Lone Auteur

Been here last night. I’ve been invited here before but due to the location of the venues (last year I think it was at B-Side in Makati) I never went. But thankfully, since I now live in Quezon City I had no other reason not to go. And so I went alone and took the pedicab from home to Freedom Bar. The event, which is organized by the University of the Philippines Cineaste Studios, the country’s first film related organization.

I was looking forward to the silent film competition called “Haute Auteur Silent Video Competition 2013″ and last night was when the winner for the said competition was announced.

Apparently since I had somewhere else to go by 11pm I left at 9:30 but was satisfied with what I saw among the finalist in the Silent Video competition.

One of my favorites would have to be Ramon Raquid’s Figures which features a guy brushing his teeth but this would appear as “figures” due to the Solarized format of the  video.

I had one free beer and saw a long time friend along with her boyfriend who was one of the finalists. I wasn’t able to meet Radioactive Sago Project but I was satisfied that I went and at least try to enjoy every bit of ht show.

Good luck to all finalists.

Jawbreakers

Reblogged from QNKs:

Princess the clone, Chacha the foxy lawyerress of the future, and Queenoc the eyebag

Mah bitches. Just kidding. I'm not going to continue using that language. hehe. I love them. They're my best friends.

you hear a tune

Reblogged from QNKs:

And then the song reminds you of something painful. The pain in your chest sears; a hole that sucks in air, almost everything you can hold on to while you stand cautiously amongst the usual crowd of the living. You do not want to wither, for that's how the living does it, they refuse to, even from the mental faculty of a retained experience that tastes like honey and must feel like the Bentu de Soli.

Read more… 46 more words

Sinister (2012)

There is an absolute difference in watching Horror movies at home or at the cinema. At home, you can reduce the illusion caused by our vision to perceive the images as real by simply putting the lights on. And of course you can always have the opportunity of controlling the remote to push fast forward. If you happen to find a horror film on cable, and you either saw the incomplete part of it then most likely the effect of it isn’t there. When you’re in a theatre and you choose to sit at the farthest, there’s unlikely chance of you perceiving that illusion of a visual.

I will not contest with you to be an avid fan of horrors or suspense. There is an entirely different ground to that and I don’t think I am in the position to tell you how to watch something. But here’s a quick review on the suspense horror film directed by Scott Derrickson whose body of work include The Exorcism of Emily Rose. He also co-wrote this with C. Robert Cargill.

At first I thought this would be yet another Oren Peli film because at this point the use of family and handy cam videos are getting on my nerves. It is however an excellent gateway to a perfect horror film. It may all lie in how well the film would be executed, in which it should be in it’s raw format the way Paranormal Activity was first introduced.

But then again this isn’t an Oren Peli film.

The story is about a true crime author Ellison who moves into a house that was once vacated by a family mysteriously killed while their daughter has been missing. Ellison is played by Ethan Hawke who, apart from acting, is a writer in real life. Upon moving he discovers a box filled with home videos each dated apart and goes as far back as the late 60′s. His kids are young and his wife worries that they might be living in yet another blood-bathed home but Ellison denies this with the hopes of getting the bestseller story he needs for his family’s future.

He begins his research on the missing girl, Stephanie, but gets curious about the videos on the box. He sets up the projector and begins to watch a seemingly wonderful family hanging out in the backyard. A few minutes later, with the film being cut directly to the horrific ending.

During his investigation, Ellison gets help from an unlikely fan whom names himself as Deputy So and So played by James Ransone . He  may be the only one who should be providing parts of the connection between all the family videos and the disappearance of Stephanie and all the other kids and his part in the movie is enough to feed us information on how the movie will then progress. But no, apparently the entity that Ellison chooses to put the blame on is a goon called Mr. Boogie.

Cheesy. But that’s not all.

A sign shows up on all the videos and voila, it’s a pagan story. Mr Boogie apparently is also known as Bughuul.

I was horrified as I got out of the cinema. To be honest I even had a bad dream after watching this. It’s not as scary as a black and white silent horror film or Suspiria but I was taken by the time a figure had appeared in the pool. (That’s it. That’s the end of the details) I was impressed by the timing of the suspense scenes in this, I have to say though I got bored during the parts wherein drama had to be added to show tension in Ellison’s family, the ending was something I had already expected but I guess I was too excited to even pay attention to the movie poster to realize something important in the film I did not expect that person to do that.

All in all, I appreciate the fact that I was scared. Whether it was because of that other boy in the box, or all the dead families. The timing as I had mentioned was good. Its just that when all the kids had to be revealed it wasn’t that scary anymore (again, depends on you) additional pagan insights were full of shit but probably relevant in some way but not a really fun way to add it on the movie just to prove that everything has to have a reason. Everything that’s added to have a reason is no longer scary but anyway, you guys already had me scared even before that part.

You Intolerable Insomniac

I am sleepy. Definitely. It’s just that I’ve got so much to think about and so much to do. Have you ever got that feeling?

I actually published this earlier with a different paragraph right after this photo. For some reasons I lost it. Anyway, for a person with a lot of free time I am quite busy. I have thought of keeping a schedule but then someone had just told me that I was becoming a killjoy. And so at the moment I’m just trying to think of better ways to do what I want to do next. Hopefully I’ll figure this out.

I am so sorry, I know you might be thinking of storming out and jumping back to your facebook page. I swear I’ll get back to you with some film experiences about some films you may or may not have seen in the past few weeks. I’ll be coming back with a new 500 Movie Challenge with flexible offers and rules. I’ll be sharing something about films such as The Vow, Morning Glory, Ang Nawawala (What Isn’t There), and Cosmopolis.

Gotta get a clearer mind. Good night.

Twenty

Here’s a blogpost that has been waiting for me to press the ‘publish’ button for over two years. I got bored, too, so I browsed through my drafts and tadaaa… here it is.

 

I got bored so I browsed through my drafts.

My drafts are a mix of confusing grammar, unerring thoughts, stammered opinions, and just things that I was thankful I hadn’t automatically hit the Publish button.

If you happened to have stumbled upon this blog before, then you surely you must’ve noticed that I mainly blog about films. But before I was even open to writing about my film experiences (either as a whole or as a piece of crap that I still wished I never said..), I was among those silly little girls who sat around the corner thinking of how to end the world of the bitches.

Not entirely. But something like that.

But I am a little silly girl. I was. I’m not sure if I still am. But stumbling upon this post that I had a year ago. Last edited was on August 6, 2010.  I was writing twenty things I would do for the next twelve months. Like a resolution.

I just turned twenty last week. Yay!

A total of 104 friends greeted me through Facebook while ten people stayed up in the wee hours of the morning to greet me on or before midnight (which I of course was able to read in the morning..). Thanks a lot guys!

Now that I’m no longer a teen, here are a couple of things I’d like to achieve while I’m still in my “twenties”:

Meet Robert Pattinson in the flesh, and write the movie he’s staring in.

So what if you’re not into him like I do, at least I’m not trying to meet him and drool all over his face. Plus, I want him to portray something he’s never portrayed before: Jose Rizal, our national hero. Just kidding! Well, I have thought about what character/job I can give him but that’s something I can’t tell you yet.

Eat 50 eggs in one sitting.

Like the one Paul Newman did in Cool Hand Luke. Okay. Just two. One on breakfast, one on the evening.

Learn two more languages.

Sugoi!.. And continue with the french lessons.

Run in a full marathon.

Boost up on the endurance!

Submit your draft to Dorrance Publishing.

Right. It’ll be done in two more months.. two more months, I promise!

Visit a relative you never knew you had.

Thanks, Facebook for making it possible to know that I have cousins who look a lot like my father, and for cousins who live just in North Avenue.

Save up for your future “child”.

Although at the moment this will not be possible, it’s best to save up something for the future just in case. Like, maybe, a lost baby ends up in your doorstep.

Keep it up with them Bangs.

I’ve had these on and off since I was four. Either as an accessory to a homemade apple-cut courtesy of my mom, or as an accident I’ve made one evening while I was hating on my forehead, I think it’s better to just stay there. On your forehead. It kind of adds the mystery.

Martha Grimes is my new Hero.

Her Richard Jury series has kept me up in the afternoon, rolling in the bed at every Old English suspense she writes. I haven’t read this way since Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series.

I Thought I Saw Your Face Today..

..But I just turned my head away. Sings She and Him’s Zooey Deschanel. The past is at its rightful place. Time to focus on what matters more importantly.

CINE WATCH! CINE WATCH!

Don’t limit yourself to Cable TV. There’s a lot of films out there (namely the ones in the hanging cabinet in your room filled with films, the ones in the living room, and the ones waiting to be mentioned by your Cinephile friends..)

I’ll get back to you in a few days to check if I have done something in these posts.

Somebody That I Used to Know

No, this is not a post about that shitty song that everybody knows. Nor is this an appreciation of how that song has influenced me in writing a blog with the same title as that song. I just happen to like ill-fitting titles.

Today I was typing away on to my laptop for a list of companies that I could work for while watching disc one of A Very Long Engagement (Jean-Pierre Jeunet and yes it’s a vcd.). While the wifi wasn’t working that much well, I realized that I shouldn’t waste my time staring at the screen with that little cursor working its way to hypnotize me. And so I took out a book I’m currently reading, A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemmingway. I’m now at the chapter entitled Ford Madox Ford and the Devil’s Principle while my laptop was charging, the coffee I ordered was getting cooler, and while my phone was also charging as it waits for a message from my love.

Meanwhile as I fidget away I noticed a stout man come into the coffee shop. He had blonde hair, blue eyes and thick-rimmed glasses which sat on the bridge of his nose just as comfortable as birds perch on trees. He walked into the shop with a natural grin on his face. More importantly, he seemed familiar to me as I was a regular of this mall I’m in now.

Before he would even exchange the stare I was making through my peripherals, I stared back at the heavily unloaded web page for my 15,000 emails. I knew then where I knew him. He was a regular in this mall. And believe me, it’s like I’ve grown along with this mall so most of the time I recognize people whom I know have been visiting this mall like they too have grown along with this mall.

This is what landmarks and buildings do to you. Just like how certain mountains and trees are to people who live in the province. Or what we idiots in the city call “uncivilized” places. You grow to know that there are certain fascinations inside a landmark like this. If you’re the kind of person who isn’t used to change, you would probably complain to people you know that this certain store had been replaced by something fancy and useless. Meanwhile, if you’re a newcomer at this place you wouldn’t even care that that store had just replaced a wonderful hub to others. And if you’re used to change, why would you even care if it got replaced?

And so the American had come into the shop, glanced at me typing friskily on my laptop while Audrey Tatou had just met an American who happens to be speaking French and in a French role. He had earphones on and was bobbing his head all of a sudden. That I don’t care about. What I care about was if he would remember me or not.

My memory of this man wasn’t at all bad. He was, in fact, pleasant. I used to work for an American-owned fast food chain on this same mall where I was selling ice creams and sodas on the rocks with ice cream swirls on top (it was called ‘Float’ due to the effect it was portraying with the soda and the ice cream. Not worth mentioning was the loaded ice needed to make it float.). He was a regular customer. Whenever he was in the mall he’d drop by and buy a cone of ice cream. Mostly with dip, often without. He was always so pleasant and I’ve never seen him with his wife (I was guessing it was a Filipina, otherwise, he may have been here in the Philippines just to enjoy the weather.) whom he may have met online. I’ve always seen American men who would stroll the mall along with their Filipina wives. You would often tell that they find us very exotic. But what would I care about other people’s preferences anyway?

And so he had ordered a coffee. Sat [luckily] in the couch across my table where the charger for my laptop had been plugged in. And then he was bobbing strangely to the tunes he was listening loudly on his iPod. He was pointing up in the air like he was listening to Nelly or something.

Does he recognize who I am? I’m scared he might’ve and ask me weird questions.

But I guess not. Suddenly a woman in a pink hair came in along with a blond kid with brown eyes. She sat across him and the little girl had kissed him on the cheek. Thank goodness he doesn’t recognize me at all. I may have forgotten that pleasant customer image on my mind and change seats.

Resolution 2012

I do this all year. Yes! Although it’s hard to keep up with this list, who gives a crap?

 

#1. Watch at least a minimum of 3 films starting today (2Jan2012) and 7 films on weekends (or on work off days..)

- to fulfill my inner (and outer) desires for more film views…

#2. A Jog a Day Never Killed Anybody

- except for those suffering from leg-impaired diseases, which you currently (and thankfully) do not have. Not only do you get a better body, you also risk yourself from getting diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Plus, you helped release carbon dioxide into the earth which helps in processing photosynthesis for a healthier and yummier environment.

#3. Never Forget to Say Thank You

- because you’ll never know who’s life you might make feel better by appreciating their effort.

#4. Get Back to School Promo

- because the greatest gift a person can get for themselves is Education.

#5. Attend more Filipino Film Festivals

- apparently, your country is the ONLY one who doesn’t appreciate their own breed of talented filmmakers. Why not start attending these films as well and who knows, you just might affect that person sitting next to you in the office in watching.

 

 

So far I’m yet to add more to this list in the next few days. Thanks for dropping by!

As I Stand Here

One of the things I like to do on weekends is to take photographs of strangers. And photographs of things in general. I like to jog on weekends too so I take photographs of co-joggers and myself in sweat.

A photograph of myself in sweat is not something I’d like to share to you in particular. It’s not as interesting as the next photographs you would see in this post.

Just like Zooey Deschanel’s character in Yes Man, I too love to take photographs during my jogging trips. While I was warming up, I took a snap shot of this place in Quezon City that I haven’t been able to dwell into. I’ve been here so many times that I haven’t been able to notice this. Like most of us, I guess I’ve been too busy to take in what we see, even in just a little few seconds. And so, I took in a little less than five seconds. A lone tree that was perhaps pushed by the change of weather yet it chose not to die —- instead, it chose to grow it’s leaves even more and adapted to the change of times.

How many of you out there (yes you, whoever you are reading) who’s gotten this dream of dying? Well perhaps a ratio of about 7 out of 10 have dreamed of finding themselves dying (in whatever instance or situation that occurs into) or perhaps 7 out of 10 have NOT dreamed of finding themselves dying (sorry, my bad of insinuating this thought..). Well, I’ve found myself dying in a number of dreams, but the most similar thought is finding myself floating into some realm of surrealism. Much like floating into a painting that looks real (much like the first photograph). A painting that contains several mountains and a few splashing rivers of several different colors. After that dream, I always find myself wondering if that might be true. Yes. After waking up to that dream I always find myself wondering before praying or even while brushing (or not brushing??) my teeth just to start the day. What if that’s how the after life looks like? What if we wake up to a little bright light and find ourselves momentarily drifting off, off to see the ones we love and hate getting stuck on earth, not even caring to wave us off goodbye or laughing at us for just drifting off to some estrange world? And after seeing all this beauty of the earth, we’re drifted off into a world filled with anger and hate, rage and fear, of loathing and jealousy? Fire into fire into fire?

Well I guess you’d either laugh at me now or say ‘whoa’?! I know, it’s too hard to digest. But that’s how I feel whenever I’m looking at something this beautiful. I stand there and wonder how we never get to just stand there and look. And listen to the birds chirping. And feel the dampness of the sunny wind whirling all over us. I guess I just got too busy.

We’ve all gotten too busy.

So the question is, have we really been to busy to even care? Have we been too old enough to tell ourselves that we know the answers to everything.. or have we just been old enough to tell ourselves that we don’t know and that we don’t care? Oh come on, that’s not how we’ve been taught in school, right? Haven’t we all been taught to keep asking?

Thanks to Ryan Gosling’s Abs