Z for Zloppy

Fabulouzzz

I too could emphasize my dizappointment with how Joel Lamangan could actually make a film that is roughly run-of-the-mill. It amazes me how his mediocrity can still surprise people. I Love Dreamguyz has queasy visualz to begin with, followed through with a grubby story progression. The film is like choking during orgazm ‘in reverse’ while in a coma. Someone should wake them up az they are likely having a dizorder called sleep apnea. They might drown in their own saliva. If this is what the audience might have dreamed for, then so be it. And if you snooze midway, there is still the Z factor offered as a bargain.

I Love Dreamguyz is about a group of young guys who aspires to be dancers in Japan. The group is composed of five cheeky gym buff guys, having different life stories to tell - in snippets. The group leader is Rico (Marco Morales) which I could remember has no character backbone. His presence only intensifies when Jake (Jay-L Dizon) becomes close to him. Jake has a live-in partner Jenny (Niña Jose). Alvin (Sherwin Ordonez) is the beloved of the flamboyant gay talent manager Didi (Jao Mapa). Even if the story segues to Didi’s intolerable gayness and networking scam sub-conflicts, Jake is the heart of the story. He is likened by Rico who has no story to tell but has a wang to show. The other two guys are like opposing magnets. Benjo (Miggy Valdez) is the battered son while Michael (Mhyco Aquino) is the hotheaded gigolo.

I could not question the lust factor between Rico and Jake after the premise has been laid (no pun intended). Just like the concept in the product life cycle, Lamangan is quite deliberate in hauling out all possible carnality without further notice. It has been a franchise all along and the two young guys having sex with each other, not once but a couple times do matter for his vision. The sequence is not anymore relevant and substantial. The insistence might be somewhere in the decline point and so Lamangan might be avoiding any possible risk. Its shoddy production is the unyielding proof that it is near to extinction and for now, he could only milk the cow.

If this could be a trend, then what could have I Love Dreamguyz instilled in the present state of Philippine Cinema? The truth is that, a prolific director like Joel Lamangan will always embark on catering the sweet hot-dogged spaghetti the majority would delightfully consume. Would anyone have a problem with that? There will be hecklers for that matter and I assume it is no two-way channel. Lamangan has static visions and it appears in the film. But at least the film has someone who could still be honed in the dramatic genre. She could fake decency and might as well get well-rounded roles if the franchise turns obsolete. She is none other than Niña Jose.

I Love Dreamguyz could be the expected downfall of a mainstream veteran director. The film appears to be an extremely poor mise-en-scene home-made video like production. Despite the negativity, Joel Lamangan still makes films and makes even more. He might have an easy rapport with the majority perceived in the commercial success of Walang Kawala and Heavenly Touch. But for people having exotic tastes and bigotry, he will always be a failure. But he has strengths which I could affirm; he is an actor’s director. But I have issues with the tawdriness and smudgy qualities he has for now. He is expected to come up with a better output. I hope a good sleep could do the fixing – no nightmares, hopefully.

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Charlie Koon's Rating:

Dust Everywhere

Did you find my daughter?

Last Viewing is a dramatic film with special cameo appearances of questionable human beings. These pseudo-extraterrestrial caricatures could easily snatch the limelight from Janice de Belen. Just a sight of them could induce violent attacks from fellow viewers and mild hallucinations. On the lighter side, this is Janice’s most subtle dramatic performance so far. Pity for her as the claws of disapproval made her efforts descend unto nowhere.

Laura (Janice de Belen) is a crematory supervisor. A simile of her way of life could be compared to the lifeless humans they are serving. But she is living so we expect more tension from her part. On the first part of the story, her father dies. But she responds without a hint of grief. Possibly for a tainted past when she got pregnant in her teenage years and she was thrown out of their house. And she moves on quickly with her brother Arnel (Sherwin Ordonez) and her daughter Heidi in Manila. One day, her daughter who has autism got lost in a crowded street near the church. Things begin to change as the cold lady catches light of a full spectrum of emotions that was buried for a long time.

Last Viewing is one of those films wherein they will put a well-defined character into a situation. It’s sometimes in connection to her career and the future. As for these stories, it will either sink or swim. Last Viewing for peculiar reasons gets swollen. The idea itself is presumably enough for synopsis. It has fuss and feathers all throughout the story. If we write stories, we have to ensure that our methods of enriching the idea we had in mind still have focus.

But then as the story progresses, it has fused some elements of rubbish and insignificant interpolations of overdramatic actors. The intention is deeply unbearable. There is a probable cause for a collapse in the story, as if termites could possibly macerate future unused emotions I have. Cremation will be a great alternative.

Last Viewing is a disappointment. But this does not apply with de Belen’s acting foray as a troubled cold mother. Even with a subtle approach due to the nature of her character, people will certainly extend an arm or two to sympathize. The courage, sorrow and righteousness can also be masked with a cold demeanor. It is a form of a defense mechanism. But in the end, our glimpse of our existence could only remain in our memory. See, at least we could still learn from the film despite its flaws. I’m extending a helping hand if viewers could get maddened with it. Just blow the dirt out of your nostrils if you are not pleased.


Charlie Koon's Rating: