December 20,1987. MV Doña Paz was on its way to Manila carrying more than 4000 passengers. The ship’s capacity was only for 1000+ passengers but because it’s the holiday season, they allowed more than the ship’s capacity. MV Doña Paz collided with an oil cargo ship called Vector leaving more than 4000 passengers dead and only 24 survivors. Sulpicio Lines denied (and is still denying) that MV Doña Paz was overloaded with passengers because according to their manifesto, only about a thousand were listed there. Read the rest of this entry »

With the recent death of the former president, many of us did not know that she had an interview about her husband Ninoy Aquino months ago. It was supposed to be in preparation for the 25th anniversary of Ninoy’s death on August 21. This project was a collaboration of the Benigno Aquino Jr. Foundation and Unitel Productions as a tribute to the late hero of democracy.
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After 7 months of waiting, the Eraserheads reunited once more. We don’t know the reasons of this re-reunion but being an Eraserheads hardcore fan, it is good news for me. For the people who ask why they are doing this, it’s not really our bloody right to know.

The night before the concert, I was up until 5 am. Supposedly, I was going to sleep early to prep up for this event but something came up. Anyway, I woke up at 11 am and headed to SM Mall of Asia with Karla. We first hung out at Bona Coffee opposite the concert grounds. Karla was wearing her Noytee shirt, the shirt I got didn’t fit me so I requested to meet up with someone from Noytee to get a larger size at 3:30 pm.

Around 4:00 pm, we headed to the VIP entrance as we are expecting that the gates would open at 3:00 pm. Apparently, they’re not letting anyone in yet. Karla and I were the 3rd and 4th person on the right side entrance (near the bay). Patricia and Gerard (newly found friends from Circus) were the 1st and 2nd on the line. We’re complete strangers but the Eraserheads binded us as if we’re already familiar with each other. The guards then were instructed to let the audience in around 4:30 pm. I was really surprised to see how near I am from the stage. Read the rest of this entry »

It was supposed to be just another Saturday gimmick for me. Karla and I decided to watch Makoy’s Violator Copy on a Saturday because I have work during weekdays. On the web, it was supposedly scheduled at 6:00 pm but when we got there (Robinson’s Galleria) it was scheduled for 7:30 pm. I got to see the Circus Listers at the theater entrance, they were going to see the film as well.

Violator Copy is a compilation of Marcus Adoro’s video works. The latest short film that he did was “The Artist Is In” which was last year and at last I was able to see it. This isn’t your typical film with dialogues in it; I would probably say that the film talked to its audience through the sound of the surroundings and the non-existence of sound. The lead character, the artist, quietly thinks of song writing ideas inside his room while on the other hand the outside world is full of noise. This shows the difficulty of some artists in the urban setting. I also thought of the struggle of an artist to squeeze their creativity juices given a little amount of time. There are deadlines to make but sometimes creativity lags behind and couldn’t cope under time pressure. It could be hypothesized that a typical day for an everyday worker, perhaps with expected tasks, is almost the same as an artist in under time pressure. Making art would become just like a normal activity and feeling of pleasure is gone. Read the rest of this entry »

Marcus Adoro invites everyone to the world premiere of his unreleased and limited release video works.

Special appearances by:

• Jericho Rosales
• Pepe Smith
• Darryl Shy
• Dong Abay
• Regiben Romana
• The Fourth Wall Art Collective
• A Famous Pinoy 90s Rock Band
• The La Union Lokal Surfers
• and more!

Catch it out from February 4 to 10, 2009 at Robinson’s Galleria’s Indie Sine

Katrina ”hopia” Legaspi as the voice of “Anna” the vegetarian manananggal  

We were one of the first people who was able to watch Dayo at the big screen. The premier night was held at SM Megamall’s Cinema 10 and was attended also by some members of the cast who rendered their voices to the film such as Peque Gallaga, Nash Aguas and Hopia.

I have been curious about this film ever since we were invited to the studios of Cutting Edge Productions to witness how the animation was being done a few months ago. I appreciated the film more while I was watching the finish product though the studio tour already burst my bubble . Read the rest of this entry »

(Dayo official teaser trailer)

I got excited because I have never been to an animation studio ever in my life and that’s why I really prepped up to be early for the studio tour in Cutting Edge Studios at Greenbelt Mansion, Makati. The studio tour is for the promotion of Dayo, the first Filipino all-digital animated film. The place was filled with toys, which they really need to keep their imagination “child-like” . Read the rest of this entry »

Karla and I watched this film a few days ago at the Gateway Mall and I could say that it was ok. I really couldn’t say that it’s really good and cannot even compare it to the other “The Mummy” flicks since I haven’t seen the last 2. It was average so to say.

We have already watched 2 Brendan Frasier flicks this past month the other was “The Journey to the Center of the Earth” and comparing the 2 Frasier flicks, I could judge that I like the “Journey” better than the “Mummy 3″. It was much funnier. The only scene that I actually laughed in “The Mummy 3″ was when the dead skeletons were attaching each other’s body parts that fell while battling the terracotta warriors. I also enjoyed the fact that I am seeing Beijing, China one more time. It made me reminisce the time when I was at the Great Wall and seeing the actual terracotta warriors in Xian, China.

Last night Karla and I decided to watch a movie since it was drizzling outside. We first ate dinner in Tong Yang ( a good time for Shabu-Shabu!) and then headed off to the cinemas in SM Megamall. By the way it’s my first time to watch a movie there. I was amazed because the theater was so big. Hehe. We decided to watch this movie since we planned on watching it while we saw the movie trailer. Read the rest of this entry »

Rome and Juliet, sa mga hindi nakakaalam nito ay marahil ay sasabihin na may typo error na nangyari. Hindi po, hindi po nito itinutukoy ang Romeo and Juliet na isinulat ni William Shakespeare. Ito po ay isang Pelikulang Pilipinong nagsasalaysay sa pag-uulayaw ng dalawang babaeng nag-iibigan at paglaya ng sari-sariling kasarian. Sa titulo nito, naipakita na kaagad ang pagbaklas sa heterosekswal na ‘taken for granted reality’ nito nagpapatungkol sa bawal na pag-iibigan ng dalawang nilalang na heterosekswal. Kaya naman sa pelikulang ito, angkop na tawagin itong Rome and Juliet upang magpatungkol sa bawal na pag-iibigan ngunit ang pinagkaiba nga lamang nila kay Romeo at Juliet ay mas malalaking institusyon ng lipunan ang kalaban nina Rome at Juliet ( ang pamilya, ekonomiya, relihiyon, at marami pang iba) kaysa kina Romeo at Juliet na tila pang-personal na isyu lamang ang kanilang tinatalakay.Sa aking palagay naging epektibo ang paggamit ng titulong ito. Sisimulan ko muna sa iilang mga elemento nito at palalawigin sa pamamagitan ng mga isyu na nakapaloob o kaya naman ang mga naitulong nito sa pagpapalalim ng palikula. Ipagpaumanhin ninyo na hindi ako isang eksperto sa mga elementong ito ngunit ito lamang ay batay sa aking natutunan sa aking film 10 na klase sa ilalim ng pagtuturo ni Prop. Roland Tolentino at Art Stud 177 kay Prop. Eloi Hernandez. Bagamat may 7 ( o mahigit pa ata) na mga elemento ng pelikula, hindi ko tatalakayin ang lahat ng ito dahil ang mga lumitaw lamang na nakatulong sa pagdevelop ng kwento ang tatalakayin ko. Ang uunahin ko munang elemento ay ang tunog. Nais kong bigyan ng komendasyon ang musikang ginamit dahil naging epektibo ito sa pagpapakita ng emosyon. Ang pinakapaborito ko marahil ay ang kanta na paulit-ulit na naging matingkad sa pelikula, ang kantang isinulat ni Raimund Marasigan ng bandang Sandwich ( na dating drummer ng Eraserheads). Hindi ko sigurado ang titulo nito marahil ay “Sasamahan kita” (?) ang titulo nito, yun lamang ang naiisip kong maaaring maging titulo nito. Naging matingkad ang paggamit nito noong sila’y nagiging magkalapit na. At pinatugtog ang kahabaan ng kanta sa kanilang ‘love scene’ na lalong nagbigay ng buhay sa mga lyrics nito.Hindi ko maalala ang mga lyrics ngunit ang paulit ulit na sinasambit ng kantang ito ay ’sasamahan kita’. Sa mga salitang ito umiikot ang pagsasama nina Rome and Juliet. Ganito marahil ipinahiwatig ng manunulat ng kanta ang relasyong lesbiyana. Sina Rome at Juliet ay nagsimula bilang magkaibigan hanggang sa nagkahulugan ng loob na mahigit pa sa pagkakaibigan. Gustong ipahiwatig nito na “Sasamahan kita. Kahit na anu pa man ang mangyari, nandito lang ako. Tayo man o hindi. Basta mahal kita. Seryoso ako. ” Yon ang gustong sabihin ng kanta.Sa elemento naman ng pag-arte, naging epektibo sina Mylene Dizon at Andrea del Rosario sa pagganap ng dalawang ’straight’ na babae na sa kalaunan ay nagkaibigan. Kilala naman si Mylene Dizon sa kanyang background bilang isang babaeng ‘independent’ mag-isip, liberal etc. Si Andrea del Rosario naman ay bagamat pa-seksi ang kaniyang imahe eh may natatagong konserbatibismo; maaaring nakahubog nito sa kanya ay ang kanyang pagiging mag-aaral ng isang katolikong paaralan. Sa karakter ng dalawang babaeng ito makikita ang dualismo na isinasakatawan ng babae. Ang babaeng palaban at ang babaeng ‘tradisyonal’. Unahin muna nating ang babaeng tinatawag na tradisyunal. Sabi nga na ang babae ay dapat sumunod na lamang sa lalake, pinapangarap lang sa buong mundo ay makasal at iyon na para bang yun lamang ang dapat abangan sa buong buhay niya, ang magkaroon ng mga anak, atpb. Alam niyo na iyon, marahil. Isang simbolo nito na mula sa pelikula ay ang pantali sa buhog na palaging ibinibigay sa kanya ng kanyang kasintahan na si Rafael Rosel. Ang panali na ito ay sumisimbolo ng pagsunod sa ‘norm’. SA kabilang banda, ang palaban naman na babae ay malamang kabaligtaran ng tradisyunal: nag-iisip ng kanyang sariling kapakanan, hindi nagpapa-ander sa mga lalake, praktikal, ginagamit ang isip hindi ang puso atbp. Isang simbolismong maaaring magpakita dito ay ang eksenang nakikipagtalik siya sa kaibigan niya na Australianong lalake (? hindi sigurado). Siya ang nasa ibabaw samantalang ang lalake ay nasa ilalim at pagkatapos makaraos ni Juliet ay iniwanan na lamang ito sa sofa.Bagamat nais ipakita ng pelikula ang dualismong ito, hindi mo parin maikakatuwa na nag-ooverlap din ang tradisyunal at ang palaban na katangian sa isang karakter o kahit sa tunay na buhay. Si Rome, sa una ay palaban na palaban ang ipinapakita ngunit, nagpakita din ng sensibilidad. Nakita ito sa pagiging matigas ni Rome sa pagpaparaya kay Juliet dahil alam niyang nakasira siya ng relasyon. Matigas siya sa lahat ng bagay, perfectionist ngunit pagdating kay Juliet ay lumalambot. Lumambot ito nang siya’y nagdesisyon na gamitin ang kanyang puso at sumama kay Juliet. Si Juliet naman ay kahit na mukhang konserbatibo, may itinatago din palang pagiging palaban. Makikita naman sa pelikula na ayaw din ni Juliet na sumunod makikita ito sa simbolismo ng panali. Nagtatali lamang siya kapag kasama ang kanyang kasintahan kapag wala ay nilulugay niya lang ang kanyang buhok at lalu na kapag kasama niya si Rome talagang lugay lang ang kanyang buhok. Sumisimbolo ito ng kalayaan sa ‘norm’ na itinatawag. Sa dalawang karakter pa lamang ng dalawang babaeng ito, kahit na dualismo ng pagiging babae ang nais ipakita, sa bandang huli magkakaroon parin ng pagkakatagpo sa gitna. Maaaring may pagkakataon na gusto mo lang maging palaban may pagkakataon din na gusto mo ding maging malambot. Nagbabago ang lahat. ( abangan ang susunod na kabanata…)