Ipinapakita ang mga post na may etiketa na Enrique Gil. Ipakita ang lahat ng mga post
Ipinapakita ang mga post na may etiketa na Enrique Gil. Ipakita ang lahat ng mga post

Sabado, Pebrero 23, 2019

Part II ng Film review ng Alone Together ng LizQuen


Sa part 1 ng review ko ng  Alone Together movie ng LizQuen  ay nabannggit ko ang ilang elemento na nagpatingkad sa pelikulang ito na produced by Black Sheep. Dito sa part 2 ay idedetalye ko naman ang 2 major reasons pa kung bakit recommendable panoorin ang  Alone/Together

Direction ni Antoinette Jadaone  sa Alone Together 



So far ang napanood ko na may touch of Antoinette Jadaone ay On the Wings of Love ( series  nina James Reid and Nadine Lustre),  English Only Please, Walang Forever, at All You Need is Pag-ibig. Dahil sunod-sunod pa man din kong napanood ay napapansin ko yung masasabing “crossovers” n’ya.  Halimbawa marami tauhan sa OTWOL ang nakita ko sa English Only Please at Walang Forever. Nakita ko rin ang ilang settings n'ya sa OTWOL sa All You Need, particularly ang Estero sa Binondo.

Ang point ko ay sige magaling siya  bilang writer at sa concept na makaka-relate ka, pero may doubt pa ako sa direction pa ( o kung trip ko yung directing style n'ya). Magaling s’yang gawing casual at natural ‘yong parang hindi kapani-paniwala sa realidad mo.  Gawing kabilib-bilib  na may prince charming na darating sa buhay mo sa  casual nitong anyo. Iyon lang baka nauubusan s'ya minsan o kung sino man staff n’ya ng idea para sa maliliit na bahagi, pero kapansin-pansin. Ilan na nga rito ang casting, location, at oo minsan itodo pa sa kakaibang visual. 

Dito sa Alone/ Together ay totally gusto ko ang work n’ya bilang director.  Ewan ba't nagkakataon at gaya ng nasabi ko sa part 1 ng Review ng Alone / Togethe ko ay karamihan  ng locations n’ya ay napuntahan ko. Yes pati yung mga inupuan nila sa U.P. at emergency room ni Quen. So I can attest na yong ambiance ng lugar ay maayos n'yang naita-translate sa big screen.  Nabibigyan ng highlight iyong lugar kahit background lang sila sa eksena at magagandang artista gaya nina Liza Soberano at Enrique Gil

Sa direction sa acting, IMHO ay nahubog n'ya ang mga artista n'ya sa  mga karakter na nilikha n'ya. Sa movie ay oo physically ang nakikita ko ay  ang pointed bone sa nose ni Liza at foreigner eyes  Enrique, pero iba ang persona nila rito. Kabilib-bilib na sila ay sina Tin at Raf, lalo na yung college days nila na halos walang make up maliban sa pimples ('yon pa talaga ang prosthetic ha). Sa older parts, Raf na Raf sa akin si Enrique. Hindi n’ya rin hinayaan na ma-under  guide 'yong mga extra at supporting cast gaya ng palibre sa  estudyante meal sa UP campus, tsika ni Art Major Prof ( Nonie Buencamino), yung nanisi kay Tin sa office, at siempre kina Jasmine Curtis-Smith at Adrian Alandy (formerly Luis Alandy). 

Magaling si Alandy rito, effective ang pag-arte n'ya ng isang lalaking nakaka-intimidate “na mahal mo naman kaso parang hindi ka masaya sa piling n'ya kaya parang ang sarap n’ya ingod-ngod sa dalawang plato ng green salad hehehe.

Believable acting sa Alone Together movie  

Kung ako ang tatanungin pwedeng magka-best actress at best actor award dito sina  Liza Soberano at Enrique Gil. I don’t have to watch all their shows o movies (though napanood ko ang Bagani, My Ex and Whys, Just Way you Are, at Dukot) para ma-tsek ang progress. Dito pa lang sa Alone Together movie ay convinced na ako na they're not only celebrities, they are dramatic actors. 


Enrique Gil’s acting

Of course mas matagal si Enrique so mas marami na siyang experience. Pero doon sa mga napanood ko, na karamihan ay romcom, pakiramdam ko nalilimitahan s’ya, parang may limitation s'ya, o nagmumukhang pare-pareho sa paningin ko. Ang nakita ko rito sa Alone/ Together ay iba, para bang ready na s’ya to take mature, serious, and older roles.  I wasn’t expecting na mararamdaman ko yong pagka-father figure niya, pero surprisingly believable. Ang galing-galing n'ya pati sa damuhan sa bandang New York, at dun sa paglabas-labas ng emergency room.

'Yong proposal n'ya sa gate nila Tin ( Liza) at sa damuhan ay magkaiba.  Napansin ko ang level up sa damuhan at doon ko rin naramdaman yung Raf sa pagkatao n'ya.  Iyong bitaw ng linya at iyong expression ng mukha ay peste parang ako ang na-frustrate kay Tin. Ako yung safeguard konsensya na gustong tumapik sa kanya at magsabi “Alam mo Raf, hindi na sapat ang paghabol mo mula Maginhawa St. to New York. Tama ka na magalit sa kanya at magpahabol sa labas ng ER ng VMMC.”  Teka parang di ata konsensya ang tawag doon a.  

Sa ibang banda, masasabing ang Alone Together movie is more of Liza Soberano film.  So ang datingan ay leading man s’ya ni Liza. Ganun pa mana bilang leading man at actor sa Black Sheep movie na ito, he totally nailed it!

Liza Soberano’s acting

Sa mga nagsasabi na hindi nakakaarte si Liza, hindi ko na alam kung ano pa ang pamantayan nila. Dito sa Alone/ Together ay  nai-deliver ni Liza ang  passion ng isang art major, ang ma-pressure at self-doubt lalo na’t magna cum laude ( I know I have a friend  na ganito), ang ma-frustrate dahil nabalewala lahat, ang panghihinayang sa the one who got away, at fear na balikan ang spot kung saan ka nadapa para makapagsimulang ulit.  

I praise Dir. Antoinette Jadaone sa directing at writing, but I can say 100% na ibinigay din ni Liza ang kanyang makakaya sa part ng acting. Dahil sa pagganap n'ya kay Tin naramdaman ko yung saya  na maging guide sa National Art Museum,  iyong sarap tumambay at kumain ng Isaw sa  UP, ang malungkot sa itinakbo ng iyong buhay, at ang masadlak sa sitwasyon na okay naman, pero puno  ng what if.  Pesteng what if talaga na yan, hahaha.


Ang pinakagusto kong mga eksena niya ay yong opening  when Tin says something about history, nang sumagot s’ya sa mga rationale ni Raf sa New York’s damuhan, at nang walk out s’ya pa-green salad ni Alandy. Dahil sa mga iyon, parang 'Day at 'Dong ay gagawin ko na yung magagawa ko ngayon, kaysa magaya ako sa paghihirap ni Tin ng more than 5 years.



Overall recommended kung panoorin ang  Alone Together movie especially sa mga fresh grad, may quarter life crisis, o nag-aanalisa ng kanilang career 5-7 years ago. You know para masagot mo rin ngayon kung where do you see yourself five years from now?

Mabuhay!





Martes, Disyembre 13, 2016

5 Reasons Why You Should Watch 2016 MMFF

Oh boy the Metro Manila Film Festival never fails to gather controversies. This year it’s about (labelled) independent outscoring mainstream movie filmmakers. Incidentally, there’s also no particular one intended for kids.  Despite of these, there many reasons to watch and support the 8 selected entries of 2016 MMFF movies.

It’s the change that will benefit the Philippine film industry!

I, myself, like to watch feel good movies especially romantic and family oriented comedies.  It’s natural because every day we’re exhausted of daily works. We all need breather from serious matters, right? However watching films is not only pang-aliw, it also offer many benefits both for moviegoers and filmmakers. It's not just a guilty pleasure, but  an investment if a movie provokes you to think and do something better in your life. 

Let me explain futher the possible implications of changes in 2016 MMFF: 

1.       Variety is very good - In investing diversification and black swan are reasonable steps to secure profit. It’s because if one investment (company) doesn’t perform well, the other investments will cover your losses.  In the film industry, not all moviegoers are into popularity of artists or rom-com. That’s why if they want to watch drama, horror, fantasy, animated or others they most likely go for Hollywood movies. In 2016 MMFF entries it’s not about limitation and division, instead about variety.  We can still produce romantic story naman pero puwedeng animated, horror, action or suspense thriller.  Kaya naman curios akong mapanood ang Saving Sally because its unique features (animation with real actors). Nalala ko tuloy ang RPG Metanoia na kasama sa 2010 MMFF.





2.        We encourage local actors to become world-class talents.  IMHO, TV and Movie Personalities who don’t hone their skills because they’re popular anyway should not be called talents and actors. But of course, how come others will strive to improve their talents if they don’t have outlets to showcase their efforts anyway?

Sorry to tell but it seems “arts” now are only defined greatly by idolism, fanaticism, and commercialism. Eh may lumalaki ang ulo at nagiging complacent sa ganyan.  This is also why I commended actors na tsina-challenge ang sarili like Enrique Gil in Paul Soriano's Dukot . They tried to do something else na beyond sa comfort zone ni Quen.



3.       A number of producers/filmmakers/ movie companies will grow and create jobs.  When I was a kid, I didn’t mind film credits before or after a movie. What important was if the story had beautiful story or not.  Puwedeng dagdag factor if I know the actors and IMHO, ganun pa rin naman ang mga bata.  They don’t bother if it’s Studio Ghibli, Pixar, Warner Brothers, or Walt Disney behind a movie basta okay at saka nila magiging favorite ang film after manood.   Ilan na nga lang ba ang alam nating production company ngayon? Isa pa naman sa magandang outfit noon ang di ko alam kung gumawa pa ang Unitel Pictures na gumawa ng Crying Ladies ( 2003 MMFF), Santa Santita, at  La Visa Loca etc.)

 

4.       To end the division between independent and mainstream – I don’t deny that I have also something with independent films.  I tend to expect less in the cinematography and other technicalities (alam mo yung akala mo docu lang ng reality show yung kuha). However, I expect more when it comes to acting, story, and direction.  It’s like there’s certain ambiance that independent filmmakers can do that either a limitation or artistic feel.  Eh hello, a film is more sensible and worthy if it has beautiful story and superb actors, than mere cool effects.
 If 2016 MMFF can break the wall between mainstream and indie film especially in the eyes of the audience, then
·         Most likely small players will earn more and upgrade their film equipment. 
·         No discrimination, but equal treatments and opportunities not only for the filmmakers, but also actors
·         More films to watch









5.       Do you know what happen if only few run an industry? Monopoly and mediocrity!  If the big players become greedy they tend to do power tripping, exploitation, dictators of what or what not whether that those are good or bad, and condition the audience that their mediocre products is their only choice.

Pipila ka ba sa sinehan para makapanood lang ng kung anong available na movie o manonood ka kasi maganda ang palabas?


Note:  This is post is not a rant or against the mainstream, it’s just a sentiment and plea to my fellow audience.