Film Notes: January - May 2013

ang tamad ko mag update. pasensya na.

January:

Kamakalawa (Eddie Romero, 1981) 5/5. may aswang, halimaw, diyos at diyosa, pero ang pinakamagandang bagay tungkol dito, hindi ito "Si Agimat, Si Enteng Kabisote, at si Ako". Sobrang lakas ng imagination at wit ni Eddie Romero para makasulat ng ganitong materyal. Pasok pa rin yung humor niya kahit ngayon. ang kinaganda nito, hindi lang basta fantasy comedy, reflective din siya sa human condition na kahit ngayon, napapanahon pa rin.

A New Life (Philippe Grandieux, 2002) 3/5

Tabu (Miguel Gomez, 2012) 5/5. sabi ko naman sa inyo, di pa tapos ang 2012 list ko. haha

Holy Motors (Leos Carax, 2012) 4/5
4:44 - Last Day on Earth (Abel Ferrera, 2011) 5/5
United Red Army (Koji Wakamatsu, 2007) 5/5
Rurouni Kenshin (Keishi Ohtomo, 2012) 3/5

Kapitan Basura (Dominic Lim, 2012) 3.5/5. was just supposed to be 3, till the last scenes, when Kapitan Basura proves himself right: that you can't change the world just by "changing" your self, you need to have a greater power.

Ang Nawawala (Marie Jamora, 2012) 3/5. things that I like about this: APO Hiking Society's Ano Ang Ibig Mong Sabihin, Ely & Raimund's Minsan, Marc Abaya, and Kelvin Yu. nothing else. I like MNL 143's song choices more than this one.

Michael (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1924) 5/5. ang landi lang din ni Michael.

Gimme Shelter(Albert Maysles|David Maysles|Charlotte Zwerin, 1970) 2/5

February:

Angel's Egg (Mamoru Oshii, 1985) 5/5. rewatch after 5 years. better when projected, I wonder how will it be in 35mm projection...

The Way of the Dragon (Bruce Lee, 1972) 5/5. rewatch.

Pieta (Ki-duk Kim, 2012) 4/5. not yet comfortable with Kim's choice of treatment (compared to his other films), but I think that's how it should work.

Two Years At Sea (Ben Rivers, 2011) 5/5. last one I remember seeing, forgot my list. But really, Rivers really know how to turn anything into amazing. Kung sa bahay ko nangyari yun... aba, masaya. XD

Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino, 2012) 3/5
Argo (Ben Affleck, 2012) 4/5
Don't Go Breaking My Heart (Johnnie To|Ka-fai Wai, 2011) 4/5
Fireworks (Takeshi Kitano, 1997) 5/5
Kaizokuban Bootleg Film (Masahiro Kobayashi, 1999) 5/5
Anacbanua (Christopher Gozum, 2009) 5/5
Dagim (Joaquin Pedro Valdes, 2010) 3/5
Limang Dipang Tao (Eseng Cruz, 2012) 3/5
Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russel. 2012) 4/5
Life of Pi (Ang Lee, 2012) 2/5
Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow, 2012) 1/5
Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin, 2012) 3/5
Lincoln (Steven Spielberg, 2012) 4/5
Les Miserables (Tom Hooper, 2012) 1/5

March:

A Grin Without a Cat (Chris Marker, 2008 edit) 5/5

Oro Plata Mata (Peque Gallaga, 1982) I watched it before sa isang vhs rip or betamax-rip na bootleg pa dati, kulay orange siya buong screen. haha. nung nagkaroon ng dvd, di naman ako nakabili. heto na yung restoration, obviously, mas maganda ang pagkakarestore dito kesa sa Himala, mukhang mas naalagaan (o hindi gaano nagamit?) yung prints neto. mukhang mas nadalian silang i-restore. pero, di pa rin ganun kaganda ang feel sa DCP (ever). sana nagprint na lang sila ulit ng 35mm. hehe. 4/5 para sa restoration. XD

Tokyo Drifter (Seijun Suzuki, 1966) 5/5. dahil puyat ako madalas nitong mga huling araw, dalawa lang ang napanuod ko for this week. nakakatuwa tong pelikulang to, habang yung mga kasabayan niya mula sa ibang "New Wave" scenes sa buong mundo ay nagbablack-and-white, naglalaro naman sa kulay si Suzuki. mainam yung paggamit ng kulay dito, hindi lang basta shot in color, kundi nagkwento rin sa pamamagitan ng kulay.

Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973) 4/5. himalang di ko kailangan ng subtitle dito kahit southern yung accent nila. haha. simple lang at madaling i-take. ok na remake ng Bonnie and Clyde. mas ok kesa Natural Born Killers (na gusto ko rin naman)

The Last Bolshevik (Chris Marker, 1992) 5/5
Romancing on Thin Air (Johnnie To, 2012) 5/5
Isn't Anyone Alive? (Gakuryu Ishii, 2012) 5/5
For Love's Sake (Takashi Miike, 2012) 5/5
A Letter To Momo (Hiroyuki Okiura, 2011) 4/5

Muybridge's Strings (Koji Yamamura, 2011) 5/5

The Grandmaster (Kar-wai Wong, 2013) not really fair to rate something that is obviously butchered, so, no scores for now until we get to see the 4hour cut (if we ever get to see it), but, yeah, the train scene and the ending are grand, and it is also very Wong. Haven't seen the past action works of Wong, but upon seeing great action scenes here, it is something for action fans to look forward too. This butcher cut is, at least, way better than anything Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino ever did.

April:

Retribution (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2006) 4/5. Got this similar feel as Barren Illusion. I understand how the treatment turn "asian horror" fans off, but when it comes down to it, nothing's more scary than a ghost that seems to be as real as the main character.

The Wolf Children (Mamoru Hosoda, 2012) 4/5. rather a different directon for Hosoda, a very different film from his past works. for the first time, I think, Hosoda extends his exploration to humanity. Charming, and yeah, made me teary for seconds.

Scotch Pilgrim (Raya Martin, 2013) 5/5. Lo-res magic.

Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles (Erik Matti, 2012) 4/5. nakalimutan ko na yung reklamo at angal ng mga tao tungkol dito, pero naaalala ko, yung mga nagchachampion ng hollywood, super puna sa "technical" aspects neto (as if may alam talaga sila), at yung mga art film snobs, nag isnab talaga. halos wala na naman akong maiangal dito. kung susumahin, isa ito sa mga almost fully-realized na pelikula last year (save for the product placements and other compromises, pero, compared sa maraming entries ng "grant-giving" bodies dito, di hamak na may kontrol ang filmmakers dito), (pero, di pa rin ito lisensya para kay Matti na libakin ang ilan sa mga output ng mga nasabing "grant-giving" bodies nang hindi man lang nasisilayan). Anyways, wala namang masyadong off, marami nga lang talagang potential targets ang mga hollywood-lovers na di man lang ma-gets ang point netong pelikulang ito. Solid din. Solb. Alam ko na rin ang weapon ko sa aswang invasion: BOY BAWANG.

Yakuza Papers 1 - Battles Without Honour and Humanity (Kinji Fukasaku, 1973) 5/5. isang pelikulang binuhat mula at patungo sa chaos. chaotic ang portrayal nito sa post-war Japan. sa parang halos mahigit isang buwan kong di panunuod ng pelikula, parang nakalimutan ko na kung kelan ako huling nakanuod ng pelikulang ganito ka-spontaneous. parang di staged yung action scenes, sobrang gulo. masaya yung action scenes, pero dahil sa intensyon ng gumawa nito, hindi ka mangingiti. depressing din, at yung ending, Panalo.

Aparisyon (Vincent Sandoval, 2012) 5/5.

Cesar Asar (Roxlee | Monlee, 1998) 4/5

Green (Joni Gutierrez, 2013) 3/5      

The Great Smoke (Roxlee, 1984) 5/5
Juan Gapang (Roxlee, 1988) 5/5

Outrage (Takeshi Kitano, 2010) 4/5
slow build up kaya medyo unexpected ang action sequences at violence. ang husay lang. great homage to the Yakuza Films of 60's and 70's

Outrage: Beyond (Takeshi Kitano, 2012) 5/5
set 5 years after the first Outrage film, mas modern treatment, mas matibay yung plot. patunay to na hindi kailangang flashy ang gunfight scenes para gumanda ang pelikula.

To The Wonder (Terence Malick, 2012) 5/5
siguro, dahil sobrang lapit ng interval neto sa Tree of Life kaya tinuturing to na "companion piece", pero, hinde, kung sa gusto lang ikwento ni Malick, at sa gusto niyang iparating, masyadong malayo. mas nagustuhan ko to sa Tree of Life. siguro dahil sa mas imperfect siya? at dahil unexpectedly erotic din, haha. kung ako din naman si Neil, si Marina rin ang pipiliin ko over Jane (dahil mas hot pa rin si Marina kay Jane kahit walang boobs XD)

Salawahan (Ishmael Bernal, 1979) 5/5
ang solid, sobrang nakakatawa. sana lang, yung mga sumunod at susunod pa na gagawa ng rom-coms (or sex-coms) dito, panuorin to. sobrang dami nilang makukuha.

Graceland (Ron Morales, 2/5)
Di ko alam kung pano magreact dito, ok naman sa pagkakagawa, pero, parang hanggang dun lang siya.

African Queen (John Huston, 1951) 4/5. sakit ng ulo ko sa pinaghalong tawa at puyat. haha

A Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo (Higuchi Shinji, 2012 | commissioned by Hideaki Anno and Studio Ghibli) 5/5
heto yung first 10 mins sa blu-ray rip ng Evangelion 3.33. hehe. grabe lang, panalo na rin kahit walang subtitle.

Miss Librarian (Jochelle Montañano, 2013) 4/5. ang ganda. sobrang laking improvement sa lahat ng aspeto, sana di na niya i-hire uli yung cinematographer niya dito. haha.

May:
 
A Useful Life (Federico Veiroj, 2010) 4/5 - to end a sad fate with a glimpse of hope thru love. oh god. I miss this kind of cinema

Christmas Inventory (Miguel Gomes, 2000) 5/5 - di ko alam talaga kung anong nangyayari sa umpisa, pero, yung patapos na, yung biglang ganon, grabe lang. Genius talaga si Miguel Gomes.

The Soul of the Bone (Cao Guimaraes, 2004) 5/5 - sabihin sa sarili: bawal malungkot, bawal malungkot.

Night Inside (Pablo Lamar, 2009) 5/5 - advise sa mga babae, wag pipili ng sobrang laki.

Enzo, Tomorrow in Palermo! (Daniele Cipri and Franco Maresco, 1999) 4/5 - self aware na fail na na-achieve ang purpose ng pelikula, pero para pagtripan ang isang tao ng ganito, sobra lang. hagalpak.

In Memory (Daniele Cipri and Franco Maresco, 1996) 4/5 - di ko pa rin alam kung ano to, pero ang ganda lang. XD

Rigodon (Erik Matti, 2012) 3/5. obviously way better than Palitan, problema lang, nasobrahan naman sa tv5 teleserye acting. at saka, si Max Eigenmann ba talaga yun???????

Where Chimneys Are Seen (Heinosuke Gosho, 1953) 5/5
a lighter take on post-war Japan and the effect of THE bomb. weird how this feels so japanese. had glimpses of Akutagawa influences (rashomon, that is), the idea of seeing things where they are coming from, was fun and insightful.

Noite Vazia (Walter Hugo Khouri, 1964) 4/5.
what started off as a boys night out bar hopping turned to be a topsy-turvy discussion on gender and sexuality. got bits of surreal moments too, loved the rain scene.

The Terrorizers (Edward Yang, 1986) 4/5.
probably not a good first impression of Edward Yang for me. Was saving two of his films on my hard drive for a long time, hoping those would save what I just saw in this. though, this is actually not that bad. it's just that, I know it should've been better.

HunterXHunter: Phantom Troupe (Yuzo Sato, 2013) 3/5. hmm, I wish Togashi has intervented on the creative process.

Blood-C: The Last Dark (Naoyoshi Shiotani, 2012) 5/5. among all franchise animation that I've seen recently, this is probably the best one. Also, might be CLAMP's best recent work. This turned the Kisaragi Saya universe to a whole new level. However thin Shiotani's portfolio might be, I find this a great work, though, sometimes, the mix of 2D & 3D CG might get awkward. Production I.G's better for last year than Madhouse.

Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (Hideaki Anno | Kazuya Tsurumaki | Masayuki | Mahiro Maeda, 2012) - 5/5
Haven't really read reviews about this one, I'm afraid of what fans might have reacted on this, but I really did find it confusing at first, like how Shinji is confused on the very first parts, and it gets clearer. The span of time from the last film to this one is enough to make you forget and makes you want to revisit, but as we go along with this film, you'd get it. It's actually pretty consistent: it is set 14 years after the third impact (14 years after the End of Evangelion film), and when I thought about it, this film is actually done more or less 14 years after Death of Evangelion. Everything is the same as how it was on End of Eva: the Red sea, the spears being stabbed on Lilith, and lots of skulls. I really find the last scenes disturbing. Seems like, we're all Shinji Ikari again. But, as the real world goes, nothing really changes much from the characters: Shinji is still a pussy, Asuka is still a Bitch, Gendo is still planning the extinction of mankind. I don't really know if fans would get to like this one, but with Anno sitting as chief director, for sure, this film is not fucking at you.

Side Effects (Steven Soderbergh, 2013) 4/5.
Probably, the best thing to come out of the mainstream recently. Seems like, Soderbergh is on for some great retirement party.

Upstream Color (Shane Carruth, 2013) 5/5
Man, it's not that I'm fucked up, I get the film though, still, it's fantastic. I never really thought works like these is still possible on the Quentin Tarantino age. It's just that, I hope Carruth never really answered questions about this one, spoils the fun, and it's fun is with it's mysteries. It's not really in the level of David Lynch complexity that you'd never really get it at all, it's actually more light than that. Go see this, don't read anything about it, and have fun.

Bullet Ballet (Shinya Tsukamoto, 1998) 5/5
Tsukamoto's addition to the gangster sub-genre. Intense and gritty all-over. also, best acting from Tsukamoto that I've seen. Man knows how to look cool, to be cool, and still make a great film. A great marriage of machines, black and white cinematography, and the underworld.

Mekong Hotel (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2012) 5/5
The guitar track sets your mood, relaxes you, makes you unprepared for the things to come. Joe is really one of cinemas greatest surprises. Really something that stands out from most vampire films, which seems to be the fashion for most filmmakers nowadays. I love how the near end goes: a scene of two men comfortably and casually talking about ex-boyfriends.