0OFtcZtc4VinWNxxFYI81rZjlADgDmqnSY553IzB_vXRxZ_43auQJQyv1vOGR3bK0LnSARaUDk83RTlJEJp_ugtkZKG2hZKJsgBfOG1wcOLpZDFcbxT8/s1500/barbie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1039" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYE-4dD9sJ2pYy_v0tv9JqR7CeuncyY2OglbX0Ys7PS2hk65xuLBMBVnxB2AOLRA5udrRRMt0OFtcZtc4VinWNxxFYI81rZjlADgDmqnSY553IzB_vXRxZ_43auQJQyv1vOGR3bK0LnSARaUDk83RTlJEJp_ugtkZKG2hZKJsgBfOG1wcOLpZDFcbxT8/w139-h200/barbie.jpg" width="139" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b>9. </b></span></span><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>BARBIE </b></span><span style="font-family: arial;">(<a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2023/07/review-of-barbie-feministic-fervor.html" target="_blank">MY FULL REVIEW</a>) </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director: Greta Gerwig</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominations (8): Picture, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Original Song (2), Costume Design, Production Design</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The screenplay by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach told a story which was likely furthest from the shallow childish plot most viewers were expecting. At the beginning, everything was all fun and games, but when Barbie suddenly became self-aware at that party, the story was just beginning to get much deeper than what the trailer would make you believe. The message of sexual politics was serious, but director Gerwig maintained the delightful absurdity and over-the-top foolishness both in Barbieland and the Real World. 7/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhecTtwf36UiJVHzk_2XVnB73T5xcOq7xUUMo1fUTYOhw6rLokW1Nrmffbo5fsyP_LuDR1hmhSAzWetGAH_rQoZWm4hqF1if-GPeODINl0OKyNrFxifxg8W5zL1Y1FJ5BAItsZxJMtBdR7d6nuH2Dahl08FfcJ5xaC9jBrcbYn4XZwnDjZK68ot-p0t2eQ/s1500/american%20fiction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1013" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhecTtwf36UiJVHzk_2XVnB73T5xcOq7xUUMo1fUTYOhw6rLokW1Nrmffbo5fsyP_LuDR1hmhSAzWetGAH_rQoZWm4hqF1if-GPeODINl0OKyNrFxifxg8W5zL1Y1FJ5BAItsZxJMtBdR7d6nuH2Dahl08FfcJ5xaC9jBrcbYn4XZwnDjZK68ot-p0t2eQ/w135-h200/american%20fiction.jpg" width="135" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b>10. AMERICAN FICTION </b></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">(<a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2024/02/review-of-american-fiction-author.html" target="_blank">MY FULL REVIEW</a>) </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director: Cord Jefferson</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominations (5): Picture, Actor, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Original Score</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director Cord Jefferson's script was the clear star of this film, so sharp and so witty. He had adapted the 2001 novel entitled "Erasure" by Percival Ellis. This was an experimental work where Ellis embeds the whole offensive text of Monk's fictional book "My Pafology" (later retitled as "F**k") within his own novel. Jefferson followed the same distinctive style to fascinating effect as the film arrived at its conclusion in a number of alternative ways. 7/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">***** My bets to win for each of each categories:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST PICTURE: OPPENHEIMER</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: American Fiction, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Anatomy of a Fall, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Barbie, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The Holdovers, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Killers of the Flower Moon, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Maestro, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Past Lives, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Poor Things, The </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Zone of Interest</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Nominees: Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall), Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon), Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things), Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Nominees: Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Colman Domingo (Rustin), Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers), Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: Annette Bening (Nyad), </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Carey Mulligan (Maestro), Emma </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Stone (Poor Things)</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer)</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: Sterling K. Brown (American Fiction), </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Robert De Niro (Killers of the Flower Moon), </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Ryan Gosling (Barbie), </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things)</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Nominees: Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer), Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple), America Ferrera (Barbie), Jodie Foster (Nyad)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: The Boy and the Heron, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Elemental, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Nimona, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Robot Dreams</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM: </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The Zone of Interest, United Kingdom</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: The Teachers’ Lounge (Germany), </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Io Capitano (Italy), </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Perfect Days (Japan), </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Society of the Snow (Spain)</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Past Lives</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: Anatomy of a Fall, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The Holdovers, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Maestro, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">May December</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: American Fiction</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: Barbie, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Oppenheimer,</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Poor Things, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The Zone of Interest</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> Killers of the Flower Moon</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: American Fiction, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Oppenheimer, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Poor Things</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST ORIGINAL SONG: “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: “The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">“I’m Just Ken” from Barbie, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">“It Never Went Away” from American Symphony, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">“Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” Killers of the Flower Moon</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST FILM EDITING: Oppenheimer</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: Anatomy of a Fall, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The Holdovers, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Killers of the Flower Moon, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Poor Things</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Oppenheimer</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: El Conde, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Killers of the Flower Moon, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Maestro, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Poor Things</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Godzilla Minus One</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: The Creator, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Napoleon</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST SOUND: The Zone of Interest</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: The Creator, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Maestro, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Oppenheimer</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Poor Things</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: Barbie, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Killers of the Flower Moon, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Napoleon, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Oppenheimer</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Barbie</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: Killers of the Flower Moon, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Napoleon, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Oppenheimer, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Poor Things</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING: Maestro</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: Golda, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Oppenheimer, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Poor Things, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Society of the Snow</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM: 20 Days in Mariupol</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: Bobi Wine: The People’s President, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The Eternal Memory, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Four Daughters, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">To Kill a Tiger</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST ANIMATED SHORT: War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: Letter to a Pig, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Ninety-Five Senses, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Our Uniform, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Pachyderme</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM: Red, White and Blue</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: The After, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Invincible, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Knight of Fortune, </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT: The Last Repair Shop</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nominees: The ABCs of Book Banning, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The Barber of Little Rock, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Island In Between, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó</span></span></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-54899359044707113842024-03-04T21:42:00.003+08:002024-03-06T08:21:10.723+08:00Review of KUNG FU PANDA 4: Serving Shenanigans and Sense<p><span style="font-family: arial;">March 5, 2024</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgajZTBWEMjupWDqaLn3SM4xGIE06LAqdFopi_GlQ77bIBJY3QSogllpqbnz2Qp0gZZi_mwNwDj6uuEUw7Zmssf8515CIPqbJEeGHICVOdsOm0HS8q4rzfuYgd4FYUZ7kvrA2yQji49EQXgaRILmNqQQF9X__DtmdmBZ55JTTZCWRwKG45KOb-Z2Dbhk58/s1500/kung%20fu%20panda%204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="947" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgajZTBWEMjupWDqaLn3SM4xGIE06LAqdFopi_GlQ77bIBJY3QSogllpqbnz2Qp0gZZi_mwNwDj6uuEUw7Zmssf8515CIPqbJEeGHICVOdsOm0HS8q4rzfuYgd4FYUZ7kvrA2yQji49EQXgaRILmNqQQF9X__DtmdmBZ55JTTZCWRwKG45KOb-Z2Dbhk58/w253-h400/kung%20fu%20panda%204.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) told Po (Jack Black) that time had come for him to choose his successor as the new Dragon Warrior. It was time for Po to step into role vacated by the late Master Oogway, as the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. Since he was still enjoying the celebrity status of being the Dragon Warrior, Po did not think he was ready to give that up yet. They began auditioning likely candidates, only for Po to reject them. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">One day, Po encountered a thief stealing ancient weapons at the Jade Palace. She was a fox named Zhen (Awkwafina), whom he defeated and brought to justice. She told him about a new threat -- a reptilian shapeshifting foe called "The Chameleon" (Viola Davis). This evil creature recently took on the form of Po's old foe Tai Lung (Ian McShane) to terrorize local miners. Zhen volunteered to go with Po to fight this powerful new enemy. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The "Kung Fu Panda" franchise began in 2008 with the first film which introduced us to the clumsy panda Po, his goose adopted father Ping (James Hong) and the Furious Five kung-fu masters (who all did not join this newest adventure). Being a big box-office success, it was followed by two sequels, first in 2011, when Po fought his peacock nemesis Shen; and another one in 2016, when Po met his biological panda father Li Shan (Bryan Cranston). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">All the Po witticisms and shenanigans we have come to expect through the years are still here. Jack Black surely knew how to deliver the goods fans have loved throughout the years, and the rolicking laughter of kids and parents alike throughout the screening is proof of that. The veteran actors voicing the elder characters -- Dustin Hoffman, Bryan Cranston, and 95 year-old James Hong -- were all still in touch with their inner kids.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I did not immediately pick up Awkwafina's voice as Zhen, as it did not seem to have her signature rasp. Viola Davis's turn as the Chameleon dripped with sinister greed, as her character overcompensates for her lack of kungfu skills. Ke Huy Quan had a minor but funny turn as Han, the pangolin head of the thieves. Ian McShane's voice as the snow leopard Tai Lung was as chilling as ever, yet this time, also a touch of pathos. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The comedy sequences were hilarious and kid-friendly, more of what the franchise has always been beloved for. Again the highlights were really those major action set pieces -- all executed with frenetic speed and neatness in the rendering. The highlight would be that spectacular parade of past baddies (aside from Tai Lung, there's white peacock Shen, among others) back from the Spirit Realm. As a final bonus, Jack Black's rendition of "Baby One More Time" at the end really rocked. 7/10</span></p><p><br /></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-71027424128981749672024-02-28T22:52:00.001+08:002024-02-28T22:52:29.637+08:00Review of AFTER ALL: Reincarnation Rambling<p><span style="font-family: arial;">February 28, 2024</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz3CVsYM6SgU4GAOJ1x8k1oli0MUXXEhAe5hX8VP2TNyv4FxmWnd9KnO-03OU7dxhmmHJHEOMIDu4sSouoCv95ACQF21TKem6iBwbvA0cgUk4wYnxxQMheQ_imNUIG_3rgP_IDeIbVl8ETpHZpkVzoXYqRSkvrEq3kENH0ZSHGTDVLcwrDYSfEiI1GlQw/s2048/after%20all.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1638" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz3CVsYM6SgU4GAOJ1x8k1oli0MUXXEhAe5hX8VP2TNyv4FxmWnd9KnO-03OU7dxhmmHJHEOMIDu4sSouoCv95ACQF21TKem6iBwbvA0cgUk4wYnxxQMheQ_imNUIG_3rgP_IDeIbVl8ETpHZpkVzoXYqRSkvrEq3kENH0ZSHGTDVLcwrDYSfEiI1GlQw/w320-h400/after%20all.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Single mother Yna Verder (Beauty Gonzales) brought her despondent son Joey (Teejay Marquez) to a beach resort to recover after he was shamed online by a popular girl Miles (Devon Seron). There, beside one of the beach cottages, Yna met Joseph Lianzares (Kelvin Miranda), an unusual young man whose family owned a antique shop and loved to talk about history. He seemed to know a lot of things about Yna, like what viand she liked to cook.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">From then on Joseph began to visit Yna frequently at their rest house. He told her how for reasons yet unknown, he felt a very strong connection with her. He shared that he had been having dreams about being called Joselito Ibanez (Kiko Ipapo) and being thrown into the ocean. Meanwhile, Joey had snapped out of his depression and began to develop a crush on Joseph, whom Joey called an old soul because of his fondness for things past.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The plot of this film was about reincarnation, albeit a local interpretation of the concept. While the concept was there and it was interesting to be fair, either screen writer Gina Marissa Tagasa or director Adolfo Alix could not figure out a better way to present the climax or the ending. The role of Joey was really an annoying one towards the end, especially that part where he inexplicably threw a tantrum while his mother was driving home.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The casting of the characters was quite strange. Beauty Gonzales is only 32 years old, but they want us to believe that her character Yna was already in her late teens in 1978 -- quite a stretch. Teejay Marquez was playing Yna's supposedly teenage son when he was only 2 years younger than Gonzales in real life. Kelvin Miranda is now 25 years old, only 7 years younger than Gonzales. It may look awkward, but not as May-December as they want us to think. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">They made Yna's good friend Lisa Urieta (Tart Carlos) an expert on various paranormal phenomena, reincarnation in particular. You'd expect that she would be delivering meaningful theories on what happened to Joseph / Joselito -- but that exposition never came. I thought the role of Joseph's mother Anita (Elizabeth Oropesa) could shed more light, but she didn't. Thankfully, there was a last minute save at the epilogue with Abner (Bembol Roco). 4/10</span></p><p><br /></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-71468659586056369432024-02-28T09:54:00.000+08:002024-02-28T09:54:10.819+08:00 Review of DUNE: PART TWO: Paul's Prime Progression<p><span style="font-family: arial;">February 27, 2024</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJdfW3HBQBT5nU9X4Gx6vZqxJYMmFsYzkhAIqisau7ZAPU_YmX_eoFMRropoRq5qflhgnQp5DpdniQ_jT4ro-c0v4KtiffMf6ntgMwQ_bn1hIDEpbA_codI4y8Iok290B3HRrz1M6XymHC1JEKrK7HZNy-EsPK9ekI55YAA5JjgzMTgbvwjpqeDIq90E/s1500/dune%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1013" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJdfW3HBQBT5nU9X4Gx6vZqxJYMmFsYzkhAIqisau7ZAPU_YmX_eoFMRropoRq5qflhgnQp5DpdniQ_jT4ro-c0v4KtiffMf6ntgMwQ_bn1hIDEpbA_codI4y8Iok290B3HRrz1M6XymHC1JEKrK7HZNy-EsPK9ekI55YAA5JjgzMTgbvwjpqeDIq90E/w270-h400/dune%202.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">At the end of "Dune: Part 1" (2021), we see hero Paul Atreides (Timothy Chalamet) in joining the Fremen led by Stiglar (Javier Bardem). He had met the girl in his dreams, Chani (Zendaya). He would fight alongside the Fremen against the Harkonnens, and would eventually be accepted as one of them. He was given the secret name Usul ("base of the pillar"), and a war name Muad'Dib ("mouse of the desert"). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">His Bene Gesserit mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) had been invited by the Fremen to be the replacement of their old Reverend Mother. Jessica had to drink the blue-colored liquid poison extracted from a sandworm called Water of Life, giving her immense powers of awareness. Jessica was pregnant at that time, so the Water also gave the baby in her womb the same powers. She used her influence to plot Paul's messianic ascent. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Denis Villaneuve continues to weave his elegant vision of Frank Herbert's sci-fi classic. Because Part One already did much of the world-building and character introductions, this Part Two could focus on the rise of Paul Atreides from a sandworm-riding warrior, the first man to drink the Water of Life, to the leader of the Fremen's rebellion against Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) and the Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">As it was from the first film, Timothy Chalamet as Paul Atreides carried the film squarely on his shoulders with aplomb, ably supported by Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin as his trusted mates. Rebecca Ferguson had a sinister vibe about her as the Reverend Mother. Zendaya's Chani stood by Paul's side, but spoke her mind. She received a jolting surprise before the film ended, which will surely be further explored in Part Three. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Aside from Walken, there were three other notable newcomers in the cast. Austin Butler was scary as the psychotic Harkonnen nephew Feyd-Rautha (the character Sting played in full camp in the 1984 film). </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Léa Seydoux played Bene Gesserit Lady Margot Fenring, whose skills for seduction were used for political ends. Florence Pugh narrates the story as the Emperor's daughter Princess Irulan, for whom marriage secured a strategic alliance. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The technical merits of this sequel maintains the high standards of cinematography (Greig Fraser), film editing (Joe Walker) and musical score (Hans Zimmer) set in the first film. The scenes featuring the sandworms were excellently executed, from the exhilarating first time Paul rode the giant grandfather worm Shai Hulud, or that scene where the Maker Keeper (Alison Halstead) demonstrates how to extract the Water of Life from a teenage worm. 9/10. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-53031471200845336662024-02-25T22:30:00.001+08:002024-02-25T22:30:33.526+08:00Review of AMERICAN FICTION: Author Adaptation<p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBDO5vTtL6m-Ot-E4y7S5sfRTqwD2sN2NCY1mVfXIF_VsDeUYebgV5HSCoQ3mvG_8Jnpj7gb6P0v8LxDQfNUWWpihymMDKBnQE-MspTleF4THpUcObd3Q0KOG2c6W_h3U83CbZkz1E5qnmU1yXtYXCXiaWSlq2EYGnyWm6qnxoYCkRw7Sz0wX2hWm7XA/s1500/american%20fiction.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1013" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBDO5vTtL6m-Ot-E4y7S5sfRTqwD2sN2NCY1mVfXIF_VsDeUYebgV5HSCoQ3mvG_8Jnpj7gb6P0v8LxDQfNUWWpihymMDKBnQE-MspTleF4THpUcObd3Q0KOG2c6W_h3U83CbZkz1E5qnmU1yXtYXCXiaWSlq2EYGnyWm6qnxoYCkRw7Sz0wX2hWm7XA/w270-h400/american%20fiction.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Theolonious "Monk" Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) was a black writer who was critically acclaimed, but his books were not selling well because they were "not black enough." While his session in a Boston book festival was empty, most people were excited to be in the seminar conducted by Sintara Golden (Issa Rae), a black female author whose latest book selling like hotcakes, despite seemingly propagating black stereotypes. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">While in Boston, Monk got together with his doctor sister Lisa (Tracee Ellis Ross) before going to visit his mother Agnes (Leslie Uggams), who was already showing signs of Alzeihmer's disease, and his estranged brother Cliff (Sterling K. Brown), a plastic surgeon who just had a divorce after coming out as gay. Meanwhile, Monk met Coraline (Erika Alexander), the lady lawyer who lived across the street, who turned out to be a fan of his work.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This film was written and directed by Cord Jefferson, a TV comedy writer who recently won an Emmy for HBO's "Watchmen" (2019). "American Fiction" was his feature film screenplay and directorial job, and here it is nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture. This was a satire on writers and the publishing industry in general, with a specific focus and commentary on the current state of black literature in the United States. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Jefferson's script was the clear star of this film, so sharp and so witty. He had adapted the 2001 novel entitled "Erasure" by Percival Ellis. This was an experimental work where Ellis embeds the whole offensive text of Monk's fictional book "My Pafology" (later retitled as "F**k") within his own novel. Jefferson followed the same distinctive style to fascinating effect as the film arrived at its conclusion in a number of alternative ways. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Jeffrey Wright is best remembered for winning an Emmy in HBO's "Angels in America" (2003). Showing subtlety and mastery of wry comedic timing, he finally earns his first Oscar nomination as Monk. Sterling K. Brown certainly had the loudest role as the annoying gay brother Cliff, also earning him an Oscar nomination. I was also rooting for an nomination for Leslie Uggams who was a sublime presence onscreen, but it did not come to pass. 7/10</span></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-82882858262372068322024-02-25T22:29:00.005+08:002024-03-07T18:49:30.820+08:00Review of THE ZONE OF INTEREST: Ironic Idylls<br /><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbKP2JFep7j3CcGYzyvo7SIICW3hBZs4jH1Dogvcv_Rf8PELZsapkSnwnww_sp6BNi6hURmNrmmtJvlfQoPen9e39j3FNitiX3cSAj7EVVp_9Xe8E_95swHLWSVqo1M_x_XoCNw8YbznUCC5eQoZjBRyTNqDVj5HHIpC4kcUKtpRUeAMDeDqEmBxeUTWg/s1500/zone%20of%20interest.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbKP2JFep7j3CcGYzyvo7SIICW3hBZs4jH1Dogvcv_Rf8PELZsapkSnwnww_sp6BNi6hURmNrmmtJvlfQoPen9e39j3FNitiX3cSAj7EVVp_9Xe8E_95swHLWSVqo1M_x_XoCNw8YbznUCC5eQoZjBRyTNqDVj5HHIpC4kcUKtpRUeAMDeDqEmBxeUTWg/w266-h400/zone%20of%20interest.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Rudolf Hoss (Christian Friedel) and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Huller) was living in a beautiful home in the German countryside. It had a spacious garden and a river nearby where they can swim with their children. However, outside the tall walls of their idyllic property, they can see columns of smoke and hear shouting, crying, screams and gunshots. Rudolf Hoss was the commandant of the facility next door -- the concentration camp of Auschwitz. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The anticipation to watch this film was very high, mostly due to the nominations and awards it had been picking up since it won the Grand Prix and three other prizes at the Cannes Film Festival where it premiered. It won three awards at the BAFTA, and is now nominated for five awards in the coming Oscars, including Best Picture, International Film (where it is favored to win), as well as </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Director and Adapted Screenplay for Jonathan Glazer. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This film was not an easy watch. Contrary to what you may think, it was not because it was about the Holocaust at Auschwitz. There was no scenes from inside the concentration camps at all. However, we do FEEL the horror going on behind those imposing walls, despite the clean and bright house and people we see on screen. Jonathan Glazer made sure of that mainly by the stunning sound design by Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Christian Friedel's Rudolf Hoss had an odd-looking white side wall haircut and an obsession for wearing all white and cleaning up. Even if he never had a moment of obvious anger or cruelty, we all felt the evil of what he was doing. German actress Sandra Huller had a good year last year, with a role in two Best Picture nominees (this and "Anatomy of a Fall"). Her Hedwig was just as innately chilling, even if she was just being a housewife and mother. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This film had practically no plot. All we saw were mundane scenes of daily family life, all going on unmindful of the atrocities outside. Glazer only wanted us to see and feel the life of a Nazi officer and butcher at home. He was just like any other father who ate dinner with his family and told his kids bedtime stories. But then we knew this was not a normal family. We knew where that mink coat and those gold teeth came from. The irony was not lost on us. 8/10</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div></div>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-61161373656828424402024-02-25T22:29:00.004+08:002024-02-28T14:33:08.481+08:00Review of ANATOMY OF A FALL: Skeptical Suspicions<p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZeU1B56W7fvUs-iuBTWq1ns0KaJaVfYb3W51gWj0XKsDrxwxToPxBi7T2Z2Qtl01AD08n8VBN5DXA-ITuhYLNxPmUylBPkkt-Z5DmYo-2N9vqrt5tlgRp-vZBwFJB1S0QEw-GdpuRFt3rQocVs1TPWX3GeqnBuYFL1hCOrlA1tT1bPcr9078DqfbPPrk/s1500/anatomy%20of%20a%20fall.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1023" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZeU1B56W7fvUs-iuBTWq1ns0KaJaVfYb3W51gWj0XKsDrxwxToPxBi7T2Z2Qtl01AD08n8VBN5DXA-ITuhYLNxPmUylBPkkt-Z5DmYo-2N9vqrt5tlgRp-vZBwFJB1S0QEw-GdpuRFt3rQocVs1TPWX3GeqnBuYFL1hCOrlA1tT1bPcr9078DqfbPPrk/w273-h400/anatomy%20of%20a%20fall.jpg" width="273" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">While novelist Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller) </span><span style="font-family: arial;">was being interviewed by a female student in their chalet in the French Alps, her husband Samuel Maleski (</span><span style="font-family: arial;">Samuel Theis) </span><span style="font-family: arial;">was rudely playing music very loudly in his attic room. After the student left, their blind son Daniel (</span><span style="font-family: arial;">Milo Machado Graner) went out for a long walk</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> with his guide dog Snoop. When he came back home, he discovered his father dead on the snow below his room. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">At first, an accident seemed to be the most apparent cause of the fall. However upon further investigation about the details of the scene -- the height of the window, the pattern of blood splattering on the snow -- all point to another cause. Could it be suicide? Did Samuel ever attempt suicide before? Or could it be murder? Of course, since Sandra was the only other person in the house, she was the prime suspect. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Writer-director Justine Triet made Sandra the nebulous center of this mystery story. However, as we followed the case unfolding, it increasingly became apart that the resolution of the mystery of Samuel's death was NOT the main point of the story. This was a character study about Sandra, about how the personality she projected colored how we perceive her as a suspect. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Sandra Hüller's portrayal of this icy person was as riveting as it was annoying. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We watched the way she sought legal advice from her lawyer friend Vincent Renzi (Swann Arlaud), insisting that she had nothing to do with the fall. In court, Sandra preferred to speak in English since her French is not fluent, making her seem snobbish, coming across as less sympathetic. Her testimonies tended to be inconsistent, giving rise to doubts. It came to a point where her innocence depended not on facts, but on whether you like her or not.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Triet made sure that audiences would make feel Sandra's vexation (or anger) towards her husband at that point in time. The very loud playing of Bacao Rhythm and Steel Bars' cover of 50 Cent's "P.I.M.P." was purposefully done to get on one's nerves. This raucous music also put the accuracy of Daniel's testimony in question, as, however sharp his hearing was, he may well have not accurately heard what his parents were talking about before he left. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A most remarkable member of the cast was Messi, the border collie playing Snoop, the support animal of blind Daniel. In one heart-stopping climactic scene, the dog had to play dead while supposedly drugged. It was amazing how Triet (and his trainer) was able to elicit such a realistic performance from a dog. This was truly deserving for the Palm Dog it won during the same Cannes Film Festival where the film itself won the Palme d'Or. 8/10. </span></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-74871318971630592972024-02-25T22:24:00.002+08:002024-02-25T22:24:45.872+08:00Vivamax: Review of KABIT: Theatrical Titillation and Treachery<p><span style="font-family: arial;">February 24, 2024</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRozKyvaYPgDVK9FKyrtxVDm3ylhPqBfiA4ntywWy-nCvKLC2hYOAo9O7gIv1DgtRAH9Q5Ow7Hv34PU-63UzZ2kLHy64S_v-xTlqXhSoGVt0wxdHPi_A4D7MA3v7wnj5Q2xBlzGxkbMfMYCqjqpkRUyIZi4ls55lSj_YzJKEbZii7Ub8jE8u_Y8J9NpxI/s2048/kabit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRozKyvaYPgDVK9FKyrtxVDm3ylhPqBfiA4ntywWy-nCvKLC2hYOAo9O7gIv1DgtRAH9Q5Ow7Hv34PU-63UzZ2kLHy64S_v-xTlqXhSoGVt0wxdHPi_A4D7MA3v7wnj5Q2xBlzGxkbMfMYCqjqpkRUyIZi4ls55lSj_YzJKEbZii7Ub8jE8u_Y8J9NpxI/w266-h400/kabit.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Theater director Harry dela Fuente (Onyl Torres) is making his big comeback to the scene with a controversial play entitled "La Querido." According to his co-producer Cathy (Naths Everett), this explosive play will surely get people talking because it will be featuring frontal nudity and sexual scenes by its daring cast. One of the stars was former teen idol James Dizon (Victor Relosa) making his showbiz comeback in the role of farm hand, Pablo.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The three other actors were newcomers. Andrew Vega (Josef Elizalde), the godson of the producer, plays the invalid army officer Lt. Gen. Antonio Montero. Sexy starlet Trina Montes (Dyessa Garcia) plays Antonio's childhood friend Minerva. Commercial model Laura San Jose (Angela Morena) plays the female lead character Amparo, Antonio's new bride. As she was in her theater debut, she was having a difficult time following the director's instructions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director Lawrence Fajardo and screenplay writer John Bedia devised to present a play within a film. The script of the "El Querido" play was written by Jim Flores, obviously adapted from the classic novel "Lady Chatterley's Lover" by D.H. Lawrence. The surnames of the lead characters Montero was likely derived from the film "Ang Kabit ni Mrs. Montero" (Peque Gallaga & Lore Reyes, 1999), which was also based on the same novel.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This Vivamax film felt different from others from the very start with its opening credits featuring animated pencil renditions of various portraits and scenes from the film. The first nude scene only got going after 35 minutes into it, unlike most Vivamax films that have a sex scene from the first frame. This one took its time in setting up the premise and to let viewers into the behind-the-scenes goings-on among director, cast and crew in a theater production.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The main actors were expected to act two ways -- as their character, and as their character's character in the play. Morena's Laura was supposed to be a timid virgin and she looked the part, making her an unlikely Amparo. Elizalde's Andrew was weight-conscious, but this could be an inside joke. Being more experienced, Relosa's James was more self-assured and confident. However, their stage acting techniques were not convincingly theatrical enough. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Onyl Torres, star of Fajardo's "Imbisibol" (2015), was giving it all his campy best as the flamboyant director Harry, who would do everything to make sure his comeback project succeeds. It was very surprising to see Naths Everett, a "Ms. Saigon" alumna whom I had only previously seen in English language plays for Repertory Philippines, in the cast of a Vivamax film. Theater veteran Frannie Zamora cameos as Harry's mentor and toughest critic.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Laura's audition process would have been interesting to see because her personality seemed mismatched for her role at first. It would have been better if the rehearsals were given more time, so we could appreciate how the actors evolve into the actual performance. It was odd why the workshops were held only after critics night, when the need was obvious from the get go. The role of an intimacy coordinator could have introduced and highlighted. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">*****SPOILER ALERT</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">For sure, the graphic stage sex scenes (they made it clear that penile prosthetics were used) </span><span style="font-family: arial;">seemed more fit for a smaller intimate blackbox theater than a big stage, especially for indie producers like Cathy. This was the third Vivamax film to have gone the John Wayne Bobbitt route, after "Silab" (2021) and "#DoYouThinkIAmSexy?" (2022). However, the bigger shock came after the actual cut itself, which made for a strong ending. 6/10</span></p><p><br /></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-6297526196352760732024-02-23T05:42:00.005+08:002024-02-25T22:30:48.929+08:00Review of THE HOLDOVERS: Perceiving the Professor<p><span style="font-family: arial;">February 23, 2024</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgEm8TO7ZAbJIuaJo7fHYVaVUIRoJVtOCQEZaWgAAKnN_xpa_D8gsG4Q-5feuuzWN9gZR-5cFv7wa1roXtxtADQoq1jkiOQN1Bm4nPDe-CaDJdJigD5qd7yGpM7UzSAInahkb0BioUoBcYRmddca5ano5-3dHjuTDDJK44ij4S2Hk2BuifXBCyBRc8Djs/s1280/holdovers%20fil.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgEm8TO7ZAbJIuaJo7fHYVaVUIRoJVtOCQEZaWgAAKnN_xpa_D8gsG4Q-5feuuzWN9gZR-5cFv7wa1roXtxtADQoq1jkiOQN1Bm4nPDe-CaDJdJigD5qd7yGpM7UzSAInahkb0BioUoBcYRmddca5ano5-3dHjuTDDJK44ij4S2Hk2BuifXBCyBRc8Djs/w320-h400/holdovers%20fil.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It was December, 1970 at Barton Academy, a private boarding school for the rich and famous located in New England. One Christmas, unpopular classics professor Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) was assigned to supervise students who stayed in school for the holiday break, because they could not go home. Cafeteria lady Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), who was mourning the death of her soldier son in the Vietnam War, also stayed behind. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">At one point there was only one student left with Hunham. This was Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), a headstrong boy whose mother left him behind to honeymoon with her new husband. Hunham and Angus clashed from day one because of their strong personalities. When they broke school rules by going out of campus, Angus learned out more about his teacher and why he had been the grumpy curmudgeon he was all these years. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Whenever filmmaker Alexander Payne releases a project, people pay attention, because he has a unique talent for making intimate low-budget films which effectively unfold interpersonal relationships on the big screen. His Oscar Best Picture nominated films, namely "Sideways" (2004), "The Descendants" (2011) and "Nebraska" ( 2013), may look deceptively simple, but emotionally rich and satisfying. Now, we can add "The Holdovers" to that list. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It is hard to believe that Paul Giamatti had only earned one Oscar nomination before, and no it was not for "Sideways," but a supporting nod for "Cinderella Man" (2006). His nomination (and possible win) now for "The Holdovers" is well deserved because only Giamatti could have played this wall-eyed, cantankerous grouch Paul Hunham, and make him sympathetic and actually lovable despite his obvious character flaws. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It may not be apparent with all the confidence he had playing rich boy Angus Tully, this was actually the feature film debut of 21-year old Dominic Sessa, and he definitely held his own playing against Giamatti. Da'Vine Joy Randolph had so far been sweeping all the Best Supporting Actress awards this season, and once you've seen her play Mary and the dignified front she put up after the death of her son, you'd easily understand why. 8/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-81688417366938729412024-02-21T22:15:00.001+08:002024-02-22T08:23:30.224+08:00Review of MEAN GIRLS (2024): Pernicious Popularity<p><span style="font-family: arial;">February 21, 2024</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFiJbI5fW3MJH4RPxiiW8TIkfxT_WdfZhtNr46bVC9QPb7JBBQFLSMOXSYOhA3D4sFeatG5Hts-9sGMyQTHF-TBgeB1pRackeCsvmsUN22eQ1Ln6MTZETnoEXsgHJ2K5eAYkOx4X0emH-ceA5pxQGCLz9Mb5p2UPrDWDnlD-Z4CN785VojS5a2T9Bf3E/s1500/mean%20girls%202024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="961" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFiJbI5fW3MJH4RPxiiW8TIkfxT_WdfZhtNr46bVC9QPb7JBBQFLSMOXSYOhA3D4sFeatG5Hts-9sGMyQTHF-TBgeB1pRackeCsvmsUN22eQ1Ln6MTZETnoEXsgHJ2K5eAYkOx4X0emH-ceA5pxQGCLz9Mb5p2UPrDWDnlD-Z4CN785VojS5a2T9Bf3E/w256-h400/mean%20girls%202024.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) had been homeschooled her whole life growing up in Kenya with her scientist mother (Jenna Fischer). One day, Mrs. Heron accepted a teaching job in the US, so Cady had to attend North Shore High School. From her first day at a regular school, Cady had much difficulty fitting in. Fortunately, art nerds Janis (Auliʻi Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey) took pity on her and clued Cady in on the various cliques in their school.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The clique that caught Cady's attention were the Plastics, a group of three rich girls obsessed with their looks and fashion. They were tattle-tale Gretchen (Bebe Wood), dim-witted Karen (Avantika) and their despicable bully leader Regina George (Reneé Rapp). When Cady shared to her friends that she had a crush on her Calculus classmate Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), she was warned to forget it because he was Regina's ex.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This was the same exact synopsis of "Mean Girls" (Mark Waters, 2004), adapted from the 2002 Rosalind Wiseman book "Queen Bees and Wannabees" by writer Tina Fey. Its phenomenal success led to the development of a stage musical version with book by Fey, music by her husband Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Neil Benjamin, which debuted on Broadway in 2018. This present film is based on this Broadway version. Fey reprised her role as Ms. Norwood from the original film, as did Tim Meadows as the principal Mr. Duvall.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Fans of the 2004 film will recognize that this new film was practically a scene-by-scene recreation of the original. The biggest difference of course were the catchy pop songs sung in the most unexpected moments. The songs of Janis and Damian like "A Cautionary Tale" and "Apex Predator" provided sideline commentary. The songs of Regina like "Meet the Plastics" and "Someone Gets Hurt" brought in darker elements. A more raunchy song "Rockin' Around the Pole" replaced the innocuous "Jingle Bell Rock" in the Christmas show. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">With her innocent face, 23 year-old Angourie Rice plays a high school student again here, after "Senior Year" and "Honor Society" last year. Her sweet singing voice was best heard in "I See Stars" in the finale. Renee Rapp reprises her Broadway-breakthrough role of Regina George. She sung the movie's darkest song, "World Burn," with spine-chilling effect. It was great to hear the powerful singing voice of Auliʻi Cravalho again after she voiced the title character in "Moana" (2016), highlighted in her solo number "I'd Rather Be Me." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Mean Girls (2024): 7/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Mean Girls (2004): 7/10. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-71197062008399554572024-02-20T22:21:00.003+08:002024-02-20T22:21:26.709+08:00Vivamax: Review of TAKAS: Fleeing Femmes<p><span style="font-family: arial;">February 16, 2024</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBfFFCTxXKAILTc1e5xcotFUhjZl9yE0b410UtaygdyafYGRLym9lUrS1FNrf40zR7_Uzl3s6CwVU-syWmzlXLMbB0KD39gErNqtvHXZSzdbdkjzzMUHeCExoK9FVlBNfjUGMQg3ulgJnOObHZlBHiaKbEr9ZXz82WIT2dfABAUjIl5W4NAMohRewsucI/s2048/takas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBfFFCTxXKAILTc1e5xcotFUhjZl9yE0b410UtaygdyafYGRLym9lUrS1FNrf40zR7_Uzl3s6CwVU-syWmzlXLMbB0KD39gErNqtvHXZSzdbdkjzzMUHeCExoK9FVlBNfjUGMQg3ulgJnOObHZlBHiaKbEr9ZXz82WIT2dfABAUjIl5W4NAMohRewsucI/w266-h400/takas.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Angel (Audrey Avila) and Lexi (Cess Garcia) had been very close friends since high school. They promised each other that they would not be separated from each other. However, when they got older, Angel's eyes were opened to the joys of sex, and began to prioritize her new relationship with spoiled rich kid Eric (Rome Guinto), the son of a Congressman. One night, Eric sexually assaulted Angel in the car, and the unthinkable happened. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It was only after the two girls were seen running out of the scene of the violence in the parking lot that the opening credits began to roll. The girls relocate to another town and rent a stall in the public market to earn a living. However, it would not take long when the irrepressible Angel hooked up with a local guy named </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Lemuel (Mon Mendoza). Worried that the past would repeat itself, Lexi was worried for her friend, but her words of concern fell on deaf ears.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This was the third of a series of shorter (less than 50 minutes) films that Vivamax releases every Tuesday. The screenwriting credit went to head writer John Carlo Pacala and writer Nigel Santos. The plot of the story was very, very simple, just right for a short film. If there were no sex scenes, the whole film would be over in only 15 minutes or so. The plot twist was not complicated, as you can see it a mile away.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">No script was too simple or too cheesy or too nonsensical for cult director Roman Perez, Jr., as he still called his shots in his signature lush style. His outdoor scenes with DP Albert Banzon looked especially good, particularly those shot in the bright sunlight with greenery in the background. Too bad these were few and far between in this one. This style was best seen in his more sweeping projects like "Salakab" (2023), "Putahe" (2022) or "</span><span style="font-family: arial;">Adan" (2019). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The three actors in the lead roles were more or less stuck with those one-dimensional personalities for the whole film. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Audrey Avila's Angel was a happy-go-lucky type, friendly to a fault, always ready with a smile for the men. Cess Garcia's Lexi was the suspicious and jealous type, aloof to the point of rude, her face in a constant scowl. Mon's Mendoza's slimy manner and naughty smirk marked him with red flags early on. 2/10. </span></p><p><br /></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-52481056324426071712024-02-18T09:07:00.001+08:002024-02-18T09:07:21.408+08:00Vivamax: Review of SALITAN: Being Bad in Bali<p><span style="font-family: arial;">February 16, 2024</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIO5axwtooqR2WhUQaURv_joq0Qrltb1Ipfcqf-xzowYzLzVFkgeN0dvAR4AyHISg9B_HWIIL_1nRvWrqYgaeVoGwdep4I5FZuapNT86jQMFEJ-hgq-rbnILUgVHt7BIYY343ecLFx4C-eNhswesdqZvgdEGEfveWIOpYTLBXBIXWJqdjcKuchA78eIu8/s1593/salitan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1593" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIO5axwtooqR2WhUQaURv_joq0Qrltb1Ipfcqf-xzowYzLzVFkgeN0dvAR4AyHISg9B_HWIIL_1nRvWrqYgaeVoGwdep4I5FZuapNT86jQMFEJ-hgq-rbnILUgVHt7BIYY343ecLFx4C-eNhswesdqZvgdEGEfveWIOpYTLBXBIXWJqdjcKuchA78eIu8/w271-h400/salitan.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Annie (Vern Kaye) is the wife of a successful lawyer Albert (Nico Locco). She had always been suspicious that Albert was having an affair with his secretary Kristy (Angelica Hart). When she learned that Kristy will be going with Albert on his business trip to Bali, Indonesia, Annie was alarmed and decided to also go to Bali herself. When she got there, she got attracted to fellow Filipino Elmer (Matt Francisco) whom she bumped into at the pool area. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Screenplay writer Juvy Galamiton and director Bobby Bonifacio Jr. decided to tell this ménage à quatre story in four subparts, where the same story was being told from the point of view of each member of the quartet -- the Wife, the Husband, the Stranger and the Mistress. But through all these parts, the story flow of all the parts were being related by one Narrator with a catty voice belonging to Ms. Mercedes Cabral -- their secret sauce.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The story of swapping partners is definitely not new in Vivamax in particular, nor even in local cinema in general. However, this one tried something with its stylized storytelling that went for high camp. This way the thoughts of each of these four main characters were also made known to the audience, making the proceedings more interesting. The naughty lilt in Cabral's voice as she told her sordid tale sounded like she was telling a bedtime story for adults. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The film started with a murder of one character, proceeded to tell the whole story of how the situation escalated to lead up to that crime. However, when the film went back to that murder scene at the end, it felt strange that the filmmakers decided to leave the audience hanging as to how the murder took place. I guess they think the identity of the murderer was not material to the plot. Why did they bookend it this way in the first place then? Odd.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The actors were playing their characters with tongue-in-cheek for the most part. Angelica Hart was the campiest of them all, so far her signature persona on Vivamax. Matt Francisco played it quite restrained in "Haliparot" (2023), so his cheesy Elmer in the Bali scenes was quite a switch. As for lead actress Vern Kyle, she actually did quite well in her Vivamax debut, with that scene in the hotel restroom corridor as proof of her promise in drama. 5/10. </span></p><p><br /></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-51314301406716837102024-02-17T07:02:00.004+08:002024-02-17T14:49:39.718+08:00Review of I AM NOT BIG BIRD: Thai Twin Troubles<p><span style="font-family: arial;">February 16, 2024</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdojPfRaMkCXXMoATwGe_M9UMvqT_BQCofwWpUbVmoS6YnvNh_f8pXCiahkXnHcu_xdrvvUIAkn_oS1Gg6ELj1JVzbaRXv4wJ2rPWmDtzMuLSPPjQtBWZnHYsFdecDm0NMVdgG_foNGxqzAQELPsBvEniMsI9pao0xQZXP4XNODlfJ_ggi7-Cjd45h7Y/s2048/i%20am%20not%20big%20bird.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1387" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdojPfRaMkCXXMoATwGe_M9UMvqT_BQCofwWpUbVmoS6YnvNh_f8pXCiahkXnHcu_xdrvvUIAkn_oS1Gg6ELj1JVzbaRXv4wJ2rPWmDtzMuLSPPjQtBWZnHYsFdecDm0NMVdgG_foNGxqzAQELPsBvEniMsI9pao0xQZXP4XNODlfJ_ggi7-Cjd45h7Y/w271-h400/i%20am%20not%20big%20bird.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Bank employee Luis "Carps" Carpio (Enrique Gil) had always been straight-as-an-arrow, always doing things by the book. He had been seeing his girlfriend Cathy (Ashley Rivera) for five years now, but their dates had been very routine, nothing exciting or fun. Much to her dismay, Carps never even made any sexual advance on her all those years. When Carps proposed marriage one night, he was shell-shocked when she turned him down.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The distraught Carps suddenly decided to treat his two best friends, the jobless July (Red Ollero) and the metrosexual Macky (Nikko Natividad), to an all-expenses-paid trip to Bangkok. However, when Thai people saw Carps, they seemed to be in awe of him. It turned out that he looked exactly like Big Bird, a very popular porn star in Thailand known for his gigantic manhood, who had suddenly mysteriously dropped out of the scene.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Director Victor Villanueva is still best known for the irreverent family road-trip movie "Patay na si Jesus" (2016), his feature directorial debut. Since then, silly over-the-top comedy had been his specialty, the latest one being "Kidnap for Romance" (2023). This newest project of his is certainly his silliest and most over-the-top of them all, and most challenging as he had to deal with foreign locations, language, and Thai actors in major roles. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The screenplay was written by two writers with contrasting output in the past, you can probably guess who wrote which parts of the movie. Lilit Reyes, known for "Water Lemon" (2015) and "Changing Partners" (2017), could be responsible for the more serious parts. His co-writer Joma Labayen, who had been Villanueva's writer twice before for "Kusina Kings" (2018) and "Boy Bastos" (2022), likely wrote the raunchy parts.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Being a sex comedy set in Bangkok, it was inevitable that Carps and company had a wild time in a nightclub in the notorious red-light district. After watching the infamous sexy stage show featuring the prodigious "Banana Lady," the boys were taken to their private rooms. Here, Villanueva did self-imposed censorship with amusing effect, interrupting the visuals of their sexy time with public service announcements, as the moaning went on in the background.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This film (rated R-16 by MTRCB) was meant to shock audiences to laughter, so the sexually-explicit language and suggestive motions were left intact (the actual organs were mercifully pixelated). The scene when July, in an effort to attract attention of fellow Filipinos, was shouting "T**i!" aloud in public may seem contrived. However, when tuktuk driver / tour guide Prajak (Pepe Herrera) appeared to respond to that call, that moment was truly hilarious. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The biggest selling point of this new film is its unlikely star -- Enrique Gil -- in his first film post Liza Soberano. Gil pulled up all the stops here, playing dual characters in a genre way out of his romantic lead comfort zone. His Carps was the butt of naughty jokes at the expense of his "shortcomings," while his doppelganger Big Bird was a riot with his legendary shlong and Italian (?) accent. Gil threw practically all caution to the wind and clearly had fun playing both of them. 7/10</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-50496830532556653512024-02-16T06:56:00.004+08:002024-02-17T07:15:39.802+08:00Review of MADAME WEB: Spider Sensibilities <p><span style="font-family: arial;">February 15, 2024</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrt412CiV8C1FTXilcBRX_AuySxP4vQbaCDsxiK3BI0N6NcWS5bjMRhyphenhyphenvaTFaq-uUeaQp_r6c3kbcysVZUyACPl4nrJi7noVayZHqRM-DJxNebvPPRRl3kBTR1GFLfBrWBsaHqd85yTrQuDmGEyF8kS-xZ4__soC9xKk0ePTMt7eYK_RhLBs6dFxC_1uk/s1500/madame%20web.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1012" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrt412CiV8C1FTXilcBRX_AuySxP4vQbaCDsxiK3BI0N6NcWS5bjMRhyphenhyphenvaTFaq-uUeaQp_r6c3kbcysVZUyACPl4nrJi7noVayZHqRM-DJxNebvPPRRl3kBTR1GFLfBrWBsaHqd85yTrQuDmGEyF8kS-xZ4__soC9xKk0ePTMt7eYK_RhLBs6dFxC_1uk/w270-h400/madame%20web.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">While on a rescue mission at the bridge, EMT Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson) herself fell into the river and was only rescued by her partner Ben Parker (Adam Scott) three minutes later. Even since, she had been able to see ahead into the future, but at first, the images she saw did not make sense to her at once. One day, she began to see images of a man Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) attacking and killing three teenage girls on the train with her. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Apparently Sims had been having nightmares of these three girls -- shy bespectacled Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), spunky skateboard girl Mattie Franklin (Celeste O'Connor) and smart Latina Anya Corazon (Isabella Merced), that they will be the cause of his death, so he wanted to kill them before that day comes. Cassie quickly hustled the girls out of the train station when they saw Sims fast approaching them -- crawling on the ceiling.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Madame Web was a blind, paralyzed clairvoyant mutant character in Marvel comics,, adjacent to the Spider-Man franchise. Her connection to Spider-Man in this film was only hinted with the presence of familiar names like Ben Parker, and his sister-in-law Mary Parker (Emma Roberts) who was then pregnant with a boy, whose name we knew even before she did. We see in Sims' nightmares that the three teenage girls will all become Spider-Women in their future.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This was Madame Web's origin story set in 2003, but the film started with a sequence set in 1994, about the tragic fate of a pregnant scientist Constance Webb (Kerry Bishe) in the jungle of the Amazon searching for a particular rare spider with a special venom which could heal diseases. This was not exactly her origin story in the comics, but certain details like Cassie's myesthenia gravis were referred to in this new version, albeit in passing. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The initial reviews were very bad, the worst film about a Marvel character ever, as per one critic. I thought that was too harsh. Sure, the script can be corny, had plenty of convenient leaps in logic, and odd time-wasting scenes (like all those chest compressions). However, Dakota Johnson's portrayal of Cassie from aloof, socially-awkward paramedic into the cerebral psychic Madame Web was well-played, despite the script's limitations. 6/10. </span></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-33672642749478263802024-02-10T23:00:00.005+08:002024-02-11T06:56:37.410+08:00Review of LISA FRANKENSTEIN: Girl Gets Ghoul<p><span style="font-family: arial;">February 10, 2024</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg44-54mGjzFbDz9Teb2IoJ5Br0vFqepy8HUxAcqpjdPWbR8dvYOmiDqV67iV8DVmHiir7peKlL8dUg3yXR2TyfZX_1UxXcZh4NladKeajBMFBiWa5W8RxBI8_uRPEo7r0cXBB0TIcrjLz6fo-DQM8Xa5jg3PXU6PCI5yginKKTgLB8P1QECy49KZsgDAY/s1500/lisa%20frankenstein.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1013" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg44-54mGjzFbDz9Teb2IoJ5Br0vFqepy8HUxAcqpjdPWbR8dvYOmiDqV67iV8DVmHiir7peKlL8dUg3yXR2TyfZX_1UxXcZh4NladKeajBMFBiWa5W8RxBI8_uRPEo7r0cXBB0TIcrjLz6fo-DQM8Xa5jg3PXU6PCI5yginKKTgLB8P1QECy49KZsgDAY/w270-h400/lisa%20frankenstein.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It was 1989. Having witnessing the gory death of her mother, teenager Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton) was still reeling from the trauma. Her father Dale (Joe Chrest) soon married a nurse Janet (Carla Gugino) and they moved to the town where she lived. Janet was quite cold to Lisa, but her popular daughter Taffy (Liza Soberano), head cheerleader at school, was very friendly and helpful to Lisa as she struggled to move on and fit in.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">An introvert and a misfit, Lisa frequently visited the local graveyard to read, where one particular grave fascinated her. She wished to just die and be buried with the dead Victorian era occupant inside. One night,</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">a freak storm awakened the body of the Creature (Cole Sprouse), who then found his way to Lisa's house. After her initial shock and disgust, they eventually become friends as she helped him source and restore his missing body parts. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Writer Diablo Cody is best known for winning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for "Juno" (2007), her very first script. From then on, her scripts usually have females as the lead character, like her directorial debut "Young Adult" (2011) to her latest before this one, "Tully" (2018). Misfit gets even is a common trope in teen films, but here, Cody wrote Lisa to have as much heart as she had a sense of humor and a streak of violence. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This is the feature film directorial debut of Zelda Williams, daughter of the late Robin Williams. This had a vibe of "Mean Girls" crossed with "Edward Scissorhands."</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> Logic was thrown out the door from the start, but then again you do not expect realism when one of the characters is a zombie. People do get killed in gory ways in this film, but this was rated R-13 locally (and PG in the USA), so the violence happens off-screen (bad news for gore fans).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Kathryn Newton made for a likable Lisa even if she went from shrinking violet to goth dominatrix. Cole Sprouse only relied on facial expressions and body movements to play the charming Creature, who could not control how his temper wielded his axe. Of course,\in the Philippines, all the attention will be on the Hollywood debut of Liza Soberano. She had a key role, a great screen presence and she oozed with self-confidence -- auspicious indeed. 6/10. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607216452500010621.post-56819367783763450982024-02-09T22:15:00.005+08:002024-02-10T12:19:13.332+08:00Vivamax: Review of KATAS: Maids' Miseries<p><span style="font-family: arial;">February 9, 2024</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD3nrC14L9hY2YX3wwxdiBUF6qbXApgs5Srsx0yeMEAkVsLQt8eGe886oTO1QdDMdrB063GZ-VitHrlGLDeAQQVz9nOBBy3QBWBcSzXG4M_whBIjPyy6t8oXRFBDximYD-kuDAbiGJObpif1p0NEwa83yRW8PFpzWhW4nk_1vmy0jiVIT8AOu5ACOej20/s2048/katas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD3nrC14L9hY2YX3wwxdiBUF6qbXApgs5Srsx0yeMEAkVsLQt8eGe886oTO1QdDMdrB063GZ-VitHrlGLDeAQQVz9nOBBy3QBWBcSzXG4M_whBIjPyy6t8oXRFBDximYD-kuDAbiGJObpif1p0NEwa83yRW8PFpzWhW4nk_1vmy0jiVIT8AOu5ACOej20/w266-h400/katas.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Carmina (Sahara Bernales) was the new maid in the household of eccentric millionaire matron Grace (Yda Manzano) and her younger husband </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Alex (Chester Grecia). She was oriented to her duties by </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Sabel (Cariz Manzano), who had been working there for five years. The other maid was </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Anna (Mara Jalipa), who was in a serious relationship with the gardener </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Berto (Ardy Raymundo) and were saving up for their future home back in Negros. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Despite their 20-year age gap, Grace's sexual relationship with Alex was still very active. However, Alex also had all the other maids at his beck and call for his carnal desires, especially when they need extra cash for their families (which they always did). Despite warnings, Carmina still fell under Alex's irresistible spell. Will she go the way of</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> the last maid Monica (Aria Bench), who disappeared under mysterious circumstances?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This new Vivamax film is written and directed by Rodante Y. Pajemna, Jr. He was a director of music videos since 2015, until Vivamax gave him a big break to write and direct his feature film debut last year with "Punit na Langit." He attempted a more complex story here, involving multiple characters, combining aspects of family drama with a hint of mystery on top of the signature eroticism. However, how the story would go was predictable early on.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Pajemna got his "Punit" leading man Chester Grecia back to have wild sex scenes with all five main actresses. Exotic Sahara Bernales now clinches a lead role, probably more for her daring to bare rather than her acting. Former sexy starlet Yda Manzano is now in her 40s, but she now dared to go all the way for the first time since her Vivamax comeback last year. Debuting nymphet Cariz Manzano (relation to Yda unsure) shows promise for drama. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This film again tackles a topic that is very commonly told in many Vivamax stories -- how the poor had to sell their bodies to the rich in order to earn money. While this film was not about prostitution per se, these maids had to surrender and submit to their masters' sexual perversities in order to keep their jobs. Again, we hear the typical reasons for needing money, like parents needing dialysis or younger siblings getting arrested for drugs. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There was interesting side topic about keeping snakes as pets -- both Carmina and Alex sharing the same hobby. However, when it came to how these snakes figured in the finale, Pajemna faltered to make the scene exciting at all. In fact, after all the build-up of getting all of the maids riled up, we were expecting a grand scene of domestic mutiny in the climax. However, the execution was lame and rushed, ending up unintentionally funny. 5/10. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Fred Saidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04151953569361308999noreply@blogger.com0