Director: Joey Gosiengfiao
Writer: Toto Belano
Cast: Dina Bonnevie, Azenith Briones, Jennifer Cortez, Bambi Arambulo, Deborah Sun, Ricky Belmonte, Alfie Anido, Domingo Sabado, Jonas Sebastian, Tonio Gutierrez
Runtime: 115 minutes
There are few--if any--other Filipino films that are as effortlessly funny and shamelessly aware of its technical faults as Joey Gosiengfiao's high camp classic Temptation Island. In fact, it's the film's nonsensical wit and crudeness that has endeared it to many fans of Philippine cinema. That and the over-the-top acting, bitchfights and verbal lashings, and ultra memorable lines and sequences. Case in point: "What are bitches for, but to bitch around their fellow bitches!"
It's that time of the year for the Ms. Manila Sunshine beauty pageant, and four very different girls decide to join this batch of hopefuls: kolehiyala Dina (Dina Bonnevie); spoiled socialite Suzanne (Jennifer Cortez); materialistic debutante Bambi (Bambi Arambulo), whose family has fallen on hard times; and professional con-artist Azenith (Azenith Briones), who's not beyond using her sexuality to get whatever she wants. Each one joins for a different reason, but fate brings them together as finalists on a ship...which then accidentally blows up on the open ocean. They are believed by the public lost or dead at sea, but they actually find themselves on deserted island, where they are ultimately stranded without food and water. Completing the band of survivors is Suzanne's subservient maid Maria (Deborah Sun), gay pageant coordinator Joshua (Jonas Sebastian), his boy toy Ricardo (Ricky Belmonte), ship waiter Umberto (Domingo Sabado), and Dina's schoolmate Alfredo (Alfie Anido), who's secretly in love with her. What ensues is a hilarious struggle for dominance, food, and love, with bitter catfights between the four finalists threatening their peace and sanity as much as the lack of nourishment.
The laughter is practically non-stop once the film starts rolling. Cortez easily has the showiest role and the funniest lines, but the situations and how the characters react to them are what truly make the film a true comedic jewel. It's also fun to laugh at how campy and corny the whole thing is. Flawed and lowbrow, Temptation Island is truly a diamond in the rough.
And since it's difficult to resist, here's another hilarious exchange:
Bambi: Bitch!
Suzanne: Double bitch!
Joshua: Hahahaha... Rub a dub dub, two bitches in a tub!
Photo from Video 48
(T-Bird and Me)
Director: Danny L. Zialcita
Writer: Portia Ilagan
Cast: Nora Aunor, Vilma Santos, Dindo Fernando, Tommy Abuel, Suzanne Gonzales
It could be argued that there was a time in the history of Philippine cinema when the movie-going public was divided into just two sectors: the Noranians and the Vilmanians. You were either one or the other; there was no middle ground. Both Nora Aunor (known by the moniker "Superstar") and Vilma Santos ("The Star for All Seasons") were already established, acclaimed actresses by the time bright minds came up with the brilliant idea of bringing them together in one film. The offscreen environment may have been nowhere near as exciting--definitely not as tense--as that of Hollywood's Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? starring bitter rivals Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, but the titillatingly titled T-Bird at Ako is just as energetic an acting extravaganza.
Aunor plays a tough, no-nonsense lesbian lawyer (thus the "T-bird" in the title) and Santos a bar girl with whom she falls in love. These roles easily play on their respective personas in the industry at that time, with Aunor being the less feminine of the two and Santos being known for sexier roles. Director Danny Zialcita manages to use these personas (and of course, the sheer talent of the two stalwarts) to good effect, although Aunor's Sylvia seems much more fleshed out. It is to her credit that she plays the lesbian character without fuss; it is a highly credible performance. While the supporting actors are also effective and some sequences, particularly those in the courtroom, are well made, the movie is essentially and unabashedly a vehicle for the power coupling. It is an exploitative film, in that sense, but it is certainly a local film novelty that is worth seeing, if only for the sheer delight of seeing two acting powerhouses sharing scenes.
Photo from Video 48
Director: Cathy Garcia-Molina
Writers: Vanessa Valdez, Carmi Raymundo
Cast: John Lloyd Cruz, Bea Alonzo, Derek Ramsay, Maja Salvador
"She loved me at my worst, you had me at my best."
"Ang totoo, hanggang ngayon, umaasa pa rin ako na sabihin mong ako pa rin. Ako na lang. Ako na lang ulit." (Translation: "The truth is, until now, I'm still hoping that you'd say it's still me. Please let it be me. Let it still be me.")
Above are just two of the insanely memorable quotes that have made One More Chance such a hit among a diverse array of Filipino moviegoers. Cheesy, yes, but the film's overall sensibility and lack of pretentiousness so pervasive in the typical Filipino romance have given the film a reputation as a genuinely hip rom-com romp that ultimately resonates in the heart of anyone who has fallen in love or is fascinated with the idea of being so. As far as that genre goes, there are few modern Filipino films better than One More Chance.
Popoy (John Lloyd Cruz) and Basha (Bea Alonzo) have been a couple since they were students in the same university, the former taking a course in engineering and the latter one in architecture. Working in the same place after graduation and being part of the same social circle, they have become practically inseparable. It comes as a shock, then, to everyone--most of all to Popoy--when Basha declares that she would like to become independent and realize her own identity, both being possible only if they separate. Popoy is predictably devastated, and it takes him quite some time to recover and move on. When he finally does, an unforeseen series of events brings their paths back together, and matters become complicated for both of them.
In the hands of another director, the film could have easily turned into yet another overly saccharine melodrama, the likes of which the Filipino film industry churns out with abandon. Instead, Cathy Garcia-Molina--now one of the country's go-to directors for this sort of fare--handles the themes with care and restraint. The dialogues written by Vanessa Valdez and Carmi Raymundo are current and mostly realistic, which would in large part explain why the performances by the principal cast (with a few exceptions here and there) seem so organic. Cruz is particularly a stand-out; he cements here his reputation as the mature boy-next-door type with the right acting chops.
The ending is quite predictable, as far as the formula goes for these types of local films. That one does not mind it, or the deluge of corny quotes, is testament to how endearing the film really is. It certainly is enough to give the jaded viewer pause and make him or her give the Pinoy rom-com one more chance.
Motion Picture of the Year
The Artist
Achievement in Directing
Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Octavia Spencer (The Help)
Original Screenplay
Midnight in Paris
Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants
Animated Feature
Rango
Foreign Language Film
Iran (A Separation)
Art Direction
Hugo
Cinematography
Hugo
Costume Design
The Artist
Film Editing
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Makeup
The Iron Lady
Music (Original Score)
The Artist
Music (Original Song)
"Man or Muppet" (The Muppets)
Sound Editing
Hugo
Sound Mixing
Hugo
Visual Effects
Hugo
