Movie Review: No Other Woman

I'm still up coz I just finished watching "No Other Woman". This is one must watch Filipino movie. I should've watched this on the big screen when it came out, but I was terribly busy that time. Anyway, I shelled out 3x more than what it would've cost had I watched it back in Manila, but it was worth it!

 

This movie was a big hit in the Philippines. Adultery isn't a common movie topic and I was really curious at the ending (I'm not going to spoil it for you in case you have not watched it). I must say that this very delicate topic was well-played out in the movie. Both sides were shown, the grief-stricken wife vs. the seductive mistress. I loved how the writer played with words - one sample is the mother-daughter dialogue and watch out for the wife vs. mistress scenes. It was very Filipino and I'm sure it resonated well with those who could relate to the characters.

Casting for this movie was also superb. Anne Curtis has proven once again that she has evolved into a serious actress and Christine Reyes' play as the wife was believable. And Derek, wow, the abs! Oh sorry, I liked his acting too. I also hope to see more of Carmi Martin in more movies. I was hoping though that they would've picked a more appropriate song although I guess it's quite hard to find a song other than "Hiram" to measure up.

You can watch this movie via TFC Now, but it's available only until December 4. I heard though that it's out on DVD already (not sure if those have subtitles, I'll ask).

Movie Review: In the Name of Love

Watching Filipino movies is one of my guilty pleasures, so I dragged my boys to watch "In the Name of Love" with me. I felt it was a must-see movie based on the trailer.



I'm glad my boys accompanied me to watch the movie since my Pinoy-movie buddy (my aunt) lives in Bicol. "In the Name of Love" is a love story full of twists, turns and many surprises. I like how the narration switched from present to past. It allowed the story to unfold like a multi-wrapped present. Unlike other movies, the trailer truly showed just the tip of the iceberg - enough to make a prospective movie-goer interested to watch.

I liked how Aga Muhlach and Angel Locsin portrayed the characters of Emman and Cedes and I now understand why Aga mentioned in his TV interview that it was the hardest role he had to portray. Emman and Cedes are just like any Filipino who dreamt big. Went abroad, found love and soon-after met trouble. Both characters went through trials, a sacrifice for love and Aga and Angel successfully conveyed the pain that the characters went through.

"In the Name of Love" is worth-seeing and I don't share that much about the movie because it might spoil your experience. I heard it took a year to make this movie and I wish all Filipino movie producers would take as much care in making films so the viewing public can enjoy great stories such as "In the Name of Love".

Noy the Movie

It isn't a date movie, but Sweetie and I (in one of the rare times we watch a movie) went to see it on a lazy Sunday evening. We were curious and originally thought that the movie was all about President-Elect Noynoy Aquino, but when we watched the trailer and read the synopsis on the "Noy the Movie" website it was about the struggle of "Noy" (played by Coco Martin) to earn a living for his family.

The disparity of how the two "Noys" lived their lives struck me. One lived in truth and lived for the truth, the other lived a lie to live. Noy pretended to be a journalist to earn a living and followed Senator Aquino's campaign trail. He was in it for the money only and only when Caloy (Baron Geisler) pointed out that his work did not have any soul in it that Noy started thinking about what he was really doing.

Caloy further questioned Noy on his motivation for work. Does stealing because you are hungry mitigate the sin? Does selling drugs lessen the crime because you did it for your family? Do you just do things for your own family? Why don't you help others? Noy didn't get what Caloy said and answered back by saying he was weird.

That was the turning point of the movie and I would like to believe this period in our history is also a turning point for all of us. Truth vs. lies. Light vs. darkness. Progress vs. retrogressing (again). The last part of the movie showed how Noy's character evolved and how he tried to right things as one person. Lies to truth. Darkness to light. Retrogressing to progress.

The movie reinforced my belief that it will not take just one man to change our history. We all have to take part in it. "Noy the Movie" is definitely not a date movie (I didn't expect it to be), but I'm sure glad that we watched it instead of the other movies that were available because I felt that it was a good reminder on what we should do as Filipinos.

And yes, I cried at the end.

T2 (the Movie)

When the trailer of T2 first came out on TV I knew I had to watch the movie. I like watching local movies, especially suspense/horror ones that have a good story. I felt that T2 had the right elements like Feng Shui, Sukob and Sigaw. 

And I was right.

Don't expect T2 to make you scream while watching it, but it will keep you awake at night because the story behind it is realistic. The fact that some scenes were shot at the "Emme" in Quezon and the Camarines Sur going to Samar made me squirm in my seat. That's because the road is very familiar to me and I've heard a lot of hair-raising stories about the area. The story also incorporates a lot of local folklore about enkantos and other things that we usually just hear from our yayas, lolo, lolas and titas. 

I used to write horror stories back in college and T2 definitely had a good number of twists, not only story-wise but through it's cast as well! I was pleased that they kept secret who were part of the whole cast because it was a very pleasant surprise. I won't say who it is because that would spoil the surprise. Anyway, I loved every single character in the movie and they were all relevant and played their parts perfectly. 

Psst! Psst! I hope I won't hear that later when I go to sleep.

Here's the trailer of the movie -

T2 (Tenement 2)

Artists: Maricel Soriano, Mika dela Cruz, Eric Fructoso, Derek Ramsay, Tetchie Agbayani, Camille Prats, K Brosas, Mon Confiado

Directed by: Chito Rono

Monster Mom

I was looking forward to watching a funny movie yesterday afternoon. So I had the brainiest idea of suggesting to Sweetie that we watch "Monster Mom". The trailer showed on TV indicated that it was going to be a typical fun and entertaining movie.

I was wrong. And good thing Sweetie still loves me!

I did not count on experiencing almost 2 hours worth of shouting, screaming, and cursing. I waited for a resolution. A point where the lead was supposed to realize that her behavior was causing her family and community distress. That never came and it seems that the message of the movie was, "I'm a monster-b**ch, take it or leave it". Do we really want to encourage people to become bungangera?

I thank God that my Mom is no Monster Mom! When we went out of the movie house our ears were ringing and it took awhile before the pain subsided. And what I'm saying is not exaggerated! If you want wax to clear out of your ears on its own, watch the movie.

And the last few paragraphs above are probably the meanest words I've churned out in this blog. I'm sorry, but the only pambawi I could say is, "The movie was directed well (I love JJR movies!) and the artists played their part appropriately". I hope the producer (if ever he gets to read this post) takes my comment constructively.

Which also brings me to the realization that sometimes we bloggers could get so spoiled and bratty. We churn out criticisms, comments and what-not like a machine gun. We think that the world exists for us. Condescending indeed.

Humility, after all, is a virtue.

Happy Sunday everyone, hope you hear mass.

Noon Time Jologs Break

Up early for several telecons, online meetings ekekekek.

So stressed.

Tired.

Dismantling.

What's worse... my muse, I think I left it somewhere in the channel between Galera and Batangas.

Coughing through my telecon, my boss said I should make sure I get sleep and a weekend. Weekend? What's that? Oh... a weekend!

Everything's been crazy the whole week, so fever, cough and all I took off during lunch with my neighbor, Jaja, to watch Sam Milby-Toni Gonzaga and Zanjoe Marudo's (that Bench hunk) "You Got Me".

I do like watching Pinoy movies. I think I got that from my Tita Olive who used to drag me to the sinehan when I was a kid. Most of my friends will just give me raised brows whenever I tell them that I watched the latest John Lloyd-Bea Alonzo movie. That or roll their eyes when I tell them about the latest MSKM episode. My best friend and movie buddy, Darwin, unfortunately lives in Cebu now. He used to drag me to watch Hollywood made movies 2 to 3 times a week. Oh well.

The simple joys of life. You Got Me is a formula movie. You'll get all the kilig moments you want with a bit of action (see Toni traversing the metro on a huge bike!). I did cry a bit during touching moments - especially when Moe's father died because he got hit with a buko. LOL. Toni was really into her act, as usual. Sam was his usual loser, loser! role (watch MSKM for better reference). Ooops, sorry I mean he was his usual cute self and played the nerdy-IT policeman role well. Zanjo's acting was way better here than when he was a superhero at Super Inggo.

Relax, de-stress, laugh a bit. Watch the movie without any expectations and you'll surely enjoy.