Author Topic: Cinemalaya 2014  (Read 3577 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Klaus Weasley

  • Trade Count: (+16)
  • PinoyDVD Legend
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,646
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 511
Cinemalaya 2014
« on: Aug 01, 2014 at 12:26 PM »
As far as I'm concerned, if the government is really serious about helping Philippine cinema, they should nix the Hollywood embargo on the MMFF and give that privilege to Cinemalaya. They deserve it!

The lineup.

Which films are you gonna see?

Offline jas

  • Trade Count: (+425)
  • PinoyDVD Legend
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,542
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 1225
Re: Cinemalaya 2014
« Reply #1 on: Aug 01, 2014 at 01:48 PM »

Offline supermanster

  • Trade Count: (+28)
  • Collector
  • **
  • Posts: 205
  • Hi, I'm new here!
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 56
Re: Cinemalaya 2014
« Reply #2 on: Aug 01, 2014 at 01:54 PM »
San kaya makakabili ng mura/discounted tickets? :D Parang madameng maganda films ngayun cinemalayans.

Offline halvert

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • DVD Guru
  • ****
  • Posts: 1,630
  • kiss me you fool!
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 465
Re: Cinemalaya 2014
« Reply #3 on: Aug 01, 2014 at 08:25 PM »
Not a fan of Joel Lamangan, but I am a fan of Nora Aunor, so Hustisya it is!
Meanwhile, ang gaganda ng mga movie posters nila ha!

Offline Klaus Weasley

  • Trade Count: (+16)
  • PinoyDVD Legend
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,646
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 511
Re: Cinemalaya 2014
« Reply #4 on: Aug 03, 2014 at 07:55 PM »
Ronda ("Patrol") (Nick Olanka) **1/2 - I think Ai-Ai De Las Alas is actually an excellent dramatic actress even though she's more known as a broad comedienne. This film lets her stretch her dramatic chops and she gives an outstanding, yet also subtle performance as a police officer going about her usual duties all the while worrying where her son was. The ending of this film was actually spoiled in the synopsis given in the promotional materials so I advise not to read them which is understandable because the script is kind of thin and the film just ends when it got REALLY interesting.

Sundalong Kanin ("Rice Soldiers") (Janice O'Hara) *** - A group of young boys from different social strata in their small rural town face the realities, tragedies and horrors of war during World War II. This should have been the Filipino entry to the subgenre of war movies from the POV of kids/teens: Hope & Glory, Ivan's Childhood, etc. By the end, it reached its potential but the road getting there was very clunky. It's a film where I felt the director bit off more than she could chew by juggling different story lines and layer upon layer of plot and sub-text as well as balancing tone. The concept was pretty complicated. It needed a master's hand to make it truly fly. It's very flawed indeed. It came together in the end though and worth seeing just for that. While I was watching I felt there are notes of Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos in it but it turns out it wasn't coincidence: The script was based on a story written by Mario O'Hara. Janice O'Hara is his daughter.

Offline Noel_Vera

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • PinoyDVD Legend
  • *****
  • Posts: 12,398
  • I'm afraid of the quiet man
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 88
Re: Cinemalaya 2014
« Reply #5 on: Aug 06, 2014 at 03:34 AM »
I don't think she's his daughter. Niece, maybe?

Offline Klaus Weasley

  • Trade Count: (+16)
  • PinoyDVD Legend
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,646
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 511
Re: Cinemalaya 2014
« Reply #6 on: Aug 09, 2014 at 10:20 PM »
I saw a bunch of short films today.

Asan si Lolo Me? ("Where's Grandpa Me?") (Sari Estrada) **1/2 - A mother tells her young son that his recently deceased grandfather has turned into a goat. What happens next is alternately weird and comic. It's an amusing enough film but it only addresses the issue of how to deal with loss superficially and sacrifices it for the sake of comedy and the weird ending. It's still an entertaining enough film.

Padulong sa pinuy-anan ("Going Home") (Eden Vallarba) *** - An American meets up with a prospective Filipina wife he met online only to be robbed. He is taken in by a single mother and her son. It's a nice little film that works because the central performance was strong but I feel that this could have been better as a feature.

The Ordinary Things We Do (David R. Corpuz) *** - This is more of an experimental film. It consists of three shots shown in split screen featuring three married couples: one straight, one gay, one lesbian. Things happen. I don't know if the filmmaker intended for this as a statement on marriage equality or not but it is an interesting enough concept.

Tiya Bening (Ralph Quijano) **1/2 - An elderly woman with Alzheimer's is left under the care of a caregiver by her daughter. The film's heart is in the right place but it's a rather thin story bolstered by artsy touches. Kind of forgettable.

Mga Ligaw na Paruparo ("The Lost Butterflies") (J.E. Tiglao) ***1/2 - Despite the fact that I sort of guessed the ending of this film right when it's about to happen, this is probably my favorite of these bunch of shorts, mostly due to the great performances and sparkling, energetic dialogue. The story is about a loving husband finds out his wife may be cheating on him. But there's a twist! 

Offline AD3000

  • Trade Count: (+123)
  • Collector
  • **
  • Posts: 166
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 3
Re: Cinemalaya 2014
« Reply #7 on: Aug 09, 2014 at 10:32 PM »
Saw Sundalong Kanin last week. The massive plot was there, but I think the execution was a bit off.
We all dance by ourselves, that's why we only play electronic music.

Offline Klaus Weasley

  • Trade Count: (+16)
  • PinoyDVD Legend
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,646
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 511
Re: Cinemalaya 2014
« Reply #8 on: Aug 09, 2014 at 10:35 PM »
Saw Sundalong Kanin last week. The massive plot was there, but I think the execution was a bit off.

I agree 100%. It needed a more experienced director. It had the potential for greatness.

Offline Klaus Weasley

  • Trade Count: (+16)
  • PinoyDVD Legend
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,646
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 511
Re: Cinemalaya 2014
« Reply #9 on: Aug 09, 2014 at 10:57 PM »
Someone uploaded a bunch of Cinemalaya movies on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/JANSatabitabo/videos

Offline halvert

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • DVD Guru
  • ****
  • Posts: 1,630
  • kiss me you fool!
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 465
Re: Cinemalaya 2014
« Reply #10 on: Aug 10, 2014 at 03:00 PM »
^wala na... also mistakenly placed on the cinemalaya website much to the consternation of the filmmakers. This had also been removed. Sayang, akala ko legal ito. I would have loved to tell my relatives abroad to watch "Sana dati" which is still not available on DVD.

Offline Klaus Weasley

  • Trade Count: (+16)
  • PinoyDVD Legend
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,646
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 511
Re: Cinemalaya 2014
« Reply #11 on: Aug 10, 2014 at 11:43 PM »
Dagitab ("The Sparks") (Giancarlo Abrahan) ***1/2 - My personal favorite among the 4 features and 5 shorts I saw during the recently concluded Cinemalaya Film Festival. This is about a middle-aged couple, both college professors. One is a literature teacher who faces a scandal involving her college-bound godson. The other is a writer in the final phases of writing a book about his long-missing lost love. The film is flawlessly acted (led by Eula Valdez and Nonie Buencamino) and beautifully shot and goes into unexpected directions without falling into the traps of simplistic sensationalism or histrionics.

K'Na The Dreamweaver (Ida Anita del Mundo) *** - This is a film focusing on a Filipino ethnic group called the T'Boli and is in entirely in their own language so I needed subtitles for this one. Even though it's still a Filipino story, it is of a different culture so it's almost like watching a foreign film. The film has an almost documentary-like feel, timeless really (but I'm guessing it's pre-Spanish colonial times). The title character is a young woman who must be betrothed to another man in a warring tribe in order to achieve peace but she's in love with another man. Like with Sundalong Kanin, this is a film with a strong concept and ambition but the execution is a little rocky. Still a fine, well-made film. 

Offline Klaus Weasley

  • Trade Count: (+16)
  • PinoyDVD Legend
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,646
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 511
Re: Cinemalaya 2014
« Reply #12 on: Aug 11, 2014 at 12:10 AM »
The award winners:

Audience Choice Award, New Breed Category: Sundalong Kanin

Audience Choice Award, Directors' Showcase: Hustisya

2014 Gawad Balanghai: Kidlat Tahimik, father of Philippine Independent Cinema


SHORT FEATURE

Best Screenplay - Kevin Ang Tan, Lola

Best Director - Kevin Ang Tan, Lola

Best Film - Asan si Lolo Me

Special Jury Prize - The Ordinary Things We Do

Audience Choice – Lola

DIRECTORS SHOWCASE

Best Sound - The Janitor

Best Musical Score - Richard Gonzales, Kasal

Best Editing - Tara Illenberger, The Janitor

Best Production Design - Harley Alcasid, Kasal

Best Cinematography - Mycko David, Kasal

Best Screenplay - Aloy Adlawan and Michael Tuviera The Janitor

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - Nicco Manalo, The Janitor

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Cris Villonco, Hari ng Tondo

Best Performance by a Lead Actor - Robert Arevalo, Hari ng Tondo

Best Performance by a Lead Actress - Nora Aunor, Hustisya

Special Jury Prize - Hari ng Tondo

Best Director - Michael Tuviera, The Janitor

Best Film - Kasal

NETPAC Award: Hustisya

NEW BREED CATEGORY

Best Sound - Children's Show

Best Musical Score - Erwin Fajardo, Bwaya

Best Editing - Gerone Centena, Children's Show

Best Production Design - Toym Imao, K'na, the Dreamweaver

Best Cinematography - Neil Daza, Bwaya

Best Screenplay - Giancarlo Abrahan, Dagitab

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - Miggs Cuaderno, Children's Show

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Barbie Forteza, Mariquina

Best Performance by a Lead Actor - Dante Rivero, 1st Ko Si 3rd

Best Performance by a Lead Actress -Eula Valdez, Dagitab

Special citation for Ensemble Acting - #Y

Special Jury Prize - K'na, the Dreamweaver

Best Film - Bwaya

Best Director - Giancarlo Abrahan, Dagitab

Canon Award Best Cinematography – Roderick Cabrido, Children’s Show

NETPAC Award: Bwaya

Offline marj

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Collector
  • **
  • Posts: 203
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Cinemalaya 2014
« Reply #13 on: Aug 16, 2014 at 11:04 AM »
I agree 100%. It needed a more experienced director. It had the potential for greatness.

Most of the adult actors were OA.  And what's with the abundant expletives, especially by the children? It's not even consistent with the milieu