Panic Mode

I feel like I am.. Choking!!!

Reality is like this, it is either you laugh because you can relate to it or extremely dislike the entire aesthetics of the movie. Status: Single stars none other than the sonsie Rufa Mae Quinto as the thirty-year-old virgin. It gives Quinto a new comic outfit that could defy her trademark style.

The believability of the story does not worry me as I have seen worse situations in real life. Status: Single is a romcom film written and directed by Jose Javier Reyes. The film’s dexterity makes it way to make you laugh for its hyper-realistic circumstances. It is about the life of the vivacious Doris, an ordinary working class girl. One by one, her friends started to get married until she reaches thirty and gets deadlocked on her supposedly abnormal situation. Although she is contented, she has a steady boyfriend for two years, she gets to be pressured by her friends and family into marrying. One day, her boyfriend makes a disclosure to end their relationship. She gets a hold of her reaction for a moment until she gets hysterical.

It is a wise decision for Reyes to make use of comedy in bringing about the dilemma of modern women without being too cumbersome. Comedy is a great proposition to alleviate the stiffness of certain topics. It is safer and it is almost a passage or even the starting point before we delve into deeper implications regarding a woman that is towards infecundity. In modern times, women nearing their late 20’s are prone to delicate pregnancies.

Anyway, these juicy topics are handled with such ease without sounding too artificial in its rendering. An ordinary moviegoer might just laugh without much thought given to it. Although it is marketed as a romantic comedy, there is a familiar blend of the genre we call comedy of humours. The supporting casts in this film gives us a unique overview of characters that has an overriding trait of absurdity in their personalities and conduct. As for the women in the film, it gives us a brief outlook on how each handles love and relationships in their lives. The liberation is a great factor in providing what is best to be done in single-hood catastrophes. Poor Doris, if she only knew what to do. But that is a fact of life. At some point of her hysteria, she becomes fatuous, but there is a rebound from her grubby state.

We can gain knowledge from Doris plight. Even the love she tries to achieve might have led to hollowness but the film has been very blatant about being true to oneself. She is not deaf. Her hunky gay friend has been indiscreet about it. But one thing is for sure, watching this film is not entirely a waste. There are deeper meanings to it. The satiric flavor to it and its realistic undertones gives us an idea that this could be further tackled in future comedies and even in dramas. Interweaving love within the movie is just ample for kilig intentions. There is crisp sound to this film.
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Charlie Koon's Rating:

Desperate for Laughter

Go Girl! Girl Power!

Desperadas 2 is a not ingeniously made comedy film. The film tries to jest any possible in-joke or even tries to blend the vernacular with a twang of absurdity but it could not save the film from shame. Probably that’s the entire point of it. It has a ridiculous plot, executed in a tremendously sluggish manner. I could have laughed because of the misery of the shambled production, not due to the film’s hilarity.

The story is easy to follow through. There are four half-sisters, and all of them have chock-full of attitude problems. Courtney is played by the masa pleaser Marian Rivera. Her full-time problem is she dislikes having a baby despite being married to a not-so-hunky hunk husband Patrick (Will Devaughn). Isabella (Ruffa Gutierrez) is a matron who tries to control the career of her younger lover Vito (Jay-R). The suicidal Stephanie (Iza Calzado) is having a post-partum syndrome and picks a fight with everyone especially her husband Richard (TJ Trinidad). Patricia played by the wacky Rufa Mae Quinto gets troubled with her relationship with Congressman Fely played by Christian Vasquez.

Comparing all the characters, I personally think that Quinto’s character is adequately conveyed through the screen. Her trademark of dense humor will always be well-liked. But there is an extreme twist to the storyline. They have another half-sister who is played by Ogie Alcasid. She is Luga Luda, a tranny looking princess from the island of Kehwali in South Africa. She speaks gibberish but most of the time in an SMS way of conversing, I get the entire idea of it. Well, she is also desperate. She craves for twinks with an oblique carnivorous gusto.

Aside from their attitude which is compulsory in a way because of the film’s title, you can also see how women have discovered shopping for clothes and makeup makes them at ease. They smile throughout while sashaying in Bonifacio High Street. Not to mention that we are in a tropical country. They all looked glamorized under the unswerving heat of the sun. Despite their pathetic lives, they maintain a pretentious demeanor while they are strutting their stuff in public.

The technicalities for Desperadas 2 are nearing mediocrity. It looks rushed in most parts. Even dubbing is again evident with all the unsynchronized mouthing of words. Weaving the story of the dilemmas of these sisters looks nondescript. It appears to be sloppily written and the leverage for this kind of comedy is like the audience from the primordial times. It is not progressive at all. The comedy element in this film could not be defined even in various forms. It is opprobrious to the terms slapstick or burlesque for the dry humor it has given away.

I am sure that the lad paired with Luga Luda was ensorcelled. She has no redeeming loveliness in her. Despite the contrived goodness she has shown to her other sisters, we have to be reminded that she has carnivorous tendencies (literal sense) for crying out loud. And with the other women in this film, there is nothing that could be admired for their plight for being a free woman. It gives a negative light on womanhood and a shameful light on Filipino comedies especially to a jaundiced eye. There are other better comedy films than this. A film does not need any feministic concepts to make the film look pragmatic in context and superior in substance. Sometimes, it just causes a film to be very messy and hypocritical.


Charlie Koon's Rating:

Goes with the Flow

Oh Prince Charming, where art thou? ü

Venice. Savona. Rome. Pisa. Barcelona. Tunisia. Genoa. Napoli. Palma de Mallorca. Florence. Marseilles. These foreign places are used as backdrops for the film’s setting. That’s a bit generous for around two hundred bucks price admission. I.T.A.L.Y. (I Trust and Love You) is a plushy film, sustained by its splendid technical execution, and has a story that approaches a lighter touch on real-life drama. The fact that I had a nice time watching this film, viewing it is not in any way insulting.

I was sure that from the moment the opening credits are revealed, this is a lavish film production. Its rich visuals are engaging; appealing to be a good film appetizer. I rarely see local films that make tremendous efforts for such opening credits. Actually, I am as well cautious not to be overwhelmed with its grandiose setting and supposed to be impressive technicalities without giving complete attention to the film story/script. I appreciate Senedy Que’s clever writing approach and prudence in handling tailor-fitted characters. The story goes on as it is suppose to with minor understandable flaws.

Eager to meet her destiny, Destiny (Jolina Magdangal) seeks advice from a dubious fortune-teller for possible signs about the man in her dream. The fortune-teller vehemently gives her three vague and ludicrous signs that her prince charming will manifest. She notifies everything in her slum book. Along came a job offering for a cruise ship as a housekeeper, which without hesitation, she grabs due to financial problems. On her voyage, she willfully searches for the ‘destiny guy’ amongst the ship crew and passengers. Then she meets Paolo, (Dennis Trillo) a handsome mysterious guy that manifests two of the supposed signs. The last one - she will have to glance first at Paolo’s butt!

Let’s not kid ourselves; this film is made to entertain. It is evident with the director’s strides in technical excellence. With our country’s current financial instability, some people go to movie houses not to think, but to be amused and relaxed. But personally and in principle, I prefer thinking. On the contrary, an entertainment film such as I.T.A.L.Y. is rather a good form of diversion, a sort of stabilizer. I.T.A.L.Y. in consideration is smartly handled and its technical proficiency is enough reason to admire it. But I am daunted with the film’s appeal though. Even if I liked it, (I think the film is cute) there is a lesser audience as compared to most recent romcom flicks. Has it lost the hypnotic charisma it should possess and has somewhat transformed into a piece shameful trash an inevitability in formula films, hence the caustic indignation from most film critics. We want films to evolve, not to produce a static mold that the viewers will never be tired of. It does not exist. A movie must cater to the changing demography? Not quite. But I have something to say, Jolina Magdangal is in the industry for more than fifteen years. She has not yet shed off her virginal, uncorrupted, undefiled image.

Trillo has most of the dramatic sequences in the film and his acting is quite pleasing. He still manifests the matinee idol appeal expected from him. There is an undertoned love angle in the film between Rhian Ramos and Mark Herras. Ramos as Phoebe is inherently beautiful – she somewhat resembles the French actress Roxanne Mesquida. Herras fits his character well. The farce comedy element in the film relies heavily on pop culture parody and to some extent used slapstick for humorous effect. Eugene Domingo as Lovely and Rufa Mae Quinto as Stella excelled in this department. Their good command in shambles and travestry is not insulting even if it is nonsensical (on Stella’s part). As long as you like comedy, and you laughed your hearts out, their performance must be equally lauded for their precision. And yeah, I caught myself laughing for silly matters – forgive me.

I personally commend films which know a lot about film development. I.T.A.L.Y. is technically superior. It is diverse in musical scoring. The sound design is splendid (hardly ever seen dubbed parts). The story is unique with its proud demeanor in adopting farce comedy alongside the romantic overtones. Objectively speaking, the director Mark Reyes nailed it. But their main star, Magdangal, has her appeal diminished and was overshadowed by her contemporaries. She must rationalize the true essence of being an actress which involves higher risks. I sense that it is not mainly the producers or Magdangal’s manager that prevents her from developing roles in more robust direction, rather Jolina Magdangal alone. So, better watch out.


Charlie Koon's Rating: