DEATH OF TRADITIONAL CINEMA

AMOK is many things. Call it an updated CRASH. Call it a Scorsese fest minus the mob. Call it the ROTONDA of 2011. Nevertheless, AMOK captures the fast and brutal streets of Metro Manila where lives intersect and eventually clash. What makes AMOK worth watching is the event which triggered all mayhem in the movie, which is a very senseless argument. As testosterone levels go through the roof, innocent people get shot at, ego maniacs get what they deserve, and the unexpected happens.  Gary Lim is enormously compelling; so is Dido Dela Paz who both play urbanites at each other's crosshairs. Mark Gil's segment is hilarious (there goes your tribute to stunt actors) and it's good to know that Efren Reyes, Jr. is still acting. Here he plays a crooked cop hatching an arson plan. I keep remembering his terrific portrayal of a gay friend to Richard Gomez's character in BABAE SA BINTANA. Beautifully photographed, scored, and edited, AMOK showcased Pasay Rotonda in all its raw...

Why ANG BABAE SA SEPTIC TANK works as a film and as a work of art is because of its objective- to deconstruct mainstream cinematic conventions as well as misguided aspirations and visions of young filmmakers. Also, it exposes the actors who are in the limelight per se, embodied here as Eugene Domingo playing herself, and we revel as Domingo, representing the glamorous movie star is being brought down to the level of the septic tank (literally and metaphorically). The script by Chris Martinez and the direction of Marlon Rivera with Eugene Domingo's comic timing and caliber as a dramatic actress made ANG BABAE SA SEPTIC TANK a witty critique of some of Philippine cinema's bane of existence-those things a lot of us were enraged about, but can only do so much. A film within a film, we see a trio of filmmakers (director, producer, production manager) do a quick pre-prod at Starbucks, throw bitter remarks at their friend who has become a successful director, and get a dose of thei...

BISPERAS, for what it's worth is a solid drama featuring compelling performances by Raquel Villavicencio and Julia Clarete (they bagged the Awards, FYI). The premise is simple enough- a burglary fleshes out hidden unresolved issues of a family just in time for Christmas day, a day supposed to be about joy and giving, but for the characters in Jeturian's film, this is probably the worst day of their life.  Featuring some of the shakiest shots this year reminiscent of Jim Libiran's TRIBU, or Pepe Diokno's ENGKWENTRO (but these two are urban thrillers, so what's your excuse BISPERAS?), BISPERAS tells a conventional family drama rooted in Filipino religious Catholic traditions, and as Jeturian tells it... a family struggling to remain Catholic. Told in ultrarealist manner (we follow the events from start to end in real time) BISPERAS has the family members gutting at each other's throats at repressed anger. Villavicencio truly shines among everyone, with her disp...

It is in Adolfo B. Alix, Jr's ISDA (Fable of the Fish) that I first heard the term "magical realism". Magical realism as it turns out is the combination of the magical and the actual, or in other words the fantastic and the real. I mean, come on- a woman who gives birth to a fish? In the hands of a lesser director and a lesser actress, ISDA would have been a total mess of a film. In order to make the outrageous story work, you have to navigate somewhere between sentimental and comical, and Alix  does just that. Cherry Pie Picache shines in ISDA as a woman longing for a child; she completely descends into this poor, depressed character that you really believe what you're seeing onscreen is not some actress playing a poor, depressed character but instead a real human being. If you've read enough articles written about Alix's latest film, you'd already know that the story of ISDA stemmed from that controversial incident way, way back in the 80s t...

They don't do these kinds of films anymore; if they did, you can count them on your fingers. AMIGO, by the way is written and directed by an American, and by this American's brave and insightful navigation of history, he seemed more Filipino than the most of us pretending to be nationalists. AMIGO, meaning friend in Spanish serves as the biggest irony of what succeeded the 300-year rule of Spain over the Philippines. John Sayles' film starts as the Spanish era is at its downfall. In the quiet, humble little barrio of San Isidro, the cabeza de barangay Rafael Dacanay (Joel Torre) rules with firmness and equality. A band of American soldiers soon seize the barrio and the natives fall slaves to their new master. The Spanish friar, Padre Hidalgo (Yul Vasquez) is freed by the Americans, and is used to enhance cooperation among the locals. Meanwhile, Rafael's brother-in-law Nenong (John Arcilla) turned his back on his people, and quickly pursued his greed for power and soc...

So what was it really all about? Sure you enjoyed the bullets flying, the metal bashing, the nice piece of ass that is Rosie Huntington-Whiteley AKA Megan Fox replacement, and maybe the reunion of Coen Bros. regulars John Turturro and Frances McDormand, but what was the story really of Transformers 3? Add in a dash of historical conspiracy (didn't XMEN FIRST CLASS already come up with that?), and another confusing plot line that spiraled out of nowhere and you get TRANSFORMERS 3.  Basically, Bay's formula is bigger explosions, bigger guns, sexier girl, and cram it all up to shy away from the fact that Ehren Kruger's script (with all respect to her and her magnanimous achievement in THE SKELETON KEY) is so paper thin. Bay however is raking in millions fooling everyone, including me. But I only watched it by default; it was either that or MONTE CARLO. If we can dish up something good out of TRANSFORMERS 3, it's that Shia LaBeouf really is leading man material; only he...

Photo from: oneasianworld.com ASTIG is live wire energetic from the get-go. Literally meaning "tough" in colloquial Filipino, ASTIG the film soars with slamming urban score from Jesse Lucas and original songs by Edgardo Rustia, to complement the fast-paced, dangerous, and desperate lives that intersect within a few miles radius of a well-known notorious area in the city of Manila.  The acting is impressive, especially an unrelenting and unrepentant Dennis Trillo as a document forger on Recto Avenue who also moonlights as a con man with several women. Sid Lucero is also notable as a patriarch by default struggling to keep his crumbling family together, as well as Edgar Allan Guzman, a man with such ideals forced into a Catch 22 situation. Arnold Reyes is not without merit, although the story involving his character could have been omitted; it was unnecessary bordering on obscene. You get the director's POV trying to highlight the murky and unforgiving streets of Manila...