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."

________________________________________

"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."


________________________________________

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.