February 12, 2010
This year 2010 is an election year. It is a national election which has everyone interested to be involved as the head of the country will finally be changed after nine unsatisfactory years. This election is also special as it is the first automated national polls. So it seems just right that the first musical play I watch this year will be about the elections. It had the long title "Si Juan Tamad, Ang Diyablo at and Limang Milyong Boto." It is the very first play I had seen in the PETA Theater in Quezon City despite its proximity to my workplace.
"Juan Tamad" is a serio-comic satire on the current political state of Philippine politics, set in lively music and dance. The gamut of election-related topics are bravely tackled in the script and the songs. Juan Tamad (or JT) embodies the typical Filipino youth who has become so apathetic about the current mire our nation is in. The play follows JT's political awakening from the registration, the campaigns, the ghost voters, the political harassment, and in the end, self-reliance and community action. Very timely messages indeed, delivered in hilarious skits and funny dances, by actors in campy costumes and make-up -- all in the effort to appealing to the youth in the audience, to get them involved.
Juan Tamad in the 3pm show yesterday was played by Marvin Ong. I have only heard of him one other time, and that was as Toby in Rep's "Sweeney Todd". His singing voice is strong. He connects with his hip acting. He is young, current and earnest, a true representative of today's youth. He was a hit with the many girls in the audience.
Diyablo was played by Vincent de Jesus, who was also responsible for this play's music, libretto and musical direction -- talk about multi-tasking! He was very much into the role of the jaded devil-figure who like to see the squalid status quo continue to oppress the populace. He was not shy to exploit his sharp facial features to maximize the physical comedy. As he obviously knows this material in and out, he seems to adlib liberally to the best overall effect. I cannot imagine Robert Sena (Vincent's more popularly-known alternate) in this role. Vincent's slinky sarcasm is excellent!
Lola Anitan, JT's grandmother and sole guardian since his parents went to work abroad, was played by Joann Co. She was also very effective in her funny, and also emotional moments. The rest of the supporting cast was also unafraid to do their exaggerated best in whatever it takes to make all those funny little jokes work, be it in their voices, their faces or their body movements.
I watched yesterday afternoon in an auditorium filled to the rafters with St. Paul of QC college students. It was a very noisy group, since they all knew each other. A pretty juvenile group as well, as they would still produce a collective gasp when the house lights were turned off right before the show, even when it happened again in the second act!
Anyway, when the play got started, you see these young people getting into the groove of it, laughing at the right times, at the right jokes. This play gets through to its target audience. But the play ends by challenging the audience to pick up where the play ends, and make JT's dreams a reality. Now that still remains to be seen.
November 14, 2010
It took time for me to get into the story of this novel. The beginning section about an old man receiving dried flowers every year is very puzzling, and I had to read it over many times to try to get it. I decided to just let it go and read on, and then the story really gets more interesting.
I think this is the first novel from Sweden that I have read, and so the Swedish names and places used were new and charming. The style of exposition of Mr. Larsson is different and nonlinear, so it does take getting used to as you progress through the book.
At first, you might balk at prolonged descriptions of people, places, businesses and technology. Sex is also treated very casually here, as Swedes are traditionally known for. But believe me, once you catch the drift of Larsson's style, it would be difficult to let go up to the very end.
The title refers to the mysterious Lisbeth Salander, a misanthropic young orphan with an unusual talent and tenacity in investigative work. However, the actual lead character of the story is journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who was hired to ghost write the memoirs of the elderly industrialist Henrik Vanger. However, we will learn that Mr. Vanger also wanted Blomkvist to solve a family mystery that has possessed him for over twenty years. And it is with this investigation that our titular Lisbeth gets into the action.
Without going into much detail, the investigation will take an incredible turn into the violent, gruesome and lurid. I personally felt this part went way over the top, but hey, maybe that is why this book stood out and became a best seller. I admit I went absorbedly along this dark ride. I brought this book along to read throughout my vacation in New England. But I simply could not put the book down, so I finished it while still on the plane going there! I cannot wait to read the next adventures of Lisbeth Salander.
*****
Usually I like to read the book first before watching the movie. In this case, reading the book first made watching the movie easier, but also made the experience a bit disappointing.
The title of this Swedish film is Män som hatar kvinnor which translates as Men Who Hate Women. I liked the way the screenplay adapted the book onto the big screen. This movie ran for over two hours, so that most of the important events in the novel are all accounted for. There were some details which were altered for cinematic purposes, but that was also OK, since it fits right into the story without altering major plot points.
In the book, more pages were spent on journalist Mikael Blomkvist. The movie, on the other hand, gives practically equal, or even more, time to Lisbeth Salander, the Goth female computer hacker with a disturbed past, facial piercings and the dragon tattoo, who helps Blomkvist solve a mystery of the rich Vanger family, unsolved for more than 20 years already. Actress Noomi Rapace portrays the titular character Lisbeth bravely and with conviction.
I say I was also disappointed in a way that having read the book cannot make me a fair judge whether the movie was able to effectively build up the suspense into the revelation of what really happened. The movie is certainly not exactly how I imagined some things. For instance, I did not imagine Lisbeth's dragon tattoo to be so big! But as a whole, this film is a very faithful retelling of the book's events, no surprises anymore.
The US is coming up with an American version of this movie by next year, and no doubt I will be watching it again. Daniel Craig (as Blomkvist), Stellan Skarsgard (as Martin Vanger) and Christopher Plummer (as Henrik Vanger) all seem to fit their roles. I am just not so sure how pretty Rooney Mara (from Social Network) can pull off playing Lisbeth.
As for "The Girl Who Played With Fire", I am thinking maybe I should watch the second movie first before reading the second book, and see how that goes.
June 2, 2009
In a rare while, along comes a movie which challenges the audience's intellect because of its intricate plotting and intriguing sequencing of scenes. "Duplicity" is an example of such a movie that keeps you guessing to the very end. The opening sequence shows our leads meeting in a party in Dubai and that liaison ends in a double-cross. The next scene is an inexplicable rain-drenched exaggerated slow-motion fight scene between two men in an airport. From such an unorthodox incongruous beginning unfolds the tale of a large-scale confidence scam that spans five years in the making.
Aside from the smart story and witty script, "Duplicity" surely does not shy from star power as well. Julia Roberts (as Claire) is so striking beautiful a con artist that you know she could manipulate you with a mere smile. Clive Owen (as Ray) uses his sad-sack charm to great advantage as well in his role. Tom Wilkinson (as Tully) and Paul Giamatti (as Garsik) play it over-the-top in their portrayal of rival business magnates, both using the most modern intel personnel and technology to gain access to each other's latest corporate moves.
We do not get the story in chronological order, as the scenes go back and forth in time. You, the audience, are kept on your toes in order to keep up with what is going on. You know you need to hang on to every word that is exchanged so as not to get lost in the plot. As the elaborate con set-up shapes up, the dialogue drips with suspicion and double-cross. The sense of irony and humor energizes the script. They even manage to sneak romance somewhere in there. Another triumph for writer-director Tony Gilroy after the Bourne series and "Michael Clayton". I loved it! Haha! A definite must-see!
June 1, 2009
We have not watched the first Night at the Museum, but decided to watch this Part 2 anyway. This sequel touches on what happened in the first movie a lot, so I had to assume a lot of what happened. Nothing really too deep I expect. I think the kids just glossed over the storyline, and had fun with individual funny sequences about the main point of the movie, which is about the exhibits of a museum coming to life because of the powers of an ancient Egyptian tablet.
This is just one fun romp. This takes place several years after the first movie, where ex-security guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) now owns his own successful manufacturing company. However, he finds out that his old "friends" at the New York Museum of Natural History, led by the cowboy Jedediah (Owen Wilson) and the centurion (Steve Coogan), were being moved to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC.
When Jedediah and company arrive in DC though, they were held captive by the evil Pharoah wanna-be Kahmunrah who wants the powerful Egyptian tablet for his own nefarious schemes. And it is up to Larry to help his friends escape and to defeat Kahmunrah and his henchmen (Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon Bonaparte and a black and white Al Capone).
Not having seen the first movie, we were impressed by the special effects of the living exhibits. Most memorable are the sequences involving the statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial and the flying of various generations of aircraft at the Air and Space Museum. There were unfortunately several sequences that seemed pointless and dragging, especially those involving Custer, and the squirrel.
There were stupidly hilarious scenes with the Jonas Brothers as singing Cupids, the talking Albert Einstein heads and the two capuchin monkeys slapping Larry silly. Some sight gags work, a lot do not though. Amy Adams makes a very spirited and sassy Amelia Earhart. Hank Azaria plays Kahmunrah with tongue in cheek, very sinister yet very funny with his little lisp. Ben Stiller though looked bored in reprising his starring role.
Overall, an enjoyable movie. A message is tacked on about going for what adds spice to one's life. There is nothing too serious or useful here. Just some shallow entertainment fare for a lazy afternoon for a few good laughs with the family.
May 18, 2009
It isn't very usual that I could get to watch two great movies in a row (when it isn't awards season). The previous week we got to watch "Star Trek" which I totally raved about, and now we watched "Angels & Demons". We watched this at the SM Mall of Asia while waiting for the David-David concert. This is the first time I have ever been denied a ticket because a showing was completely sold out! So we watched the next showing in another cinema there and that too turned out to be sold out. Amazing.
Anyway, back to the movie. "Angels and Demons" is actually my favorite Dan Brown book, more than the more popular "The Da Vinci Code." Even when I was just reading A&D, you already get a sense of how cinematic the entire story was. Apart from the obvious travelogue interest in the Rome and Vatican locales where the action takes place, we also get a closer look into the inner workings of the Vatican and the fabled history of the Illuminati.
"Angels and Demons" the movie stayed quite loyal to the main storyline of the book. The Pope just died and the Cardinals are in conclave to elect a new Pope. Before that could happen however, a terrorist kidnapped four favored Cardinals and starts to kill them ceremonially in various locations, invoking the Church's historical dispute with the Illuminati. This terrorist does all this while holding the entire Vatican City under threat of annihilation with a powerful anti-matter explosive. The plot, especially the ending, is admittedly very unlikely and highly over-the-top but it makes for a perfect summer blockbuster.
For me, the most interesting character in A&D is the enigmatic Camerlengo. He is the priest who is the dead Pope's closest aide and confidante, and who temporarily holds the Papal powers while the new Pope has yet to be elected. I remember I was very fascinated with this character because I have never heard of such a position in the Vatican, even after years of Catholic education. I learned afterwards that Dan Brown fictionalized this part as a real Camerlengo should be a Cardinal, an elector and possible candidate for Pope, unlike what was written in the book. The movie makes major changes in the character of this Camerlengo. In the book, his name is Carlo Ventresca, a young Italian priest. In the movie, he becomes Patrick McKenna, a young Irish priest who used to fly military missions against the IRA. I do not know if these modifications were made to fit the actor who played him, Ewan McGregor, or vice versa.
The movie also works for me on a personal level. My wife and I spent some days of our honeymoon in Rome and the Vatican so we enjoyed revisiting the sights as they appeared onscreen, like the Pantheon, St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and Castel Sant' Angelo. During that exciting scene with the fourth Cardinal, we recalled that afternoon we spent at the Piazza Navona, just sitting down a bench there, and quietly admiring the beautiful Fountain of the Four Rivers.
Unfortunately, the main debit of the movie for me is still the actor playing the main character, Robert Langdon. Tom Hanks is completely wrong as Robert Langdon. It did not work in DVC, nor did it work here in A&D. The other members of the cast did very well in their roles. Israeli stunner Ayelet Zurer made a very good Vittoria Vetra. She is much better than Audrey Tatou was in DVC. Stellan Skargaard and Armin Muller Stahl were solid and imposing as Commander Richter and Cardinal Strauss respectively. It was a bit of a stretch to imagine Ewan MacGregor as a priest, much less the Camerlengo, but he was not bad at all.
So overall, this is a very good and exciting summer movie. Ron Howard did much better in this one than DVC. As before, do not take everything seriously as this is fiction. For those who have not read the book, read it! And later, you will be enticed to research more about Vatican lore, the Papacy, and the Illuminati, as I was, to distinguish what is fact from the fiction.
May 25, 2009
I enjoy my occasional Chinese martial arts movie once in a while. I saw the classy trailer of this film once, and thought it seemed to be of a quality above the usual of its kind. I was also intrigued by the title which made no sense at the time. I did not hear about it again until last last week when I noted it was showing, and so caught it. When I entered, the girl collecting tickets said "I-P Man?" Had me worried that is this a Chinese superhero movie. Hehe. Nevertheless, I had already bought the ticket so in I went.
The language of this film was Mandarin with English subtitles. The Mandarin soundtrack was not in very good quality, rather garbled, which was disappointing. So I ended up just reading the English subtitles along with everyone else. "Ip Man" turned out to be the Cantonese pronunciation of "Ye Wen," the name of the lead character, enigmatically played by Donnie Yen.
This is a biographical film following the real life story of Ip Man, who was a legendary martial arts master of the Wing Chun form, and eventual mentor to the equally legendary Bruce Lee. The story follows the story of Ip Man from a well-respected rich businessman who excelled in martial arts. Their prosperous village of Fo-Shan was occupied by Japanese troops in the late 1930s. Ip Man lost his fortune and had to work for meager wages with the rest of his townspeople. The highest Japanese officer in their area was arranging violent Japanese vs. Chinese martial arts tournaments for his perverse sense of entertainment, and Ip Man's skills caught his attention. Can Ip Man's formidable skills serve to rally the Chinese cause in the midst of their current sorry state of wartime persecution?
Director Wilson Yip, along with action director Sammo Hung and choreographer Leung Siu-hung, have created a seamless series of breathtakingly memorable action sequences of awesome martial arts prowess (NO special effects here), neatly integrated into this dramatic story of personal and national pride. In the center of all this is the fantastic portrayal of lead actor Donnie Yen. His humility and generosity as a family man and friend is counter-balanced with his graceful yet deadly skills as a martial artist. Mr. Yen effectively captures this unique spirit for all of us to cheer for and admire. This is indeed a must see for all fans of Chinese martial arts movies.
May 4, 2009
This is already the second movie with "Haunting" in the title that I have seen this year. This movie is unusually plugged to be "Based on THE true story," not just A true story. I believe I may have actually seen the original Discovery Channel documentary about this particular haunted house in Connecticut, but I cannot be too sure now. Given the array of dramatic issues tackled in this movie, I would think it was based loosely only on the actual events. But then again, truth can be stranger than fiction.
This story revolves around a typical American family who had a son with cancer. They needed to get a cheap house near the hospital where the son is getting treatment. The regimen he is undergoing may tend to give him visual and auditory hallucinations. This was how some of his initial experiences in the house rationalized away. But as the movie progressed, they find out more about the house's history, and why supernatural events persist to make their stay a living hell. The story further touched on several other macabre topics such as funeral parlors, séances, ectoplasmic photography and even grave robbery.
This is not a bad horror movie. The first two-thirds of this movie are genuinely creepy. The opening credits with all those photographs of dead people and the funereal music set the mood just right for the rest of the 100 minutes you will invest in the theater. All the scenes with the small kids playing hide and seek were a study in effective tension. There was that memorable scene when they come home finding son Matt hiding behind a wall of furniture trying to claw his way out of the wall. And for me, the creepiest was the box of EYELIDS (you have to see it to believe it)!
Of course, there were also horror clichés here and there, like brave people walking in the dark alone to investigate strange noises, the erratic power outages, and the obligatory shower scene by the pretty teenage girl (Amanda Crew). The ending sequences were a bit excessively over-dramatic, but admittedly the sight of all those hidden dead bodies was really scary.
The mom is played by Virginia Madsen and she is really a solid presence here. Her acting is very natural and realistic, nothing of the typical over-the-top horror theatrics with her. The son with cancer Matt is performed by a new actor Kyle Gallner pretty well, and he succeeds to be as gaunt and creepy-looking as the ghosts that he sees. On the down side is the character and the actor of the dad (Martin Donovan). The character was carelessly written and woodenly portrayed.
A final word, according to a conversation between Matt and co-patient Reverend (Elias Koteas), cancer patients are more sensitive to spirits around them because they are spending their life on the borderline of the living and the dead. I have never heard that before, but I guess it is just some interesting pop psychology from the scriptwriters to keep the story going.
