Cinemalaya X

The first Cinemalaya weekend just passed and I was able to watch 7 films in total.  Dyown and I were extremely happy with our picks because every movie we saw was well worth our time.

We were also able to catch the gala of Nora Aunor's Hustisya and the theater was filled to capacity.  I was told that there were a lot of fans that had tickets but still weren't able to get in.

It is really a great experience to be at the CCP this time of the year.  I was able to catch up with my first boss, Ricky Lee.

I was also able to get my photo taken with Francis Xavier Pasion who directed Bwaya.

And since I'm not over Purok 7 yet, I had to have my photo taken with Julian Trono before he was mobbed by all the high school girls.

Hogi also dropped by that night to catch up with us.

As I said, I immensely enjoyed every film that I watched but if I were to rank them, it would look like this:

1. The Janitor - thoroughly enjoyable movie, could very well be a commercial film.
2. Bwaya - beautiful shots, Angeli was superb.  I also couldn't get my mind off the scene where the real Divina was hugging the actress playing her daughter.
3. 1st Ko Si 3rd - funny and sad, I left the theater thinking if I would end up living with regret.
4. Ronda - Carlos Morales must be ad-libbing but it sure is funny. I felt depressed when I saw Ai-ai's character finally smile knowing that her happiness is short-lived.
5. Kasal - Arnold's portrayal is very believable and we are drawn to him.
6. Hustisya - Nora Aunor and Rosanna Roces are both a joy to watch. Beautiful script.
7. Hari ng Tondo - A fun movie but this is Tondo beneath pink colored candy clouds.

I'm not a cinephile but I do enjoy a good movie.  Thank you to Cinemalaya for great movies year after year.

Cinemalaya 2008

As I was not able to catch Cinemalaya's first weekend, I had a Cinemalaya marathon last Saturday. (Too many movies, not enough time! Hope they can extend the run next year.) I arrived at CCP quite early and since Paolo lent me his Prod Pass, I didn't feel the need to rush thinking that just like last year I only need to show the pass to the ushers. But I was wrong. I still needed to get the complimentary tickets at the Ticketron and by the time I was made aware of this, all the tickets have already been taken.

This was only when I realized that lines to the Box Office were impossibly long! Really really long! I will not be able to watch the first few scenes of "Ranchero". I talked to the other person inside the booth selling the tickets if it was possible to get the daily pass without queuing since the students buying the tickets are taking forever. Thankfully, he agreed and I was able to miss only the first sequence of the film.

I was not able to catch "Jay" and "Boses" since tickets were all sold out. I, however, was able to watch apart from "Ranchero" which I liked, "Concerto" which I found to be technically sound, "Imoral" which surprisingly, I also liked (eversince Donsol and Kadin, I vowed never to watch an Alix film in theaters) and "100" which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Above, is my picture with Direk Connie Macatuno. I have been a fan since her impressive OBBs. The highlight of the day is seeing Joanne's face light up upon hearing that Arnold Reyes is in the LT lobby! I will leave the reviews to the professional cinephiles but would definitely recommend catching the films if they get shown in IndieSine at Galleria or if you live near UP, catch the Cinemalaya run there this July and August.