Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Pinoy Film Focus: Temptation Island (1980)



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

Pinoy Film Focus: T-Bird at Ako (1982)

(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

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Pinoy Film Focus: One More Chance (2007)




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.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Film-Otaku Awards 2011

BEST PICTURE

HUGO



Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II
The Artist

A Separation
War Horse
Moneyball
Young Adult
The Descendants
The Adventures of Tintin
Melancholia


BEST DIRECTOR


MARTIN SCORSESE (HUGO)

Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Asghar Farhadi (A Separation)
Bennett Miller (Moneyball)
Steven Soderbergh (Contagion)
Jason Reitman (Young Adult)
Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
Tomas Alfredson (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
David Fincher (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
David Yates (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II)

BEST ACTOR

GEORGE CLOONEY (THE DESCENDANTS)



Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
Ralph Fiennes (Coriolanus)
Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar)
Joseph Gordon Levitt (50/50)
Koji Yakusho (13 Assassins)
Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
Michael Sheen (Beautiful Boy)
Christoph Waltz (Carnage)

BEST ACTRESS

GLENN CLOSE (ALBERT NOBBS)



Charlize Theron (Young Adult)
Olivia Colman (Tyrannosaur)
Keira Knightley (A Dangerous Method)
Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
Viola Davis (The Help)
Charlotte Gainsbourg (Melancholia)
Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn)
Eugene Domingo (The Woman in the Septic Tank)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

ALAN RICKMAN (HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART II)



Kenneth Branagh (My Week with Marilyn)
Andy Serkis (
Rise of the Planet of the Apes)
Nick Nolte (Warrior)
Ben Kingsley (Hugo)
Viggo Mortensen (A Dangerous Method)
Patton Oswalt (Young Adult)
Arnie Hammer (J. Edgar)
Colin Firth (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

VANESSA REDGRAVE (CORIOLANUS)



Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
Sareh Bayet (
A Separation)
Jessica Chastain (The Help)
Octavia Spencer (The Help)
Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help)
Rinko Kikuchi (Norwegian Wood)
Berenice Bejo (The Artist)
Shailene Woodley (The Descendants)
Cate Blanchett (Hanna)

BEST SCREENPLAY

YOUNG ADULT (DIABLO CODY)


A Separation
(Asghar Farhadi)
Moneyball
(Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin)
Another Earth (Brit Marling, Mike Cahill)
The Descendants (Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash)

BEST ART DIRECTION

HUGO


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II
The Artist
Thor
The Tree of Life


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART II (EDUARDO SERRA)


Hugo (Robert Richardson)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Jeff Cronenweth)
The Tree of Life (Emmanuel Lubezki)
Melancholia (Manuel Alberto Claro)

BEST COSTUME

THE ARTIST (MARK BRIDGES)


Hugo (Sandy Powell)
Thor (Alexandra Byrne)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (Jany Temime)
13 Assassins (Kazuhiro Sawataishi)

BEST MAKEUP

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART II


The Iron Lady
Albert Nobbs
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
13 Assassins


BEST SCORE

THE ARTIST (LUDOVIC BOURCE)


The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (Alexandre Desplat)
Contagion (Cliff Martinez)
The Adventures of Tintin (John Williams)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II
Thor
The Tree of Life
Super 8


BEST ENSEMBLE

THE HELP


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II
Melancholia
Bridesmaids
A Separation

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

84th Academy Award Winners

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