Picking up the lines.....



Photo inset courtesy of link



After seeing "My Amnesia Girl" Yes I've watched a Tagalog film and I'm posting my take on this reel. It's a relief and a nice feeling that I'm no longer just compelled to write something about it as a response to a friend's challenge that I can't appreciate a local film. But I can't help it, local movies to date are more themed for gross commercialism, rather than with characterization, deep plot and great story. But for the fact that local film studios will not stop producing love and movie dramas I might as well appreciate what's the best they can offer and be entertained in its face value. 

Surprisingly this film has been the subject of talks in the office weeks after releasing it and what's amusing is my male colleagues are the most vocal about it. So I thought maybe I should give this a shot.

Seeing the trailer gave most viewers the impression that it's a typical Hollywood rip-off of "50 first dates" but to my surprise it didn't turned out to be. The film is in its own distinct and unique plot which I haven't seen even in Korean movies, well I consider them by far superior when it comes to love story genre. I lately realized that this was directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina, the same director behind who brought us "One more Chance".

Following the movie's premise, Apollo and Irene met in a speed dating event where Apollo is among the participants and Irene is the event photographer. So technically she was not part of those who can be dated with. Apollo however took a shot with the first pick-up line in the movie"Do you believe in love at first sight? when Irene replied No, Apollo then went to left her side, only to reappear behind her and said "What about second sight?". This is how they started exchanging corny pick up lines, the ones used in SMS Messages before, though I'm not sure if there some or maybe still who crack those lines nowadays. Now I've heard and read most of these pick-up lines but not this one, “Tae ka ba? Di kasi kita mapag-laruan eh”. This one made me laugh.

Moving over the course of the movie. (Just to warn you, this is a spoiler) Their relationship grew until one day Apollo asked Irene to marry him which Irene excitedly said yes then comes the day of their wedding, Apollo however suddenly had a bout of cold feet and left Irene alone in the aisle. Irene was naturally devastated, adding to our sympathy that she is sick (asthma) and an orphan.

Some years later their paths cross again. When Apollo approaches Irene, she gives no hint a memory of him and instantly claims to have amnesia. whoa that's one quick reaction, and probably the most sarcastic way to greet your ex, that you have no recollection of him at all(you literally chose to forget all his existence because of what he did), but in the film's contrive Apollo took Irene's claim without really validating, but this gave him an opportunity to pursue Irene again. That begins his resilience and hilarious misadventures chasing Irene and to be able to undo all the past, by offering Irene the best memories she could ever have.I can somehow relate to Apollo's effort in winning Irene back as I remembered planning it to one of my ex, unfortunately she couldn't wait and got married.(LoL) but true love is hard to resist, they learn, and just when they find themselves ready to commit to each other, the past catches up with them. I suggest you go watch the rest of the movie.

Photo inset courtesy of link

The script is smartly written; clever and witty. The lines were delivered in an ample humour and not over-acted. The two main characters have the habit of throwing pa-cute, pa-sweet funny little lines which are charming enough that you’d even might want to adapt some if you're in a relationship or linger one or two of those lines. These are the moments which I consider as intentionally corny; yet tickling and charming. To say the least, “hindi baduy”. For me, this is a better comedy than other films claims to be.

To those who think or thought that it’s all funny scenes, well how about the scene in the cottage where they went to shield from the rain. Irene pretending to forget the sad part of their cancelled wedding and desperately wanting answers from Apollo. That part was so touching to the point that Irene's breathing again was impaled by her Asthma. This scene perfectly executed by the filmmaker. For me it was even far more superior to the film’s climax.

And the characters? Who wouldn't fall in love with John Lloyd and Toni? Their chemistry blended perfectly. Both characters possess a very playful and witty sense of humour that makes a comedic and dramatic interplay between the two. I'm not really a Toni Gonzaga fan even for all her talents I just can't simply find her charismatic; But here, her onscreen acting presence left me nothing else but to adore her. The childlike fun-loving personality complements well in her character. For John Lloyd, there's nothing much to say, I'd say in his generations, he is the best in what he does, acting so naturally, so human, so honest, so true, and with such natural humour he is so candid that fits to his character as well. In local mainstream most male leads tend to do pa-cute antics, for John Lloyd he does it unconsciously and not ridiculously makes an effort in his acts. “Bumenta sya tsaka hindi baduy”.

Added to the main casts are the “barkadas”. Not over-acted either by supporting casts although there are some pa-cute antics but it’s tolerable. Another thing that's nice to watch is Toni's best friend is my crush Beatriz Saw(since PBB), she's funny and had a perfect chemistry with the female lead not to mention that she is cute and sexy.

Direk Cathy seems to have mastered this type of formula for commercial success. The movie shines as a romantic movie. Judging from her previous creations, she is one of those who exercise some degree of originality which is rare among local directors. She perfected this genre and does it uniformly so well (see her other films) her skill in creating romantic movies is already in such a celestial degree that leaves all my skepticism's in local romance films, she built a credibility that I just have to simply put my trust in her crafted film to be entertaining and fun. For me she is the saving grace of “Tagalog” romantic movies

There's some part of the movie that disappoints me though. It's how the two leads reacted to a suppose problem, now knowing the fake amnesia. I thought it was not such a big fuss and can be easily sorted when discussed clearly by heart. Now that they're back in each other’s arms despite of what happened with them before (I don't think there will be any or gravity wise wicked than Apollo leaving her on the wedding day). Irene totally forgave and accepted him again. The ploy was just too obvious, to create some tension in the films climax; yes it could be arguable but not enough to be so upset about. This was just to create an obligatory climax that nearly ruined or cost the perfect ending. 

All I can say the movie was worth viewing. It'll make you smile, laugh, cry and fall in love in love all over again. It's a lesson of Forgive and Forget. Too bad it was not shown in the love month, this could have been a perfect date movie. 

If romantic movies are your cup of tea, then this is for you.

The Rite Possession.....

As early this year, January lined us up with two Exorcism themed movies, ”Exorcismus” which is currently being shown in theaters and "The Rite" which is coming soon.

All these years in horror, particularly in demon possession genre there is no doubt that "The Exorcist" has the absolute stranglehold. The movie changed the face of the horror films. I'm not sure if there will be another film to contend its throne, surely there was "The Omen" both with similar themes but with different story plot, "The Exorcist" is in demon possession, while "The Omen" is an evil incarnate.  But rating which film scares me out up to the tip of my bones, without a doubt "The Exorcist" is the scariest movie I have ever seen. I remember when I was a kid, after watching it, I was shaking the whole day, had nightmares for days and weeks. Why is it so hard for me swipe Linda Blaire’s face out of my memory? As for “The Omen”, well it only scared for days (LoL); it was spooky too but didn't scare me as much as "The Exorcist". Both films however became a permanent fixture of my collective nightmares.

I haven't watched “Exorcismus” and I'm not planning to, but I'm looking forward to "The Rite". (I'm a big fan of Anthony Hopkins)

Sir Anthony Hopkins. a seasoned Jesuit exorcist in Rome mentoring a skeptical seminary student. "The Rite" is a supernatural thriller that uncovers the Devil's reach to even one of the holiest places on Earth. Inspired by true events, a seminary student Michael Kovak(Colin O'Donoghue) is sent to study exorcism at the Vatican with his skepticisms about the controversial practice and adding his doubts in his own faith he challenges his superiors to look to psychiatry, rather than demons, in treating the possessed.



Comes Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins) an unorthodox, Micheal was sent as his apprentice. A legendary priest has performed thousands of exorcisms; Michael has drawn into a troubling case that seems to transcend even Father Lucas's skill. He begins to glimpse a phenomenon science can't explain or control...and an evil so violent and terrifying that it forces him to question everything he believes.



Photo inset courtesy of link



Now these seem to be interesting plot, I myself had witnessed a demon manifesting inside a girl body who happened to be my schoolmate. The possession happened during the mass which being held during the first Friday of the month. Yes, I spent my primary education in a Catholic school, I don't know how to react back then but "The Rite's" premise sparks my interest and how this plotline will be adapted in screen.

What assessment criteria one might use when trying to determine when a problem is spiritual and when a problem is mental. How exactly do you tell what is mental illness and what is a spiritual affliction. I sincerely doubt there is any test that will please believers or devotees from both sides of the cultural divide.

These are questions that I leave you guys to discuss, as for me I just look forward again to be spooked by Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

2010 Dreams and Reel Memories...

Academy Awards is close approaching, while film critics are still arguing what's the best of 2010 I'm already looking ahead to this year silver screen offerings. We seem to have a very interesting line-up for 2011. But before peeking to this year's attractions how about a recap of what 2010 had left us to ponder. There have been only quite a number of crafted films worth remembering. 2010 films left us with unimpressive blockbusters outputs and a lot of lacklusters but what reels really made an impact to movie-buffs like me in 2010?

Topping my list last year, “Inception”.

It’s been a while a film this intellectually stimulating and enticing has been made, adding to my exhilaration is the fact that the movie demands devoted attention and after the course I realized that such exclusivity is indeed required for this film. So my advice to those who haven't watched it, pay close attention so you can keep up with this dream world depiction. A film about dreams that requires you to stay awake because you won't want to miss a second of this brain-twister thought-provoking spectacular.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays a corporate spy Dom Cobb, an industrial espionage expert in "extraction". With the use of CIA-developed technology, an "Extractor" steals corporate secrets by infiltrating his victims’ subconscious. The target, the heir to a corporate dynasty, a multi-billion-dollar energy company. As this feat can't be done by Cobb alone, he assembled a team of con-artists with each apt-role to fulfill. Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s), Cobb’s right-hand, a researcher and Point Man. Ariadne (Ellen Page) the architect to design a maze/labyrinth structure of the dreams. (Tom Hardy) plays Eames, as The Forger. (Dileep Rao) as Yusuf is The Chemist, (Ken Watanabe) as Saito, The Tourist and the one who hired the team and (Cillian Murphy) as Robert Fisher Jr, The Mark billionaire-heir. Like any con-artists, they need to construct a false reality to manipulate or confuse the heir and be persuaded to abdicate his waiting throne, as a lever they used the victim issues with his father (the dying patriarch). To achieve this they need to implant a seed(idea or a thought) through the heir's subconscious.

Sounds easy but not quite, they need to get into a further dream state, penetrate a maze or a labyrinth of dreams within dreams while encountering perilous hazards on every level (the targets are also trained to defend their subconscious) many of them including Cobb’s guilty sub-conscious memories of his wife.

 Photo and defintion courtesy of link : A Totem is an object that is used to
test if oneself is in  one's own reality (dream or non-dream) and not in
another person's dream.

Now let me try to break this down. I had to view the film multiple times to somehow or at least come up with an accurate view or perspective of the film's premise.

There are two sets of people, the ones created the dream and interacting in it while understanding it is an illusion, and the others who are projections in the dream created by the players. These projections never have a knowledge of what is reality, they’ll be deleted when the dreamers wakes up.

The word "Inception" for me is quite similar to the word "Insert". Inserting objects like people, places, things, and events. They are placed in our consciousness for experience, while we are asleep or even awake (Daydreaming) experiencing it vicariously.

Dreaming within a dream process puts them into a deeper state of dreaming. They go through several levels; the deeper they go the further the mind looses its grip from reality. And the deeper they sleep, the more vivid a real-feeling of a dream becomes and the harder they'd be woken up. Then there's the "Kick", a sensation of falling, a physical queue that's supposed to wake them up from the dream. But as the concept suggests, by the time they reach the Limbo state it can be so difficult to wake that even the "Kick" will be not be possible. A dream with vivid real-feeling causes the mind to stop trying to wake at all like slipping into a coma, then the mind accepts the dream as its reality.

The reel made a point that at certain levels of awareness you can die and leave the dream, but as you get deeper, let's say in level 3, you can get lost forever. In the subconscious level, its motivated by emotions not by reason, if you get trapped in your emotions you will never be ready to exit when the dream ends. As what Cobb’s have been trying to do with his guilty emotion of the death of his wife.

In Limbo state, in case a dreamer wakes up he won't remember that there is such a thing as a “real world” – just like in any dream when you wake up in the middle of a scene and simply accept it for what it is. Like the case of Cobb and his wife, they are trapped in a Limbo state where it seemed to be decades and they're unable to let themselves out of the cycle.

Photo inset courtesy of link : Cobb and his Mal in a limbo state where they
seemed trapped in decades

Time is the another variable when you are in a dream state, the deeper you are the faster your mind imagine and perceive things in that dream state. As what we seen in the movie the deeper they go, turns minutes into hours, into days, into years. Such factor was the primary reason why the inception team is able to pull off the Inception job while encountering perilous challenges in defense of their heist act. All events happened within the span of a flight from Sydney Australia to LA.

Many still however wondered how the movie ended. I just realized that most people who saw Inception have already made up their minds about what they perceived the film to be. Some were impressed while some walked away confused, feeling like they had their mind twisted. To those who are confused, there’s evidence on both sides, but neither one can prove one.

But this is how I perceived the ending in my first viewing. 

In the film's climax Mal’s (Cobb's wife) shadow stabs Cobb throwing him back into the Limbo state and to the shores of Saito’s house. When he woke up, his mind is muddled just like Saito’s brain that has aged at this Limbo state. But as they converse they were able to remember the reality existed before the Limbo, through Cobb's "totem" (an object used by extractor to test if oneself is in one's own reality (dream or non-dream) and not in another person's dream) and the phrase "Leap of faith". While both still had deep desires waiting to be fulfilled in real world (Cobb reuniting with this kids and Saito's business) they're able to wake themselves up, could be a gunshot in the head(we saw Saito reaching the gun). Then we have seen Cobb waking up in the plane so I'd say they're back in reality.

But after hearing mixed opinions and theories from friends of how the movie ended, it raised a very confusing question, "Could Cobb still be dreaming?”. What's troubling me in the end is Cobb's kids, they wear the same clothes(which time and time again we saw them in his dreams) in his dreams and in the so-called reality in the end.The images we saw in the plane, could these be just projections of Cobb's dreams?  There was no conversation between the characters after Cobb woke up, all just images to prove our own interpretation. This is what I think the filmmaker purposely have done, leaving the climax in an uncertain or ambiguous state that's open to audience perception of whether he woke up or could be dreaming.

I leave you guys to debate, but for me what is important is the fact that Di Caprio's character, a person who is obsessed with “knowing what’s real” then to ultimately becoming a person who stops questioning and just accepts that what makes him truly happy as what’s real. So which ever state he was in the end as long as he is happy then we can rest the story there.



Photo inset courtesy of link. An example of staircase paradox.

Conceptually the film is brilliant though one can say its just another classic con/heist movie but I'd say it's a step further, creatively they're dream thieves. Though the concept is nothing new either, this concept was first seen in 1984 Sci-Fi film “Dreamscape" but in the age of modern film making I'd say this one standouts in its genre. The special effects are magnificent as well; the dream depictions even overwhelm the story at times.

In the film’s emotional department, some critics commented that the movie lacked in emotion, that it’s more symbolic than a feeling. Leonardo's character may have not made any emotional link to any character in the film but he certainly did made an emotional connection to us audience so that puts the reel not just a clever cerebral game. For me, Leonardo is one of the warmest actor to portray a character, he gave justice in  playing a role of a person who is about to loose his grip with reality, as he carries with him the grief and guilt over the death of his wife and separation from his children. You can see it in every twist and turn in the film’s narrative. So the movie was not all brains after all but with heart as well. '

Now being sensible to the film's premise, this raise some ethical questions in mental/mind rape. I'm not an ethicist but one simply stating a side of opinion.

The acts in the movies centers in or maybe equals to a  mental rape, regardless of the method, extraction or inception. This topic was barely explored or perhaps totally disregarded by the filmmaker. For an instance, Cobb’s desire to reunite with his children as his motivation, doing it even after the epic failure with his wife. I'm not a parent so pardon my parental perspective. But can we applaud and celebrate a father’s love with this?

And how about the victim? The Heir (Fisher) is never shown to be an unethical being, it was not elaborated why they such dominate business(unethical business practice?) and why Saito's company unable to compete fairly. He's simply just rich and unfortunately in Cobb's and Saito's way. Maybe it was a happy ending for him sorting out what his father wants him to be but the act doesn't make it acceptable, The fact that it was fabricated, and the happy ending wasn't fabricated for the sake of his well-being, and it was devised to make him lose billions of dollars to Saito and for Cobb's gains.

On the other hand, if this movie is a hint of advances in neuro-technology/neuro-science then we could be facing enormous moral and social issues. Such advancement poses a tremendous potential threats – and open issues and ethical questions that go to the core of human rights in ways never before imagined. It maybe just our subconscious but the premise suggest that it opens opportunities for someone to predict, possibly control, change our behavior, intelligence and even character.

It is tinkering the very essence of what it means to be us, as human : our brain.

A memorable quote from Cobb “Well dreams, they feel real while we're in them, right? It's only when we wake up that we realize how things are actually strange. Let me ask you a question, you, you never really remember the beginning of a dream do you? You always wind up right in the middle of what's going on”.