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.