Your Rude Ticket to the Skies - Part 2

I just thought it would be a great blurb for a TV commercial. I am such an exacting genius. LOL

If all the riches of the Gokongweis can only give them the insight to actually moderate and TRAIN their staff, they probably would prosper more than they already are. Make no mistake, I feel that this airline company is doing some form of service to the travel industry, BUT what kind of servie is it if the people directly dealing with their customers are rude assholes and sons of bitches who hasn't heard of good manners and right conduct?

Ang babastos ng mga tao sa check in counters ng cebu Pacific. be they in davao, cebu or Manila. You would think they'd be a little more grateful for being employed. Instead, they come off like superior beings with huge thicket of dildos up their tight assholes.

Mr. Gokongwei, try being selective on the people you hire - and train them to actually learn how to deal with customers kindly! If not, may you all ROT in hell!

singing someone else's songs

i've always believed that pinoys are some of the best singers in the whole world. we all know that. we have boundless musicality that comes naturally. but for artists, it's not enough that people buy their records. they have to "own" some songs to be truly immortalized as an artists.

with this in mind, i am glad that this favorite acoustic group, MYMP - with chin and juris - are starting to concentrate on originals. last month, they were promoting "now" (although i'd have chosen a different original song from their latest cd). the compilation has an enjoyable lineup of covers - madonna's "cherish", "make it easy on me", etc. but in 20 years' time, when new artists cover these tracks, people won't look back to these songs as mymp's - but the originbal artists'. let's take the case of lani misalucha. world class chanteuse. sparkling vegas diva. but ask people what original lani misalucha songs do they know. and the answer would be short. none.

that's why it is important to pepper an artist's recording with originals along with the easy recall of covers. itis an artist's road to musical immortality.

mauritius on my mind

come fly with me, sings buble'


my tita millet offered to take me on a holiday in mauritius - all-expenses paid! wahoo! it's an island country that has heavenly beaches and only 24 islands! now here's the heartbreaker!

i can't! i have classes! no, i have exams!!!! boo hoo!

word of the day

another interesting word that i encountered today.

benight
verb
1.	overtake with darkness or night
2.	envelop with social, intellectual, or moral darkness; "The benighted people of this area"
3.	make darker and difficult to perceive by sight; "The lush canopy of the giant trees benights this magical place."

getting carried away with the visitor

professor vale (richard jenkins) is a difficult man. and he moves around his academic life in connecticut with not much verve. he dislikes his students as well as his colleagues. in a stroke of fate, he was sent to new york to present a paper that he supposedly "co-authored" - only to find a couple of illegal migrants occupying his own apartment - syrian tarek (haaz sleiman) and senegalese zainab.

just when you thought he'd boot them out of his pad, he finds himself inviting them over - until they another place, that is. in the course of events, the professor finds a friend in tarek (the uber-charming haaz sleiman) who soon teaches him how to play his african drums.

but all is not well in the city when tarek is accosted by some policemen, then the plot thickens. so thick i couldn't pause the video for a visit to the loo. LOL

this is obviously an independent film that deserves to be seen by a wider audience. it is compelling and heart-breaking. in the tradition of "pieta", where a mother will do everything for his son. this movie underlines the multi-layered levels of relationship: mother and son, lovers, and friendship!

i love the part where tarek's mother (also an illegal migrant herself) visits the prison facility where tarek was taken, knowing that she can't see him. "i just want to see the place where they took my son. it comforts me to know that he is there.," she said. richard jenkins is a force of nature!

and haaz sleiman is simply endearing. he imparts a truly sincere performance that's both winning and intense. he will be seen next in "futball:the pieces of dreams" which is about an iranian soccer prodigy who is recruited to play in the united states. not a very original story (remember the british movie "goal") but it would be interesting knowing that this story takes place in iran.

why is this such a great movie? two words. thomas mccarthy! another three words. the station agent. the latter would have to be one of my all-time favorite movies, with beautifully threshed out characters, dreamy settings, interesting situational thread, and not a lot of narrative gimmickry - just a plain beautiful story involving real people with a lot of heart. this director thomas mccarthy - who won BAFTA for "the station agent" - deserves to make more movies than just those 2!!! it just seems to be an injustice to have this brilliant director shell out just 2 movies in 4 years!

one more thing, director mccarthy knows how to pick the uber-cute guys. bobby cannavale in the station agent. then haaz sleiman in the visitor.



ayayay! haaz sleiman scorches our screen.



mr. haaz, i'm waiting for your email. LOL
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your rude ticket to the skies

it turned out to be a very pleasant day. and i just wished that travelers all over the country will have a pleasant time wherever they are.

in that note, i do pray for the enlightenment of the people from Cebu Pacific; that Mr. Gokongwei and the powers-that-be will spend some of their spare change to actually train their customer service agents and personnel how to actually deal with their very own customers in a civil manner. i mean, hey, it can't be too expensive to train people "good manners and right conduct" - but then again, maybe it is Cebu Pacific's motto - to be the "your rude ticket to the skies". LOL

komiks nobela?

"sayang"

"rosa traced over her earlier ink marks, thickening the letters. the coffee was cold, the ice cream was melting, and something warm had nestled against her legs. it had been there for a couple of minutes."

"are you after ice cream?"

"no, where's dad?"

"stuck near united nations avenue. you want to call him?"

"yes."

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"she said that when she was a girl, she met two visayans who had seen Black Dog with their own eyes. and they were new to Luzon, so they didn't know the story already."


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these are excerpts from a 1998 novel - the tesseract - that i recently saw in the bookshelves. though it rather seems a little too late to feature, this was actually written by hip maverick author, alex garland, the british author who also wrote one of my favorite leonardo dicaprio films of all time, "the beach."

it's an interesting read. check it out if you can.

missing mel

"look at me. i am beautiful!"




my kulit brother was doing a marathon of lethal weapon films for the last 3 days or so, and i couldn't help but miss this australian dearie - mel gibson!


i just think that not a lot of actors possess his charisma on-screen and it is such a big waste that he spend most of his time off-screen these days, if at all! whatever happened to him! he is so blessed! yet we find him drunk and driving! spewing racial slurs! and all the things that a bad boy does. it really bothers me!

anyway, it's comforting to know that 3 films are in the works:

1. Martin Campbell's Edge of Darkness - A detective investigates the death of his daughter and, in the process, uncovers her secret life as well as a cover-up involving the corporate world and the government! Sounds interesting but haven't we had enough of good-cop-bad-cop dramas? Didn't Leonardo DiCaprio's "Body of Evidence" sink at the box office? (And oh, yes, I loved that DiCaprio movie! I'm just saying that it is doing bad business.) Campbell was responsible for the latest James Bond movie "Casino Royale" and Antonio Banderas' "The Legend of Zorro". He is also on production of "The Birds" - a remake of the 1963 Hitchcock masterpiece, which I can't wait to watch.

2. Under and Alone - The movie is set in Southern California where an ATF agent infiltrates the notorious Mongols motorcycle gang. Am not too crazy with bike flicks, but with Gibson in it, I will watch!

3. Sam and George - Here's the synopsis: Two old friends reunite after one of them (Gibson) is released from prison after serving twenty years for a crime he didn't commit. Gosh! These stories sound hackneyed and old! Oh well! Maybe it has a nicely written script!



Unfortunately for us, fans, Mel's comeback on-screen won't happen until mid-2009 or later. But then, good things come for those who wait!

discovering anna faris

i've always thought anna faris was a run of the mill ditzy blonde actress who rightfully belongs to those oddball sexy comedies. then comes "house bunny". boy! that was such a big surprised.

this actress comes off with a nuanced spot-on performance that should help her get noticed in other better movies that deserve her talent.

go watch "house bunny" for such a fun time at the silver screen. it's beena lonbg time since a ditzy comedy in this genre has made us laugh so loud.

Attention Mr. Gokongwei! Attention Cebu Pacific! Attention Idiotic Cebu Pac Personnel!

oh my god. last weekend, i was leaving cebu after a few days of holiday. at the airport, i noticed the girls handling the cebu pac counter with morose looking faces. as my turn came, i just wanted to tell her that i wanted an aisle seat. and she didn't even give me a single glance and kept punching away like an idiot with a distorted face. thus i could NOT talk to her when she doesn't even look at me. she handed my boarding pass without a single eye contact! and i felt like i have been brushed off unceremoniously.

now look. i am no queen or princess of england, and nor do i expect red carpets rolled before me, but i want "real people" - not stupid robots - dealing with me.

there have been a steady series of complaints hurled against the cebu pacific people from all over the country and abroad. in fact, i've read several months ago a full thread of complaints against these nincompoops from so many different people all over the country regarding their brazen neglect for proper decorum and customer service satisfaction. ang babastos ng mga taga cebu pacific! sino ba itong mga lintik na pinag ha-hire ni gokongwei na puro walang modo!

Try the travel threads of Pinoy Exchange site - there are numerous complainst against this budget airline!

my blog friend who travels all over the world - eye in the sky - also had a similar experience. he emailed me saying sometime last year, when he was jetsetting manila-cebu-davao-manila all in a span of 1 month., he encountered the very same "kabastusan" from these cebu pac people who man the counters in all THREE CITIES! parehong matitigas ang mukha who won't look at their passengers when you deal with them. i didn't realize i would experience this myself. i thought this only happens to other people.

jesus, talk about "flying the friendly skies" - obviously NOT with cebu pacific. these nincompoops being hired by this budget airline have budget grace, budget charms, and budget manners.


Paging their owner, Mr.Gokongwei. i BEG you to PLEASE TRAIN YOUR STAFF WELL! It's not enough that you offer cheap rides. You have to learn how to treat your customers well! Your airline business won't really get far if you forsake hiring people who know how to treat customers! Ma-ka-KARMA din kayo and i'd be sad to see your business go to the dogs!

You know what, people, GOOD MANNERS AND RIGHT CONDUCT are universally taught in grade school!

Mr. Gokongwei, you have to TEACH THEM that again instead of sitting on your fat tycoony arse!

Hay naku, there's so many IDIOTS populating CEBU PACIFIC!

too bad for the mommy

i wonder what's gonna happen to mrs. rose flaminiano. it seems she's been collecting lawsuits from so many people.

i remember a few years ago when mrs. flaminiano was producing one sexually explicit B-movie after another. as in, those days, she was one of the steady exponent of starlets who bare their souls for dear mommy rose's movies. too bad for her that the SM group of cinemas have banned these movies, she had to shut down her flt films altogether. now she has to turn herself to other non-"bold" actors.



fast forward to 2008 - i sympathize with the plight of gabby concepcion, aster amoyo, ara mina, maui taylor, et.al.



mommy rose should consult cristy fermin who is a master at docking off estafa cases (and let's not forget libel cases too).

vj igi and his oral prosthesis

we caught arnel pineda's guesting at a MYX show with the cutie vj Igi a few days ago. the lead vocalist of the american band "journey" seemed ill at ease, but he was gracious nevertheless, responding to the seemingly pointless set of questions were hurled at him. igi cutie was bursting with energy, evident in his fidgety movement and restless hands. there were times you just wished he'd just shut up and dance some sexy dance - hihi - or just smile on cam without a word - although his pesky oral prosthetics would still be a huge visual annoyance.

things got better when igi actually asked things that interested him - about how he always wanted to sing but couldn't - and arnel started giving him on-cam tips! lucky guy! these moments also allowed the viewers a little peek into arnel's private life: that he will be here in the country until the end of january 2009; that he just popped the big question to his girlfriend - who expectedly said "yes"; that he's excited and a little anxious with his engagement; that his american bandmates didn't take well into eating pinoy food: "they stick with their vegetable salads," arnel offered; and that the asian leg of Journey's world tour will kick off in manila.

back to vj igi. back when he was just a vj aspirant, he was the one who got my vote basically because he looked good - and what's a visual medium if you're looking at someone who's ugly, right? also, he could speak 1,998 words a minute. LOL.

now here's my 2 cents worth to interviewers. when you have celebrities standing before you, ask them what actually interests you. that way, the conversation flows naturally. and it will run its course freely, instead of mouthing boring questions that the show's writers thought would be interesting to the audience. that is a major pitfall especially if this set of questions doesn't even interest the one asking them.

i remember watching last year's vj search and learned that vj igi and his sibs were actually born in roma. now this is my insipid question: does he speak italian?

a day after that interview, we chanced upon vj igi again, and oh my gosh, he looked like papa piolo. er, i mean, a piolo who can miraculously and comfortably speak the queen's language! LOL

hay naku, what a gorgeous guy. wonder if he has a gf - or how many. teehee




and yes, congratulations to arnel on his recent engagement! may you have a blissful journey ahead.

for brokenhearted abbie

my dear dear friend abbie recently suffered a major heartbreak, and there are times when there is really not so much you can do for a friend. you can sit beside her and see her pour her tears out. but dear dear abbie is not one to talk much about how she is all broken into pieces, which isn't good. these are moments when you wished the earth with swallow you whole. you knew this happened to you. and you know how painful it gets.

this morning, i woke up with music gently playing nearby, and it dawned on me how real this song is. so i got up and promised to get abbie a copy of this song. i'll find her the cd after my classses later. it isn't much for a friendly gesture, but i just wanted her to know that she isn't alone in her trying moments. i love you, girlfriend!

corny as it may sound, this one is for you and to the next guy who will fall head over heels in love with you.


here are some lines from christian bautista's song called "the one who won my heart":


i swore i'd let nobody in
not that way again
i'd fix it so they wouldn't stand a chance.

but you lessened the distance
i think you knew what this could be
you never gave up
reachin' for me.

because you hold me up so high
gave yourself with no condition
because you guide me when i'm stumbling in the dark...

attention abs cbn

attention abs-cbn :

i heard my 5 year old cousin comment about gerald anderson's new look, "tita, did he bathe this morning?" hahaha! now, doesn't that say anything about what this new image thing is doing for one of my favorite new actors, gerald anderson? being young and looking unkempt, unshaven, and unglamorous doesn't bode well for a relatively young career. when he gets a little more mature, maybe, but this is the time for him to build a fan base - NOT alienate his fans. this EMO look isn't working. it doesn't make people - girls, particularly - root for gerald's character in the sunday afternoon soap, "my only hope". ako, when i get to watch it, i carefully watch that new young cutie xian. he is delicious and oh-so tall! and i used to not able to keep my eyes off gerald but the emo-freaky look turns me off major.

it just doesn't make me blush, but gag.

word of the day

was reading some novel when i encountered this word. i thought i'd make it my WOD - word of the day, i.e.


TROG

noun

- the word is chiefly a British slang which means "a hooligan or a lout".

usage:

There were trogs destroying Mrs. Smith's garden.

chaos in trinoma

van pojas: here's another goodbye sooooooong.....
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a few weeks ago, i was leisurely walking with abbie (my bff) and kyle (my gay bff) in trinoma and we didn't realize there was a huge contest happening as we headed down the escalator. it was the MYX vj search (which robi domingo and another guy won). as we headed towards marks and spencer, there was a throng shrieking their lungs out.

and i was tempted to join in!

ex-pda scholars bunny and chivas were being surrounded by people who wanted their photos taken. my gosh! that couple is an uber-good looking one! they LOOKED like stars! i wanted to kidnap chivas for just 24 hours - and return him to his rightful owner after. LOL

little did i know that there was an even bigger crowd behind the couple. and rightfully so! the gigolo from cebu, sexy "it" boy, VAN ROXAS was also there. ohmygod. i almost fell off my stiletto heels. tee hee. what a cutesy! i was ready to kidnap him as well - but for 72 hours before returning him back to his mommy dearest! LOL


i sort of expected bunny and chivas to carry brown bags with them. they seem to have an affinity to brown bags. tee hee

sea monsters all around

hello, dolly, oh hello, dolly...
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grabe! it's been awhile since i last saw a 3D movie. when i had the chance - thanks to the proddings of eye-in-the-sky -i headed to sm mall of asia's IMAX theatre (yes, virginia. it is spelled the bri'ish way).

The movie : Sea Monsters - A Prehistoric Adventure, narrated by liev schreiber (he was in the omen, the painted veil, the scream trilogy and the CSI tv series)


seeing those ocean monsters directly swimming at you was indeed a visceral experience. the children watching kept screaming away. i couldn't help but be amazed looking at these prehistoric beasts. i was teleported to a world of wonderment! this is one movie both kids and kids-at-heart should NOT miss. everything seemed so true. i loved the way it felt - like i was swimming with them - i felt retitling the movie into "beauty and the sea beasts". tee hee

my only u is my only vomitus

i asked my uncle who's an internist and he said that systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, though not particularly at the top of the health tier, is not EXACTLY a death sentence, so i wonder why all the hulabaloo about dying in the new cathy garcia-molina movie, my only u - starring toni gonzaga and vhong navarro.

i was annoyed the way the script kept slapping the audience's consciousness with death from minute zero til kingdom come of this star cinema movie. it just rubbed me raw the way it stupidly spoonfed its audience ad nauseam. is this the shape of the medical profession in the country? THAT a physician is as stupid and notoriously incompetent as their physician (benjie paras) in this movie? no wonder foreigners perceive our doctors as idiots!

if SLE's complications - the nephropathy - is really bound to kill toni's character, then why is she apparently asymptomatic? she doesn't look "toxic" (ill) and nowhere in the movie is she complaining of anything! sure, it turns out that she had another person's results - but this underlines the idiocy of the medical team who diagnosed this said patient - as well as spotlight the peabrain of the people who wrote the script for this vomitus!

too bad for toni gonzaga who is the sole redeemer of this sourpus movie! vhong isn't bad, but toni is earnest and winsome, despite a moronic story! who ever thought of this story should be burned at the stakes! what a waste of my P150!

OMG! Julia and Clive Returns in Duplicity

Can you believe it?

My favorite pretty woman, Julia Roberts will soon be seen in a film called "Duplicity" alongside british hottie Clive Owen.

To be honest about it, before i saw their first movie together, Mike Nichols' "Closer" - i didn't think they had any connection at all - no screen chemistry to speak off at all! BUT "Closer" negated that notion! Clive Owen sizzled with the pretty woman and Jude Law, i simply wanted to take Mr. Owen home to meet my mother! hihi


In Duplicity, a pair of corporate spies (Owen and Roberts) who share a steamy past hook up to pull off the ultimate con job on their respective bosses. Ohhlala! I can't wait to see!


Tony Gilroy of the (Bourne Identity, Bourne Ultimatum and Michael Clayton) directs.

my own nights in rodanthe

rodanthe, north carolina
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though i have valid issues about the factual feasibilities and situations in "nights in rodanthe", there is no denying the intense power of this movie about facing second chances. if you love "the bridges of madison county", then how can you not embrace this deeply romantic movie that went straight to my heart. this movie transcends age, gender and economic status.

every character in this movie is insightfully written. and the performances simmer with intuitive passion and subtlety - everyone is great - richard gere, diane lane, christopher meloni, scott glenn, viola davis, and james franco (who is uncredited).


go watch!



director george c. wolfe successfully weaves a story in the league of other nicholas sparks' romantic masterpieces - the notebook and message in a bottle.

mark and bugoy: we could be twins! paano na kaya?
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i caught mark bautista portraying the role of pda season 2 runner-up bugoy drillon in maala-ala mo kaya (mmk) and i have to give kudos to the people who made mark look almost like bugoy. that would have been a very tricky affair considering the difficult job of actually imitating someone who is constantly on public eye. mark was commendable. i never thought much of mr. bautista as actor, not with lastikman on his resume. but this move highlights a great possibility. he is pursuing different grounds to append to an already fluorishing singing career.

zac efron blues

zac says, "i'm sharon stone with the testosterone."
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in high school musical 3, gabriela (vanessa hudgens) isn't able to attend her penultimate school musical as well as their prom as she jumpstarts her college entry into stanford. what's a gorgeous guy to do? troy (eyecandy zac efron) travels some 50 miles just to comfort her by saying, "my prom is wherever you are." aww!

mark strong's body of lies and deception

doesn't he look like christopher meloni?
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in leonardo dicaprio's body of lies, there was one actor who almost stole the thunder from leo and russell crowe, he was the amman intelligence chief who was suave, sexy and scary. the actor goes by the name of mark strong who i thought was of middle eastern descent.

boy! how could i be so wrong! mark strong is deliciously british!


Mark Strong is polygamous king Henry VIII in a British drama.

Lukaret and Ralph Darrel Mateo's Lovely Butt

Glydel Mercado (above,left), Ralph Darrel Mateo with Glydel (right)

The "other" cute Matteo - Guidicelli: "gotta find my corner..." Matteo's musical past!




Marlina, a comely spinster, keeps pining for a boyfriend who left town (well, not really), hoping he would one day return to marry her. So every single day, the townsfolk of sleepy Sta. Lucia finds our protagonist all decked up and ready for her close-up. When a timid but good looking lad Daniel (cute newcomer Ralph Darrel Mateo) comes to town to live with his Uncle Peding, the young "orphan" quickly catches Marlina's affections. Unfortunately for Daniel, his uncle also bites the dust, leaving his Funeral Business to the unabled hands of the youngster. But things don't look promising at all. No one seems to die in Sta. Lucia. What's a cute boy to do?

The answer seems too obvious. And in unrelated snippets, he pulls his pants down and goes skinny dipping at the murky river. In another indoor scene, he flashes his lovely ass once again, and lies down buck naked in the comfy corners of the kabaong! Talk about an unusual way of grieving! LOL

The premise of "Lukaret" has a very promising narrative. If careful attention to detail and a more rigorous brainstorming on the script were in place, this would have come out truly immersive and a compelling cinematic experience, though a tad predictable. For one, unlike 60-70% of the local digital films churned out in the last 3 quarters or so, "Lukaret" boasts of crystal clear photography. This darn indie does not look like a pinoy indie - and that in itself is a major accomplishment! Some scenes need more lighting than others, but on the whole, this is how a pinoy indie should look! Every digital filmmakers might as well get tips on how the filmmakers were able to serve up a really good copy! No washed up colors! No contorted images!

Unfortunately, there is glaring carelessness in the script! And the characters' arcs aren't well fleshed out! Moreover, Director Felino Tanada wasn't able to assist his actors into insightful performances. Provoq hunk Johnron Tanada is hammy. And good looking Ralph Darrel Mateo was just too raw and well... left to his own device! Case in point: His uncle dies, cut to next scene. Camera pans on Daniel's face; he grieves and lunges into a gut wrenching cry. His face contorts and we feel his err, difficulty. He couldn't shed a tear! It was like squeezing water from an igneous rock! This was where a director's supposed to intervene to motivate a newbie!

Make no mistake. Ralph Darrel Mateo (aka "Matteo Guidicelli lookalike") is a star find. In fact, this was highlighted by several of his butt exposures which were so unnecessary for his scenes. Glydel, an able actress, turns up with an uneven performance. Some scenes, she's brilliant. Other scenes, she's on the verge of needing valium! Being a "lukaret" sometimes needs tempering as there's a risk of going overboard - and in the process, come up with a caricaturish performance!

When another disemboweled body is found, a throng of onlookers gather around, cover their noses (as if dead bodies just a few hours old could rot and stench that fast. Then from out of the deep blue, a police officer springs out from this crowd and shouts - "Tumawag kayo ng ambulansya!" LOL. Shouldn't he ask for a punerarya instead? That is, unless the disemboweled number is still seen breathing - naghihingalo man lang! Baka nga naman buhay pa kasi. ;->

When Marlina asks Daniel how the first victim died, he replied, "Inatake daw sa puso." Didn't they show an earlier scene where people were hurling as they find the corpse with eviscerated bowels? Inatake sa puso? Eh nakabulatlat ang bituka! In the succeeding scene, a couple of characters (police?) discuss the neck ligature , and then the absence of the corpse's internal organs! Where did Daniel get his "inatake sa puso?"

Please refer to the scriptwriter!

pieta

The Pieta (1499) by artist Michaelangelo is a marble sculpture at the Vatican City's St. Peter's Basilica - "the duty children owed their parents"
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caught snippets of "boy and kris" where the cast of the upcoming afternoon teleserye "pieta" was promoting their show. seeing cherie gil sitting beside pretty boy ryan, it was a spotlight on beauty altogether. she was ravishing, he was appetizing. LOL

how can you not transfix yourself on the boobtube when ryan smiles. hay naku. truly one of the most good looking men in the philippines. too bad that cherie gil is nursing a broken heart after her recent amicable split with her musician hubby ronnie rogoff. my heart goes to every lass who lost their lads. it will be tough but life goes on.

it's also interesting to see ciara sotto open the talk show with a beautiful rendition of an old song, "kapalaran". i remember the song well from my lolo who used to hum it repeatedly and i suddenly miss my dear gramps. it was a good thing that ciara actually gave justice to this song or i would have raised hell.. as if. LOL

i have always thought that this sotto girl had middling talent, but her one-song number was a revelation, and i shall look for her cd from here on. i think i saw a new one on display at odyssey. if only she sang live. oh well.

and yes, we saw cherie's first born child, all grown up - jay eigenmann, who is a spitting image of sid lucero - gosh! they might as well be twins! jay wrote his mom a beautiful beautiful letter. he sure can write; it totally blew me away!



p.s. did you know that ryan was born in the united states? no wonder he speaks the queen's language like moi. hihihi

showbiz tres personas

just saw cogie domingo guest in "the singing bee". there were rumours of him looking like a blimp these days, but this stint proved otherwise. though he's not exactly gym fit - prob'ly with a little girth to shed off his torso - he was looking cute and fresh as ever. it's a good thing he's guesting in the station where he actually got his start. i remember, at his peak, he even eclipsed papa piolo pascual. hay naku. sayang the lost opportunities, but it can't be too late. he's till young, and so cute. when he smiles, ay ay ay ayeng! LOL




over at startalk, bubbly pia guanio was sort of "reviewing" how the willie revillame and joey de leon catfight started, and then she ebulliently concluded with, "and it became worsen worsen".

my chair fell down and disintegrated into pieces - and i straightened myself into an acceptable composure. uh, what was that again?




cristy fermin bewails that she's been embarrassed twice already by her very own tv show, the buzz; then she gets suspended by abs-cbn for unprofessional behavior and questionable integrity - or something to that effect. now i wouldn't step on anyone's misfortunes, but how come there doesn't seem to be any form of sympathy coming around for showbiz's queen bee?


and then a friend of mine actually said, "it was like a vampire complaining that she's been bitten".


days like these, you remember the dearly departed inday badiday who was tsismosa and maintriga, but she tipped the borders of decency. she was numero uno rumor-monger, but showbiz folks respected her and loved her; something that is hard to say about miss fermin - that "she's well loved". i'd probably get whiners from writing this post, but hey! open your own blogsites and hail your own heroes in wild abandon. and leave me to my own musings and opinions.

timely in appaloosa - and the arroyo government's penchance to release murderers, priest killers, pedophiles and rapists

Sheriff and the loyal assistant (a very cute assistant, that is).


Renee seems to say: Are you a rich convict? Then you have the huge chance of skirting off a criminal conviction under the Arroyo government.
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How timely! In "Appaloosa", an 1860's western drama - yes, drama! - a convicted murderer (Jeremy Irons) gets pardoned by the U.S. president before his execution to the consternation of Appaloosa sheriff (Ed Harris) and his loyal cutesie assistant (Viggo Mortensen) who bucked the pressure to do the right thing. Renee Zelwegger plays a role against type - as a boy-crazy damsel who can't seem to decide whose affections to root for. I was quite surprised with this movie which is almost a character study more than the expected spaghetti western. Did they consult with the Arroyo government who seems to relish and have orgasmic contentment commuting prison sentences of rapists, murderers and common criminals.

Of course they favor the moneyed criminals for this. LOL

walang binyagan - no baptism

there's an angel... ran domingo stars in "binyag"
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my dear friend isn't talking to me. a really really cute guy- my gay friend tried convincing me to accompany him watch another of these kabadingan film at the galleria. the last time this happened, it was a disaster - and we didn't even get to finish the movie.

so - did i really wanna repeat the same horrible experience again? i thought, maybe these people will still practice running their dvds from wednesday to saturday - and learn their craft by sunday and monday. i bargained with my bff for a monday screening. lo and behold! "Binyag" is NOT showing anymore! Of course my ears are so glad this has happened, but my dear friend is sore and isn't talking to me. for pete's sake, i didn't know it was only showing for a couple of days. how was I to know?

i read around and learned that it's about a cute provinciano who gets invited to try acting in the big city, but soon learns the harsh realities of his pipedreams. he soon finds himself abandoned, used and hungry, so he sells his flesh on the side to make ends meat - er, i mean "meet". LOL

hay naku. i hope it will come out on video na lang so i can buy a copy for my bading bff who won't talk to me til the christmas holidays.

cute pa naman ni ran domingo. i am partial to kargador looks. ay, slap me ever so gently. LOL

chris o'donnell'ish

sad. i saw chris o'donnell in a very forgettable role as a spineless snitch in mark wahlberg's latest movie, "max payne" which might as well be a companion piece to thomas jane's "the punisher" without the idiocy of those winged people hovering around.

chris was in grey's anatomy, as well as in a tv series called "the company" but way before all these, he was a huge huge A-lister. remember him as the delectable boy wonder, robin- batman's sidekick. now, he is a father of 4 - this man is busy populating earth! LOL

i hope he gets his stature back. he still looks very cute, although i noticed several crow feet around his eyes.

chris should be 38 already. how time flies.






max payne and his "snowball world". it snows in 80% of the movie. when it doesn't, it rains hard.

atom in our midst

And so i get to watch the new ABS-CBN show, Mga Kwentong Kalye, which airs late after Bandila every Mondays. These are magazine features on street life with its hosts covering different slices of the street pie: Atom Araullo covers a family who literally lives and sleeps on the pavement by the Pasig River; Sol Aragones details self-defense and tips on how to deal with hold uppers and snatchers; Anthony Taberna takes up his delinquency piece on a group of rugby-sniffing vagrants in a Caloocan enclave.

A handsome face is always a plus as it invites viewers to tune in, thus this is Atom Araullo's advantage. Not only is he a compelling story-telling, he peppers his tales with streetwise and earnest narratives that readily hooks his viewers into following him around while he "sleeps" by the roadside with this family (he spreads his favorite malong on the road - a gift from his mommy, then uses his backpack as his pillow. he eventually gets to sleep at 1 AM then wakes up at 5AM to accompany the "man of the house" to sell cigarettes elsewhere).

Social immersion is always a famous technique of handling a documentary, and this particular segment effectively educates. In the process, we went from man-watching (guilty of enjoying watching Atom...hihi) to actually being interested with what he was saying).

Though Sol Aragones has a sincere method of delivery of her spiels, we were somehow turned off by her early 30-second features during commercial breaks where she says, "At the end of a day, what fulfills me is seeing the children smile after listening to me deliver my news". But hey, Sol's beat is either on street crimes or the hard news. And I cringe at the idea of children smiling their sweetest when they hear Ms. Aragones report a salvage victim's head found floating on a river bed. I dunno. That just seemed too stagey! Too pretentious. If that commercial ad was designed to perk up Sol's saleability, that idea backfired. Too bad - coz she otherwise looks real.

As for Anthony Taberna's coverage on a proud group of mendicants who shares a P50 rugby stash among a group of 12 mostly-minors, it somehow felt under-explored. Time constraint maybe? But there were interesting snippets that could have been explored more - such as that seemingly insane lady (who's rendezvous with the rugby seems to have been jumpstarted by the death of her mother). She would have been a perfect poster girl on why people should shy away from rugby and how it affects ones' sanity. Oh well.

All in all, it was a compelling piece of vignettes that made me sit up and stay awake way past my bedtime. As for Atom, gosh, he makes me blush big time. Let's see: educational attainment - Ateneo, Pisay, UP Diliman; relatively young (he will be 26 sometime mid-October); tallish at 5'8", an applied Physics degree holder, has been to Africa, and a really handsome face - now can i get a date? LOL


if that isn't a handsome profile, i don't know what is.
i obviously don't look that good when photographed from that angle.

bangkok dangerous

shahkrit yamnarm as kong: fancy me a smile?
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This remake - directed by its original directors, the Pang brothers, is a testament as to how a digital film should be. What you get onscreen is a gritty, real-time atmosphere that is very much cinematographically superior compared to a good percentage of the substandard pinoy digital films that have become synonymous with inferior quality and mediocre technicals. Much of the flak has been conveniently attributed to the type of digital projectors that our local cinemas employ (especially those from SM Cinemas - which has some of the worst digital projectors in the world). Bangkok Dangerous negates that fact. Digital films when well made by competent filmmakers can achieve non-anemic technicals.

I wonder how the Thais take this movie. In the first few scenes, Nicolas Cage narrates, "Bangkok is corrupt, dirty..." which isn't really much of a surprise. But then a lot of caucasians flock to where it's supposed to be corrupt and dirty and cheap, so what does that say about them?

I love Bangkok.

Yamnarm, Cage and director Oxide Pang

The grittier original 1999 version: shooting my brains out!

carmen soo spreading magic

a foreigner is spreading magic in pinoy teleserye - and she isn't gimmick hound david blaine. she is more statuesque and has the face of an angel!




when i first saw carmen soo being introduced as jericho rosales' leading lady in the malaysian-philippine co-production, my impression was: no great shakes. we have ladies prettier than her... so what gives?

in true abs-cbn publicity fashion, we were soon bombarded with endless tv guestings introducing miss carmen to our consciousness... and i began to see why.

she is a doll! if i were a lesbian, i would definitely go for carmen soo and her love for chilly paste! she has this charisma that grows on you! when i watched the very first episode of "kahit isang saglit", i couldn't help but be enamored by this charming malaysian beauty! she had me hook, line and sinker - and the way her character was written in the series, you simply cannot help but root for her!

the scenes in kelantan - which were magical, if i may say so - were like gentle caresses to the heart, i got misty. i like the way the malaysian characters intermittently spoke tagalog. "aalis ka na naman"... and so on. gosh! now i am a carmen soo admirer.

she's just adorable. the way she sings april boy regino's anthem, "di ko kayang tanggapin". eww! but alright! it was cute.

who wants to be a VJ?

robi, don't bite your lips. you can bite mine instead... LOL
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i've always considered vj'ing as a total waste of energy. look where it got heart evangelista. from a bubbly squeaky clean imaged lass to "ay ayeng". hihi

she's lucky though, she's very pretty - and talented! plus she has annabelle rama as manager, doesn't she?

then i turned into myx. as it turns out, this music station is fielding a vj search. who do i find as one of the hopefuls? cute and cuddly robi domingo of pbb teen edition - looking deliciously handsome as ever!

i mean, really now, with 30% of text votes deciding for the winners, the cute mr. domingo is already a shoo in - and i can't wait to see him spout his incomprehensibles and his look-at-me-i'm-a-hip-funny-boy antics.

to the myx people: get on with the search fast. i can't wait to oogle at robi. he just makes me blush.

Ay Ayeng - The Travails of Watching an Indie

I have always patronized local films. I must have seen most of the local film releases, both mainstream and indie. Do I find them better than the U.S. releases? Are you kidding? There's just a few Pinoy films that's worth their admission fee of P150-160. But hope springs eternal every time; that I always hope to stumble upon a gem, like Jerold Tarog's "Confessional" - thus i keep watching these local drivels. Unfortunately, a majority of these local and digital flicks are turning out to be real turkeys!

Consider this: When you watch a digital film, aka indie film, these new film makers have made use of the digital medium as a convenient excuse to dole out shoddy filmmaking, no-budget productions, galunggong-cheap technicals and visuals that remind one of films from the 60's. A movie viewer is suddenly forced to lower down his expectations, his standard of appreciation, solely because, hey! this dud had a shoestring budget!

Yet - you queue at the ticket booth and you pay the same amount. They don't necessarily give you a discount when you watch these films - even if they admit to having a budget that won't feed my retriever! LOL. When I shell out P140 for a movie, I shall have acquired the right to voice out what I feel about the movie. Did it deliver? Did it entertain? Did it tell the story well?

Yet sometimes, when you lay down your critique in the confines of your own blogsite, there are morons who would impose "appreciations" on their misdirected films! And i say, HONEY, you pay for my movie watching and I won't say a word. I-uutot ko na lang kung di ko nagustuhan. But as long as i am paying for my movie admission ticket, my opinion is free from anybody's censure. Pera ko, opinion ko. Simple.

Now let me head to another indie film that has crossed my path - Edd Palmos' "Ay Ayeng".

Ayeng (Heart Evangelista) returns to her community in the Mountain Province "a long time ago" (yes, the director had illusions this was a fairy tale). She has endured the big city and is one year short from graduating as a teacher. However, life is hard and the money that her local community used to send for her studies has ceased from coming. Moreover, a nasty band of military bandits has set up harsh dominion over the villagers. Local girls are suddenly taken away for the trolls' pleasures, and able bodied male villagers are surreptitiously "eliminated". In the midst of all these troubles, Ayeng has taken upon herself to teach the children and some willing adults, writing the alphabets and numerals on her dirt board. With the help of a visiting childhood friend Karen (shrill voiced Sheena Joy), she has built a makeshift classroom for her pupils.

SPOILERS!

As fate would have it, some greedy businessmen have bribed the local politicians to clear the area for a business project. Along the way, more villagers are killed, houses are burned - and finally, Ayeng herself gets abducted and eventually, raped. As an aftermath of all these, the villagers still had the gall to blame Ayeng! What gives? Even her mother Umay (Maria Isabel Lopez) became oblivious to her sacrifices. What's a girl to do?

This is supposedly based on the life of Macli-ing Dulag, a tribal leader who, during the Marcos era, fought against the destruction of the Chico Dam. Adapted from the novel by Abdon Noviza and Liza Lazaro, the narrative is uninterestingly told in a slew of close-ups that makes viewing a discomfort. Some shots are even as hazy as a pencil drawn image (like the Honolulu scenes). As I said earlier, it was like watching a 1960s flick with misfocused directions and unfocused lenses.

The morning after Ayeng gets raped, we see her wake up from the shanty fully clothed. Did a fairy godmother clothe her? She stands up and opens the door in front of her. Then she cries in wild abandon in full view of everyone from the soldier's camp - instead of shutting her wide mouth and planning an escape! Luckily, she escapes and walks back not to her house to seek the comfort of her family, but to the classroom, where she further cries before a morose mother-and-son. Yet these idiots just stared at her without a reaction. They would have reacted better from ant stings! LOL. There was just no hint of consolation or sympathy! Then without rhyme or reason, they walk out on her! Like idiots!

Another misdirection was when Ayeng leaves the village with Karen. Just a minute prior, her mother along with the rest of the villagers (composed of 4 people - LOL) told her off. "Pabayaan mo na kami, Ayeng." So - she does exactly that. She packs her bag and leaves.

As she walks into the sunset, the kids scatter all over the crevices of the hills - in pairs of twos! They start singing "Ako ay Pilipino" a la "We Are the World". Each distributed lines carrying a different pitch from the last one!!! It was hilarious! Like witnessing an amateur children's program. Only, the St. Paul's kinder students are much much better. No wonder Ayeng was crying her heart out! The punishment was too much to bear!

Now, what made the villagers suddenly change their mind? Search me. It was a spur-of-the-moment change of heart that took 3 milliseconds. Once again, with no rhyme nor reason! What ever happened to the character of Ayeng's lover, Sadek (Jao Mapa); or Ayeng's father and brother? Were they ever reunited? The epilogue conveniently forgot all these other characters. Like they were just figments of her nightmare!

The movie's sole redemption rests on someone's shoulder - Heart Evangelista! This girl carries her character with earnest sensitivity all throughout this crappy film! She is such a lovely presence that when she cries, your heart will melt like butter. There are physical presences that are easy to empathize with. Evangelista has it. It is obvious that Star Cinema has done her good in her training as an actress! Or maybe her former beau Jericho Rosales was simply an effective mentor!

Too bad she had to endure starring in this outdated, disjointed, misdirected, haphazardly mounted film! Brillante Mendoza's "Manoro" was a better realized project about literacy and scholastic dedication - by leaps and bounds!

As I made my way out of SM cinema, I shook my lovely head. Gosh! There was only Kyle and myself populating the whole cinema! If this were my first time to watch a digital indie film, you can bet it will also be my last. Good thing I'm a masochist. I love punishing myself!

gabbing about gabby

My memories of him gently fading into the limelight are obscure, but one thing was sure. There were trickles of disgrace around it. Gabby Concepcion - in a film festival scam along with Ruffa Gutierrez and their erswhile manager, the infamous Lolit Solis. There was even a beauty queen involved (Miss Viveka Babaje). That was eons ago. Time has obviously healed wounds.

When Gabby recently returned after a 13 year self-imposed exile, he shook the public with his charm and appeal, looking ever so youthful than his contemporaries. And boy, he has never looked so good - and boyish! Suddenly, this has inspired fans of his generation to root for a movie reunion with Sharon Cuneta. What can I say, people love romance!

So... he starts his bid with a mini-series, "Iisa Pa Lamang".

But there is something amiss. The ABS CBN people gave him a character who actually plays second fiddle to Diether Ocampo! In the series, Claudine pines for Diether while Gabby patiently waits on the sides, looking forlorn. This resurgence of Gabby's matinee idol appeal suddenly gets a very cold shower!!! Who ever thought of serving this turkey to Mr. Concepcion deserves to be burned at the stakes! They single handedly halted his red-hot momentum! What a waste!

Though I am a certified ABS CBN patron (I hardly even recognize 80% of the GMA Artist population, for pete's sake), I am not fond of this series. For starters, Claudine looks matronly, and the believability of her triumphs and miseries swing faster than an overcharged pendulum; the plots are just plain implausible.

Then there is Angelica Panganiban. She with the tamest of faces and the rawest of emotions! This girl reminds me of a foregone and forgotten era when Donita Rose spelled subtlety in every minor film role she tackled. Angelica is just amazing. Lately however, I have intermittently caught some of her lines in the series. With a slur of quotable lines delievered in the Queen's language, I got uncomfortable - as uncomfotable as her spoken english! So - if there are minor gods residing in middle earth, I beseech thee to swallow me whole everytime she lunges into the queen's language again! Or, for heaven's sake, give her lines in Tagalog! Let us not further expose her limitations to her adoring fans!

There's the queenly Susan Roces whose scenes vacillate between the livid grandma - better coined by someone as "gigil na gigil" - or the the imploring "woe is me" matriarch of a luckless family. It's like Phillip Salvador's role in "For the First Time". Mr. Salvador wears a single mask with its single facial expression during for the movie's duration. Ms. Roces wears two masks for "Iisa Pa Lamang." Ang Laurice Guillen wears three. LOL. The Kapamilya network has a great primetime lineup that lights up our evenings - except this dud!

For now, I'd rather listen to Gabby sing his love songs, hoping he would find another television series that is worth his stature - obviously those that won't have him playing second fiddle to anyone! He deserves no less!

A Message from Mr. Crisaldo Pablo - Director of Quicktrip - and my apologies

I received a message allegedly coming from director Crisaldo Pablo, director of the movie Quicktrip (see his comment from the review). In the spirit of equality, i allowed the message to be posted. Heck I even allowed the verbal diarrhea coming from those anonymous troglodytes!

Mr. Pablo, you can bet that i do not need comforting, but I am glad you admitted the debacle that happened on the first day screening of Quicktrip at the Robinsons Galleria last Wednesday. Everything that I pointed out was not a product of my imagination. You can put yourself in my shoes. Pay to watch a movie, then get those technical foul ups that my friend and I experienced. How can one go home without feeling shortchanged?

Strobing, intermittent sound, visuals that turn into blank blue screens, scenes that don't end and jumps to the beginning of the film, pixelated images - and thats just the technical stuff, which should NOT be my concern since I was there to actually concentrate on the narrative. Paying viewers are supposed to sit back and relax. Not to get confused why everything before them is so bad! As to the story, Click the City said it all. I was supposed to let it go although I earlier planned to write my thoughts in here.

The only thing i said about it was that it was a "DISASTER". Click the City used the same word - and MORE! He called it terrible! Yet, I get 2 commenters. And from the recesses of their idiocy, one of them joyously hoped that MY PARENTS BE MURDERED for having me? Just because I found your movie a disaster? You can bet on your ass that I am not gonna take it sitting down. I shall let my parents live for I believe they raised a fairly smart person - moi of course. That should pretty much explain your statement on why "parang gigil na gigil ka sa akin". I can only surmise that those people are your supporters. Talk about blind patronage. Kayo na nga ang nagkamali last wednesday - yet you don't expect people to huff and puff? Having said that, I think it is best that they be put in their proper place by putting things in their proper perspective: on how Quicktrip fared in the scheme of its genre.

This is what I think about you, and I don't care whether you agree or not: Duda/Doubt was indeed a good debut for you. It heralded the birth of a visual artist that is prodigious with fielding colour-rich canvasses on screen. The story was refreshing coz it tackled (during that time) homosexual taboos that are otherwise only discussed in hushed environment. But the succeeding films were not to my liking. I actually believed you had your redemption in Moreno. I liked that film. But Metlogs came, and Quicktrip came.

I am glad that Ricky Lee liked the film, and a host of other stellar names, including that director from Sarungbanggi which had horrible technicals but I LOVED nevertheless. I am glad that most of the people who spoke with you - including the grandest of critics! - liked Quicktrip! I did not! It is comforting to know that those aforementioned people have a taste way different from mine. To be honest about it, I don't really care. I care about what I pay to watch. The least that a paying viewer would expect from the movie that she paid to watch is that THE MOVIE WOULD AT LEAST FINISH SCREENING! That! At the very least!

Now as to your supporters - proud members of Anonymous International - I wish them "good taste" and not rely on blind patronage! They SHOULD LEARN from you who is gracious in accepting criticism. If I have hurt you in any way, I apologize, but you can thank those 2 thankless idiots for wishing MURDER on my parents, just because I called your movie "a disaster". Had they not gone too far, it would not have inspired the "review" below. And I do stand by what I wrote, hook, line and sinker! If you know those 2 anonymous commenters, they deserve the hugs that you offered. Such dedication.

Thank you for commenting. And thank you for being gracious with the criticism. I wish you another gem like "Moreno" on your next cinema outing.