review night

IT'S MARION COTTILARD VS. JULIE CHRISTIE FOR BEST ACTRESS (LA VIE EN ROSE/ AWAY FROM HER)

2008-01-19T08:44:00.000-08:00

There’s a lot of Oscar buzz being generated after Marion Cottilard and Julie Christie won the Golden Globes for Best Actress for a Musical and Drama respectively.

I've seen both films, LA VIE EN ROSE and AWAY FROM HER.

I saw Marion's performance first and I must admit I was totally blown away. The process that she undertook to be able to get into Edith Piaf's character was just amazing. It was a difficult role and she was able to really nail it. LA VIE EN ROSE, more than anything, was about Marion Cottilard's haunting and able performance. There were so many parts in the movie where you can't help but admire her acting. You just can't miss her wonderful performance as an actress, back in your mind you know how it must have been difficult for Marion to undergo such transformation, the precision of her calculations, and the nuances that she tried to put up, to be the legend EDITH PIAF.

Then, I saw Sarah Poley's poignant domestic drama - AWAY FROM HER. I sat throughout the whole movie quietly. Unlike LA VIE EN ROSE, it was a subtle moving film where the different elements really gel well. The different disciplines - like the acting, the script, the direction, the cinematography, nothing really stood out from the other, they were all great. There was nothing too grand but when you put them all together what you have is one of the best domestic dramas ever created for the screen. It was painful and heartbreakingly beautiful. Poetic really, and it’s surprising that it came from a very young director like Sarah.

I actually didn't see Julie Christie as the actress, what I saw and experienced was her character - Fiona Anderson, a wife who's slowly suffering from Alzheimer's. Her journey was just so cathartic and it was so painful to watch. What I saw was not Julie Christie acting, but the character that she was playing, the nuances of her character was just so real that long after you've seen the movie her character still lingers.

MARION's portrayal was difficult and she was able to pull it off magnificently. Though you can't help but separate Marion Cottilard and her portrayal of Edith Piaf - you know that she's doing her best to get that powerful but sometimes too calculated performance. Julie Christie's wasn't performing, her characterization was seamless. She was in the end what Fiona Anderson's character was all about.

Marion and Julie's performances were definitely the best of the year. Marion's performance is definitely Oscar worthy because of the difficulty of her role. But if we're talking about performance as a narrative function, Julie Christie's though was more effective.

TRIBU ( A FILTHY MUSICAL SCORES...)

2007-09-08T21:39:00.001-07:00

Violence dictates the end of society, this is the morbid conclusion of Jim Libiran's urban study on the doomed youth of Manila. If you really look closely around you, what we have now is a growing urban warfare that most of us are not very familiar with... and if we don't do anything about it, we'll surely loose the battle.

But how can we fight something that the society chooses not to see or does not give a damn in the first place? I must admit that after watching TRIBU, I was shocked that there are stories like these happening that aren't being discussed by the local mainstream media. Street gang wars, kids no older than 10 year-olds carrying guns in the filthiest part of Manila, killings that are as casual as taking a bath, I was so taken a back because I can't believe that I was actually seeing Filipino lives unfolding on the bigscreen.

I remember seeing LA HAINE for example, Mattheiu Kassovitz take on the riots of neglected Parisian immigrants, and CITY OF GOD, Brazilian director Fernando Mereilles' epic scale drama on Rio' De Janeiro's dark gang war past... and I can't help and feel sorry for the morally bankrupt society of these two countries... but these stories happening in my Manila? I'm so sorry for me being naive, but really, the disparity that's happening in the country is already a heinous crime as it is.

TRIBU is a big slap in everyone's face. It shows that film as a medium is as powerful as the guns that these kids use to survive. And the daring by which the director chooses to present the lives of these kids is already the biggest triumph of the movie..

The actors here were truly amazing... and for me, more than anything, the ensemble was the best thing about this movie. You'll never see the likes of John Loyd Cruz, Jericho Rosales or Piolo Pascual here... and that's a good thing. Though these guys have shown their capabilities as actors, they will never be as effective as these unknown actors.

The director chose to get real life gang members to play the key roles in this movie. And as an audience, you're given freedom to whether or not empathize with these kids. Unlike if you see Piolo for example, you've no choice but to root for him because of your previous bias for him as an actor. In Tribu, you just don't simply know who to root for because you know for a fact that what they're fighting for is a lost cause to begin with. You just watch and follow the movie to see how the inevitable doom of these kids will unfold.

Oh did I tell you that this movie is a musical? I'm serious, it's one heck of a musical!!! But when I say musical, fans of Stephen Sondheim must not really expect something similar. Instead, what you have here is an anthology of gritty and in-your-face rap songs that tell the real state of these boys. And mind you the songs are all impromptu... the fresh lyrics actually make it more powerful. They're what these kids call "FREESTYLE". Never have I seen in a local movie that music was used most effectively. In one powerful scene for example, when the group of boys were attending a wake of their fallen comrade, a boy bursts into a "FREESTYLE" and raps how they will try to get even and get revenge from the other gang for the death of their friend. An impromptu eulogy that's so Shakespearian... it gave me goosebumps really, lending a sense of near-palpable foreboding to this exceptionally powerful film.

TRIBU is an iconic movie that needs to be seen by many. I wouldn't want to get political but if many of you found GMA's SONA speech a little lacking and a bit wanting then this is a must see... for this is truly the real state of the nation that many of us choose not to see.

------
TRIBU (2007)
Written and Directed by JIM LIBIRAN
Winner of BEST FULL LENGTH FEATURE - CINEMALAYA 2007
Winner BEST ACTOR (ENSEMBLE) CINEMALAYA and CINEMANILA 2007

THE LADY VANISHES (A.k.a How a Seventy year old flick still kicks some ass...)

2007-08-29T10:28:00.000-07:00

Oh my GOD! This is definitely the action suspense drama to beat!!!

I haven't seen this movie in like a decade. This has been a phenomenal influence to me and to my love of films. Seventy years later after this flick was first shown, the movie still kicks some ass.

I mean movies like FLIGHTPLAN which heavily borrowed to this movie or other Hollywood suspense movies pale in comparison and don't even come close.

I saw this again with another friend last weekened when everyone was going crazy with the latest BOURNE installment.

He, being not familiar with HITCHCOCK PRE-HOLLYWOOD was totally blown away with this movie. This is one of the best suspense movies ever made and for someone to be moved by this film seven decades later just shows that this is indeed a movie classic, will never be dated, and will definitely stand the test of time.

The plot goes: A spoiled rich girl meets an old lady in a hotel while they get trapped for the day because of a snow landslide. The following morning, she and the old lady take the first train out back to Britain, the old lady becomes her confidant and her sitmate. But things get heavier when after a quick nap she wakes up and the Lady is nowhere to be found. She's convinced that the lady was kidnapped, but the staff inside the train think she's going crazy... sounds like a great plot for a Jodie Foster movie? Well this movie was actually way beyond its time.

Shot in the late 30's, THE LADY VANISHES redefined what celluloid films are capable of... they can be an effective medium where audiences can get hooked complimented by a finely written script. The direction and the editing was impeccable, even more effective than the recent action movies being shown today on the silverscreens.

If you love PSYCHO, VIRTIGO and NORTH BY NORTHWEST... this early HITCHCOCK movie will show you why he is indeed the master of suspense drama.

Amazing movie!!!

PARIS, I LOVE YOU!

2007-08-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

This has gotta be the most romantic movie to have come out in years. 18 short films all set in Paris, 18 stories that take different views on relationships, 18 ways to fall in love.

I heard about this movie last year when I was checking out on the follow up movie of Elias McConell from the Cannes winning movie ELEPHANT. "LE MARAIS" is one of the installments of PARIS I LOVE YOU which incidentally was also directed by GUS VAN SANT, same as ELEPHANT. It tells the story of two guys, Gaspard and Ellie and their one afternoon chance encounter in a printing house in LE MARAIS.

It's subtle approach and depiction on attraction is nothing short of amazing. You feel for the characters and you actually don't even assume or care about their sexual preference but more on their mixed feelings of falling in love at first sight. Beautifully filmed, short and sweet, LE MARAIS reminds me of SOFIA COPOLLAS "Lost In Translation".

FAUBORG DE SAINT DENIS is another great short from RUN LOLA RUN diretor TOM TWYKER. It's possibly the best short film amongst the lot. It tells the long and short love story of Francine and Thomas. An American theatre actress and a blind local decided to fall in love and used Paris as a silent witness to their passionate love affair... but just like the greatest love stories of our time, the most passionate of relationships are also the most difficult to consume. The movie takes us on a whirlwind ride of falling in love and paints the tragic consequences of falling out of love.

I thank CINEMANILA for bringing this sweet and melancholic movie here in our local theatres to be enjoyed by the countless film buffs craving for a break from the Hollywood mold. (Ironically, PARIS I LOVE YOU stars a number of A-LIST Hollywood Actors - Natalie Portman, Elijah Wood, Magie Gyllenhaal, Willen Dafoe to name a few...) I highly recommend this. :)

NOT YOUR RUN-OF-THE-MILL LOVE STORY

2007-08-23T05:42:00.000-07:00

I'm not a fan of Star Cinema movies.

For me their movies are just but an extension of TV soap operas. To borrow a better analogy they're like extended Shampoo commercials. I mean if you splice their different movies together, I bet you that you'll never be able to tell the difference. You've seen one, you've seen them all.

So I was actually surprised that a friend was able to convince me to watch this movie... and my verdict... I LIKE IT. I'm actually happy with this movie.

It's a technically sound movie. It had a very fluid cinematography complimented by great editing from Tara Illenberger. But the highlight is actually the acting and the direction. Maricel was not your usual Maricel, her actings's very restrained and effective. Angelica was also good. They're very good with their characterization. I actually believe them... I actually believed that they're characters can be real people and not just an extension of characters from ABSCBN's tiresome soap-operas.

It's not your usual "LOVE TRIANGLE" story. Here the "mistress" is actually older and mature while the real wife is "younger" and more attractive. "But what made the husband love the other woman?" is the movie's triumph on how it was able to effectively show this point of the story without resorting to cliches and histrionics. The dialogues are melodramatic... but what can we expect from a melodrama, right. Simply put, the movie's a well made melodrama.

More than anything, I think what made this movie exceptional from the Star Cinemas' run-of-the-mill was the able direction of Maryo J De Los Reyes. I mean if this was given to Manong Gilbs, or Binibining Joyce or Direk Chito I honestly don't think that they would be able to pull it off. This is a triumph of the director more than anybody else.

It's Vintage De Los Reyes really, he had good grasp of his material and he was able to get the best out of his actors. Mark Gil is just amazing!!!

The movie is something that you've seen before... but that doesn't mean that it cannot be good. It's a satisfying love story... not great, just good... and not your run-of-the-mill.

FUMI ZEKKA (SUGAR AND SPICE)

2007-08-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

I became a fan of Japanese teen actor Yuya Yagira right after watching the Cannes winning Japanese film NOBODY KNOWS almost four years ago. He was just thirteen then, and he played the role of an 11 year-old boy who got left behind by his irresponsible mother to tend alone to his sibllings while she eloped with her lover. The acting was impeccable. The movie so moving that it lingers long well after you've seen it.

Yuya was a nobody then, but things changed almost overnight when the Cannes Jury decided to give him the BEST ACTOR AWARD for the critically acclaimed film NOBODY KNOWS, making him the youngest reciepient of a CANNES AWARD. He suddenly became the toast of Japanese tinsel town. Unfortunately for YUYA, he was on a very awkward age. He was too young to play a teen role and too old to play a kid, and so roles for him were limited.

Fast forward to four years and our young actor's all grown up. He was reintroduced in this box-office hit romantic comedy called SUGAR AND SPICE. Directed by Isamu Nakae, the movie tells the story of a 17 year old boy named Shiro and how he copes up with the pressures of falling in love for the first time and how he faces the growing responsibilities that one has to face as one becomes an adult. I actually bought a copy of this movie almost a month ago but it is only now that I got to watch it... and for all you hopeless romantic, this is not-to-be missed.

SUGAR AND SPICE is beautifully filmed, surprisingly, for a romantic comedy. Superb lighting and wonderful art direction takes this movie out of your run-of-the-mill J-POP movie mold. Unfortunately though, the movie looks visually more appealing than it really is. The premise of the movie was so promising but the script and the direction falters in a number of situations making it awkward and unnatural in some scenes.

But Yuya's performance pretty much covers for everything the movie misses. You just can't take your eyes out of him. His performance is excellent, he played his character to a tee, sweet and vulnerable. You feel and you root for him when he goes after the girl of his dreams, you emphatize with him when he finally realizes that his relationship is doomed from the start. His character goes on a roller coaster ride and YAYU lets you join that ride.

Credit should be given to its supporting characters which also made this movie a treat to watch. Japanese veteran actress Mari Natsuki never fails to amaze you as she wonderfully captures the eccentric grandmother character without going over-the-top. Hers is a great substory that could have been well realized if handled by a more prolific director.

SUGAR AND SPICE runs for almost over two hours, and it sometimes feels that way. But thanks to the superb technical value and the wonderful performance of its actors the movie remains as a great find for the lovers of Asian cinema.

the movie that finally made me cry...no its not the 40 yr old virgin.

2005-10-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

the movie that makes me shed tears has finally been made!

thank goodness im not a rock.

im talking about the latest boxing flick to come out of hollywood, cinderella man.

wait, boxing? cinderella? aussie bad boy crowe? that made you cry? WTF?!

ok...ok...i know...the farthest thing on my mind when i read the gossip rags from america,

is that this lug can make me cry without even coming close to hitting me. but yeah, russel crowe

made me cry.

you see, what you have to understand is that a sports movie for guys is what a chick flick is for the ladies.

its supposed to make you see yourself, or what you wish you were, or what you dont ever want to be.

yeah but russel crowe? ok, here goes...

lets talk about the movie now.

first, the director, ron howard. ron howards work, either as director or executive producer, has almost

always had a "hopeful" streak when it comes to what drives the story. triumph of man is what basically

he brings to the screen. check it in films like gung-ho, beautiful mind or far and away. you always root for

the hero. hopeful and patriotic too. apparently he loves being american. but well get to that a little later.

this hopeful feeling though can be a little too much and it can wear you down, because sometimes it just

gets too one-sided, meaning his characters are not given much shade. to get you to root for his heroes

he wont give you reason to hate them. that could backfire anytime, and make a story lousy at times. corny

even.

now, lets go to the actors.

renee zellweger, man, her character was a piece of work in this movie. though i doubt this role was

somthing that stretched her to the limits of her oscar winning talent, she took the role with such a tender

touch and just the right amount of spunk to not make her just be "the wife", but with enough restrain so as

not to overshadow the cinderella man. she plays it just like you would imagine a boxers wife to be, loving

to a fault, but keeping her voice, over and above the din of congratulations. a woman behind a successful

man.

next is paul giammatti. man this guy knows his stuff! all at once, hes jaded, ruthless, funny and loving. in

this movie hes the only one who showed several dimensions to his character. throughout the movie, he

switches from being cunning to caring, hard to funny, with such ease that, theres no way to box him in.

sidekick, hes definitely not. enemy, no way. friend, makes you think twice. excellent job here of effective

support acting.

now we go to cinderella man. we saw him as a thug in l.a. confidential, a killing machine with a heart in

gladiator and a loony in a beautiful mind. aussie bad boy crowe, has always challenged himself with

character complexities that he manages to create with all his underacting going on. sure i rooted for him

in gladiator, hated him beautiful mind though, and feared him in l.a. confidential. but i never knew that

he could make me feel a lump in my throat and go emotional and feeling sorry for him. i mean with all

that heft and weight he throws around, he is an imposing man. on and off screen. it makes it hard to

believe then, that mr. alpha male from the outback, is a washed up, down and out boxer living in the

projects. but this he does with amazing clarity. man im talking about tears about thrice in the movie.

you actually feel for him. and thats where i think crowe beat out the hollywood leading man-types. he

bit into this role and committed to it fully, full vanities aside.

so maybe now you ask, is the oscar race over? is a sweep? well, there are some stinkin flies in the

ointment for this one though. first, the all america thing going here. im not sure how americans would feel

about all the flag raising going on, with lines like that somewhat say that america takes care of its citizens

blah..blah..no matter what...blah...

i dont know much about u.s. politics, not that i care that much for it either, but what i know is that such

blatant praises to their government, even if it was in the context of crowes character and plot, could be

frowned upon by some of the more sensitive not-so-pro-uncle sam audience.even the references to the

depression era government werent even done in a wink-wink approach, sometimes it sounded like

something that came directly from spin doctors. i wonder how crowe felt while saying those lines? or he

probably didnt care much either. another thing that the director, howard, couldnt do was to shade his

hero up a bit. give more of an edge. the cinderella man does not have a mean bone in his body.

throughout the movie, hes a good man! he never falters, he just runs into some bad luck. i just wish there

was a little more to it than circumstance. but then again, i maybe just nit-picking on a great movie.

so there you go, my thoughts on the movie that made me, finally, cry at the movies.

but dont worry guys, its not a sissy movie. you are guaranteed a lot of action and girls a lot of drama.

in my opinion, probably not a good date movie. but instead a movie to watch when you have a typical

afternoon free and you want a non-boring drama.

i give it a rating of 3.5 out of a possible 4. and best seen only after seeing the million dollar baby.

no connection here, except boxing. only it'll prepare you for the twists, hehe.

--by cordy

Bikini Open

2005-05-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

While all the theatres in Glorietta had dedicated themselves to Star Wars Episode 3: When the Sith Hits the Fan, I went to the one and only theatre that decided to show some flexibility. Cinema 5 was showing the latest Jeffrey Jetturian film, Bikini Open.

Jeffrey Jetturian has been an amazingly clever director since the start of his career, always pushing the limits of Philippine cinema without making it totally foreign to the masses who still want their movies spoon feeding them all the information. Tuhog was an amazing romp into how the film industry exploits the victims of social inhumanity in their efforts to make a buck. He also used a love story as a backdrop for a much larger vision in the award winning and critically praised Minsan Pa.

Thus, Bikini Open, with its premise of a parody of a news reporter (Cherry Pie Picache) who decides to feature a bikini open and raise dirt to boost her falling ratings is bound to be sheer delight. And it is. Jetturian is very capable of switching his material from the actual movie to the episode of Isyu Ngayon (Cherry Pie Picache's television show) to the show itself and then, lastly into many of the hidden truths (and even one sequence where their goals and ambitions are revealed).

Great editing and a good script (courtesy of Chris Martinez) makes the movie flow quickly and doesn't dally too long with the characters. Jetturian doesn't linger on the things that don't matter. And if the characters seem shallow or stereotypical, it has to be for the movie to work. It's a parody; it's satire. The complexity comes from how funny it is and how close its portrayal to reality. In effect, it shouldn't be too far or too near. And that distance is ably controlled by Jetturian. The characters are familiar enough for us to relate to but far enough for us to laugh at.

Cherry Pie Picache, once again, shows us her amazing talent as an actress, taking this character to its lowest level. She is mean, heartless and greedy but still manages to show us that she's also desperate for a hit. Despite the one-dimensional evil that her character possesses, there is still an underlying reason for it all. And the other actors are amazing as well.

Rafael Rossell has shown great improvement since his days in Tabing Ilog. In Tabing Ilog, Rossell suffered from an inability to speak the language which made his acting seem mechanical. Behind his eyes, you could see him translating his dialogue into English so that he can react appropriately. In Bikini Open, you can see him acting more naturally. After years in the country, he has done what other foreign pseudo-Filipino actors have promised but has yet to accomplish, he has learned the language and is now a better actor for it. Kudos to him.

Alfred Vargas departs from his cardboard portrayal of Aquil in my favourite local show at the moment Engkantadia to show that there is much depth beneath the gorgeous face. Here he shows a brightness in his eyes as his character sparkles at moments of inspiration (talking about Gail played by Diana Zubiri, the girl he fancies). Alfred Vargas, with good direction, is a promising young actor with a bright future ahead.

Diana Zubiri is a fine young actress. I like her a lot alone from Engkantadia, so seeing her here was also one of the reasons why I enjoyed the movie a lot. She has a freshness to her and an unself-conscious way about her. She knows she is sexy, so she doesn't hype it up, she doesn't play it further than she must. She is focusing on portraying a character and though she may be a little off sometime, I admire her for trying. I think with more experience, Diana Zubiri may shock us yet with a bunch of good performances.

I also like Francine Prieto. Her character merely has one line she repeats over and over and while many found the ploy to be redundant and unfunny after the 5th time, I think it was very telling of how Jetturian and Martinez think about these "career pageant contestants." And Prieto does an amazing job with her Lala, whose whole life is geared towards winning beauty contests and bag a career as a model. Behind the one liner she says throughout the film, there is a deeper, darker intention that is conveyed in her eyes. Prieto is amazing.

Newcomer J.E. Sison is a breath of fresh air with eyes that actually convey thought. When Picache's reporter interviews him and prods him to talk to the camera as if the camera is his father. Sison looks away and says "nakakahiya" (it's embarrassing) but then begins to cry and pleads for his father to show up and answer his questions. This is from the same guy who, clad only in a skimpy bikini, smiles at the judges and plays to the eager looks of the audience. He is a player but he is also a poor little puppy looking for something stable in his life. He maybe a little over the top, but with more experience and some training, he's going to be a better actor than anyone expects.

And there is a wonderful supporting cast from Marissa Delgado, Michael De Mesa and Ricky Davao.

More over, I'd like to comment that while the movie did show a lot of skin, it was neither sexy nor unnescessary. Every inch of flesh was done tastefully and with meaning. There were no gratouitous nudity, no exposed breast that led to any form of pornography (be it soft-porn or hardcore porn). Kudos to you, Mr. Jetturian. Show them hacks that sensuality, sexuality and sexy has nothing to do with what is seen but what is suggested. Sexy is not a visual but an attitude.

Over all, I enjoyed the movie. I had a blast and saw the way Jetturian and Martinez had left their mark. They made their comment on our media's lust for sensationalism. They attack this inhumane display of the lack of respect for other people's privacy. It also attacks our natural attraction to nudity and the story that is not any of our business to know.

And while we laugh, we think: what exactly has been shed here? Was it the contestants clothes or their privacy? Good job, Jetturian, good job.

listening station: WEEZER, "make believe"

2005-05-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

my flirtation with the weez began at fifteen when i saw the genius that is the "buddy holly" music video on mtv's buzz bin; but the full-blown, guts-out love affair didn't start til i was eighteen, when i heard "across the sea" on local fm radio. imagine being eighteen years old, crying into your pillow in your crap dorm room when the roommates are away and then suddenly hearing this song that goes, "you are eighteen year old girl who live in small city in japan... okay, i do not live in small city in japan, but i was eighteen year old girl who live in small city in the philippines. close enough? rivers cuomo, you had me at "i'm jello, baby". 1997 was a tumultuous year for me, and not just cause i was a sophomore in college, but because that was the year i had my heart broken for the first time. and i know this sounds dramatic and dare i even say it, emo, but to murder a cliche - this band saved my life. weezer was there to pick up the mess when my heart shattered into a thousand pieces, the way an eighteen year old heart can shatter into a thousand pieces. you get the picture.

"pinkerton", the band's second album was the soundtrack of the year. i felt like rivers cuomo was singing my life. he was letter perfect, had i been a guy. "el scorcho", "across the sea", "butterfly", "getchoo", "why bother" - these were the songs that held my hand and comforted me. i played it in my room, i played in during parties, i played it on a cheap boombox while getting really really drunk. it was at this time that i learned how to form relationships with a song. it was my lifeline. i made weezer comics, i wrote weezer fanfiction (although, at the time, they were more like diary entries). i would have conversations with rivers and brian bell; i would tell rivers to beat up my ex-boyfriend, which he did, in one of the stories i wrote.

we had a connection, weezer and me.

critics will be quick to say that the blue album, (weezer's debut) was the band's zenith but by the time "pinkerton" hit the shelves, less and less people cared. in some ways, it can be true, in some ways no. "pinkerton" was the acid test for the true believers. it both broke and made the weez. it broke the weez in terms of commercial success. critcs were dissappointed in it. magazines called it "crappy". in a lot of ways, "pinkerton" was nowhere near as good as blue; but "pinkerton" cemented the weezer fanbase. it was a dark, painfully personal album, and it remains my favorite weezer album for musical and personal reasons.

after "pink...", the weez dropped out of mass consciousness, until they came up with the green album in 2002.

all hell broke loose - long time fans hated it with a passion. "it's not the same weezer anymore!", "they've changed!" and "what happened to weezer?" became the collective sound of keyboards typing. some were just stoked that at least a new weezer album had got made in the first place. but in the back of every weezer fan's brain - there was some dissappointment in that little green one. fans were split into two factions - the older and weezer, oh excuse me, wiser fans; and the new, younger version (i'll call them new skool cuomosexuals).

pat wilson, weezer's drummer says that there will always be some resentment if you're a weezer fan. it's like if you're a fan, you will almost always be expecting the new record to suck. you'll always be psyching yourself up to hate it. i was of this disposition for almost three years. i liked the green album, but there was no way it could touch pink or blue. i was stoked when "maladroit" came out, but hated half the songs that were on that album. and i was getting frustrated with the way rivers was acting in interviews and bothered by all the rumors about him and certain groupies. i felt betrayed, not only musically, but cosmically as well. we were supposed to be partners, we were married in my mind for sure, but as rivz himself said, "married in my mind's no good". ain't that the truth.

the conversations i had in my head with rivers turned sour; and i wanted a divorce. see, i'd always loved weezer, and i always will, but it came to the point where i just couldn't understand rivers anymore. everytime i read something about him, i'd hurt. i'd bitch about his pervy ways - "you're bordering on pedophilia. it's sickening.; to which the rivers being would bitch back - "i didn't come to you to be berated!" and so on and so forth. have you ever had your heart broken by a band? i have.

it is 2005 and weezer's new album is called "make believe". of course i was terrified. i didn't know if i could handle another heartbreak with what i call "my favorite band in the entire universe". i was tired. i almost didn't want to read about it, or hear samples that had leaked over the net. i relied on second hand info and feedback. okay, so according to some people, their new single, "beverly hills" is less than "impressive". i didn't want to hear it to form my own decision about the song. maybe that was my betrayal to the weez. could i be blamed?

"make believe" was released in the U.S. on may 10. on a lark, i checked the racks on may 12. to my surprise, the album was already on the shelves at tower. i didn't have to think twice. i bought it.

unlike "maladroit", which i treated like a hott date upon seeing it on the shelves (i took it home, caressed it, undressed it lovingly), i had no great expectations about "make believe". as a weezer fan, i almost knew what i could expect. i knew i was going to be affected or hurt. i was ready for heartbreak. during its promotion, i'd sporadically check for info on "make believe". i was outraged when i saw the =w= symbol in pink against black. i thought, wait a minute, a pink flying =w= against black? that is SO me. just what are you trying to pull here, rivers cuomo?

before buying "make believe", i already had three songs downloaded off the net. "beverly hills", "perfect situation" and "this is such a pity". i could not get these three songs off my ipod once i listened to them. i was saying, "okay, rivz, these songs rock. now show me what else you got." i didn't cave that easy, but i was damn near close to it.

"make believe" is rivers cuomo reaching out. to me. to others like me. he's apologizing. he has at least three songs that say he's sorry. he's saying "i may not be a perfect soul", he's saying "pardon me", he's saying "this is such a pity". i listened to the album and said, "rivers, you know i'm right. thanks for admitting you're an asshole for once."

rivers cuomo has never sounded as good as he does on this new album. "perfect situation" with its "oh's" and 'whoah"s. fact- the absence of bassist matt sharp forever changed the way weezer delivered the OHs and WHOAHs. we would never have the "buddy holly" we did back in '94. i know that's hard to get over, but come on. the OHs and WHOAHs on "make believe" come from a different place entirely. the songs on "make believe" is another rivers being entirely. and i decided that i can sort of make an effort to understand this rivers being that inhabits the songs; this rivers being that has given me solace, and has been careless with my heart. but see, even muses can lose their direction once in a while, too. the thing is, they always find their way back to you, eventually.

"so danisha, what do you think?" goes the make believe rivers. and i go - shit. you sound fucking amazing. "so do you forgive me?" yes, yes, i do. and with that, i made my peace with this rivers being and let "make believe" make a real life fan out of me again.

Chutes Too Narrow by The Shins

2005-05-13T22:28:00.000-07:00

Here's how much I love The Shins. When I first heard a track from them on my YM's Launchcast radio last year, I downloaded it. Then proceeded to check out their profile at allmusic. And then I limewired EVERYTHING. Their two albums, and then some. A couple of months after downloading Chutes, I bought myself a copy.

And it's been almost a year since I heard about them, and I play them all the time still! How's that for loving The Shins?

Ok, so I only bought Chutes Too Narrow (via Amazon) and not Oh, Inverted World. But, give me time, I'll get it too. I promise!

I liked them cos of their singer's lilting vocals and crazy phrasing. The guitar work is sparse and melodically happy (unlike the frenetic rhythms of Franz Ferdinand, White Stripes, maybe), but their lyrics are kinda grey, sometimes cynical. I can't describe it. Danice is the music reviewer. All I can say is I love them!!! Yay!!!

muling pagkagising sa aking kamulatan.

2005-05-04T18:42:00.000-07:00

please try to catch this independent feature length film at the glorietta one cinemas, running til may 11! starring carlo aquino, ketchup eusebio, and cholo escano. film by une bloc. support! :)

listening station, blogger style

2005-05-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

miss review night? miss the music reviews? presenting the new and improved listening station! and that means none a'that sanitized, edited for tv, "oh no what will the record companies think?" pap. from now on, i will only be reviewing albums that i actually listen to, and will only talk about bands that i like and keep you abreast on soon-to-be-releaseds that i think you should watch out for. i shall also be posting my current downloads, because sometimes downloading music is the only way to expose yourself to good music not commercially available in manila. so, expect a totally biased, list intensive listening station from here on in, babies!

recent downloads:

bettye swann - bettye swann was a lesser known soul singer in the late 60's. a re-issue of her compiled work was released just recently on astralwerks.

bettye swann is an amazing singer. she does soul just on the right side of country. she may not be a belter like aretha, but sometimes it takes the subtlest touch to soothe an aching heart.

recommended tracks: "don't touch me", "today i started loving you all over again", "kiss my love goodbye"

the go! team - downloaded most of the songs off their album, "thunder lightning strike!". lots of samples from lesser-known recordings and cheerleader chants, the go! team make some of the more delightful pastiche-oriented music this side of the turntable.

recommended tracks: "everyone's a VIP to someone", "ladyflash", "panther dash"

supergrass - supergrass used to be a band that i wanted to like so badly but couldn't seem to get past the fact that gaz coombes (the lead singer) was the spitting image of my ex boyfriend. i'm all over that now. i officially LOVE supergrass. as a full-on gung-ho supporter of piracy, i highly recommend hunting for their dvd "supergrass in 10". it's got an awesome documentary on supergrass's amazing career and all the important music videos.

recommended tracks: "mansize rooster", "sun hits the sky", "mary"

album i am currently in love with:

"love is hell" is not a new album, but a friend was kind enough to send this 2004 release to me last month. this album was actually released last year, a handy-dandy full-length album version of two EP's - "love is hell pt 1" and "love is hell pt 2". tis album is excellent - full of rainy day ballads. if you liked his first solo album "heartbreaker", "love is hell" might be up your heartbreak alley. lovely as fuck.

stand-out tracks: "love is hell", "please do not let me go", "hotel chelsea nights"

albums that are currently on my wish list:

here's a couple of no-brainers. two of my favorite bands are releasing new albums this month:

teenage fanclub are releasing their seventh studio album called "man-made" in the UK this may 9.

formed in glasgow, scotland in 1989, they made a "splash" in the U.S. and became seminal grunge acts in 1991 with the release of "bandwagonesque". their 1995 release, "grand prix" is a pop masterpiece.

(www.teenagefanclub.com)

then there's also...

i swear, rivers does this to spite me. a black background with a pink =w= symbol? come on. that is SO me. also, notice that the teenage fanclub album cover is in white and the weezer in black. it's almost as if they're doing the good cop, bad cop routine on me. weezer's fifth album "make believe" comes out on may 10 in the U.S.

(www.weezer.com)

Bianca in the Sunday Inquirer

2005-05-03T06:40:00.000-07:00

SHE wasn't afraid of the snake. Whenever people meet Bianca Gonzalez for the first time, the topic of Bianca's towering billboard over Guadalupe—an ad for Pink Soda, for which she cuddled up with a rather large reptile—comes up. They ask her if she was scared of the snake. "I did ask the trainer if the snake had been fed," the 22-year-old model and TV host says with a big smile.

Read the article HERE.

hello again, review night!

2005-05-02T20:17:00.000-07:00

Review Night lives on! Er, maybe not as a "night" per se, but hey, if it's the same gang, the spirit remains the same. =) Hello, Ian! *bows to the EP* =D

I reviewed Before Sunset for Breakfast earlier today. There are a lot of other things about the film that I like, things that I didn't get to bring up while on cam with Ryan and Bianca. Julie Delpy's musical skills are a happy surprise in the movie, for instance. I want to find the soundtrack, in the hopes that the songs she composed and sang would be part of the album.

What appeals to me most about the film is how Linklater leaves so much to Hawke and Delpy's natural repartée. It comes across as very conversational, with hardly any attempt to apply the more familiar trends of contemporary filmmaking. I wouldn't be surprised if the bulk of what Linklater did was just guide the camerawork, leaving the duo to express things the way they'd like. It helps that the three of them collaborated on the screenplay, of course.

They definitely took risks with that, though, given how, like Ryan said earlier, the entire encounter tends to come across as geeky intellectualism instead of a realistic discussion between two no-longer-estranged lovers. Well-articulated sentiments ranging from ecological concerns to questions about faith seem unlikely to be the stuff of conversations between people who have yearned for so long to reconnect, after all.

I've met people who actually -do- have extended, wordy exchanges like theirs, though. I admit I'm the sort who'd enjoy that kind of sharing too, haha. ;) I guess Celine and Jesse's exchange would be less believable if their characters weren't established as the verbose sort; thankfully the narrative makes it clear that they're prone to dealing that way with life, and that their sense of connection really hinges on the eloquent sharing of their thoughts and feelings.

While part of me wants to see Before Sunrise again, I think I'd like to leave the experience as is. The cornerstones of Before Sunset's narrative are notions of memory, and I think I'd appreciate the film less if I don't retain the whole experience the same way the characters do: caught only in memories made keener yet mistier by the passage of so much time and other experiences. There's so much about the film that relies on viewers identifying with its particular narrative and contextual aspects, and I guess I'm lucky that circumstances have allowed me that chance.

Okay, this is getting long -- I'll stop now. =) Here's hoping other reviewers will also share their thoughts on the films they've seen recently.

Postscript: Thanks for the invite to post here, Bianca! The email didn't say who it was from aside from Blogger, but I'm assuming that it was you, seeing as how you brought the idea up after our segment this morning. =)

2005-04-24T00:03:00.000-07:00

Ryan waiting for the take

Ryan, Pia, and Danice

2005-04-13T02:52:00.000-07:00

Ryan, Pia, and Danice, photo by ianroxas

Wala ako talagang silbe kasi ayoko magsulat ng review. Plus, I haven't seen a movie since forever. Well, since "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" which I loved because of the art direction. And well, I love Jim Carrey. And the kids were so deliciously deadpan! And and and --- the closing credits could be entered into the short film category of some awards thing.

So, there. I'll just post photos from all points of Review Night's life na lang. That's Danice (headwriter) on the right, btw, going over the script with Ry and P.

--- ianroxas

2005-04-08T08:21:00.000-07:00

Pouty, photo by ianroxas

2005-04-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

Last day, photo by ianroxas

Pop Ryan

2005-04-06T03:39:00.000-07:00

photo by ianroxas, Pop 9 camera, photoshop filters and a stick of Marlboro red

2005-01-28T02:55:00.000-08:00

mEeT tHe fOcKeRs.

the casting was fantabulous!! dustin hoffman and barbra streisand give life to such unique characters. robert de niro and blythe danner still do a great job. and the baby.. oh wow! haha! galing!

the story wa great. much more complex than the first, better twists and turns, and has more heart than the first.

but then again, i still found meet the parents funnier. it was still more classic. meet the fockers was very witty, but lacked punchlines. still very much worth that purple buck!

tHe oScAr'S.

so excited for the aviator and million dollar baby to come out. :) and wow! kate winslet was nominated for best actress as clementine in eternal sunshine!! i'm so happy! hehe!

((by bianca))

2005-01-26T21:19:00.000-08:00

Bianca waiting photo by ianroxas Lomo LCA =)

2005-01-26T20:58:00.000-08:00

Ryan photo by ianroxas/Holga 120SF =)

Here's Ryan wearing his favorite corduroy hat, hanging out outside the studio after a taping. We don't get to hang out much after taping anymore, because he and Bianca promptly leave for Y Speak taping right after ours.

movies for twenty-oh-five

2005-01-11T07:17:00.000-08:00

man, have you seen the trailers for upcoming releases?
exciting ya?
just the first weekend of the year and i downed three that
really had me waiting for them. and heres how it went...

OCEANS12

okay, so theres really no other reason for us to watch this except
to see multi millionaires enjoy themselves for a couple of hours.
i was really excited to see this coz the first one was nothing but a trip. plain and simple.

to try and critique a movie like oceans12 is to get laughed at for having a stick up
your *ss i think. hehe. why? because the makers themselves didnt care about anything but their
enjoyment.
now, if you dont feel like being taken for a ride, and you want a piece of cinema genius
this one isnt for you.

but, if you have time to kill and a hundred bucks to burn, go ahead, watch them try to outquip
each other every scene. see what brad pitt has to wear. get some popcorn and some soda, munch away
and enjoy the eye candy.

ryans rating==> an entertaining 2.5

BLADE TRINITY

just for jessica biel, this is a must see for every vampire wannabee! except maybe, if your
taste pans to ryan reynolds. hehe.
now on to what i feel about this one.

i was a big fan of the first edition. i still think, the mood of that film was the best. and the villain too,
deacon frost, unbeatable.

the second one was i think a failure in trying to recapture that feel.
but this latest in the blade series, is quite a departure in terms of thrust and most definitely the look.

the first one, if it were in terms of comic books, wouldve been a graphic novel for adult consumption.
this one though, is straight marvel. 60 page on the rack comic book feel.
from the back up kids, biel and reynolds, to the major villain in dracula.
the weapons too are what you would see in dollar-fifty collectibles.

what this one provides that the other two gave in very litlle doses is humor.
provided of course by van-the-vampire-hunter-wilder. his lines are the ones that genuinely elicit laughter
from an otherwise bored audience.
and again jessica-the-body-biel wakes you up with her erm...wel...body.
we also see a bit of wesley snipes shine thru blades monosyllabic character here. watch out for a distinct shift
in blades language when he tries to humor the kids.
all in all, blade is still entertaining, although it borders on the been there done that flavor of most vampire pics,
i still think this franchise is worth watching, if only to be entertained and to be convinced that the ipod
is indeed cool.

ryans rating==> for reynolds 2.5
for biel a clapping 3.5
for the movie a satisfied 2

KUNG FU HUSTLE

now this one...
another funny kung fu movie eh...
from the makers of shaolin soccer ya...
did you find that funny or stoopid...
hmmm...
b-movie on a sunday night...nothing else to watch...might as well wait for the traffic to pass...

you missed it?!!? you didnt get to see kung fu hustle in the big screen?!!?

well...IT SUCKS TO BE YOU MAN!!!

when was the last time you really laughed hard in a movie house? as in hees,haws and guffaws?!
a TVJ movie? the late rene requestias perhaps? or dont tell me mel brooks?

forget about quentin tarantino and his horde of gangsters!
move over michael madsen.
weve got he axe gang showing us how true gangstas behave!
man if you dont find this movie funny, you havta get yourself some help. fast.
not only are the gags laugh-out-loud funny, the makers of this one know their cinema
techniques. the texture, the script, the choreography. everything in this movie shows us all
that they know their moves well. as they exploit all the funny things in kung fu movie world, they
also dont forget about how a story is important in stringing gags together. and how a budget helps
in making your b-movie worth buying the original DVD for.
if it isnt too late, go catch this in the cinemas, with all your buddies preferably. it wont fail you.

ryans rating==> a tummy twisting 4!

there ya go, a pretty long entry for a quick movie watching weekend!
now...lemme relax as i wait for the fockers....

happy new year!

2005-01-01T09:13:00.000-08:00

cheers to a great 2005 from ryan and bianca! taken at the studio 23 new year party!

happy holidays!

2004-12-27T08:59:00.000-08:00

the hosts and staff of review night would like to wish everyone a merry christmas and a blessed new year!

please take a moment to pray for our brothers and sisters affected by the tsunami tragedy.