Monday, August 15, 2011

ALEXIS TIOSECO WRITATHON

In memoriam Alexis Tioseco and Nica Bohinc...

Contributions List:

1 | Patrick Mio Llaguno reviews Quark Henares' Rakenrol (2011) in response to Alexis' wish: "I wish Quark Henares refrains from selling out again, because if he doesn’t, he has the potential to be one of the important ones."

Patrick adds (thru email): "After reading this news article and looking back at this review, it seems rather bittersweet in hindsight that this may [be] the last film we might see from Quark Henares. It's really unfortunate that reality and other pressing matters would intervene in an otherwise promising and colorful career. I just hope he'll find a way to be involved again in the film industry one way or another whether by shepherding new talent in front and/or behind the camera and funding/producing films with good quality concepts. Still, I was still lucky and fortunate enough to see and experience what hopefully wouldn't be his swan song."

2 | Manuel Pangaruy sums up Cinemalaya 2011 in response to Alexis' wish: "I wish Cinemalaya, which, thanks to the media and the government’s press mileage behind it, has a great festive excitement, would actually put their efforts in the service of Philippine cinema, and not their own self-involved attempt to start a micro-industry."

Manuel says: "Tingin ko, hindi naman talaga mapapalawig ang Pinoy indie na kasing lawig ng mainstream, self-involved man o hindi. Malabo ito lalo na sa socio-economic na estado ng bansa. Sa dulo, walang common Pinoy ang gagastos sa sine na walang masyadong artistang sikat, hindi nakakatawa at may shaky camera work ang susugal kumalam ang tiyan. Mahirap isubo sa iba ang mga palabas na sigurado naman tayong iluluwa nila. Hindi na rin kailangang banggitin na ang art ay isang bagay na malaya at hindi dapat puwersadong nguyain. Mahaba-habang proseso ng edukasyon sa bansa ang kinakailangan at sana ay may Cinemalaya pa kapag dumating tayo riyan. Ang tingin ko, isang optimized na hakbang na ang pagkakaroon ng screening sa Greenbelt 3 (na ang balita ko pa ay madaragdagan sa susunod na taon)."



3 | Epoy Deyto reviews Lav Diaz' Batang West Side (2001) in response to Alexis' wishes: "I wish Lourd De Veyra would continue writing on actors and cinema."; "I wish Lav Diaz would have larger budgets to maneuver and shoot with. And would work with the ace production designer Cesar Hernando once again."; "I wish Lav Diaz would have larger budgets to maneuver and shoot with. And would work with the ace production designer Cesar Hernando once again."; and "I wish Mike De Leon would make another movie… please."

Epoy said: "Matapang ang sino mang humamon sa kumbensyon. Ang paghamong ito ay isa sa mga gawain ng isang alagad ng sining. Sa paghanap ng kaniyang astetika, hinamon ni Lav Diaz ang pundamental ng Pelikulang Pilipino sa pamamagitan ng Batang West Side."

4 | Michael Edillor writes a personal piece in response to Alexis' whole wishlist.

Michael says: "I’m not saying Alexis Tioseco is a perfect critic. I think he is far from it. But I believe that he is that rare critic who sincerely wants to make things better." Furthermore: "I think that’s how Alexis Tioseco should be remembered. As someone who saw the good and the potential in people. That he believed that Philippine cinema and the country itself can be among the best in the world."


5 | Jo-Marie Bala writes a poem entitled Mirror Image in response to Alexis' wish: "I wish the MMDA didn’t call those circles and boxes Art." and "I wish that MMDA Art wasn’t so much better than every MMFF film."

Jo says:

"Same-old movie series, same-old plans
Of the business-minded producers.
Boastfully, showing-off their floats
Along the road of Roxas Boulevard.
Boring, predictable, and corny;
That’s my own film criticism.
I prefer Brocka’s and indie
Than those redundant art of commercialism."

6 | [your contribution]

In case you forgot the rules, click the photo above to enlarge or check out this page. You can also check out our FB page here.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Wishful Thinking for Philippine Cinema Writathon


WRITE FOR ALEXIS and his wishlist for PHILIPPINE CINEMA!


RULES:

1 | Pick one wish from Alexis' wishlist. Google the article "WISHFUL THINKING FOR PHILIPPINE CINEMA" for a guide.

2 | Write about it on your blogs or word processors. No specific length, style or approach is required.

3 | Submit your works or links at adrian.lessegers@gmail.com or to any of the following host sites below:

http://cinematoncinematon.blog​spot.com/

http://adrianmendizabal.blogsp​ot.com/
http://kawtskamote.blogspot.co​m/
http://pixelatedpopcorn.blogsp​ot.com/

http://sanriel.wordpress.com/

4 | You can write on as many wishes as you want. The best write-ups will be published at at the upcoming INDIOCINE Film Journal.

ADDITIONAL INFO:

HI-RES POSTER OF EVENT (http://i439.photobucket.com/al​bums/qq120/adrianmendizabal/Wi​shful-Thinking3.png)

UNABRIDGED WISHLIST (dated March 15, 2009)
http://alexistioseco.wordpress​.com/2009/03/15/wishful-thinki​ng-for-philippine-cinema/



SUPPORT PINOY CINEMA!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

CINEMATON 5 - Heart of Japanese Cinema Blogathon

Setsuko Hara in her regal beauty in Late Spring (Ozu, 1949)


Adrian here:

Heart of Japanese Cinema blogathon looks not only into Japanese Cinema as a whole, but to into its soul. The rule is simple, make something: a review, a list of your best Japanese films, best Anime you've watched for the past month, or a critical memoir of a director and relate it the question: how close is this to the Japanese soul?

Since this is a blogathon, just like a marathon, you have to post as many posts as you want from today, April 10 to Saturday, April 16. It can one post a day, or more as long as you have the stamina and endurance, go for it. Remember, stick with the topic. Do not forget to add this link (Japan 2011 Crisis Response) to every post you make to help aid relief.

You can add your contribution by making a comment on this post or you can email me: adrian.lessegers@gmail.com or try my other contact details here.

Here are the final list of participants.

Participants:


1. Auditoire (http://adrianmendizabal.blogspot.com/)
2. Next Projection (http://nextprojection.com/)
3. Kaws Kamote (http://kawtskamote.blogspot.com/)
4. Pixelated Popcorn (http://pixelatedpopcorn.blogspot.com/)
5. The Reel Bits (http://www.thereelbits.com)
6. Point and Counterpoint (http://www.titopao.com/)
7. Whatever Carl, Whatever (http://whatevercarl.tumblr.com/)
8. Me Likes Art (http://melikesart.blogspot.com/)
9. Lessons From the School of Inattention (http://oggsmoggs.blogspot.com/)
10. Brainstorm from the Shower (http://etchieblog.wordpress.com/)
11. Below the Dotted Line (http://belowthedottedline.blogspot.com/)
12. Lilok Pelikula (http://lilokpelikula.wordpress.com/)
13. By Kubrick's Beard (http://bykubricksbeard.blogspot.com/)
14. Light Within Light (http://light-within-light.blogspot.com/)
15. Kasabawan, Kaalaman atbp. (http://therevellious.wordpress.com/)
16. Critic After Dark (http://criticafterdark.blogspot.com/)
17. Pinoy Film Zealot (http://pinoyfilmzealot.wordpress.com/)


Let the blogathon begin!

INDEX OF POSTS

D
ay 1

We'll start with Next Projection's beautiful review on Hokusai (1954)
Another old written piece by Sir Noel Vera on Kenji Mizoguchi's Sansho the Bailiff (1954)

Day 2

For today, we have Ibetolis' wonderful write up on Akira Kurosawa's Stray Dogs (1949)

Epoy Deyto: experience on Shuji Terayama's cinema and on his Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1970)

And we also have Adrian Mendizabal's screenshots of Kenji Mizoguchi's masterpiece, Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)

Day 3

We'll start with Will Cabrera's review of Departure (2008), an Academy Award winning Japanese film.

Also Oggs Cruz slated his review on the controversial documentary film, Children of Hiroshima (1952)


Day 4

Interestingly, Etchie Pingol made a write up on Sora Aoi, a Japanese nude model and adult video (AV) actress, and the mainstream adult video cinema of Japan. Etchie entitled it The Sky is Blue: Sora Aoi and Japanese Mainstream Soft-Core

Today, we also look into another fantastic review of Oggs Cruz with Warm Water Under a Red Bridge (2001) by Shohei Imamura.

Japanese cinema is not all about the film language. Paolo Barazon, a music-cinema lover comments on Claude Debussy's famous composition Claire de Lune in his wonderful review on Tokyo Sonata (2008).

Will Cabrera of Me Likes Art looks into late Japanese animator, Satoshi Kon, who died late last year. He ranks his favorite Satoshi Kon's works here entitled The Satoshi Kon Legacy.

Meanwhile, Fidan Medel of Pixelated Popcorn picks his favourites from Hayao Miyazaki's filmography.

Day 5

We'll start with Will's write up on Japanese horror entitle Afterthoughts on Japanese Horror

Oggs Cruz offers another cool review with Takashi Miike's Bodyguard Kiba (1993)

Day 6

The best way to start the sixth day is an excellent personal write up on Japanese Cinema written by Jay-R Trinidad, a veritable cinephile, entitled Loving J-Cinema.

A rare Isao Takahata is reviewed by film critic Noel Vera entitled Little Norse Prince (1968). Sir Noel also reviewed two other great Studio Ghibli materpieces, Grave of the Fireflied (1988) and Whispers of the Heart (1995).


Day 7

Etchie shares an interesting take on Yakuza in the contemporary cinema of Japan entitled Bushido Outlaws?: The Yakuza in Contemporary Cinema

Sir Noel's take on Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Pulse (2001)

You can use the posters and banners below to promote the blogathon. Share this with your friends and fellow bloggers and let them know about Japenese Cinema.

Posters and Banners:

960 x 600

490 x 300

150 x 350

490 x 100


Ciao!
****


Sunday, March 13, 2011

CINEMATON 5 - Heart of Japanese Cinema





Adrian here:

In a campaign to raise awareness about Japan and Japanese Cinema prior to the earthquake and tsunami catastrophe days ago, Cinematon! Cinematon! will host a blogathon focusing on Japanese cinema entitled HEART of JAPANESE CINEMA on April 10-16, 2011. Unlike other blogathons focusing on Japanese cinema, this blogathon will go back to its origins, to its fundamental core, its original themes, visual design and aesthetics and how it transformed throughout history into becoming one of the world's most flourishing and diverse cinema.

First, what is a blogathon? A blogathon is an internet activity where web writers or bloggers write anything related about the topic at hand during the course of the event. Hence, for our blogathon, writings will involve mainly about Japanese Cinema from its infancy to now. Since Cinematon! Cinematon! subscribes to pluralism, we encourage all bloggers and web writers to free themselves from the rigor of film criticism. Hence, you can write a photoreview, a poem review, a list of your top 10 Japanese Animated films, a video essay, a focus on Yasujiro Ozu, Akira Kurosawa, anything that suits your taste.

To join, you can make a comment on this post or you can email me: adrian.lessegers@gmail.com or try my other contact details here.

Participants:


1. Auditoire (http://adrianmendizabal.blogspot.com/)
2. Next Projection (http://nextprojection.com/)
3. Kaws Kamote (http://kawtskamote.blogspot.com/)
4. Pixelated Popcorn (http://pixelatedpopcorn.blogspot.com/)
5. The Reel Bits (http://www.thereelbits.com)
6. Point and Counterpoint (http://www.titopao.com/)
7. Whatever Carl, Whatever (http://whatevercarl.tumblr.com/)
8. Me Likes Art (http://melikesart.blogspot.com/)
9. Lessons From the School of Inattention (http://oggsmoggs.blogspot.com/)
10. Brainstorm from the Shower (http://etchieblog.wordpress.com/)
11. Below the Dotted Line (http://belowthedottedline.blogspot.com/)
12. Lilok Pelikula (http://lilokpelikula.wordpress.com/)
13. By Kubrick's Beard (http://bykubricksbeard.blogspot.com/)
14. Light Within Light (http://light-within-light.blogspot.com/)
15. Kasabawan, Kaalaman atbp. (http://therevellious.wordpress.com/)
16. You!

You can use the posters and banners below to promote the blogathon. Share this with your friends and fellow bloggers and let them know about Japenese Cinema.


Posters and Banners:

960 x 600

490 x 300

150 x 350

490 x 100

Ciao!
****

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

CINEMATON 4 - Black Swan

Adrian here:

N
atalie Portman
dances with glamor and style wearing her elegant black ballerina dress and dark feathery make-up. She likes women, she lives with monstrous-of-a-mom stepmother, she is obsess with her role as a Swan Queen, she is Nina Sayers in Darren Aronofsky's recent feature, Black Swan (2010). Darren Aronofsky has experimented with the usage of expressionism in some of his notable features: his debut, Pi (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Fountain (2006) and Black Swan (2010). Perhaps his greatest strength in making such character-centered films is his ability to use numerous ways to express his character's unusual psychological make-up in ways understandable and comprehensible to mass audiences. Opposed to David Lynch's bottom-of-hell involutions of character's thoughts and dreams, Aronofsky's style relies heavily on camera aesthetics to exaggerate and exemplify their psyche.

The film Black Swan, like its main character, has a confusing stature: it can both hated and loved at the same time. Garnering five Academy Awards Nominations, twelve nominations from BAFTA and numerous wins from many other independent award giving bodies. It received a reputation for being "intense, passionate, and wildly melodramatic." It became one of the most talked about films of 2010: a hot topic on blogs, forums, and youtube. It has amassed a lot of fans and critics. Its universal acclaim has become a phenomenon with the hype is getting bigger and bigger. Surprisingly, local film critics in Manila did not all agree that Black Swan is a cinematic gem.

Hence, CINEMATON 4 gathers these polarized critiques of Black Swan by our local critics, bloggers and cinephiles. Blogathon starts now:


INDEX OF POSTS

D
ay 1

Adrian's capsule Review of Black Swan for his TOP 100 Films of 2010 - mixed

Will's capsule review of Black Swan for his TOP 10 Films of 2010 - positive

Dam's full review of Black Swan - positive


Day 2

Manuel Pangaruy's Ang Fight Club at ang Tutu ni Natalie Portman - positive


Day 3

Noel Vera's Swan, The Fighter, The Tourist, Voyage of the Dawn Treader - negative

Princess Kinoc's The Black Swan


Day 4

Epoy's Wasak Film Log on Black Swan (di ko sure kung positive o negative - epoy)

Day 5

Christian Denver Alejo's The Splintered Soul in Black Swan - positive
Etchie Pingol's Black Swan (2010) - positive

Ciao!
****

Saturday, December 25, 2010

CINEMATON 3 - MEGATON (Khavn + MMFF)



Adrian here:

Haloooo! For this year's Christmas season, Philippine Cinema is blessed with multiple film festivals, film gatherings, film premieres, events and recognition showcasing different kinds of films from different directors, different nations and different parts of the Philippines with an extensive variety in aesthetics, ideologies, political thoughts and levels of reception. From Khavn dela Cruz's exploits in Mondomanila Festival Motherfuckers to the successful 12th Cinemanila International Film Festival to the premiers of Jerrold Tarog's Senior Year (2010) and many other indie films to the tribute of the Philippine Inquirer magazine to local independent filmmakers to the opening of Metro Manila Film Festival 2010, anyone can proudly say that Philippine Cinema is on the verge of redemption.

Cinematon! Cinematon! closes the circle by paying tribute to the first and last events of December: to Khavn dela Cruz, for starting the season with a bang, and to Metro Manila Film Festival 2010 for making a grand exit this year. Khavn's explosive entry, his dirt-gore masterpiece, Mondomanila (2010) exposes a different kind of Philippine Cinema, a radical type that can be considered as one of most memorable benchmarks in experimental filmmaking in the Philippines for its originality in form and style and for its radical thoughts about the Philippine government. His film sits in total opposite to Philippine Cinema's grand finale this year, the star-studded, illusionist cinema of the Metro Manila Film Festival where moviemaking, fame and money mingle at their best. Cinematon 3 entitled MEGATON (Khavn +MMFF) explores this polarity in terms of its effect to Philippine Cinema's possible track next year.

Without further ado, we welcome you all to another of our monthly blogathons (a year-end special, mind you!) CINEMATON 3: MEGATON (Khavn +MMFF)!

INDEX OF POSTS

D
ay 1

Adrian's Wasak na MEGATON Crossword Puzzle - Khavn + MMFF


Day 2

Fidan's MMFF 2010 reviews: Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last Na 'To), Dalaw, and Slow Fade

Day 3

Carl Joseph Papa's Paalam Aking Bulalakaw


Day 4

Will's Film Review of RPG: Metanoia (2010)

Day 5

Epoy: ang mana ng mano? - Amen (a film by Khavn, 2003)

Day 6

Sani's A Decade of Metro Manila Film Festival

Day 7

Dodo Dayao's review of Khavn's Paalam Aking Bulalakaw (2006) and Tatlong Araw ng Kadiliman (2007)

Day 8

Oggs Cruz' review of Khavn's Son of God (2010) The Gospel According to a Weng Weng-Wannabe: A Confession as to How Son of God has Restored My Faith on Faith
[cross published at
Twitch]
Ciao!
****

Monday, November 22, 2010

CINEMATON 2 - STAR CINEMA



PAIRED UP: Anne Curtis and Sam Milby

Adrian here:

Star Cinema is making history --- and money. Nothing is healthier than a national cinema with an active studio system which continues to run the film industry generating hundreds of jobs to its people; and a diverse alternative cinema challenging the former's aesthetic, cultural and political content. Just to add a little bit of history here, the Philippine Studio system has always been with us since 1930s. It reached its Golden Years during the 1950s-1960s which was one of the most important periods in Philippine Cinema. We had LVN Pictures whose films were famous for being complex in terms of production and fim costumes. We also had the Sampaguita Pictures whose films were characterized by a pairing up of the prettiest and handsomest faces of the industry made for the youth. Premiere Productions boasts for its action and crime films while Lebran, Inc. was famous for their 'international' film aimed for the international audience. These were the Big Four of the 1950s.

Star Cinema has learn a lot from these big four studios. To keep its business going, it is solely run by its mother company, ABS-CBN, one of the biggest primetime television network operating today. Spanning for more than 17 years in business, it continues to reinvent itself by combining the strategies of the big four and a careful study of taste preference of its current market. It started 1993 with three films: Adan Ronquillo: Tubong Cavite... Laking Tondo (1993) an action film starring Bong Revilla; Home Along Da Riles (1993), a comedy film with ensemble cast starring Dolphy Quizon; and a romantic film May Minamahal (1993) starring Aga Mulach and Aiko Melendez. This line up would somewhat predetermine the type of films Star Cinema would be producing in the next 16 years: action, comedy and romance.

As part of CINEMATON! CINEMATON!'s monthly series, November is dedicated to STAR CINEMA and its history-making track record of genre films, that, 20 to 30 years from now, would be engraved in film history books on Philippine Cinema at large. CINEMATON! CINEMATON! offers fresh ideas with a pluralist touch on the topic: what is really Star Cinema from bones to flesh? With a special guest writer coming soon, this November's Cinematon will surely be as enjoyable as a fresh breath of air!


INDEX OF POSTS

D
ay 1

Adrian's Anatomy of AND I LOVE YOU SO (2009)


Day 2

Carl Joseph Papa's Me and You and Everyone we Know... JOLOGS!


Day 3

Miss You Like Crazy: The whole universe conspires for a happy ending by Fidan


Day 4

Chris Fajardo's Star Cinema, "Kailangan kita"...

Day 5

[link]

Ciao!
****