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Celluloid Regression and Sadness
My kneejerk reaction to the trailer of Khavn’s soon-to-be-released film Makamisa is nothing less than disappointment – mainly due to the fact that the work is shot in celluloid. The trailer – and the film – closes the circle among the “trailblazers” of the so-called “Philippine New Wave” of the 2000s who regressed to using…
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Casting Doubt to a Barber’s Tale
I tweeted some days ago: “Weird how the perception towards Philip Salvador and his collaborations with Brocka shifted with his support for the Duterte Admin but never Nora Aunor whose support for the Marcoses has been unwavering since the 1970s.” This was just some off-the-butt thing, nothing to follow through. A sigh of frustration, perhaps. …
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When imperialist lapdogs bark: a response to Isagani de Castro’s “Is there a New Filipino Cinema Audience”?
This post is made in response to a question raised by a student of mine in class about an article written by a certain Isagani de Castro, Jr for Rappler titled “Is there a new Filipino Cinema audience?”[1] It’s within the similar vein of journalistic endeavor in film writing that Jason Tan Liwag’s article that…
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How do you live?; or, Miyazaki contra Lynch
(This is more of a Note than a “review”. Again, a “diary log” that probably makes sense to me the most than to you. Don’t read this if you do not care about the things that I do. And this text will have a really weird and often unfair comparison between this movie and David…
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Mga tala hinggil sa “legacy” movie
Madali na siguro sabihin na aligned sa pagiging “legacy” movie ang Agitator (2001) ni Takashi Miike. Madali makita ang impluwensya ng serye na The Yakuza Papers (1973-2003) ni Kinji Fukasaku dito. Mula sa pagpapakita ng gyerang-yakuza bilang karimarimarim at magulo, hanggang sa pag-subvert nito ng mga tema na noo’y sinusubukan ding pagnilayan ng mga pelikula…
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Maid in Malacañang (2022)
At first look, Maid in Malacañang has the makings of a hugot film it is easy to mistake the film being directed either by JP Habac or Jerrold Tarog due to its dullness and dumb dialogues. If we speak strictly about its director, Darryl Yap’s past works at least were interesting spectacles that oftentimes lag…
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On Darryl Yap’s “Sarap Mong Patayin”, Philippine Cinema, and Violence: Fragments
I What may be lacking in contemporary Philippine cinema is an interrogation of violence. Save for one documentary, the Philippine Cinema scene seems to actively avoid the topic or the theme. The avoidance is so apparent that even attempts to make an action film compelling to watch fails. It is in this context that Darryl…
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Ano’ng nangyari…?
Bale itong post na ito ay tugon sa isang tanong mula sa curiouscat account ko ng isang anonymous. Ito yung tanong nya: “ano nangyari sa PH cinema? bakit nung 2nd golden age naman may maayos naman na lumabas na mga pelikula? ano sa tingin mo yung major factor bat nag regress yung quality after that…
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The Many Deaths of Lino Brocka
This year marks the 30th death anniversary of the nationalist filmmaker, Lino Brocka. Even after May 21, 1991, he’s been dying multiple deaths. Some may recall how Patrick Flores’ polemic against Brocka, incidentally published day after Brocka died sparked controversy as one which provoked later the extent of political criticism. Flores’ mistake however is merely…