Farewell Paquito Diaz

Paquito Diaz, one of the country’s most popular kontrabidas, succumbed to pneumonia at 9:45 Thursday night at his residence in Daraga, Albay. He was 78.

Only a week ago, a tabloid reported that Paquito had died, prompting his wife Nena (sister of actor Bob Soler) to comment that when a person is rumored to have died, it meant that he would live longer. Paquito had been wheelchair-bound after he suffered a stroke in 2004 that paralyzed him. He was one of FPJ’s favorite kontrabida. In 1965, he won a FAMAS Best Supporting Actor award for Ang Mananandata, an FPJ starrer. His brother Romy Diaz, also a kontrabida, died a few years ago.

Introduced in Premiere Productions’ Pandora in 1955, Paquito graduated from FEU where he was a basketball player. When he was diagnosed with pneumonia, Paquito was confined at the ICU of a hospital in Albay. He got better and was brought home where he died. Paquito is survived also by his children, among them actors Cheska and Joko; and 14 grandchildren.

His remains are at the Salvacion Funeral Homes in Legazpi City. They will be transferred to the Funeraria Paz at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City tomorrow, March 6, and will be cremated.

SOURCE: The Philippine Star

Sa 'Yo Lamang

Sa 'Yo Lamang: Powerful, Flawless, and Inevitably Destined to be a Classic
by Reymundo Salao

[THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS. The Spoiler-free Review can be found HERE]

The Alvero family seems to be a simple happy family. Amanda Alvero lives with her children; her eldest daughter Dianne whose successful career has made her act as the breadwinner of the family. Then there's Coby who was influenced to take up the Nursing course because of it being a career that promises financial abundance, James who is a smart achiever in college, and Lisa who is a young teenager in High School.

Their harmony is suddenly disrupted when Franco, their estranged father of the family resurfaces and tries to reunite with the family. Although Amanda and the other children welcome him with open arms, Dianne is still bitter about the fact that he abandoned them years ago. And this poses a tension within the family.

On the other hand, we find out that Dianne's strict rules imposed on her siblings are eventually coming to a head; Coby reveals his angst about Nursing course not actually his choice, and James' desperation towards getting a high grade leads him to resort in cheating. Ironically, Dianne's own personal love life is tarnished with sheer imperfection.

Honsetly, this may be the first movie I have watched in the theaters that I really have no idea what it is about; I have not seen the trailer for this, I have not even read the synopsis for this. I just watched it because I knew that it was directed by Laurice Guillen. And I was indeed in for a cinematically pleasant surprise. I loved this movie very much, and I consider it one of those rare Tagalog Mainstream movies that are extremely excellently well made, with an almost flawless quality. Obviously, movies like this are destined to be classics.

This movie is a solid in the manner of drawing very impressive and powerful performances from its actors and actresses, and is able to achieve a very effective storytelling, so much so that each dialogue is profoundly meaningful, the characters have real depth in their personalities, and the situations are truly challenging. There is an incredible degree of coherence in Laurice Guillen's directing, given the fact that the story introduces numerous characters and still is able to give them abundant character development, even though some of their screen times are only brief.

There is a scene in which Coco Martin's character is talking with somebody who is obviously a fling of his. The dialogue only lasts more or less a minute, but it immediately makes you understand both characters. The "secret daughter" who is also in a scene that lasts not more than maybe three minutes; her scene is brief but her character immediately bonds with the audience. 

I am also glad that this scene is devoid of awkward acting. Many Tagalog movies tend to have that pattern of possessing one, two, or twenty scenes with awkward acting, script, and sequence. The scene at the end when Coco Martin plays a guitar on the deathbed of one of the characters could have easily been one of those, but fortunately, the pacing was so good that the scene was not prolonged, avoiding such awkwardness to exist.

I was impressed that Bea's Dianne characterization was imperfect; she was sort of an asshole herself for fooling around with Diether, a pattern that makes sense if you take into consideration that Dianne is very much similar to her parents. I loved how the scene where her character was screaming her stress off, and was immediately extinguished by the character of Diether goofing around. It's as if Guillen both utilized and parodied this overused sequence in Tagalog dramas. 

This movie bombards you with powerful performances; extremely high powered dramatic performances that just come one after the other. And not in a very exaggerated manner, but with a disciplined good pacing. Even though it is a heavy tear-jerker, it is not much of a tragedy. Sure, one of the characters did die, but this storyline was done with a bittersweet sensibility and it laid a feeling of hope, optimism, and redemption in the end; it closes with a happy ending. 

Excellently and brilliantly weaved together into a dramatic masterpiece, Sa 'Yo Lamang is something that will surely become a Timeless Filipino Classic.

EMIR

EMIR: A Golden Brown Bravissimi!!!
By Reymundo Salao

Ever found it annoying that sometimes in old tagalog action adventure movies and comedies, there would emerge a seemingly displaced musical number? Also ever took notice how Pinoys have such love for variety shows, music and dancing shows, and the incredible talent Pinoys have in the field of music? It makes you wonder why there hasn’t been a Filipino full-length musical yet. If we Filipinos are so great when it comes to music, then we should have already made a musical to contest and compete such cinematic musical classics as Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, and Phantom of the Opera. Well, director Chito Roño intends to change it with his new movie which is probably the first cinematic full-length Filipino Musical. I am very happy that the result exceeded my expectations, and Roño indeed delivers what I now consider a must-see Filipino movie (especially fitting for this long Independence Day weekend) for this year. It's about time; Emir is now showing.

Because this was a musical, initially, I was actually expecting and was ready to allow for this to be a little bit silly, a little too colorful, and to be a little too flamboyant. I was ready for this to have its flaws. But the movie eventually impressed me with how minimal the flaws are. Basically, it just tells how it is to live a life of an OFW; both the ups and the downs are exhibited well in such an artful interpretation.

The songs are brilliantly written, to the point that many of them would cause the hairs in my arms to stand up in such glee, and there were also times when they would make my eyes watery in such Filipino golden brown bravissimi. Both lyrics and music blend well in such powerful combinations. For me, it stands out with the scene where Ester (played by Dulce) and Amelia (Frencheska Farr) have a musical exchange, Dulce delivering a hair-raising musical speech about duties and bittersweet retirement from work. There is also a song about rats which has a familiar element of rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar style. And also there's that song, when translated in English, is about the deceitfulness of the moon's beauty; such song has lyrics that have a haunting uniqueness delivered in wondrous sorrow. There is also a song which counts the many Christmases these OFWs spent away from country and family, a surely memorable Christmas anthem for Filipinos working abroad.

Almost all the songs here have a memorable factor; excellent is such an understatement for such musical spectacle. The cast did absolutely well. Frencheska Farr is very much fitting for the role because she has that very "everyday Filipina" look. Her look in the movie was fittingly glamourless, it feels as if you could see how untouched by cosmetics she is, her simple looks makes her a convincing Filipino for just about anybody to relate to. The make-up and wardrobe also did a remarkable job in molding Amelia’s look at various ages of her life (she indeed looked exactly as a teenager at one point and when looked like she’s around the age of 30 at the later portion of the movie). Dulce, Julia Clarete, Liezl Batucan, Kalila Aguilos, Beverly Salviejo, and Melanie Dujonco were very charming in their roles as Amelia's OFW companions in the royal palace. Jhong Hilario and Sid Lucero also had important roles, but the film left me wanting for a longer, more significant male song (ala "Who Am I" from Les Miserables) and it also left me wanting for a villain song, because everybody in the movie seemed to have great chemistry. Even the extras that have minimal singing roles performed as good as the main characters. I was surprised that even the elderly women in a 3 second scene (weaving some native garments) are skillfully on cue. Song, dance, and cinema is a great formula for Pinoy artistry to indulge in.

The story was also well-written and tackles relevant aspects of the life of an OFW. The usual internal conflicts (jealousy, insecurities at work), relationships with foreigners, relationships in foreign lands, culture clash, how yayas (babysitters/caretakers) tend to culturally influence their alaga (child they take care), and the twists and turns in the story that seemed to be unpredictable at times.

Now for the very minimal flaws. There were a mere one or two scenes wherein which the transition felt a bit awkward. But what stood out as a downer for me is the ending part of the movie which lacked a sort of encore to close it up. Both story-wise and direction-wise, the movie seemed to not know how to end the thing. It just ended without a bang. I would have hoped for a grandiose epilogue song number, maybe an end that would look like the Les Miserables ending wherein all the characters including those who passed away emerge in spirit to sing a final song that formally ends the musical. Instead what we got was a sudden end credit sequence with a mediocre video from a song that does not involve any of the movie characters. Regardless of the same, the movie still remains a strong musical and a Filipino movie to be proud of.

I am upset that the local networks and media have not marketed this masterpiece of a movie the way it should. Not many movies like this come along that does pull up the reputation of Filipino cinema and it saddens me that there is no strong marketing campaign for this. Regardless of such, I am confident that this one will become a landmark in Philippine cinema. A true work of art that has the potential to please all its audiences as immensely possible. Without a doubt, a true obramaestra.

Moviehouses Resume Regular Screening

January 8 marks the resumption of the screening of the non-MMFF entries and regular movies. The end of the Metro Manila Filmfest Season opens the moviehouse floodgates to regular theater screenings. First in the list of movies rolling into theaters is the resumption of the screening of the movie Avatar, which has already opened before the MMFF season and was halted temporarily during the festival season. There is also the opening of three big movies; the family-friendly Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel, the hilarious Zombieland, and the mysterious Sherlock Holmes. Other MMFF movies such as Ang Panday and Shake Rattle & Roll 11, among a couple of others are still showing and are still drawing box-office numbers.

During the Christmas holiday weeks, the Metro Manila Film Festival is being held. This festival began as one which aims to showcase Filipino cinema with a week wherein only Filipino movies are being shown. Eventually, it required all theaters in the country to only show locally produced films that were chosen by a selected committee. Over the years, though, the Festival had arguably gone through changes which many consider as a decline in the quality of Philippine Cinema, and according to many, made the festival something that is merely commercial rather than one devoted to Filipino artistry. This decline in quality made a number of people abhor the festival, because it forced theaters to show tagalog movies which they considered as awful and destroys the reputation of Philippine Cinema as a whole, and because it deprived these people of watching non-MMFF movies.

2009 Filipino Movie News of the Year: Mendoza wins Cannes Best Director

2010 is coming, and as we look back to the events of 2009, there were many things that defined the year. Even though it is not as big as other movie sites, this little website of mine has dedicated itself to movie news, no gossip news, in here, we do not care which actor or actress as a crush on, or is sleeping with who. I have always believed that SHOWBIZ GOSSIP is one other factor that destroys Philippine Cinema.

As we look back on 2009, there is only one major movie news to me that should be spotlighted. This one bit of Movie News is what I choose as my (for a lack of a better, less cornier term) PINOY MOVIE NEWS of the YEAR. And right after this news bit, is my re-published commentary with minor additions.

[posted June 13, 2009]
Brilliante Mendoza was acclaimed best director for his film Kinatay at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival in Paris, France, (last May 25). This was the second consecutive year that he fielded an entry, his entry last year to the filmfest’s main competition was "Serbis". Mendoza won over big name directors like Quentin Tarantino (for "Inglourious Basterds"), Pedro Almodovar ("Los Abrazos Rotos"), Ang Lee ("Taking Woodstock"), Jane Campion ("Bright Star") and Lars von Trier ("AntiChrist").

Three other Filipino films were entries in this year’s Cannes Filmfest. These are:

–Independencia by Raya Martin for the Section Un Certain Regard.
–Manila by Raya Martin and Adolfo Alix Jr.
–Sabungero by Fil-Am Janice Perez in the short film corner.

In 2007, Mendoza entered "Foster Child" in the Directors’ Fortnight. In 2000, a film by Raymond Red, "Anino", won the Palme d’Or for Short Film.

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MAY 24, 2009 : Filipino wins Cannes FilmFest BEST DIRECTOR
by Reymundo Salao

what's so sad is that while this news was up, the entire country was so engrossed over, and its media stubbornly focused upon the idiotic Katrina Halili-Hayden Kho Scandal, which is clearly an insignificant topic overblown by the mainstream media's craving for sensationalism.
While the mainstream media and the Filipino people has been busy feeding on something which is actually quite normal in the little world of immoral spoiled-brat celebrities, a Filipino has already won something that is supposed to bring great honor to the nation... but not many were able to pay attention, not many chose to pay attention, and not many were interested in this news. Even I, admittedly, was late on the news. If you ask my opinion, there is many to blame. ABS-CBN, GMA, even the Philippine Entertainment Portal, which is supposedly a movie news site, did not give much attention to the Cannes victory news. The mainstream media are the ones who knows what news to give to the public, and apparently, what the mainstream media is interested in seems to be not on the task of paying attention to what should be relevant, instead they focus on the things that continue to corrupt Filipino culture. And believe me, that fucking scandal corrupts our culture. Blame also the government officials who waste their time and a good amount of taxpayer's money over it.

Believe me when I say that I kick myself in the ass for being so late with this news. I was quick to post the newest Hollywood news, but with the biggest Filipino news for Philippine Cinema for all history... I was late??? Shameful. And I call myself as somebody who is a Film Junkie... shame on me... But what the fuck... Local media was just crazy over the Kho-Halili Scandal while the Movie Websites were all just blabbering about the positive onslaught of Summer movies. At least, as I mentioned above, at least, I have somebody to blame, coz hey, unlike THEM, I do not have MuCH resources like reporters, etc to bring you movie news that matter.

The Mainstream Industry has full control of the Entertainment Industry as far as the country is concerned. They can influence the masses to love good quality or bad quality. In addition, they also have the power to exclude something from having an existence in the eyes of the masses. Who's destroying the reputation of Philippine Cinema? It's the giants; the mainstream media companies. Not only do they kill art; they kill the chance for art to exist and be appreciated.