As much as I want to see all the film entries but my extremely tight schedule does not allow me to do so.
This week my friends and I managed to view one screening last wednesday in CCP and last friday in Greenbelt.
Besides watching works from the new breed of directors, cinematographers and scriptwriters, you get to see the actors, directors and their crew/production staff and sometimes seating beside or rubbing elbows with.
We arrived at CCP around 3:00pm. We were supposed to watch Isda but it was already sold out. We suddenly find ourselves disappointed. We ended up buying tickets for Amok. Let me just start off by saying I didn't expect much from this movie. But it turned out to be the other way around. I was pleasantly surprised Amok was way better than I expected it to be. Lawrence Fajardo's Amok begins by unraveling a story of interconnected strangers bound together by fate. Amok grips you right from the start and keeps you hooked on till the last minute. All the casts were exceptionally good. Kudos! Few dialogues in the film. However, it's their body language, most precisely their facial expressions, that conveys everything to the audience.
It was an unapologetic, overwrought, sobering and splatter flick. And while we’re on the topic of violence, this movie is so graphic I was overwhelmed. A heart-pounding thrill ride. The movie contains violent action and brief, mild obscenity. " With tensions running high and a setting too real and too in-tune with the urban life of the Philippines, this film was a depiction of a reality shared by millions, and a reality that can be shattered at any moment." I still think about it every now and then. Edsa-Taft, that location is part of my life since I pass by that intersection. After watching the film, I am now more observant of the place as I recall the various scenes depicted in the movie.
GRADE: A-
The second film entry I watched was Isda (Fable of the fish).
After seeing the trailer, it made me much more eager to see the movie. It's intriguing and peculiar, woman gave birth to a fish? Since I am a fan of outre, and unexplainable movies. I was really looking forward to seeing this. Sadly, this movie was beyond a disappointment. Being a disappointing film doesn’t necessarily mean bad just that it didn’t live up to its expectations. Not satisfying, I didn't like the way the plot unraveled, and questionable plot contrivances (biologically impossible) and Poor ending. Without the effective acting skills of Cherry Pie Picache and Bembol Roco. Isda would be a whimper of a movie, too awful to watch, but then again without Cherry Pie Picache, the movie probably would never have gotten made.
GRADE: F
Starting this year, Then and there, I vowed to myself not to miss the annual Cinemalaya. Perfect attendance that is.
