Roll cam, roll life

Did you miss me? I know you did. Aminin!

Life was just sweepingly hectic in more ways than one. But since this hibernation break, I thought of blogging more in order to get back on track.

 

Teaching teachers how to tackle theatrical trailers. Teh totoo ‘to! [October 2012 Pagadian City]

 

But before I do that, I’ll ease into it a bit. I actually wrote some stuff which are film-related and are now out — but in other venues.

 

My editor at Philippine Online Chronicles’ (POC) Pinoy LGBT Channel asked me to review the Philippine Oscars rep this coming year, the recent Cinemalaya entry BWAKAW written and directed by Jun Lana.

My review appeared there in POC since the film is about this aging old gay man.

Here is that review. Seriously, I think this time, we have a contender.

Read up why.

 

 

And then, a paper that I have written early this year, presented in a cinema studies conference in Hong Kong last March, is now officially published in the Kritika Kultura ejournal. The journal has a special issue of Ishmael Bernal’s MANILA BY NIGHT and I was invited to submit a paper. I wrote about the lesbian character of Cherie Gil and intersected that with the genderqueer identity. It’s entitled “To conform or not to conform, that is the genderqueer question: Re-examining the lesbian identity in Manila By Night.” That paper is available here. The rest of the journal’s issue is here and could be downloaded as a pdf file like my paper. Enjoy cinema geeks!

Genderqueering academia. Story of my persecuted queer scholarly life. Hahaha don’t ask! Offer me beer and I will do tell. Charaught! [March 2012 Hong Kong University]

Yes, I have been busy. No, film-watching and critiquing were not forgotten, just overtaken by other avenues. But I promise that now, it will be back here again, ready for more.

Okay roll cam!

Databasing ang lola niyo

Since Multiply.Com recently announced that they are shutting down, I am currently scrambling to extract my previous content from my old multiply site and transfer it somewhere. Bulk of the content there is my collection of film reviews done over the years. I will be transferring them here slowly so check out the new page I created na lang to catalog everything. It’s here, sa Now Nah! Showing page at the top of the navigation bar to your right. That list will grow as I add the old ones so keep posted na lang. If you care. Charot.

In the meantime, more regular film reviewing will be back here… with a vengeance!

Abangan.

passage of time

I just realized that another month passed and still, no post here. Hm did I stop watching films? Not necessarily, but I did pick up TV series watching again though. But that’s for another blog.

Also got busy doing filmmaking stuff as well, and of course teaching film. Some things with family as well, and then there’s hanging out with friends and of course taking care of matters of body parts. You know what I mean.

In the meantime, sharing this with you, my article about the MMFF 2011 in POC Pinoy LGBT Channel. Wondering how sexist and phobic the films are? I did, too. That’s in my article.

And a photo of what I’ve been doing around town, this one professionally.

Zen Garden. More fun in the Philippines. (somewhere in Taytay during a docu shoot / Jan 2012 photo by superfriend M)

And there you go.

 

and the Oscar goes to…

It’s Oscar day today as I type this, here in Manila, that is. But back in the US, it’s Oscar night. Same same.

I remember where I was a year ago today. I was here, inside Stonewall bar, the birthplace of queer pride in New York City, watching the pre-Oscar red carpet show with a couple of cool queer friends up to the first couple of awards of the main Oscar show.

Inside Stonewall, March 2010 NYC.

Read my full Stonewall visit story here and

look at my Stonewall photo essay here.

 

Has it been a year now? Wow. How time flies.

But with movies, it doesn’t feel that way most times. Pictures freeze memories. What more moving pictures? That is what movies are all about — endless strings of moving pictures. And thus, movies make you flashback to times once forgotten and make you excited to look at scenes up ahead in time — regardless of the kind of movie you watch. Suspension of disbelief? Of course, movies have to be escapist fare sometimes; that’s why we follow stories in different art forms, actually.

Imaginative escape through artful storytelling.

I guess that’s just how movies work for me. Perhaps that is why I chose to study it in college, and why I — despite the negativity interwoven with the art form when it comes to the business side of things — continue to be involved in it right now, albeit indirectly, through teaching in a film institute (dubbed as “one of the best film schools daw outside Hollywood) and working around its allied technology called television.

Yes, I guess it’s about telling stories, with pictures and sound. That’s how I want to look at movies. That’s also why I love watching them alone or with people I care for and care about. And no, we don’t have to like the same kinds of films because that’s also the beauty of a film — you can agree to disagree with people about how you view such films. My film school buddies and I used to stay up all night until the wee hours of the morning just talking about films. This habit of movie marathon watching and talking endlessly about films never died, and I don’t think it ever will, for me, even if the people I watch movies with and talk to afterward change from time to time.

I guess like change, the only constant thing in this world is movies.

This is why sometimes, I feel a bit sad when some people immediately dismiss the (inherent) commercial aspects of films while some vehemently reject mainstream Hollywood(ized) films without looking at their merits first, or when some (former) friends and colleagues stubbornly deny the benefits they reap from working in the mainstream and hide in that easy disclaimer of  “Here I am, a sellout!” to avoid their perceived disdain from colleagues who chose not to engage in the mainstream full-on like they did.

This is also why I feel sad when people outright dismiss watching the Academy Awards as well. I know that as a structure and as an institution, it has its flaws, like the films it honors every year. But still, sometimes we just have to step back and enjoy the show, for this show is also a constant reminder of what movies are to people who watch them — movies as memories, movies as fun, movies as cultural products, what have you.

I have my own reasons for liking films, and most of them are rooted in deeply personal reasons. Yes, sometimes watching films became a lifeline for me when I needed it during certain parts of my life. And no, even if I dissect it for a living these past years, I still am able to enjoy watching them.

I guess for me, I can re-appropriate that feminist slogan of “what is personal is political” to one that says “what is cinematic is personal” as well, for that is how movies make such marks on me. Yeah, call it romanticizing but that’s what this art form manufactures most times — dreams. Why do you think they called it “Hollywood dream factory” in the 1940s? And yes, to this day, we still buy these dreams. And that’s not a crime.

So it’s time to relax once again, just chill with the images and sound, and just let the magic of dreams begin. No harm in enjoying the good stuff of life, right?

Roll credits.

15th French Film Festival

Yesterday was fun. I got an invite to attend the press preview of the forthcoming French Film Festival at the Shangri-la Mall Cineplex in Ortigas. Glad that it’s in Ortigas pa rin, somewhat more accessible for me to go to.

Some kind of "travel to discover yourself" film, sort of. You know naman the French, hard to peg in just a simple one-line pitch...

Their line-up this year looks interesting. Well, their line-ups always are anyway. It’s just that in the past years, I’ve grown weary of attending such festivals, unlike in my younger fresh-out-of-film school days when my friends and I would simply devour such showings, inventing the concept of the film marathons in our barkada, which we usually do anyway since undergrad days.

In English, "Offices of God." Title pa lang, intriguing na! Comedy ito. I'm catching this one.

Since our former film department had close ties with the French Embassy, we were also regularly invited to openings of such festivals and other Frenchy gimmicks like their annual Bastille Day celebs and such. But since I gave up my car, I got tired of attending the festivals and events because of the difficult commute going home to Marikina.

Loosely translated as "In (the) Life," this is like an inter-religion drama chuva. Worth seeing how they deal with such issues.

So it was refreshing to be in this loop again yesterday, as the event didn’t really start too early or too late, just right for the 10am snack time they said and the 1030am film screening after. I saw several old-timers covering the event, mga kasabayan ko noon pa in such entertainment coverages since the early 2000s, and I also saw new faces from younger publications.

"Girl on a train" ito (I'm guessing the RER is an acronym for a train station or something), some kind of urban intriguing drama chuva. Wanna watch this.

Nakakatuwa naman. Maluwag pa kasi ang sked ko for now since the start of classes is next week pa naman, I decided to check out the festival ek.

Family drama chever, the title means "Summer Hours." Drama yata itey.

And I’m glad I did. The film we saw, Le Graine et le Mulet, is a refreshing film for me to see, ako na babad na naman sa Hollywood at local indie lately. God, I missed French films! I’ll discuss that film extensively sa Manila Times column ko in the next two weeks. For now, I hope they accept the feature article I submitted earlier. Medyo nag-iiba na pala ang klima doon ngayon since my lifestyle editor just quit, so I’m just playing it by ear there. But I digress.

It's interesting to see the lives of French immigrants of Arabic descent. Happy ito, refreshing for me ang story structure. And the couscous! Yum.

Anyway, the posters here are those of the films to be screened. Exciting din ‘yung Eric Rohmer retrospective since kakamatay lang niya last January. One of the late-bloomers siya sa French New Wave generation nina Godard at Truffaut et al. Happy sana kung di lang sa CCP ang retrospective kainis. A select films of his will be brought naman later to UPFI pala as well as some of the festival selections, pero parang ayoko nang manood dun lately — walang popcorn at proper aircon. Na-spoil ako sa Gateway at SM cinemas na of late hehe.

Ito mukhang happy, about sex and love, French preoccupations.

Anyway, when I don’t have classes yet, I’ll try to catch the screenings. Refreshing din kasing tumambay ulit sa Shang, a break from SM hehe.

Its English title is "Just Anybody" about a twentysomething na parang walang magawa sa buhay dahil rich siya. Parang some people I know hehehe...

The sked is here:

June 3, Thursday
7:30 p.m. – L’Amour c’est mieux a deux

June 4, Friday
12 p.m. – L’Heure d’ete’
3 p.m. – La Fille du RER
6 p.m. – La Graine et le Mulet
9 p.m. – Les Bureaux de Dieu

June 5, Saturday
12 p.m. – L’Amour c’est mieux a deux
3 p.m. – Le Premier Venu
6 p.m. – Welcome
9 p.m. – Dans La Vie

June 6, Sunday
12 p.m. – Le Genou De Claire
3 p.m. – Le Beau Mariage
6 p.m. – L’Heure d’ete’
9 p.m. – La Fille du RER

June 7, Monday
12 p.m. – La Graine et le Mulet
3 p.m. – Les Bureaux de Dieu
6 p.m. – L’Amour c’est mieux a deux
9 p.m. – Le Premier Venu

June 8, Tuesday
12 p.m. – Welcome
3 p.m. – Dans La Vie
6 p.m. – Le Genou De Claire
9 p.m. – Le Beau Mariage

June 9, Wednesday
12 p.m. – Les Bureaux de Dieu
3 p.m. – La Graine et le Mulet
6 p.m. – La Fille du RER
9 p.m. – L’Heure d’ete’

June 10, Thursday
12 p.m. – Dans La Vie
3 p.m. – Welcome
6 p.m. – Le Premier Venu
9 p.m. – L’Amour c’est mieux a deux

June 11, Friday
12 p.m. – La Fille du RER
3 p.m. – L’Heure d’ete’
6 p.m. – Le Beau Mariage
9 p.m. – Le Genou De Claire

June 13, Sunday
12 p.m. – Le Premier Venu
3 p.m. – L’Amour c’est mieux a deux
6 p.m. – Les Bureaux de Dieu
9 p.m. – La Graine et le Mulet

I grabbed this sked sa spot.ph. To see the synopses of the films, go to their site na lang here.

Crime thriller chuva with Jean Reno. Looks interesting.

Here’s the rest of the sked as I wrote in my article:

Film lovers can catch the full run of the French Film Festival at the Shangri-La Cineplex in Ortigas from June 3 to 13 while the full Eric Rohmer Retrospective will run at the CCP from June 15-20. The festival will then travel to Cebu where it will be showcased at the Ayala Center from June 18 to 20. A selection of the festival and Rohmer films will then be screened at the University of the Philippines Film Institute’s (UPFI) Cine Adarna Theater at the UP Diliman campus in Quezon City. For other details of the festival, you can call 633-2227.

O sige, kitakits na lang.

of Manila movie marathons and looking for American moviehouses

As I’m typing this post, I’m watching Entertainment Tonight weekend edition on cable, in what channel I don’t know. It’s because I’m here in the U.S. while watching this, California to be exact, somewhere in the middle they call the Central Coast area. I’ve been here since the latter part of March, right after a film studies conference I attended in New York City (I’ll blog about that in the future).

I appreciate showbiz shows like E.T. because it keeps me up-to-date with the movie news I always like hearing and watching. For instance, they’re heavily promoting Russell Crowe’s latest movie with Cate Blanchett, the great director Ridley Scott’s version of ROBIN HOOD due out in a few weeks. And as I flip channels, there’s a commercial of the TCM Classic Film Festival happening in Hollywood, Los Angeles right now, which I think began last April 22, the day my sister and I left Los Angeles to drive back here, after staying there for five days to spend her vacation from work. Heck, if that was in Manila, I would be there everyday to watch the movies. Imagine watching REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE or BREATHLESS on the big screen! Wow. Oh well, but that’s the point — I ain’t in Manila.

And that’s what I miss with being in Manila — our movie marathons. I would usually spend cinema time with my girlfriend or my mother, or the both of them, in our favorite cinema houses in malls nearby. It’s not that easy to do that here, but of course it depends on where you are. For instance, I am here in a huge apartment compound which is near a commercial area. But their commercial areas don’t necessarily have movie houses here. There are stand-alone movie houses here but they are usually located in the city’s main city-center area, or where “Main Street” usually is here in America, as I found out. Sure, I can walk over there, but it will take me about 30 minutes to walk there in a leisurely pace. Sure it’s easy to drive down there as it will take only 8-10 minutes. But since my sister uses her car for work and I don’t have a California license, I can’t drive it. And no, there are no subways, buses or taxis here that just pass by. Everything’s on schedule, and fare costs a lot. But of course, that’s my forex mind always converting rates.

cinema house at the Paso Robles park area

Yes, so in short, it’s hard to go to the movies here. It’s so unlike where I live back in Manila where the cinemas are just five minutes away or a jeep-ride away for more mall cinema goodness.

It’s not the same in New York City, though. I like that area better because there are 24-hour buses and subways operating there, as it really is a city that never sleeps (well, at least some parts only). Unless you don’t mind traveling out in the cold, this is perfectly okay. And when I say cold, it’s really cold! I was there last March, about two weeks of the tail end of winter. While I didn’t really see heavy snowfall (just for one day, some flurries), once the wind blows, you better be warm and covered and heavily layered! So traveling from your house to the cinema house is really an adventure in winter wonderland, literally. Sometimes it’s not worth it, even for avowed cineastes.

Wanna watch a movie outside during winter? Then dress like this.

But aside from the weather difference, it’s still the same. Movie houses there are not so accessible. Or maybe it feels that way because you have to take at least a minimum of one subway or bus ride to reach a cinema house, and then you have to walk a bit, maybe one block or a few more. But of course, this all depends on where you’re staying there, if you’re very near the cinema or not. Lucky if you live near. If not, tough luck going there.

Now I understand more the in-house movie services here, such as the Netflix thing where your cable-internet TV subscription or whatever the set-up has like a movie subscription where you can buy movies on demand. They say that a lot here, “on demand” movies. Or they could mail you DVDs and you watch it and you mail them back to the company when you’re done. It’s like a movie rental by mail. Amazing, isn’t it. Of course it only works in countries where the systems like the postal service work efficiently. Good luck running that in the Philippines.

So in a couple of days, I’ll be flying back to Manila, and maybe the first few things I’ll do is watch movies endlessly in SM Marikina or Gateway Cubao or Trinoma with my girlfriend. Even if it’s the two of us, it’s still relatively cheaper. Imagine watching one movie here in the U.S. for 10-14 dollars each. How much is that? With current exchange rates, more than 460 pesos. Hey, I could take the 140 peso-movie anytime. It’s the same, man. Plus I get to buy popcorn and melon shake. Solb!

I’m checking out the movies currently playing in the cinemas at home, and it’s cool that I will be able to catch some good titles when I arrive. Can’t wait for that.

you know you want this. chos.

Yeah yeah, not another blog from me. Sorry ka na lang. This is what I want to do these days, e. Bakit ba?

This site is actually inspired by my former film school student who said in his own film review site that he wished more people would write about films in this country, especially local films.  He went so far as wising that there should again be a film journal magazine here in Manila, much like what appeared briefly during the early to mid-2000s. But since print is rather costly and a headache to run, creating a blog is the next best thing. I agree with him. He’s a bright kid; I hope he does well in the future.

A departed young film critic also said the same things, and pointed out something I found quite intriguing — that there are two able-bodied film award-giving bodies in the country and yet the brains behind the bodies are not actively writing film criticism, their supposed premiere “job.” How could they, when they are busier doing other things? Or maybe being a critic is not their foremost preoccupation anyway. And you know, if I am in my biatch mode, I truly wonder how they got in, when most of them have not even tried making a film, and then they start talking about technicals in-depth. But that’s just me being a biatch.

me directing Lovely Day chidlren's TV show in 2008

With that point, I happen to agree with Sir Paul McCartney, the legendary Beatles man, when he said that only musicians or writers who understand how to create music are the only credible music reviewers for him. Quite a snobbish thing to say, but for films, that doesn’t mean writing film reviews merely as “talking shop,” that we in the film business are just the ones talking about films and all that. The beauty of this medium is that it is open for everybody, and everybody has access to it if they want to access it, and the job of a proper film reviewer — one who understands and has experienced making films — is to share that filmmaking experience, speculate about a film’s filmmaking experience, and share that with the rest of the readers without talking down to them like uppity academic film reviewers do, you know what I mean? Writing film reviews as if we are just sharing our love for this art form, sharing to them what you think as if they want to learn and appreciate the film they saw both onscreen and behind the scene. Something like that. And writing reviews as if you are talking to the filmmakers, too, suggesting things that could have fared better or commending things that went so well in their works. That’s what I want to do here.

This also means writing like a fan, a lover of movies, an avowed cineaste, because I’ve notice that most academic film reviews and discourses are such frigid jots that leaves me wondering whether the writers felt any emotions at all while watching the films they’re critiquing. Literary theory also has a term for that: the reader response theory, which takes into account the readers or in this case the viewers. Where do viewers come from, what are their biases and all, that they channel into their film-watching experience. And this part is full of the “I can relate” or “the story is universal” mode of reviews, because what we are talking about here now is the content of the film, the messages and themes, and how all these relate to you as a living, thinking, lusting human being. So if you find yourself outside of that Paul McCartney category of reviewers, then this one is your category, and for me, both are really valid. Before learning how to make films, we all are fans of watching films first and foremost, and I also want to incorporate that here in my writings.

Alas, this kind of writing doesn’t get one published anywhere in the country. Academic journals won’t hear of such things; they are allergic to the absence of anal retentive style of creating source citations and the practice of theorizing your own theories without referencing to someone else’s theorizing (and yet they want original content, ha. Alanis, kanta: isn’t it ironic…).  True in-depth critical reviews are shunned by industry professionals and producers or directors will ban you from their movie premieres because they only see you as “negative” (and I have colleagues who were victims of such practices, poor them). Lifestyle publications won’t publish you because all they want to read from you is fluff praise releases of these films. So what’s a film critic to do? Give out awards?

Ewan. Magulo. Malabo. Basta ako, I will critique these films the way I know how and the way I want to. Enjoy it if you want to, hate it if you want to. It’s a free country after all, last time I checked.