I was able to sit through 2 hours and 39 minutes and got to know all the characters and understood the complex story of Brad Pitt's Oscar-nominated film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The story is about a man who ages backwards. The story telling was unique. But if you want to watch it, you must make sure that you've eaten enough or you have snacks with you. It is longer than what I expected it to be.
At times, the story becomes dragging that leaves me thinking, why am I still holding on? Why am I still sitting and watching the film? True to the title, you will become curious as to how his life would end. It was so perfect. He did not even get himself into any big time accidents. And that was something that I find to be the movie's main flaw.
Again, the storytelling was great. It was full of emotions. It was human. This is mainly because of the path that Benjamin's life was leading to, the revelations to the daughter and the emotions of the lover who would later act as a mother to the father of her child. All the characters were given their own spotlights. You will know each of them to the core after finishing the film.
What makes this something to watch out for is the uniqueness of its story. But aside from the acting and the technical aspects of the film, I don't think that this one deserves an Oscar trophy. But for all the efforts that was made to make me understand everything about how it's like to grow young, the money that I spent to see this film was all worth it.
Love Me Again
As much as I want to show my support to Piolo Pascual for his latest movie project under Star Cinema, I can't convince myself to go see this film. I am a certified Piolo fan. But after watching the trailer over and over again at the Kapamilya network, it made two impressions to me. Piolo is handsome. Angel is beautiful.
The focus became more on how would they be able to utilize the locations, Bukidnon in the Philippines and Australia. They used a very used concept and story that has been shown and rehashed not only in films but on soap operas as well. It was obvious that Star Cinema just wanted to give Angel Locsin a project fast, before the former Kapuso talent regrets her decision of jumping over to the Kapamilya fence.
Having two beautiful leads is not enough for a moviegoer to see the film. I don't think that this is a success, no matter how the network may later try to argue such statement. What went wrong? Here are only some of my sentiments.
1. The concept of Lobo, the TV series where the Angel-Piolo tandem first teamed up was too complicated to be fleshed out on TV. This may be the reason why it did not also leave any positive impression to the TV viewing public, whereas, the concept of Love Me Again appears to be so thin to be even made into film.
2. The producers should have experimented more on Angel. She hasn't still proven her bankability in terms of films. And the team-up doesn't have enough following yet. So it was really a bold move to place the two on a very simple concept that would have earned more if it was Piolo and Judy Ann Santos on the screen. Such partnership has legions of fans that are willing to see their idols onscreen even for such a concept as this film.
3. It opened when some of the movies which were part of the Manila Film Fest last year were still showing. I would rather catch up watching Baler (although I did not hehe!), knowing beforehand that at least it won the Best Picture award, than to waste my money on a film that I knew from the teasers I really wouldn't like.
4. Instead of a love story, they could have casted the two on a heavy family drama feature, ala-Tanging Yaman, that people will be interested to watch and rave about even after it was shown. This is the kind of career move that Angel needs badly now, to create a good impression, that ABS CBN, nor Star Cinema have not given her the chance to do as of yet.
In these times when money is so hard to earn, movie producers must give people more than enough reasons to convince them that it will all be worth it to catch their films.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Why I Chose Benjamin Button Over Papa Piolo?
Saturday, January 24, 2009
What ABS CBN Must Realize From the Success of Tayong Dalawa?
Now that ABS CBN has finally found a gem that caught a lot of people's attention, thus the consistent high ratings of the show, the network must learn from their past mistakes. Tayong Dalawa, the Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson starrer is a rich concept with a very good ensemble of the best character actors in Philippine showbiz. The story and its execution is a treat to the viewers.
I never thought that Gerald would be able to convince me that he is poor and that he grew up in Tondo. The young actor proved that learning how to speak in natural Tagalog is not that hard to do even for someone who grew up in the States. This is something that must be admired by the likes of Sam Milby and Martin Nievera, even though the latter seems to have no intention of doing so. Maybe he is still aspiring to achieve a Hollywood career.
I love Kim for the person I knew since PBB days. She is bubbly, hardworking and appears to be a very positive person. Her acting has also improved a lot as she lasts in the industry. The only thing that she must seriously put her heart into is in gaining more weight. We want our champ to be healthy despite the various tasking projects that she is being put into, right?
Kim was the right Jasmine for My Girl. She was so funny at the show. I hope that ABS CBN will soon release a DVD of the series because I am sure, many people are waiting to get hold of one. My Girl had everything right. But it would have been a bigger hit if it was transformed into film. Many TV viewers still knew very much about the story of the said series when it was aired, hence the lower outcome in terms of ratings.
And this is something that the creative bosses of ABS CBN must be very careful about. Do not fill the boob tube with remakes, especially hits like My Girl, that many people would prefer seeing the original version.
This is also true with I Love Betty La Fea. Yeah, the American version launched the career of America Ferrera. The concept was inspired by the original version, but the overall execution veered away from it. As for our TV version of Betty, it seemed to be following the original one at the start. They even copied the face of the Spanish Betty when she was still ugly. But the result became too forced. Bea Alonzo, as well as Vhong Navarro, looked like retards than ugly. Now they seem to be implementing a newer version by introducing unplanned casts, making the story go out of line. They should have done such move from the start. On a positive note, Jericho's appearance on the soap was strong. He could have been a better Armando. And ABS CBN could have used someone who really looks plain in real life, as Betty. They could have used someone from their roster of talents in their big freezer to launch her career as Betty.
But the good thing about I Love Betty La Fea is that it showed some hints that Bea is effective in lighter and slight comedic roles. The material hasn't given her enough scenes to prove the point. I hope that the remakes of Meteor Garden and Lovers in Paris will not push through. It is time to make our own hits. It is time to follow the lead of Tayong Dalawa. After seeing the tandem of Bea and John Lloyd in heavy drama roles, people would love seeing them on a light romantic comedy series that is an original concept.
My now 4-year-old niece watches TV and loves Kim Chiu. So she stays tuned all throughout Betty La Fea, watches Tayong Dalawa, and then we either turn off the TV or watch what the rival network is featuring. The reason for this is ABS CBN's bold move to include a bold series in its lineup. People are not yet ready for series like Eva Fonda. It is so 80s, story wise. And I don't know about the rating of Pinoy Fear Factor, but the show is so gross that it would have been better if they had shown it weekends on a late timeslot.
Another star that is capturing people's interests via Tayong Dalawa is Coco Martin. I have heard of the scandals that he has gotten himself into in the past. I don't know if that will affect his rise to stardom. But his role in the series is meaty and he definitely gives justice to such. He could have passed as the other David Garcia, Jr. People love Gerald. But much as the executives of ABS CBN hate to admit, Jake Cuenca will never be a big star as what they want to portray him to be. If they will insist on it, people will only hate the starlet all the more. There are other qualified stars of ABS CBN than this one. And if he will keep on getting the good roles, the rumor about him being linked to a gay executive of the network won't die.
I have seen the teaser of May Bukas Pa. This will also be something to look forward to if it will be placed on the primetime block. I know, I have watched the concept over and over again through time. But who can resist a cute child with a good story and hopefully good execution to back him up?
The still to-be-seen Judy Ann Santos' soap needs to be seen now, fast. When they thought about the concept, the boom of the nursing profession was the talk of the town. They have to air the soap before people lose interest at such idea.
There are still a lot of factors that the Kapamilya network needs to reconsider before it regains the number one spot in all aspects of the ratings war. It is a good thing though that they seem to be learning from their mistakes by giving us a masterpiece like Tayong Dalawa. The expectation for the next series to be aired next is high. So it better be good. And please show the Judy Ann soap for heaven's sake!
I never thought that Gerald would be able to convince me that he is poor and that he grew up in Tondo. The young actor proved that learning how to speak in natural Tagalog is not that hard to do even for someone who grew up in the States. This is something that must be admired by the likes of Sam Milby and Martin Nievera, even though the latter seems to have no intention of doing so. Maybe he is still aspiring to achieve a Hollywood career.
I love Kim for the person I knew since PBB days. She is bubbly, hardworking and appears to be a very positive person. Her acting has also improved a lot as she lasts in the industry. The only thing that she must seriously put her heart into is in gaining more weight. We want our champ to be healthy despite the various tasking projects that she is being put into, right?
Kim was the right Jasmine for My Girl. She was so funny at the show. I hope that ABS CBN will soon release a DVD of the series because I am sure, many people are waiting to get hold of one. My Girl had everything right. But it would have been a bigger hit if it was transformed into film. Many TV viewers still knew very much about the story of the said series when it was aired, hence the lower outcome in terms of ratings.
And this is something that the creative bosses of ABS CBN must be very careful about. Do not fill the boob tube with remakes, especially hits like My Girl, that many people would prefer seeing the original version.
This is also true with I Love Betty La Fea. Yeah, the American version launched the career of America Ferrera. The concept was inspired by the original version, but the overall execution veered away from it. As for our TV version of Betty, it seemed to be following the original one at the start. They even copied the face of the Spanish Betty when she was still ugly. But the result became too forced. Bea Alonzo, as well as Vhong Navarro, looked like retards than ugly. Now they seem to be implementing a newer version by introducing unplanned casts, making the story go out of line. They should have done such move from the start. On a positive note, Jericho's appearance on the soap was strong. He could have been a better Armando. And ABS CBN could have used someone who really looks plain in real life, as Betty. They could have used someone from their roster of talents in their big freezer to launch her career as Betty.
But the good thing about I Love Betty La Fea is that it showed some hints that Bea is effective in lighter and slight comedic roles. The material hasn't given her enough scenes to prove the point. I hope that the remakes of Meteor Garden and Lovers in Paris will not push through. It is time to make our own hits. It is time to follow the lead of Tayong Dalawa. After seeing the tandem of Bea and John Lloyd in heavy drama roles, people would love seeing them on a light romantic comedy series that is an original concept.
My now 4-year-old niece watches TV and loves Kim Chiu. So she stays tuned all throughout Betty La Fea, watches Tayong Dalawa, and then we either turn off the TV or watch what the rival network is featuring. The reason for this is ABS CBN's bold move to include a bold series in its lineup. People are not yet ready for series like Eva Fonda. It is so 80s, story wise. And I don't know about the rating of Pinoy Fear Factor, but the show is so gross that it would have been better if they had shown it weekends on a late timeslot.
Another star that is capturing people's interests via Tayong Dalawa is Coco Martin. I have heard of the scandals that he has gotten himself into in the past. I don't know if that will affect his rise to stardom. But his role in the series is meaty and he definitely gives justice to such. He could have passed as the other David Garcia, Jr. People love Gerald. But much as the executives of ABS CBN hate to admit, Jake Cuenca will never be a big star as what they want to portray him to be. If they will insist on it, people will only hate the starlet all the more. There are other qualified stars of ABS CBN than this one. And if he will keep on getting the good roles, the rumor about him being linked to a gay executive of the network won't die.
I have seen the teaser of May Bukas Pa. This will also be something to look forward to if it will be placed on the primetime block. I know, I have watched the concept over and over again through time. But who can resist a cute child with a good story and hopefully good execution to back him up?
The still to-be-seen Judy Ann Santos' soap needs to be seen now, fast. When they thought about the concept, the boom of the nursing profession was the talk of the town. They have to air the soap before people lose interest at such idea.
There are still a lot of factors that the Kapamilya network needs to reconsider before it regains the number one spot in all aspects of the ratings war. It is a good thing though that they seem to be learning from their mistakes by giving us a masterpiece like Tayong Dalawa. The expectation for the next series to be aired next is high. So it better be good. And please show the Judy Ann soap for heaven's sake!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
A Recap of the Past and Recent Showbiz Scoops
I know, I know, I have been slacking around towards the end of 2008 up until the start of this year. To all of you who loves the showbiz world and of course the gossips, belated Merry Christmas and New Year as well!
In Hollywood, John Travolta's teenage son was laid to rest. The 16-year-old boy had a seizure that caused his death.
Locally, while everybody was cheering for Manny Pacquiao's win over pretty boy Oscar dela Hoya, the family, fans and friends grieved for the sudden death of young TV personality, Marky Cielo.
Up until now, Marky's death is still a popular subject on text messaging. There are many speculations with regards to the cause of what happened. And people want to hear one voice in this matter, LJ Reyes. Is she pregnant? Did Marky get death threats that caused whatever has happened? There are yet so many unanswered questions. But if the actor chose to forever hold his peace regarding the issue, let us respect that and stop all the hush-hush. I won't talk about it anymore, promise =) … well, not unless something big comes up that has to be blogged.
Brad Pitt in a recent magazine interview acknowledged that he still keeps in touch with Jennifer Aniston. He came on her defense with the negative opinions that Jen received with her "uncool" statement in a magazine interview that was blown out of proportion. As for Jen, she seems to be going fine and happy with her current flame, John Mayer. She shocked us all when she did a sexy GQ magazine cover. I wasn't ready to see my favorite "Friend" too adult and far from being Rachel Green. But she was also shocked because she admitted that it wasn't supposed to be like that. The concept that was presented to her was different from the end product.
Hmm, so what else did I miss? The local news was filled with deceits, lies and cheap issues. First up, Dingdong Dantes and Karylle split. Karylle was asked by Boy Abunda on "The Buzz" if she thinks that Dingdong's rumored girlfriend is pregnant. Karylle smiled while thinking. I was also thinking that time, where did that question come from? There wasn't even a hint or a bit of smoke regarding that. Was Boy testing how Karylle would react? Before the latter could finalize her thoughts, Boy ended the interview, making it look like the poor girl actually hinted that Marian was pregnant.
And then we saw Marian Rivera on the presscon of their movie, crying her heart out and stealing the scene from her co-stars. Was it really Karylle that brought her frustrations? Or was it the reporter who told her upfront that she is "plastikada," meaning that she is really very far from what she's trying to portray in front of the cameras.
Well, as for me, Angel Locsin looks better than Marian who looks old for her age. And Karylle seems to be smarter than her. But Marian is simply lucky. She became her home network's most precious last year. Let's see if she can hold it up to this year when Heart Evangelista appears to be a big threat to her throne on the Kapuso side of the warring networks.
As per the Kapamilya, they retained Deither Ocampo who had almost jumped over the fence last year. They still got Judy Ann Santos, but why are they hiding her? The young superstar isn't visible on any of their shows. They got Karylle… hmm, I still think that she lacks the X factor to be famous like her mom.
Oh God, I refuse to blog about the Vicki Belo-Hayden Kho-Katrina Halili circus. I'm sure you have heard of it. This is just how I look at the matter. Katrina is easy to get. Hayden is a gold digger. And Vicky Belo is very willing to be a sugar mommy (wag lang papahuli)!
Did I miss out on anything? That is the recap of the recent and not-so recent showbiz scoops since the last time I posted till this day. I hope that there will be more blog-worthy events and tsismis in the coming days. Oh please, stop featuring the broken hearted Hayden Kho and don't make him sing his sick composition to his "Vicks." If they have a problem to solve, don't let the public know about it. I'm sure they won't mind. I won't! =)
In Hollywood, John Travolta's teenage son was laid to rest. The 16-year-old boy had a seizure that caused his death.
Locally, while everybody was cheering for Manny Pacquiao's win over pretty boy Oscar dela Hoya, the family, fans and friends grieved for the sudden death of young TV personality, Marky Cielo.
Up until now, Marky's death is still a popular subject on text messaging. There are many speculations with regards to the cause of what happened. And people want to hear one voice in this matter, LJ Reyes. Is she pregnant? Did Marky get death threats that caused whatever has happened? There are yet so many unanswered questions. But if the actor chose to forever hold his peace regarding the issue, let us respect that and stop all the hush-hush. I won't talk about it anymore, promise =) … well, not unless something big comes up that has to be blogged.
Brad Pitt in a recent magazine interview acknowledged that he still keeps in touch with Jennifer Aniston. He came on her defense with the negative opinions that Jen received with her "uncool" statement in a magazine interview that was blown out of proportion. As for Jen, she seems to be going fine and happy with her current flame, John Mayer. She shocked us all when she did a sexy GQ magazine cover. I wasn't ready to see my favorite "Friend" too adult and far from being Rachel Green. But she was also shocked because she admitted that it wasn't supposed to be like that. The concept that was presented to her was different from the end product.
Hmm, so what else did I miss? The local news was filled with deceits, lies and cheap issues. First up, Dingdong Dantes and Karylle split. Karylle was asked by Boy Abunda on "The Buzz" if she thinks that Dingdong's rumored girlfriend is pregnant. Karylle smiled while thinking. I was also thinking that time, where did that question come from? There wasn't even a hint or a bit of smoke regarding that. Was Boy testing how Karylle would react? Before the latter could finalize her thoughts, Boy ended the interview, making it look like the poor girl actually hinted that Marian was pregnant.
And then we saw Marian Rivera on the presscon of their movie, crying her heart out and stealing the scene from her co-stars. Was it really Karylle that brought her frustrations? Or was it the reporter who told her upfront that she is "plastikada," meaning that she is really very far from what she's trying to portray in front of the cameras.
Well, as for me, Angel Locsin looks better than Marian who looks old for her age. And Karylle seems to be smarter than her. But Marian is simply lucky. She became her home network's most precious last year. Let's see if she can hold it up to this year when Heart Evangelista appears to be a big threat to her throne on the Kapuso side of the warring networks.
As per the Kapamilya, they retained Deither Ocampo who had almost jumped over the fence last year. They still got Judy Ann Santos, but why are they hiding her? The young superstar isn't visible on any of their shows. They got Karylle… hmm, I still think that she lacks the X factor to be famous like her mom.
Oh God, I refuse to blog about the Vicki Belo-Hayden Kho-Katrina Halili circus. I'm sure you have heard of it. This is just how I look at the matter. Katrina is easy to get. Hayden is a gold digger. And Vicky Belo is very willing to be a sugar mommy (wag lang papahuli)!
Did I miss out on anything? That is the recap of the recent and not-so recent showbiz scoops since the last time I posted till this day. I hope that there will be more blog-worthy events and tsismis in the coming days. Oh please, stop featuring the broken hearted Hayden Kho and don't make him sing his sick composition to his "Vicks." If they have a problem to solve, don't let the public know about it. I'm sure they won't mind. I won't! =)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)