Mamma Mia and The Dark Knight...at the movies

I haven't entered a blog for the past weeks because our house is being renovated. It's a daunting task and truth be told, I would never ever have this done again. My life is put on hold and I apologize to those whom I have found less time to be with because of this. It's not an excuse slip. It's just finishing what I started. Thanks for the understanding.

In spite of the hectic days of having to work and supervise the renovation of my house, I had time on weekends to watch Mamma Mia and The Dark Knight. Tired as I was though, my partner took time out to ease my tension by spending time with me...at the movies.

Mamma Mia

I have not seen the broadway version, but if there's anything that I can say for this movie, is that it's a feel good film. You just want to have a good laugh, kick back, and yup, for the older generation, enjoy the music and dance to the songs of ABBA, this movie was worth the buck.

Its synopsis is based on the story of Sophie who is getting married to Sky in a few days and the preparation is all agog. But who will give Sophie away? Her mother, played superbly by Meryl Streep (she can sing!) had flings with three men in her life, all in a row! And voila, Sophie stumbles into her diary, invites her three (?) dads and all mayhem and mystery breaks loose. The upside to the film is that the movie carried a light theme and the music and lyrics of ABBA made up the sequence and script of the film all together.

Who gives away the bride in the end? Watch the movie and have a good laugh. And yes, you can sing and dance. Just remember, that when the credits are running, don't get out of the movie house. You'll miss the encore!



The Dark Knight

Christian Bale is back as Batman and the final film of Heath Ledger as the Joker, before he commits suicide from a drug overdose in real life is now showing in cinemas.

There are two villains to this extra long Batman reel that ran for 2 hours and 45 minutes! Aaron Eckart plays Two-face, after the crime busting district attorney of Gotham City, Harvey Dent whose physical features get decimated after a mind troubling circus with the Joker and the death of Rachel played by Maggie Gyllenhall.

The film is most disturbing and I agree that Ledger's role as Joker has to be his finest shining moment as an actor. He gave his best for last. But the whole fantastic visual and sound effects of the film was eclipsed by a most disturbing story line and central theme that I thought this movie should be rated R. The central theme revolved around anarchy and chaos. Death and destruction. Deception and revenge. Children less than 13 have no right to view this film even if accompanied by adults.

You can tell how shallow minded our movie regulatory authorities are in this country. No nudity otherwise the film is axed and XXXd but a disturbing film like this is fine with a 5 year old as long as mom and dad who probably are as demented as the Joker accompany the brat.

Enough lambasting. You want to sit through the whole bang bang, you're dead or let's blast Gotham City and make the people die here and now and slit their mouths, then this must be your cup of tea.

As for me, Mamma Mia was the winner! As for Batman - back to the batcave boy!

Indie films...the road to gay porn

On the entertainment section the newspapers are various write-ups on the latest Indie films (which stands for independent digital production) that are showing at Robinson's Galleria or its affiliate malls that have a theater.

Strangely, the reviews are usually made by the gay publicists and weirdly, majority of the Indie films are nothing but soft gay porn movies which have mushroomed over the past few years. From "Bath house","Roxxxanne", "Duda", "Hugot", "Selda", "Sa Pagdapo ng Mariposa", "Paru Parong Rosas", "Sikil", "Daybreak", "Ang Lalaki sa Parola", "Serbis", "Masahista", "Ang Lihim ni Antonio" and the most recent, "Kambyo" are but a few. The underlying stories behind all these so-called "Indie" films are Filipino callboys, macho dancers, or masseurs - male prostitutes and gay men from all walks of life and their so-called "adverntures" and struggles (?) with life in the madness of the city.

They call it Indie films. I call it exploitation and soft-porn. There are so many stories that can be written, but the writers and producers seem to be "proud" that our gay films are being shown in theaters all over the world in various film industry contests. I find it pathetic and reviling that these so-called producers who probably got a hard-on filming the young boys who were more than willing to strip down and show their genitals on screen in order to get "stardom" exposure are labeling their "masterpieces" as a "work of art". Get real and get a life. This should be the mantra for the people behind the soft-porn gay Indie films as all the movies has no redeeming value and no story line at all. It's simply passionate heat and gay libido at its acceptable limits in the Philippine movie industry.

I'm willing to bet that if we allowed hardcore Filipino gay films to be produced and shown locally, the Filipino will come up with the most acrobatic sex act that the world's imagination cannot even fathom.

The many gay Indie films are highly reflective of the suppressed nature of the gay Filipino in a country that suppresses the iconoclast gay way of life because of the Catholic religious background of the Filipinos. Look at many of the gay fashion designers homes where they have large icons of saints and Sto. Ninos and Virgin Marys in their foyer, yet display debauchery in their bedrooms.

Enough said with it. Deni Rose Afinidad writes about Cinemalaya's Independent Film Festival and Competition and hits the bullseye in the final paragraph. To quote:
"One of Cinemalaya’s aims is to present “narrative features that articulate the Filipino identity and culture.” What makes Filipinos so interesting to people of other countries, really? We are not the Mayans, the Greeks; not even the Autobots, or the Decepticons. What’s unique about Filipinos can Cinemalaya really show aside from poverty?

While Cinemalaya’s objective seems idealistic and promising, until now, “Filipino identity and culture” in indies have come to mean nothing but poverty. Almost all of the festival’s past and present entries and finalists show poverty, if not about poverty itself.

Hence, we are garnering global sympathy, not global appeal, because of these films. if ever these indies receive lauds from foreign filmmakers, it is because these foreigners were sympathetic of Filipinos’ impoverishment; not that the film per se is worth talking about.

So really, what’s the purpose of Cinemalaya and independent films in the Philippines, if they aren’t the hope of the non-existent movie industry in the country?

As it turns out, the purpose of the festival, besides being the “laboratory” of aspiring filmmakers, is to impose control and be out of control—control from veteran filmmakers to new ones; out of control in putting as much ideologies and “symbolisms” only the filmmaker understands.

We really cannot see any motivation in trying to “invent” a movie industry in the country, other than make the young jaded and obsessed with filmmaking, so they’ll fill out our film schools and feed the pride and pockets of veteran, jobless filmmakers.

Independent filmmaking is nothing but an insecure, pretentious field; it can only eternally hope to beat Hollywood, but all it can be is to continuously spring false hopes for Filipinos.

It's now the home grown industry where the boys are gay and are romping around in the Indie movies, to gain access into mainstream cinema. The sad thing here is that even they too are given false hopes. Coco Martin, one of the main stars of all these gay Indie films rebukes the claim that he is gay. I can't say he is or he isn't but he sure is getting to like the flair of male to male sex on the screen and he does it with utmost gusto. And no straight male will want to bed around with other males "just to achieve stardom". And there are more like him; a dime a dozen.

The next screening is just around the bend. Expect more exploitative films that will stir the gay Pinoy's libido. As for now, we're just employing the young and the lustful and fulfilling their utmost fantasies as well. And we're giving the gay boys some skin for the bucks they pay at the movies.

Facelift

I've procrastinated having our house getting renovated. I attempted to have this done several years ago and as each year passed, I just waited for the right time. Is it now?

Well, I hope so. We started renovations a week after my birthday. You can just imagine how all hell broke loose when we underwent this renovation project as a birthday gift to myself. Sometimes I just wish I settled for the BMW or Audi that I wanted.

It's not a joke - emotionally, financially, and personally - because you've got to be watching every move the workers make. And it's really stressful!

We have a timeline and when we're done, I'll post pics on this site. In the meantime, sit back, relax (really?), and watch as a new place rises from where it once was. It's about time my 35 year old house got a face lift!