Movie Capsule Reviews: Cinemanila 2009 Part 3

*KARAOKE (Chris Chong), Malaysia, 2008
stars: Zahiril Adzim, Nadiya Nissa
Boring has a new name. And it's "Karaoke". Watching this piece of Cannes trash is like driving rusty needles into your eyes. What a dull, indulgent crapper! The plot, if you could call it that, revolves around Betik, a young man who comes home to help in his family's karaoke business. When not busy staring at nothing, Betik indulges in the most boring of movie courtships with a woman called Anisah. The rest of it was all hazy as I was too busy snoring my ass off. There's nothing to be missed though. I woke up as the film shifts to an excruciating ten-minute scene showing how a factory processes palm oil. I kid you not. Only the most indulgent artsy-fartsies would find meaning in this pointless exercise. Good torture material.
Verdict: BOMB! Avoid!

*HUNGER (Steve McQueen), UK/Ireland, 2008
stars: Michael Fassbender, Liam Cunningham
Like a centerpiece in a sparse living room, there is a radiant 16- minute scene in the middle of “Hunger” that features a conversation between Irish Republican martyr Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender) and a prison chaplain (Liam Cunningham) about the rationale and ethics of a hunger strike. This single-take scene officially puts the “serious actor” stamp on Fassbender’s resume and “OMG-what-is-he-going-to-do-next?!” on Steve Mc Queen’s.
Alternately disturbing and mesmerizing, “Hunger” recreates the last six weeks of the life of hunger striker Sands and the brutality administered to him and several IRA inmates in the infamous Maze prison. By the film’s final third, Michael Fassbender joins Emile Hirsch, Tom Hanks and Christian Bale in the multiple choice question: “Who lost the most weight for a movie role?”

Verdict: 3 stars

*LITTLE ZIZOU (Sooni Taraporevala), India, 2008
stars: Sohrab Ardeshir,Boman Irani
What happens when you put India’s Parsi superstars in one movie? You’ve got a charmless family comedy that will make you want to curse your misfortune for even giving it the time. “Little Zizou” follows a little boy caught in the middle of a cartoonish family feud in the Parsi community. This uber-Parsi movie should appeal to Indian audiences, but for non- Indians like me and my uber-bored friend, you’ll find yourself checking your watch more than usual. We just failed to connect with it. Not even the presence of superstar John Abraham can lend energy to this travesty. And what’s the deal with the mambo dancing and Besame Mucho group singing?
Verdict: 1 star

*SAMSON AND DELILAH (Warwick Thornton), Australia, 2009
stars: Rowan McNamara, Marissa Gibson
It’s a good thing that this is the last film I saw at Cinemanila. Somehow, it breaks the chain of crap-ola movies I saw the past few days and leaves the whole festival on a good note. Warwick Thornton’s piercing cinema is a quiet exploration of adolescent love between two aboriginal fringe-dwellers set in the barren Central Australian desert. Samson is a petrol-sniffer lost in music while Delilah is a traditional dot-painter forced to take care of her ailing grandmother. Thornton’s almost wordless film expands as the lovers confront substance abuse, poverty and racism. Slow in certain parts but don’t zone out, there is so much beauty in this picture to be ignored. The performances are heart-wrenching and the scenery will leave you breathless. A convincing snapshot of the destitute lives of Australian aborigines.
Verdict: 3.5 stars

Scoop: "500 Days" Cutie Chloe Moretz To Star in "Let The Right One In" Remake!

If you've seen "500 Days of Summer" (and if you haven't already, I hope you will), you surely would have noticed that scene-stealer who played Joseph Gordon Levitt's "insightful" younger sister. Precociousness! That superstar-to be is Chloe Moretz and she's slated to appear as the lead in the remake of Swedish vampire masterpiece, "Let the Right One In".

The dumbed-down Hollywood remake will be called "Let Me In" and will be directed by Matt Reeves, he of Cloverfield fame.

The film follows a young bullied boy who befriends a young female vampire living in secrecy with her guardian. You can read my capsule review of the original Swedish film here. Rounding up the cast are Richard Jenkins and Jimmy Pinchak.

Will this give "Twilight" a run for its money? Ahh, ewan.

Reviews: 500 Days of Summer

Just when I’ve lost my faith in romantic comedies, Marc Webb’s “500 Days of Summer” comes along and singularly redeems the genre. What’s not to love about this film? IT IIIIIS lovable. You got that big scoop of wonderful named Zooey Deschannel in her Golden Age of Hotness. Then there's Joseph Gordon- Levitt (who was smashing in "Brick", by the way) looking like the cooler younger brother of Heath Ledger.

It has a delightfully poignant story that charms you and leaves you hugging yourself. Plot is simple enough: Boy and Girl hooks up then breaks up. Boy reflects back on their brief relationship and hops around between the good and bad times.

And then there’s THE music. Yes, the caps-lock is intentional. People who read me well know that I’m a sucker for pop films – those rare pieces of modern cinema that features an atmospheric use of pop songs. “Almost Famous” is one. “Garden State” is another. “500 Days..” completes the trio.

You can probably tell by now that I'll be singing hossanas to this movie but you should've seen me inside the theatre. I was frothing in the mouth.

The film opens with a funny disclaimer (the one that ends with “Bitch") and sets its achronological narrative with Regina Spektor’s “Us”. We are then introduced to Tom Hansen (Gordon-Levitt), a hopeless romantic convinced that he’s found the girl of his dreams in Summer Finn (Deschanel) the first time he sees her at his workplace. Problem is, Summer is a pragmatic tease and a commitment-phobe. And she's not the type to subscribe in the idea of "love", no sir, she likes Tom but she wants them to be friends. But anyway, somewhere between Day 1 and Day 500, he still gets to win her. And bed her.

The film then inventively charts the couple's descent to heartbreak with lots of witty dialogue and slick visual gags (the splitscreen! the splitscreen!). All the while, we are treated to a string of pop songs that are just pure gold: "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" by The Smiths, "Bookends" by Art and Garfunkel, and "Veni Vidi Vici" by The Black Lips. When I heard the strings of Carla Bruni's "Quelqu'un ma dit", I exploded in spasms of joy.

The love affair with pop culture doesn't stop there: there's a nod to Mike Nichols' "The Graduate", a reference to Rene Magritte's works and a wink at JD Salinger (Bananafish!). In one of the film's brightest moments, Gordon-Levitt does a funky Astaire to a Hall & Oates number. With all its showiness, Gordon-Levitt and Deschannel still both manage to stay afloat and deliver realistic and sensitive performances.

By the film's end, I have already edified it in my heart. Let me have my pa-feeling authority declaration: this generation just got their "An Affair To Remember". Their "Annie Hall". Their "Love Story". A movie that so exactingly captures a whole era's romantic sensibility and its quirks. My God, in one scene, Tom and Rachel discusses love while playing Wii! This is just too much goodness in one movie.

Rating: 5 big fat stars (as fat as Kirstie Alley in Fat Actress)

Cinemanila 2009 Winners

Caught 5 more films before Cinemanila 2009 officially ended last Sunday, October 25. I’ll post my thoughts on each movie momentarily.
In the meantime, here are the winners of this year’s festival:
(You can click on the films with links to read my review:)

CINEMANILA 2009 HONOR ROLL

Main Competition (International Films)
Best Actor: Alfredo Castro, Tony Manero - Brazil
Best Actress: Tsilla Chelton, Pandora's Box - Turkey/France/Germany
Grand Jury Prize: Tulpan - Germany/ Kazakhstan/ Poland/ Russia/ Switzerland
Grand Prize Lino Brocka Award: Hunger - UK

SEA Competition
Best SEA Short Film: Focal Point - Malaysia
Best SEA Film: Talentime - Malaysia
Special Mention SEA Film: Woman on Fire - Malaysia

Young Cinema in Competition
Best Short Film: To Siomai Love (Remton Siega Zuasola) - Philippines
Ishmael Bernal Most Outstanding Young Filipino Filmmaker: Remton Siega Zuasola

Digital Lokal
Lino Brocka Grand Jury Prize: Biyaheng Lupa
Lino Brocka Grand Prize: Anacbanua

Lifetime Achievement Award: Paul Schrader


Indie Spirit Award: Lav Diaz

Awards ceremony was held last Sunday, October 23, 2009 at the NBC Tent in Bonifacio Global City.

 
One observation, though: where’s the audience!?! I watched more than ten films and except for the buzzed-about “Kinatay” and the premieres (“Inglorious Basterds, Coco Avant Chanel”), I noticed the alarming lack of audience at the regular screenings. At the screening of Australia’s “Samson and Delilah”, there were just three of us inside the theatre. This is sad considering that the intention of the festival is for good, quality films to reach a wider audience.

IMO, the P122 ticket price is too off-putting for some. Especially if you would compare it with similar festivals: the highly successful Spanish filmfest at Greenbelt pegs their tickets at P100 while Cine Europa shows their films for free at the Shang Cineplex!

The lack of buzz about the festival was also a bit of a downer. Nobody seemed to care when Paul Schrader had a talk and when Diego Luna didn’t make it to the event. And the pedigree of the this year’s lineup seemed...ho-hum.

Cinemanila needs a booster shot.

P10 Film Fiesta at SM Cinemas!

Selected SM cinemas will be showing re-runs of family movies for just P10 (plus P5 amusement tax) with the P10 Film Fiesta running from September 4 until December 3, 2009. The festival will screen box office debacles movies like Streetfighter, Inkheart, The Golden Compass, P.S. I Love You, My Sassy Girl among others. Not a thrilling lineup there, but anyway who’s complaining when you get to watch them on the big screen for just ten bucks?

For complete screening schedules, visit the sm cinema website.