PinoyDVD: The Pinoy Digital Video & Devices Community
Entertainment => Film & TV Talk => Pinoy Entertainment => Topic started by: Centurion Obama on Aug 21, 2002 at 07:28 PM
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Quark Henares' new movie Gamitan has just come out. What do you guys think of it?
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Yuck!
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Haven't seen it yet, but am not too fond of the Monsterbot "Explosive" video he directed. :P I hear "Date With Jao Mapa's " really good though.
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i've always felt that quark "the writer" is way better than quark "the filmmaker." i've always enjoyed reading his articles and from the little i've read of "date with jao mapa." but as for his videos... well the one i've liked so far was his pin-up girls video.
GAMITAN is a bold movie quark penned originally to be directed by lyle sacris (another viva newbie). but after lyle backed out of doing a boldie, the project was handed down to quark. i've head that despite the on-set headaches and problems that usually hound first-time directors, quark's actually pretty happy (or relieved) with the movie's outcome... it being a boldie and all (i mean, how much can he actually DO to be groundbreaking in the sex flick genre?).
though i am quite curious about his debut, i don't think i'm gonna plunk down good money to see it -- as a friend said, if he gave out passes yes, rea;y money, no. i'd rather spend my hundred bucks on cinemanila and wait for it on cable. but hey, i fully support the endeavors of every new director! just not financially ;D
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to copy my lengthy post from pinoy exchange...:
"Quark Henares is for real. Represent."
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;D
I'm dying to see Gamitan. But I actually agree with SUNGIT about QUARK's grasp on the mise en scene.
I enjoyed "A DATE WITH JAO MAPA" but maybe because of the script's uncanny humor. Ditto with another film that he wrote - SLUMBER PARTY. This Guy really has a knack on writing.
But regardless whether he gets my nod for GAMITAN, I still support the man for his indie convictions. I'm troubled though as to how will he manage to produce films that really matter. If he gets Vincent's (VIVA) good remarks, the boy might be stuck with directing mainstream crap just like what Bb. Joyce Bernal is doing.
Oh well maybe in time he should produce and finance his own movies, movies that are totally within his control. Will check the movie this weekend and will definitely give my two cents worth on the said flick. :D
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I've read somewhere that Viva producers gave him guidelines on what not to do. Among others, here's what I distinctly remember:
* No flashbacks
* No non-linear story-telling
the reason? Viewers get easily confused daw. That's the biggest insult to the viewing public that feeds them. :(
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Aaargh!
Nakakainis yun! What else are the other guidelines??? I wouldn't be surprised if Quark's contract included these-
Breast exposure must be more than 9 frames long but not exceed 3 seconds unless actress' areola is covered by male lead's thumb and forefinger.
Dialogue must have at least one paragraph of swardspeak per page.
Final Act must involve one of three things- a) A song and dance number in any National Park or beach resort, utilizing male extras in violet trunks and a female dance group from a noontime show. b) A climactic fight scene which takes place in a warehouse with strategically placed metal drums to allow the actors to hide behind in and utter swear words at each other, right before the villain jumps into a 1982 Gemini (walang budget kasi for any car newer than a 1990 model), which male lead promptly blows up right after muttering the movie's title, ex: "Magbabalik Ka Sa Lupa Na Dinaanan Mo!" or c) A pivotal scene wherein rebellious child is reunited with forgiving family, accompanied by entire barkada and clan down to the great grand lolo, and hugs and lessons learned are exchanged in teary-eyed Visine induced bliss. Cue theme song by Roselle Nava.
Haaay. The industry. Someone should do an Altman and make a Philippine version of The Player. THAT I'd watch!
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I saw GAMITAN already and I must say "Never judge a film by its poster and newspaper photos". Gamitan is actually a pretty good movie, and it's not "another bold movie" that most people expect.
The biggest draw to this movie, even bigger than Maui Taylor, is Quark Henares' uses of modern filming techniques in presenting this Tagalog bold movie.
The result is impressive. I love the camera work and film editing. Not only that, Quark brought out very good performances from the cast, especially with Maui.
Maui is not just a sexy and daring lady in front of the camera, she is also a very good actress. You should see her most emotional scene in the film: you'll really feel the pain of heart.
Gamitan is easily the best bold movie I've seen, and as a Tagalog movie, one of the best I've seen the last few years. The film industry needs more directors like Quark, directors who studied filmaking in the prestigious NYFA.
Definitely worth the time and spent. Now I'm already looking towards the DVD release and VIVA should not screw up on that.
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Related Article/Review:
'Gamitan': Honest, quarky, look at sex games (http://www.inq7.net/ent/2002/aug/26/ent_1-1.htm)
by: Oliver M. Pulumbarit
except:
"Despite the restrictions of not doing flashbacks, he gets away with devices that don't confuse the viewer at all. He knows the audience has seen everything and doesn't insult their collective intelligence. You'll notice several subtle out-of-sequence elements if you watch it at least twice. Non-linear elements be damned!"
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I get 'invalid syntax error' when I clicked on the link.
RidgeRacer's review seems like it is 'a must see movie'. I hope they would release it on video as early as they can. Or if the movie is really that good. They may want to show it on some Arthouse in the US.
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Apologies for the dead link, barrid. I actually forgot to include the URL inside the tags. :-[ ;D
na-Row 4 ako eh!
Anyway, I've corrected the error already. ;)
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The result is impressive. I love the camera work and film editing. Not only that, Quark brought out very good performances from the cast, especially with Maui.
Maui is not just a sexy and daring lady in front of the camera, she is also a very good actress. You should see her most emotional scene in the film: you'll really feel the pain of heart.
i was already kinda worried, if i was the only person who noticed this...maui indeed gave a very good performance in this movie
as for the movie itself, did you guys notice how the last few scenes shifted in a different direction? but still the same, the story was predictable
good job by quark henares though :)
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isn't "A date with jao mapa" a rip off of being john malkovich ? A good friend of mine is his 1st cousin (and weirdly quarck is my nephew cause his mom is my cousin but even if we're close cousins by blood I'm not close with them long story !!! hehehe so dont come down of me as being close to him ;D ). If he was the good writer they say he is why does he have to take on a genre that doesn't amount to anything when it comes to respect. He's gotta a contract for like three movies within the same soft porn genre. Anyways if he plans on trying to revolutionize bold films in the philippines nobody is going to get it. People are just going to check out his movie cause of the flesh factor. Sweet meat if you know what I'm talkin about (sweet meat = young girl). Anyways it's going to make more to convince me that he's doing something different. He's gotta long career so he may be to pull something off. I'm not on the bandwagon yet. I may never be. But I really hope he makes it !
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Hey guys! I just watched Gamitan and I'm impressed. Maui rules and I think she deserves more recognition for her act in this movie. Acting awards are not far away from landing to her lap.
I think the film's story is good, it does get predictable but with the way Quark directed it, the movie is justified.
Just my opinion, had that movie been directed by someone else, Gamitan would have been a WORSE MADE movie and I don't think we would have seen good acting.
Quark has proven he can get the best out of the cast and crew members. He has 2 more Viva movies left in his contract and I want to see MORE!
I just hope he directs a movie with Regine Velasquez. Who knows, maybe we'll see Regine act more dramatically or expressively with Quark at the helm.
Quark deserves praise. He has proven that he learned many things from that certain famous film school in America.
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"isn't "A date with jao mapa" a rip off of being john malkovich ?"
umm, have you seen "A Date with Jao Mapa"? It is in *no* way a rip off of Being John Malkovich...
Maui's acting??? If an actors voice and gestures make up her acting ability, then let's just say that Maui isn't half an actress. The former wasn't hers folks.
On top of that, I think the cuts Quark made, the editing style for Maui's big dramatic scenes, went a ways in hiding her shortcomings.
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thanks for the reinforcement there 3 people including his cousin were telling me rip off of being john malkovich. I guess the Philippines is trying to have the Philippine version of Spike Jonez. Except our version does soft porn hahahaha ;D I hope we can expect bigger and better stuff from him. But I'm not expecting anything kinda gave up on Philippine cinema. But if something good comes up I'd be really happy for the industry because good lord they really need something cutting edge at this point to save this huge sinking ship.
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Sorry, made a mistake on my post, i meant it is in *NO* way a rip off of Being John Malkovich.
the ripples are being made and the tide will turn...
a change is coming in Philippine cinema...
And Quark will be a major factor in that change.
One of the best things about him, is that he seems to churn out scripts like butter. His humor and dialogue is fresh, and should he continue to write and write, we will have a nice alternative to Ricky Lee. (he's eveywhere! not that his scripts are bad, but a change of pace is always welcome)
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oh okay. I see ne parang spin doctor ka for him ;D I saw your former comments. Anyways is this his firt full length motion picture debut ?
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"spin doctor"? what exactly are you trying to say by that?
yeah, this is his first feature film.
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when i read all your comments commentary all I saw was pure hype up of the guy. Like the next big thing or "this guy is the real thing represent". Sure he maybe good and he may have went to a 3 month course in New york but I've never seen a serious director start off with his debut with soft porn. A genre in the Philippines which isn't given any respect to begin. A genre in which people come in only for "self gratification". I'm sure this guy has talent but I would like to see talent directed in another direction. I'm sure the intentions were there while writing the story. Trying to bring integrity and respect to a genre that doesn't have any. Or as matter of fact trying to hit two birds with one stone in trying to reach out to the masses with his deep and dynamic plot. But I think it was to ambitious for a neophyte. I believe he should already leave the "pop culture" story telling and move on to bigger things. I believe he's got 3 more flicks on the way which are related to soft porn again. Anyways this is all constructive on my part and I hope you understand. Thanks
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"I've never seen a serious director start off with his debut with soft porn"
Um--Kurosawa Kyoshi started in porn.
Strange thing is, he took one of his early pinku films, re-edited it and added footage, then showed it again, as "The Excitment of the Do-Re-Mi-Fa Girls." It's pretty good.
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Thanks for the trivia ;D Well i can put that to my list. But I guess my point was that soft porn in this country is totally different. I would say Japan doesn't count.ven during the early years of kurosawa. I'd love to see it though Noel. Seeing soft porn of the fifties. That would be a blast ;D How was the flick altogether though ?
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Kurosawa Akira started out as a painter, then an assistant, before the war. He did only one scene involving anything remotely sexual, and that's in Seven Samurai.
Uh--maybe not. There's also Ran.
Kurosawa Kyoshi is the rage in film festivals today. Saw his License to Live, 1995 or 1996. He's part of The Cinema of the Comatose (my term), which includes Angelopolous, Kore-eda, Edward Yang, Hou Hsiao Hisen, and Tsai Ming Liang, who's not exactly a crowd fave around here (now you know why). Lav Diaz admires him a lot (now you know why Lav does the films he does). The softcore porn flick he made was probably in the '80s.
Haven't seen Gamitan--so I can't go pro or con. May catch it--right now my priority is the Cinemanila flicks.
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haven't seen anything of kyoshi kurosawa. Should have read ur previous post it passed me lang as kurosawa by itself. Anyways thanks for the correction. Japan is still whole entire different playing field when it comes to cinema I'm guessing. And I'm pretty much sure that soft core there doesn't come out as smutty as does here. Medyo feel ko dyan everybody who is acclaimed has did a little of soft porn but i maybe wrong. And maybe coming to think about it I'm sure a local director must have started there on. So I guess commentary when it comes to directorial debuts soft porn maybe a path many have taken though I wouldn't be to sure. I stand corrected ;D
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Porn IS an art in Japan. There's the Roman Porn in the '60s, the more recent Pink Eiga. They're showing three Pink Eigas in UP this Thursday, the best one is Rustling in Bed.
The woman there reams the guy out. Shocks the audience every time.
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barry sonenfeld started out as a porn director ;D
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damn sounds gooood hahaha ;D I already made plan with my friend and she's already game na for the ring. But it would be pretty cool to give her some roman porn. hahahha. ;D But yeah I figured that Japan is a whole different ballgame when it comes to porn in genereal. That's why they don't count when it comes to Philippine cinema hahaha. Porn natin is cheap and tasteless I cannot speak for the former past films because I am not famillar with Philippine cinema. Though definetly I will give this flick (Gamitan) a try.
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We had some great erotic films in the '80s--Boatman, Misteryo sa Tuwa, Scorpio Nights, Init sa Magdamag. I prefer Scorpio to In the Realm of the Senses, myself--I prefer the psychology there.
Segurista is pretty good too.
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well the point i really tried to convey wasn't really to much on being a porn director ;D But more on the how philippine cinema looks like today. I guess the 80's was a gentler time for soft porn because then it was artistic etc. But now with the emergence of talong , itlog, etc. I mean to the ordinary viewer who watches these movies it doesn't make a difference cause all people want to see is Maui's breasts :o Since he is a good writer from what I hear I think he demands more respect. And in the field of Soft porn in the Philippines I wouldn't be to sure.
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to Papi Chulo: have you even seen the movie?
i have reservations about comments made from people who have yet to see the film they are speaking on...
i had some reservations myself about the fact that it was a bold film, but what impressed me was what he was able to do within those limitations. That is what I admired, and that is one of the reasons that I say that he will be a major factor in the changing local cinema. See the film for youself and then tell me what you think. Should you have seen it already I stand corrected.
Yes, my previous comments were all positive, but I have a problem with you using the term "spin doctor". You say it as if I am not saying these comments out of candid personal opinion, but because I was put up to it or something to that effect. Is that what you were implying?
From what I've heard, he doesn't want to/intend to continue directing films of this genre. (bold films).
Really curious to hear what you think of the film Noel...
btw- a question for all: what do you guys think of the use of a voice actor? I mean, I'm sure Maui speaks both tagalog and english well enough, but a voice actor was used in place of her voice. How much does this degrade or take away from her peformance in your eyes? What is your opinion on the practice of dubbing an actor's voice with that of another?
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i think we should all accept one thing: to break into the industry, you must play by the industry's game. no way would viva have given quark a break if he didn't agree to do a bold commercial flick that would click with the masses. such is the fate of new directors -- look at lyle sacris and his judy ann-dingdong tweetums movie. i read in an interview that quark does not want to do a boldie for his sophomore effort but rather a black comedy. doing gamitan i believe was just something for him to get his foot in -- which i think worked well for him... it got him attention and the studio confidence to back him up.
lord knows if i were given an opportunity to direct a boldi/tweetums/horror/barkada flick, i'd take it. just to have the opportunity to make more movies after.
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okay commentary we shall bury the hatchet ! ;D When I used the term "spin doctor" in was strictly in the context of hyping him up here and else where. No negative connotation there. If you are offended I apologize. But in my opnion the hype and the excessive praising for a neophyte director who took a three month ny seminar in film was just a little to much. But we can always agree to disagree. I have no beef with you. And since this a bored whre people can come on and just speak out please take the critcism with a grain of salt. Such as you implying having reservations about people who haven't seen a flick etc. it doesnt bother me one bit.
Anyways as I said I have no problems checking out the the film and in fact I will. Then maybe I can change my mind. I am just skeptical that's all. If three people say the ending was predicatable etc. it just adds more to my skepticism. Hence in fairness to you and the board I will watch the flick first and come back with something to say.
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On voice actors: Audrey Hepburn was dubbed for My Fair Lady, but I thought she was very good as Eliza Doolittle.
Chow Yun Fat is dubbed in all his films (well, he dubs himself), but I consider him the equal of Robert de Niro. In the 80's and 90s, anyway...
People break in by doing formula, but look at Lav Diaz (okay, he hasn't had a hit yet) or Jeffrey Jeturian, whose Pila Balde wasn't bad.
Babae sa Bubungang Lata fulfills the requirement of sex every half an hour. At the same time it's a kaleidescopic view of the film industry, an elegy for the glory it once was and a condemnation of the business it has become. It's one of the best films of the '90s, I think. Also made a modest amount of money...
The issue of formula vs. innovation is never a simple question to answer...
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In the interest of full disclosure, I personally know Quark Henares. And to actually answer Joey's question, I liked the film, knowing what he had to go through, most of which was ridiculous. I didn't like the acting too much (I thought the best performers were actually Patricia Javier and one of the "buddies" of Wendell), but appreciated the realistic dialogue, unconventional cinematography and editing, and black humor. It actually feels a bit like a comedy until the end, which is disturbing (a parallel it shares with Date with Jao Mapa). But it's a good effort, it's a miracle I even like it, because I was expecting something botched, from what Quark told us of his experiences. I'm glad the film is doing very well at the box-office (it's tripled its budget in the first week) and hope this means he'll get more control and support from Viva in the future. Now on to replies!
Downhill Boy,
One of Quark's pitches was a behind-the-scenes film a la one of his student films, Saging at Rambutan. But he was told that "ayaw ng masa ang behind-the-scenes." With no qualification whatsoever.
Sungit,
As far as I know Lyle didn't "back out of doing a boldie," but couldn't fit it into his schedule. Quark's relieved that the movie's doing well, but isn't particularly ecstatic with the film. He didn't have final cut, was told to add scenes, etc.
And good post on what you have to do, unfortunately -- compromise. If Viva offered me a bold movie I'd take it too, just to be able to get my foot in the door. You play by the industry's game, and hopefully get to change things around when you're in the right position to do so, and help the industry. Diba?
Bartmaniac,
He had to go through a lot of crap during the shoot. Sometimes he'd get home depressed. And not just from Viva execs, too.
RidgeRacer,
The DVD "should" contain Quark's cut of the film. :) Let's hope. And apparently, though Quark wants to do a commentary for the film and pack it with features, it's an expense that a certain company doesn't feel is justified.
Papi Chulo...
...*sigh*
No, Date with Jao isn't a rip-off of Being John. I don't know how anyone came up with that.
"If he was the good writer they say he is why does he have to take on a genre that doesn't amount to anything when it comes to respect. He's gotta a contract for like three movies within the same soft porn genre."
Blame it on the industry. They commissioned a script from him. He wrote it. It wasn't for him. It became his. Better to try and write a decent "soft porn" film than to let some other hack do another cookie-cutter job. And yes, he has a contract for three films, but your information is incorrect. He is not limited to genre, as will be shown by his next film.
And what reinforcement? Commentary refuted your claim. And though you may have heard "Date with Jao" is a rip-off, you really should see it. Or maybe you can ask your "friends" specifically WHY "Date" is a rip-off of Being John.
And the course in NYFA was 2 months, not 3.
Joey,
How about you? How did you like the film?
ramon
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ramon/upstart, did i meet you in brash? ::)
quite enjoyed quark's saging at rambutan. i thought it was extremely well-written... it was like watching a christopher guest movie (spinal tap, watiting for guffman, best in show). the movie's (unintended) parallellisms to his life right now are so uncanny... i couldn't help but laugh my ass off.
which makes me wonder -- are filipino movie goers really as dumb as studios think they are? i mean, viva rejected quark's initial pitch for a satire right? will studios ever cut us any slack for being the least bit discerning?
sigh. i hate it when they dumb us down. anyway, will catch gamitan soon.
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Sungit,
I can't really answer that unless I know your name. :)
Thanks for going last Friday, though.
Yeah, the events happening in Saging ended up being prophetic. It's spooky.
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hello upstart ,
I couldn't help but read your reaction. but anyways yeah as you said acting was bad. people on this board said that the film was predictable. icluding commentary etc. What's the freakin point then? that comment alone kills so much of what good storytelling is about. Go ahead give your examples of great stories told with predicatble endings etc. The point is if I don't dig something and I dont see eye to eye with you it's not my problem neither is it yours. Sure by all means make the argument that i am close minded. I dont care sigh all you want it really won't make a difference. I'm willing to check out the film just so I can come up with more detail to "reinforce" my "gut" instinct on the whole entire thing. you said acting was no good. Reading a short synopsis on the movie "jock uses innocent girls etc." give me a break dude. For that premise alone i'll let you figure. You then expressed something about my "friends" talking about ripping off being john malcovich etc. Well just like everybody else on this board they are entitled to whatever the hell they think the movie is about. If they base it on that then so be it. I said I would watch the flick etc. I understand where you are coming from etc. I respect that. But i could have not made it clearer in my last post. I finished off the whole entire thing and ended my dispute with commentary. I expected people on this bored to leave my name alone. Hence I only have one thing to say to you buddy "please get off my jocks". So you do not take offense to the term leave me alone already. I do need your preaching and your use of putting open close parenthesis on certain words like friends. If you are trying to hit on them and their credibility you are in return offending me. And we all wouldn't like that wouldn't we ;D This is a friendly board and we should just leave the da*m comments about other people we know to a person to person basis. Well as I said I will give the flicks a try and I hope that satisfies you enough to leave me alone.
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"Date With Jao" a ripoff of "Being John"? Sorry, but I don't think I see any connection.
upstart: Are you one of the filmmakers who presented his film at Brash? If so, who? (if I may ask)
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"people on this board said that the film was predictable. icluding commentary etc"
Enlighten me- where exactly did I say that the film was predictable?
"The point is if I don't dig something and I dont see eye to eye with you it's not my problem neither is it yours."
What exactly is this in reference to? You haven't seen "Gamitan" or "A Date With Jao".
"Reading a short synopsis on the movie "jock uses innocent girls etc." give me a break dude."
film synopsis? not a very way intelligent way to substantiate your arguments. I'd show you some references, but it'd be a waste of my time to dig 'em up. and the studio writes that stuff, not the writer, not the director.
"But in my opnion the hype and the excessive praising for a neophyte director who took a three month ny seminar in film was just a little to much." (this was in your post responding to me...)
you say this whole ny thing like that is the basis for praising him. not once did i ever mention new york in my praise of him. anything i said was in reference to work of his that i had seen.
Hence in fairness to you and the board I will watch the flick first and come back with something to say. (this was in your post responding to me...)
sounds good.
I finished off the whole entire thing and ended my dispute with commentary
i just didn't have time to reply until now...
I'm cool with agreeing to disagree, but you're disagreeing without any basis for your arguments, which means they hold no weight.
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look we could have left this the way it is but yeah go on. Talk about intelligence the hell i care what you think is intelligent. Actually I tried to be cordial with my responses and wanted to end the damn thing along time back my friend. But you just want to push your point and jam right down my face. Fine I already said i was willing to watch the da*m thing and then come up with something. What else do you want me to say ? Do you want me to ride his jocks like you do. Go to pinoy exchange and make another topic about his greatness. If you don't like what I say deal with it. Hell you know what let's watch the movie together how does that sound ? let's do a play by play analysis of the whole entire thing. Then let's just put the whole entire thing right out on the table. Buddy I already hinted a couple of posts back. I was about to tell upstart on how i respected your comments more cause it was coming back from an objective standpoint. He's buds with the director he'll back him up cause they're in the same freakin org or whatever they've got going. You know what it shouldn't even be like this. It's heated up all on what ? you couldn't stand being called a spin doctor ? I apologized for that if that offended you. This is going nowhere. You know what yeah i haven't seen his flicks and i do want to check them out. I was venting out the reservations I had on the possibilities of how he might come out short in my book. You commentary by now should have gotten the message way back. the last post wasn't for you. Now please let me be. Keep me out of it already. Is this to much to ask ? Cannot stress any further when i said i would watch the movie it ended there. In essence you won the whole entire hoolabaloo and at the same time you got an apology. Any gentleman would have already accepted and left it there. I leave it up to you.
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Okay: far as I can make out things, commentary says Papi doesn't have a basis for his arguments and Papi agreed he should go watch the film.
That sounds like a good place to pause till Papi sees the film, don't you think? Let's all cool off, dunk our heads in buckets of ice water, and have a cyberbeer, 'kay? The first imaginary round's on me...
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alrite, peace, peace, peace. let's have peace. like noel said, we should continue this discussion later. in the meantime, lets talk about other things.
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Durn it, joeypogi, where did you get your avatar?! They're not from My Neighbor Totoro are they?!
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actually, noel, they are
i got it from a website somewhere.
wait, here it is http://www.gwpiii.com/totoro/ (http://www.gwpiii.com/totoro/)
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Papi,
"Sure by all means make the argument that i am close minded."
Did I do this?
"I'm willing to check out the film just so I can come up with more detail to "reinforce" my "gut" instinct on the whole entire thing."
Good idea.
"I was about to tell upstart on how i respected your comments more cause it was coming back from an objective standpoint. He's buds with the director he'll back him up cause they're in the same freakin org or whatever they've got going."
Weren't you just talking about this being a friendly board a while back? Because this sounds insulting. I suppose there are some people who cannot fathom the concept of an objective opinion (a debatable term in its own right) even if they know someone else (in that sense a lot of film critics here would be unable to give "objective" [oops there go the quotation marks again; sorry a] reviews since they know some of the filmmakers, this industry being as small and insular as it is). But then that's why I revealed right at the beginning that I personally knew Quark. You can take my opinion however you like. But at least I didn't try to praise Quark to the high heavens while keeping the fact that I know him hidden, which to me is irresponsible (interests of full disclosure and all that). Nonetheless, I was just trying to say that if people don't like Gamitan, they're certainly entitled to that opinion, but explain why naman. It's not constructive if all they say is "it's trash" without any substantiation, is it? Not that I'm referring to you. And by the way, I'm not insulting your friends, I'm just curious as to why they thought "Date" was a rip-off.
I'm not looking for a fight here, either. So peace. I'll wait until you watch the film. Maybe all our heads will be cooler then. :)
Fly,
No, I'm not. Wish I was, though. :)
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to quote rivermaya: "wag nang init ulo, baybee..." ;D
upstart: weren't you the man with the mic the whole time? introducing the movies and films and such? i was the one shushing mo during the screening. ang ingay kasi!
still haven't seen gamitan... anyone knows if it'll go on its thrid week?
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of course it will ;)
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Joeyp:
Cool. How did you like Totoro?
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I loved Totoro
Miyazaki is on my list of greatest directors of all time.
if i were to rank my fav Miyazaki's
I'd put Totoro and Porco Rosso on top
and Kiki's Delivery Service in close second.
all the others are just as great, too. but these are my favs.
and Noel, we are highly anticipating your assesment of Quark's film. :)
Pom Poko was great, too. though a bit dragging. And Fireflies, Grave of the was sad. I'm not really into Mononoke and Nausicaa, but I can see why people like em.
Laputa was a blast too! And did Iron Giant ever acknowledge the fact that they ripped of their character from this movie?
now i'm inspired to watch more Miyazaki's.
by the way, Noel, we are still highly anticipating your assesment of Quark's movie :)
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Good taste, Joey. You can't go wrong with Miyazaki, or his equal, Takahata. Ever seen Grave of the Fireflies? Roger Ebert calls it one of the greatest war films ever made, and for once that tub of lard is right...
I'll give you this much, right now...I'm more interested in Quark's film than in Matt Damon, that silly Disney thing, and anything coming out of the multipliexes nowadays. That includes the latest from M. Night Shamalamadingdong and Vin Diesel, who's reportedly gay but won't admit it (ask David Ehrenstein)...
Filipino films are the ULTIMATE foreign films...they are hard to catch, they are rarely good, and anywhere in the world, YOU are the instant expert on the subject...
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Filipino films are the ULTIMATE foreign films...they are hard to catch, they are rarely good, and anywhere in the world, YOU are the instant expert on the subject...
hahaha, good point!
i'll check out Takahata.
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Sungit,
Yup, that was me.
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Saw Gamitan.
Well, it's...puwede na. Better debut than either Erik Matti or Yam Laranas, but not as good as Lav Diaz's (ang layo).
SPOILERS
He seems to have seen a lot of films. The credit sequence, which is the most visualy freewheling in the film, comes from se7en, of course. Maui's story tends to resemble Insiang's--the innocent worm turning. The cutting-up-the-body scene seems based on everything from sixtey69nez to shallow grave to, oh, any number of cutting-up-the-body movies...and whatsisname the playboy guy's entrance into the club or whatever that was is such a direct steal from Keitel's entrance to the nightclub in Scorsese's Mean Streets I had to laugh at the balls of Quark--okay, hat off to your audacity!
Some good use of music, mostly the ironic use of love songs. Some clever shots--the quick slide from Maui's room to Patricia, the swishing from Maui's face to Patricia at the breakfast table. Also the split screen which I guess Quark took from De Palma...that one actually added tension to the scene.
The acting is fine pretty much when the film sticks close to what the actors are familiar with. When it goes into murder and mayhem, they start showing their inadequacies, especially Maui. Like when she fails to seduce the weirdo guy, you can see her (and Quark) making buewelo before she goes with the long and tearful monologue about what playboy guy did to her and how it hurts, etc., etc. And later, when they're cutting up the body, she comes up with one or two funny lines...which would be funnier if they didn't seem to come from nowhere. Maui isn't able to account for where her sense of humor came from--a hysterical reaction to what happened, or something deep and disturbing that was inside her all along...
Same with weirdo guy. He has all the accessories of someone truly disturbing--obsession with death, rumored sculptures made out of manure, that anecdote about the dog and the mayo...and it would have been nice to have a scene where he accounts for it all and his nice-guyness. Or if he DOESN'T explain it, at least have a moment where the contradictions are shown in sharp reliefe. As it is, mukhang the character isn't very well thought out. That the weird guy with the death hangup also is the nicest guy in the film seems like default thinking--he's a geek, I'm a geek, he must be a nice guy...
The story's bitin--doesn't go far enough. Also, some plot points: would playboy guy be so garapal with his dropping of Maui? A more accomplished lecher would at least have a handy explanation, or a method of letting her off easy (it doesn't have to work, it's just more realistic that he would have one--or, at one point, admit he doesn't have one and it's his first time). And would Maui be so stupid as to fling weirdo guy's love in his face while she's still standing inside his apartment, where he could go psycho on her (apparently she is--Insiang had more brains than that!). And when weirdo finally cracks, it's kind of insipid and wan--a lot of adolescent yelling and screeching, not truly disturbing violence.
I would have liked to have seen more far-out stuff. I would have liked to see Maui stalking playboy guy from behind, with her heavy blunt object ready; I would have liked to see her licking the blood off weirdo guys hands and passing it on to his mouth, so on and so forth. Possible Viva didn't approve all that, but that's the way the bouncing ball. Hopefully with a hit he can do a film he REALLY wants to do.
Erik Matti went from the success of Scorpio Nights 2 to Ekis and Dos Ekis, which showed he didn't learn a thing. Yam Laranas did uh, forget the title now...then Radyo, and then eventually took up a Mel Mendoza del Rosario script...which wasn't anything special but AT LEAST it was a coherently told story that he could hang his visual style onto without looking too stupid.
What we need aren't so much new filmmakers as new writers, I think--people who can really tell a story. We've got enough visual stylists--Matti, Laranas, now Henares. Maybe each of em should pick up a script by Lav Diaz or Armando Lao and do em straight out, no hesitation--that would improve the film industry right there...
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the humour! what about the humour Noel!
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Well, the choice of love songs, some of them ironic, did make me laugh. And I did mention that Maui's lines are meant to be funny, actually should be funny, but she fails to deliver them with the right spin; sounds like she's just mouthing the lines, or they're coming out of a speaker in her throat.
I did like Patricia Javier chewing on every phallic breakfast item she could get her hands on. Actually, I liked Patricia overall; she's lovely, sexy, and can actually act. Given the right choice of roles, she can be as good, maybe better, than Ana Capri.
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just to reiterate a prevois point in this threat, Maui's voice was dubbed by a voice actress.
this would account for her sounding like she's just mouthing the lines...
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Probably right; dubbing's ruined plenty of performances...
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"Possible Viva didn't approve all that, but that's the way the bouncing ball."
-------thats the WHAT?
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Old joke. Maybe not so old; you haven't heard of it... ;D
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yeah, i guess so.
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Is Quark making a new movie for this year? I heard nothing so far.
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woo-hoo! we get to revive this thread!
http://intrigero.livejournal.com/34508.html