Cinema One Filmfest (August 1-5, Megamall)

I'm so watching Pagdating sa Dulo, Bedspacers, Biyaya ng Lupa, Nights of Serafina, Bona, Temptation Island, Kakabakaba Ka Ba?, Badjao and Nympha!

August 01 Wednesday
11am Captain Barbell Dolphy,Lotis Key
1:30pm Dilim Mario Magallona, Rica Peralejo
3:30pm Malvarosa EddieRodriguez, Charito Solis
5:30pm Pandanggo Chinchin Gutierrez, Raymond Bagatsing
7:30pm Sukob KrisAquino, Claudine Barretto, Maja Salvador
9:30pm La Paloma Ms.Celia Rodriguez, Mona Lisa, Orestes O

August 02 Thursday
11:30 am Da Best In The West Dolphy, Lito lapid, Wengweng
1:30 pm Raket Ni Nanay Sarsi Emmanuel, Mark Gil, Archie Adamos
3:30 pm Mutya ng Pasig Jose Padilla Jr., Rebecca Gonsalez
5:30 pm Rekados Meryl Soriano, Eula Valdez, Boots Anson Roa
7:30 pm Pagdating Sa Dulo Rita Gomez and Vic Vargas
9:30 pm Bedspacers Alma Moreno, Rio Locsin, Al Tantay

August 03 Friday
11:30 am Fefita Fofonggay Dolphy, Rosanna Ortiz
1:30 pm Feng Shui Kris Aquino, Jay Manalo
3:30 pm Kundiman Ng Lahi Charito Solis, Joseph De Cordova
5:30 pm Sa North Diversion Road Irma Adlawan, John Arcilla
7:30 pm Biyaya Ng Lupa Rosa Rosal, Tony Santos Sr.
9:30 pm Nights of Serafina Georgia Ortega

August 4 Saturday
11:30 am Katorse Dina Bonnevie, Alfie Anido
1:30 pm Dolphy's Angels Carmi, Yehlen, Liz
3:30 pm Huk Sa Bagong Pamumuhay Celia Flor, Jose Padilla Jr.
5:30 pm Huling Balyan ng Buhi Marilyn Roque, Gigi, Manay
7:30 pm Bona Nora Aunor, Philip Salvador
9:30 pm Temptation Island Dina, Azenith Briones, Jennifer Cortez,

August 05 Sunday
11:30 am La Paloma Celia Rodriguez
1:30 pm Kakabakaba Ka Ba? Christopher De Leon, Charo Santos
3:30 pm Badjao Rosa Rosal, Tony Santos Sr.
5:30 pm Tiyanak Lotlot De Leon, Janice De Belen
7:30 pm Nympha Alma Moreno, Ricky Belmonte
9:30 pm Aguila (tentative) FPJ, Elizabeth Oropesa, Amalia Fuentes

Ang Walang Katinuang Pag-uusap Tungkol sa Jologs na Jokla

Hahahaha nagwa-YM kami ng friend ko the other day Hahahaha sabi ko, maghi-hiphop class ako mamaya at sasayawin na naman namin ang “get me bodied” ni beyonce. napapagod na ‘ko just thinking about it Hahahaha tanong ng friend ko, sino’ng mas magaling – si beyonce o si reagan, yung instructor namin? Hahahaha sabi ko, si maribeth bichara! Hahahaha sabi niya, hindi…si gelyn eugenio! Hahahaha sabi ko, tama! pero mali ang spelling. it’s geleen Hahahaha sabi niya, joklang-jokla ang spelling na geleen Hahahaha sabi ko, ang jologs jologs ng spelling na gelyn Hahahaha sabi niya, pwede rin jellyn o ghelyn Hahahaha sabi ko, ang nickname ghel-ghel or jellai Hahahaha sabi niya, either way ang chaka ng name Hahahaha sabi ko, sobrang nakakatawa Hahahaha sabi niya, mukha daw siyang tanga tawa ng tawa mag-isa sa office Hahahaha sabi ko, ako rin kaya Hahahaha ayun, pareho kaming mukhang tanga

Hollywood, finally!

No, not me but two of local filmdom's brightest young talents. Maverick director Yam Laranas is directing a remake of his own movie, "Sigaw", for the producers of "The Ring" and "The Grudge". It's now called "The Echo" and it's set to star Jesse Bradford ("Flags Of Our Fathers") in the role originally played by Richard Gutierrez. Reprising her role as the battered wife is lovely, lovely Iza Calzado who, it's been reported, beat out several Hollywood actresses for the part.

The last time a Pinoy had a major supporting role in a Hollywood movie was three years ago when Cesar Montano played the role of Capt. Pajota in the WWII film "The Great Raid". Prior to that the first and only time a local talent headlined a Hollywood film was in the 50s when Barbara Perez was cast as the leaidng lady in another war film, "No Man's Land".

Behind the cameras, this is the first time ever that a Filipino director is helming a mainstream Hollywood movie. A monumental achievement -- one worthy of a presidential citation, I declare!

Shooting takes place in Toronto and New York in September. This "echo" should be ready to fill cinemas next year.

Attached photo is a still of Iza from "Sigaw".

Presence, not presents

1. Martha and Mary were sisters.
2. When Jesus visited them, they did two different things.
3. Martha busied herself preparing a meal for Jesus.
4. Mary simply sat with Jesus and listened to him.
5. Martha wanted Jesus to reprimand Mary for not helping her out.
6. Jesus told Martha that Mary has chosen the better part.
7. The operative word is better.
8. Action is good. Action from listening is better.
9. The Lord wants presence -- his in our lives, ours in other people's lives -- which is infinitely more important than presents.
10. We can't give out what we don't have.

Reflections on yesterday's Gospel (Luke 10: 38-42)

Sosyalin mo mukha mo!

Yun lang.

Haay...

Look. Sigh. Sigh again. And then just remember what you DO have. Family. Friends. Faith. Sigh again.

There

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
-- Theodore Roosevelt

4.0

I caught a screening of Die Hard 4.0 last night. In a bus bound for Fairview from Ayala. Pero hindi ko natapos ang movie kasi bumaba na ako sa Cubao. BUt I saw enough of it to have these 4.0 things to say.

1.0 'Di naman masyado galit sa kotse ang direktor 'no.

2.0 Justin Long looks like Anthony Keidis of Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Throughout the movie, or at least the first half of it that I saw, I kept expecting he would start singing "give it away, give it away, give it away now!"

3.0 Ang late-'80s ng idea of an all-powerful computer system as villain.

4.0 In fairness, hindi masama ang kopya ng movie that the bus screened. 'Di siya direct disc-to-disc copy, though, I think. Pero di rin naman siya kinunan from inside a moviehouse, I think. (But I wouldn't know really kasi hindi ako nanonood ever ng pirated.) At isa pang in fairness, maganda ang sound system ng bus.

Wala

Gym na naman ako. Fourth consecutive night na. 'Lang magawa. 'Lang pera. 'Lang life. 'Lang kwenta.

Overcoming Evil

Yesterday’s Gospel reading (Matthew 9:1-8), wherein Jesus rebukes some scribes for thinking “evil in your hearts”, took me back to the aftermath of my father’s death nine years ago. He died of internal bleeding in the head following a slipping accident in his room. He was home alone, as he had been living by himself in our family house for over a year since my mom moved in with my sister and me. Our relationship with him had been strained for years, to say the least. A few weeks after we buried him my mom and eldest sister sat my elder sister and me down for a talk. They told us that there have been whisperings among some of my dad’s relatives that maybe what happened wasn’t an accident. And that perhaps my mom had a hand in it. My mom and sisters were hurt. Deeply. And, understandably, they started biting back, talking ill and bringing up old sins against these relatives. I was incredulous – I could not, and in fact refused, to believe that our own relatives, some of whom were very close to us, could and would even entertain such vile thoughts. But instead of hurt I was enveloped by sadness. Unlike my mom and my sisters, I thought that our relatives’ actions did not tell on us but rather on them – told of the darkness gnawing in their minds, hearts, and souls. That night I prayed hard. I asked for healing for my relatives and for my mom and sisters as well. I thought it was the right, the charitable, and indeed the only thing to do. I wasn't wrong. And this is what I learned. Evil can only be overcome with love.

Top 10: Current Annoyances

In no particular order.

1. Cash register attendants who ask: “May smaller bill po kayo?” Aba ‘neng, kung meron eh di yun sana ang binigay ko sa ‘yo!

2. Lady passengers in the MRT who are just too lazy to take a few more steps to the first coach, which is devoted exclusively for them.

3. MRT passengers who station themselves near the doors and refuse to go farther inside, blocking the commuters outside from coming in.

4. Paris Hilton.

5. Lame threequels (Spiderman, Shrek, Pirates, Ocean’s).

6. Isaiah Washington’s blame game. First it was T.R. Knight. Now he’s saying it was Patrick Dempsey’s fault he made the homophobic slur that got him in hot water last year and eventually got him axed from Grey’s Anatomy. Shut up already!

7. Sanctimonious broadcasters. (I’m looking at you, Ted Failon, and you, Korina Sanchez.)

8. All those gabfests in late-night radio. FM used to mean furo music. Now it’s fuera music. Teynks gad for the iPod.

9. Local entertainment media’s continued obsession with the sordid personal affairs of B-level actresses Gretchen Barreto and Ruffa Gutierrez…

10. …And it’s non-existent coverage of the Hollywood breakthrough of world-class Pinoy director Yam Laranas, who’s remaking his own film, “Sigaw”, with the producers of “The Ring” and “The Grudge”! Haay.

Pathetic

I caught the tail end of Ted Failon’s radio interview this morning with the chief of police in Laguna about the recent gang rape of a 16-year old girl. The police officer noted that, as much as they’d like to solve the case right away, there are technicalities in the procedures and due process that they must follow in the ongoing investigation. Ted left it at that.

After the interview, though, he said something along these lines: Kung naging mayaman lang ang biktima sigurado akong nahuli kaagad ang mga suspects… Due process, due process!

What the…! It’s one thing to deride law enforcers for the preferential treatment they (allegedly!) give the rich but it’s an entirely different thing to openly advocate lawlessness.

I don’t hold the police force in high esteem myself but this, this is just wrong. That it came from a veteran broadcaster makes it pathetic. BUti na lang hindi siya nanalo when he ran for Congressman. I shudder thinking about the kinds of misguided laws he might've concocted.

Pathetic

I caught the tail end of Ted Failon’s radio interview this morning with the chief of police in Laguna about the recent gang rape of a 16-year old girl. The police officer noted that, as much as they’d like to solve the case right away, there are technicalities in the procedures and due process that they must follow in the ongoing investigation. Ted left it at that.

After the interview, though, he said something along these lines: Kung naging mayaman lang ang biktima sigurado akong nahuli kaagad ang mga suspects… Due process, due process!

What the…! It’s one thing to deride law enforcers for the preferential treatment they (allegedly!) give the rich but it’s an entirely different thing to openly advocate lawlessness.

I don’t hold the police force in high esteem myself but this, this is just wrong. That it came from a veteran broadcaster makes it pathetic. BUti na lang hindi siya nanalo when he ran for Congressman. I shudder thinking about the kinds of misguided laws he might've concocted.

The Old Lady At The ATM Counter

I was at the ATM row in Landmark and there was this small, frail old lady who was seated at the edge of the riser for the machines. She was dressed in a pair of black leather shoes, black pants, and a dark blue satin long-sleeve blouse with white polka dots – all neat and neatly worn.

Her hair was swept in an updo and she was wearing makeup and jewelry – a pair of diamond earrings (they looked fake, though) and a set of three diamond-encrusted gold rings (again probably fake) on each middle finger.

I thought she was just resting after a tiring trip to the mall (she was dozing off). Perhaps she was waiting for her daughter and apo to finish shopping. And then I noticed the blue paper bag lying on the ground near her feet. In it was one open pack of cigarettes, two sealed packs, and lots of gum and mint candy.

Nothing in her looks said she was a vendor. And at that time it struck me as rather unwise of her to choose such a low-traffic area for her trade.

Questions arose in my head. She was a vendor all right. But who was she? Why was she vending when she looked like she didn’t need to? Why did she look the way she did if she needed to vend?

The only character sketch I thought was a satisfactory explanation was this: she used to be rich. Or at least had enough money to live comfortably and afford niceties such as good clothes and accessories. But she’s fallen on hard times. She can’t quite leave her old life behind, though, and that’s why she continues to hold on to it as much as she can. If not economically at least cosmetically.

Later that night a friend said that she was probably simply trying to avoid being spotted by the Makati police. Vending, he told me, is unlawful in the city. Looking like a shopper and being inconspicuous about her job was her way of not calling attention to herself.

Okay, that made sense. But a question remained. Why did she station herself there, in between two traffic intersections that were being manned by several law enforcers?

Jump

There's only so much you can learn in one place. The more that you wait the more time that you waste. -- Madonna