The First Monday in May...

Last night, I finally got to watch the documentary The First Monday in May.

I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary.

If there's one reason why I would really want to visit the United States, it's because I want to visit the Met museum. (The other reason I would really want to go visit is Broadway. Haha!)

For a couple of years now, I've been following the Met Ball. It's held every first Monday of May (hence, the title of the documentary).

More than the parade of celebrities in their couture dresses and so on, I really want to know what the theme of the exhibit will be.

This documentary allowed me not just to have a glimpse into the most recent exhibit, it allowed me to see all the work that goes into putting up the exhibit.

Amazing, just amazing!

I would defo want to see this docu again!

Looking viewing party preps...

And this is how you do a viewing party.... Lol!

JB was kind enough to host a viewing get-together for HBO's Looking the movie. Erm, I think it was more because we volunteered his temp flat although I'm sure he would have volunteered his place, too. Thanks, JB.

It turned out to be a gathering that needed preparation. JB and Ian got themselves busy with arranging the place and figuring out the technical side of how we can watch the movie from the HBO site. They also thought of the chips and drinks. Mon and Richie, on the other hand, thought about whether extra chairs were needed. And naturally, they also thought of the food to be served for the pre-movie and the actual movie. My contribution was dessert (a few tubs of Ben & Jerry's) and crackers for the cheese and cold cuts.

And with all these preps, we are now ready to watch the movie...

Looking tomorrow night...

Saying goodbye to Patrick, Dom and Agustin tomorrow night.

I wish the series lasted longer.

But as the line in that poster goes, "The end is a new beginning."

Double bill of Kill Bill...

The whole of Saturday night was spent at the cinema.

Jon invited me to watch Kill Bill vol. 1 & 2 with him at The Projector. Since I had nothing planned for the night, I said yes. Also, I can't remember the last time I did a back-to-back screening of two movies. Haha!

It was also my first time to watch at The Projector. The cinema has a certain vibe. I never understood what "hipster" means but I found myself using the word when I described the place to Jon. Hahaha!

13 years after the first installation of the film was released, I can still remember the key scenes of the movie. I guess that's more than good enough proof of how awesome the movie was.

I had no idea Jon was a huge Tarantino fan. When I showed him my photo with the esteemed director, he flipped out. Well, I sent it to him via Whatsapp so I'm not sure what his reaction was. Haha!

Anyway, the story behind the photo was I was at the right place at the right time. It was a stormy night in Manila. A film fest was happening at Gateway Cubao and Mr. Tarantino was a guest. I was at the mall waiting for a friend. My friend and I arranged to meet at the Globe Platinum Cinema. Well, while I was waiting for my friend, Mr. Tarantino comes and I just gathered all my courage and approached him for a photo. LOL!

Glad I did that, and glad to have been able to watch the films again!

Nice Japanese movie...

Out of random Youtube-ing (is there such a word?) and in an effort to retain whatever little Japanese that I know, I stumbled upon this film called My Rainy Days.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it. Maybe because of some of the themes presented during the film. Haha!

By the time I finished the film, I was quite sure that I really enjoyed it. I wish I can watch more films like this.

I’m wondering though why the English title is My Rainy Days when the Japanese title is Tenshi no Koi (which should mean Angel of Love).

Anyway, another foreign film I’m hoping to watch is Eddie Peng’s and Shu Qi’s The Last Woman Standing. Still no playdates for Singapore while our neighbour on the other side of the Causeway already has a release date. Hmm, it looks like I’ll be making a trip to JB soon just to catch the film. Haha!

Cheesy Taiwanese flick on a Tuesday night...

It's been awhile since I last watched a Chinese flick. Hmm, I think it's because I haven't really seen any good trailers being shown in Singapore cinemas lately.

Over the weekend, PG Boy asked me if I wanted to catch Our Times with him and his best friend. I saw the movie poster of the Taiwan film but I didn't really pay much attention to it. Apparently, it is currently the highest grossing film in Taiwan this year. That means it has to be good. Hehe! Since I was entertaining ex-colleagues over the weekend, I had to decline to PG Boy's invitation.

However, I really planned to catch the film soon. Soon was last night. Lol! After spending my hours at the library, I walked over to the neighbouring mall where I booked a ticket for the 9PM screening. Surprisingly (or maybe not?), the cinema was full house... for a Tuesday night. I did a quick scan around me and more than half were university (or even secondary school) kids. I think I was the only Filipino in the cinema as well. Haha!

The film was good! No wonder it's so popular. The storyline is a bit formula but that's fine. It was enjoyable just like the other Taiwan films I loved "You are the Apple of My Eye" and "Cafe. Waiting. Love."

What I'm really looking forward to though is Last Women Standing starring Eddie-Oh-My-God-Marry-Me-Peng and Shu Qi. I've seen both act in a few films and I like them. Eddie Peng. Sigh. Haha! I think I will enjoy this film more because the characters are already in their 30s and the setting is in the professional world - something I can relate to. Our Times is a high-school romance. Hehe!

Handmade with Love and Iris...

I managed to catch this wonderful documentary film tonight.

It was just beautiful.

I wish I could have lived during that time before World War II when everything was still handmade.

Next Sunday, we'll be catching the film Iris.

Trick, Weekend, real life...

These two movies came to mind lately.

Both have somewhat similar themes. Trick is one that I've seen a long time ago. The other one, Weekend, I saw a couple of months ago. I was reminded of it when I recently received an excited message about the film from Tipz. Haha!

I'm quite sure a number of people can relate to the film. Too bad not everyone gets the storyline that Mark and Gabriel have.

New Eddie Peng film is calling my name...

It's been awhile since I watched a Chinese film. The recently released film "To the Fore" is calling my name. Hehe!

I have a good feeling that it will be a great film since the cast is led by Eddie Peng and Siwon Choi. Okay, I only know Siwon as a member of Super Junior. Hehe! That should be enough of an indication that he's a good performer. Eddie Peng, on the other hand, I have seen in a few Chinese films. I know he can act. And he is just too damn cute.

From what I read, To the Fore revolves around a group of cyclist friends who entered a cycling competition. As is the usual case, friendships will also be tested. The film seems to be high budget because it was filmed on location in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan, Italy, Korea, and the Tengger Desert (wherever that is!).

I also know Eddie Peng prepped for the role intensely because I recall him posting several cycling-related photos/videos on his Instagram. Yes, I follow him. Hehe!

Now, I just need to find someone who'll be keen to watch the film. Otherwise, I can also watch it on my own.

Movie date plus MkSurf8's birthday celeb last night...

What is up with this weather? It has been raining quite heavily in the morning these past few days. All of a Sunday, it becomes hot on a Friday.

What makes me even crazier is how my body temp seems to have difficulty adjusting to the sudden change in the weather. This has always been the case since I was a child. Haha! Thankfully, I was able to get rid of asthma-ish attacks as I grew up. I would, however, get feverish with the crazy weather changes.

Just like yesterday. Lol.

Still, I did not let it stop me from having an awesome Friday at work and an even awesome Friday night.

First agenda for the night was movie with NB Boy. Originally, we were supposed to double date with Mon and Richie. However, plans had to be rearranged after Mon, Richie and I received a text message from one of our good friends. I was thinking of postponing the movie with NB Boy so we an just do the second agenda for the night. Thankfully, I was able to find an earlier screening time of the movie The Hundred-Foot Journey. Mon and Richie did not get to join us anymore for it.

The movie had a very simple story. It was, however, filled with good lessons and positive values. The other thing I absolutely loved about the movie was the location - the French countryside. Throughout the movie, I mumbled "Oh my God!" several times as sceneries of rural France appeared on the big screen. Oh god, I wouldn't mind retiring in such idyllic surrounding. Haha!

From The Cathay, NB Boy and I took the bus to head to our main agenda for the night. The birthday gathering of good friend MkSurf8. The birthday boy booked a room at the Ritz-Carlton and some twenty plus (?) of his friends showed up to celebrate with the birthday boy. NB Boy, I have to say, did a good job in mixing with the crowd though he doesn't speak Filipino. It was also great seeing friends chat with him. If only I could move whatever it is we have forward...

Anyway, it was an enjoyable evening as always! Any gathering hosted by MkSurf8 is sure to be a happy one. I left the party close to 1AM. In the cab on the way home, I wasn't feeling very well. By the time I laid in bed, I was already feeling the fever. Few hours later, I turned off the AC and I popped two paracetamols. Thankfully, I woke up because I was already sweating.

Gosh, I've been up since 6AM. I just didn't turn on the lights because I wanted to go back to lalaland. Major fail. So now here I am writing. Lol!

May this weekend be as awesome as Friday night.

Cheese overload on a Friday night...

Without any concrete plans for tonight and since I can't have a really late night, I decided to catch the 7PM screening of this Thai film at JCube.

I saw the poster for the film when PG Boy and I were at Plaza Sing recently. The poster was enough to pique my curiosity. Haha!

PG Boy is overseas this weekend so I could pretty much plan stuff that I want to do. And I wouldn't have to drag him to watch a cheesy film. Hehe!

I thought the writing of the film was really good. The usual formula is there but somehow, the director and the writer were both able to make the film work. The male lead and the male supporting lead also somehow remind me of Gardo Versoza and Allen Dizon, respectively. (Goes to show how young I am. Haha!)

I was on the edge of my seat as to how the film was going to end. I was quite sure I wasn't the only one because there was always a collective reaction within the cinema. It's just sad that there were only about 20 of us enjoying the film.

Aside from the cheesiness, the other thing I loved about the film was that it brought back memories of two university volunteer programs - Gurong Pahinungod and Summer Immersion Service Program.

The former was a one-year volunteer program whereby university graduates are deployed to rural parts of the Philippines to teach. I dunno if it is still around. I hope so. The latter, on the other hand, was a program I handled for a few summers. It involved deploying university students to remote parts of the country to live with the community, to immerse, to see life outside of the comforts of one's home in the city, to learn outside of the four walls of the university. It's a program deeply close to my heart as it really inculcated in me values which up to now I carry.

In the film, the scenes that showed the countryside, living without electricity, without mobile phone signals, without the Internet, were something that were all too familiar. It really put a smile on my face.

Also, the film further reinforced my love for the countryside.

Overall, The Teacher's Diary was an enjoyable film to watch. I add it to my list of other fave Thai films such as Seven, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Beautiful Boxer, Rainbow Boys, Iron Ladies 1 and 2, and of course, Love of Siam. ;)

Jaycee Chan on Love Speaks...

It was my first time fly via Emirates and I absolutely loved their in-flight entertainment system - ICE.

There was a good selection of audio cds, podcasts, radio stations, video games, and of course, movies.

Believe it or not, I only managed to watch two films even with the wide selection of available movies.

Most of the time, I slept. Lol! And other times, I was just tinkering with the other features of ICE.

One film I watched was Twelve Years A Slave. The other film I watched was a Chinese film entitled Love Speaks.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for (most) Chinese romantic comedies. Hehe! I particularly like those Taiwanese actors. Haha!

Jaycee Chan, son of Jackie Chan, took the lead role of the romcom. He was absolutely adorable in the film. It was my first time to see him in a movie. I didn't even know he is the son of Jackie Chan.

Anyway, I found myself laughing out during several parts of the movie. I also loved how he tried to woo the lead female character. Haha!

I tried looking for a movie trailer on YouTube, but I am unsuccessful. The MV was all I found.

Thanks, Jaycee, for entertaining me during the last leg of the DXB-SIN flight.

Hope to see more romcoms soon.

Let it go....

Loved the movie. Loved the soundtrack.

Hard not to.

Idina Menzel. Jonathan Groff. Josh Gad.

Jiro dreams of sushi...

I recently found out that Jiro Dreams of Sushi is playing in select cinemas in Singapore.

It's a documentary on 85-year-old Jiro Ono, who is said to be the world's greatest sushi chef.

Somewhat hidden in a Tokyo subway station is Jiro-san's 10-seat sushi only restaurant. Dun be fooled by the simplicity of the restau. The place was awarded a 3 star Michelin. From what I read, the sushi is really expensive and one has to book several weeks in advance just to be able to get a seat at Jiro's sushi bar.

I watched the trailer, and he talks about "shokunin." It refers to someone who is skilled at his profession. The way Jiro described it though, it's not just about being skilled. It is about constantly striving to achieve perfection in what one does.

So it probably means that it may refer to anything, yeah? Whether you're a business tycoon or a street cleaner, you can "achieve" or strive to be shokunin.

In the movie The Last Samurai, the character played by Tom Cruise wrote in his diary about the people in the samurai village that captured/adopted him, "From the morning they wake up until the end of the day, they (referring to the people) do nothing but strive to be perfect at what they do." Or something like that...

What I'm trying to say really is I couldn't help but admire this kind of discipline of the Japanese.

I want to be Japanese in my next life. LOL!

Kidding aside, I hope to be able to catch this docu while it's still showing here in SG.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

One good movie I recently watched was The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - a comedy drama based on the book These Foolish Things by by Deborah Moggach.

The story revolves around seven British retirees, who are brought together by a trip to Jaipur after having stumbled upon inviting photos to the Best  Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Upon reaching the hotel, the travelers discover that it was quite different from what the websites and the flyers presented.

Surprisingly, they all choose to stay and see what sort of adventure would unfold during their stay in the hotel.

The characters in the story each have their own interesting stories to tell. A recent widow, a quarrelsome couple, two adventurous singles, a retired High Court judge, and a retired housekeeper.

In some films with several characters, my usual observation is that it becomes difficult to develop the story of each person precisely because of the number of lives involved.

Not with this film.

The story of each character was played out well and the way that each story was interweaved with one another was neither forced nor hard to believe.

I guess my favorite story would be that of the retired High Court judge played by Tom Wilkinson. He is the only one among the group who has a real connection with India, having grown up in Jaipur and falling in love with a local. He returns to India since his youth in search of the person he has loved to see what has become of that person, if the person has survived the disgrace following the discovery of their forbidden romance.

If I were to be asked what it is about this movie that I liked, I would have to say three things. First is the location. The fact that it was shot outside of the familiar urban landscape made it much more visually interesting. Second, the screenplay was fantastic, at least that's what I thought. Several laugh out loud moments, and several nuggets of wisdom to be picked up during the run of the film. Thirdly, I love that it was very much close to real life. The highs, the lows, the issues each individual experiences was something the audience could (or eventually could) relate to.

I now know what book to read next. I hope I can get a copy here.

New Year's Eve... the movie...

Well, I certainly didn't expect that this film would make me cry.

Haha!

I dun cry that quickly when watching movies. I get cheesy and mushy, yeah, but I dun cry.

The last film I can remember that made me cry was Cheaper by the Dozen. LOL!

Anyway, there was once scene in this film that definitely struck a chord. So the next thing I know, I was wiping tears from my eyes. Haha!

Good film. ;P

Loving Eternal Summer and Boy Culture...

There was nothing ground breaking or Earth shattering in Boy Culture but it’s a well made movie with a solid cast and a very interesting twist so it’s definitely one worth seeing. Remember if we don’t go out and support our gay films, we’ll be stuck with nothing but happy hetero romantic comedies… forever!!!


Over the weekend, I Was able to get some DVDs that I'd been really wanting to watch - Eternal Summer, Boy Culture, Eating Out 2, and Another Gay Movie. So I was really in film heaven yesterday, even if I had work last Saturday and yesterday evening. Haha!

It's so difficult to find LGBT movies in this country, but if you want straight Playboy/semi-porn type of flicks, you just go to any record store at the mall and you'd find several titles. Augh! The irony is frustrating at times, I swear.

Anyway, the first two films I watched were Eternal Summer and Boy Culture.

Eternal Summer is really a story more about of friendship between Jonathan and Shane. The friendship of the two started when they were kids after Jonathan's teacher asked him to be the mischievous Shane's "guardian angel." The friendship continues until they reach high school and eventually, university. The two have a relationship that's more than friends, but less than lovers. Both stand by each other's side in all situations and really, what they have is enviable. When new girl Carrie arrives in town, that's when things take a different path. Jonathan begins to acknowledge that he does feel something beyond friendship for Shane, while the latter wants to have the affections of both Shane and Carrie. The ending leaves some things unanswered but I must say that the interesting twists, the great performances, the versatile cast make it a must-see movie. I read that the film topped the box office and enjoyed critical success at the Pusan and Tokyo International Film Festivals.

Boy Culture, on the other hand, is based on a novel which tells the confessions of "X," a wildly successful professional hustler. There is no sob story here though. X sees his "work" as a business, keeping only a dozen well-off clients. He knows he does it for a living, and he wouldn't sleep with anyone for free because he beleives in "saving himself for that special one." He lives in an apartment with Andrew, a black guy who used to be on the down low, and Joey, who's X's back up plan. Tensions rise when X admits his attraction to Andrew, and the latter wants X to give up his "career." An older gay guy and one of X's clients, Gregory, is part of the whole story dishing out elderly queer wisdom to the lead cahracters.

Boy Culture is humorous, sexy, a bit serious sometimes, and also thought provoking. The director is Q. Allan Brocka, and that is one of the major reasons why I really wanted to see this film.

Will write about the other two movies after I see them.

My Big Love, Kite Runner and Daybreak

It's sort of been movie week.

Last Thursday, watched My Big Love with Rhyz, Steph and Chippi. As expected, the movie was oozing with cheesiness and all things romantic. I really enjoy the Sam Milby-Toni Gonzaga tandem. It started with You are the One, and then followed by Close toYou. Now we have My Big Love. Hehe! Not to be disrespectful to the director or the writer, I thought the movie was great but the main reason why anyone would want to see it is for the "Awww...they're in love" angle. As with other romantic movies, the story is kind of formulaic, but you enjoy it because of the feeling it stirs in you. In this case, I really, really enjoyed it because once again, I kind of remembered how crazy love is. Plus, I thought Sam Milby was completely cute. He looked extremely adorable when he was in the 300 lb body suit, he looked extremely adorable when he was his "real" self also. So if you're looking for something a movie that's heavy on love and laughter, go see this.

Friday night, while other people attended the Ayala rally, I took the MRT to Robinson's Galleria to see Daybreak with Carl. What I love about Galleria is that one cinema is dedicated to indie films, and lately they've been showing queer or queer-themed movies. Recently, the feature movie was Selda starring Sid Lucero and Emilio, which I missed and that kind of sucks. So when I read about Daybreak, I dragged Carlo to see it. The other movie I want to see is Lihim ni Antonio, and again I'm planning to get Carlo to see it with me. Hehe!

Alright, let's go to Daybreak. It's Adolf Alix's film and I was curious to see how it would be different from his last film, which also happened to be about two men. Daybreak stars Coco Martin (who has appeared in so many indie films already, and who I think is one good actor) and Paolo Rivero (this is the first time I've seen the guy on the big screen). Unlike male/female love stories, I guess what I love queer movies is that the element of surprise is almost always present. In this case, there are secrets to be revealed, there are conflicts to be resolved. And because the relationship is far from what several people in understand (at least, in this country), the story becomes even more interesting. Surprising as this may seem, I enjoyed the movie. Some would probably say that there was nothing spectacular about the writing, but here's my take on it.

I guess the fact that there were no lines that are worthy of being quoted makes the story more real and closer to the truth. Don't get me wrong, I love movies with good lines (think The Hours), and although Daybreak doesn't have those, what it has are lines that people really use. The dialogue between the characters is as real as it can get. And when you think about it, in our every day lives, how often do "Oscar-winning" lines come out of our mouths? (And not to be a sexist, but since the characters were both somehow "macho" men, I would be surprised if they started saying lines meant for Julia Roberts). So I guess what I felt while watching the movie was it was as if I was watching two friends talking about their relationship. They're just being true, and they're just using the language they know. And that's the reason why I liked Daybreak.

Saturday night, I found myself at Glorietta 4 together with Noreen for The Kite Runner. It was the perfect movie to cap my movie week. The movie based on the novel by was poignant and emotional. I was already intrigued by the movie when I read its synopsis, so I was happy that Noreen invited me to see it. And since it was based on a novel, you can expect several good lines and you can expect a lot of scenes that could move you to tears. The movie is the story of Amir and Hassan and their friendship. 80% of the story happens in Afghanistan, 10% in Pakistan, and 10% in America, so you probably already know that this is not your typical Hollywood movie. The story of the boys are heavily intertwined with the culture and traditions of their native land, and for someone who grew up in a free, (almost) caste-free country, even if it's a Third World country, I can't help but have a mishmash of emotions - happiness, grief, relief, confusion, to name a few.

I highly recommend seeing this movie. And I'm thinking of getting a copy of the novel. As with other novels-turned-movies, I'm guessing that several angles of the story could be found in the book, which would make me enjoy The Kite Runner to the fullest.

Favorite lines are “ There is a way to be good again.” And “For you, a thousand times over.”