Genre: Drama; Directors: Sam Mendes Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Michael Shannon Suburbia. Boring as it seems, suburbia is a deep well of materials for film and TV. The loneliness and grief found in suburbia, as shown in films such as American Beauty and The Safety of Objects, make me wanna thank God I’m living a cosmopolitan life despite EDSA and MMDA. Wala lang, nabanggit ko lang. Revolutionary Road is about two people who are trapped in a predicament called “family.” Personally, I know so many people who call that walled place they stay in a “prison,” rather than a…
Movie Review: The Reader (2008)
Genre: Drama; Director: Stephen Daldry Stars: Kate Winslet, David Kross, Ralph Fiennes “What would you have done?” “Is that kinder?” These questions may not have an impact on you now but watch The Reader and you’ll see. And the funny thing is, the movie does not answer these questions. It just asks. And it’s up to you to find answers for yourself. Only two emotions get the better of me: shame and guilt. Director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter David Hare (people behind The Hours) explored these emotions gracefully in The Reader. You can just imagine how much this film affected…
What’s Up With Me
Because updating Twitter and Plurk every whatever hour is too grueling a task for me (yeah, I’m lazy like that), why not deliver updates all at once every week? Wahaha. February na! Birthday season. Hahaay. Most of my friends are Februarians. And as I said before, unlike January which I have a love-hate relationship with, February is ALWAYS kind to me. And I know this year ain’t gonna be different. 😀 Kelly Clarkson is baaaaack! Although I actually think that My Life Would Suck Without You isn’t one of her best singles, I’m just ecstatic she’s back on top, making…
Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Genre: Comedy; Director: Danny Boyle Stars: Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto After watching the film, I felt disappointed. I wasn’t expecting myself to like it. But I DID. Tremendously. Haha. And this might be the first time that I’m rooting for an Oscar frontrunner. (Two years ago, I liked Little Miss Sunshine better than The Departed; Crash than Brokeback Mountain; Munich than Brokeback Mountain; The Hours than Chicago.) But then again I haven’t seen The Reader yet. But so far, Slumdog gets all my loving. People say that there’s nothing new to the story. It’s the same old third-world…
Movie Review: Doubt (2008)
Genre: Drama; Director: John Patrick Shanley Stars: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis My professors at Film school had always said that the measure of a good film is if you are still able to digest the story completely on first viewing after you turn it to mute. Stanley Kubrick also uttered something like that. In other words, it has to be visual. Show, don’t tell, they say. I believed that, too. Until I realized that sometimes, what is told is just as important as what is shown. Films can still be great even with the visuals…
Movie Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy; Director: David Fincher Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is stuffed with dualities — young and old, birth and death. Unfortunately for Benjamin, the two words that came to my mind after seeing it were long and cold. First of all, I have to say I am a bit disappointed because I love almost everything and everyone in this film. David Fincher is one of my most-loved directors. Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton are some of my fave actors. But amidst the amazing visual display and the technical…
‘7-Night Stand’ Random Scene 1
This is lifted from a screenplay I wrote for one of my college organizations. We were so prepared to shoot it but we had some problems. And by “problems,” I mean budget. It’s a romantic comedy tentatively called “7-Night Stand.” Anyway, this is just one scene. 34 EXT ROOFTOP – Later that night Marco and Nicole are on the rooftop. Lying on a mat on the floor. Next to each other. But with a foot distance between them. It’s almost midnight. The moon, their only light source. They have not said anything since the moment they reached the rooftop. For…
Bulleted Blurts
Wow, time flies. January has only a few days left. I still got tonsilitis. Dammit. But it’s aright, I’m completely functional. Just that my breath smells like a slice of durian you trap in a jar for a week and then you open it and voila…. Yikes. So now I’m in Batangas with my family. Yesterday, I was in Tagaytay. And it was COLD. I know what you’re thinking. “Come on, it’s Tagaytay, of course, it’s cold. Duh?” Well yeah, but not that cold. I’m always there. Thanks to its proximity to our house here. But it was really cold.…